Q: Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: Appliance Headquarters is one of the renowned companies offering one stop solution for complete repair and service of refrigerators, washers, dryers, ranges, dishwashers, microwaves, ovens and more. Based at Las Vegas, Nevada, our showroom and appliance parts center helps in catering to our diverse customers. We have more than 30 years of profound experience in this realm and are known to offer the best customer service in the valley. We take pride in being rated A by the BBB.
We boast of our large appliance showroom, where we sell new appliances like Whirlpool and General Electric. Our showroom also showcases an appliance parts warehouse, where we sell appliance parts of different brands like, Admiral, Amana, Asko, Bosch, Caloric, Electrolux, Estate, Fisher Paykel, Frigidaire,Gaggenau, G.E. (General Electric), Gibson and Hotpoint. We also offer products of other brands like- Jenn-Air, Kenmore, Kirkland, Kitchen Aid, LG, Magic Chef, Miele, Norge, Roper, Samsung, Scottsman, Sears, Seiman, Speed Queen, Sub Zero, Tappan, Thermador, Viking, Wards, Westinghouse, Whirlpool and Wolf among others.
We offer free technical assistance to those who want to do their own repairs. We also provide in home repair / service for the entire Las Vegas Metropolitan area, which includes Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City.
We are the only company providing free estimates without the obligation to make the repair. We are open 7 days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm for repair, sales and services and we accept all major credit cards, checks or cash for payment.
Q: Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I have been the President of Appliance Repair Experts since 2007 and I am responsible for overseeing all operations, ensuring production efficiency, quality, service and the cost effective management of resources. I approve all the business operational procedures, policies and standards. I lead the company’s current marketing and public relations efforts.
Previously I was the Lead Master Technician for Sears Roebuck & Company, for thirteen years. I repaired all brands of major household appliances, trained other technicians and worked closely with customers to help meet their needs.
At Sears, I showed particular aptitude for repairs, repairing appliances that others were unable or unwilling to tackle. I was known for my excellent customer service have won numerous awards through Sears, testifying to my abilities.
I hold certifications from the Environmental Protection Agency and the North American Retail Dealers Association as well as the Refrigerant Recovery Certification Program. I have also completed the technical programs through General Electric, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Maytag, Bosch, Samsung, Asko and others.
Q: What ignited the spark in you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: I observed that the customer service and trainings given to technicians to make repairs were declining rapidly and I knew that the customers definitely deserved better. Hence I opened Appliance Repair Experts, where we have live operators 7 days a week. We have now changed our name to Appliance Headquarters- Home of Appliance Repair Experts. We serve as a one stop shop for all your appliance needs. Service, repairs, new appliances and new appliance parts sales for all brands are all provided by us.
As far as I know, we are the only appliance company in the valley that offers a free estimate without obligation to repair. We offer the best service and pricing in the valley.
Q: How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Good employees are the key to the success of any business, ours is no exception. Throughout the years we have been very fortunate to have great employees. Within our hiring process it makes no difference to us what a person’s ethnic background is or if they have physical disabilities. Our main concern is whether they can adequately perform their duties to our high standards of customer service. We then provide ongoing training to all of our employees to enhance their knowledge and skills, helping them to be the best that they can be.
Without great customer service you can’t grow your business. My opinion is that if you take good care of your customers, your customers will take good care of you.
Q: What three pieces of advice would you give to college students who want to become entrepreneurs?
Ans:
- To have a successful business you must learn everything about the business you are pursuing.
- You must get hands on training until you have mastered the ins and outs of what you intend to sell.
- Finally, you must have great customer service. This is something lacking with businesses today, they have forgotten their customers therefore their customers forget them.
Q: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently? Ans: Nothing, trial and error has made us the great company we are today. I simply want to press on to continue making Appliance Headquarters better and better every day.
