FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2015
Contact: Lara Sabatoni
844-793-3766
Lancaster, CA Homeschool Graduate Launches U.S. Chimney Sweeping Franchise
Lancaster, CA – Midtown Chimney Sweeps Franchising opened in 2014 after Desert Christian Home Education Program graduate Byron Schramm realized there was a $2 billion niche untapped in the unwanted chimney industry and embraced it. The company offers chimney sweeping, light chimney maintenance and repairs, and franchise opportunities.
In 1997 Byron Schramm graduated from the Southern California high desert’s finest homeschool program located at the Desert Christian High School campus in Lancaster, California. Infused with a love of travel and a family history in small business Byron was excited to tackle the problems of his world. Part of his family business was a fireplace installation and chimney cleaning company started by his father and uncle. After graduating from The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, CA in 2002 he began to work part-time in the business. Wanting to press it to the next level, an outsourced call center was integrated, technician uniforms and other best practices. Marketing experiments blossomed and yielded fruit: by 2011 the business was in 2 states with a handful of technicians. Byron appreciates and thanks his homeschool mentors and the connections made during the junior high and high school home education program.
“Homeschooling was far better than public education for me,” says the franchise founder, “it kept me from the distractions of pop culture which would lead to an average life. I could never work for someone else- I would rather provide jobs to other people and see them reach their potential. I want to solve problems. There are a lot of problems in the chimney industry and I am glad to contribute to small business solutions!”
What solutions? How about the top 3 headaches for small business in America:
- A scheduling center for his franchisees which answers all the phone calls and emails for his brand
- A marketing Return On Investment calculator that collects marketing source on every scheduled job
- Powerhouse of branding- from the Registered brand to regular social media advertising is all done for his franchisees
Besides the 42% increase in the number of chimneys swept from 2013 to 2014 the company has grown in the number of franchises awarded from four in September 2014 to twelve franchises only six months later- a 66 percent increase. The number of franchises awarded is on track to reach 27 by the end of the year. Along with these projections, the company has increased the number of people working for Midtown Chimney Sweeps, now in three states. Midtown might be the next hottest franchise for the blue collar crowd wanting a home-based business with few operational headaches.
“We are the world’s first sophisticated chimney sweeping, light chimney maintenance and repair franchise,” said Byron Schramm company founder. “We easily dominate local SEO because our competitors are literally retiring and not computer savvy. We enjoy unusually low marketing costs.”
More than 50 percent of all sweeps in the United States are over the age of 50 and many are retiring, Schramm said. Midtown Chimney Sweeps wants to be the most wide-reaching name in chimney sweeping and maintenance by supporting franchisees with scheduling and marketing assistance.
Because of Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the company sees the demand for sweeping wood-burning and pellet-burning appliances increasing. More than 400,000 wood and pellet stoves are being sold and installed each year in America. More and more soot is deposited in American chimneys due to newer designs of appliances. Furthermore, greater than 52 percent of U.S. households have at least one fireplace or freestanding stove- and many fireplaces will be used between 52-120 times per year, which makes sweeping a necessity. Chimney fires are common in households that fail to clean chimneys. The combination of an aging competitive grid and the continued demand for services shows great potential for Schramm and his new brand Midtown.
“We are excited about our future. Midtown Chimney Sweeps is looking forward to working with homeschool families around the country. We hope to display a booth at several homeschool conventions this year. We plan to open locations in all the coldest climates of the United States,” Schramm concluded.
