Welcome to Forum 360 and Mark Welfley.

Thank you for joining us for our global outlook with a local view.

Entrepreneurs, you will likely find as many definitions of them as there are entrepreneurial minded people.

No doubt their ideas and ingenuity to bring them to life are the engines of our economy and our great country.

But what makes this breed of people tick?

Is it love of money?

Love of a dream?

Love of independence?

Something else?

Today we'll go inside the mind of a Northeast Ohio entrepreneur.

His name is Ed Weinfurtner, and Ed is the executive chairman of “Great Day Improvements”, a residential home improvement company ranked as one of the top three direct to consumer remodeling companies in the United States.

It's a $1.5 billion company that started with a single idea.

Welcome, Ed.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your path to becoming an entrepreneur.

- Wow.

There's a lot to tell.

I think the best place to start is when I was a kid.

I grew up in an entrepreneurial family.

My dad had four kids.

All under the age of 15.

He quit his job and started a business.

And so as kids, the inventory was in the basement and we were doing odd jobs to help him.

So I grew up with the entrepreneurial mindset early.

And so, my mom and dad were entrepreneurs.

My uncle was an entrepreneur.

As things have evolved, both my brothers and I are entrepreneurs.

My wife is a entrepreneur and a partner in the adventure.

and with those roots and that sort of early upbringing, the question wasn't so much what the path would be, but like where the entrepreneurial drive would lead.

And so over the course of the last 40 years, been involved in a variety of different ventures.

And what was a lead investor and operator in a variety of different businesses along the way?

I was in a electronic components business, I was in a specialty chemicals business, A metal fabrication business.

And ultimately, had a stretch with the Pella Window Door company.

The window and residential, home improvement business.

And from the sum of all those experiences, I ended up finding an opportunity that, unlike some of the other ones where there's ups and downs along the way, some success, some failures, right?

As an entrepreneur, your job is to address, identify, try and solve problems.

Problems are opportunities to the entrepreneur, right?

And so hopefully for every dumb thing you do, you do 2 or 3 things right and you come out ahead.

And through those experiences was presented with the opportunity to lead the acquisition of a company called “Great Day Improvements.” This is ten years ago now.

and I'm assuming most people don't know who “Great Day Improvements” is, but it's the parent company for brands that people hopefully are familiar with.

So there's, patio enclosures, so sunrooms, porch enclosures, that kind of thing.

Universal Windows, Direct, Champion Windows.

So replacement windows, again, all residential for the home improvement.

We also do bathroom remodeling and recently acquired a company called “Leaf Guard.” Which is gutter protection, water management in the home.

So we've over the course of ten years, have evolved from a small business that had struggled through the Great Recession to today, an enterprise that's national in scope, 288 locations, 4500 people.

And as you pointed out, a billion and a half or so in revenue.

- When you acquired Great Day Improvements, how many businesses was it?

How many of those operations did it own?

And then you of course - Yeah.

- built it to 288 quite a journey.

- So the original business was patio enclosures.

And it was primarily, 12 locations in the Midwest and Northeast U.S.

The business was very seasonal.

You know, it's tough to install.

The center rooms are basically miniature room editions with walls of glass.

And we weren't installing a lot of those in Buffalo and Cleveland and Milwaukee in the winter time so the business was very seasonal.

So, yes, that was the original.

That was the foundation, that was the base.

But for us, it was the foundation of this business model, which is working direct to consumer for home improvement.

The well-established model for home improvement is, there's building product manufacturing companies who sell to distributors or dealers or franchises who then deal with contractors who deal with homeowners, right?.

And our model is the classic “eliminate the middleman.” And you deal direct with homeowners.

And with the added benefit of we also are the manufacturing business.

So vertically integrated manufacturing dealing direct with the consumer.

So all of those other steps, markups, communication challenges are theoretically eliminated, with the model that we're running.

So it was the refinement of the model.

That was established early on.

And then it was really, “How do we expand it in ways that make the business more strategically resilient?” So selling a broader range of products was a very logical way to go.

Selling in a broader range of geographies.

You know, going south, it made a lot of sense.

And so it was those, fundamental themes that set us on the path for growing from being a it was a $37 million business with 12 locations to where it's at today.

- Ten years ago, would you have envisioned, that you would be at this?

At one point crossing the, - I feel like it's the blind squirrel that found the nut.

Right?

It was right place, right time, right mix of things.

