Rug Secrets REPORT 2010

Transcription

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R e al-Wo r ld R u g Educa tio n Fo r Pro fe s s io na l C le a ne r s
RUG SECRETS™ SPECIAL REPORT:
THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFULLY ADDING RUGS
TO YOUR CLEANING & RESTORATION COMPANY
BY: LISA WAGNER
©2010 Lisa Wagner CRS, All Rights Reserved.
L i s a Wa g n e r C R S • l i s a @ t h e r u g c h i c k . c o m • w w w. T h e R u g C h i c k . c o m
Re a l-Wo r ld R u g Educa tio n Fo r Pro fe s s io na l C le a ne r s ™
The Rug Basics vs. The Rug B.S.
Welcome to my Rug Secrets Report.
First of all, thank you for requesting this Report, and taking the time to read it.
You’ve tracked me down probably for one, or several, of these reasons:
✓
You are not super happy with the revenue you are currently bringing in with carpet cleaning, so
you want to create a new lucrative specialty service (rugs) for your business.
✓
You are tired of going to certification classes where they have you memorize a bunch of facts that
you never use again, and then they peddle all of their products to you for the class you PAID for.
✓
When something wrong happens during rug cleaning, following what you learned in your class,
the “instructors” insist YOU did something wrong...not that their teaching was flawed.
✓
You don’t have huge dollars to set up a large rug cleaning facility, but you want to find out how
to do a really good job with the resources you have right now.
✓
Your gut tells you that the people preaching EASY MONEY in the rug cleaning field are not telling you the whole story, that they just want to get more of YOUR bucks into their pockets.
If you responded because of any of these reasons, then I understand where you are coming from, and I
share some of your frustrations. Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed with this report.
Who Am I, and Why Did I Write This?
My name is Lisa Wagner. I am a second generation rug care expert. My mother Kate is a weaver (she married into the craft by marrying a rug merchant). Our family has been involved in the rug field as brokers
of antique textiles, and cleaning and repair of oriental rugs, for over 35 years. My mother and I have been
partners in the San Diego Rug Cleaning Company for 20 of my “adult” years.
Rug cleaning courses and certifications did not exist when I was growing up. We learned through DOING
instead of sitting in a classroom. And, as with all small family businesses, we have learned what to do,
and what not to do, by making lots and LOTS of mistakes.
My brothers and I started out as kids scrubbing 100-year-old rugs by hand on our back driveway of our
high-end rug gallery in La Jolla, using a bucket of Ivory soap suds and cold water. The science of cleaning
is not complicated if you know what you are working on.
This Industry Has A Serious Rug Problem.
The problem is the number of rugs is skyrocketing, while the number of competent rug cleaners is not.
© Lisa Wagner CRS, all rights reserved.!
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The market is being flooded with cheap rugs intermingled with VERY valuable ones, and the rug cleaning education is either too basic, or too black and white (when things are really grey), or simply too darn
complicated and expensive.
Rug Cleaning is not Rocket Science.
It’s simple. Simple, but not necessarily easy. And with some out there preaching it’s “easy money” and
others preaching you need YEARS of training before you can even get into the craft, it all creates a lot of
confusion for the sake of their own personal financial gain.
If they keep you motivated...you’ll just keep buying hoping for that big fat payday. And, if they keep you
confused...you’ll keep needing their help (which requires more dollars of course).
Fifteen years ago I began sharing rug care tips with my local Carpet & Fabricare Institute (CFI) chapter
members in San Diego. I wanted to help keep local carpet cleaners from ruining rugs with chemicals and
equipment meant for in-home installed carpeting applications, and not for natural fiber oriental rugs.
During my career I’ve served on the CFI Board of Directors for 10 years, twice as President. I’ve served
twice on the IICRC Board of Directors, and assisted in the Rug Cleaning Task Force. I’ve served on the
Textile Council of the National Institute of Rug Cleaners (NIRC). I am an ASCR Certified Rug Specialist
(now referred to as RIA). I have been one of four hands-on trainers in the rug cleaning craft, and authored
the first rug cleaning information product in our industry (the Rug Secrets™ Rug Cleaning Starter Kit).
I’ve also been the rug care columnist for Cleanfax Magazine for a decade, and was awarded their Industry
Person of the Year in 2006 for my overall industry work...even though I have MUCH more to do here!
I’ve written this Report for two reasons: 1) to give valuable direction and Rug Basics insight to those seeking to get into the Rug Cleaning craft successfully; and 2) to expose the myths and Rug B.S. that some in
this industry are feeding to the market as a ploy to line their pockets selling their products...or simply
because they honestly don’t really understand how to clean rugs as they’ve never actually done it themselves. (Note to Self: Book-learned instructors can’t teach you real-world rug success.)
What You Will Discover In This Report.
In this Report I’m going to cover these valuable areas:
✓
The 5 biggest myths about rug cleaning that keep most out of this lucrative field.
✓
The 3 secrets about rugs that instructors hide so you pay more to them instead of just teaching
you the real stuff.
✓
The step-by-step basics of setting up a rug cleaning operation, and how to do this intelligently so
you can go from a know-nothing, shoestring operation to the “go to” rug specialist in your town.
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How To Use This Information. (*ahem*... the DISCLAIMER) ☺
I obviously cannot give you decades of my experience, and all of the answers you need, into one simple
report. That is impossible. So my disclaimer is this:
Please Do Not Be A Rug Idiot.
First of all, the fact that you requested this Report to learn a bit more already tells me that you are not an
idiot. My disclaimer here is that these are my opinions based on my own personal and practical experience
in this industry. If you see me say, “we gave this rug a bath” and you think the rug you have looks like
the one in my example, don’t just immediately think they are all always one-size-fits-all.
Certification courses - in ALL cleaning specialties - tend to present the content in black and white. Why?
Because, there is a TEST to take, and with tests there can only be ONE RIGHT ANSWER.
They teach you WHAT to think to pass a test, and not HOW to think. And that is very dangerous. It can
lead you to do things against your gut instinct because they said so in the class.
