Commercial challenges: A small business story

BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA
Journal Staff

The owner of two small businesses in Guam has overcome his share of issues on his road not only to ownership, but expansion.

Aliksa R. Robert is the proprietor and owner of Guam Advance Pest Control and Quality Lawn & Janitorial Services.

He arrived in Guam in September 1984 from Kosrae. “I came here for school — the University of Guam. … My major was business and economics,” he said.
All set for his educational goals and studying through a U.S. Pell grant, Robert was about two and a half years into his bachelor’s degree when the U.S. and the Federated States of Micronesia signed the Compact of Free Association and Pell grants no longer applied to the citizens of the FSM.
Robert couldn’t afford to carry the UOG fees, he said. “I started working and never went back.”

A job with Pestex in Guam became a career path and he stayed with the termite and pest control company for about 18 years, all the while increasing his knowledge of the industry. “I worked with all the different owners,” he said. Robert also worked with Pacific Pest Control for almost two years, and speaks highly of the Hagen family, which owns it.  

In March 2007 he launched Guam Advance Pest Control, though planning began well before that. “I was going through a lot of processing to start — getting all the licenses,” he said. Robert is licensed by the Guam Contractors Licensing Board. “Funding was the last part.” Getting financial backing was not easy, Robert said. “All the banks declined my request. I wasn’t from here [Guam] and I had nothing for collateral.”

Robert did get a loan of $25,000 from the Pacific Islands Development Bank, with the approval of the president and CEO of the Development Bank at the time, who was Aren B. Palik, currently vice president of the FSM.  

The two are both originally from Kosrae and both were connected to the FSM community. Robert said, “I knew he was here; I didn’t know he was from Kosrae.”

The loan allowed Robert to buy a new and reliable vehicle and inventory. He had “just one vehicle with a box, and a container.” The container sat on his private property. “I was doing a home business all along,” he said.

What helped him develop the business was the reputation he’d built up in the pest control industry. “Some of my clients — they really liked my work,” he said. “I didn’t just tell them I started my own business.” But the clients found him. “I love what I do. I love to help people — I like that feeling,” Robert said.

Small businesses can encounter growing pains. “It took years for the Pest Control to have enough money to support itself,” he said. “The first five years — they’re the hardest,” he said. “I think I had 11 customers. … I was starting off with small jobs.”

In 2018 Robert became interested in a potential area of additional work, with the knowledge that the Guam buildup was picking up pace. “I went to Hawaii and got certified for a new termite technology,” he said.

His business is now an accredited Termimesh installer. Termimesh is a steel termite mesh which blocks entry of termites to buildings. “It doesn’t rust and it’s very strong,” he said.

Termimesh is specified for federal government projects. “They looked at it and they put it in their product specifications,” Robert said. The federal awards are usually large ones. A recent installation was Andersen Air Force Base duplexes. Prime contractor Black Construction Corp. completed 38 duplexes in January, out of 186 units planned.

Robert is also the proprietor and owner of Quality Lawn & Janitorial Services, a business he began four years ago with his cousin, Aimos Salik, who now manages that business.

“A lot of the customers are from the same businesses,” Robert said. There’s a relationship between vegetation on a property and pest control, he said. “We get it. We treat [the vegetation] and they’re happy.” He said gross revenues from the businesses are below $1 million.
In December, Robert made his biggest move to date, celebrating with a Dec. 30 party that particularly recognized employees. The two businesses now operate from their own property in Tamuning, which safely provides parking, storage and offices — built by the management and staff themselves.

It’s about a quarter of an acre,” Robert said. The property is located behind Guam Marine Services Inc.

Between the two businesses Robert has about 14 employees. “They are guaranteed employment and I really take care of my workers,” he said. Robert is not averse to payroll loans (without interest) when his employees need assistance for essential expenses. “I just want to help them out,” he said. “I appreciate them for being here and working hard too.” mbj