|
|
|
Helping Sites for Sore Eyes
Neil G. Payne is the founder and principal of Payne Environmental, LLC which does environmental consulting and project management.
Vital Statistics
Company: Payne Environmental, LLC, 499 Prospect Street, New Haven (203-421-2288)
No. locations: 3
Founded: August, 1997
Startup costs: $10,000-$20,000
Revenues (current year): $600,000
Principal: Neil G. Payne
No. employees: 7
|
Business New Haven
2/7/2000
By: Priscilla Searles
|
Why did you decide to go it alone, and
how hard was it?
I was with another firm and had reached a plateau. It was as far as I was going to go there. I also had a disagreement in business philosophy, so I decided to go out on my own. My start-up cost was low because this is a consulting business - I needed an office, plus computers and software. Most of what was needed was in my head. I go to the client, so I don't need fancy offices. The whole thing took place in a matter of days. I called up former clients and told them I was starting my own venture and some decided to jump on board. Today we have an office in Madison and a sales office in South Glastonbury. We're in the process of moving our West Haven office to New Haven because 60 to 70 percent of our business is in New Haven County and we want a presence in New Haven.
What's the key to success in starting
a new business?
In this day and age, service is going to separate a lot of firms from others. It's not about how big you are; it's how you get the job done. Everyone in our firm has one priority - our clients. Our mission isn't about money; it's about seeing our clients achieve their goals.
What was your biggest challenge?
My greatest challenge was understanding the financial and accounting end of business, something I hadn't done before. We succeeded in integrating our sales, deliverable services and our accounting. In essence it gets back to being able to deliver a program on or under budget. Those three things must be integrated because you're going to get feedback at the end of a project.
Give us a thumbnail description
of the business.
We have five engineers and two scientists. We do site investigation, remedial design and project management. We look at the property and access it - what are the risks, what is the property going to be used for. That's the key, [because] the level of cleanup is higher for a nursery school than, say, a manufacturing firm. Then we provide management, oversee the project. The Board of Education in New Haven, for example, is considering a new school. We investigated approximately 12 properties, looking at first the interiors, then the land. A project such as that covers removal of any controlled and contaminated materials. Once that part is done, sub-surface materials must be removed. We develop written specifications that the qualified specialist and contractors must follow. Examples include removal of underground storage tanks, remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater.
When did we as a society start becoming more aware of environmental issues?
The bulk of environmental laws came out in the 1970s, then there were revisions in the '80s and '90 - so you can see how new government control is. We live in a reactive society - we see a lot of companies becoming very pro-active in the way they do business. But if everyone was compliant with environment regulations there wouldn't be any polluted sites. Today we go into manufacturing firms, providing environmental engineering services - air, water and waste management services. Companies are subject to a lot of regulations and want to be in compliance. They want to be good corporate citizens and are responsible to shareholders. We go in and assist them, whether it's air-pollution control or waste management. We're also dealing with financial institutions because they are involved in real estate transactions and they want to know what the environmental liability of the property is. The property could be a refinancing or a sale.
Where are environmental services going in the future?
A lot of what we'll be seeing will involve the redevelopment of abandoned or under-utilized properties. Connecticut is an old industrial state, and the types of businesses are changing. But we're still dealing with the same land.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