A rug you are handling could be worth $100, or $100,000. Don’t rely on someone else’s “suggested tip”
from a certification course, or posted up on an on-line forum, as the 100% truth. It may have worked for
that person, with that particular rug, in that particular situation. It may ruin you.
My disclaimer is that this Report is simply suggestions and advice from me, a rug cleaner in the trenches
who has experienced enough mistakes (mine and others’) to have learned a lot of what not to do. It is also
advice from an Industry Insider who has seen enough of the sickening politics and financially motivated
situational ethics from behind the scenes to let you know that you need to question a great deal of what is
being “officially” taught in this industry.
Any comments I make on financial, insurance, or legal matters are not meant as financial, insurance, or
legal advice. You need to rely on your own paid experts in your own state on those matters.
I am not the end-all-and-be-all answer on rugs. Far from it. I’m just someone adding some more value to
the conversation, and I hope you enjoy and learn from what I have to share. Unlike those who teach rugs
that act like they walk on water (with boots), I’m not one who thinks I know it all. I am always looking to
learn more through my own mistakes, and from others. So, don’t take me too seriously. I certainly don’t.
Let’s Get Started!
Make sure you have a pen handy to mark up questions as they come up throughout this Report. At the
end you’ll have an opportunity to ask them.
Okay, let’s roll into the juicy stuff!
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Big, Fat, Hairy Rug Cleaning MYTHS.
There are 5 big industry myths that keep professional carpet cleaners from successfully entering the rug
cleaning market, and building a growing operation.
Myth #1: There Is No Difference Between CARPET CLEANERS And RUG CLEANERS
Well, on one hand we are all in the cleaning business, and we are all cleaning fuzzy stuff. However, that is
where the similarities end, because the way the public views what Rug Cleaners do, and the money they
are paid for doing it, is VERY different from most Carpet Cleaners.
While you may be getting 20, 30, or 50 cents a square foot for cleaning residential carpeting, Rug Cleaners
are getting $3, $4, or $6 a square foot for cleaning rugs. Why such the big difference? (And, why are there
many more million dollar Rug Cleaning companies than million dollar Carpet Cleaning companies?)
Economics 101:
60,000+ Carpet Cleaning Companies
vs. 600+ Rug Cleaning Plants
There are more than 60,000 full-time and part-time Carpet Cleaning companies in the US, but only hundreds of full-time Rug Cleaning facilities. Even in my own city (with a population of 1.3 million), there are
3 rug plants doing any sizable volume of rug cleaning, and a handful of spray and suck amateurs (who
thankfully create enough rug disasters to bring us new customers constantly).
In the Carpet Cleaning industry there is an attrition rate of around 25%. This means every year that 25%
of the companies are going out of business, and 25% of newcomers come in to replace them. Especially in
this upside down economy, if you are not strong at marketing and building client relationships, you will
die quickly.
Think about this a minute. With all of these newcomers who are inexperienced in the cleaning craft and
running a business, do you think they are going to come in as a high-priced, professional operation?
Absolutely not.
They are looking for quick survival cash, and are the ones who do the massive super cheap coupons because they do not know how else to get jobs. They use inferior equipment, have little or no training (because it looks easy) and they not only bring down the industry pricing in that town, but help reinforce the
reputation of Carpet Cleaning companies creating nightmares for homeowners.
Less than 10% of the Carpet Cleaning companies in existence today are IICRC Certified. This isn’t to say
that you must be certified to be a great cleaner, but honestly, isn’t it a sign that the industry as a whole
isn’t proactively seeking out knowledge to better themselves?
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Even I am IICRC Certified as a Carpet Cleaning Technician and Upholstery Cleaning Technician, even
though I do not do carpet or upholstery cleaning. I just wanted to understand how others are cleaning, to
expand my own information. I have the Rug Cleaning Certification (because I helped write the exam, I
thought I better take the test), and I even went through the Applied Structural Drying (ASD) course in
order to understand how structures are properly dried out after a flood.
I don’t do structural dry-out of buildings, but I wanted to know more about it since we do handle a large
number of restoration contents cleaning jobs of rugs from floods and fires.
But that’s me. I like to continually learn and grow. It’s what has made my team and I great at rug cleaning
and repairing, because we are always seeking out what changes are happening in the industry so we can
anticipate potential problems, and solve other people’s mistakes.
This makes us perceived at times as “miracle workers” with rugs by our clients, and by Carpet Cleaners
who we are able to save from the mistakes caused by their lack of knowledge on how to safely clean natural fiber oriental rugs.
Carpet Cleaning is viewed as a SERVICE.
Rug Cleaning is viewed as a CRAFT.
Most Rug Cleaning operations have been around 25, 50, or more than 100 years. They have been around
two, three, or four generations. They still incorporate the old world techniques that their parents and
grandparents used, which gives the entire facility a mystique that is very different from just about every
other business around.
Hand weaving of an oriental rug on a loom.
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This historical aura, the high value that most clients place on their own hand-woven textiles, AND the
fact that there is no other reputable rug plant in their area creates an opportunity to establish a high-end
profitable business success if you are ready to back the opportunity up with quality workmanship and
excellent service.
Because Rug Cleaners are seen as craftsmen instead of cleaners there is a completely different perception of
them by clients and consumers. When I travel and anyone asks me what I do for a living, and I say I have
a company that cleans and restores oriental rugs by hand, the conversation never ends there. Everyone
has some level of interest or fascination with oriental rugs, and they ask me a ton of questions. And odds
are I am the ONLY Oriental Rug Cleaner that they have ever met, so they talk to me as if I am a “specialist,” which makes me feel really good about the business I have helped to build.
But back to those industry numbers - 60,000 versus 600. When you are one of very few in a particular
market who has learned how to deliver a quality, needed service, you have the opportunity to set your
own price and compete solely on quality and service.
There simply are not enough quality Rug Cleaners.
Myth #2: It’s Really Hard To Learn How To Clean Rugs.
You know, this depends on how you learn.
I’m not the most computer friendly person on the planet. If someone told me to be successful I needed to
learn how to use a computer, and they gave me a PC with NO INSTRUCTIONS, it would be next to impossible for me to become great at that skill, no matter how much I wanted it.
