Name of your website?ICleanUSA.com - Where Cleaners and Consumers come together
Your name?
Roger K.
Your Location (city, etc)
Salt Lake City
Please give us a short summary of your website?
ICleanUSA.com is a cleaning directory where consumers will be able to find every kind of cleaning service they may need.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I work in the cleaning industry, and found that many cleaners don't know how to market their services beyond just doing the yellow pages and postcard packs. And very few websites for a single operator carpet cleaning company will actually reach their target audience, which is probably within a 30 mile radius. Since I've been doing websites for many years, I began thinking of ways to help them contact their target audience better.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
My first website was eimco.com back around 1994. The company was part of Baker Hughes, and the company focused on process equipment.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I was helping one of our distributors brainstorm domain names for his company when this one came to me. It didn't work for his site, so I snagged it for myself. I also like how it is something that cleaners can buy into and feel good about - that they are part of making this beautiful country a little better.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
I understand the challenges of the small business owner and can relate to those challenges. I'm not out to get rich - I want to help small businesses grow to accomplish THEIR dreams and goals. The more businesses I help that way - the more it accomplishes my dreams and goals.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I'd like to build the website and get it well established so that it is a great resource for cleaners and consumers. I'd like it to be something that serves the greater good (as stated in previous question) and maybe that it is something that I can hand down to my six kids to provide a little residual income.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Since this is a new site, the time invested in it far outweighs the success so far, but the bigger feeling behind it makes it a labor of love. It is an idea that I've had for about 4 years, but wouldn't go away when I wasn't able to pursue it. Now we're launching and gathering steam to start making a difference.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
An unlimited budget would make it easier to contact potential customers to make it all happen quicker and more completely.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
We just went through a software upgrade that introduces a lot of new features, so we're working out some things that way, but beyond that, the growth would just be great.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Timing was the biggest headache, because I wanted to launch it for a long time, but it wasn't always the right time. Patience for the right time can be hard to wait for.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Initially it was technology, but the extra time we had to wait actually is what helped everything work out to be able to launch the site.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Personal invitations.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I've been doing websites for a long time, so everything was pretty much expected.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
The site has been in the works for about 4 years off and on (mostly off), but in this round the site has been online for about a year - just waiting for the big push that gets it noticed.
Where would you like to be if you're not sitting at the computer working on your website?
That one's easy! My two favorite places are Disneyland and Hawaii. And the best would be a good long vacation where we do Disneyland for a few days, then hop the plane to Hawaii for a week or more, and hit Disneyland on the way home.
What is your website address?
ICleanUSA.com - Where Cleaners and Consumers come together
