Whenever I meet anyone in this fabricare industry, I always wonder how he or she started. I mean, do you ever hear a child say, “When I grow up, I want to be a dry cleaner? “ I would wager that you probably never heard that unless it is the family business. Even then, it is doubtful.
I graduated from college with teaching as my goal. I got sidelined when I had a baby. Upon re-entering the job force, I only wanted a part time job. A friend owned an insurance agency and offered me a job to work there. Later we moved to Orange County and when applying for a full time job, the only recent work experience was in insurance so that lead me to Henderson Insurance Agency. As most of you know, Henderson Insurance Agency specializes in insuring dry cleaners. After working there for several years, we decided to open our own dry cleaners – Class Act Cleaners. Eventually we sold it and I ended back at Henderson Insurance Agency.
Being curious, I interviewed several people for this article and I think you will find it interesting.
Harry Boucher – Harry is the owner of Carr’s Cleaners in Turlock, California. Harry started his career selling cars. He did not like it. He wanted a job with a regular paycheck and benefits. A friend of his worked for Mission Linen. The friend got an application for Harry and Harry submitted it. “I called Mission Linen every other day asking if there was a job available. I am sure they got tired of me calling and finally they hired me,” Harry laughs. He worked his way up to regional manager, which took him away traveling 3 weeks out of the month. Mission Linen bought a location and it had a dry cleaner next door. Harry saw the potential in the dry cleaning business. He actually went to the dry cleaner that he normally used in his town and told her he wanted to buy it. This was in 1978. The deal was done and the rest is history. Harry tried to retire once but here he is still in the business. He owns 4 locations and still loves it.
Paul Choe – Paul is the owner of Eastside Cleaners in Lancaster, California. Paul had a job building airplanes in Palmdale for the military He got married and shortly got laid off. About one year later, he got called back to his job. He and his wife had a baby and then he got laid off again! About one year later, he was called back again. Next, he bought a house and you guessed it. He got laid off again. If you are familiar with the aerospace industry, this is not uncommon and it depends what political party is in office as to how the defense spending goes. This went on and off for Paul for 15 years. Paul decided this was not stable enough for him. He had a friend who was a friend of a dry cleaner. Paul went to that dry cleaner every Saturday for several months. He put his house up for collateral, took a loan from his friend his and he and his father opened a location in a new shopping center. He was amazed. Customers actually came in! Paul and his wife, Amy worked 12 hours day, 6 days a week for the first 2 years. About 10 years ago, another dry cleaner approached him. This business owner had a plant and an agency. The plant was close to Paul’s location. The business owner wanted Paul to take over his locations. Paul did and closed down the plant but kept the agency open. Paul cites that since 2008, over 800 dry cleaners have closed down in California. “I feel very lucky,” states Paul. Paul is the Chairman of FKDA Federation of Korean Dry Cleaning Association.
Aslam Lodhi – Aslam owns Ace Cleaners in Napa, California. Aslam is the past President of the California Cleaners Association (CCA) and he also has an interesting story to tell. As Aslam tells it, “It was a unique experience in life.” Aslam had a friend who was good friends with a dry cleaner. At the time, Aslam was managing a restaurant in town. As friends, the three would spend time together and Aslam would bring food to the dry cleaner. It appeared the dry cleaner was having problems and one day he called Aslam and asked him if he wanted to buy the business. Aslam remembers, “We became friends and I think that night he might have had a bit to drink.” Aslam had just gotten married and he and his wife took the chance. He did not know anything about the business. They worked from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. After 2 years, they had their first child. Aslam discovered “With more knowledge, the better you become.”
Hiten Shah – Hiten is the owner of Fantastic Cleaners in La Habra, California. Hiten came from India and settled in Chicago with his fiancée.His fiancée had relatives in Southern California so they decided to visit at Christmas time. “We took off from Chicago and it was below freezing. We landed in Ontario and it was 70 degrees! We saw green, green trees, palm trees – not brown, dead and ugly. Within 5 minutes, we decided to move here. I asked my brother-in-law to look for a business for me to buy,” explained Hiten. At the time, he was managing a small grocery store in Chicago. The brother-in-law called and asked if he wanted to buy a dry cleaning business. The brother-in-law , who was not very familiar with Southern California locations, said the location was in La Habra, near Disneyland. Hiten said, “I’m in!” The first time Hiten ever was behind the first counter was when he signed the escrow papers. Twenty-seven years and he is still at that location. “This industry has given me a lot.” Hiten also has a CRDN franchise.
I hope you have enjoyed these stories. It shows the diversity in our industry. However, it also shows we all work hard to make our businesses a success. If you have an interesting story, please e-mail me at jsmith@hendersoninsurance.com. I would like to write a follow up story.
