Hello All
Hello, I am not currently working in this field, I am a REALTOR, also taking care of a bedridden MIL. since real estate has taken a dive and MIL on hospice, all income can stop at any time. I have always had an interest in this field and I have been looking into it as a job change. I can not find anyone in my area that is willing to train or take me out on job site to observe. I have been told by several people that the jobs are sporatic and usually have enough staff on hand to cover it. Start up costs are high with needed equip. so starting my own company is out of the question right now.
Any ideas on how to get into the field, and what I can do to get started and be ready with low cost training as far as entry experience needed. Im in Bakersfield,Ca thanks Deb
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This post has 4 comments
April 15th, 2008
Deb,
Thanks for your post. Most, if not all, of what you stated in your post is true. Business is sporatic and most companies do have enough trained employees on staff. The start-up costs for a new business can be high, but not out of reach. The first step you would have to take is to find a reputable company that offers training, such as http://www.biotrauma911.com. Since you are in California, you may want to find a similar company on the westcoast. If you are unable to locate one, please contact me at bstone@biotrauma911.com. The cost of training varies, but will probably run you about $1,200 plus travel, lodging, food, etc.
Once trained, your initial purchase of supplies, office equipment, tools, etc. can be purchased for under $5,000. This will give you enough inventory to complete a few jobs. No need for a fancy office, as many such companies are run from home. Since most jobs will require two techicians, I would recommend finding a business partner. This should be someone with the same or similar business ideas and goals that you have.
California is one of the few states that regulates the crime and trauma scene cleanup industry. If you decide to start your own business, make sure you research the laws and regulations governing this industry in your state.
Should you need any additional information, please feel free to contact me at bstone@biotrauma911.com.
Brandon
June 22nd, 2008
From: Gordy Powell
Vice President of ABRA
P.O. BOX 375
Powder Springs, GA 30127
Re: Annual ABRA Conference
Dear Fellow Biorecovery Tech,
I wanted to take this opportunity to personally invite you to the annual ABRA conference this year which will be held at the MGM Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas this September 22-24 (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday), with a social Meet & Greet the evening of Sunday the 21st. A gentle reminder to you that you do not have to be a member of ABRA to attend the conference, simply someone with common interest or even on that would like to know more about the industry before taking the plunge of opening your own doors. I am happy to announce the following guest and guest speakers and topics will be:
Peter J. Crosa: Peters subject and national training course topic “Soft selling hard adjusters”. Weather you specialize in biorecovery or other facets of remediation; you will be able to take what you learn from Peter to facilitate your own business. Peter will focus on how to best market to adjusters in your area and will teach you back door marketing techniques that most companies are unaware of. Peter will also teach you how to build relationships with adjusters to build your business so they will know that you are the professional.
Mike Masterson: Mike is the latest of a new installment for the Discovery Channel. You may have seen him on his show Verminators. Mike will educate us on what other dangers his industry foresees for our industry when entering a house infested with rodent , pigeon and bat carcasses, as well as the droppings. Mike will tell us that there is more than hantavirus and histoplasmosis to be concerned with. Mike will also touch on the topic of bedbugs which many of us are getting calls on these days.
Will Marling: Will is the Executive Director of NOVA (National Organization of Victims Assistance). Will has introduced to NOVA a new first responder’s emotional first aid. We believe that this would be a valuable tool and topic for the responding technicians of our industry. Mr. Marling will also focus on what signs to look for in our own technicians should their concerns need to be addressed.
Dan Levy: Dan is the President of Parents of Murdered Children and also holds a board position with NOVA. Dan will educate us on the sensitive nature of incidents involving murdered children and how to aid the surviving family members of such an ordeal. You may be filling the void between the actual incident and the arriving counseling.
Bill Jenkins: We are very excited to have Bill Jenkins return this year. Bill is the Author of “What to do after the Police Leave”. This book is a must for every scene you go to. I personally hand bills book out to at least 95% of the calls we arrive to. I almost always get a call back thanking me for leaving this valuable book with the survivors.
Matthew Dovel: Matthew is the President of ISP (International Suicide Prevention), and a special guest of ABRA’s this year. ISP is there for pre and post support for families when faced with a suicide. Those that are close to someone that commits suicide are seven times more likely to later on in life attempt a suicide as a way to deal with a difficult life issue. Generally these individuals are not aware of the need to seek professional help when dealing with a tragedy of this magnitude. Matthew will educate us on what signs to look for, and how to be proactive in ones attempt to survive a suicide.
