Super Clean Carpets - News
... By ANNABEL GIRARD Staff Writer. When Don Mudge was in high school he took some classes
in business law and math because he planned to own a corner grocery. ...
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This story appeared in the Dec. 22 issue of The Kentucky Advocate.
Super Clean Carpets is 'last of the mom and pop businesses'
Daniel Mudge, left, and his father, Don,
have a business on wheels with Super Clean Carpets.
(Staff Photo by Annabel Girard) |
By ANNABEL GIRARD
Staff Writer
When Don Mudge was in high school he took some classes in business law and math because he planned to own a corner grocery.
He runs what he describes as "the last of the mom and pop businesses," but it's not a grocery store.
Super Clean Carpets is a business that evolved from janitorial work and cleaning windows that Don started doing in 1965. That business grew until he was taking care of the Boyle County Library, where he spent 19 years, and Danville City Hall.
"I like being on my own," Don said.
Cleaning houses and businesses, however, meant long hours. Days were spent cleaning houses and evenings were spent in businesses.
"This is so much better," Don said about specializing in carpet and floors. "It's day work."
Daniel, 21, had no plans to join his father's business. He had taken computer-assisted design classes in high school, but he had reached the point where he didn't want to spend any more time in school. Joining his dad's business was a natural. He had been helping out since he was a youngster.
"He would dust the things down low -- the baseboards and chair rungs," his dad said. "I'm surprised he liked it."
Helping out continued as Daniel grew up. Every summer, he would work full time, earning money for such things as a car. Now he has other spending priorities; he and his wife, Lindsay, are expecting a son in March.
Super Clean Carpets is a true "mom and pop" operation. Don's wife, Barbara, handles all the scheduling and keeps the books.
She is largely the reason the Mudges are in central Kentucky and not upstate New York, where Don grew up. Her family had moved to Paris from New York state and on a visit back home to visit a girl friend, she met Don. It so happens, Don's twin brother is married to the friend Barbara was visiting.
A trained master cleaner
The decision to specialize on floors and floor coverings was largely one of focusing energies, Don said. He has developed the business to the place he is able every three years to buy a new truck complete with cleaning equipment. Don is a trained master cleaner, one of only 10 in Kentucky. That means he is trained to clean just about any type of floor covering, re-dye carpets and clean upholstery.
The key to running your own business, Don said, is customer satisfaction. Most of his work comes from referrals. One of his favorite sayings is "you don't cut corners, you clean them."
Having Daniel in the business has made the work easier. It also has given Don the opportunity to take some time for church work. He plans to spend two days a week doing volunteer ministry with Jehovah's Witnesses.
The father and son have found it easy to work together.
"I ask his opinion," Don said. "I feel good about sending him out on a job alone and not having to worry."
And Daniel feels like he is an equal partner in the business.
Don sees the carpet cleaning business as a growth area.
"The carpet is the most neglected thing in the home," he said.
Carpets should be cleaned every year to a year and half.
"If everyone did that, there wouldn't be enough cleaners to go around."
As Don looks back on the past 37 years, he said he would never have imagined his business would have grown the way it has.
"It's like a dream come true."
This story appeared in the Dec. 22 issue of The Kentucky Advocate.
