Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep. #25 Emily Van Cleef's Path from Law to Blooming Blinds
What if a career change could lead you to discover your true passion? We sit down with Emily van Cleef, former attorney turned franchise owner, as she shares her inspiring journey from the hustle and bustle of Detroit's legal scene to the sunny streets of South Carolina. Emily opens up about the pivotal moments that led her to pivot from a demanding legal career to owning Bloomin' Blinds franchises in Rock Hill and South Charlotte. Her story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the courage to invest in oneself and one's family, especially during uncertain times like the global pandemic.
Join us as Emily takes us through the unique offerings and exceptional standards that set Blooming Blinds apart. From an impressive range of products—blinds, shades, shutters, and draperies—all backed by a lifetime warranty, to the unparalleled support from the franchise's founders, you'll learn why this business model resonates with her values. Emily also shares practical advice for anyone considering new window treatments or interested in the world of franchising. Tune in to find out how Bloomin' Blinds can transform your home and possibly inspire your next big career move!
Bloomin Blinds of Rock Hill & South Charlotte
Emily Van Cleef
1029 Riverview Rd Suite B
Rock Hill, SC 29732
(803) 630-3056
Southcharlotte@bloominblinds.com
southcharlotte
Rock Hill
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina Lee.
Speaker 2:Well, hello everyone and welcome to today's broadcast of the Good Neighbor Podcast, and today I'm excited to have a conversation with Emily Van Cleef. Hi, emily, how are you Good? How are you Good, how are you Good? So I know you're the franchise owner of Bloomin' Blinds and tell us your territory.
Speaker 3:So I own both Bloomin' Blinds based in Rock Hill, which services York County, lancaster County and Chester, and I also own Bloomin' Blinds of South Charlotte where we service south of the city of Charlotte pretty much as well as Waxhaw, weddington, matthews and Monroe.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. How long have you been doing this?
Speaker 3:I've been in this industry for about three years now.
Speaker 2:And what took you to be a franchisee of Bloomin' Blinds. Tell us about your journey, your thought process at the time.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Well. A lot of people don't know this, but I was a practicing attorney in the city of Detroit and that's what I was doing and I started having children and I realized working those really long hours, 12 plus hour days I never got to see my kids awake during the day and fate had it that we got transferred from Detroit down to South Carolina and when that happened I was able to become a preschool teacher.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, you've had quite a journey.
Speaker 3:Yes. So during that time I've had four children and I decided to be a teacher in preschool and I absolutely loved it. But there was this little event in world history that came called COVID, and it shook everything upside down and gave me a chance to really evaluate where I was and where we wanted to be as a family, and we decided at that point that we should really invest in ourselves and our own businesses, and we thought that was the best investment because we realized that you know, buying a business and operating it ourselves, we could see the best returns possible.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. So what impressed you about this franchise opportunity with Blooming Blinds? What sets this one apart?
Speaker 3:Yes, we went through a lot of different interviewing and personality types and we narrowed it down to a couple of franchises. And the reason I picked Bloomin' Blinds is because the moment I met the owners down in Dallas they are these really tall three brothers I was so impressed. So a little history about the franchise is it started with their mom who was trying to figure out a way to support herself. So she went to different restaurants and realized the shades and blinds in restaurants were really dirty and broken, so she found herself a niche to be able to repair those and clean them. So years later her three sons franchised it and built this business upon service, repairs and taking care of our customers and that, just you know, went with everything I believed in and I just loved everything they stood by and taught and, you know, for the past three years I can call them anytime with any questions and they are there to really help me grow my business and make an impact in my community.
Speaker 2:What a great story. I love that, and you know they've turned this into a huge model. Wow, good for you. So tell us about the products. Of course, you do blinds, but you do shutters, shades, draperies, so take us through all of that.
Speaker 3:Sure, With our company, we're able to offer your standard blinds, shades, which includes cellular roller, Roman woven wood, as well as shutters, and we also can do draperies. So what's different about our products is we offer a lifetime warranty on these products, and we're able to do that because we work with really good manufacturers that give us that product warranty. But we're also fully trained to be able to repair anything if anything were to happen to these products. So when you decide to do business with Blooming Blinds, you become part of our family.
Speaker 2:That is amazing. So the process for our listeners they don't know what they don't know. So how does it work if they just want consultation, want to see what their options are?
Speaker 3:Absolutely, they can give us a call. We have a phone number, it's 803-833-0325. And if they prefer, they could also text that number to set up a consultation, and all of our consultations are free will come to their home so they can see the products and maybe they want to see several products, but it's so important to get it in their house with their lighting and paint colors. Because, if I've learned one thing, just because you see something in the store with a color doesn't mean it's not going to change with your deck decorations and decor.