I go back to this theme of, you know, what's an entrepreneur and what's the entrepreneurial mindset.

And I think the mindset Mark, is a couple themes.

One, as I mentioned before, it's your job is to solve problems and identify problems and come up with solutions.

And if you're really good at solving problems as an entrepreneur, you can craft that into opportunity that can lead to success, right?

And home improvement’s a great example because I think, number two, on the list of consumer complaints or everybody as a homeowner has a story to tell about a project that went wrong, right?

They got the wrong contractor.

Right and so in home improvement, there's an opportunity just to find someone to invite into your home, to work on a project that is trustworthy and will stand behind their work, right?

Those kind of things.

But the other piece, and it's sort of, again, to your lead in comments is like, what are the motivations?

What are the motivators?

And, the way I like to think about it as an entrepreneur, So you have this theme, you want to solve problems and work on problems, or opportunities, but you quickly learn you can't do everything yourself.

So then it's “how do I team up with and find other people to help align around a mindset to solve problems?” - Right?

And so how do we craft a bigger team and the the essence of it is coming up with ways where everybody involved benefits.

So it begins with homeowners saying, “I'm desperate to find a contractor that I can bring into my home, that I know is going to do good work and that I can trust.

and they'll stand behind it.” And so on.

And then it's having people that say, “I love to do that kind of work.

I find a lot of gratification from it.

But I'm looking for a company that if I come and I invest my time and my energy that they're going to appreciate me.

That they're going to reward my effort, that I can be part of a winning team, that I can feel appreciated on a day to day basis.

Right?

And then as an operator investor, it's you know, “can I find a place to invest money?

Back a team.” Right?

And know that they're going to generate the kind of returns that investors look for.

And so the fundamental of it is all the stakeholders, you know, the customers, the employees, the people in the company and the people that are the investors.

Everybody has to win, right?

Everybody has to benefit.

And so, we'll say, “well hey, you're in business to make a profit.” and what I would say is, “well, that's a fundamental truth.

Ultimately, you're in business so that all those stakeholder groups win.” And win is defined as they trust each other.

If consumers trust in us to take care of their home improvement projects, that will then get rewarded with referrals and additional business, right?

And if the people come and they say, “I'm here to be part of this company, and I give it a full effort and I'm developed and I’m rewarded and I’m promoted, they tell other people about the company they trust and believe in the business.

And again, as the lead investor and the person that's trying to orchestrate all this without, “is that working?” So it's this, cycle of prosperity where everybody benefits and it's fueled by trust.

And if those things are working, the business will make money.

So to me, the businesses that make money, it's an indicator that the cycle is working well.

And I realize that's a dramatic oversimplification of things, but philosophically that's to me, the sort of core belief behind some of all this.

- If you're just joining us, thank you for listening or watching.

I am here with Ed Weinfurtner.

He is the executive chairman of Great Day Improvements, a home remodeling company here in northeast Ohio and an entrepreneur.

And we’re talking about entrepreneurism and what it takes to take a company from a small idea to a medium to a large idea and all of the ups and downs in the process.

So, we just talked about that big step where you have a great idea or you buy into a great idea, and then the next big step is, how do you how do you scale it?

And I think you talked about, the importance of finding the right people and perhaps a slightly different mindset when you scale from one person to 20 and then maybe to 100 and on from there.

My question is, how much do you trust your head versus how much do you trust your heart?

Like, if you ever said, “my heart really wants to buy this company.

But my head through numbers or whatever says no.” Like, who breaks the tie between the head and the heart in this?

- Yeah.

- I mean, it's just you as an entrepreneur making that decision and maybe you have some wise counsel.

Take me through that.

- Yeah.

being an entrepreneur for 40 plus years, you know, a lot of it is having been through the process of making the wrong decision.

And so there is a certain amount of instinct and or direction.

But I think the other part that comes from the learning of making good decisions and not so good decisions, is you realize that the best decisions aren't made by any one person.

And so it's developing teams of people.

That there's trust.

- Yeah.

- And there are some methodologies by which you vet opportunities and you get a series of different input.

And as we've gotten larger, really a big piece is making decisions based on data and information.

And one of the things that has really sort of revolutionized “Great Days” growth, has been a deep commitment to data and analytics.

And the analogy that I like to give is, I'm a big baseball fan, right?

We've been playing baseball for, what, 120 years?

