Darien Entrepreneurs Help Businesses Clean Up

Twenty-six years ago, Jan Basnar was looking for a job where she could earn money without disrupting her family life.

What she found led her to run not one but two businesses out of , helping clients in both the physical and virtual worlds.

One of Basnar’s friends who owned a small commercial cleaning business was moving out of state. Basnar took over some of the accounts, renaming the business Kleenworks.

“At the time, our children were smaller,” she said. “It was a good schedule. We do commercial cleaning; we don’t do residential cleaning. So I could be home for them during the day, and (my husband) could be home for them in the evening.”

Basnar took her commitment seriously. “I’m the kind of person who, if I’m going to do something, I really want to know what I’m doing and I want to do it correctly," she said. "So I’ve gotten education on the science of cleaning, the technology of cleaning, so that we know we’re getting the best results.”

Basnar learned the best methods of removing various types of soil on different types of fiber and surfaces under a variety of conditions. She’s been certified in commercial carpet care, floor care, odor removal, and drapery and upholstery cleaning.

Kleenworks has had 30-40 different clients over the years, as far out as Naperville, Lombard, Chicago and Oak Lawn, including Zazu Hair Salon.

Basnar learned the value of education-based marketing through running Kleenworks. Her business experience and learning prompted the Basnars to create a marketing business that they’ve named City Central Marketing.

“Things have changed,” she explained. “They call it ‘the rules of the new economy.’ ... It’s the voice of the consumer that’s gained so much strength and volume. And it’s the challenge of businesses to learn how to engage the audience in ways that draw them in so you can have that good relationship with them. We’ve gone from putting messages out to pulling people’s thoughts in.”

Basnar cites the proliferation of the Internet, and now smartphones, as the reason for this shift.

“Anybody who’s got one of these can have their voice heard,” she said, holding her smartphone. “We never had that before. We had to go through a big media channel and get it filtered. And it’s the same for someone who has something to offer to the market. We don’t have to rely on the big media companies to get our message out, so businesses can become their own content marketers.”

Right now, the Basnars are focusing on mobile websites because of growing consumer activities on phones and tablets. Their goal is to help clients produce a better online presence and a better relationship with their customers.

“We can help people get seen on the desktop,” she said. “One of the differences between the desktop and this (smartphone) is that this (smartphone) is a very personal device. It’s a different type of marketing, and people are looking for a different type of content on a phone.”

Basnar sees the way people research and share information as driving this change in marketing approach. She believes that companies who facilitate this sharing develop a stronger relationship with potential customers.

“Sometimes, people do everything that they say you’re supposed to,” added Jan's husband, Jerry Basnar. “They have a website, but it’s not working. They say, ‘Where are the customers?’ That’s where we take over.”

City Central Marketing uses multiple channels to deliver information for their clients. They use SMS text, email, voicemail, video, letters and postcards.

“We really love to work with small-business people,” Basnar said. “Every (small business) has a personality. And they have their own relationship with their audience. We just want to help them enhance that relationship.”

To learn more about Kleenworks or City Central Marketing, call Jerry and Jan Basnar at 630-986-1828. The City Central Marketing website is at www.CityCentralMobile.com, or go to http://CityCentralMobile.mobi on your handheld device.