About the Owner - Dave's Story
"I want to run a business that can help people, and by doing this, provide a living for my family."
Born in Wild Rose in 1965 on an October afternoon. United States Air Force veteran, served from 1987 to 1991. Awarded Airman of the quarter from the 62 CPTS for 3 consecutive quarters. Youngest of seven children. Graduated from Appleton East in 1984. Completed college degrees in Financial Management and Applied Technology while in the Air Force.
Happily married to wife Lucy since 1987, and have five children: Amanda, Ben, April, David and Emma.
We are members of Christ The Rock Community Church. God and our church are the most important things in our lives. A portion of what we earn goes toward our church and other Christian outreach activities. We do not support anything that would be considered radical. We just believe in helping people when possible and being a good example to those around us, and hope our children will want to do so also.
A Compassion International Sponsor
We sponsor a child named David through Compassion International. He had the same look on his face that our seven year old, Davey, did. It costs about $30 per month to sponsor a child. One of my goals is to grow the business to make enough profit to someday sponsor 10 - 15 kids. Every system we put in will help toward that goal. So the money spent on your system doesn't just meet the needs of me or my family, or even my employees and their families, but also helps kids around the world to reach their goals.
I started NE Wisconsin Radon Specialists in July of 2000, which was later renamed Radon Specialists of Wisconsin. We are now the largest Radon mitigation & Testing company in WI. We install an average of 15-20 systems a week, not including new construction.
Studying Radon - How it Works, How to Get Rid of It
My only professional interest since starting this business has been to study Radon, how it works and how to get rid of it. I belong to an International organization and have contact with world-leading scientists and researchers who study Radon. Two or three times each week, members of this organization receive messages regarding new research, findings, and government policies regarding Radon. My participation means that I remain informed on the latest news regarding Radon, and also that I have resources and a support system where I can turn to when help is needed.
I usually arrive at the office by 6:30 a.m. and leave around 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and I'm here from 8:00 a.m. to Noon on Saturdays. I lost my mother and my wife's sister to cancer, as well as a few friends while growing up, so this is more than a job to me. I take Radon mitigation very seriously.
I have not had one customer that wasn't happy with our quality of work or that we haven't been able to "get it right" until they are. The first system installed was in our own home, which tested at 30 pCi/L and now tests at below 1 pCi/L.
Everything that I've experienced previous to beginning this business prepared me for it. My favorite subject in High School was marketing. I participated in DECA and won prizes for advertising. Then, in the Air Force, I gained experience doing financial work and accounting for different Air Force bases. This was followed by sales and management work, then starting and selling my first business. I have the ability to look at something, break it down in my mind, and put it back together before ever working on it. This is an ability needed to work with Radon systems. And last, but not least, I have a wife that stands behind me, and has had faith in me, so that I've been able to take the necessary risks to grow this business.
A Physically Demanding Job
The hardest part of owning this business is keeping up when it's busy and finding work when it's not. This is a very physically demanding job, not for the faint of heart. We have gone through a few installers because they were not able to do the job physically or their quality of work was lacking.
Some days you might have to work in an attic where the temps get up to 150 or 170 degrees, which can be dangerous. A few months later, you might be installing a system outside in 0 degree weather. We will always be looking for qualified installers that can be trained when needed.
In Radon Mitigation, Quality Must Be Job One!
I will not send an installer to a job by themselves until they can demonstrate to us that they can install a perfect system. I would rather pass on a job than send someone out and have a less than perfect system.
Passing a certification test does not mean you know how to install a Radon system. I was mentored by three different master plumbers, two of which were certified for Radon systems. My main mentor, who was in charge of installations, had installed hundreds of systems before he taught me. After I started this business, I installed almost a thousand systems before training and mentoring my first employee. My manager, Chris, has now installed close to 3000 systems and is the mentor/trainer to our installers. None of our installers can install a system by themselves until I say they are ready