Small business owner talks about working with family and the stifling effects of Obamacare.
Jim Beito only had a cellphone and his pickup truck when he
started Insearch Corp., an Arizona-based dirt excavation service, in 1993. Now,
Beito’s business employs dozens and has branched out into recycling and equipment
maintenance management. The three-pronged service rests in the hands of his
son, Chad, and daughter, Heather. Beito talks about the trouble with government
regulation and the secret to his success.
Name: Jim Beito
Business: Insearch Corp.
Employees: 45
Location: Tempe,
Arizona
What’s the best thing about working alongside your son Chad, daughter Heather and your wife, Penny?
Obviously, you have trust, and it’s family. That makes it a lot easier. Now my son is president of all three companies, and my daughter is the marketing manager. And my wife does the bookkeeping. It’s been a great experience. The family all has their responsibilities, and together we have been very successful.
What’s the toughest challenge you’ve faced over the years?
In the beginning, it was challenging because I was alone. The first year, we did $1 million in sales, and I was working 15 to 16 hours a day. Then I would get home at night and help my wife with the billing. And I’d be back on the road again at 3 o’clock in the morning.
When my son started, that helped a lot. However, he was right out of high school. He really had no experience in anything about the business. So I had to be training him. Then when my daughter joined, that made it easier because I had more people around me. As the years went on, it did get easier.
What is your biggest challenge today?
It’s really the government regulations they keep piling on us. As far as I’m concerned, companies that employ 100 people or less, we’re the ones who get hit the hardest with all the regulations.
Today, in the state of Arizona, another government [regulation] has put a tax strain on us. It’s a 9.3 percent tax on some services and materials, and it’s very complicated. It’s creating havoc in the construction industry.
With Obamacare going into effect, that will inflict [more] on us. We have elected to stay under 50 employees because we do not want to get involved with Obamacare. Small businesses are the ones stifled because we can’t grow.
What’s the secret to your success?
Everybody’s willing to work long hours and is committed to the cause of being successful. If there’s failure, you go on with a positive mindset, and it always works. A lot of people don’t believe in themselves. They fail one time and they give up. That’s something we would never do.
Where do you see your business in the next five years?
Well, what happens to Obamacare in the next couple of years? Obviously, they’re trying to dismantle that to a certain degree, so we can feel like we can get beyond 50 employees. If they can do that, we can project to 100 employees over the next five years, and we’ll be somewhere between $35 million to $50 million in sales.
What do you like to do when you’re off the clock?
Actually, we’re not off the clock a lot. In my opinion, in order to run a very successful business, you have to be on top of what’s going on. To be quite honest, my son and I, we usually take a trip a year to go hunting for three or four days. But beyond that, we really enjoy running the business. We enjoy being successful. It’s not always about the money. It’s about being successful and the challenge of that.
