Keep It Clean! - A Pro Cleaning Industry Podcast

Keep It Clean! has Rob Hanks this week for a very entertaining story of an older brother convincing his two younger brothers to help him in his carpet cleaning business. They had little training and little support, but big dreams and a lot of drive. Those three brothers started one of the largest carpet and restoration supply businesses in North America.Listen to how their partnership worked, how they planned and looked for, but also created opportunity after opportunity throughout their entire careers. Forty two years of hard work and dedication payed off with a sale to a larger firm and a well deserved retirement.Rob's message of never giving up and finding ways to innovate and market to a wide audience is not lost today on successful people in the professional cleaning and restoration industry. 

BK Semandic came to the US from Serbia and decided to make a life here. He has an appreciation for the land of opportunity. And what an opportunity it has been! BK applies himself through the power of visualization and creating a future that is attainable. He tells his startup story from learning the language to understanding how the cleaning and restoration industry actually works. Along the way he breaks many of the traditional rules that we commonly associate with operating and managing a  cleaning and restoration company.He inspires us with some powerful messages on how people should treat each other and how a responsible manager takes ownership of problems and create solutions to get things accomplished. This is a very inspirational story that needs to be heard!

An Interview with Bill Yeadon, all around nice guy, lover of business books and one of the pioneers of the professional cleaning industry. Bill has been a carpet cleaner for many, many years and a pure lover of marketing this industry.Bill talks about his early days as a carpet cleaning professional in Florida in the early days of on-location cleaning operations, building a multi-truck operation and then working for Bane Clene Corporate showing others how to do the same thing in their markets.Working with Bill Bane and taking training on the road was where Bill learned the lessons of being a road warrior and how much fun it was to help fellow pros learn about this wonderful industry. He continues that march today as a trainer for JonDon with instructing carpet cleaning courses, but also as a trainer in their flagship training program, "Strategies For Success".Bill has read almost every business book ever published and is always ready to offer help to our industry colleagues. Listen to Bill tell his story of starting up in our world. 

Craig Jasper has spent a lifetime in the professional cleaning and restoration industry. Starting as a very young adult, he learned literally from the ground up to clean floors, carpets and fabrics. As most of us do, he then journeyed into the professional Restoraton industry and has become one of the most sought after instructors in the industry.His down home instruction style fits well with his Chicago upbringing. He tells it like it is. Listen to the story of his startup and the obstacles he overcame  on his way to the top of the industry food chain. Some of the historical names he brings up will trigger memories in all uf us that listen.

If you are in the professional cleaning industry and you have not heard of Courtney Lee, you have been living under a rock. This guy is everywhere on FaceBook and many different cleaning related pages. Always a positive person and always willing to lend a hand to fellow cleaning professionals, Courtney had found himself struggling with some of the same issues we all face, busy vs profitable. After coming to his own "moment of clarity", he completely changed his business model and is now enjoying a much more comfortable lifestyle and less stress compared to his early days in our industry.His startup story starts out very familiar to others we have heard from in past interviews but takes a dramatic turn at a fast food drive up window. Listen to a very inspiring story of Courtney Lee on Keep It Clean.

Jessika James has been around our professional cleaning and restoration world for 37 years, seeing many new changes and challenges for the industry. She is a pioneer of contents processing from the middle 80's and a pioneer of contents processing education by recently organizing an IICRC class dedicated to this venture.Jessika got her start in the family business, doesn't that sound familiar? By working with her families cleaning and restoration business first as a carpet cleaning technician and floor care specialist. No easy roads for most owner's children in our industry!!As an approved IICRC Instructor and a frequent guest speaker on many different topics related to restoration and cleaning, Jessika is one person from our industry that should get your attention. She tells her startup story from beginning to today and has some fresh advice for those just getting started. Please give a listen to Jessika James on the Keep It Clean podcast!!

There are few people we meet in life that will stand out forever in our hearts and minds. Kenway Mead was one of those people in my life. Always positive, always kind and an absolute class act.    He was the face of IICUC and later IICRC as the Executive Administrator of the organization through his own company Kenway Consultants, Inc., or KCI. We called his office and spoke to his employees when we contacted headquarters office to deal with IICRC certification issues. Callers would never know that they had not called the IICRC directly.  He started like many of us, working with carpet. First as an installer and then as a cleaner and embraced and appreciated the service industry. He and his wife Pat, who ran the financial side of the office at Kenway's side, were a one-two punch of professionalism. His son, Brad Mead gives us the industry story of Kenway Mead as only a son could. Through the eyes of someone who admired what his father had created and learned some of his own skills by watching Kenway work through the myriad of personalities and people brought together in the volunteer world of IICRC.  Keep It Clean was thrilled to have one great person (Brad Mead) talk about another great person (Kenway Mead). 

