Kim Hatch was at rock bottom. After seven grueling years working as a police officer in a domestic violence unit, she lost her job and found herself navigating a brutal divorce. She needed to completely reinvent her life—but she never expected that salvation would come in the form of a septic tank.
With zero industry experience (admitting she "didn't even know where poop went") and a single $100,000 used truck, Kim launched Turner Septic Services. Her first job took her four hours and left her in tears. Today? Her team completes 18 jobs a day, pumps up to 400,000 gallons a month, and generates up to $200,000 a month in peak-season revenue.
In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Kim sits down with Ryan Atkinson to share her unbelievable "zero-to-hero" story. She breaks down exactly how she disrupted a dinosaur industry by combining grueling hard work with modern technology—like outfitting her trucks with Starlink satellite internet and using heating mats to thaw frozen ground in -30 degree blizzards.
If you want to know what it really takes to survive the school of hard knocks and build a highly profitable blue-collar business, this episode is a masterclass in resilience and innovation.
🎙️ What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
The Ultimate Pivot: How to push past imposter syndrome and launch a highly profitable service business in an industry you know absolutely nothing about.
Tech in the Trenches: How Kim uses Starlink, digital reporting software, and iPads to dominate older, tech-resistant competitors.
The "Mini-Truck" Strategy: Why Turner Septic custom-built a specialized 1,400-gallon 4x4 truck to service mountain-top clients that no other company could reach.
Surviving Seasonal Dips: The reality of managing extreme revenue swings (from $200K months in summer to $30K months in winter) and how to keep your crew on payroll year-round.
Redefining Customer Service: Why sending detailed, empathetic, photo-heavy invoices is the ultimate hack for driving 5-star reviews and real estate referrals.
Tags: Home Services, Service & Consulting, Side Hustle, Business Growth, Social Media Marketing
Resources:
The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free.
