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The Business of Land Surveying

Prepared by Trent J. Keenan, PLS & Kristina Poulter An abstract of The Geoholics Podcast –
Episode #66.5
In 2002, Daniel E. Beardslee was the founder of a surveying company that
he had owned for over 25 years. He stated the following regarding the
tenuous relationship between land surveyors and business development
skills:

“It has been my experience that surveyors as a group exhibit poor business
practices. There are certainly exceptions, but my opinion is that poor business
management has been the only reason that land surveying has not risen to the
level of other professions in the eyes of the public. There is no reason, after all,
why surveyors should be considered with less regard than engineers, lawyers, or
dentists, except for one thing – money. Engineers, lawyers, and dentists are all
regarded, in general, as being better off financially than we are and are therefore
placed higher in the social stratum of society. If surveyors were perceived
as being as well off, they would, over time, be held with similar esteem. We
have only ourselves to blame for this fate, and good, common-sense business
decisions can help us elevate ourselves.”
Twenty years later, the land surveying profession finds itself at the epicenter of multiple forces.
1. There is a labor shortage spurred by an aging workforce and the complications of the global pandemic.
2. There is a notable pay discrepancy between surveying and professions like engineering. Per the 2020 Department of Labor’s
statistics, the median pay for surveyors was about $65,000 per year compared to $88,000 per year for civil engineers (a
roughly 35% pay gap).
3. There is more work available than ever before, with a skyrocketing demand for surveying work.
Much of Beardslee’s pronouncement seems to ring true through all of this. So why do many land surveyors struggle with business
development, and how can business owners take steps to become better at it?

Surveyor Kent Groh conducted a recent three-part Geoholics podcast series dedicated to this issue. What follows is a synthesis of the
advice that was shared by eight knowledgeable survey professionals.

What is business development?

It’s not surprising that surveyors aren’t experts at business development.
As with many professions, there are few to zero business courses offered
or required during the pursuit of the profession. Business skills must be
picked up on an ad hoc basis, from trial and error or from knowledgeable
mentors.

The old saying rings true: you don’t know what you don’t know.

Most surveying business owners are typically busy thinking about each
month as it comes, simply aiming to make enough profit to keep their
business running smoothly and their employees paid.

But a true benchmark for success is more than money in, money out. A
long-term, thoughtful strategy can help you generate a better reputation
and more money over time.
“I think long-term objectives is something that’s honestly missing a lot,” says Byrom Hess, the Chief Financial Officer at Rountree Inc.
“Too many people are just focused on hey, I need a job right now for my guys. They’re not looking at okay. Are we still going to be able to
do this and be as profitable three years from now?”

Do you need a formal business development plan? Not necessarily.

Many large companies do have formal business plans, but often they don’t change at all from year to year, or the goal is simply to grow
the business by a certain percentage point.

A good business is run less on a formal business plan document and more on refining your processes and behaviors over time so that

28 The Nevada Traverse Vol.49, No.1, 2022