Dr. Dan Bernazzani discusses his start in the carpet cleaning/building services industry beginning in the late 1970's. Starting small during his college years, his operation grew to two locations and worked for some of the most well established family names in the New England area, mostly in Vermont.Dan spent years honing his craft by saying yes to many different types of clients and projects, all the while learning something new every day. His lifelong quest for knowledge also afforded him the opportunity to earn his Ph.D in his early 60's and work with some of the most knowledgable people on the planet in Environmental Science.He has a philosophy of collaboration with all stakeholders in a project and used his collaborative skillset to lead the IICRC through one of most exciting times in that organization's  history. He is a world renowned consultant for large commercial losses and an author of numerous papers and articles on water and fire damage restoration. Sit back and listen to how it all started.

Reg Rogers shares with Keep It Clean! his transition from rock and roll drummer to carpet cleaner. No, we are not kidding. It really happened just the way Reg tells it! The music industry is just that, an industry.  Just like any other industry, some talented folks struggle to monetize their dreams and search for new opportunities.Reg tells a motivating story of his startup in the professional cleaning industry, cutting his teeth on empty, nasty apartments like most of us in the industry. Being someone what is quick on the uptake, Reg transitioned into management in a short time and learned how to handle a multi truck operation. Sensing his talents could find more out of life, he found a niche in the high end residential market and used his skills to leap to a franchise company directing the operations of the franchisees. Flooring sales followed to help round out the skills package and learn how to direct sales of products instead of services.Economic downturn hit everyone in the late 2000's and Reg found himself searching for a new gig, but carpet cleaning called him back with the founding of Carpet Cleaner America. An Austrian carpet cleaning machine manufacturer needed talented people to help establish a beach head in the US and Reg found himself back in carpet care using dry compound and encapsulation for a new look at an old problem, dirty carpets. Hear the story as it unfolds in episode 20 of Keep It Clean!

Listen to this latest interview with special guest Barry Costa. Barry talks about his start in the cleaning and restoration world while working with his Dad in the 1960’s and 70’s as a helper and starting his own company while working as a school teacher in New Hampshire.  He is an award winning school teacher and if you have had the great fortune of taking any of his restoration or installation classes, you know that this is a true statement. He is an outstanding educator and is able to combine his passions of education and restoration work. Barry talks about his entry into the industry and his time as an industry volunteer with IICRC. Barry has a passion for helping the education portion of our industry. He spent many years as the Education Committee chairman of the IICRC to help us understand the education challenges of adult learning and how to add a practical element to our training courses.  Give this episode a listen and hear from one of the most popular instructors in our world and his personal story of his startup. Barry Costa is one of the good guys that has spent a lot of energy to make our businesses better. 

A true gentleman that reaches back in our industry over 50 years. One of the first education providers in the industry, and still going strong today, Ron Toney. Ron started back in 1969 as a high school custodian and over  5 decades later still has a passion about cleaning fabrics and working with current technicians to make the industry a better place.From shampoo machines to HWE and all processes in between, Ron has seen and done it all. He is even a certified tufting machine operator. Ron has been there and done that almost as long as anyone we have talked to on this podcast.He gives out little nuggets with sales and marketing techniques that have stood the test of time. Give a listen and you won't be disappointed.

Shawn Bisaillon has had quite a journey in the professional cleaning and restoration industry! Starting at age 18, for some 30 years has had several different views of industry roles from cleaning technician to manufacturer and many things in between. Shawn is most recognizable in his role as an IICRC Instructor, training thousands of technicians over the years with a level of passion and energy that always keeps students entertained and engaged.  He continues to be at the helm of his own cleaning and restoration firm in Colorado today. Shawn works with large commercial clients all across the world and has worked with Shaw Total Care as both a trainer and consultant for many different types of flooring and the associated maintenance challenges. He has a wide range of experiences within the professional cleaning and restoration industry and has received awards for his outstanding humanitarian work within his community and our industry.

In the fall season of 1986, the professional carpet cleaning  industry was challenged with a new stain resistant carpet product introduced to the public. This product was unlike anything else we had ever worked on. StainMaster nylon was produced and delivered to carpet manufacturers and advertised to the public...and consumers could not buy it fast enough!!DuPont had made arrangements with Stanley Steemer to be their warranty claim partner to service StainMaster carpets that were spotted by customers spilling things on them. The deal from DuPont was, if the professionals could not remove the spot, DuPont would replace the carpet. Other carpet cleaning professionals that were not affiliated with Stanley Steemer were not too happy.Our hero, Bill Doan swooped in, with a lot of help from IICUC, and launched programs where other Certified carpet cleaning professionals could participate in the StainMaster cleaning claims. Industry education took off from that point and we now enjoy the benefits of 35+ years of quality education and increased revenue because of the ladies and gentlemen that spent the time and energy to engage in difficult conversations. Bill Doan is one of the catalysts of those conversations.  He liked working with carpet cleaners so much, he actually became one! Bill spent time working for SteamWay International and Spectra, Shaw Industries carpet cleaning division. Give a listen and hear his side of the story.

