recently started my own business (counseling practice) and had tremendous support from Russell. When the Glass Doctor opportunity came our way and we began to explore it, I felt peace. I knew it would be a step of faith and uncertainty, but it seemed worth the risk. MARK: Okay, then how did you find Glass Doctor ? RUSSELL: It was through a friend of mine who is in the insurance business. He knew I was looking for opportunities and one of his customers was John Vestring. He told me he thought John might be interested in selling his business, but he wasn’t sure. I asked him to explore it with John. He did, and then he helped facilitate my first meeting with John. If my memory serves me correct, our initial meeting was in September of 2014. MARK: I knew John had been in his location for many years. I’ve never seen anyone who has been in a certain location for over 10 years have such a habit of collecting anything glass related. When you took over for John (after he moved to his other operation – Oklahoma City) , did you find the same? MARK: Your FC, Ben Beridon, said that in the past 18 months you’ve made several changes aesthetically. What did you do and why did you do it? RUSSELL: We focused on a couple of areas… the shop and the office. Changes we made in the shop weren’t as much about aesthetics as they were about safety and efficiency. The changes we made to our office and waiting area were about the customer experience. The first thing we did was to remove all the old carpet. Next, we painted the walls. After that we rearranged the desks and threw away a lot of old cables, wires, etc. that were no longer useful, we bought new chairs for the waiting area. That was phase one of our office transformation. Since then, we have made several additional improvements. We’ve added a TV, painted the floors and took out a wall that gave the office a more open feel. We now have a more expansive waiting area, and more RUSSELL: We were up to our you-know-what in glass.
RUSSELL: I was the Vice President and Team Leader responsible for all aspects of Monster Energy’s Walmart and Sam’s Club business. I was there for three and a half years. During that time, the team and the business grew tremendously. We were named Supplier of the Year at Walmart in 2013. Supplier of the Year is a very coveted award for any supplier doing business with the world’s largest retailer. Managing the Walmart/Sam’s Club business certainly helped prepare me for owning my own business. MARK: Brenda, are you still a counselor? Do you work in the Glass Doctor business? If so, to what degree? BRENDA: Yes, I have a private counseling practice, and love what I do! I am so thankful for the flexibility it allows me so that I can be part of Glass Doctor in whatever capacity I can best help. So far, Russell has given me a variety of titles: CUO (Chief Uniform Officer), CTO (Chief Treat Officer), CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer), just to name a few. (laugh out loud) Mostly, it’s fun to experience business ownership together with my husband. RUSSEL: Yes, don’t let her sell herself short! Brenda still has her counseling practice. Her practice has also been growing fast. She has, however, helped out in almost every area of the business you can think of. She hasn’t done her first install yet; however, she has done a chip repair or two. She’s happy to help wherever help is needed. She will tell you she wears a lot of hats around Glass Doctor . MARK: Doesn’t sound like you had careers preparing you to own a glass company. First, why did you two want to be entrepreneurs? RUSSELL : I had grown weary of Corporate America from all the bureaucracy and politics among other things. For many years, I wanted to own my own business and be my own boss. I guess it started in third grade when I bought my first motorcycle with money I made that summer mowing lawns. With my dad’s help, of course. My views regarding owning a business evolved over the years from one of I need to do something different, something nobody else is doing, to one of I don’t have to start a business, I can purchase an existing business. I had been close to purchasing an existing business on a couple of different occasions. One was a franchise. BRENDA: I knew from the get-go that Russell had an entrepreneurial spirit and I believed the timing was right to take the step toward being a business owner. I also saw how weary Russell had become of the corporate world. I had
REFLECTIONS® | EDITION 1 2017 15
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