How old were you when you finally came to terms with the fact that you would be following in your dad's footsteps in the oh so glamorous career of a carpet cleaning supplier?</SPAN>I actually cleaned my first carpet in 1973. My mom drove me to the job site in our cherry red 1972 Ford Station Wagon. It was about a 10’ x 20’ carpet installed in a small gas station. I still tell stories about that first cleaning job, and I am sure they have gotten better over the years.</SPAN>
My dad, Ralph Bloss, had gone to work for a gentleman named Clark Seabloom in 1972. At the time the company had two names – Associated Manufacturing and Engineering and International Equipment. One of the products they manufactured was the Steam Way portable carpet cleaning extractor. I cleaned carpets throughout my teenage years, and sometimes helped out at the factory. In fact, I used to pour gallons of 1,1,1 Trichloroethane from a drum or tote into single gallon bottle. That should explain a lot about why I am the way I am now.</SPAN>
I headed off to college in 1978, and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a business degree in 1982. My dad had been trying to buy the Steam Way division of the company from Mr. Seabloom for several years. In 1982, he decided to pursue other interests and told dad he would sell him the company. When my dad went to the bank to borrow money to make the purchase, they were concerned about his age (he was 60 at the time). They wanted someone else to co-sign the loan with him. He offered up his recent college graduate son. I was happy to do that with him, but I headed off to work on my Master’s Degree. My dad would call me every couple of weeks in Missouri, and would kid with me that he was old and senile, and needed me to come work with him at the company. He always reminded me that I had co-signed the loan, and that if he ran the thing into the ground, the bank would certainly come after me, because I was younger and had more long term earning potential. You could say I kind of got into the supply side of the industry because my dad black-mailed me. I had already decided I did not want to go into my original pursuit – accounting, so in 1983 I went to work with my family at Steam Way. It is a decision I have never regretted.</SPAN>
Were you ever an actual cleaner in the trenches?</SPAN>Great question. I started a carpet cleaning company with a friend of mine that we ran throughout my high school and college years (1975 – 1983). We discovered early on there was a lot more money in cleaning carpets than flippin’ burgers at McDonald’s. When I left for College, my brother and my friend continued the business.</SPAN>
After I went to work at Steam Way, one of the things I felt strongly about was being “in the field” as much as possible. I owe a great deal of gratitude and thanks to many members of the “old-timers” in the PCRA in Colorado (then called the PCUCA). They let the bosses kid at Steam Way go out on many a cleaning and restoration job to help out. Over the years, it has been my privilege to be helping out on many job sites and in many carpet inspections. I believe you need to stay as connected as you can to what is really happening on job sites. At the same time, when you take many phone calls per day from cleaners and restorers all over the world who are on job sites and running into a challenge, which also presents a great opportunity to learn. You discuss with them what the “book” says should work, what they have done, and come up with a plan to solve the challenge. It is very gratifying to be able to hear back what worked and did not work.</SPAN>
What innovations can we thank your dad and family for bringing to this industry?</SPAN>Well Steam Way certainly was one of the original companies who made a hot water extraction machine, and I believe was the first to include an in-line heater, but that all actually pre-dated even my dad’s arrival at the company. Later in 1974, Steam Way introduced its first truckmount- the TurboMatic. In fact, one of the cleaners that helped the company design that unit, Ralph Greco, still runs a successful cleaning operation out in California. That was only a couple of years after
HydraMaster, BaneClene, Ballweber, Judson and others introduced the first truckmounts. Both
Prochem and Steam Way introduced fuel oil burners instead of propane for heating. That first Steam Way Unit did not even have a waste tank. It came with an auto pump out system, so my guess is that Steam Way innovated the first pump out. Later, Ron Toney helped us develop the Hydro-Kinetic Upholstery Cleaning tool. It literally changed the way the industry cleaned many delicate natural fabrics, and was the first high flow, shearing effect upholstery tool. In fact, there have been many improvements but that tool is still manufactured by Hydro-Force (who bought the rights from Steam Way) today. Though Steam Way was primarily known for fuel oil fired truckmounts, we were the first to introduce an automatic exhaust diverter valve to a heat exchange truckmount. We made a huge mistake not getting a patent on that.</SPAN>
I think my dad’s biggest contributions to the industry (and I hope I have lived up to that legacy) came in the way we made education the most important part of the cleaning and restoration business. My father, and three original Steam Way distributors, John Maucieri, Dick Hook, and Jim Nalley started hosting education seminars for professional cleaners back in 1972. Some of the early trainers at those original seminars were guys like Lee Pemberton, Ron Toney, Jeff Bishop, Murray Kremer, Ned Hopper, Walt Lipscomb, Wally Weber, and many others. Later, we built what was the largest
IICRC training school in the industry at the time with the help of incredible trainers like Tom Hill, Joey Pickett, Barry Costa, Dan Bernazzani, Shawn Bisaillon, Dane Gregory and many others( My apologies in advance to my friends I left out). We pushed education and industry involvement as key things that would help the industry move forward. My father received the highest award from 14 regional and national trade associations for his contributions to those associations and the industry. As I stated at my father’s funeral, his greatest legacy are the thousands of small business owners he guided, encouraged, and counseled whose businesses survived and thrived in part, because of that. Though the industry has changed and organizations have changed, I still believe that message of education, camaraderie, networking, and learning rings true today. Mikey’s Board is a great example of how those messages have taken form in a forum changed by the way we get information. It really is an on-line association of likeminded professionals. They may not see it that way when they argue and disagree, but just watch how they come together when a real crisis hits or another cleaner faces a real life challenge.</SPAN>
Steamway, Interlink and now Hydramaster, where else have you worked and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?
