Central vacuum salesman helps Idaho suck it up

Jason Miller said his new, self-funded enterprise wasn’t an expensive business to launch. With just $20,000 of his own money he started Gem State Central Vacuum Systems last August. At the same time, he acknowledges a central vacuum system is, in his own words, “a luxury and not a necessity.”

That may explain in part why he likens his business to a carnival ride. “Business is up and down,” he said. “It’s a roller coaster. It’s partly the economy and partly the nature of business in general.”

Miller works primarily in residential installations of the central vacuum systems. He said he’s done about 100 “rough-ins” around the valley in pre-sold houses.

“I go in while construction is still in the framing stage, when the electricians are in,” Miller said. “I go into a crawl space, hang all the boxes, then ‘stub’ the pipe down into the crawl space, get back into the space and connect it all to where the vacuum (motor and receptacle) will hang.”

Then, after the buyers are committed to purchasing the home, they are given the option of choosing a central vacuum system, or not. If the buyers say yes, Miller goes back in and completes the full installation.

To date, he said, he has installed more than a dozen systems in homes throughout the valley. He gets paid by the homebuilder for both the rough-ins and the full installations.

He works with a number of builders in the area, including Meadowbrook Homes, Envision Home Builders, Paradigm, Visser, CR Custom Homes, Pat Nolan Construction and Legacy Homes.

“I’m constantly looking for new builders,” he said, and then explained how he became the central vacuum installer of choice for Phil Jimenez, owner of Meadowbrook Homes. “I saw his sign up when I was driving around town, so I called him and got him interested in working with me.”

(Miller also has to be part salesman in his job.)

At 32, he said he has been in construction “my whole life,” and installing central vacuum systems is just an extension of that career. “It’s still basically construction.”

Many of the builders he works with he got to know while working in the trade. Generally, he said, builders stick with their subcontractors, and the builders he works with use him exclusively for central vacuum system rough-ins and installations.

“Once they get set up with a subcontractor, they’re pretty loyal to them,” he said.

Jimenez is one of the few builders who makes a central vacuum system standard in each home he builds. He said of the decision, “I guess at one level, as a builder of nicer homes, it’s expected.”

But does it raise the selling price? “Well, nothing is for free, but I haven’t done a house in years without one,” he said.

Miller stated he is able to put a central vacuum system in most homes for under $1,000. For businesses, installation costs run approximately $1,800 to $2,000 for a 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot space.

Miller installed a central vacuum system in Polish Day Spa on Broadway in Boise. Owner Joey Do said: “We do nails here for a long time. I just don’t like to have all that dust. We try to keep the air clean.”

Miller feels clean air is one of the biggest selling points of the system. “You get five times more suction,” he said. “It takes out dust and allergens. It doesn’t stir anything up.”

He is currently installing a system in another spa, a Silk Touch Med Spa still under construction.

The difference between a central vacuum system and other, more commonly used vacuums such as uprights is that the user needs only carry a hose from room to room, plugging it into outlets dispersed throughout the house. The number of outlets is based on the overall square footage of the house.

“I’ll walk it out,” Miller said of determining the number of outlets. “I’ll go to the furthest corner and then go 30 feet and put in an outlet. I’ll cover the entire house, but you don’t need an outlet in each room.”

The central power unit is in an out-of-the-way place, such as in a garage or basement. Tubing is run through the house, carrying the vacuumed debris behind the walls and into an out-of-the-way receptacle which must be emptied about every three months or so.

The hoses can cover anywhere from a 1,000-square-foot area up to a 20,000-square-foot area, according to Miller.

Like all other products, the durability of a central vacuum system is only as good as its weakest points, according to repairman Paul Mianecki, owner of Classic Vacuums in Meridian.

“Don’t get a system that’s underpowered, then it will be weak and will have issues with the suction part of it. Also, there are several different degrees (of quality) to your tools and attachments – the hoses and the power heads – and that’s the biggest wear component,” he said.

There are other established central vacuum system sales and service companies in the area. Coltrin Central Vacuum System has operated in the valley for 15 years, for instance. Miller, acknowledging the competition, said of starting his own company, “It’s kind of a gamble, in a way.”

But like so many entrepreneurs, he was chasing a dream.

“I wasn’t happy where I was, and I had always wanted to have my own business,” he said.

Because he works from home, he has low overhead and that helps him keep his prices competitive. “What’s in my trailer is my overhead,” he said, referring to the logo-emblazoned trailer filled with equipment that he pulls behind his truck.

As a first-time business owner, Miller is learning as he goes along. While he is out selling his products and services, his wife does the bookkeeping for the business at home. Both are committed to Gem State Central Vacuum Systems full time, and Miller said they can ride out a year of bumpy business ups and downs.

After that? If things don’t work out?

“I’ll start all over again. I’ve done a lot of things, especially in the construction field. I’m a versatile guy,” he said.

And if he hits the jackpot and his business is a success?

He said he has no desire to someday have a large staff or a big showroom, though at some point he may hire one or two employees.

“I’ll just stay small,” he said. “In this business, it doesn’t take a lot to do a lot.”

For more information, visit Miller’s website, www.suckitupidaho.com.