Hidden Gems: Meet David Lesaffre of T.A.C.T. 48, T.A.C.T. AZ, & T.A.C.T. Ft Worth

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Lesaffre.

Hi David, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was in the car business for 20+ years. I managed the parts and service departments of dealerships. At the end of that career path I was a traveling consultant. I would travel all over the United States, helping dealerships with their customer satisfaction scores and profitability. My father getting older in age became more of a recluse and would go a week or 2 between communications. While I was on a trip my wife and neighbor did a stop in to check on dad. They found he had passed away, we later figured in must of been at least 8 days till we found him. The police informed my wife that she needed to hire a bio-hazard company to clean the house. While I was flying back home, my wife hired a company to do the needed cleanup. It took 3 days for them to complete and during that time, we would have to call for updates, and once we were able to reenter the house we found that all the food was disposed of, and the refrigerator was emptied. Later we learned why. A couple weeks later, I’m having a beer with Mike, he says “David, I’m glad you hired someone to cleanup your fathers mess. That isn’t a memory you need to have,” It hit me so hard! That’s a memory no one should have of a loved one. I said “You’re right! I am quitting my job tomorrow and I’m going to figure our how to open this business.” Mike said “do it”. When I got home I told my wife about my decision and she said “Do it” The very next morning I call my boss and explained that I was resigning and why. He too was supportive of my decision. Fast forward 7 months later, I have purchased a franchise, bought a truck, trailer and all need equipment, attended training, got certifications, licenses and insurance. I am ready to go. I realize I need a office manager, and support, so I tell my wife Leanne, quit your job and let’s do this. She does, our second month in business we are more profitable than what we were use to earning in our previous careers. By the end of our 1 year we purchase and second location and a third location the following year. So what is it we exactly do? We are a bio-hazard remediation company we help clean up the worse messes, suicide, homicide, unattended death, decomp, hoarding, rodent remediation and much more. Our tag line is “The Last Responder” as we work hand in hand with First Responders. We currently have 9 municipalities we assist across Arizona. We will service the entire state.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Growth struggles are the biggest we have had, not finding people, but learning how to step away and let others take over. We are always working on the business, weather its marketing, events, training, people development. Learning money management, new applications, technology etc.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a bio-hazard firm. We specialize in suicide cleanup, homicide cleanup, undiscovered death, decomp, hoarding, rodent remediation, etc. If its super gross and you don’t know who to call, it probably us.

What sets us apart, going back to the how we got started, is we make sure we are over communicative, letting the client know the process completely, following up regularly, that is what was lacking in my service experience. Making sure the team member represent the brand correctly, in uniform, compassionate for the person we are helping. Well trained and verse in the products and services we provide.

T.A.C.T. stands for Trauma And Casualty Team or as my wife says Thoughtful And Caring Treatment

Having had this need in our past, makes it so we can emphases better with our clients

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Make sure you are ready to put in the work, nothing just comes to you. Makes sure you have reserves, and can manage money. Don’t just hire someone to handle things, constantly inspect what you expect. I see other franchises hire a marketing person, or a book keeper and let them go, and then a couple months later things didn’t go to plan, or their books are all messed up. This is your baby and not theirs, they will not care for it as well as you will. That doesn’t mean you do the work, you only need to manage the results.

Pricing:

• Bio hazard is often cover by home owners insurance

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tact48.com | www.tactaz.com | www.tactftworth.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/TACT-48-100088434897823/ | https://www.facebook.com/p/TACT-AZ-61553391347998/ | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573284341049