However, if someone gave me a Quick Start guide showing me the right and wrong buttons to push, and
some shortcuts to get important things done, I’d be looking like a PRO in no time at all.
Like I said before, this is not rocket science. But it’s also not a walk in the park. There is knowledge to
learn, and practicing that is needed to hone your rug cleaning skills.
The key is getting the right information along the way so you don’t crash your rug cleaning hard drive.
You need the right information from the right teacher, then you can avoid the most common problems and
disasters that we Rug Cleaners know as second nature. When you have the basics down, then you just get
more hands-on experience to fine-tune your techniques. This is not hard, it’s just hard finding the right
information.
The Carpet Cleaning industry has a number of instructors preaching Rug Cleaning who have never run a
successful rug cleaning company in their life. There is a lot of misinformation being taught that is just
plain WRONG, and will get you into dangerous waters, especially when you are talking about rugs that
may be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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Some classes are simply a sales pitch for the equipment they are “teaching” with. They only show you
one core method, and present it as the only way to clean rugs. With IICRC courses this is not only a disservice to the students, but also is in my opinion unethical because instructors are not supposed to be presenting any information to promote or sell items that they personally financially benefit from as part of an
IICRC course. (If it’s a private course sponsored by a supplier, that’s one thing, you know you are getting
a free class in exchange for a commercial...but when you pay for a course, you should be showed ALL
options to clean rugs, and not primarily the way that makes the instructors the most money.)
My point here is...
Question Your Sources!
I have sat in a few Rug Cleaning courses written by reps of Carpet Cleaning manufacturing companies
where they have had product use suggestions and temperatures that would absolutely ruin some rugs
currently on the market.
When you follow those instructions and ruin a rug, do you think the instructor will pay to replace the
rug? No way! When their product makes the rug turn a strange color, or brown-out, or fade, will they pay
to replace the rug? No way! If their dye stabilizing product does not work, even when you apply it properly, do they back it up by replacing the rug? No, they don’t.
Some may claim that you did not follow instructions. Or that they did not teach “that” in the course, you
misheard them. Not because they are necessarily unethical (no instructors want to teach students to ruin
things...), but because they are NOT Rug Cleaners. They are teaching techniques that they have never
done themselves, suggesting products they’ve never used on oriental and area rugs from around the
world.
Some of them are teaching RUG THEORY - not RUG REALITY.
There are a few very knowledgeable Rug Cleaners who instruct. One unfortunately (Phil Auserehl) is retiring from training. Another one unfortunately (Shawn Basillion) is being kept from being allowed to
take the exam in order to teach the IICRC rug course due to industry and competition politics, even
though he’s been around rugs for his entire life (he is Phil’s nephew) and is more knowledgeable than all
of the current IICRC instructors combined. Ellen Amirkhan teaches a great advanced rug course, the RIA
Certified Rug Specialist course, that is very heavy on rug identification more so than the rug cleaning basics. She also team teaches with Aaron Groseclose, though they tend to focus a lot on his own product
line, so their materials do tend to be a magalogue for that product line rather than sharing a variety of
options to choose from. That’s my only complaint with them - I think the course should be much cheaper
and the cost offset by the chemical manufacturer getting all of the product sales. That’s what I’d do.
The other rug courses, and instructors, are really truly hit and miss.
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One instructor to this day teaches to use Haitian Cotton Shampoo on wool rugs to brighten them up.
(FYI: If you do this on a Chinese rug you will OWN it. The instructor may have had success with this at
one time with one random rug, but to teach this is dangerous.)
Another instructing team has had to pay to replace two rugs brought in by students that they ruined in
class. They also had no answer to a student’s question on how to handle rayon rugs properly, which is
one of the most dangerous rugs on the market today for cleaners. The instructors did not know how to
handle the rugs they ruined, or what to say about rayon, because they aren’t Rug Cleaners, they just
“play one on TV.”
Play it safe. Question your sources. And take anyone’s tips - even mine - with a grain of salt. This industry is not black and white, always right and always wrong. You need to learn how to think in this business, and to anticipate problems, and you will do well.
Myth #3: You Need To Know Whether A Rug Is
HAND-WOVEN Or MACHINE-WOVEN,
and What COUNTRY It Is From, To Clean It Properly.
This is the biggest myth of the bunch. I don’t know how many times I’ve read this from “rug instructors”
in articles, or in their classes.
One instructor, who has some college degree in textiles started up this farce in an article she published
where she insisted that if you did not properly identify what country a list of rugs was from that you
could not - and should not - clean them.
I gave her “rug identification quiz” to my cleaning team, who all passed with 100%...and then asked me,
“What does this have to do with Rug Cleaning?”
Exactly! What country a rug comes from, and whether it’s been woven by hand or by machine, is irrelevant to HOW you clean it.
If a rug is an antique Sarouk hand-woven wool rug from Persia, or a new Karastan machine-woven wool
rug from the US, it will be washed exactly the same.
Where a rug is from doesn’t matter, it’s irrelevant. This is a ploy by some to sell class seats and spend a lot
of time memorizing facts for rug identification for a quiz, because when you need several hundred questions for a test, you need lots of content. It makes for great filler.
What is relevant to cleaning? Four things:
1) FIBER TYPE (Is it natural fiber or synthetic?)
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2) DYE STRENGTH (Is it colorfast?)
3) CONSTRUCTION TYPE (Is it woven, tufted, or a custom rug?)
4) PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS (Is there pet damage, past cleaning damage, weaving flaws, etc.?)
You can master these four areas, and not be able to identify a rug from India from one from Dalton, Georgia, and still become an excellent Rug Cleaner.
Rug Identification Helps With MARKETING, Not Cleaning.
I’m not saying to never learn rug identification skills. I’m saying that those who tell you that you MUST
learn this in order to clean rugs properly are full of themselves. (Or full of crap...you choose.)
If you are looking to add rug cleaning as an add-on service, and do not have a love for textiles, then trying to learn where rugs are from is going to drive you crazy. If you simply want the technical know-how
to do a great job, you can skip identification by country completely. You don’t need to pay thousands, and
spend weeks, on a course for that.
