Meet Matt Thompson

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Thompson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.

Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from my parents. Being raised in a low-middle class home, we were always looking for ways to cut costs and ensure we had enough money to last the month. I picked up some serious budgeting skills from watching my mother balance the budget every month. Both parents worked hard for what we had. They didn’t make much through most of my childhood, but enough for us to have a normal life growing g up. My sisters and I rarely needed anything and didn’t want much else other than what our parents provided for us. Now, don’t get it twisted, we definitely wanted nice things, but were raised to be happy with the things we could afford and thankful none the less. I knew, once I got older, that my work ethic came from both parents. I watched them closely and knew what sacrifices were made to give our family what it needed. I knew, from watching my parents, I could work hard and, at the very least, make enough to provide a decent life for my future family.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Once I knew I had a good work ethic I pursued jobs where my work ethic would help me to advance and to make more money. I worked a couple jobs after I got out of the military with little to no fulfillment.

In 2004, about a year and a half of working a couple dead end jobs, I got a huge boost in my employment opportunities when my middle sister, working for the Reno Gazette Journel, called me and said her bosses husband was looking for a pest control technician. Knowing nothing about pest control I figured I could at least check it out. After two interviews I was sold on what I wanted my career to look like – still had no idea I wanted to own a business. I spent the next 21 years in the field with a couple breaks within that span of time.

After being in the industry for a decade and half, working for 4 different companies, a light bulb went off (after generating an average of 250K in revenue for those companies) I knew, with my skillset, work ethic, and ambition I could do this on my own.

I then talked with the wife at the end of 2020 and told her I was going to start a pest control company. With her full support, it was full steam ahead. I knew with my love of pest control, customer service, and the ability to solve customers pest control problems that I was going to run a giant pest control business in a few short years.

Once I fully understood what I had in my hands (right before the start of the 2022 season, and a couple years of treating this as a hobby), I told the wife I was quitting my full time job to put 100% effort into this dream!! Over the last couple of years we have almost tripled in size from just under 50K in revenue to finishing 2024 just south of 130K, with 2025 shaping up to hit 300-400K..

Our focus for 2025 is to triple in size with a deliberate plan for growth. We have two bigger opportunities to expand to the Arizona and Alabama markets. We have two capable individuals who share in the collective vision of the company and matching work ethics to my own. We believe this to be the year that changes the trajectory of this company forever!!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

First and foremost it would be a solid work ethic couple with integrity. If you’re not willing to get down and dirty and do things most people don’t want to do, you’re spinning your wheels…and furthermore, doing said jobs with the highest levels of integrity. I fully believe our business is in the shape it’s in now in large part of my integrity and work ethic.

Second, in this industry, customer service is massive. My ability to form trusting relationships with our customers in a short amount of time is huge in both customer retention and longevity.

Lastly, my experience and love of the industry has always been at an extremely high level. Loving what you do makes it so much easier to become an expert at it. The experience I’ve gained over the last two decades has put me in a great position to scale this company correctly. I’m still learning every day and am humble in my approach, but there is a level of drive and dedication that I cannot put into words that exists solely to push this company and my dream forward.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

One of the most impactful books Ive ever read has to be “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy. That book alone has not only opened my eyes to the realities of making small, deliberate decisions everyday where the focus is on relationships, business, and fitness super clear, but it has also allowed me to build my business with an extremely strong foundation making the sky the limit as to how large I can scale with minimal risk to implosion.

The main takeaway from the book was to make small, seemingly inconsequential decisions on a daily basis that, over the long term, would have massive, long lasting effects propelling my business to heights never believed to be achievable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bugpronv.com
• Facebook: BugPro Pest Solutions
• Yelp: BugPro Pest Solutions