Gayle Patrick was moved to make a career change after a family friend’s house fire was blamed on a clogged dryer vent.

“Luckily she didn’t lose her home, but it was damaged,” said Patrick, who is now the owner/operator of Dryer Vent Wizard of Hampton Roads.

Patrick said she didn’t realize the dangerous problem existed.

“I think, like everyone else, when I thought about it, I said I’ve never had my dryer vent cleaned,” she said. “That’s when I started looking in the area here more and found that it was a service that was actually needed. I don’t think people really are aware of the risk involved; I certainly wasn’t.”

The National Fire Protection Association said in a 2014 fact sheet that more than 15,500 residential dryer fires are reported each year, with the peak season in the wintertime.

Vents can become clogged with lint, debris and other material that can reduce airflow to the dryer causing it to overheat and become a fire hazard.

Patrick said manufacturers recommend at least once a year cleaning, but it can vary depending on usage.

Cost starts at $49 for a full inspection; additional fees apply based on the services needed.

Formerly a part of the corporate world in customer service and sales, Patrick opened her business in September.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Dryer Vent Wizard has about 95 franchisees in the U.S. and Canada.

The business handles dryer vent repair, replacement, alteration, cleaning and maintenance for residential and commercial clients.

A Florida transplant who came to Hampton Roads in 2008 to manage a Sprint site in Hampton, Patrick lives in Carrollton.

“I worked for Sprint for almost 20 years and I managed call centers around the country,” she said, noting her degree from Troy University is in psychology.

Calling it an “accidental career that become fruitful,” with her managing upwards of 3,000 people at a stretch, Patrick thought more seriously about redirecting her career path after several considerable workforce reductions and reorganizations.

“I always landed on my feet, but the stress of that – to think that someone else had control of your path so to speak – I said something has to change and I need to do something differently,” she said.

With one of her goals to create her own path and become an entrepreneur in a service-oriented business, Patrick did her research into a multitude of business models.

Five years prior, she and her husband purchased a Minuteman Press business in Norfolk. Jeffrey Patrick runs the day-to-day operations and she helps with marketing and other needs, but found she couldn’t squelch a desire to branch out on her own.

She bought the Dryer Vent Wizard of Hampton Roads franchise, whose territories include Williamsburg, Suffolk, Smithfield and a portion of Chesapeake, after its previous owner retired.

Another franchisee owns the Dryer Vent Wizard of Southeast Virginia which services Virginia Beach, Norfolk and the other part of Chesapeake.

Source: https://bit.ly/35nxjD5