Chief Exec Viewpoint | PPC97 November 2019

I write this on the autumnal equinox as we officially pass from summer into autumn.

To a great extent, we work in an industry where the seasons matter because some of the pests we deal with have variable activity during the year.

Even then, some pests do not obey the rules of seasonality and may appear earlier and depart later than their expected timeframe.

It’s not just weather and pests that have their seasons. This is true for our businesses and for us as individuals.

As individuals, we may be in the spring, summer, autumn or winter of our lives and the joy of the pest control sector is that there are opportunities for all regardless of the season of life we may find ourselves in.

Some come or came into the industry in the spring of their lives and remain while the summer, autumn and winter of their lives occur.

The flexibility of our sector makes it appealing to people of all ages and, as your trade association, we need to ensure the sector is attractive to potential employees.

Few people wake one morning thinking they want to be a pest controller.

The same is true of the businesses in our sector. Each year we see the new growth of spring as new businesses are established.

Equally, we see long-established businesses reach their winter season and disappear.

Sometimes they appear as something else, other times they disappear altogether. That is the natural rhythm of life.

Despite these seasons and rhythms, we can choose to be out of season just like some of the pests we deal with.

Some new businesses move rapidly from the initial enthusiasm of spring to the inevitable conclusion of winter.

Thankfully, business failure rates appear to be very low in our sector, certainly compared to others.

Part of the season of business is often when they decide to join a trade association.

We are fortunate as a trade association that we have members in every season - we can support them at every stage, starting with our probationary scheme in their spring season as new businesses and all the milestones thereafter.

Perhaps we need to consider if we have all the appropriate member support and engagement opportunities for businesses at all stages of their lifecycle.

Could we do more to support those businesses looking to sell up or those looking to grow?

It would be good to understand what this support might look like.

Whatever season you and your business are in, your trade association is here to support you.

IAN ANDREW
BPCA Chief Executive
ian@bpca.org.uk