Situation Room: We will have a video of a trauma scene clean up with obvious and not so obvious errors being made. See if you can pick out the mistakes and take part in the discussion of how you might have handled the remediation differently.
ABRA in Your Community: There will be a forum to oversee the advantages having ABRA introduced into your community. What can this mean and what can this do for you. Learn by what others have done to create education and awareness in their home towns.
Should you have interest in attending you may contact our Conference Director, Dan Pinkston at dpink76912@aol.com. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Take Care,
Gordy / Atlanta
September 4th, 2008
Hello Deb in Bakersfield,
My name is David O’Brien owner and operator of http://www.CrimeSceneCleanTeam.com which is a registered TSWM Practitioner in the State of California. We operate in numerous SoCal counties from Kern County down to the border out to Riverside, Palm Springs, San Bernadino and as well as Southern Nevada (Las Vegas areas). There are approximately 200 registered TSWM Practitioners throughout California, some who actively practice and some who simply registered to have the license but do NOT practice. When I say practice I mean they do not go out to Crime/Trauma Scenes to decon/clean/remediate the incident.
Brandon had mentioned several things which in my opinion are correct, he also had failed to mention some very vital info regarding the startup costs.
Training: There are several Training Facilities out there (Massachusetts, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and in Southern California) http://www.CTS-Decon-Training-Academy.com
Each training facility has it’s own criteria as to what they teach some teach more than others, some have books, some have DVD training, some have online and others have hands-on. As Brandon mentioned some training may cost about $1200.00 plus air and ground transportation, accommodations, food, time away from work/family, etc.
PPE Personal Protective Equipment; this is the gear (Apparel) which bio-technicians wear. Then the tools, there are numerous tools (equipment) of the trade; power tools, hand tools, hepa vacs, ozone generators, several types of respirators, high pressure vapor steamers, foggers, the list goes on and on.
Medical Waste Disposal: you should have a contractual agreement with either a Federally Regulated Medical Waste Treatment Facility and/or a licensed Medical Waste Transporter.
Insurances: General Liability, Professional, Umbrella, Commercial Vehicle, etc.
Licensing: State, City, County
Vehicle: something adequate, you can get by with a pickup or large SUV. Most prefer utility/cargo box van/truck (Plumbers truck). An enclosed trailer is highly suggested to keep all your bio self contained away from you while traveling.
Advertising/Marketing: website, internet/search engines, yellowpages, direct mailings, etc.
With that being said it is very costly to get started. Many have started and never got off the ground.
With proper training for safety, techniques, and marketing a new start up company can do well. In fact you can make all your monies back after your 1st few jobs.
$5000.00 is no way close going to getting you started.
Nothing under $10,000.00, then you should have working capital to help get you by while marketing your biz
Everything mentioned is a write off.
I hope that what little info which Brandon and I had mentioned may be of assistance to you, if you should have any questions feel free contacting me personally http://www.CrimeSceneCleanTeam.com
Have a splendid day, be safe and be wll… God Bless
David O’Brien
CSCT/RR
S. California
Las Vegas, NV
October 16th, 2008
First I want to apologize to David for not approving this post a long time ago. Unfortunately, it feel through the cracks and I was unaware that it was awaiting approval.
David is absolutely correct about costs, as $10,000 to start a business is not unreasonable and would better enable you to do so much more to get your new business started on the right foot. However as I stated in my post, after you pay for the training course, $5,000 will purchase all of the tools and equipment needed to do your first few jobs. $5,000 will not work if you have to buy a van or truck, but I would encourage you to use whatever is available and not purchase a new vehicle until you see some positive cash flow. Your upfront costs for insurance in this industry will be minimal, at least in Indiana, as the majority of the costs will be spread out over several payments. You can design a very simple internet site and get it online for as little as $15 a month and purchase a minimum amount of business cards and letterhead for less than $200.
Keep in mind though, as David mentioned, it’s important to have some operating funds on hand and your $5,000 start up money won’t afford any extra to keep in your bank account.
Thank you David for your post and again, I apologize for not approving this post sooner.