[Matt Lindus]

I understand that you still fit carpets and floors on a small scale, but this is now not your primary business focus. Why did you choose to retire this side of your business and focus on carpet and upholstery cleaning?

I know a few people who have done very well from floor supplying, fitting, but not so many from cleaning.

Regards
Matt

[jasonl]

I understand that you still fit carpets and floors on a small scale, but this is now not your primary business focus. Why did you choose to retire this side of your business and focus on carpet and upholstery cleaning?

I know a few people who have done very well from floor supplying, fitting, but not so many from cleaning.

Regards
Matt

I know at least 12 cleaning millionaires, all made it in under 10 years, I only know one carpet/flooring millionaire.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Matt

I've been in the carpet industry for 30 years next year and physically fitting for 25 of those years, it's hard graft.

I added cleaning 14 years ago as an add-on service, mainly to retain contact with my clients, as once you have carpeted their whole house you're not likely to hear from then for a while.

I had a plan that I didn't want to be fitting full time when I was 50, it's a young man's game.

5 years ago I started pushing the cleaning side in a bigger way and now it is the core of my business. It suits me better to get my supply and fit work from my cleaning clients, as I can be choosy as to what type of work I do.

I am thinking of getting a dedicated website for the supply and fit side of things next year, but to be honest, I have no desire to be fitting every week.

The money is in the supplying of the carpet/flooring and ancillaries and I don't trust anyone else to fit to my standards for my clients.

I can clean carpets into my sixties, health permitting.

I know a couple of millionaires in the carpet industry, but they are not tradesmen - they have retail stores and teams of fitters and estimators doing all the work. Been there, done that and I don't need that level of grief in my life.

People buy from me because it's me and I'm happy to carry on supplying and fitting on a smaller scale, but to be honest I enjoy the cleaning side more.

[Matt Lindus]

Thanks Steve & Jason.

Steve, could I ask a few questions...

1/ In todays market where would you say you could experienced more profit year on year, Carpet Cleaning or Floor Supply and Fit?

2/ For Return On Investment (ROI) in regards to marketing effort for both businesses, what in your experience reaps the best return. Carpet Cleaning or Floor Supply and Fit?

3/ What side have you had more job satisfaction, the fitting or the cleaning. The biggest issue regarding carpet cleaning is the risk of a questionable result when finished. This is not the case in floor fitting.

4/ What in your opinion is more scalable out of the two businesses (Ease of expansion and opportunity for employment). I have seen many one man bands in carpet cleaning. Floor supply and fitting tends to be a 2-10 man operation on a whole.


Thanks a lot Steve.
Matt 
 

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Matt

I'm just leaving the house to take my Mother out for a meal (haven't seen her for 4 years), I will be happy to give you some answers to those questions when I get back later.

Steve

[derek west]

matt
why don't you give him a bell, he's a nice enough chap.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Thanks Steve & Jason.

Steve, could I ask a few questions...

1/ In todays market where would you say you could experienced more profit year on year, Carpet Cleaning or Floor Supply and Fit?

2/ For Return On Investment (ROI) in regards to marketing effort for both businesses, what in your experience reaps the best return. Carpet Cleaning or Floor Supply and Fit?

3/ What side have you had more job satisfaction, the fitting or the cleaning. The biggest issue regarding carpet cleaning is the risk of a questionable result when finished. This is not the case in floor fitting.

4/ What in your opinion is more scalable out of the two businesses (Ease of expansion and opportunity for employment). I have seen many one man bands in carpet cleaning. Floor supply and fitting tends to be a 2-10 man operation on a whole.


Thanks a lot Steve.
Matt 
 

Matt

Rather than answer these questions individually, I would rather give you an overview, as I assume this is something you are looking into.

In my experience, there are 2 main routes to market - open a retail store or market yourself as an independent specialist and go for a niche sector.

Obviously there is a big cost involved in opening even a small shop, but at least you have an instant presence albeit to your local prospects. You would still have to back this up with local advertising.

You would need accounts with suppliers, whether manufacturers direct or distributors, sufficient storage and most importantly quality fitters. Your ROI will look good on paper as it is a profitable industry, but your bottom line will reflect your considerable operating costs.

As far as job satisfaction is concerned, this is all down to quality fitting - a piece of carpet is just a piece of carpet until someone takes a knife to it. The most expensive carpet can be butchered by a fitter without the necessary skills - as far as I'm concerned there is less risk with cleaning.

I supply and fit to a high end market, same with the cleaning - clients who demand high levels of service and installation and who purchase quality carpets to tie in with the decor and furnishings in their homes. Price is a consideration, but it's not the be all and end all.

Hope this helps but feel free to call me on 07768.648863 if you want to discuss it further.

[Matt Lindus]

Steve, thanks very much for taking the time to respond. Very Interesting reading.

I have researched this industry quite a lot. There are, in my opinion two effective ways to operate affectively in this competitive industry.
1/ Quality based local operation. Small commercial premises offering a personal family type service to local residence. A moderate showroom with sample books and limited stock in a small holding. Flooring ordered as and when required. Supply and fitting costs are done at higher prices than larger retailers, but high quality service and product reflects this.

2/ Wholesale to Trade along with large fitting division. Massive commercial premises to hold vast amounts of carpeting and flooring. Stock ordered on a hugh scale to dictate good discounts from manufactures. Would operate very fine margins in regards to profit per roll, but would command high profit through the manufactures discount, volume of sale and mass nationwide fitting.


Thanks
Matt

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Matt

Option 2 would be full of problems, not least of which is the competition. A lot of the independent wholesalers were swallowed up by the Headlam group who now have massive buying power with the manufacturers.

Also, you would experience alienation from contractors and retailers who you are trying to wholesale to, if they knew you were supplying and fitting as well. Plus (and trust me on this) it is hard enough to find quality fitters on a local level, let alone on a national level.