quote="Mikey P"]Lets say
Jon Don got bought up by Home Depot and you lost your job.
I'll assume your not ready to retire yet and for the sake of this thread lets imagine that you want to start a Carpet Cleaning company.
Who's business do you model your new up and comer after?
Howie's
Ken's?
Service Master Franchise?
Jose Smiths? ( can you still push a wand?)
AND!
You have to start in a new town so who's market program do you use?[/quote]
Well Mikey, hopefully you don't know something I don't about my future. Yes, Odin I pushed a wand for 10 years before moving into training. Tony the only private person that owns a Starbucks is Magic Johnson who has an arrangement with Starbucks for inner city Starbucks.
This is off the top of my head because I haven't really thought I would need to start a business again.
Models of the ones mentioned would most likely be like Jose's although I am not real familiar with his other than that he is very knowledgeable and passionate about his company. Ken Snow has a wonderful company but I do not aspire to a large company, just a profitable one with a minimum of employees.
For equipment I would have a TM (not sure which) for the flexibility. The reason would be more for use on tile etc. Other than the fact that I need to clean carpet to keep my competition out of my homes I would not focus my marketing to carpet. I would also have an encap machine for commercial. I would focus more on the fabric side such as leather, silks, linens etc. Additionally I would buy a pit system for rugs. The rugs attract the same clientel that has the exotic fabrics.
As for the marketing system, this may sound self serving, I would use the new program that
Jon Don introduces at Connections. The good part about this is that you can take all your existing materials that you have already purchased and incorporate them into this program.
For a startup most companies don't have a lot of money but they do have a lot of time. I would be out talking to interior designers, architects, space planners, retailers, veteranarians and others. While a younger person may be intimidated by designers and specifiers I have spent a lot of time going to shows such as NEOCON in Chicago each year which are tarbeted to these people. I would also join groups such as ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) because it puts you in the company of people who deal with the target market I am seeking. I would want to be seen as the go-to-person for the difficult jobs. I know that Tony W. has done a good job with these people in his market. His problem is that there are only 39 people living in his frozen tundra.
Veteranarians and doggie health spas also would be a great target because I think you may agree that the weathier the home the more the pets create havoc.
I would not be in the YP other than a bold listing or maybe an incolumn ad. Definitely would have a website and other advertising would be direct mail. I would also try to be a partial sponsor to groups that I need to target. This may be something as simple as being one of the sponsors for a doggie walk for homeless pets etc.
The use of branded spotters always works well as giveaways. These can be cobranded with any of your referring partners. One of these would be the organic bakery for dogs - Three Dog Bakery.
I would try to write articles for my partners newsletters. All of these people who have to create a newsletter are starved for ideas. You would be surprised how many of them would appreciate a well written article for their newsletter. In Indianapolis we have a free newspaper called Pet Tails. I would have a large ad in there every month and try to trade out for a monthly article.
This is in addition to the newsletter I would send out monthly. Once again I think the
Jon Don newsletter is the best one due to the personalizing options it has as well as the turnkey system.
Additionally I would offer to do a presentation for any group anytime. This could be a garden club or the regional meeting of teachers. It is always better to talk with 50 people rather than 1. Plus the fact that you are at the front of the room speaking gives you the role of an expert whether you are or not.
The vehicles would all have wraps that would stand out. The marketing must be consistent from business cards to what my dog would wear as a scarf on the charity dog walk. Ken does a great job of branding on "just ask for the purple truck"
As mentioned above I would not be trying to build a multitruck company and would not be in restoration. Restoration while very profitable requires a totally different mindset and requires a lot of well trained employees as well as a large investment in equipment. Currently the franchises have an edge because of the programs tied to insurance companies. I would make sure that I was tied into a good restoration company that I could refer. I would also align myself with other high end tradesmen such as painters, wallpaper techs etc. I want to make sure that my clients can use me as a resource for any interior home services.
Many of these ideas are not new or revolutionary. I believe the answer is that you need to understand your focus and then go after with a deep seated passion. This same enthusiasm is what you need to attract the kind of people you want to represent you in your customers homes.
Jerry Garcia has a great quote: "Don't try to be the best at what you do. Try to be the only one doing what you do."
Now that I have said all of this I hope
Jon Don keeps me because I really like my job and the company.
