​Author: Margieh Wairimu, BSU student

​Cleaning has been and will be a day-to-day activity in everyone’s life, even if it’s touch-ups, organizing, cleaning dishes, vacuuming, or deep cleaning. And with COVID-19, we have been taking extra care in cleaning our homes, spaces, and basically everything we touch. We have to sanitize before we interact with others to keep ourselves safe from dirt and germs.  Different people have different methods of cleaning and some of them have gone as far as owning successful cleaning businesses. This week I had the pleasure of speaking with a small business owner who has turned her career with cleaning into her way of life.
 
The Maid Solutions is an affordable residential and commercial cleaning company located in East Bridgewater. Their services are offered in the surrounding towns, such as: Plymouth, Carver, Taunton, Marshfield, Duxbury, Bridgewater, Hanson, and Scituate to mention a few. Marcia Hottes, owner and an East Bridgewater resident, takes pride in knowing she is able to do what she loves, make a living out of it, and be able to manage her own business. She has been in business since 2009, and during this time she has been able to learn and grow in the industry. Marcia’s motivation comes from positive feedback from her customers. Through this positive feedback, she has come to be someone people trust.
 
Her customers’ recommendations have helped her business grow since she started. Through word of mouth and her Facebook page, she has been able to reach out to other customers and market her business. 

In the future Marcia, who is the only employee, would want to expand her business and even have a partner. Her biggest challenge is offering the best prices to her customers; competing with other small business competitors and the corporate companies. For this year, just like every other business the COVID-19 pandemic, has had the same impact in many small businesses - closing for a few weeks, which would drive sales down and threaten the source of her livelihood. She wasn’t working for a few months, but by taking the necessary precautions and safety measures, she is back doing what she loves, while keeping herself and her clients safe.  Her goal is always to do her best and leave your home clean, organized, and smelling fresh!

Technology has been a part and has played an important role in her business in that she has actively used social media platforms, like Facebook, to advertise her business in groups and on pages. This has been one way she has been able to drive business her way. What sets her apart from her competitors is that she has competitive pricing, and works within the client's budget; she believes she can beat any written estimate.

She is grateful to her current customers and looking forward to working with others in the near future. For the 11 years she has been in business, she finds decluttering before cleaning, gathering all her cleaning supplies and tools in a caddy makes it much easier to get the job done - maybe you will use this tip next time you are cleaning.
​

The Maid Solution is based in East Bridgewater, MA.

Contact them via:
Phone: 774-222-8770
Email: Marciahottes2016@gmail.com
Facebook:  @themaissolution

​Author:  Jason Amirault, BSU student

If you are looking for landscaping services in the South Shore area, K&T Landscaping is the one you are looking for. This landscaping company focuses on both timely and very efficient work to be done that goes above and beyond to satisfy their clients. This business is based out of Norton, MA and does business all throughout the South Shore. They have been in business since 2018 and have been dedicated to their customers’ wants and needs every single day.
I had the pleasure of interviewing the owner of K&T landscaping, Kyle Leroux. Kyle has always been in the landscaping business. With previous experience and the prior knowledge, he decided to start his business. I was able to get more in depth about his business and how he stands out from other businesses.
 
Why did you choose this line of business?
Before I decided to get my business, I had worked for a landscaping company for five years. I was basically the foreman, which is the leader of operations. After five years, the company closed their doors and at that point I realized I am going to make my own business.
​
What was it that made you want to start this business?
I knew how to lead especially from being a foreman from the last company and I was ready to be in charge. Also, I wanted to make sure my family was better off financially.

What was the toughest thing you went through when opening?
The toughest this about opening was the old equipment we had. We bought used equipment at the time and it would break down on us. The breakdowns caused us to push back work which did not help customer service expectations. Also, it was very hard to find hard workers who were dedicated to the job.
​
What inspired you to keep going as you were getting the business off the ground?
My friends and family pushed me to keep going because they knew I put a lot of hard work into my business.

If you had to start over from day 1, what would you have done differently?
I would have made sure we had better equipment to start off with.
 
