When Beau Burdett visited the Inland Northwest in June to check out Kirishian Imports, a Spokane-based rug retail and cleaning operation he was considering purchasing, what he found scared him — in a good way.

“I was walking across the Monroe Street Bridge, on the phone with my wife, and I just remember I was telling her, ‘This is almost too perfect, and it's very, very scary,’” he says.

Burdett, who ended up purchasing the 105-year-old Spokane business on Oct. 1, says Kirishian Imports, a trade name for Noble House Enterprises LLC, checked all the boxes he was looking for in a business deal: niche, with high profit margins; financed through a Small Business Administration loan with 10% down and a 10% seller note; includes real estate with both retail and service revenue streams; and family-owned and looking to retire, which former owner Richard Kirishian was, Burdett says.

Burdett declines to disclose how much he paid for the business but says he closed in the low seven-figure range through an SBA loan through First Interstate Bank in Spokane.

The first-time business owner describes himself as a clinical entrepreneur — someone who’s not formally trained as an entrepreneur, but who has practical knowledge and experience. After leaving the Army as a logistics officer, Burdett spent five years at Love’s Travel Stop’s headquarters in Oklahoma City.

Near the end of his time at Love’s, as a project manager and then as the category manager over general merchandise, he began looking into real estate but soon decided to acquire a business as a way to grow his net worth, he says.

“I came across what they call the ETA space, or entrepreneurship through acquisition, and that made complete sense," he says. "It was the same thing as real estate, but the returns are just tenfold. And I knew that my business background, I had done everything in operations, and then a lot in corporate America, so I figured that it was just a combination that would make a lot of sense for me and my family.”

Burdett and his family decided on Spokane as their new home — a city smaller than Seattle but still in Washington, where his wife, an educator, and their two young children could take advantage of the state's education system, he says. He began his search in early 2025 and after submitting five offers on other businesses, settled on Kirishian Imports in June, purchasing the business in October.

“Throughout my times in corporate America dealing with a lot of vendors, one of the older gentlemen in the business said, ‘If you're going to ever sell anything, purses and knives make the most sense, because human beings have been using those forever and they're not going away,'" Burdett says. “And, lo and behold, same thing with rugs. We've always wanted to put something under our feet.”

Former owner Richard Kirishian’s family previously started Kirishian Imports in 1920 in Spokane after the family was forced to flee the Armenian Genocide. The business stayed in the family until Richard Kirishian decided to retire after owning and operating the business for more than 40 years.

Burdett says the silver tsunami, also known as a wave of baby boomers reaching retirement age, likely means that more established businesses will be placed on sale as their owners retire.

“And so that's what I found with Richard — somebody who was looking to retire and had nobody in his family wanting to take it over,” Burdett says. “It’s just fascinating how many businesses are out there that are cash flowing with owners who are looking to sell, but don't know how to or don’t think that they can.”

Despite not knowing much about the rug business before acquiring Kirishian Imports, Burdett says his staff, all of whom have stayed after the change in leadership, have helped him learn the business.

“Retail is retail, but (with Kirishian Imports), I was just captivated by their story. We were used to buying products, especially home goods, with the thought in the back of our head that we have to throw it away whenever we change homes,” he says. “And with these timeless pieces here, they outlast generations and I think that that's just so cool. It’s amazing that human beings are (weaving rugs) by hand and have been doing that for thousands and thousands of years.”

Kirishian Imports’ customer base is overwhelmingly local, Burdett says. Ninety percent of rugs sold are sold in person, as opposed to online sales, and Rug Spa, the company’s rug cleaning trade name, does most of its business in the area.

“We've shipped to as far away as Key West, but the rest is local customers here who have just been constantly bringing their rugs here for years and years,” he says.

After taking over Kirishian Imports in October, Burdett says October and November have been profitable months.

Burdett expects to have about 21 customers a month, with about half of those customers expected to purchase more than one rug at a time. Profit margins on the rugs Kirishian Imports sells are anywhere from 50% to around 80%, he adds.

Looking ahead, Burdett intends to expand both the reach of Rug Spa and the company’s social media presence, he says. Eventually, he hopes to purchase a second location.

Submitting his first letter of intent to acquire a business was a big mental hurdle, but doing thorough research has been helpful to build confidence, he says.

“I did five (letters of intent) on five different companies, and this is where we landed,” says Burdett. “Once you have that confidence in yourself to get over it, then let's just keep going.”