The Great Recession ended up leading Ed Winter to start a business that brought him greater satisfaction.
Winter had been working as a Snap-On tool dealer in 2008, in the midst of the severe economic downturn that plagued the United States from the end of 2007 through mid-2009.
The Great Recession severely cut into Winter’s income, since many of the businesses to which he sold tools began to either close or reduce spending on supplies. That predicament prompted the Madison Township resident to launch a part-time carpet-cleaning business in 2008.
As it turned out, things went so well with the new venture that Winter eventually turned carpet cleaning into his new full-time occupation.
It was in 2009 when he officially established Spots Carpet Cleaning. He said Spots stands for “Steam Pro On the Spot.”
“I am passionate about my service and my company,” he said.
Spots provides carpet-cleaning services in Lake County, primarily for residential homes and rental properties but also at some businesses.
Winter said Spots has achieved success because of his commitment to some important customer-service principles.
First, he said he won’t follow the lead of those carpet-cleaning companies that advertise a particular price for their service but often tack on extra costs after arriving at a customer’s home.
“At Spots, when you are quoted a price that price includes everything, including all pretreatments, spot cleaning and air freshener,” he said.
Winter said Spots also strives to offer carpet-cleaning prices that are competitive.
“I try to run my business ethically and give the best prices I can,” he said.
Over the years, Winter said he has gotten many referrals from satisfied customers and secured plenty of repeat business. However, he said he still needs to assure some new customers that Spots does high-quality work at low prices.
“I’ve played my cards right,” he said. “All my vans are paid for and my buildings are paid for. I have no overhead. So I can do (carpet cleaning) cheaper.”
Winter, who is Spots’ one and only employee, said he also is very particular about arriving on time for carpet-cleaning jobs. In fact, he said if Spots is up to 15 minutes late for an appointment and doesn’t call ahead of time to notify a customer, he’ll take 25 percent off the customer’s bill.
“If I’m any more late than that (without notifying a customer ahead of time), the job is free,” he said.
Spots also offers an unconditional guarantee on all work performed, Winter said.
“If anything is not to your liking, we will return, usually within 24 hours or earlier, and take care of it,” he said.
Winter was introduced to the carpet-cleaning profession 16 years ago by a former neighbor in Madison Township who owned and operated this type of business.
“He decided he wanted to move back to North Carolina,” Winter said. “So he approached me and asked me if I wanted to buy his business from him.”
At the time, Winter didn’t want to do that, but did want to purchase one of the neighbor’s vans, which was outfitted with carpet-cleaning gear.
Winter’s Snap-On tool dealership had declined significantly at that point of the recession. So he wanted to try doing some occasional carpet-cleaning jobs to make extra cash.
“I thought that would be a perfect way to supplement my income, so I could keep Snap-On going,” he said.
Winter said he started out cleaning carpets on evenings and weekends, while he spent days trying to reinvigorate his Snap-On tool dealership.
For a while, the carpet-cleaning business grew slowly, through word-of-mouth promotion.
“And then it just started getting busier and busier,” he said.
In 2009, Winter gave the business its new name: Spots Carpet Cleaning.
He continued to operate this enterprise simultaneously with the Snap-On tool dealership until 2015. That’s the same year he sold the that business to another dealer within the company who wanted to enlarge his sales territory.
Although Winter’s home in Madison Township serves as an office for Spots, he also has purchased two storage buildings — one on Hubbard Road in Madison Village and another on North Ridge Road in Perry Township. Both buildings are identified by Spots Carpet Cleaning signs, in hope of increasing name recognition for the business.
Winter said he’s pleased with the career move he made, which led him to launch Spots Carpet Cleaning.
I love it,” he said. “I wish I would have been doing this instead of Snap-On, for all of those years.”
