One of the things we have learned at PPM as a result of the slower economy in the last 4 years is that we can’t rely solely on our local Southern California market to provide the work that we need to reach our goals. Our first large project that required more than just a 1-2 hour drive (depending on LA traffic) was early 2009, when we were hired to measure 55 Long’s Drugstores throughout California – half of which were in the Bay Area. For 3-4 months we devoted about 67% of our staff hours to this one project alone.
While there are practical limits on the traveling capabilities of a small service company like PPM, that project taught us that we can successfully take on projects beyond our “local” market – if the circumstances are right. It also taught us that if we wanted to expand our reach, we would need more resources to be able to adapt to the heavy workloads and wide geographic spreads of large multi-site As-Built projects.
Over the last 3 years, we have built a network of 20-30 surveyors, located throughout the US, that we can utilize on our out-of-state projects. In addition, we have worked hard to develop the project management systems and capabilities that these projects require. The result is that today, we get about 30-50% of our business from projects located outside of Southern California. So far, in 2012 we have performed As-Built surveys in over 20 US states. So while our primary focus continues to be serving our local clients in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, it is no longer the only market that we have to rely on for our work.