What is the toughest part about having a business in 2020?
Definitely the pandemic. We had to fill out paperwork with the state in order to work which took 3-4 weeks, so we were not in business those 3-4 weeks. When we were closed, we had to take certain precautions which was nerve wrecking. When we were finally able to work people did not want us to go on their property because of the pandemic, but we got our work done following the safety protocols. Also, warehouses in 2020 have had limited supplies and materials and we had to come up with solutions about the material shortages quickly and solutions that were outside of the box.

If a customer were to choose between your business and 3 others just like it why would you suggest they at least give you a try first? What makes you stand out?
We will complete the work through the customer’s specific needs, and we make sure the work is done the right way. We do not cut corners on the job.

What is the number 1 way you bring in new customers?
By word of mouth and through groups on Facebook. Someone would post they need landscaping done and people would recommend my services.
​
Do you feel that internet technology could play a bigger role in your business of you had the right tools?
Yes, it would. I do not use Google and I do not have a website right now. I am taking baby steps to start. It is only a 3 people business right now.
 
If you had to look 6 months to a year into the future where would you like to see your business be?
I would like to see my business go from 25 to 50 accounts, some new trucks, and newer equipment. Also, I would like more workers and a nice landscaping yard.

K&T Landscaping, is located at 53 Dean Street in Norton, MA.
 
Contact them via:
Email: ktlandscaping369@gmail.com
Phone: 774-265-2527
Facebook: @ktlandacaping

​Author: Justine Baggia, BSU student

J4 LLC is a roofing company that has operated in Massachusetts since 2000. The owner, Joel Baggia, has been running the company since the very beginning. In a recent interview done with Joel, I received insight into how the business has maintained successful throughout the years:
 
Are you from this local area?
Yes, I grew up in East Bridgewater and I still live in the South Shore.
 
Why did you choose this line of business?
I chose roofing because I was able to be self-employed, which was always a goal of mine, and I had previous experience in the home improvement field. The profit potential in roofing was what made me focus in on starting a business in this specific field, though.
 
What was the toughest thing you went through when opening? What inspired you to keep going as you were getting the business off the ground?
I’d say marketing was the hardest part when first starting. Trying to reach new customers from different areas was the biggest challenge, but when you’re putting out high quality work, word of mouth is very beneficial. Happy customers are obviously more likely to refer you to their friends, family, and neighbors, so making sure the customers are pleased with the process and the final result is important.
 
What is the toughest part about having a business in 2020?
Licensing and paperwork are definitely the toughest parts when it comes running a business in the construction field. I had to receive my construction supervisor license and home improvement contractor license in order to operate, and the paperwork to ensure everything is running smoothly is nearly endless. 

If a customer was to choose between your business and 3 others just like it, why would you suggest they gives yours a try first? What makes you stand out?

The speed that my crew works at definitely makes us stand out. We can produce high quality results at a pace that makes our customers happy. My roofers work very hard and the overall efficiency and reliability is what I believe definitely sets us apart from other companies.
 

What is the number one way you currently bring in new customers?
Facebook
 
Do you believe internet technology has played a big part in your growth and making the company more successful?
Absolutely. It helps to reach new customers quicker and increases our referrals.
 
If you had to look 6 months into the future, where would you like to see your business be?
I definitely would like to remain hands-on with the projects and continue to grow my company. 
​

J4 LLC is located in East Bridgewater, MA.
 
