How I Franchised My Business: The Carpet Chemist Founder and CEO Brandon Cerrito

Brandon Cerrito, Founder and CEO of The Carpet Chemist, based out of Louisville, Kentucky, knew he wanted to fill a void in the marketplace and provide customers with an inexpensive alternative to carpet replacement. Cerrito’s first job, a national franchise where he worked for 10 years, was in carpet cleaning. By the time he left, he knew the carpet-cleaning business — what worked, what didn’t and what customers wanted. Setting out in 2018 armed with his decade of carpet-cleaning knowledge and a desire to fill a void in the industry, Cerrito started his own business, The Carpet Chemist, and is now an emerging franchise brand with plans for 22 locations by 2022.

“I didn't know anything about running a business, marketing, expenses or taxes. I learned every single thing — what not to do and also what to do,” said Cerrito. “I had my own little business and rebranded a couple of times as we changed the structure and services. And then in 2018, we decided that we really had something … Something that we should replicate to help other people that may be interested in the kind of work we do.”  

The Carpet Chemist offers a unique model in that it realizes all carpets are not created equal: For example, expensive wool carpeting can not be treated the same way as a builder-grade polyester blend carpet, and Cerrito distinguishes his business as able to “understand the importance of chemistry and the pH scale in dealing with carpet stains — making them able to successfully restore carpets to nearly new when all others deem the stains ‘permanent.’”

Cerrito noted that he felt ready in 2018 for the franchise model because the brand’s “business structure was phenomenal.”

“Nobody else was doing repairs or stretching, and that was our whole thing,” explained Cerrito, further. He researched markets across the country at that time, and “nobody was stretching or dying carpet.”

The services of The Carpet Chemist have been so refined and perfected that the marketing, both online and word of mouth, has propelled the business to receive calls all over the state, in surrounding areas of markets of Cincinnati and Nashville and as far as Minnesota requesting service. 

“So that's what really planted the seed of franchising for me — I saw the need from the customer base. I knew I needed to somehow duplicate what we had built and open more locations to reach more customers,” stated Cerrito. “We didn’t have the manpower or the resources to do that. So what's the other option? So that's when I reached out to our franchise attorney, who has been leading us along the way on how to go about all this.”

Looking toward 2022, The Carpet Chemist is ready to serve an eager market in even more areas via its franchise locations.  

Discussing how the pandemic has affected people’s view on business ownership and the appeal of the franchise model, Cerrito believes The Carpet Chemist can offer a solution to many families and communities. 

“I’m really confident in our goal of 22 in 2022. I think a lot more people are looking at franchising as an option,” said Cerrito. “They're just steering their life in a new direction. We have the blueprints, so they don’t have to go through all the hardships that we've already endured. My ultimate goal is to help other people be successful in their areas, and The Carpet Chemist is the best out there in terms of carpet care.”