Who is Crack Master Chicago, Inc.?

This weekend my family and I had dinner with my brother and his kids.  He has embarked on a new chapter in his life and has gone back to College.  A very big undertaking with 4 kids and a thriving career.  I could not be more excited for him.  His business class assignment was to interview and Entrepreneur so he picked my husband and I.  I want to share the paper with you to give you an insight on who Crack Master Chicago, Inc is.  

Enjoy and Thank you Eric.

An Interview with Entrepreneurs

Eric Shurts

            On a summer Saturday evening in June, amidst a torrential downpour and loud emergency warning sirens, my kids and I arrived at their aunt and uncle’s house for a visit.  We had been invited there for a BBQ and so I could interview them for my college assignment.  After shedding all the water accumulated in the dash from the car to the garage, we began the visit with the usual cordial welcomes.  The weather that evening would eventually pass and the BBQ would finally commence outside.  In this casual and slightly wet setting, I would begin my interview with the couple about the business they started a few years back called Crack Master Chicago, Inc.  Between brats, burgers, and drinks, I would learn a great deal of the successes, struggles, and experiences they both had in relation to starting and maintaining their business.  I will attempt to share some of what I learned that evening here in this paper.

            Mike and Sarah Christ of Mundelein, IL had worked in various business situations in their past.  Some of their work experiences involved sales, restaurant management, health care billing, as well as working in a family business.  During this time, Mike realized that he didn't really care for the fact of working for someone else.  While at a job site, where he was working for his brother in the mold removal business, he noticed some cracks in the basement walls and asked who took care of those for the homeowner.  After looking into it, he found there was a niche to be filled locally.  Mike felt that this could be something he could teach himself how to do and be successful at it.  After discussing it with his wife Sarah, they both agreed to start the business since they had also recently decided they wanted to start a family.  A week later and no formal business plan to speak of, they filed the paperwork, paid the $600 to become a business and Crack Master Chicago was born.

            In that first year, they went about their business practices very carefully, self-funded themselves for the materials needed to do the jobs, and established a good line of credit.  They eventually were able to obtain a company credit card and prided themselves in paying the balance off every month.  Things weren't always sunshine and rainbows.  Mike and Sarah shared with me that it was tough to keep their personal lives separate from their business lives.  Since Mike was doing the labor portion and Sarah was doing the financial and paper work part, it was tough keeping family and business separate.  There were many long hours, physically tough working conditions and a new baby to care for.

            About a year later and with some success under their belt, they decided that it was smart to actually upgrade their business and add the “Inc.” onto the name.  With the assistance of some family members who had legal experience, they formed an S type corporation to insure they would protect themselves against liability.  After all, they had a new baby in their lives and needed to protect themselves and their future.  Looking back at that time, Mike reflected that they could have done better work on their sales prep, marketing, and business presence.  His advice to me was to get all of the non-core business function items figured out early.  The core part of the business was the easy part.  It was the marketing, inventory, finances and bookkeeping skills that needed development early to insure success.

            Mike and Sarah both agreed that their college experiences had no bearing on their business.  For them, it was not much help.  Sarah had a four year degree and Mike had spent two years in college and both found none of what they learned in school had any bearing on the success or failure of their business.  It was what was learned by work experiences that truly taught them what they needed to be successful.  As time went on, similar businesses started to appear and make things more competitive.  They also had to compete with the big chain companies like Perma-Seal.  They felt they could succeed with their quality and customer service.  Because they were both motivated, self-starters, energetic and knowledgeable they felt these personal characteristics were their keys to success.  They indicated that the final item to be successful was to make and keep good business contacts that also had good business skills.

            So as the evening BBQ concluded, the group moved back into the house and cleaned up after dinner.  Various job stories were shared, each with a unique experience.  It was obvious that they had found their calling.  It was also clear lessons had been learned along the way and fine tuning of day to day functions were made.  As the conversation regarding their business faded, future thoughts were shared of where they could take the business in relation to additional services for basements and crawl spaces.  It was obvious that a seed had been planted, nurtured and fed.  This business was going to succeed and they would work their hardest to make it so.  The evening eventually came to a close after lots of great conversation.  As we left, I was glad to have shared the visit with my children so they too could benefit from the knowledge shared by their aunt and uncle.  Having such good role models will aid in preparing them for their lives in the business world.