Meet Jake Neibauer

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jake Neibauer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jake below.

Hi Jake, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My father had always been very dedicated to his job. He also ran a paint and autobody shop, so I grew up learning from the best. Anybody who knew him always joked about whether or not Ken was ever not sporting his white paint suit. His shop lights were always on before the sun came up at any given time of the year. I am so proud to say that I inherited his work ethic!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I started working for my dad at his shop in Billings when I was 20 years old because it was an easy option at the time. I had no idea that I would fall in love with the career path and end up where I am today. I worked for my dad for about 10 years, and then my wife and I decided that Billings was just not the place that we wanted to raise our boys at. My wife is from the Belfry area and finally talked me into making the move up here and opening our own shop. Her family owns Moore’s Garage, which is located just next to us. They supply us with a lot of the restoration work that we do, and we couldn’t be more thankful. We really love to watch the restorations come to life. A lot of the customers have dreamed up these cars for many years and it’s so cool to be a part of the process.

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?

I think one of the most important qualities is work ethic. Discipline wins over motivation every time, and I truly believe that to be a successful small business owner, you need to have that discipline and work ethic to get you through a lot of the days because when you don’t have a boss, it’s way too easy to take a day off or procrastinate. I think it’s also important to give 100% in everything you do. Every car that leaves our shop has been given every ounce of my attention and care. Like I said before, a lot of these people have been dreaming about these cars for years, so I want them to rest assured that their car is in good hands and will come back to them even better than they had imagined. The same goes for the collision vehicles. My goal is to make them look like they had never been wrecked because that’s what I would want for myself! I suppose the last quality, which is something I still actively work on, is to remind yourself of what you’ve accomplished. Sometimes as a small business owner it’s easy to overlook all that you’ve done when you’re so focused on all that you still need to do. We have built a great little business with a great reputation, and I get to wake up every day and do what I love! That’s pretty special. Sometimes refocusing on that gratitude will help get you through the not so fun days where you’re wondering why you even started this crazy journey in the first place!

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I think this is the most important one to me but has to do with multiple people. My father who had started me in this trade and gave me the chance to learn everything I could about it. Also, my father in-law who is still teaching me and pushing me to get better. If it wasn’t for family, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Lucky for us both sides are in the car world and have so much to offer.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Jake’s Collision & Paint