Now, if you do love rugs, and want to learn more about where rugs come from, then this becomes a great
marketing tool for those wanting to specialize in the field. If a client comes in and you can tell them
where their rug is from (95% of them have no clue...), then it immediately builds trust, which of course
helps with the sale of the job.
My point is, learn the rug ID skills only if you really want to. One great way to learn is to visit galleries
and become friends with the rug dealers. This gives you a large learning environment, and access to a
knowledgeable source on hand to ask questions to. (Most rug retailers, especially of older rugs, love to
talk about them.) There are also scores of books on different rug weaving countries.
Rug identification skills are for marketing, not for cleaning. It impresses clients, puts them at ease that
they are dealing with an “expert.” It builds trust, and allows you to charge more for your services mostly
because you feel more confident about your rug knowledge so you don’t second-guess your own prices.
It’s also a lot of fun to start learning about different rugs, if you are into that.
But, for cleaning, it is not a necessary prerequisite to know countries of origin, or hand-woven versus
machine-woven.
Myth #4: You Must Have A Lifelong Background In
Oriental Rugs To Be A GREAT Rug Cleaner.
Being a GREAT Rug Cleaner is based on following some key guidelines in proper and thorough rug care.
It’s based on using tests and resources to strategize your cleaning steps and to avoid the rugs you cannot
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safely clean. It’s based on actual rug cleaning, and honing your techniques in the craft as well as honing
your customer service techniques.
Empowered with the right knowledge, the right tools, and the right attitude, anyone who wants to become a great Rug Cleaner will become one. Everyone who is part of a rug cleaning family is not automatically a GREAT Rug Cleaner...just as anyone who is not part of a rug cleaning family is not automatically excluded from becoming a great Rug Cleaner.
You do not have to be born into a rug family to succeed in this business. Our current rug wash team came
to us with absolutely no rug or cleaning knowledge. They were all trained in-house, and have all become
extremely skilled in their craft. All were trained before an IICRC rug cleaning course even existed.
Anyone who is motivated to become a great Rug Cleaner, who gets the right guidance, will become a pro.
Myth #5: You Need To Do High Volume Cleaning To Do High Volume Money.
I can’t tell you how many people have told me that to build a million dollar a year Rug Cleaning company, you need to invest HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS in automated equipment and a large location so
you can clean 800-1,000 rugs a week to make the BIG money.
I’m friends with many rug plant owners who do have big operations with the automated machinery, and
40, 50, 100+ employees...and though they do have really impressive operations, that’s just not what we
wanted to create. It may be what you want to build, but that is not the only path to success.
The AUTOMATED CAR WASH vs. The HAND CAR DETAILER Analogy
Don’t get me wrong. Automated wet wash rug cleaning is a VERY good cleaning method. In most cases,
depending on the rug plant team, it is far superior and much more thorough than the very best surface
cleaning with a portable, bonnet, or truck mount method.
However, the more hands-on you can get with the process, and the more time you can spend on one individual rug to give it extra care, the more thorough a job you can do. And, the more you can charge for
that rug detailing time without having to invest in the huge machinery and space.
We have build a boutique rug workshop operation, with less than 10 employees and less than 10,000
square feet of space, that provides high-end care and service that generate high-volume dollars without
having to do the high-volume conveyor belt system. It gives us more time per rug, and more time per
client, and more time to enjoy every single order.
More VOLUME = More WORK
We made a strategic business decision years ago to focus on more quality than quantity. We wanted to
structure our operation so we could keep short hours, and not have to work weekends. We wanted to
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attract the clients looking for specialists rather than cheapest price, and be able to give them world-class
work and service.
You don’t have to be volume-based to make money cleaning rugs if you structure it right. If you learn the
craft, and become great, you can add part-time rug cleaning hours that add tremendously to your company’s revenue. At $4 per square foot, you only have to clean four room size rugs (100 sq. ft. each) to
make $1,600 extra a week ($83,200 a year) in gross revenue. Would it be hard to add 4 rugs a week to your
business operation? If the answer is yes, then maybe another service would be better for you.
The 3 Big Secrets Rug Industry Instructors Like To Hide From Their Students.
The first secret is that you can set up your shop MUCH cheaper than with what tools, equipment, and
chemicals they teach you in the standard certification class. (What this IICRC course needs is an instructor
who does not distribute the products they teach with, so that they do not conveniently forget to mention
other cheaper ways to get the same results for those who do not have the capital to buy their systems. I
address these shoe-string budget options in the next rug shop set-up section.)
The second secret is that more than 95% of serious rug cleaning plants are not IICRC certified, RIA certified, Wools of New Zealand certified, and do not use any WoolSafe designated products. In fact, most
likely have never heard of IICRC, RIA, WoNZ, or WoolSafe.
Rug weaving has been around for thousands of years. Rug Cleaning has also been around a very, VERY
long time. All of these organizations are young kids trying to police operations than have been around for
decades longer than they have. It’s comical at times to see an instructor say that Rug Cleaning plants
must use only those chemicals deemed “Wool Safe” - when most career Rug Specialists have been delivering phenomenal cleaning and repairing services for decades, without needing anyone’s stamp of approval.
WoolSafe® Chemicals vs. WOOL-SMART Cleaners
Here is the biggest difference between bureaucrats (like some large certification bodies) and entrepreneurs (like you and I).
Entrepreneurs, when they want to increase their revenue, think of ways to deliver MORE VALUE to their
market so that they can EARN more revenue. If they do not deliver value, they do not get paid.
Bureaucrats, when they want to increase their revenue, think of ways to create more regulations to suck
up more dollars away from everyone else - whether they deliver value or not. They take instead of create.
Programs like WoolSafe®, are helpful in showing chemicals that meet a certain criteria to deem them
“okay” for use on wool. The reality is, there are often solutions used by experienced Rug Cleaners that
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would never pass those “safe” standards, either due to the pH, or other elements, or due to the manufacturer not wanting to pay to have their product tested to get that stamp of approval.
