BROWNSTOWN
Kamron Burch began a business three years ago doing small construction and excavation projects.
It grew to the point where he and his now-fiancée, Sara Fleetwood, hired Hank Ogle, Dave Raby and Travis McElfresh to add elements to the business, known as Burch’s Construction and Excavation and Burch’s Sewer and Drain Cleaning.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
A few months ago, Burch received his septic license, so that added more to their capabilities.
The Brownstown-based business’ namesake couldn’t be happier with how everything has progressed in such a short time.
“It started as me and Sara doing small projects and then just kept growing and kept getting busier,” Burch said.
“I hired Hank, and it just kept getting busier,” he said. “We hired Dave, and then Travis calls and says, ‘Hey, you hiring?’ I said, ‘I’ll find something for you to do.’ He was only supposed to be part time, and he was here every day and we had to have the help. We’ve been very fortunate.”
Before starting his own business, Burch hauled propane and did a lot of side work.
“I was finally told by another business owner that ‘You’re going to have to make up your mind whether you want to keep doing side work, do it full time or do a business,’” Burch said. “He said, ‘You’re never home. You never rest or anything.’”
He put in his notice at work and received advice in becoming an entrepreneur.
“I’ve been very fortunate I’ve had a lot of help along the way,” Burch said. “There are small businesses in Seymour and Brownstown that have helped me out tremendously.”
He started with construction.
“I bought Drain Master out of Columbus, and then that stuff sat in my basement probably six months before I even touched it because we were doing construction,” Burch said. “I finally started using it, and we pretty much do both now, from construction to excavation.”
Burch said he has done just about every kind of construction inside and outside homes, and he and Fleetwood buy and sell houses, too.
“I don’t like to hire much out when we buy and sell houses, so I either learn or one of these guys knows how to do it,” Burch said.
Each of his employees has a specific job they do.
“Travis is an equipment operator. That’s pretty much what I hired him for,” Burch said. “Then Dave is the concrete guy, Hank is a construction guy and then Sara helps me and does all of the paperwork, too.”
Burch and McElfresh used to work together for the Indiana Department of Transportation.
“He pretty much runs his side of the business, the excavation side,” Burch said of McElfresh. “I don’t do too much unless he says, ‘Hey, I need help.’ He does all of the estimates, all of that on the excavation side.”
Before McElfresh joined the business, Burch said they did some excavation here and there.
“When Travis came on board, we decided it’s just something we’re going to have to offer because he can run about any kind of equipment that we’ve got or we can get,” Burch said. “I don’t hesitate one bit with him on equipment.”
Burch said he chose to pursue his septic license through the Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professionals Association Inc. when he kept receiving calls about doing septic work.
“I didn’t have a license, so we couldn’t do it,” he said. “I finally got with Larry Miller at the health department, and he told me to go to this school. I would up going to this school, passed the test and I’m good in a lot of counties.”
That already has resulted in an uptick in business, Burch said.
The business now does a lot of work involving culvert pipes, driveways, sewer lines and septics.
“I don’t hire any concrete guys to come in. We’re capable of doing it all,” Burch said. “We’re trying to get to a one-stop shop where we don’t have to have anybody to help us.”
Most of their work is in the area.
“We’re in a field that people are going to need. You’re going to have to have sewer line work and stuff like that,” Burch said. “We’re a small business, we don’t have a lot of overhead at all, we don’t have a storefront, so I can keep my prices cheap to help people out. I try to work with everybody.”
Burch has made the most of being an entrepreneur so far, and he plans to continue on the positive track.
“My grandpa has always owned his own business in Evansville, and I can see why now,” Burch said. “Grandpa always did his own thing, from mowing grass to owning a powder-coating shop. I said, ‘Well, I’m going to try it,’ and we’ve been very fortunate. We have great customers. I don’t know if I could ever work for anybody else.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Burch’s Construction and Excavation and Burch’s Sewer and Drain Cleaning is based in Brownstown.
For information, call Kamron Burch at 812-530-9034, visit facebook.com/burchseweranddraincleaning or email [email protected].
[sc:pullout-text-end]