Alex Slitz/Daily NewsBarb Higdon and Trent Young, both of Bowling Green, own SERVPRO.

Each week, the Daily News profiles a locally owned business.

Name of business: SERVPRO of Butler, Hopkins, Ohio, Muhlenberg and Edmonson counties.

Location: 446 Industrial Drive South, Morgantown; servpro9751@yahoo.com, 270-875-4883, servproofHOME.com

Type of business: Fire and water cleanup and restoration, mold remediation

When did it open? October 2009

Owners: Scott and Barb Higdon and Trent and Lee Young

Number of employees: Six

Specialties: Fire, smoke and soot restoration; water removal and dehumidification; mold mitigation and remediation; catastrophic storm response; air duct and HVAC cleaning; deodorization; carpet, upholstery, drape and blind cleaning; crime scene and vandalism cleanup

How did the business get started? We wanted a business that helps people and is always in demand. If you have a pipe burst or a fire, you need help to get your house or business back in order. We felt there was a need in our community and surrounding counties for a company with these types of services. After much research we decided on SERVPRO because it offered a great opportunity to help people during their difficult time. SERVPRO is the largest cleaning and restoration company in the (United States), therefore we would not have to reinvent the wheel to be successful.

What is your background? Scott has been in banking/mortgage lending for the last 25 years. For more than 10 years he was a partner in a mortgage company. Barb has been a teacher for 14 years and is very involved in her church, booster clubs and school. Trent has spent the last 20 years in sales since graduating from (Western Kentucky University) in 1990. For the last 12 years he was involved in pharmaceutical sales. He now works full-time with SERVPRO. His wife, Lee, is a teacher at St. Joseph Catholic school where she teaches music and is also the music director at State Street United Methodist Church.

What are your biggest challenges as a business? Letting people know we are here to help them and what we do. Our franchise is in its second year so we spend a large amount of time getting information to the appropriate people. Also, to perform work as it should be done takes much training. We send our employees to specialized schools to learn the proper techniques so that when we get to the job site we are prepared.

What’s your business philosophy? Make it “like it never even happened.” We want our customers to know not just what we are doing but also why we are doing things in a certain manner. We believe that the more communication we have with the customer the better. We also understand that for many customers, their loss is a traumatizing event. It is our desire for customers to know that we are there to help them.

What issues are affecting your industry? Dealing with many different insurance companies that have different requirements for us to work with them. It can be time consuming keeping up with all the requirements that constantly change, such as software, paperwork, training and equipment.

What are the factors that make your business successful? The main factor is doing what we say we will do. We don’t make promises that we cannot keep. Also having a great group of employees who work together as a team makes us successful. Many of us at SERVPRO are multitaskers. We have all experience working in the administrative department, the marketing department and the production department. We feel that hands-on experience makes us more educated about our job processes as a whole.

How do you handle competition? We don’t dwell on what other companies are doing. We focus our time and energy on what we can do to be the best.

What is your advice to someone thinking about opening a business? Do your research as to demand for your service/product. Find someone in your prospective field that can be a mentor. Have the financial resources to deal with slow times. Nothing happens as quickly as you think it will and it will cost more than you think it will.