Logan Cockerham: So Matt, when people ask about your business, how do you describe what you do?
Matt Stokes: We are the premier exterior cleaner in the area. Our bread-and-butter is roof cleanings, house washes, concrete cleaning, and wood restoration.
Logan Cockerham: How long have you been in business?
Matt Stokes: We’ve been in business for four years now. We started in late 2019.
Logan Cockerham: How many employees do you have?
Matt Stokes: We have two guys.
Logan Cockerham: Okay. And where do you want to take your company long-term?
Matt Stokes: I go back and forth on that. Ideally, I would love to have two locations, one based in Madison, Indiana and one based in Lexington. Lexington is a huge market.
Logan Cockerham: What did you want it to become when you started?
Matt Stokes: I started doing this and I haven’t looked back. I’ve always loved the idea of having a family business and passing it down through the family.
Logan Cockerham: Who is your target market?
Matt Stokes: Our target market is the upper-middle class and up.
Logan Cockerham: What’s one mistake you’ve made or lesson learned that other business owners and entrepreneurs can learn from, regardless of their industry?
Matt Stokes: Not understanding marketing and not putting enough into it. Pristine Exterior Cleaning wasn’t the first business I started. I started a welding company in 2016 or 2017. I already had one welder, but I went out and I spent several thousands of dollars on another one and also bought a bunch of metal and other supplies. I had shirts made, pamphlets made, and gave them out. And in the course of trying to do that for two years, I had like four or five jobs. When I started Pristine Exterior Cleaning, I understood that I had to do things differently.
Logan Cockerham: Last question. What is most inspiring to you today?
Matt Stokes: I love stories of the underdog. I think all Americans do. I like stories of entrepreneurs that started with nothing and then made it big, like the founders of Harley-Davidson, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs.