The foundations of starting a successful drug testing business are research, knowledge, and patience. Have you ever talked to a person who has actually started a drug testing business.
In this video podcast both Joe Reilly and Brandie Helveston have actually started drug testing businesses. Joe has been around for years. Brandies just started in 2025.
The focus of today’s episode is really going to be to ask Brandy some questions from the time the thought came into her mind to the day that she actually opened. And then what has happened in the first four months of operating.
Key Points in Starting a Drug Testing Business
Starting a drug testing business is more than urine specimen collection training, here are some key points:
Starting a drug testing business requires more than just collection skills
- Basic startup steps include choosing a business entity, obtaining federal ID numbers, opening bank accounts, and securing insurance
- Deciding between brick-and-mortar or mobile operations is a critical strategic choice
- Software needs include CRM systems, drug testing platforms, and financial management tools
- Business owners must establish relationships with laboratories and medical review officers
- Marketing requires consistent effort – “boots on the ground every single day”
- Research and planning are crucial – Brandy spent nearly five years preparing before launch
- Finding a trustworthy mentor who provides ongoing support is essential
- Don’t expect labs to send customers; business owners are responsible for finding clients
- Target marketing by geography and industry type increases effectiveness
- Free resources like SBDC, SCORE, and chambers of commerce provide valuable guidance
- Maintaining knowledge and continually learning about regulations ensures quality service
Questions Answered From a New Drug Testing Business Owner
Can you tell us about getting started from the time of your idea?
We I started the LLC in November of 2024.
Okay. Um, my idea that I got was about four – five almost five years ago now. um is when I was introduced to the drug testing industry. Assa collector and a trainer, I have seen the strengths and the weaknesses at that time, and I had the silent idea to um one day have a mobile drug testing business. At that time I wasn’t aware that it was already a thought, and it was already being implemented places. And I sat on the idea for a good, you know, four, four years.
So I watched the industry. I did a lot of reading. I did a lot of research. I, um, you know, went back and forth about brick and mortar, do I stay mobile? Should I start mobile first and then move into a brick and mortar facility. And I finally made the decision um last year to go ahead and execute um and to start the mobile business and to try and keep it mobile for as long as I can. Um my main goal is to have a fleet of transits and to potentially cover, you know, all of the state of Florida.
Can you tell us about some of the research you did.
did and what were your findings. So, I did a lot of the research including reading and watching videos. I read all about the drug testing industry in in Florida and other states, I learned about TPAs, what services to offer and how to go about it.
My research led me to find you, Joe Reilly at National Screening. I needed a reputable partner for training, consultation and guidance; I needed a mentor.
What Advice would you give someone starting up a drug testing business?
So if you are trying to become a collector and start a business at the same time, you need to almost separate those two and complete one at a time because if you go into this, you know, head first, you become a collector, you’re you haven’t done many collections, you don’t quite know what you’re doing, there’s a lot of knowledge that you need to know, then you’re trying to open a business at the same time.
Prioritize yourself. Like I said, that’s the biggest thing. Know, make yourself a checklist. Know what you’re doing and how you’re going to move into the next thing. Get some collections under your belt. If you want to get your business going, wonderful. Like Joe said earlier get prepared
What type of business are you going to form? Are you going to be an LLC? Are you going to be a corporation?
Are you going to be mobile, brick and mortar or both. Those things are a huge question that you need to have an answer to before you start to mend these two together. Just doing collections on its own can be very overwhelming and now you’re trying to start a business at the same time. So for me, sitting on it for 4 and a half years and really thinking about it, I was already doing collections back then. So that transition for me was a lot easier. If I had to start the business from nothing it would have been different.
I met with some really great um, consultants from the SBA. SBDC, SCORE and Chambers of Commerce. These are the type of people that you need to connect with and talk to so that you can get an idea of what it’s like to have a business and what that means, how you get it started. To do it all together at the same time can be very overwhelming and you need to seriously prioritize it.
Make yourself a checklist and go one by one. if you become a collector and start your business all at the same time, you may not get collections for two months. So, you have to keep your knowledge up, keep learning. You have to keep your mind sharp within those two months to make sure that when your phone rings, you’re ready to go and you know what you’re doing. Yeah. I love the way you put that that it’s kind of two different parts of starting the business and becoming a uh urine specimen collector.
Learn More About Starting Your Own Business
Listen and watch the full 42 minute Podcast entitled: Research, Knowledge, Patience: The Foundations of a Successful Drug Testing Business