What is interesting is that the RUG MANUFACTURERS often give their rugs a heavy chemical washing,
sometimes using chorine bleach (which dissolves wool), before the rugs go to market. This chemical washing solution would NEVER in a million years pass a “wool safe” test. The organization will not try to
regulate the retailers (who buy their wool), but regulating the cleaners and the cleaning chemical
manufacturers...that seems easier.
The majority of Rug Cleaning plants will ignore any possible WoolSafe® recommendations, simply because they are Wool-Smart Cleaners. Think about it. They’ve been around valuable wool rugs for their
lifetimes, and know that doing anything harmful could cost them tens of thousands of dollars or more.
No one understands wool better than they do.
The biggest difference with plant cleaners is the amount of water that they use, which adjusts pH down
very quickly, and rinses away residue and any problems that it may have on wool rugs. When someone is
in-home cleaning rugs, using surface cleaning methods, they are leaving behind residue that can create
problems from fading to yellowing to future dye migration with it’s cleaned next.
WoolSafe® designations are more applicable to this type of surface cleaning, but here is the bigger issue.
Rugs should not be cleaned in the home to begin with, so they are trying to regulate methods that should
not be being applied to wool rugs at all. If their main concern was truly to help wool rugs “live longer”
then they would simply say: Do not clean wool rugs in the home. Take them to a rug plant to be
washed.
But then, there would not be many chemicals to have to test and designate as “safe” - so the money potential would dry up. Now you are getting the picture.
The ones pushing the WoolSafe® designations, and trying to encourage adding them to the IICRC standards, are the ones who interestingly enough teach the Wool Care Classes. (I’m sure you are SHOCKED!)
Whenever anyone explains regulations that they believe need to be adopted in this industry, whether it is
about wool, or whether it is the CRI Seal of Approval® program for wall-to-wall carpet care...just follow
the money trail and you will discover why they are supporting it.
It’s not very different from how DC works, unfortunately.
I am not fond of more regulations and organizations. I think we should improve what we already have,
but it should be led by REAL cleaners, and not by those who make a living on policing or teaching these
new regulations. I remember one year on a board when an Instructor sponsored adding another certification to the “master” status, which coincidentally was a course that only that person and one other instruc-
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tor taught. It was sponsoring new business that would put money directly in that person’s pocket because
it would mean more cleaners would have to take that course or lose their “master” status.
It seemed like a clear conflict of interest to me, but I guess when you are on a board long enough you forget that you are not supposed to vote on things that add money to you directly. Such is politics.
The final secret of the three is this - you are not going to get numerous consumer referrals of rug cleaning
from any these organizations.
My longest certification was with ASCR (now RIA), which in over a decade had not referred a single job
to my rug cleaning plant. IICRC certification, now for five years, also has referred not a single job. And
Wools of New Zealand (an organization that dwarfs both other organizations) has in 7 years sent one referral of a $150 job.
If you take these courses expecting a flood of new business being referred to you, you will be disappointed. That said, I have proactively marketed my designations to generate new business on my own. So
if you are the type that likes to study and take tests, and have letters after your name (like I am), then go
for it! Just don’t be under the illusion that this is going to make money for you...you are still going to have
to go out and make it on your own. (That said, the reason I do seek out and join these groups is to network with peers and learn from them. You will meet some GREAT people in trade associations.)
!
!
Rug Cleaning Basics - Your “Shop” Set-up.
With Rug Cleaning, there are five main phases to focus on, and you should set up your shop accordingly.
I’ll walk through each, and offer some “shoestring budget” options for you.
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13
1) PRE-INSPECTION: This is the most important skill to develop as a Rug Cleaner. You need a
well-lit area to inspect fiber type, dye stability, construction type, and all pre-existing conditions
on the front and back of each rug. Ideally this process is done with the client, either in their home
before you remove the rug, or at your rug facility.
If you do not have an office and are operating out of your home, then you must photograph and
send any areas of concern to the client BEFORE you begin cleaning. (When you point out issues
before the wash, it is education. When you point it out after the wash, it is an excuse.)
2) DUST: As you know with wall-to-wall carpet, 70+% of the soil you encounter will be dry particulate that can be removed with a good vacuuming. This is the same with rugs. In fact, with wool
especially, and its capacity to hide grit in many spaces along its cuticles, there is often pounds and
pounds of soil in even rugs that do not look especially dirty. Wool hides soil very well.
The danger with this is that if you make the foolish decision of surface cleaning a rug in the home
with a portable or truck mount, you are not going to be able to thoroughly dust the rug beforehand, so you are going to create a soapy mud in the base of the rug you are trying to clean. This
over time will cause greying, and potential problems from color loss to dry rot if the foundation
threads (usually cotton) get too damp and packed with soil. Rugs must be dusted.
Your dusting options range from very low cost to very high cost.
• Cheap! You can use a standard upright Sanitaire Commercial Vacuum. This is what we use,
they are workhorses that last for ages and will set you back a few hundred bucks. (TIP: When
using an upright vacuum, go side to side along the BACK of the rug to vibrate the soil from the
base of the fibers out to the floor. Placing the rug over rubber tiles will help give some space for
the soil to fall so that it is easier to flip the rug over and sweep up the pounds of released dirt.)
• Some Bucks. Another option is the Rug Badger, which runs you about $3,500. For a one-man
operation, the Badger can help you cover more dusting area in much less time. (WARNING: It’s
a bit loud, and you need to be careful with delicate rugs. You also will still need a vacuum, or
broom, to remove the dust you beat out of the rug.) I’ve used this equipment in some Rug
Cleaning Clinics, and have nothing bad to say about its performance. It works...it’s just a bit too
loud for my taste.
• Serious Bucks. There is also Compressed Air (the Auserehlian system) which is a special tool/
technique designed as part of a larger cleaning system which I believe runs around $30,000 for
the complete system with compressor. (WARNING: You need a method to capture the billowing dust from the dusting area so that it does not create environmental concerns from neighbors, and so you do not breathe all of those contaminants in.) I’ve seen this demonstrated by
several in my past Rug Cleaning Coaching program who created very impressive results at soil
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14
removal. The drawback is the big clouds of contaminants, and the price for the system along
with the property to contain it. But if you have the space and the funds, it will work for you.
