Cleanfax - January 2012
INDUSTRY LEADERS REVIEW He utilized the If you build it they will come concept The name Zerorez for a carpet cleaning company can lend some mystery to the cleaning process But its no mystery how one franchise became a success story Jim Hoag was in the real estate business including investment development and sales Michael Kaplan was in law school Both saw opportunity for the Twin City area and purchased the Zerorez franchise in 2006 and never looked back Sharing the title as managing partners Hoag and Kaplan are proud of their more than 100 employees and nearly 30 cleaning CLEANFAX COM January 2012 CM Cleanfax 29 trucks Filling a need Hoag and Kaplan say they saw their market as underserviced by the cleaning industry and that the proprietary green chemistry technology touted by Zerorez fits well with the vibe of the Minneapolis and St Paul areas Whats the vibe A customer base that is educated affluent and green The green part is called Empowered Water softened and electrolyzed zapped with an electrical current to produce an effective alkaline cleaner Opportunity knocked Hoag and Kaplan answered and they began a service that hit the ground running Zerorez cleans carpet tile upholstery leather air ducts area rugs commercial carpet and is now beginning to offer restoration services The core business remains carpet cleaning From 320000 in 2006 with three employees to more than 8 million in 2011 with more than 100 employees the company is doing something right Pure Clean now offers Oriental rug cleaning odor removal hard surface cleaning sealing and upholstery cleaning Moving on up Surdi did what many young startup entrepreneurs do when they need work He hit the streets He went doorto door trying to drum up business He focused on building a decent website to help drive business and sure enough his telephone started ringing more and more each month He made more that year in carpet cleaning than he ever did in the mortgage industry and Surdi knew he had found a permanent home In the second year he doubled his income and kept enjoying rapid increase in profitability 2011 saw a new larger truck and equipment and more customers in the database The look of success Surdi understood how consumers react to the service industry and from the beginning he focused on having a professional appearance From sharp uniforms and hats to nice business cards attractive brochures and a van wrap to brag about he utilized the If you build it they will come concept His belief was that if he made himself look like he ran a big company that it would eventually come true After a lot of work it did Pricing was part of the factor Surdi believes that you must charge what you are worth and after analyzing his local market decided that his level of service expertise and personality was worth more than what was advertised by the competition When talking to clients he doesnt hide that fact And they must agree since he earns top dollar Future marketing Like most in the industry Surdi wants to grow his business and he plans to utilize mass marketing in several forms He plans to roll out more direct campaign projects for both the residential and commercial markets In addition hes looking at increasing brand awareness with radio and television advertising and implementing a referral rewards problem Whatever it takes to continue to grow Pure Clean Surdi plans to do it CF The Zerorez Carpet Care franchise of the greater Minneapolis and St Paul area has quickly grown and become profitable taking advantage of a niche marketplace Concluded on next page
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