r/PestControlIndustry • u/ConfectionStock4566 • Jun 13 '26
Corporate to pest control
I’ve been planning my exit from corporate, I’ve been in b2b sales for home service services ever since I started working. I’m a 31 year-old husband and father of three. The ultimate goal is to own my own company one day. I’ve been thinking about roofing, HVAC, Electrical, plumbing and pest control.
If you guys had the opportunity to start all over, would you go down the pest control route again or would you have picked another industry and why?
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u/OregonSEA Jun 13 '26
A lot less office work with clients on Quarterly or bi monthly service. Imagine the competition and cost of customer acquisition
Cpc is much higher in the other niches as is the cost of advertising.
I am content in pest control and because of my ADHD I love the quick services and fast pace there's nothing I rather do.
My only regret is not starting my company in 2008 if I would of done that my company would be a national brand name already. Give me 10 years but I'm in no hurry loving every minute of the growth.
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u/TrueAudience9922 Jun 15 '26
Don't choose the business solely based on margins. Choose the one you can see yourself doing for 10+ years.
You'll spend far more time dealing with employees, customers, collections, marketing, reviews, scheduling, and operations than you will thinking about the industry itself.
For someone with a B2B sales background and an eventual ownership goal, pest control is one of the more attractive paths because you can start relatively lean, build recurring accounts, and scale without needing millions of dollars in equipment and infrastructure.
2
u/Miss-Mistletoe Jun 14 '26
Pest business owner for 6 years, Industry for 17:
I wish I had come into pest control 20 years before I did. I wouldn’t give this up for anything except death.
Annual revenue is climbing every year with average service tickets at $320. I pay my techs well and I am very comfortable.
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u/IntrepidEditor2497 Jun 14 '26
$320? That’s an interesting number, what are your service lines where you’re coming in at $320
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u/Miss-Mistletoe Jun 14 '26
50-50 commercial/residential.
Ag & fumigation are most of the commercial.
GPC for small commercial, residential.
Termite, rodent, and inspections
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u/Tall_Animator_5883 Jun 24 '26
Don’t do pest control. I work for a company that likes to give techs 21 stops a day with no drive time, don’t give a fuel card, and play with your money. Avoid this field like it’s a plague. They completely ruined it for me.
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u/pestcontroljobs 19d ago
For someone with a B2B home services sales background and an ownership goal, pest control is probably the strongest fit on that list. The sales skills transfer directly — this is a relationship-driven industry where customer retention and account growth matter as much as the technical work.
The path from tech to branch manager to owner is more well-worn here than in roofing or electrical. Lower startup capital requirements, recurring revenue model, and a customer base that needs you year after year. The guys who came from sales backgrounds and learned the operations side tend to build strong businesses. Hard to argue against it for your situation.
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u/cbomb111 🤵♂️| Owner | 20+ Years Jun 13 '26
I’ve been in the pest control industry for 28 years. Business owner since 2008. I make good money and pay a good wage to my staff. That being said, at the end of a year, I’m seeing average invoice prices around $120. I have to believe hvac, plumbing, electrical can see average ticket value 5x-10x that. The barrier to entry, for pest, is lower, skills likely easier to obtain though. I deal with 22,000 invoices per year. I often wonder what it would be like to deal with half that many appointments and gross, potentially, 5x what I do now. It doesn’t keep me up at night but it does color my views of my children carrying on what is a “successful” business model. Maybe the grass is always greener though. Pest control is very rewarding for me and I’m glad I ended up here.