</SPAN>You would have to go all the way back to high school and college, where I worked in landscaping and janitorial as another job for a company other than those three. But I learned compassion from my boss at the daycare center where I did janitorial work when I added an entrance to the boy’s bathroom with a rotary floor machine while stripping wax. I thought I would lose my job. He laughed. God bless Darryl Bivens.</SPAN>
I worked at Steam Way from 1983 to 2003, and Bridgepoint/Interlink from 2003 until 2011, and have been at
HydraMaster since the fall of 2011.</SPAN>
I don’t see myself retired in 10 years. I do see myself involved in this industry. How that unfolds and presents itself only time will tell. I enjoy working at
HydraMaster and am blessed once again by the people I get to work with. Probably the best part of doing this for 30 years now are the friendships I have made with my co-workers at Steam Way, Interlink Supply and
HydraMaster, and the many cleaners and restorers who remain customers and friends.</SPAN>
Your good friend just lost his job and want to be a start a carpet cleaning biz. He has 100 grand under his mattress and want you to recommend a cleaning method, machine and marketing program to get him going, his goal is to learn the rope and get off the truck in a year or less and run 2 to 3 crews, let hear your advice.....</SPAN>
That is a great question. I think the opportunity in getting into this industry is as strong as it has always been. This last recession certainly presented the greatest challenge I have seen in my time in the business, but we continue to scratch and claw our way back to a higher level of prosperity. There is always opportunity in our business to someone who is willing to work hard, and learn and implement the management and marketing principles that have worked for other successful cleaners and restorers. A lot of what I would recommend to that person depends upon their own ability to implement what needs to be done with a steadfast discipline. </SPAN>
The equipment part is easy. In about 98% of the country, I would tell them to get a good van and truckmount. I would also recommend they buy the necessary equipment and chemicals to offer encapsulation cleaning. With those two weapons in their arsenal, there really are not too many jobs they cannot pursue.</SPAN>
There are so many great marketing and management systems and programs available now. I love reading about who is great and who is a “scam” when it comes to those. Whether you are talking about a franchise system or a network like
Strategies for Success, Piranha, Phenomenal Products; you will find those who swear by them, and those who swear about them. What I have found is that most of the detractors of any franchise or system went in with the wrong attitude or goals, or simply did not implement what they were taught. What Steve and
Strategies for Success present is about as turn-key as it gets, and really represents the culmination and compilation of 30 years of what works and does not work. But Steve will be the first to recommend to you to look at some of the other marketing systems to see what they can add to your arsenal. I consider Steve, Howard, and Joe all friends, and all three people who have helped thousands of cleaners be more successful. They have all been appropriately rewarded personally for doing that. If I can remember back to my college economics class, I believe that is called capitalism.</SPAN>
That is why I come back to my original thought. “A lot of what I would recommend to that person depends upon their own ability to implement what needs to be done with a steadfast discipline.” You can get some incredible advice and information for free right here on Mikey’s Board. Do you have the skills and the discipline to implement what is provided to you? If I thought my friend was self-motivated enough to get it done, he/she might not need coaching or accountability. If my friend was more of a dreamer than a doer, then I would suggest to get into a system, franchise, or program that would make him/her more accountable for implementation.</SPAN>
There are also lots of great “add-ons” when it comes to ways to help build your business. They are not entire systems, but simply something that can be part of your company growth plan. After implementing the basics, I would encourage my friend to never stop learning and be open minded to any program which can add to their growth. Above all, I would encourage them to find a cleaner or restorer who has built a business like they want to build, whether it be here on Mikey’s Board, or some other place, and stick to them like glue. Milk their minds, but don’t waste their time. If you are going to ask for advice, then do something with it.</SPAN>
Is your brother still in Hawaii? What is he doing there?
