Opportunity came knocking in 2005 when Darren and Shelly Harris were given the chance to acquire Ladybugs Parking Lot Sweeping, Lafayette, LA, for less than $50,000. The purchase included the name, some sweeping accounts, and three “raggedy” 20-year-old sweepers that Ladybugs struggled to keep in operation.
“And we love it,” says Shelly, who is co-owner with Darren of the certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB). “Ladybugs is our only source of income. We have no choice but to make it work, for survival and now building a legacy!
And it’s working just fine.
A Sweeper at Heart, but...
“We started out 13 years ago sweeping parking lots, so I’m a parking lot sweeper by heart. That’s the hub of our business,” Shelly says.
But it didn’t take long for Ladybugs Parking Lot Sweeping to diversify. “We started getting calls asking us to do all sorts of different types of work – striping, pavement repair, sign repair, parking lot lighting, curb repair, handyman services, even vacancy cleaning – and we just figured we could do it so we said, ’Yes’.”
She says that as job opportunities came along, they took them all. “A couple of times we lost money on those jobs but we learned a lot,” she says. “We learned by doing. I still say that if I didn’t learn anything today it was a wasted day. Whether we lose money on a job or make money on a job we learn something.”
And that mentality helped Ladybugs get their name around as more than just a parking lot sweeper.
“After a year or so we were confident enough to reach out to the customers and start selling to them,” she says.
She says when drivers noticed problems such as potholes, graffiti, signs bent from vehicle impact, and light poles not working, the company would call the property manager to alert them to the problem and ask if they wanted Ladybugs to repair it.
“Sometimes they just said ‘Yes’ and sometimes they asked us for a quote,” Shelly says. “We then realized we were now reporters to our customers!”
Today more than half of Ladybugs’ business is parking lot sweeping, including a number of homeowner associations and 40 reoccurring nightly accounts. And half of those accounts regularly reach out to hire Ladybugs to do other non-sweeping work for them. The company, which recently joined World Sweeping Association, has 15 employees, including six full-time night operators dedicated to sweeping.
Shelly says they’ve helped themselves by documenting everything they do on a job, then cleaning up those field notes and filing them. “That way we have it the next time we do that kind of work or when that customer calls us again.” They also created and continue to update a flow chart that tracks the type of material used on a job, how much is used, the material price at that time, and their bid on the job. “It gives us a starting point for our next job,” she says. “It became a backup for us and it also helps when we train new people in selling.”
Pursuing Repeat Customers
“Recurring customers is what we want,” she says. “We’ll obviously do the one-time work when we have the chance but we’re not trying to make it on that.”
To develop those repeat customers, Ladybugs Parking Lot Sweeping strives to let its customers in so they get to know the company.
“We try to personalize ourselves so that when they hire us or even call us for a quote they have a sense of who we are. We want them to know us, to know that we’re a small family-owned and operated business. We think that’s important.”
To help personalize the company, Shelly says Ladybugs constantly reaches out through social media and updates their website and Facebook page as they complete new jobs. “Social media is really important for us. It’s a great way to let people know what kind of company we are: a small, hard-working, family-owned business.”
Since early 2017 Ladybugs has also bought radio time three days a week on a local country music station. Their radio spot includes 5-7 minutes of air time during which the local DJ and high school friend Tanya Ardoin talks about Ladybugs, profiling the family-owned company and discussing its services. Shelly has been on air a number of times talking about the company, about the importance of sweeping and answering questions.
“It’s a station a lot of older people listen to and many of those people own their own business or are in some form of management at a local business.” she says.
She estimates Ladybugs has gotten more than 30 jobs – and many more opportunities to quote – directly from their radio marketing. “Even sending out quotes are important, it’s a form of getting my company’s name in the hands of decision-making individuals,” she says.
Reputation & Relationships Work
Shelly says they have yet to develop a business plan – on paper. “I’ve known all along in my head that in order to be better and a more successful business we needed a business plan. And while we never got around to formally executing that, we talk about it all the time so it is there in our heads.”
And in the works. That plan involves the diversification Ladybugs has already achieved, avoiding third-party providers “who want something for nothing,” pursuing repeat customers, and using social media and radio to let customers know a little bit about them.
“We also make sure people know we’re here to answer any questions they might have, whether we’re doing the job or not. If we can help someone out by answering their questions we’re happy to do that,” Shelly says.
“We always end our jobs by telling our customers, ‘If you have a problem with it, you call us and we’ll make it right.’ We built our reputation and our relationships that way and our customers appreciate that. We know because a year later they’re calling us back to do more work.”