Contact them via:
Phone: (508)378-9300
Website: J4llc.com
Facebook: @j4LLC

​Author: Kendall, Martignetti, BSU student
​

​Malloy’s Automotive Service Incorporation & Weymouth Service Center are two towing companies that are family owned and operated out of Weymouth Massachusetts by the mother-daughter duo, Janice and Jaclyn Malloy. Malloy’s Automotive Service Incorporation & Weymouth Service Center provides the services of towing, transporting vehicles, trespass towing, a full-service garage and storage. Raising his family in Weymouth Kevin Malloy decided it was the perfect place to start his business. Back in 1989 Jaclyn’s dad, Kevin, cashed out his retirement and started his company out of his driveway after being laid off from his long-time employer Westminster Dodge. He then moved it into a mechanic garage and it quickly grew from there.  After two years of operation the company they outgrew the single garage and relocated to a bigger building in Weymouth. Kevin’s first tow truck he bought unfortunately caught on fire, he then purchased a flat bed. Kevin sadly died in 2018 before he got to see the business grow into what it is today. Kevin would definitely be happy with what his girls have accomplished with the family business. In 2019 Janice bought the Weymouth Service Center company and building and merged the two businesses to one location. Jaclyn’s brother Tim would have been the sibling to take over Malloy’s, but he sadly passed away in 2010. Jaclyn said that one thing her father was very proud of was her accomplishment of graduating from college. Kevin’s goal was for her to work and grow outside of the family business, but Jaclyn wanted to keep her father and brother’s legacy going which led to her full-time involvement at the company. Jaclyn decided to really step in to help in 2019 when they bought Weymouth Service Center.
 
After talking to Jaclyn, I learned that Kevin’s motivation to start his own business stemmed from his lay off. Kevin’s top priority in life was his children, starting the business gave him purpose as the sole financial provider. Kevin never wanted his income to be dictated by someone else when it could impact his family.  When Kevin was opening his business the hardest thing, he went through was the financial overhead. The family went from having a weekly paycheck to making their own income.  Janice was a stay at home mom and Kevin worked to provide for his family of six. Jaclyn was five when the company started and recalls another big struggle with starting the business was the long hours Kevin would be away from home, many family dinners took place at the shop just so Kevin had a reason to take a break.  Janice and Jaclyn said that if Kevin was to start this all over again and do one thing differently, he would have saved more startup money to purchase a building of his own.  

Obviously 2020 has been a year no one expected, but right now Malloy’s Automotive Service Incorporation & Weymouth Service Center is still very busy. Jaclyn said that right now they are very overworked because they are understaffed. The one thing that was hard about 2020 for them was the lack of snow we had at the beginning of the year which made it so there was less tows and plowing for the company. Another struggle from 2020 was making sure to be very safe when handling customers and cars with COVID going on. Despite the struggles of 2020 the company tried to spread joy to the community with doing several drive-bys for birthdays with all the trucks during COVID. One Sunday all the employees, including Jaclyn did touch-a-trucks through 34 different streets in Weymouth. The Malloy’s have followed CDC guidelines for keeping everything clean including having the staff and customers be safe during the pandemic. Jaclyn uses Facebook as advertising and uses her Google and Yelp reviews to better the company. Despite the negative connotation with police and trespass tows, this also helps to get their businesses name out there. The Malloy’s really are a fair mechanic shop that has a competitive labor rate, they are honest work and do not mislead their customers for inappropriate repairs. Jaclyn is excited for the business to expand with her employees and become more financially sound. The Malloy’s treat everyone like family when you walk in the door, make sure to keep the Malloy’s business in mind for any towing, mechanic or transporting needs.  

Malloy’s Automotive Service Incorporation & Weymouth Service Center Contact at:
40 Moore Road, Weymouth MA 02189

You can contact them via:
Phone: (781) 331-8408
Facebook: @MalloysAuto

​Author: Cindy C. Kong, BSU student

An interview with Kevin Augustin, owner of Kevin Augustin Photography in Brockton, MA:

​Tell me about your business. Why did you choose this line of business? When did you start this business?
 
My name is Kevin Augustin and I was born and raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, New York. I moved to Brockton in 2006 and have been here ever since. I started photography because I wanted to turn my work of art into a career. My goal ultimately is to be the best photographer there is out there. I started photography in 2012. I chose this career path because I wanted to do more for myself and the best way to make more of myself is to do what I love to do and that is capturing moments.
 
What was the toughest thing you went through when opening? What inspired you to keep going as you were getting the business off the ground?
 
