Clear route to success

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/01/2018 (2999 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s no business like the snow business.

When Kristian Zoppa, 22, founded Kildonan Snow Removal from his family home in East Kildonan, he saw an opportunity to build a company and brand from the bottom up.

Specializing in snow removal in the winter and lawn care in the summer, Zoppa hit the ground running in 2015. A little over two years later, Zoppa’s operation, now known as the Cleanr Property Maintenance Group, operates out of a shared shop in Transcona.

“We’ve grown from that one truck, which served me well, to having three trucks,” Zoppa said.
Zoppa started the business with a focus on East and North Kildonan, but has since begun to spread as opportunities grow.

“In this industry, what you’re really selling is time,” he said. “So to maximize that you need better equipment, better racking systems for the trucks, everything like that. In the spring we’ll get that going just to keep serving people quicker.”

With two full-time employees and a reliable crew of “four to five” part-timers, Zoppa has plans to add a fourth truck come spring.

“The lawn care side of it we’re going city-wide,” said Zoppa, who recently bought a house in Transcona. “On the snow side, we’re expanding to Transcona now that we have the shop here, and maybe into Garden City.”

Zoppa credits the success of his company to both the quality of their work, and to online marketing.

“You need to get the customers first, then do great work,” Zoppa said, adding he spends his downtime keeping up with marketing trends online. “The marketing and advertising, that’s my passion. The campaigns we’ve run, that’s what’s helped the business grow.”

Networking has also played a pivotal role in Zoppa’s early success.

“I’ve met other business owners, both industry and non-industry specific,” he said. “I’ve been able to pick their brains. Opportunities to share ideas helps a lot.”

In the future, Zoppa hopes to grow the Cleanr brand, with sights set as high as franchising down the line.

“That is a potential,” he said. “But I need to spend more time talking to franchisees and franchisors, to see if it’s really something I want to get into.”

Visit www.cleanrsnow.com or www.cleanrmow.com for more information.