Upright commercial vacuum.
Rug Badger beater.
Compressed air dusting tool
from the Auserehlian system.
• Serious Bucks. There are also automatic dusters, and tumblers, that can be found second hand
from old rug cleaning plants with Moore heavy equipment, or old dry cleaning facilities with
tumblers. With older plants, often the “kids” don’t want to take over such a labor-intensive
craft, so there can sometimes be opportunities to buy some excellent, old machinery. They tend
to be simple designs, and well-crafted and strong.
3) WASH: Ideally you are washing rugs in your facility either in a wash pit, or if you are more advanced in the rug cleaning phase of your career, you will have a large cement slab wash floor.
Pits can set you back several thousand if you get something fancy. If you are on a budget though,
you can do a great job with very little investment. And when you are ready to do some serious
cleaning, you can get a facility that gives you the space to pour a slightly inclined wash floor to
wash your rugs on.
• Dirt cheap! - a sloped driveway, patio, or other inclined surface can serve as a cleaning platform. Just make sure you can capture the run-off, and dispose of it properly, and use a tarp if
the surface is not clean. When we first cleaned rugs in our rug gallery, we washed them on
tarps in the back driveway, and used a pump to funnel the run-off into the toilet. I know, not
too fancy, but it got the job done and was about $50 of materials at the time.
• Cheap! - a temporary wash pit can be constructed using PVC pipes and a tarp. If you invest a
little more, you can use wood planks and a heavy pond liner. These can be bought at local
home improvement stores. Make sure the pond liner is thick enough to resist punctures so that
you can use it for a nice long time. Several hundred dollars should set you up very well.
• Some Bucks. - the wash pits sold by instructors can set you back several thousand, including
the tiles for the pit floor. You can find both the prefabricated wash pits (look at mobile car de© Lisa Wagner CRS, all rights reserved.!
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15
tailer suppliers) and the tile suppliers (rubber, interlocking tiles) on-line for a fraction of the
retail course price if you are a D-I-Y kind of person and want a wash pit that looks a little more
professional than a tarp and PVC model. You have lots of options.
Wood frame for wash pit.
Heavy pond liner.
Rug to soak (pet urine removal).
• Serious Bucks. - when you are doing more than a handful of rugs a week, you are going to find
washing rugs in a pit time-consuming and difficult with especially those rugs that are heavily
contaminated. There needs to be an exchange of fresh water, and removal of dirty water. If the
pit is not designed with any type of incline, then the dirty water comes back on the rug during
cleaning. Having a cement slab floor, at an incline, allows quicker cleaning and more thorough
flushing/rinsing of the rugs. Our floor has a raised perimeter so that we can close the drain and
soak rugs for an extended period if needed (i.e. urine decontamination). The biggest cost for the
floor is simply having the space to have one. If you pour your own floor, be sure to create a
rough texture so it is not slippery to walk on and will grip the rugs (or use rubber tiles).
Washing and scrubbing.*
Hoses under the rug, and using
squeegee to flush the rug clean.*
Rinsing with a pressure sprayer.*
(* IMPORTANT: Doing a full-immersion wet wash in a wash pit or on a large rug wash floor requires you to become skilled at pre-inspection. You need to know your FIBERS, be able to test
DYES and stabilize them during the wash, and know what structural and pre-existing conditions
to be aware of. Do NOT wash a rug without some knowledge first...unless you already own the
rug!)
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4) EXTRACT & DRY: You are going to be amazed as how much soil you are going to be able to remove from rugs washing them...and then at how much work it can be to REMOVE that water and
get these textiles dry. This is the one area, where if you invest in some good tools you can dramatically boost your productivity, and lessen your aches and pains.
• FREE! ☺- simply use the equipment you already own! Here is a list of Carpet Cleaning and
Restoration tools that can be used for removing excess water:
✓
Water Claw - the medium size works best for this. Extract from the back of woven
rugs to remove the most moisture from the cotton foundation.
✓
Dri-Eaz Rover - if you use this in the restoration field, it will save you A LOT of
time to use it for rug extraction versus the Water Claw.
✓
Portables & Truck mounts - if you have heavy wands, these work well at removing
water from rugs. Extract the back side, and then the front (go with the grain, not
against it.) I also like the Teflon covers to the wands to lessen any extraction marks.
• Rug Heavy Equipment - Serious Bucks. - Wringers and spinners. These will set you back either $10K-$20K second hand, or $30K-$45K brand new. We have a rubber roller compression
wringer built in 1951, similar to a Moore wringer. You feed the rug into it, and it rolls out the
other side with most of the water compressed out of the rug. When we got this equipment
working, it immediately doubled our production. The spinners (Rug Badger Revolution is one
type) you feed a rolled up wet rug into, and it spins and the water wicks outward away from
the rug.
• Drying Equipment - All Levels - Some items, like air movers, you already have. We dry ALL of
our rugs out flat, as opposed to hanging them. (Just a note here, we dry rugs flat for several
reasons, some of which are it keeps the rugs shape and it keeps us from having to do additional
work on the fringes which hanging can contribute to. It’s just a personal preference, but most
people do not have the space to dry all rugs out flat like we do.) Drying racks can be built as
manual pulleys with PVC pipes (low rent) or a metal constructed mobile manual rack system
(Rug Badger has an excellent and convenient model) or a mechanized hanging system similar
to the older Moore systems (Rug Badger produces these as well).
Equipment you already own can be used to speed up the rug drying process.
✓
Dri-Eaz Studebaker Airpath - this is my absolute favorite air mover for rugs. Even
heavy tufted rugs with latex backings will dry in half the time with these units.
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17
✓
Dri-Eaz LGR Dehumidifiers - we have 2400’s. If you create a drying area by containing it with a Zip Wall or tarp, the LGR removes moisture from the air and also
releases warm air which dramatically speeds up the drying process. If you have a
dedicated drying room, you can control the temperature with your HVAC unit.
