Megan Erickson of cnn money published an excellent piece about the plight and turn around of small businesses with outside backing.  In the piece Mike Michalowicz, CEO of Obsidian Launch explained how his $250,000 sba backed loan caused the near collapse of his first business because the financial cushion caused the organization to circumvent best practices. While Michalowcz’s business was far removed from our labor-intensive facility services industry what he arrived at is a lesson all building services contractors should take to heart.

“My explanation to myself was that if I had a lot of employees and a beautiful car, people would know I was successful and want to do business with me,” he says. “Once I was out of cash, I had to get back to doing business the right way: servicing clients well and working hard.”
Michalowicz ditched the expensive furniture and renegotiated his rent. In three years he had paid back his loan and sold the company for six figures.
Easy money can kill a business l CNNMoney

There aren’t many venture capitalists lined up to throw big backing to a building services contractor nor is there the type of push for innovation that fuels grants. As building services contractors we are forced to secure capital via loans or self-finance, this may be a blessing in disguise. With a market of 40,000 competitors nationwide there isn’t an opportunity that can be missed and in such a labor intensive market we can never lose sight of our goals and forget that exceptional service and hard work is what will allow us to rise to the top.