LOOKING AT A VIBRANT LOCAL ECONOMY
A simple video reviewing vacuum cleaners led to the launch of a video production for Chris White.
Sponsored by the Fannin Co. Development Authority
When Chris White and his wife, Connie, moved to Fannin County 10 years ago, they had a simple plan.
“We wanted to live in a quaint mountain town where we always felt like we were on vacation,” he said.
Relocating from Nashville, the Whites went into business servicing Fannin County’s busy tourist industry: They cleaned rental cabins. One day, deciding to share some of his hands-on expertise, White posted a video on YouTube comparing the various advantages and disadvantages of upright vacuums.
Then he promptly forgot about it.
A year later, he checked on the status of his video to see if anyone had viewed it. To White’s surprise, it had attracted 100,000 views. He realized he had found a special niche. In short order, the Whites were rolling out of the cleaning business and into video production.
Vacuum Wars was launched. And to say that business is picking up is more than a bad pun, it is a woeful understatement. Vacuum Wars regularly posts videos comparing various products: robot vacuums, uprights, best cordless under $100, as well as accessories and related items. Vacuum Wars makes a commission from every sale which originates from a link on its site. And there have been an abundance.
“We are at the highest tier, a platinum seller, on Amazon,” White said. “We have approximately 370,000 subscribers on YouTube.”
A handful of the YouTube videos has attracted more than 2 million views. A recent video “The Perfect Robot Vacuum for Every Budget - Best Robot Vacuum 2025,” attracted 42,000 views in three days with more than 200 comments.
“The business keeps growing,” White said. Vacuums Wars logged 2,900 sales in a recent day.
To keep up with production – testing products, reviewing products, writing scripts, filming and film editing – White now has 20 employees. In all, there are more than 600 videos on the Vacuum Wars YouTube channel.
While tourism remains one of the driving economic factors in Fannin County, it is hard to imagine a more unlikely growth industry in the area than video production.
“I studied film in college,” White said. “So, I always had an interest in video production. I just never envisioned being able to put it to use like this.”
For more information: go to vacuumwars.com or www.youtube.com/@ VacuumWars.Email: vacwars@gmail.com