How long has KBs Appliance Repair officially been in business?
My sole proprietorship was issued September 19, 2023. My last day at my previous job was Friday, November 10, 2023, and I did my first job as KBs Appliance Repair the same day. But there was a lot of background work leading up to my first job.
How long have you personally been doing appliance repairs?
Approximately 1 year and 11 months. I retired from a county job and decided to pick up another career. I am 51 years old, just a little behind the technology of the day. We didn't have cell phones until around, like, 1994.
Earlier, you said, "there was a lot of background work leading up to my first job." What did that include?
Getting wholesale accounts with parts distributors, signing up with home warranty companies, ensuring I have adequate insurance and proper licensing, figuring out invoicing, bank account with merchant services.
Also coming up with a logo, company name, uniform, colors. A spreadsheet to track time, expenses, parts, etc. A lot of little things that you don't realize you need until you fully commit.
Did you find a list somewhere that told you all those steps? Or was it just research?
A list would have been helpful. Most of it came from listening and watching what others have been and are doing. Some ideas also came from a podcast, Clay Clark — you ever hear of that guy? He is very interesting.
Choosing an Appliance Repair Business Name:
What made you pick KBs Appliance Repair as your business name?
I chose KBs Appliance Repair because it was simple to remember and explained what the business does. It was available for a trade name, the website domain was available, and the email was available.
Basically, I wanted everything to be the same so there would be no confusion. And without a name, it is difficult to create bank accounts etc. business trade name, licensing etc. This got the job done.
Creating an Appliance Repair Business Logo:
Tell me about creating your business logo.
I was leaving my current job and needed to get a business set up, and what does every business need? That’s right, a logo. I asked my wife and kids to come up with something. We tried website designers and found it too involved. Nobody's got time for that. Weeks went by and it was getting to be crunch time and no logo yet.
That’s when we found Zarla's free logo maker and the logo was done in no time. Easy enough. That part was out of the way.
Marketing a New Appliance Repair Business:
Do you spend any money on marketing, and if so, what channels do you advertise on (TV, Facebook, Google, etc.)?
I am spending some money on Google Ads, I also have a Facebook page, and I recently signed up with Thumbtack. The customers see my profile and can instantly book on my calendar and I will get a notification. Their platform has generated several calls, however, I do pay approximately $30 for each solid lead that I get.
My website is $9 per month from Zarla and my Google Business Profile is free. I also purchased business cards and hand them out, and I plan to advertise in a few local flyers.
I hear many customers in the 60-plus age group would rather not go online and just prefer to clip an ad in a flyer to refer to later.
What has made the biggest difference in growing your business?
So far I would have to say the leads generated by using Thumbtack have made the biggest difference. I was able to post my Google reviews on their site and their users can decide to use my services based on my profile.
Friends and family recommendations are also a huge help to growing the business.
Since you've been using our rating request template, what percentage of customers leave a rating for you on Google?
Since I started asking for reviews, I would say about half of them.
Have you seen any increase in phone calls, leads, or new customers now that you have these 5-star reviews?
Yes, I have noticed an increase in leads. I have had customers comment that we were chosen based on the 5-star reviews.
There's no downside to asking. I just have to remember to fill in the correct info. on the template... name, appliance type, etc. One customer texted back that the link did not work, however, I believe it was something on her end.
Finding Wholesale Parts Suppliers for New Appliance Repair Services:
Who do you use for wholesale parts, or, if they're local and won't work for everyone, how did you find these suppliers?
Just from being in the business, I was aware of parts suppliers already.
I used Bing and Google to find the suppliers and then reached out to them and submitted the required paperwork. The paperwork is pretty simple. I also discovered a few other suppliers by subscribing to Service Company Solutions' Appliance Blue Book.
For parts, I currently use Tribles, Encompass, Reliable Parts, and Marcone. These are just a few of the suppliers in the business but they work great for my needs, and they will work for everyone.
There are also a few other suppliers that I reference frequently (PartSelect and Sears PartsDirect) because they have diagrams of the appliance and include where the part is located on the appliance and the retail cost. All you need is the model number.
Tribles has a main warehouse about an hour from me and several affiliate branches within a 20-30 min. drive of most of my jobs. I lean on them for most of my parts.
My subscription to Appliance Blue Book has been extremely helpful with comparing prices and determining who has what part and how long it will take to get delivered.
Working for Home Warranty Companies:
Do you have any advice on finding or choosing a home warranty company to work for?
Not sure if my advice would be worth taking, but I just did a quick search on Google to see which ones popped up in my area. I was familiar with a few of them from my previous job, however, I was not exposed to their invoicing requirements and payment procedures.
So far, my experience has not been that great. Sure, I get a few jobs from them, but not near as many as I expected (2 or 3 per month from each company).
It might keep you above water while you're just starting off, but you don’t get to charge as much money for them either.
Getting Business Insurance:
How did you choose insurance?
I went with pretty much the first one that popped up on the internet: Next Insurance is user-friendly and works great for my needs. All the setup was done online and insurance certificates were created instantly and even sent to me in minutes.
Getting the insurance was the easy part. I have not had to file any claims as of yet so I can’t speak on that.
Choosing Invoicing Software:
What do you use for invoicing and why?
I create my estimates using Service Company Solutions' Appliance Blue Book. SCS Blue Book is a subscription program that I purchased with a monthly fee, and it consists of 3 separate programs: diagnostics, parts research, and Blue Book estimate.
For each customer's job, I can enter the model number and see the parts that are commonly used to repair the appliance. The program links with my parts distributors and even displays who has the part and how long it will take the part to ship. Once the job description and parts are selected, I press “calculate job” to create a job quote with the total price.
This takes all the math out of the equation while on the job and delivers a clean repair quote visible only to the customer from my phone. A separate tab not visible to the customer (unless I show them) shows the line items, parts, labor, service fee, taxes, etc. There are customizable fields to offer discounts and ways to program special jobs. The labor for each particular job is predetermined by me.
Once the quote is made, the customer can agree to the repair and I'll get to work, or they can decline the repair and simply pay the service fee on the spot.
Special thanks to Kent Berry for this interview! If you'd like to share about your own business launch, let us know at hello@zarla.com.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.