Carrie Kelsch on Transformative Cultures at A Plus Garage Doors - EP.296

Alex Bridgeman and Carrie Kelsch explore the journey of building A Plus Garage Doors from a side venture during the 2008 mortgage crisis into a $55 million multi-location operation. Kelsch shares how she initially opened the business to provide future jobs for her children, then found herself pulled deeper into operations as the housing market collapsed. The conversation traces key inflection points in the company's growth, from discovering she actually owned a business during the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program to implementing systems that allowed her to delegate and scale.

They discuss:

- How the 2008 financial crisis forced an unexpected career shift from mortgage brokering to garage door operations

- The transition from pen-and-paper scheduling through Google Calendar to implementing ServiceTitan as a foundation for growth

- Building intentional company culture through revenue milestone celebrations, walk-up songs, and quarterly bonuses tied to performance

- Expanding into new markets while centralizing functions like dispatch and accounting to reduce risk

- Using AI to handle customer calls, research new markets, and reduce dependency on operational staff

This episode offers practical insight for service business owners navigating growth, culture development, and the challenge of maintaining personality while scaling across multiple locations.

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:00:34) - From mortgage broker to garage doors

(00:02:53) - Surviving the 2008 housing crisis