At 721 ½ Main Street, Alamosa, you can find the new and the old. Pictured here is the former owner, Steve Nies, of SLV Vacuum, along with new owners, Wayne and Sherry Billings. You can buy new and old (refurbished) vacuums and accessories, and get them serviced here. The business has been in existence at this location for over 17 years.
The products and services that San Luis Valley Vacuum Sales and Repair provides are selling used vacuums that have been refurbished and rebuilt. They sell Kirby, Eureka, Hoover, Bissell, Orek, Regina, Dyson, Kenmore, and other major brands. We buy the used vacuums from a dealer, rebuild them, and resell them. Also we will sell all brands of vacuum bags, belts, cords, rollers, and accessories for all these brands of vacuums and shampooers. Also we will service and repair all of the above models and makes of vacuums. The phone number for the store is 719-589-2686.
Sherry and Wayne moved to the San Luis Valley in 2001 and have been working at different jobs over the last 9 years waiting for an opportunity like this. They are extremely hard workers and the vacuum repair work fits Wayne’s abilities as a “fixer,” someone who loves to work with gadgets and is a general all around handyman. Sherry had just bought an engraving machine and will use some of the retail space to display the many gift items that she can special order and engrave for customers. They moved to Colorado from Central California and love the people and the weather. “We have been blessed with so many opportunities here to find work and better our lives. But meeting Steve and having him mentor us in this business has been remarkable.”
The Billings also came across Donna Wehe at the SLV Small Business Development Center as they were putting their business plan together. “I have never done something like write a business plan before, so it was overwhelming at first,” Sherry said. “But Donna worked with me to keep it straight forward and on track, and it really helped us make a plan and hit the ground running when we took over as owners.” The phone number for the SLV SBDC is 719-589-3682. “This business is important to the whole region,” stated Donna Wehe. “I was so glad to find a good fit to keep this viable business here. They have service contracts with hotels and other businesses and we would have lost those to competitors from Pueblo, had Sherry and Wayne not come along. The other piece that made this work was Steve. He was willing to ask a fair price, had good books, and has been available to introduce Wayne to all of the ‘ins and outs’ of this niche business.”
