By the mid 1990’s Nick and John Paolella at Jon-Don had been in business for almost for almost twenty years. But Nick and John didn’t just sell equipment and chemicals. They “got down in the trenches” and worked side by side with their customers. However, Nick and John quickly realized that while many carpet cleaners worked hard, did a great job and were wonderful people … they just weren’t building a “real business.” A company that runs smoothly … with or without the owner constantly being there. Nick and John knew that if they helped their clients become more successful … likely Jon-Don would “come along for the ride” and prosper right along with their customers.

So Nick and John came up with a revolutionary new concept- a seminar that had NOTHING to do with the technical side of carpet cleaning! Instead, this program would focus on helping Jon-Don’s customers grow their company and hopefully Jon-Don would grow too! The Paolellas named this seminar Openings to Opportunity (OTO) and it truly was. The program had sections developed by accountants and attorneys and business consultants- all areas where the typical hard working carpet cleaner tends to fall down in!

However, Openings to Opportunity suffered from one glaring fault. None of the extremely smart people that developed it had ever spent time “down in the trenches” as a carpet cleaner. So while the seminar was packed with good, basic information it wasn’t tailored to our industry. And frankly, many of our attendees struggled with adapting and implementing the new concepts.

Jon-Don instinctively knew that they needed to develop a seminar that “made it easier to do it right than to do it wrong” for the average person in the cleaning and restoration industry. (This saying later became a “core concept” of the SFS program.) So they started to look around for an industry veteran who not only had “been there-done that” but also had the time, circumstances and desire to throw himself into an epic adventure- developing a industry-specific educational seminar that would be a life-transformational experience.

Steve

Meanwhile, by the mid-90’s I had been retired for several years and was happily immersed in my full time, unpaid volunteer work in the Dominican Republic with my family. (For more on my life click HERE.) Then one day the phone rang. Jon-Don wanted me to come teach one day of the OTO program so off I went. (I later learned this was a trial run on their part to see if I had fork marks all over my face!)

Nick Paolella picked me up at the airport, gave me a tour of their brand new (and very impressive) office/warehouse and then of course Nick and I had a great Italian dinner. The following day I presented a one day overview of the “Value Added Service” philosophy that had made my company so successful. I liked the “transform your business and life concept” of the Openings to Opportunity seminar and I really loved the creative, hard working but very family oriented atmosphere at Jon-Don. Evidently the feeling was mutual because that afternoon after I finished teaching Jon-Don made me an offer that I just couldn’t refuse …

Chuck

Big Billy

That’s right, Nick and John offered me the chance to develop a targeted program focused on being truly successful in the carpet cleaning industry and yes, I jumped at it. I first wove my Value Added Service concepts of working on the Home Front throughout the seminar. Then I took many of the basically good nuts and bolts of the OTO seminar and converted them into specific procedures designed just for the cleaning and restoration industry. Then we brought in two very talented individuals, Chuck Violand (to learn about Chuck click HERE) and the inimitable “Big Billy” Yeadon, to assist me in developing and teaching the class. (Billy shares more than you will ever want to know about his life story HERE!)

Nick

Angela

Two other key people on our SFS team are the father-daughter team of Angela Buege and Nick Paolella. Angela has been with me right from the git-go as our SFS Coordinator. This might be her official title but in reality Angela is the “mom” of SFS, working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that 40 to 50 attendees are taken care of beautifully over a five day period. I could never have taken SFS to where it is today without her efforts. (More about Angela HERE.)

And last but never least we come to the absolutely incredible Nick Paolella. As any SFS attendee will attest, Nick truly is a legend in his own time. Nick and John Paolella started Jon-Don in Nick’s garage way back in 1978. Fortunately for all of us, Nick’s success over the years hasn’t changed his fun-loving approach to life that he developed back in his humble beginnings. (Click HERE to learn more about Nick.) Even now Nick so loves meeting his customers that he personally travels to each and every one of the eight we present around the country every year. Or maybe Nick still doesn’t trust me even after all these years!) By the way, click HERE to see our current SFS schedule.

Thinking about Nick made me realize that much of SFS is founded on the concepts and principles that have made Jon-Don so successful over the years. Nick and John had been giving “value added service” for many years before I came along. They just didn’t know what to call it! Jon-Don not only gave me some great ideas (and the resources to help change an industry), they also let me become part of their “business family.” I’m grateful to them and once you attend SFS my guess is you will too!