What do bugs and super heroes have in common? My first thought is, nothing. But what most people don’t remember is that Batman’s sidekick, the Blue Beetle, was in comic books that date back into the 1930s. Mr. Mitch Shipman remembers, as this was his childhood favorite comic book character.
When looking to launch his pest control company, he decided to name his business after this character. Formally a marketing graduate from Rockhurst University, Mr. Shipman saw the opportunity to stretch the bug exterminator market into new dimensions, using marketing techniques that are rarely used in this line of business. Most people know batman, but who remembers the sidekick, the Blue Beetle? After working in the exterminator world for six months, Shipman noticed that pest control companies never had good business names and never focused on branding themselves or marketing their businesses very well. He felt he needed to change all that and with his marketing degree set out to make that dream a reality.
Why bugs, you ask? After Shipman graduated from Rockhurst, his first job was
working for an advertising Company. He worked 80 hour weeks and felt he wasn’t getting paid much for the amount of time he was putting in. A few days later, he quit his job and accepted a position as a bug exterminator. Within 6 months, he had learned the business and had developed his own business plan. In 2003, the Blue Beetle was birthed and now, today, is one of Kansas City’s top extermination companies. They use VW beetle bugs that are painted blue, as part of their branding. People don’t usually want the trucks to come out, they want to see the bugs, with the antennas come out to their homes. Customers like to take pictures with them and children just love seeing them!
What drove him to succeed? It wasn’t all easy at first. He had a new baby on the way
and needed to figure things out fast and make them work. He had to start out small, with his family, and build their way up in the business world. He bought a residence and moved his family into the back of it and ran his business out of the front. There were days that they would eat breakfast and then the employees would come in and work while they were finishing up their chores. It might’ve been tough at first, but they made it into the success that it is today. The drive and passion fo
r his business comes from the drive to provide for his boys so they can grow up and go to good sch
ools and get a great education. He didn’t have that opportunity and he would like to give his children that opportunity. “When you have to make it, you just put yourself out there, work hard and just make it happen,” said Shipman. Having to make it is what drove him to succeed.
Tucked away along 63rd street in Brookside, his business is a residence painted entirely blue with little blue VW bugs sitting out back. The Blue Beetle is buzzing with action. Besides just everyday business, they are actively involved in the community. They put efforts into helping others who are in need of their services but can’t afford it. For example, there are families who are threatened that their children will get taken away because having their home overridden by bugs. Blue Beetle goes in and exterminates for free so that the family can stay together. This is one of the many things that Mr. Shipman and his company do for the local community. They believe in serving others and are continuing to expand their business daily.