Q: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: You must have the following skills to be a successful entrepreneur:
- Accounting experience
- Knowledge on how to negotiate
Q: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: If I truly believe that an idea will work, I never give up on it. I might make various changes to it until it works as endurance is the key to success.
Q: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: I work 12-14 hours a day.
Q: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: It has made my family life much better; my family is an integral part of this business.
Q: What motivates you?
Ans: I believe with endurance I can do just about anything. I set a goal and then I do what it takes to achieve that goal. I am very fortunate to have an understanding wife who stands by me and motivates me in accomplishing my goals.
Q: How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: I get new ideas from reading, listening to my employees and our valued customers.
Q: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: I do not have any fears. I firmly believe that fear comes from negativity and if you are a negative type of person, you will not be successful.
Q: What are your ideals?
Ans: My ideals are encompassed by the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have done to you!
Q: How do you define success?
Ans: I define ‘success’ as setting goals and achieving those goals.
Q: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Endurance, never give up.
Q: Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: We started Appliance Repair Experts out of our garage with a small savings and built it into a multimillion dollar corporation, now known as Appliance Headquarters.
Q: How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Great customer service.
Q: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: We decided to have our Appliance showroom and Appliance Parts warehouse on the frontage of main intersections for easy customer visibility and access.
Q: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Yes, you must know everything about the business that you are getting into and then put a master plan together. There will be many things that come up that you did not expect. However if you stay focused on your plan and make the necessary adjustments and endurance, you are more likely to succeed.
Q: If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Job, he was a man in one of the books of the bible that went through incredible trials and yet through all of his perseverance he never gave up and ultimately he became the greatest man in the land in his time.
Q: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: My mother and father have been my greatest inspiration. My father is the type of person who could repair anything and my mother went door to door selling Avon to help make ends meet. I acquired my technical skills from my father and my customer service skills from my mother. I gained endurance by watching them never give up no matter what came their way.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: Being able to help others and to see our goals being accomplished year after year.
Q: To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Hard work and accomplishing the task within the time frame.
Q: What would say are the five key elements for starting and running a successful business?
Ans: Motivation, commitment, skill, planning and organization.
Q: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans:
- Being able to expand Appliance Headquarters into several divisions
- Giving customers the professional service they require.
Q: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: An entrepreneur is one who remains committed in carving a niche in the market with outstanding services and in attaining long term goals. An entrepreneur strives to expand his business and reap optimum business value.
Again, working for someone else helps other business owners in realizing their dreams and making their visions come true. Both entrepreneurs and employees of the company are two sides of the same coin and both are required to attain success in terms of business as a whole.
Q: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: I have marketed our business through various media vehicles such as: Television, Radio, Billboards, Yellow book directories and online marketing like Google and Yahoo. Till date, Google has proved to be the best platform for advertising.
Q: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: We are a multicultural organization and this helps greatly in catering to a very diverse consumer base.
Q: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Rewarding.
Q: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: I don’t see mistakes rather I only see experiences. It is much like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. With a little effort you can fit that square peg in the round hole. This is how you get better and better at what you are doing.
Q: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: According to me, experiences and the damage control comes from perfecting that which you are trying to achieve. In the end it is all about great customer service and how to serve your customers better.
Q: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: I enjoy spending my leisure hours fishing and solving puzzles.
Q: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I feel accomplishments always supersedes any sacrifice. In order to be a successful entrepreneur I did not make any real sacrifices, since I enjoy hard work and accomplishing the task that I set out to do.
Q: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: Microsoft. It started as a small company with little money and grew to one of the largest businesses in the world by giving their customers what they require.
Q: Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
Ans: In 10 or 20 years from now, I see myself continuing to enjoy what I do and watching the goals for our company being accomplished. I nurture the vision to keep growing Appliance Headquarters, a one stop shop with new appliance sales, new appliance parts sales and appliance service & repair. I would like to see Appliance Headquarters being recognized as one of the largest appliance stores in Nevada.