The toughest thing about being a photographer is, you don’t have someone in investing in you. You have to prove that your work is great by what you put out. You have to invest in your own equipment which is extremely costly, you have to invest in your own time and effort in making these photos professional and astonishing. As much as I always wanted to give up, I use my son as an inspiration always. I always incorporate him into my work. As a black man in photography it is extremely hard to break a lot of the stereo type of what kind of work, we specialize in.
 
If you had to start over from day 1 what would you have done differently? Or what was your most difficult challenge?
 
If I were to start over, I would have wish I done this sooner because I could’ve been ahead of myself even more. One of the most difficult challenge in photography is competing with others and getting my business out there and having people believing in me. Starting off locally can be extremely tough for a small city.
 
What is the toughest part about having a business in 2020?
 
With everything that’s going on with COVID-19, it caused a lot of set back during the shutdown. Photography has a lot human interaction, especially with events and limiting the amount of people that can be in a place and gathering.

If a customer was to choose between your business and 3 others just like it why would you suggest they at least give you a try first?  What makes you stand out?
 
 I am a firm believer that people love having me as their photographer because of who I am. I give amazing customer service. I am polite and I love to make people feel comfortable. Photography is one of those things that is hard for people, it’s intimidating and sometimes people are timid. Just being in front of a professional camera is completely different than being behind a smart phone. But I love to make people feel good about themselves and making them feel confident when it comes to shooting. I am a people’s person. I can have a conversation with just anyone and everyone.
 
What is the number 1 way you currently bring in new customers? Has internet technology (website, online ads, social media, etc) played a big part in your growth and making your company more successful?
 
The number one way that helps bring in customers for me, is someone’s referral. Mostly all my customers were referred by someone who had an amazing experience with me. Technology has played a huge role in my business, especially when it came to networking and promoting my business through social media.
 
If you had to look 6 months to a year into the future where would you like to see your business be?
 
If I had 6 months to a year into the future, I would my business would continue to prosper and become successful as a black owned business. I’ve been working extremely hard these past couple of years to be where I am now. I am confident that I will be one of the best photographers in the South Shore of Massachusetts. 
​

​Kevin Augustin Photography (KAP) is located in Brockton, MA.
 
You can contact Kevin via:
Phone: 617-657-1700
Email: kevinaphotography@gmail.com
Website: www.kevinaphotography.com
Facebook: @KAPhotography
Twitter: @KAPhotography_
Instagram: @KevinAPhotgraphy
​

​Author: Sydney Holbrook, BSU student

​I had the pleasure of speaking with Chantal Silva from Middleboro Mini Storage. They are located at 5 and 15 Spruce St in Middleboro, Massachusetts. Chantal grew up in Middleboro until she eventually moved to Wareham—which is still local. Middleboro Mini Storage was created in 1994 and they have had customers going all the way back to then. They rent storage space in various sizes, some examples of this would be 5’x5’ all the way up to 10’x30’. They also offer parking for RV’s, boats, cars, trucks, and tractor trailers. In addition to all of this, they offer service garage and warehouse units with 14’x14’ doors.
 
They originally started this business because they had the extra land and there was a need for local storage facilities back then. One of the most challenging obstacles they faced while opening was the zoning and obtaining the licenses from the town. If they were to start over from day one, they would have purchased more buildings at the beginning. When they first opened, they had four buildings but within the past few years they added two additional buildings. When they were adding the new buildings—they had to go through all the zoning and licensing with the town again. 

​Even with all the challenges they were faced with this year, they haven’t had any major problems. The main way they are obtaining new customers would be advertising locally and word of mouth. They have many ads on placemats at local restaurants. Also, they rely heavily on maintaining their high standards of quality, value, and service to obtain personal referrals from current and previous customers. Technology has not played a big part in their success and growth of their business. Word of mouth has had the biggest impact. Although they do believe if they had all the right tools, it could help. But all of the right tools do cost a lot of money, so not all business may actually benefit from them. This business model is different than a lot of business because when they are at capacity, they cannot obtain any additional customers until their current customers no longer need the unit. When asked where Chantal wished the business would be in six months to a year in the future, she stated they would want to be in the same place that they are currently at today with all units rented and at capacity.
 
