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Our customers are the most important part of what we do here at Dri-Eaz. We rely on them to tell us what they like, what they don't like and when we've done something that has helped their business greatly. We want to thank you for making us first in your drying solutions. Our Customers Webpage is a tribute to you…our loyal customers.
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Byron Kitkousky
Bears Carpet Care
Byron Kitkousky knows what it takes to grow a business. As the owner of Bears Carpet Care he is keeping Hawaii clean and has done so for more than 12 years. "When I first started as a basic carpet cleaner I didn't know much about floods. A friend of mine sold me two of his oldest Dri-Eaz airmovers and told me how to grow my business by doing water damage."
Listening to this friend's advice ended up making Kitkousky enough money to buy more equipment for his restoration work. His business mentality today is similar to how he grew his business early on - by putting profits back into growing his business. "As a new single business owner, don't pay yourself a salary, put it back into your business." He says you've got to have discipline, "I was very thrifty," recommending restorers do a small restoration job and make, say, $600. Then, he cautions, don't go out and buy a fancy motorcycle with it, instead use it to buy more equipment to build your business. This business model has worked for Kitkousky - the more equipment he had the bigger jobs he could do and the more money he's made for his business.
In his home state of Hawaii, Kitkousky is one of few who have taken education courses to learn the business. He has invested much time and money in education. He knows what it takes to get started in the restoration business and credits the WRT, 1-day Advanced Course and ASD course from Dri-Eaz University for helping grow his knowledge.
He also credits his mentor, Glenn Shaw (now of Magic Care Hawaii) for talking him into taking education classes to learn about restoration. "Every class I took helped me exponentially and expanded my horizons as far as carpet cleaning and restoration. Knowledge is key." Fourteen years ago Glenn Shaw took Kitkousky under his wing and taught him the restoration business first-hand, says Kitkousky, "He had a wealth of knowledge and I had a thirst for knowledge."
Kitkousky is super savvy on the technical side of restoration and is now expanding his marketing side. He knows that "even if you are the smartest guy in the business you also need to know the marketing end of it." As a result, he has made efforts to market toward higher-end customers and even provides a toll-free phone number through Bears Carpet Care offering automated messages for those needing answers to questions right away.
Looking toward the future is important to Kitkousky. He keeps up on important business trends by attending tradeshows, as well as not only subscribing to but reading Cleanfax, ICS and Cleaning and Restoration trade magazines. This year he says he plans to take "the only vacation I get" to go to the 2006 Dri-Eaz Restorative Drying Symposium and Connections event.
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