</SPAN>Yes, my brother, Greg, is a successful realtor on Kauai. He was named one of the top 3 performers on the Island in 2012. He has ridden the highs and suffered the lows of the real estate market there since 2003. Above all though, he absolutely loves living on Kauai and raising his family there. I think they will bury him there someday.
I have asked him in the past, what is more difficult – selling a $20,000 truckmount to a wavering carpet cleaner or a million dollar house to a California investor? He just smiles and tells me I know the answer to that question.</SPAN>
I often ask him if the butyl ever boils up in his blood and whether he is going to come to the Experience in Vegas to see all his old friends in the cleaning industry. I keep reminding him we are all getting older. He is always tempted, but he figures he would rather be in Kauai, and we can all come see him. Truthfully though, what he tells me he does miss the most are the people. The relationships we build in this industry are something we should all cherish. There are not a lot of industries where that opportunity is still afforded.</SPAN>
-Slide in or CDS</SPAN></SPAN>
</SPAN>
/PTO, where do you stand?
It depends upon the person’s own mechanical abilities and how far they are from a distributor who can service it for them. If I was operating a fleet of truckmounts, I would certainly recommend a
CDS. If I was a long way from a distributor, and was not that mechanically inclined, I would recommend a
CDS. If I was somewhat mechanical, and an owner-operator, I would probably get a slide in with all the performance I needed to do carpet cleaning and hard surface cleaning. I am still a heat guy too. I would want a heat exchange machine that kept the water the hottest when cleaning hard surfaces. Always consider the type of jobs you are doing, but just as importantly, the types of jobs you want to be doing in that determination.</SPAN>
-In a perfect world what would you be doing to earn a living?
I would be living just outside of Yellowstone National Park and I would be a professional wildlife photographer who was talented enough to make a good living selling my photographs. </SPAN>
I might consider being the athletic director at the University of Colorado to help bring our football program out of the doldrums. But since that job is presently open and they have not called me, I guess that might not happen.</SPAN>
My other dream job would be to own an on-line forum and bulletin board for professional carpet cleaners and restorers. I hear the real money is in that. Seriously Mike, thanks for the many contributions to educating the industry that Mikey’s Board and its contributors do every day.</SPAN>
-How bad do you want to punch Larry Cooper in the throat for making you waste four days in Frisco Texas next year?</SPAN>If you put 15 cleaners and restorers from various parts of the country in a room and ask them what would make for a well-attended, great trade show and convention, you will get 15 strongly worded and completely diverse opinions about what would work. I know, because I have sat in those rooms.</SPAN>
What I do know is that prior to the Connections Events and the leadership that Larry Cooper and his team provided, we had mostly poorly attended small events that mostly wasted the time of exhibitors. It was not always that way. Everything has to change and evolve. Fortunately it did, and that was the birth of a central trade show or two in the Connections events.
Some people think they have a better idea and have started various other events. I guess the marketplace will decide. What I would like to see is that if organizations and people want to start their own event to compete with the Experience, or
Mikeyfest, or any other event with a proven track record, that they for once do it by telling us what is great about their event, and not by tearing down the other event. I also hope for world peace too.</SPAN>
All that being said, I am never afraid to express my opinion (hopefully in a considerate way), and Larry already knows what I think of Frisco, Texas as a convention destination (and I was born in Dallas, so I guess that makes me a Texan by blood). The good news, it is better than the following towns I have attended conventions in since I started in the industry (no offense to people living in these towns, just stating my opinion) – Toledo, Ohio; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Atlanta, Georgia in July.
I say we all just get Lee and Jim Pemberton and Frank Kuse to take us all back to Seven Springs Resort in Champion, Pennsylvania during the “Miss Ski-Bunny” finals again. Oh yeah, I was not married back then.</SPAN>
Thanks for the chance to share a few memories Mike. As you know, one of my passions is that we not forget the people who helped build this industry during its infancy. Any time you need someone who can bore to death your readers with an old story about a bunch of people they have never met or heard of, I am your guy – well Jim Pemberton can help me. Seriously, I have enjoyed this and will try to answer to the best of my ability any follow up questions.</SPAN>