Manual dry rack system.
Airpath.
Drying rugs flat.
5) FINISH: When the rugs are completely dry (use a moisture sensor to 100% guarantee the rug is indeed dry), vacuum again to make sure no dust has settled on the rug, groom the pile with a soft
floor broom brush, and use a Grandy Groomer to brush out the fringe. If your vehicle is not clean,
then wrap the rug for delivery. Options are brown Kraft Paper (inexpensive, but tears), Tyvek
paper (tear resistant, reusable), or some burlap material from a yardage store (reusable).
IMPORTANT!
I have not mentioned EVERY piece of equipment or tool in the industry. I’m sure there is something you
use that I’ve missed. I’ve just mentioned items that I have had direct experience with, and several brand
that I especially like. Some other items I use, and like, are the Cimex rotary scrubbers, squeegees (for
wash floors) and linoleum rollers (for wash pits), and for tricky rugs in need of controlled sectional cleaning I really like US Products DriMaster upholstery tool.
Any pricing I’ve mentioned may be off target. Because I do not sell these products, I am not aware of current pricing for any of the items mentioned, so prices are mentioned as a general ballpark just to give you
an idea of where they rank compared to other options.
Rug Badger products can be researched at www.RugBadger.com. Phil Auserehlian products can be researched at www.orientalrugcleaning.com.
All other tools, and US Products and Dri-Eaz equipment can be bought through Interlink Supply at
www.interlinksupply.com. Other distributors certainly sell these items as well, but because I am part of
the Piranha Member Buyers Group, we get 10-50% off of all industry products through Interlink, so I just
buy everything from them. If you are not a Piranha Member, just buy from any supplier you want to.
www.TheRugChick.com
18
Rug Shop Success - The Overview.
Knowing now the different “phases” of the wash process, you should be able to look at your work space
and design what works for you based on what tools you have and how you plan to clean your rugs.
The biggest danger I have seen in this industry has been cleaners jumping in too soon, and too deep in
pocket, to where the pressure of having to make A LOT of money quickly destroys them. The work isn’t
fun when it is life or death at the bank.
If your Carpet Cleaning business is struggling, and you are looking for a quick way to make sizable cash
to fix the problem of a poorly run unprofitable Carpet Cleaning company, you are setting yourself up to
fail. The worst thing you can do is fix a problem by adding more work to your plate. You will simply
bring the same unprofitable business habits into the “new” business.
Rug Cleaning, if you want to be great at it, requires attention to detail and a clear head that allows you to
see the potential rug problems before they happen. So cash-strapped, anxiety-ridden Carpet Cleaning or
Restoration business owners are not a right fit for Rug Shop Success.
Get your house in order first, and then add a new service.
That said, the fact that you have read this entire report shows me that you are likely not part of that looking for a magic pill, anxiety-ridden group.
So, you are wanting to add Rug Cleaning, and you want to be smart about it. You don’t want to go too
deep too fast. Where do you start? Well, that depends on what you want to do.
You want to simply have rug cleaning as an ADD-ON SERVICE to your existing jobs.
The easiest path here would be to simply subcontract the work to an existing rug plant.
Usually plants offer an industry rate, and you can add $1 or so a square foot to that price and create a
profit center by handling the orders. For efficiency and profitability, have a set route to the plant so you
are not driving back and forth with every small rug that comes your way.
I am not a fan of cleaning rugs in the home, especially oriental wool rugs. It causes damage over time, but
more importantly, you are not providing as great a cleaning as you could. Even if you take the rugs to
your office and still clean them with surface-cleaning methods (your portable or truck mount), you are
able to do things you cannot do in the home - DUST thoroughly, RINSE thoroughly, and clean the
FRINGES.
It also is more calming to not be cleaning a rug with the owner looming over your shoulder watching
your every move.
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19
If surface cleaning is simply where you are at in your rug cleaning evolution, that is fine. Just do the best
that you can with what you have now, which means do the work AWAY FROM THE HOME.
In the process you will learn more about rugs so that you can avoid the common pitfalls, and so that you
can decide if you are ready to move up to becoming a real full-time Rug Cleaner.
You want to have rug cleaning as a PRIMARY DIVISION of your company.
You will know if you have a “love” for rugs, and if you want to learn more, and be more, in the Rug
Cleaning world. You will just know it.
It is a world of creativity, and color, and texture, and incredible workmanship with many fascinating stories attached to them. I’ve been around rugs my entire life, and I don’t get tired of them. There is always
something new and exciting coming through the door.
When you find yourself wanting to learn more about how these textiles are created, and wanting to learn
about their stories, then this is a sign that you have what it takes to become a powerhouse in this field.
Having enthusiasm about a craft, and enjoying listening to rug stories from clients, and sharing your
own, are all ingredients to building up a successful Rug Shop.
Clients stop by our shop just to take a look around. It’s a piece of the old world still existing in this new
world.
Once you have your technical training in place, and become more and more confident about the rugs you
are cleaning, then you can move into the next phase of how to attract affluent clients and create a culture
and community around your Rug Cleaning business that is ELF - easy, lucrative, and fun. (This term comes
from my work with Piranha Marketing, where we help our members develop ELF businesses.)
So, if it’s a PRIMARY SERVICE that you want to develop, then it does need to become a separate division
of your current company, or a dba of your current business. Also, you need to designate someone as the
“Rug Expert” in charge of it.
You will move from surface cleaning, to wash pits, and then to a full wash floor as your volume grows.
Making decisions on buying bigger equipment is not based on quality of the work. I can out-clean a fully
automated big Moore machinery operation with my hand brushes, squeegee, ivory soap, vinegar, and a
simple wet vac. (By the way, this was how we used to wash rugs on our driveway in the very beginning.)
I can clean better than the conveyor belt method. But it would take me most of the day.
The bigger equipment does not necessarily clean better, but it helps you get different phases of the process done quicker. It boosts your productivity.
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20
The biggest hard cost in the actual cleaning is the labor cost. In the beginning your net profit will be okay.
