We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrew Powell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrew below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Andrew with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Oh this is an easy one. My parents. Namely, my dad. I was born in the 70s and grew up in the 80s. All I remember is that my dad was always providing/working. I remember him always going to work regardless of how he felt, whether he was sick, in pain, had to miss something, or didn’t feel like it. I learned that’s what father’s and husband’s do, show up. We don’t take off on our birthdays, we don’t take off minor holidays. We have people depending on us everyday. Luckily, my mom and dad had a great system. I never recall my dad missing any of my games growing up. He’d come straight from work, or before work. As a parent myself, I look back to my childhood and can appreciate what mom and dad made happen for us kids. Luckily, I married a woman that shared the same mentality of “getting it done”, and now, in our mid 40’s, we are starting to feel the years of hard work pay off, which makes it so much more worth it. But, the real caveat here, is my parents did it the right way. The right way, or ethical way, or moral way, is much more difficult. I learned a lot from watching them as a child, which luckily carried over to adulthood.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
As a garage door company, we provide sales and service of everything garage doors and openers, both residential and commercial. But, what’s exciting for us, is we are moving in a direction that 90% of our market isn’t capable of going. That’s what makes this a fun ride. We’re taking all the knowledge we can gather from friends and colleagues across the country and applying it to our process. It’s quite overwhelming, honestly. We’ve brought a garage door opener to Kansas City that no one else understands, Sommer. The interesting thing about why our competitors don’t understand it, is because folks in my industry refuse to learn anything new. We’re doing our best to take advantage of the decades old systems of others, and staying on top of the latest technology and products available outside of the Metro, and bringing all of it to our BBQ filled city.
One of the biggest things we’re implementing, and still perfecting, is the number of options available to folks when it comes to their garage door. For instance, if you’re in your forever home and never want to replace your garage door springs again, we can make that happen. So, if you ever want to know all the options available that your regular door guy doesn’t offer, give us a call.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three skills/qualities?
I’d argue work ethic is #1. Showing up everyday and finishing the day.
#2 would be simply not settling for average. That’s boring, mundane, and easily forgettable. Our social media, events we participate in, our apparel, and slogans have set the bar high in our market. And watching others work towards that bar is encouraging and fun.
#3 is vital in my opinion. You don’t know everything, and you never will. Be as open to new information as possible. Take in all the advice and knowledge that people will give you. The only asterisk here is be careful who you’re getting that information from, because sometimes the majority of your market are morons. Yes, I said it.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Oof, this is a deep one. Without getting too personal, I’d say taking time off for my family. It was always something I would say I was doing, but in reality, I was never present. So the phone doesn’t get answered in the evenings, nor do emails. The work boots come off at the door, and my focus is on my wife and youngest (who’s the only one still at home). I always thought of myself as a good father and husband, and most folks would probably agree. However, this past year has brought a lot of harsh, raw, and heavy realizations. I was not the father or husband I thought I was all those years. But I’m really proud to say I’m a much better father and husband today than 12 months ago. My wife would agree, probably.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.statelinedoorlift.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statelinedoorlift
