Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Emrick.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started out cleaning carpets in Oct of 1999. I had been in the service industry prior for 15 years, so I knew my way around the area, and traveling to customers’ homes would not be a problem. I was working for another company, using the same equipment. As soon as I started the job, I knew that I really liked doing it. I enjoy making people happy, and I feel good when I am done, knowing that there carpets are: clean, sanitized, looking better, and protected.
After about 7 years in the business, I decided to strike out on my own. I quit working for the other company, and went to work for myself. I had a simple business plan, bought the equipment and supplies, and went to work. After only 2 short months, I realized my plan was not working at all. It was towards the end of the summer, and the new phone books were not due to come out for several months. So I couldn’t place an ad in the local phone book. That first year, I lost almost everything. I had to sell a car, my house got foreclosed, and I had to file bankruptcy. I didn’t know what to do. In the first year I was in business, I couldn’t have made more than $8000. Then, A friend who owned his own air duct cleaning business, who was going through the same trouble I was, told me about advertising online. He didn’t know how to, but he knew it was a good idea. So, since I had plenty of time on my hands, I looked into it. I soon discovered just how right he was. I started advertising on Craigslist, and every other board I could find. I had built a website when I first went into business, but no one knew about it, or how to find it. Once I was advertising online, and was able to drive traffic to my website, things turned around in a hurry. And, I thought I was pretty innovative since I was the first carpet cleaner in Chicago on craigslist to make my ads HTML, then later to have links to my YouTube page, to show video testimonials from my customers. Later on, I joined Angieslist, where till this day, I have maintained an A+ rating with them based on customer’s reviews. Since I do a great job, and my customers really like me, my repeat customers make up about 50%-60% of my business, and about 30% of my new customers are referrals. And that’s where I am now
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like I said on the last question, the biggest obstacle was not knowing about online advertising for the first year. Also, there are plenty of out of town advertisers running ads on craigslist. What these slime balls do, is to post as many ad’s as possible, even though craigslist says your only allowed to post one ad per week, every day to get people to call. Then they schedule the appointment, set the price, then they try to farm out the actual work to the local carpet cleaners and pay them only half the amount collected, and forbid them to leave there business cards, or there phone numbers. Once craigslist, or the public, or whoever wises up, and starts flagging there ad’s, they simply change the name of the company on the ad, and keep going. You can still see that today. To me, it’s extremely shady. Whenever they call me to see if I can do one of their jobs, I simply tell them no, and I hope you go out of business soon. Also, there is a company out there who created a program that will automatically flag and remove any ads on craigslist you tell them to remove. I think it’s horrible, and I could never do that. I still have to wake up with myself in the morning, and feel that tactic is beneath me. Then there’s all the trouble with advertising on Google. They tell you that you’re just bidding against the competition, but in reality, there just whoring themselves out to whoever guaranties them the most revenue per month, but I won’t get into all of that…
Please tell us about J.R.’s Dry Foam Carpet Cleaning.
I clean: carpets, upholstery, mattresses, tile, and hardwood floors. I am known for using the dry foam method, for being an expert spot remover, and for having low, upfront pricing. I am proud of having a 1% complaint rate. Only 1% of all of the jobs I do per year, actually call me back and ask me to come back out to try to touch something up. The large companies have a 40%-60% complaint rate. I am also proud of my Angies list rating. I have won three super service award twice, and have had an A+ rating for over 10 years now. What sets me apart from others in my industry besides the system I use, is my experience. Most carpet cleaners are only in the business for a year or so, while I’m going on 18 years in this business. That, and the fact that I’m not a shady bait-and-switch company. I do what I say I’ll do, and for the price that I quote you, and that you can see from my website, and my ad’s
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Started advertising online on day 1.
Pricing:
- I charge: $25 for rooms up to 225sf, $25 for a flight of stairs (10-14 steps), and $15 for hallways
- upholstery ranges from $100 for sectional couches, to $5 for bar stools
- Mattresses range from $60 for king size, to $35 for tiwns
- Tile and hardwood is $1 per foot
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jrsdryfoam.com
- Phone: 630-816-9453
- Email: rick@jrsdryfoam.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JRS-Dry-Foam-Carpet-Cleaning-166741130003845/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoEUTgFeHIsFMsEaaZzR4AQ
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