If you are in the market for a storage unit, Middleboro Mini Storage has the lowest prices in this area. They make their units affordable and convenient for their customers. They are also a family owned business and take pride in this area and community. Middleboro Mini Storage is in a great location, only about one mile off of Interstate 495. 

​Middleboro Mini Storage is located at:
5 & 15 Spruce Street in Middleboro MA.
​
If you would like any additional information and pricing, you can contact them via:
Phone: 508-946-1900
Email: middleboroministorage@gmail.com
Website: Middleboroministorage.net          

​Author: Kayla Hodge, BSU student

Mold Spotters owner, Dave Jensen, is one of the most reliable and knowledgeable people in the mold inspection business. Mold Spotters is an independent, unbiased mold inspection and testing company that will help determine if your home or business had an indoor mold problem. Dave goes to the customer's households and gives them a full inspection to identify if there’s any mold, the severity, and where the customer should go from there. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dave about his business and was amazed by his dedication to his company.

Dave used to only do mold inspection as a side job. However, he grew to have more interest, and liked the work more, in the mold inspection industry than the profession he was in at the time. Dave decided to start his own mold inspection business in 2015 as he was extremely knowledgeable in the field and wanted to focus on something he enjoyed. He said the only real struggles faced when starting his business was trying to find customers and make his business known. He had no contacts to get referrals from and there were no reviews of his business which may make someone skeptical when looking for a company to go to.
​
The mold inspecting industry is one people typically only go to if they come across mold or a weird odor that they are concerned about so the company’s website has definitely played a big part in the company’s growth. When someone has a mold problem, they usually will go to google and search for a mold inspection company as people who have never had problems with mold would not know of a company to help. Now you know if you have a problem with mold you can call Mold Spotters and they will be happy to help!

Mold Spotters stands out from the other companies in their industry as they are not involved in mold remediation. They will come to your house to give you a full inspection and will tell you if you have a problem and if they recommend remediation or not. If they do, they will give you suggestions for mold remediation companies in your area. This means that Mold Spotters do not gain from telling an individual that they have an issue as they do not do any work that may follow after the inspection. There have been incidents where companies would be dishonest to the customers and tell them they had a mold problem just to make them go the further step and get the remediation as they would be getting paid for it. You can feel confident if you go to Mold Spotters that their recommendations will be accurate, honest, and unbiased.
​
Dave is working now on achieving his goal of expanding the country nationwide so there will be inspectors in every major city in every state. He would like to have more people start delegating different areas of his business so he can focus on expansion. If you are going to need an inspection I would make sure you call Mold Spotters. You will not be disappointed!

Mold Spotters is based in Braintree, MA. You can contact them via:
Phone: 781-664-9511
Website: www.moldtestinspections.com
Facebook: @moldspotters

​Author: Jessica Kilduff, BSU student

​Sigma Mechanical Services, located in Marshfield Massachusetts, was founded by Dave Tucker in 1997. Tucker attended a vocational high school in Wakefield where he learned all about the trade of plumbing and HVAC. At 33 years old, Tucker decided to further his education and attended Boston College and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in business management. Tucker combined his knowledge of both plumbing and business and decided to establish Sigma. Tucker met his wife at BC and credits his success to her. Right out of college, Tucker began picking up residential jobs to get his name out and foot in the door. After gaining more information about the business world, Tucker began tackling bigger commercial projects and started to bring members to his team.
 
