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KEEPING THE FAITH. In 1996, Clippers’ revenue grew 8.9 percent and then lost 3.7 percent in 1997.

Clippers experienced its biggest growth year in 1998 at 23.8 percent, but the resulting benefits of a good growth year didn’t last. The next year, the company lost that growth, dropping 1.1 percent. "I was making some mistakes, such as not watching labor hours and letting overhead costs get out of control," DeBell explained. "I was not focused on the company at that time."

Up-and-down growth became a habit Clippers needed to break and stability became a chief company objective. Investigating reasons for the constant growth shuffle, DeBell discovered that labor was his greatest variable and realized that he was the main culprit guilty of poor cost tracking and inefficient labor management.

"I felt like God gave me this company, I was responsible for it and I wasn’t being a good steward," he said. "I wasn’t working efficiently – I could have lost the company. I was very grateful that despite the financial loss, I realized I had a viable company and knew that I needed to spend the proper amount of time managing the company and getting things back in order."

More efficient use of labor became a reality once DeBell more carefully watched and managed overtime hours. He reinforced daily man-hour tracking and kept an eagle eye on meeting hourly property goals. Properties that did not generate profits were replaced with lucrative ones. "If I’m spending more hours on a property, I’m spending more labor there and if I’m spending more labor there, I’m blowing my goals," DeBell explained. "That directly impacts the bottom line."

Encouraging employees to be more aware of their job hours meant helping them understand that bigger bonuses are the result of keeping costs down during spring and fall – the year’s hardest times in terms of labor hours, DeBell said. Paying more attention to the company’s Wednesday report, a weekly update on budgeted and actual labor hours for the previous week, became a necessity as did monthly financial review meetings.

Two years of increased labor efficiency, reduced overhead and retention of profitable properties brought Clippers out of the red. Stability also made DeBell realize the importance of planning. "Strategic planning has never been a priority for us," DeBell admitted. "We would grow, stabilize and reduce debt, and repeat, but we did not provide ourselves with a strategic plan to grow the company. As I looked back at the history of our growth, I made a decision that I wanted to see continuous steady growth instead of sporadic growth."

In pursuit of 39 percent growth for 2001, which would bring the company up to $3.45 million, DeBell said he is currently working with a consultant to develop a strategic plan that includes 10-year growth goals. "Because we weren’t planning and hadn’t done it correctly in the past, we thought it was important to bring someone in who had expertise," DeBell remarked.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Even though DeBell admits to strong Christian convictions and is open about it with his employees, he didn’t build his business by hiring people with particular beliefs.

But Clippers is set up on standards that DeBell calls "biblical." These include never asking employees to work on Sundays (except during snowstorms), treating employees with respect and dignity and expecting them to do the same for each other, embracing honesty, discussing employee issues and reprimanding them in private, and paying employees fairly and on time.

"The company is not me – the company is all of the employees," DeBell said. "We have built this company on integrity."

A few of DeBell’s programs are set up to encourage honesty and trust – the basis of the company beliefs. For instance, if an employee causes property damage, such as a broken window or marred gutter, he or she is not penalized for that first mistake. "Mistakes happen," DeBell explained.

When a second mistake is made, DeBell or one of the division managers will sit down with the employee and discuss why and how the mistake was made. If a pattern develops, then guilty employees will have to start assuming costs for their mistakes. "I think this policy works well, but not 100 percent. Not everything gets reported – sometimes it’s the client who calls us," DeBell pointed out.

Employees who come on board also are trusted to make decisions in the field, such as coming up with ways to trim hours on a job or solving a site maintenance problem. DeBell tries to make employees feel comfortable doing this by supporting their decisions. If a proper decision is made, he’ll sit down with the employee and discuss why it was wrong so the employee can learn from that. "They know I’ll support their decisions," he explained. "And I think they are secure making decisions on their own."

As employees move up in the company, DeBell empowers them, providing them with an opportunity to share ideas and positively influence the company. For instance, Clippers’ division managers prepare their own budgets and turn them in for his input and approval. This way they know exactly where and why they budget costs in order to make that division profitable, DeBell said.

Even though Clippers began by employing high school students in the Young Life program, 90 percent of the company’s production employees are Hispanic today.

To encourage and motivate employees, DeBell occasionally rewards them for "doing the right things," he said. One example is an employee suggestion called ‘Clipper Attacks.’ "If our guys get out of the shop on time, we’ll stop the truck on the way out and give them money for lunch that day," DeBell explained. "Another day, we may stop the first truck to leave and check if it is properly loaded and that the right safety precautions are in place. If so, we’ll treat them to lunch."

Several times a year, Clippers hosts a barbecue for its staff. In the beginning, the company prepared the traditional hamburgers, hotdogs and potato salad, Ninde said. Now, a Spanish market caters the meal.

Every fall, Clippers also takes its employees out for a surprise day of fun. Last year, this included Chinese food and bowling.

DeBell said he ensures his employees are treated well because he feels they are responsible for the growth and stability of Clippers. "We are very appreciative of our employees," DeBell stressed. "They, along with a biblical faith and a good client base, will be the three things working together for our future success."