Jonathan Barnett – The Man Behind Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning
Every great company usually has its foundation in one person. Sometimes they’re someone within the company itself who comes upon a certain idea and realizes the great potential therein, causing the business to grow exponentially. Sometimes it’s an investor who sees a business and realizes it has great potential and decides to give it the funds it needs to reach the next level. Often, though, it’s the person with the original idea. That spark that causes them to create a business from nothing and build it up until it’s an unstoppable force. Jonathan Barnett, the founder of Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, is one of the latter. His company is still young, but he’s in the midst of it all, working hard to make sure that Oxi Fresh never stops growing.
Jonathan started Oxi Fresh in 2006, but his interest in business goes back much further. As a matter of fact, one of his earliest business ventures was all the way back in Elementary school. Every year, his dog would have a litter of puppies, and every year he would start a “Puppy Business” selling them to other families. Admittedly, it was a rather small scale affair, but it illustrates just how business minded Jonathan has always been. His college years saw no end to his drive. He played on Oral Roberts University’s D1 basketball team, served as team chaplain, founded a charity called Crossover International, and opened up a chain of Johnny B’s Firework Stands – a venture that made enough money to pay for most of his college tuition. Did we mention that he did all of this in just one year?
After graduating, Jonathan pursued higher education, studying business at Colorado Christian University. He earned his Masters in 2005, and, never resting, opened up a team franchise with the International Basketball League. He owned the team for two seasons before he chose to leave that venture behind. When asked about the experience, Jonathan said that, “It wasn’t a profitable franchise, but I learned a lot. I learned how to delegate, how to let go, and let my other people lead.”
Jonathan took what he had learned from owning the team, especially the things he had learned about franchising, and began to formulate his own business plan. After some difficult deliberation and careful planning, though, he was ready and launched Oxi Fresh in 2006. From there, this little carpet cleaning company exploded on the scene. In just a few years this green carpet cleaning business was earning numerous awards and recognitions – Entrepreneur Magazine he ranked it as the 30th fastest growing franchise of 2010! That’s quite the honor when you consider the hundreds of companies that are considered for those rankings. Last year Oxi Fresh reported a revenue of $2.6 million – not bad for being only about four years old. People just love our carpet cleaning services!
Clearly Jonathan Barnett is doing something right. To turn a one location cleaning business into a company that spans nearly every state with 200 sold territories, means Jonathan did not just get lucky with his company. He’s worked hard, planned well, and made what could have been just another cleaner into one of the fastest growing franchises in America.
