A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR VETERANS
When Chris Howell started his own business of carpet restoration and dyeing, he decided to share his rare skills with veterans for free as a way of saying thank you for their service.
When the colour of a carpet starts to fade, this is usually cause for most people to look for a replacement. There is, however, an alternative
solution to this- dyeing the carpet.
When Chris Howell, Owner of Colourful Carpets in Clarksville, Maryland, needed to dye his new carpet after it was soiled by his pet, he spotted an opportunity for a business venture.
For over 15 years now, Chris has travelled across the world with his own carpet colour dyeing service, teaching people how to perform his virtually untapped skill.
As well as helping manufacturers and fitters develop their skills, Chris is now teaching veterans, free of charge, how to colour dye carpets to allow them to broaden the opportunities available to them.
Chris told WBAL News Radio: “We are doing this as our part to say thank you to veterans and military personnel for their services to our country.
“There are so many veterans that come back from their service and many of them have difficulty re-entering the workforce. They may not have the skills necessary for them to earn a living and support themselves and their families.
“The ones that we have trained are actively engaged in the business of colour repair and have indicated that it has really changed their business and their lives. It’s given them niche skills that nobody else has which helps them stand out from the competition.”
Chris charges between $2000-3000 for a three-day training session, but reserves two spots in every session for veterans free of charge.
Carpet dyeing and colour restoration is designed to be a cost-effective
42 | TRAINING & EDUCATION
alternative to replacing colour-damaged carpets or rugs. Chris says that, by restoring or repairing a carpet or rug, it is typically going to save about 75% of what it would cost to replace it entirely.
For work in large commercial properties, Chris usually charges upwards of $900 for colour repairs. The average job can be completed in less than two hours.
Chris explained that there is high- demand for his skills and that he typically carries out hundreds or repair jobs each year.
This is why Chris encourages business owners to add colour dyeing to their services, as the costs of starting up can be easily and quickly made back.
Chris recently visited the UK to hold a training course at Pulizia Systems in Liverpool. (As covered in TCF May)
The owner of carpet cleaning company Pulizia Systems, Tony Tennant, took part in the course to broaden his own skills and use them to expand his business.
With the new colour dyeing skills he has learnt, along with his knowledge and experience of carpet cleaning, Tony is setting up a new business- Enviro2Save. Like Chris, Tony also intends to give back to the community by offering the opportunity to gain qualifications to anyone that works for his business.
Tony said: “I feel that, once Enviro is running and making profits, those profits can then be put back into helping others, whether it be supporting a local football team, providing low income families or families with disabled or sick children to have holidays. We also maybe even be able to help homeless people get off the streets and back into society.”
The bulk of Chris’ work comes from commercial properties and the main service required is bleach spot repair.
Chris said: “We exclusively target high-end commercial and residential properties, because these are the ones that have the money and are willing to pay top dollar for the best quality. Once you have gained their trust, pricing is not the issue; quality is the issue.”
Chris has also recently released a new app, ColorCue, which automatically calculates carpet colour by simply snapping a photo of the carpet. The technology is only available to Colourful Carpet trainees.
Watch this video to see what the dyeing process entails.
www.colorfulcarpets.com
www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com
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