May 8, 2017

Meet Brad Ladner of Atlanta’s Best Gutter Cleaners

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Ladner.

Brad, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I left Mississippi right after graduating high school. I put myself through Georgia State while also working a full-time job. My aspirations for being a filmmaker were dashed when I lost my job, which subsequently caused me to drop out. I worked in various forms of retail and movie theater management till I got a job for a gutter cleaning company. I excelled, but became increasingly uncomfortable with the unethical activities the owners took part in. What I didn’t know was that most companies in the industry operated in the same fashion. I made a decision to start my own company with the one main difference being that we would be the ethical company that followed the rules. In 5 years, we were larger than any other pre-existing competitor. In 10 years, we were larger than all of them combined.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It isn’t whether the road is smooth or rocky, but whether you are willing to make the walk or not. Being successful in business requires discipline, persistence, and passion for the work. In the beginning and for years’ work must be the only thing in your life. You can’t clock out at 5 and go away for the weekend. Golfing and vacations are not in the cards. Where I am at now in the road is an even balance, but it took years of 14 hours’ days to get there. Sacrifice is necessary, and it is the biggest thing that stops entrepreneurs today. There is no magic business where you turn a key and money falls on your lap. Being in business for yourself means working more than ever, at a job that is never finished. The biggest struggle we faced were from the competitors, who would make death threats, sabotage our property, post fake reviews, and make harassing calls. We’ve had recordings of large prominent competitors, BBB member businesses, saying outright lies to people about us.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Atlanta’s Best Gutter Cleaners – what should we know?
We are a company of roofers who, instead of focusing on roofing, do gutter cleaning. This enables us to do the gutter cleaning faster and better since our worker is more experienced on the roof than that of the average gutter cleaning company. We are fully insured and do not use day laborers or sub-contractors. We are the only company that puts all the pictures of our staff on our website so people know who is coming, the only one to print prices on the invoices so we can’t make them up on the fly, and to put our tax returns online so customers can see our profit and cost. Our transparency and integrity is what sets us apart from the average company in our field. We are the Coca-Cola of our industry. I’m most proud of being able to create and employee 40 jobs for local, hardworking people and pay a decent wage so that they can take care of their families.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My best teachers were not the guiding lights, but the broken bulbs; the managers and leaders who gave the examples of what NOT to do. I had a lot of those in my life, representing all facets of the 7 deadly sins of management: lazy, unprofessional, irresponsible, greedy, apathetic, incompetent, and unadaptable. These are the core of bad managers and leaders, and my years of working under others helped me see how to avoid these characteristics. My best cheerleader was my wife who trusted me when we used all our savings and maxed out our credit cards to start this business. She’s the amino acid that makes my blessed life possible.

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