Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Powell.
Hi Andrew, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Started in the garage door industry in 2007 to supplement household income. I had left Ford Motor Company on an educational buyout package to pursue my Master’s in Education. In 2008, after the housing crash, I bounced around from door company to door company, contracting as needed to make what I could. The goal was still to become a teacher, but once my temporary certification ran out, there were still not any open teaching positions. At this time I decided to go all in with the garage door industry and become the best technician Kansas City has ever seen…at least make a name for myself.
Once the economy settled down, I found myself working for a small family-owned company that was close to closing their doors before I showed up. We quickly had a verbal agreement for me to buy them out. But things happen, and people hire their own children, and those not related get pushed to the side.
In 2016, I knew I had to make a decision soon on whether or not to make a lateral move to another door company to take the plunge and start my own from scratch. In Feb of 2017, I filed for my LLC while working for the other company and spent the next year learning everything I could and working every weekend and evening on building my name up.
Finally, in March of 2018, I made the leap with both feet.
That first year was awful. Especially the first winter. However, I joined a referral group that year and met so many small business owners that were going through the same struggles. I do credit these folks in helping me get to where I am today.
I was slowly building and growing until 2020 hit. The pandemic. This was the start of an insane ride that is still going on today. We doubled revenue in 2020. Doubled again here in 2021. I hired my first technician in the summer of 2020, hired my second in the winter of 2021, and just hired an office admin this fall.
We are currently gearing up and preparing for some insane goals for 2022. Those companies and people that I’ve hired this year are on board with assisting in these goals and just as excited and anxious as I am about our future. Without these people and the thousands of customers that support us, we wouldn’t be poised to change the look of our industry in the near future in Kansas City.
There are so many thousands of people that believe in me that if I fail, I will have let them down. I will not fail.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Lots of struggles, both personally and professionally.
Personal: knowing what I don’t know. Even with a master’s degree, I’ve found myself completely ignorant when it comes to business…I knew this early on. The constant self-education and pursuit of knowledge has been a struggle to keep up with while pivoting with the ebb and flow of the market and industry. Not being mentally and emotionally prepared for the influx of sales in 2020 was a giant shock to me and my family. I had a few breakdowns during that summer, where I just couldn’t handle a single thing more than what was on my plate. I was just ill-prepared for that immediate growth. I’ve spent the better part of 2021 educating myself, implementing people and systems, and being vulnerable enough to those people around me, that we’ll be ready for whatever comes next.
Professional: 2021. The biggest struggle our industry has ever seen. Manufacturers are unable to get the raw material needed for garage doors. Which has led to extremely long lead times, incomplete orders, backordered products, and ultimately approximately 120% cost increase just since January of 2021. We are literally living in it right now.
The newest struggle is the disparity of the consumer cost of products. While legitimate companies have rolled with price increases, adjusting as needed, many door guys have not pivoted or adjusted. This has resulted in a giant disparity in pricing, where legitimate companies are trying to raise the bar in our industry market, while many individuals have no desire to be better for the sake of their own families. Remember that when you get a few estimates on your repair or new doors.
As you know, we’re big fans of State Line Door & Lift. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a full-service garage door company. Residential and commercial installation, sales and service. We are actually known for the best social media of any garage door company in all of America. My company is literally an extension of my personality and character. That’s what I wanted when I started out. The experience a homeowner receives from start to finish is unmatched. We make sure to keep the human side of things front and center when you call us out to your home. The number one rule, or maybe a top 5 rule for us, is empathy. It’s not fun to call us out to your home, it means you’re spending money, so we do our best to put ourselves in your shoes and accommodate you as much as humanly possible. One of my goals, as a business, is to bring in products that Kansas City doesn’t currently have available to them. That’s the main reason we became the only authorized Sommer dealer in KC. Sommer is a garage door opener manufacturered in Germany. www.sommer-usa.com
Their warranty and customer service is in line with what we provide our customers. Having the same attitude and mission has allowed us to develop a strong relationship with them. And as of now, we are the only place to purchase this product in the area.
One thing I’d like homeowners to know is that we are constantly searching for ways to become better. We’ve implemented ongoing training for all staff. I’ve raised the bar high enough that most door technicians in KC wouldn’t be able to make the cut in getting hired. We are open to blunt criticism and don’t take very much personally…because we don’t always know what areas we need to work on. Once we identify those areas, we begin work.
My goal is to spread our personality and character all over KC. Once you’re a customer of ours, we actually do consider you family…somewhat cliche, but we really do take your garage door and opener and family safety seriously.
One of the main things I wanted to do with my business is to be a major part of my community. We made Grain Valley our home back in 2002. We are active with all the community aspects we can make time for. A few of our favorites is our Trail or Treat event, where my wife and I dress up in blow up costumes…we always have a float in our parade every year and have our own Shriner car with our logo on it…we also sponsored Food Truck Friday’s this year, where the whole family ends up having dinner every week. We believe in our little town and want to make sure we are part of it in every way possible.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Industry: this one is up in the air. As a leader in the industry, none of us can even agree on where it will be in 5 years, let alone 10. We are literally in the middle of change here in 2021.
One thing we can agree on is that many of the small time individuals may not make it out of this chaos. Those that haven’t adjusted prices, and seem like a bargain today, won’t be around to call again soon.
Many industry owners are at their limits. Between extremely impatient customers, long lead times from manufacturers, staffing issues, and the overall rising costs of being in business…many are weighing options to sell. So, we may see a lot of consolidation in the next few years. The company or guy you have been using may not be around.
Another big change is how our industry has been priced over the past few decades. With horrible bosses/owners that believed/still believe that the only way to make money was to be the cheapest, the ability for anyone to make a real living has diminished. There are a lot of us changing that now. To be able to provide our employees a great living, with benefits, we have to raise our prices. There isn’t any other way around it. The days of minimum wage and no benefits are over (that’s how I started). We want to keep those good employees we have, and the only way to do this is to provide a great wage and career. This cost money. Many in KC have failed to understand this. Which is fine, I reckon…they won’t be around much longer with that old school mentality and lack of understanding of how a business is ran.
Rule of thumb for homeowners: if a price seems like a steal, plan on not using that person in the future because they won’t be around.
Pricing:
- $119 Service Call
- $700 Sommer garage door opener
Contact Info:
- Email: statelinedoorlift@gmail.com
- Website: www.statelinedoorlift.com
- Instagram: @statelinedoorlift
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statelinedoorlift
