Pro Athlete Buys Cleaner Streets, LLC, Oxnard CA!

New Development in the Industry by Brandon Dixon, Oxnard CA

We often hear about brilliant kids who’ve grown up and taken the reins of a family business. Sometimes we hear about great entrepreneurs who’ve switched fields. But, it is very rare to discover a successful pro athlete, in his naturally young retirement, choosing a new career in our own industry. This is one of those unique stories. Currently, major league baseball player Brandon Dixon is transitioning to private life, and with the full global spectrum of career opportunities wide open to him, he has elected a future as a southern California business owner in the heavy-equipment industry of commercial pavement sweeping. 

New Entrepreneurial Career Adventure

Asked how he discovered the industry and what motivated him to become a part of it, Brandon recounts the transformative changes in his life over recent months, “I was playing baseball (for the San Diego Padres) till mid-October last year. I knew it was kind of toward the end of my career. I had been looking for a business. A business partner of mine told me about this opportunity and it sounded ideal for me. 

We’ve seen quite a bit of success so far. I think we’ve multiplied our revenues by about 3 to 4 times what it was when we bought the company in November. It’s a big transition and a totally different atmosphere. But, I’m really enjoying this business and the learning aspect of this new challenge.

I’ve reached out to others in this industry who’ve been around. I’ve been asking a lot of questions and so many people have been very gracious with their time to help me learn. It’s been fun to meet them and learn the business.”

Retired Pro Baseball Player Becomes CA Business Owner 

The Detroit Tigers had grabbed Dixon in 2018, and he had an outstanding year with the team in 2019. He hit .248/.290/.435 in 420 at-bats and led the team with 15 home runs that season. Throughout his career in the major leagues, Dixon hit .224/.266/.397, with 22 home runs and 32 doubles. At the Triple-A level, in 1100 at-bats, he achieved an impressive record of .286/.349/.518. 

As a San Diego native, the last two years of Brandon’s career were the realization of his dream of ultimately playing with the Padres. In his publicized departure from baseball, Brandon expressed his gratitude for the many great relationships and experiences he had gained over his years in the league and all the support he had received over the years. 

Reflecting on his baseball years, he is quoted as saying, “It’s been a fun journey, from a kid dreaming of the big leagues to getting to play for my hometown team. Thank you to everyone who was part of it.”

Brandon Dixon Achieves Rapid Growth by Acquisition

Cleaner Streets, the Oxnard company now owned by Brandon Dixon, was formerly Pacific Sweep, founded in 1984 in Somis, CA. The company grew steadily over the following 20 years or so. In 2016, the previous owners expanded the business and moved to Camarillo. 

Today, Cleaner Streets operates from a modernized administrative and customer service facility and a 3-acre commercial equipment yard. Since Brandon’s acquisition of Pacific Sweep in May 2023, the business has expanded its services under his direction, and he has worked on rebranding the company as Cleaner Streets.

The former owner had sold the company on an owner-financing arrangement, but the business began failing under the new operator and finally, the seller had to come out of retirement and resume management of the business. Brandon has a business partner who mentioned to him that acquiring the company was a possibility.   

Brandon Dixon’s Industry Team

Currently, Cleaner Streets has 3 full-time employees, plus Brandon, and his business partner who handles the financials, for a total of a 5-person team. Brandon noted the company’s current plan, “Our focus at this stage is to make the most of our opportunities with the equipment we have. 

We just want to get more involved with the community and connect with the property managers and people in industries that may have a need for our services. Acquiring other businesses is a possibility. I would definitely have that conversation if the right situation presents itself.”

Building Good Systems and Processes

Cleaner Streets currently has 3 vacuum sweeper trucks, 2 mechanical broom trucks, and a parts truck. Most of those, or all, are usually running routes, depending on needs on any given day. Brandon notes, “Here in California there are a lot of carbon emissions laws. We’ve sold off most of the equipment that wasn’t meeting regulations.

Currently, we service Ventura County. We go to Valencia and Santa Rita, and we’ve done work in LA. Our radius is about 60 to 100 miles. It’s a pretty large population we can serve. There is competition. Most have been bought by SCA (Sweeping Corporation of America). They’ve bought two or three sweeping businesses in our area, and they focus mostly on municipal contracts.”

Marketing Cleaner Streets, Oxnard CA

Brandon Dixon may be a new player in the commercial business world but he speaks like a marketing veteran. Asked about his marketing efforts at this early stage of his entrepreneurial endeavor, he hit some highlights, “I’ve worked on the website with a couple of people we know. (It’s a beautiful, streamlined, appealing site with ideal functionality.) We’ve been working on SEO (search engine optimization) to help bring more traffic to the site.

We’re working on a Facebook page. It’s linked to our Google My Business, and we’ll link it to the website soon.” (The page is already packed with great photos in posts and linked to multiple Ventura area Facebook networking pages.) We’ve also used Google Ads.” 

Asked about further building the company’s web presence and reputation, with, for example, more photos, Brandon mentioned, “We did a red carpet event recently. There are some good pictures from that event that we can use.” 

Cleaner Streets is also a 1-800-SWEEPER Sweeping Services Partner, which, by virtually all accounts of sweeper business owners nationwide, can deliver a significant boost to revenues.

Cleaner Streets and Brandon Dixon, New to NAPSA

When asked if he has plans to join NAPSA (North American Power Sweeping Association), Brandon announced, “I just finished the registration about a week ago with NAPSA. I would say that one of the bigger challenges is not having any expert in the industry here in-house, not having ready answers from someone who knows how to resolve this or that issue that is pivotal to our success. 

We are learning from scratch how to do things most efficiently and to keep trucks on the road maintenance-wise. I would say that maintenance is the hardest part so far. I’m looking forward to gaining more knowledge through NAPSA.

Also, developing our strategy – which types of service make the most sense for us to provide is key right now. We had contracts in place for a little bit of everything. We’re seeing a lot of growth in the construction and HOA space. At this point, everything I face, I have to Google and find someone who knows what I need to know and is willing to help with answers. 

Being a first-time business owner in an industry I wasn’t aware of has been quite a learning experience in the last 6 months. I’m not where I want to be in my understanding of it, but I’m excited to be learning about it and am happy with my growth in knowledge over these months.”

Advice for Other Industry Newcomers from Brandon Dixon

We asked Brandon what advice he could offer to other new market entrants at this early stage of his entrepreneurial journey in the commercial pavement sweeping industry. “Ask a lot of questions. Reach out to people. I was surprised, I thought people wouldn’t want to talk and that they would just see me as a competitor. But they’ve been so helpful. 

If you’re curious, reach out to me. I’m learning but I’ve connected with enough people by now that I can find the answers to questions. There’s a lot of information. Have fun with it! 

Make connections. Reach out to people, companies, industry news services, and related services like striping, seal coating, milling company owners, and others. They may need a sweeping service or know others who do. See if you can be that guy. That’s the process we’ve done. And, use the web to your best advantage. Work on your SEO.

We’re not yet in a position where we can rely on word-of-mouth to grow our business. And, it’s an expensive business to be in. We’ve really got to work to keep the margins up. It’s like a game of chess. I think the best advice is to keep learning.”

Certainly confirming the impressions shared with us by the respected industry leader who recommended Brandon Dixon as a subject for the NAS Spotlight, he offers an exemplary new service provider in the southern California market. He’s one to watch.

We look forward very much to following the progress of Cleaner Streets, LLC, in Oxnard CA, and updating readers on the company’s success under Brandon Dixon’s leadership over the coming years. 

For more information about Cleaner Streets, Oxnard CA, call (805) 618-1301 or visit cleanerstreets.com.

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