When asked what he would have done differently if he could go back in time, Tucker said he would not change much. Tucker felt that at 33 he was old and mature enough to tackle on the new obstacle of owning a business. He found skills in college he never knew he had including accounting, sales and management. Although it was a tough road, Tucker believes being humble, having self-drive and putting in the hard work helped him become successful. Like any other business owner, Tucker has found himself in some obstacles. Finances were the biggest struggle Tucker encountered when starting up Sigma. Tucker had just graduated from BC and found himself in years and years of debt making it hard to afford a company vehicle and getting the company afloat.  2020 has been a challenging year for many due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sigma was lucky enough to be considered an essential company and had work that needed to get done. Tucker noted the hardest part of 2020 was the uncertainty that came from the pandemic. Tucker credits his employees for following the safety precautions at work and home. 2020 is also an election year and although that does not play a huge roll in the company, Tucker has found in the past during election years construction production can slow down due to not knowing who will win the election and how it will affect the economy.   
 
Technology is rapidly changing, and Sigma stays up to date with it. Tucker has supplied his employees with iPads and iPhones with equipped applications and programs to help the jobs run smoothly. Technology has made it easier for employees to go through programs and training. Employees have an app called Procore installed on their phones that allows them to see what jobs they are working on and all the blueprints to these jobs. The team now uses lasers instead of levels, and electronic tape measures. Technology has definitely been an efficient way to help the employees complete their jobs. Sigma no longer uses social media to boost their cliental. Sigma use to be a residential company but since transitioning to commercial they no longer seek work, work seeks them. The contractors of a project look for subcontractors which is where Sigma puts bids in to obtain the projects. Because of this Tucker no longer needs to account for advertising costs.

​In 6 months to a year, Tucker wants Sigma to remain steady. Tucker is happy with job performance and does not except the company to double its profits. Tucker wants to be able to provide what he can for the company as well as his employees. He believes if the team was successful last year, they can do it again. Tucker does not plan to step away from Sigma any time soon, he wants to always be involved in the company. Tucker would like to see himself give his employees more wiggle room to complete jobs on their own and see them succeed without his guidance all the time. Sigma is a very established company with many happy clients. What makes them stand out against competitors? Tucker believes his competitors are the company’s best assets. Sigma employees go the extra mile when working on projects and put pride into their work, whereas other companies only do the work for the money. Sigma has a variety of different workmanship who bring the whole project together. The employees strive to resemble trust and integrity to reflect only positive thoughts about Sigma.
 
The employees of Sigma make up the team. Tucker has a service department, construction department and office department. Tucker would rate his employees job performance as 95% of them are performing at high rates. When finding the right candidates to add to his team, Tucker looks at resumes, qualifications and work history. He also wants to get to know the individual on a personal level, what their family is like, interests, and hobbies. Tucker knows not everyone is perfect all the time, but his employees all bring different attributes to make his team successful.
 
While at BC, Tucker was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu the honor society. He incorporated the society as his company’s name and logo. Sigma means with integrity and trust which is what the company wants to portray. Tucker also honored BC by making the companies colors the universities colors; maroon and gold. Dave Tucker has a lot of wisdom and has flourished in the field of plumbing and business. 

Sigma Mechanical Services is located in Marshfield, MA.
 
You can contact them via:
Phone: 781-837-9994
Email: info@sigmams.com
Website: sigmams.com

​Author: Edsangela Pereira, BSU student

In an interview with owner Derick Andrade, I learned more about M&D Staging and the business.

Tell me a little bit about your business with details like how you started it and what motivates you to do it.
I started M&D Staging, which is a home staging and furnishing business, back in December of 2017. I have always had a passion for decorating and designing interior spaces. I chose this specific line because it gives me freedom of designing open spaces without any feedback or input from the customer.  A majority of our clients are investors and real estate agents that wanted the spaces to look inviting and spacious and are not concerned with color scheme or any other specifics.
I started this business because I wanted more flexibility of a work schedule and wanted to be my own boss. I worked a corporate job for 13 years and did not like the fact that I had to answer to someone else.

To you, what was the toughest part about starting your own business?
The toughest part about opening a business is obtaining customers. Getting out, marketing, and finding people to give you a chance so you can prove that you can get the job done. The second toughest thing is obtaining enough capital to get started and to continue to run. I was inspired by the quality of work I had done and the feeling of accomplishment as the business started to grow.
​
If you had to start from the beginning what would you do different and what was the challenges you faced throughout the process?
I would have focused more on my marketing efforts and invested in ways to generate leads. The most difficult challenge was finding the correct customer base.

