Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/255259
V O L U M E 4 7 I S S U E 1 2 0 1 4 19 Continued on page 20 DOORDEALERDIALOG Getting Into the Business Not ironically, the opportunity to get into the door business came via a contact with a well-known civic organization: "Jim was originally asked if he would like get involved in the door business by an acquaintance he knew through the Cub Scouts," said Linda Anderson. "At the time, we had a paint store, an 8-month old child, and Jim was also driving a truck. We were living paycheck-to-paycheck, but we were getting by. I told Jim to go ahead with it, but don't let it get in the way of our paint store." Linda said the couple had no idea at the time, 19 years ago, that their world was about to change. "We didn't really see how you could make a living just off of garage doors," Linda continued. "Jim's entire training was going out on two installs. Fortunately, he's a very mechanically- inclined person, so he picked up on it very quickly. When he was doing one door a week, that was great. When he went to two doors a week, we thought we were doing fantastic." Within two years, they closed their paint store. By then, the upstart Coast Garage Door was selling and installing doors at a $100,000 annual clip. Once their attention was devoted to the business full-time, that sales volume would triple. A Unique Setting – A Market that Demands Trust Seaside, Oregon is a small town, but it's not typical by any defnition. The coastal community holds a place in American history. Although just fewer than 6,500 people call Seaside their 19 V O L U M E 4 7 I S S U E 1 2 0 1 4 The Coast Garage Door Team (from the left): Hank Sohler, Juan Lira, Linda Anderson and Jim Anderson. permanent home, the town swells in the summer when the wealthier part-time residents occupy their vacation homes. Incorporated in 1899, the town sits on the Pacifc Coast about 80 miles northwest of Portland. Although explorers had passed through the region earlier, the frst group that would put the area, literally, on the map, arrived in the winter of 1806. They were a select group of United States Army volunteers who had set out more than a year and a half earlier from St. Louis. They were under the leadership of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. Seaside was the turnaround point of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The group would use the ocean and beach as a salt-making operation for food preservation during the return trip. Today, the town is justifably proud of its place in history, and maintains 1/24/14 10:50 AM