How do you choose drilling projects? I bet many of you said, “Brock, I don’t advertise. The customers call, and I go out and drill.” Yordy and Sons Well Drilling worked that way. We had a solid book of business from a good reputation for quality work. By the time I was working full-time, our business development had shifted from prospecting to answering the phone and scheduling the work. At the time, Michigan had averaged 40,000 new wells a year for many decades. It was common for drilling companies to operate two or more rigs drilling 200 or more wells yearly. It all slowed down amid the impacts of the post-9/11 war on terror. Next, the Big 3 automakers started to falter. Finally, we had the “too big to fail” housing crisis in the late 2000s.
The housing crisis changed the way the water well drilling industry operated. Many family businesses sold equipment and “right-sized” to cut costs. The Ford Motor Company sold Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo to maintain their business instead of declaring bankruptcy. Other family drilling companies doubled down by expanding working territory, taking on more challenging water wells and diversifying into industrial drilling. Critics can fault either option. Given the economic conditions at the time, some would have advised selling out or permanently closing the family business.