Mike Dunmyer, owner of Advanced Degree Carpet Cleaning, earned an MBA from Duke University, has worked as an executive in corporate America, and as a partner in a national non-profit organization that is helping to save our oceans. Then, he decided to become a carpet cleaner. Mike went from dining with US Senators and Congressional reps to cleaning customers’ carpets and loving every minute of it. He brings a unique perspective to our industry, one that I really enjoy sharing with all of you. Mike explains how his former business background was the launching pad for his new venture, and how our industry changed his thinking about how service businesses actually operate in the field. He feels lucky to be a part of the cleaning industry and loves the opportunity it provides for him and his family. He entered the business with a well thought out plan and ideas on how to tame the wild carpet cleaning frontier. He continues to adapt and change his plan as the marketplace dictates, and as his company grows. Mike talks about his company’s team development plan, business plan, his marketing strategy, and what the future will hold for him as he moves forward in life as a professional carpet cleaner

Robert Falzone of Robert Falzone Consulting and Sales is our guest on this rip roaring edition of Keep It Clean. Robert is outspoken to say the least and got his start with cleaning and restoration refurbishing historical buildings in Brooklyn New York in the 1980's. He has a world of knowledge from his days in the field and brought that knowledge into his sales career in Las Vegas NV. The difference in restoring historical  buildings to their grand luster in NY, versus the demolition of anything old in Las Vegas he finds humorous.Listen to how he learned on the job, without much personal protective equipment or training to become one of the most sought after consultants to fine fabrics and expensive natural flooring in the Western part of the United States.

Doyle Bloss of HydraMaster speaks about his early years in the cleaning business and his entry into the supply side of the business. He talks about the influence his father, Ralph Bloss had on him and our entire industry, about helping people, especially young couples grow their business and therefore their lives. He and I reminisce about early days without truckmount hot water extraction and how we were able to still make a living even without the best tool or information available.

Howard Partridge spent all of their wedding cash on a carpet cleaning machine and he is still married!! He struggled like we all did in the beginning of his career and turned it around by understanding the power of referral marketing. Howard now trains thousands of people all around the world on how to use his system of referral marketing. His company in Houston Texas, Clean As A Whistle, runs with his management team in charge so Howard can focus on helping others, in several different service industries, build their businesses.His interview brings us from the beginning to where Howard is now and gives glimpses on how you yourself can use his strategies in your own company. 

Mike Pailliotet has been cleaning carpets for awhile and has seen every side of the industry. From  high pressure sales processes in his early years, to the more consultative approach today, Mike still cleans carpet every day and has an army of cheerleaders as current customers. Mike started out learning from the internet and now has a list of other cleaning professionals he has helped, yelled at and nurtured into better professionals. He owns Mikey's Board, a forum where carpet cleaning pros can go to learn, research and enjoy the company of other pros in the carpet cleaning industry. Mike also has many opinions about how this industry should operate and equip itself to do the best job for his and your customers. Listen on how he started and is continuing his voyage through the carpet cleaning industry.

Claude Blackburn, Founder of Dri-Eaz Products, talks about his early days with carpet cleaning and operating his business in Northwest Washington state. It is an interesting story of overcoming, dedication, optimism, and downright stubbornness to keep the dream alive and then some. One man's take on pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and how to learn along the way. Claude's story is very inspiring.

Joe Dobbins has been a carpet cleaner, restoration contractor, wholesale product and equipment supplier,   licensed building contractor, property insurance adjuster and an IICRC trainer and volunteer. That is enough to last most professionals a lifetime, but Joe keeps on going. He is a man of few words, but the words he uses should be heeded. Joe Dobbins is a tireless  human being. He is an advocate for "always doing the right thing" every time, all the time. Joe has been an inspiration to countless students he has trained over almost 30 years of training. Joe did not look to be in our industry at all, but when the Musical Education major from Jacksonville State University realized that a career as a  high school band director may have to take a back seat to another career in fast food management. Fast food management was a "pressure cooker" environment and took a toll on his health and he quickly pivoted to professional cleaning. He purchased an existing business and was able to grow it into on location services very quickly and realized while watching IICRC trainers teach at his supply facilities why he was not training those students himself. Fast forward 30 years later and Joe has fulfilled his dream of teaching.  He continues to teach today, but as a substitute teacher for elementary, middle school and high  school students and sometimes gets to be the band director!