Speaker 2:How true, how true. That is Super cool. So tell what are the hot trends right now in in the window treatment world?
Speaker 3:I will tell you. One trend that I have seen significantly this year is a move away from the traditional slap blinds, because a lot of people don't want to be cleaning them with a dust and people are moving to shades. So the shades come down and there's nothing really for that dust to stick on, so they can go right back up. So a lot of people like that to keep their windows open and clear. And another cool thing that is happening is cellular shades have a energy efficiency tax credit so you know if you upgrade to those you're really getting energy efficiency with your home. And another one really cool thing that people don't know are shutters actually will increase the value of your home if you invest in them and install them.
Speaker 2:That is amazing Amazing. So it's a very busy industry. You shared your passion. Tell us about your any misconceptions there are in the industry, or a challenge that you have faced as a business owner that you've overcome and maybe you're very proud of owner that you've overcome and maybe you're very proud of.
Speaker 3:Sure, absolutely Well, first tell you a little bit about some misconceptions.
Speaker 3:Most people think they can just go out to a big box store and get a blind and install it in their home, and that is perfectly fine if that's what you want to do. But I'd love people to understand that those blinds and shades are built to last three years. So when you're investing in those you have to calculate how many years you're going to be in your house and how many times you have to replace it. So when we come in we're giving a full lifetime warranty on the parts and the service. So it's really a great investment to kind of understand what you're buying. Because I'll tell you one thing I went into my children's Sunday school teacher's home and she bought builder grade big box store shades in all of her house and I had to tell her that I could not repair five of them and they were all failing, because we can repair other people's products, Just the ones from big box stores have plastic components that that can't be replaced. So she had to replace 30 blinds.
Speaker 3:And I felt I felt so bad that no one had told her, you know, or in the beginning, so that you don't have to replace them later on. So that's what I'd like people to know about myths, and I'll tell you one quick story about a hardship that I faced early on. So I decided to go with Blooming Blinds and I waited till the end of the school year to go learn and learn about repairs and all the products. And we find this man to go with us who's been in the industry for several years. He's super excited and he's going to handle all the operations and go sell, measure and install shades and blinds. We go to Dallas for two weeks learn, train. You know we pay for everything to be part of this journey with us and I wanted to go out there and make connections and let everyone know we exist.
Speaker 3:So imagine this we're getting ready to launch, we're four days in and you look at your phone and you get a text message that says launch. We're four days in and you look at your phone and you get a text message that says I'm sorry, this isn't for me. No, so I'm sitting there with this gigantic Ford transit van where you can't like look behind you to see if cars are there. Just me. I'm the only other one trained in how to go, measure and repair blinds and I have to make a choice right then and there Do I jump in this van and lead my business and do it myself or do I give up? And I made the choice. I said I'm going to do it. It might be scary at first but you know, I think our business is where it is today because I took that chance and became a better business owner by learning from the ground up Holy cow.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. Were there any tears that moment? All I can think about is I would have just oh my God.
Speaker 3:I don't know if I I cried until my husband said God. I don't know if I cried until my husband said wait a minute, are you scared to drive this big van? And I thought Well, goodness, not, until you just mentioned it.
Speaker 2:I wasn't thinking about that. Oh my God, that is such a great story. And look at you now COVID's behind us and the career path you've taken. You know there is so much joy when you own and operate your own business and I wish our listeners could see your face. You've got a big smile and I can tell you're completely proud and passionate about what you do, absolutely.
Speaker 3:We really strive to make this one of the best experience people have. Many people tell us that we made the process easy and I'm just so happy that you know I can establish these lifelong relationships with my customers. Amazing so when you're not working, carolinas, as well as some other states, just playing soccer and cheering them on.
Speaker 2:You are a busy, busy woman. Well, very impressed with you, Emily. I know you're going to be super successful at this. Tell us one more time how to reach you successful at this.
Speaker 3:Tell us one more time how to reach you. Absolutely Well, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook. If you type in Bloomin' Blinds, we're the Rock Hill and the South Charlotte location. If you kind, have a free consultation. We provide free temporary shades if you're kind of scrambling getting in a home and you need some coverage while you wait, and we also will match all of our competitors pricing while giving you two lifetime warranties.
Speaker 2:Lifetime warranty. Had no idea that existed in your industry. That is amazing. Well, very impressed with the business model and with you, Emily. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Thanks for having me and have a wonderful day.
Speaker 2:See you out in the community.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPSouthCharlotte. com. That's GNPSouthCharlotte. com, or call 980-351-5719.