Not great, just okay. But as your volume increases, and you invest in tools to make the work happen
quicker, after that investment is paid off your net profit grows.
When someone asks me whether they should invest in a new piece of equipment, I make them write out:
1) the cost of the equipment (total cost, including financing); 2) realistically, how many more rugs this will
help him/her clean; 3) with that boosted productivity, how long will it take to pay it off?
If someone is washing 5 rugs a week and wants to buy a new Revolution centrifuge spinner because it’s
so damn cool, then I know they are not going to be in business very long. Buying a Rover would be a
smarter purchase to boost productivity at that volume.
If you have the capital to buy all you want right now, then simply make sure you have the marketing to
support the level of volume you need to cover your bills and put some money in your pocket. Just because you build a cool new rug plant does not mean the rugs will come. You need to drum up the business, just like you do in your Carpet Cleaning company.
What Now?
Hopefully I’ve given you a lot to think about, and some ideas to act on. And hopefully I didn’t offend you
with any of my industry political points of view. When you are backstage in the trenches for a long time,
it’s hard to not get a tiny bit jaded. Again, as I mentioned in my disclaimer, it’s all just my opinion so take
it all with a grain of salt.
If you are looking to build your confidence in the area of rug cleaning, there are an assortment of different
courses to take. Organizations like IICRC, RIA, WoNZ, as well as classes held by your local suppliers. Go
to a class with the mindset that you will come away with a few valuable nuggets, and you will do exactly
that.
The best training you can get though is by getting your hands wet and actually cleaning rugs. I always
suggest to newbies that they go to Thrift Stores, swap meets, and garage sales and begin buying up very
cheap, and very dirty rugs. Then you have no worries about ruining a client’s rug, you get to try all of
your tools and chemicals, and you get some outstanding before and after pictures that you can use in your
marketing materials.
It’ll be the best investment in your own education you’ve ever made!
Additional Resources to Look Into:
Over the years I have developed a large amount of educational content for cleaning and restoration businesses. Here are two sites with some of these resources:
www.TheRugChick.com
21
www.Cleanfax.com - I’ve written for Cleanfax Magazine for a long time. You can search the archive under
my name and pull up articles on all aspects of rug care, as well as a number of articles I’ve written regarding business and marketing success. Some of my favorite articles are “Married With Business” (a profile
of successful couples in this industry who work and play together) and “Higher Prices, Better Clients” (a
marketing article on how to develop a high-end business, which I’m extremely knowledgeable about).
www.JoePolish.com - My “other job” is serving as CEO of Piranha Marketing. I have been a strategic
marketing consultant and coach to over a thousand cleaning and restoration businesses in my ten years
working with Joe Polish and his company. We develop “plug and play” marketing tools, templates, and
systems for service businesses, and are the #1 trainers of business success in this industry. The free article
on the main homepage “7 Steps To Writing A Successful Ad” will help ANY campaign you are currently
running whether it is an ad, a direct mail piece, or an on-line promotion. I recommend you download that
because it’s valuable to any business.
Additional Resources from The Rug Chick™
First of all, the FREE stuff is on my blog www.TheRugChick.com - This is where I like to post regular tips
and warnings about certain rugs to cleaners to keep them out of trouble. If you ask me questions in the
comments sections, I always get back to you.
Rug Secrets™ Rug Cleaning Starter Kit,
Rug Secrets™ Hands-on Workshops
Rug Secrets™ Rug Coaching Program
Rug Warrior™ On-line Training
Rugs To Run From™: A Consumer’s Guide To Buying New Rugs
Over the past 15 years, I rolled out all of the above programs. In fact, I’ve amassed over 4 GB’s of intellectual property related to all aspects of rug cleaning, from the technical side, to the operational systems, to
what you need to do to get constant clients coming through the door.
I’ve put 50 companies through my 3-year Rug Secrets™ Coaching program, took some from zero knowledge to now earning $4-5/ sq. ft. as the “go to rug experts” in their town. I’ve trained several hundred
companies through my hands-on workshops. 4 years ago I put as many through on-line webinar training,
and sold hundreds of copies of my Rug Cleaning Starter Kit.
I was the first to actually put “rug cleaning” in a box, in a way that was easy to learn so that those who
truly were beginners would know what to do without getting into trouble. I was the first to do on-line
rug training so that cleaners did not have to fly and spend thousands of dollars to learn more about rugs.
Now I’m thinking through what is next for the Rug Chick. Do I create an updated kit for the industry? Do
I create a high-price franchise to share ALL of my systems and tools in an area-exclusive model? Do I
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22
teach more workshops? Do I train others to teach the workshops so more cleaners can be helped faster
(and at less cost)?
Something is telling me it is time to roll-out with more rug help.
I’m not happy with the “easy money” claims, or the overly-complicated educational offerings, or the bigger and more expensive equipment pitches, that are blanketing the rug industry. When you’ve scrubbed a
rug on a driveway, you know it’s not really complicated at all...and that is does take physical hard work.
Is the industry ready for some new, better, and different real-world rug education? Are you?
I sat down and wrote this report to help give some guidance to those seeking it out. You took the time to
read it. If I’m going to come out with a new program, then I’ll be doing it for Professional Cleaners just
like you. The ones who will take the time to learn, and want to do it right.
If you think you want to learn more - and you want that more to come from me - then do me a favor and
let me know. In the box below is my email, and a list of areas I’m considering releasing. What I choose
will be based on the feedback of you and others. So thank you for taking the time to send the email - and
thank you very much for taking the time to read my Rug Secrets Report. I hope you enjoyed it, and best
of luck in the wonderful world of rug cleaning!
The End. ☺
Are You Interested In Some Real-World Rug Education?
If YES - please send an email to [email protected] and let me
know what type of resources you are MOST INTERESTED IN:
1)
On-line Technical Training (video and how-to reports)
2)
In-Person Technical Training (hands-on workshops)
3)
Rug Shop Success Coaching (operational & marketing systems)
4)
Just the FREE STUFF (articles & blog posts)
www.TheRugChick.com
23

Rug Secrets REPORT 2010

Transcription

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