Dry cleaning is my passion, and I have always loved helping others in the industry. I started working in a dry cleaning store in 1977 as a CSR. In 1980, I accepted an offer to buy into a One Hour Martinizing package plant location. All I wanted once I became a partner was for the company to grow. I started growing my retail sales and opening up a few drop stores, but I also went after hotels and wholesale dry cleaning and shirt accounts. I eventually outgrew my current locations, so we purchased a 25,000 square foot building, which gave us the opportunity to grow even more. By the mid-1990s, thanks to acquisitions and new stores, we grew to 45 retail locations that fed into one central plant. I then took on a new business partner and, unfortunately, it did not work out. I then opened up a small chain of retail stores in the Milwaukee Market. In 2008, I accepted an offer to move to Southern California to run a chain of dry cleaners for US Dry Cleaning. That didn't work out either, but I fell in love with the warm weather and wanted to try to make a go of it in CA. I met up with Bobby Patel of Kona Cleaners, and he hired me to be his General Manager and to take over the marketing for the company. After a few years of great success, Bobby had other people in the industry asking us if we could do the same thing for them. We decided to open BeCreative360. Now I can continue helping other cleaners grow their businesses, and that's something I truly love.
I recently purchased a home in Palm Springs, CA, where my passion is enjoying the warm weather and driving around with the top down. I have two Papillon pups, Zack and Lilly, who I love as my kids. Another thing I enjoy is technology and being able to work from anywhere. Have Mac will travel!