In your opinion and what you have seen in the past years of business, what makes your business stand out?
What make us stand out from the others are three things: Price, Timely service, and Flexibility.

What is the hardest part about having a business in 2020 with the pandemic?
The toughest part of having a business thus far is the COVID Pandemic. It has limited the number of houses that investors could or would buy. A majority of our business is with investors that renovate houses to put back on the market to sell for a profit.
 
How have you been getting customers or what has been the most successful way to get them?
The number one way we currently bring in customers is word of mouth.

Has social media help your business in anyway?
Social media has not played a big part in our growth.

Do you believe that the media/internet could play a bigger role in businesses if you had the right tools?
Yes, I feel like internet can play a bigger role in getting us in front of a larger audience.
 
If you could look 6 months from now, what or where would you like to see your business heading to?
I would like to see us with 30 percent more revenue growth and a full time staff. Would like to manage more projects and do less of the manual labor.

M&D Staging is located in Rehoboth, MA.

Contact them via:
Phone: 401-323-3911
Email: mdinteriordesign@yahoo.com
Facebook: @MandDStaging

​Author: Kevin Perry, BSU student

I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick Fey, owner of Custom Scales located in Plymouth MA. Custom Scale is a selling, servicing, and renting of weight-based measurement devices. Interviewing Patrick was a great experience for me, learning about an industry that I hardly even knew existed, his knowledge of the company and the industry was astounding for only being 24 years old.

How did you start his company, what year did it start?
The Company was originally around 1987, my father built the business up from the ground up, and I ended up owning the company. My father previously worked at a smaller scale company that fell apart, and once he was free to pursuit his own goals, he started his own company.
 
What was it that made you want to start this business?
 My father believed that with his prior knowledge, he could successfully start, and manage a similar business.
 
What is the toughest part about owning a business in 2020?
Competing with online resources, such as Amazon, where they focus on the quantity of what they are selling, we focus on the quality. So, when other retailers are selling cheap scales that people are going to buy without caring about the quality, we focus on the having the best quality scales. Focusing on quality over quantity, can be hard in 2020 when people want to quickly buy something.
 
Why should consumers choose you, over your competitors?
Service. Service is our main priority, while customers pay more for our scales, they are also receiving service that is unmatched in our industry. Personally, I will be here for the life of their scales, and am available for service, repairs, or any questions the customer may have.

What is the number 1 way you bring in new customers?
Currently, word of mouth is the best way to gain new customers for us. We rarely get new business online, but our service is good, and word travels in our industry that we will be there to handle all of their needs.
 
Could expanding your online market help your business grow?
If we were to move to a more online market, then we would need to sacrifice service and quality, for cheaper and lower quality products. I think that it could help in terms of renting equipment, and servicing equipment, but beyond that I think it would have a negative impact on the reputation we have worked hard to achieve.
 
If you had to look 6 months to a year into the future, where would you like to see your business be?
In 6 months, I am aiming to have more customers, and to increase my own knowledge of the industry.
 
What is currently driving you in this business?
I want to be as hands on as possible with my clients, I love the business and the technology side of it.
 
What was your fathers’ motivation when getting this business up and running?
When my father was initially starting the business up, he already had 2 children relying on him, so failure wasn’t an option for him. His knowledge of the industry was already there, so he just had to apply his knowledge to real life.
 
Their website showcases many different types of new products, as well as a large number of used inventory. Following their dedication to top of the line services, you can request additional information on any scale they have for sale. Custom Scale of Plymouth has been leading the industry in customer service for over 33 years, with a younger owner taking the reins, who is committed to the goal his father had in mind when creating this company. When searching for weight based measurement devices, remember to contact Custom Scale. 

Visit Custom Scale at 34 Woodbine Drive in Plymouth, MA.
​
Contact them via:
Phone: 508-747-3519
Email: patrickfey@customscaleandbalance.com
Website: www.customscaleandbalance.com