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I’ve got plenty of pests to be thankful for
Don’t even get the author started on insects that look like they should be in a Star Wars movie, like this praying mantis. PHOTO: ANTAGAIN/E+/GETTY IMAGES A few weeks ago, my son Trey and I were...
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Schopen Pest Solutions promotes operations manager
Laura Lentz McHenry, Ill.-based Schopen Pest Solutions has promoted its office manager, Laura Lentz, to operations manager. In her new duties, Lentz oversees all aspects of operations such as service...
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Instill professional pride in your team
Schopen Pest Solutions’ Observational Biologist Mark Berry proudly emerges from a crawlspace in Wood Dale, Ill., after an inspection. PHOTO: SCHOPEN PEST SOLUTIONS When was the last time you saw a pest...
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Schopen Pest Solutions’ growth goals for 2021
PHOTO: PICT RIDER/ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES What a stressful year 2020 was: forest fires, hurricanes, civil unrest, a hotly contested presidential election and COVID-19 shutting down...
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Schopen Pest Solutions promotes general manager
Wendy Sepsey PHOTO: SCHOPEN PEST SOLUTIONS Schopen Pest Solutions has promoted Wendy Sepsey from director of billing to its first-ever general manager. In the three years she has been with the McHenry,...
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Delegate, and only hold meetings that matter
The newly reconvened Schopen leadership team consists of, from left: Michelle Bennett, a CSR team member; Chris Baumann, manager of the McHenry branch; Wendy Sepsey, general manager; and Chris Halsema,...
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Money opportunities abound, if you’re willing to work for them
By fourth grade, the author was both a groovy dresser and a full-fledged chaw addict. PHOTO: PETE SCHOPEN When I was 9 years old, I started chewing tobacco. I know what you’re thinking: “What...
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Becoming a pest management professional
Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, the author’s boss is Pete Schopen, whose “Start-Up Diaries” columns can be found here. Chris Baumann I became a pest management professional by accident. In 2018, I...
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Marking two milestones in one year at Schopen Pest Solutions
Pete Schopen discusses how he and his team are celebrating 15 years of McHenry, Ill.-based Schopen Pest Solutions throughout 2021 in his latest column “Going and growing, since 2006.” It’s also the...
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Schopen Pest Solutions: Going and growing, since 2006
Pete Schopen Fifteen years ago, I started Schopen Pest Solutions. Fifteen years! I was 36 years old with a beat-up Chevy Colorado, an even older B&G sprayer, two maxed-out credit cards and a...
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Letting a valued employee move on
J-Red made friends with many of his customers — and their pets. PHOTO: PETE SCHOPEN As Neil Sedaka once famously sang, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.” When you run a small business, that is so true. There...
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Make safety a priority
The author gears up for an aggressive yellowjacket job. PHOTO: PETE SCHOPEN When I was four years old, I ran through a plate glass window. It is one of my earliest childhood memories. It was early...
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Do what’s right, not what’s easy
PHOTO: BERNARDBODO/ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES About 20 years ago, when I was a technician for my dad’s pest control company, I was running late because the office staff had given me the...
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The importance of the sales process
Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a two-part column. Part II will appear in the November issue. Photo: LightFieldStudios/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images During my junior year of college, my...
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It’s time to raise rates
This is one of two non-stock rooms filled with product at Schopen Pest Solutions, because the company purchased as much material as it could to avoid supply disruption and take advantage of lower...
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Growth merits another building
The new building that the Schopen Pest Solutions’ corporate team will call home. PHOTO: PETE SCHOPEN To borrow a line from the recently freed Britney Spears: “Oops… I did it again!” I bought another...
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Of pickles and face masks
Pete Schopen with his preferred pickles. PHOTO: PETE SCHOPEN I eat pickles on tacos. Let that sink in for a minute. Onions, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese and pickles make my tacos tastier than a...
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Recruiting and retaining all-stars
Photo: Tim Klein Twenty years ago, when I was the general manager of my dad’s company, I had a customer call me saying our tech had stolen a garbage bag full of his favorite “electric lettuce.” When...
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Schopen Pest Solutions promotes 2 employees
Schopen Pest Solutions has promoted Christopher Baumann from branch manager to director of operations, and Mark Berry was promoted from quality control manager to branch manager of Schopen’s flagship...
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Parting isn’t always sweet sorrow
Photo: designer491/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images “It says here on your application that your name is Genghis Khan. Is that spelled with one ‘h’ or two? Do you have a reliable vehicle to get...
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