When I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey, I was convinced that every little snafu would be the end of my business. My first venture was an indoor air quality company. Now, I didn’t know a thing about the industry, but back then, everyone was buzzing about something called sick building syndrome. I read that a bill was making its way through Congress that would require all commercial buildings to have their HVAC systems inspected and, if dirty, cleaned and sanitized. It sounded like a goldmine! Spoiler alert: the bill never passed. But hey, it turned out to be a decent business anyway. We cleaned systems in many hospitals and schools around LA, and even the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. After five years, I sold the business.

Now, back to those snafus. My crews typically worked nights and weekends. They were great guys, hardworking, and generally conscientious, but sometimes their choices left me scratching my head. I used to dread my assistant walking into my office on Monday mornings with a “You have to take this call.” Thankfully, these instances were rare, but they were memorable.

Like the time a school district facility manager called me up, fuming, “The staff at the school left a birthday cake in the refrigerator over the weekend to celebrate the headmaster’s birthday today. Your crew ate it

Then there was the call from a Warner Bros facility manager, “There are bubbles coming out of the air vents!”

But the real adrenaline kicker was the call that patched me into a communication line with the heads of the LA Hazmat team and the LA Fire Department. “Mr. Hurren, we have evacuated the pharmaceutical facility your crews were working in this weekend and sealed off the perimeter. What were they doing there?” Now, let me set the scene: I had told my crews it was crucial they did an excellent job on this project. They took my words to heart. Following my directions with perhaps a bit too much zeal, they applied a heavy coating of a new encapsulant to the interior of the flaking fiberglass ducts, instead of the recommended thin smear. The resulting non-toxic, harmless off-gassing lasted far longer than anticipated, unnerving the Monday morning employees who, upon smelling the unknown odor, triggered the hazmat alarm. Cue the arrival of emergency services and news helicopters hovering overhead.

The point of these stories? I learned that if I responded quickly, professionally, and took full responsibility for what had happened, we could keep our clients and even strengthen our relationships with them. We became a trusted vendor, and our clients knew that if something went wrong, we’d fix it promptly. This lesson has paid off in every business venture I’ve taken on since. Of course, there’s always someone looking to take advantage, but they are the exception, not the rule.

So, if you’re starting out and you think every little bump is going to end your business, remember: handle your snafus with grace and accountability, and you might just come out stronger on the other side.

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