Eric Barke
BarkeWare, LLC, (dba The Farmington Car Wash), Farmington, Minn.
Q: How did you get into the business?
A: I was looking to work smarter, not harder, and looking for a business opportunity that allowed me to continue working my regular job and make a little extra income and assets with a small amount of time.
Q: What do you love most about the business?
A: I like talking with customers and hearing how they’ve enjoyed the improvements I’ve made to the business.
Q: What’s the next big thing for the industry?
A: That’s anybody’s best guess. I think, like any industry, automation is key. Anything that can wash cars better, faster and reduce costs will always be a winner. Anything that helps self-serve customers enjoy washing their car is also helpful.
Q: What has been your experience using social media, daily deals or other unique marketing tools for your car wash?
A: We have a Facebook page, but since the site is mostly unattended, I try to automate as much as possible. We advertise our specials on our website, our Facebook page and at the site itself. We have continually running specials (i.e. Tuesday all-day automatic specials and night owl automatic specials that run from 9 p.m. – 6 a.m.).
Q: What new technologies or innovations are you most interested in bringing to your
car wash?
A: I would love to be able to take Dwolla payments for everything instead of, or in addition to, credit cards. I would like to upgrade some of my vacuums and add dryers to the self-serve bays.Dan Klapec and
Joe Lehosky
River Valley, LLC (dba Cranberry Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change, Cranberry
Car Wash and Cranberry Pet Wash, ) Cranberry, Pa.
Q: How did you get into the business?
A: Joe had worked for 17 years with Pennzoil, and I had worked there 20 years when the company announced it was going to pull out of the area. We were sitting at the river eating Joe’s homemade salsa. I told him I found an opportunity, and I could probably do it myself, but it would be a lot more fun to have a partner.
The quick lube that we bought was owned by a guy who was ready to retire, but I didn’t know that when I first met him. I went to talk with the owner to get business advice. He said his company wasn’t for sale, but he would help me. I went back a couple months later with my tablet of questions. It turned out that he needed to sell. Joe and I bought his company as our first business.
Q: What do you love most about the business?
A: Our customers. On busy days, we actually direct traffic to keep things flowing and make sure the equipment is running right. When we’re doing that, everyone is rolling their windows down and visiting. It’s a nice way to catch up with customers.
Q: What’s the next big thing for the industry?
A: When we bought our equipment, the remote capability to reset the machine or diagnose the problem from your phone or your home office wasn’t available. As we upgrade our equipment, we’re going to be looking for the capability to remote control, reset the equipment and diagnose from wherever we’re at.
Q: What’s the best business advice you’ve received?
A: When we decided to do the car wash, some people advised us to go to the conferences, learn from other owners, invite yourself to dinner, learn from their mistakes, what they’d never do again, and what they’d do the next time. We did that. Joe would go to one conference, and I’d go to another. When we got back, we’d go through our notes and pick out the best things that would work for us. It really saved us a lot of time and money.
Q: Any advice for successful hiring?
A: We have a motto: Hire a smile and train the rest.
Gary Hirsh
New Wave Industries, Ltd. PurClean™ & PurWater™ Sacramento, Calif. and Clearwater, Fla.
Q: Tell us about your business.
A: New Wave Industries, Ltd. is the leading manufacturer of water treatment systems for the professional vehicle washing industry. Operators have relied on New Wave and our PurClean™ Spot-Free Rinse and PurWater™ Recovery systems for more than 30 years. New Wave is known for our cutting-edge technology, commitment to quality, unparalleled technical support system and a world-wide network of factory trained and authorized distributors to assist our valued customers in selecting the most appropriate system(s) for the targeted wash application, providing professional installation, on-site training and after sale support.
Q: What do you love most about the business?
A: That’s easy — it’s the people. I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with incredible people from all over the world and have established many long-term friendships.
Q: What’s the next big thing for the industry?
A: Water and sewer costs continue to rise at exponential rates, eating into the operators’ profitability; so from my perspective, the next big thing for the industry is efficient and cost-effective totally closed loop water recovery systems utilizing physical treatment technology to consistently deliver a clean, dry and shiny vehicle. New Wave currently has several totally closed loop sites that have proven very successful.
Q: What new technologies are you most interested in bringing to the car wash industry?
A: Our business strategy includes significant research and development with the objective of providing our valued customers with the most technologically advanced, user friendly water treatment systems. We are constantly working on new projects that will enhance our brands and have recently filed two patents that will result in new product introductions.
