It's Been Worthwhile

"That was difficult because we were working the residential customers around the commercial jobs, so we often had to hold the residential customers off," he says. "In the end we didn't feel that was right so we sold that part of the business, and that allowed us to concentrate on the commercial work."

But along with the sale of the residential operation went the company name. The buyer understandably wanted to retain the name recognition as well as the customers, so Stanley sold it to him and renamed the business using his initials.

Today RS Asphalt Maintenance Inc. focuses on its more than 250 commercial clients, including a heavy emphasis on gas and convenience stores in central Pennsylvania. The company still does residential work but only if people call and ask. "We don't pursue it."

Stanley says that once he decided to focus on the convenience store market he and his six-person company (including secretary Gail Frey who has been with the company since before the last article in 1994) slowed down pursuing other work. "We did it if people called us but we had enough to do to keep us busy and profitable," he says.

While Stanley believes he's still going to get his convenience store contracts he's hedging his bets and has begun aggressively pursuing other work. One of the first things he did was a direct-mail effort to 4,500 prospects, reminding them of RS Asphalt Maintenance, the services his company offers, and most importantly alerting them to the name change. "We're just making sure that they know that we're available if they need us," he says.