And the game is largely today the same as it was in concept 120 years ago.

But, the way the game is managed, the way the game is played has been changed to analytics, right?

And the, influence of analytics on the decisions that are being made.

And, in many regards, we've modeled that, you know that, the Moneyball themes, into our business, right?

And as we look at things that work, things that don't work and the evaluation of what does and doesn't, it's based largely in the data, not people's opinions.

And so if with those foundations and then history and the advantage of the analytics is things then can become fairly predictable, repeatable in data.

Trends and trend lines are often, once you sort of identify them, it takes a lot of effort to sort of change the trajectory.

Right?

So it's understanding those directions, those trends, what the analytics are telling you and saying, “how do we then change the some of the activities to drive whatever the initiatives are, the decision that is to be made.” - Sounds like it comes from your head first and then your heart to follow if you're making a buying decision.

What would you do differently if you could you know, rewind the clock ten years or maybe even 40 years, but let's say ten years, like when you first took over at the helm of “Great Day”?

- You know, I think largely the decisions relate to people.

So in the company today, there's 4500 people.

And we wish everybody had this sort of core entrepreneurial mindset.

And so it’s how do we help people to think like an entrepreneur?

Like it was up to them and it was their decision, Right?

As opposed to “I work for somebody else.” And I think it's finding the balance as to how much autonomy to give to people that are part of the team and how fast they can run.

And so if we've made mistakes, there's been times when we thought people were able to run faster and they weren't, or conversely, we didn't give them enough.

They could have done more and been more helpful.

And so finding the right balance of that is, we're always struggling with that.

But, the nature of our business and I think many, maybe most businesses, it's all about people and it's working with people and creating alignment and common, you know, common mission, common values, common alignment around what the priorities are.

And, that’s always evolving.

and as much as you think you've got it figured out, I don't have it figured out.

- True confessions.

- Well, it's but being an entrepreneur means you have to be determined and resilient.

And when something doesn't work, you have to be able to peel it away and say, “well, let's talk honestly about what happened.” Right?

And so it's the same sort of themes that my wife has a phrase that is, both annoying and true.

but it's “truth over harmony.” Right?

You have to be able to talk about what it is that really happened, even if it's upsetting to talk about.

Right?

And if the organization has the right level of trust and people realize that, I can speak the truth to the people in charge without fear of retribution.

Right?

It's all of those.

Right?

And are the people that are leading the business, Are they actively listening to the people actually doing the work?

I mean, there's all these kind of themes that, at scale are the essence of the business and the root challenge and ultimately our success at this point, you know, it's not some guy sitting at the top of this organization that's, you know.

it's the sum of these ideas and how well they take traction with the people.

It's all about people and people being able to understand clarity of objective and so on.

And really being focused on getting things done and getting the right things done with excellence.

- Fast forward the clock ten years.

Where will “Great Day Improvements” be?

Where will like you be as an entrepreneur?

- Yeah.

So the business has grown from a small business to a national business today, and it's sizable in scope and scale.

But Mark, I fundamentally believe that as good a story we have to tell, we're just getting started.

The home improvement industry is a 460 billion dollar industry, and it is highly fragmented.

And there are a limited number of national scaled companies that consumers can know and trust and count on.

And so we see tremendous opportunity for growth and driving these themes.

And expanding the penetration of our geography as well as the mix and breadth of products, and our ultimate vision is when it comes to projects in your home that you choose to, you know, not do it yourself.

But it's a do it for me.

Like, “Who are you going to call?” And maybe today it's replacement windows and tomorrow you want to redo your entry door.

And next year you want to fix the slippery bathtub, put in a walk in shower or as you're aging, I want to be able to age in place and live in my home longer, you know?

Who are you going to call to help you with those things?

If we're doing this right, you know, it's trust.

Confidence is expressed through repeat business and through a high level of referral.

And it's about building a business that’s strategically resilient.

That is great for the people that are in it, right?

And again, that cycle of prosperity continues to work.

And it can do so in a way where the business is built to last and it does so whether I'm there or not.

So, so ten years from now, I most likely won't be active in the day to day of the business anymore.

And others, will probably be better at it than I was and would be.

- From 40 years looking back and ten years looking forward.

My question is, can an entrepreneur ever stop being an entrepreneur?

Can you turn it off?

- Yeah.

You know, the thing about entrepreneurs, everyone is different.

Yeah I'm going to have a hard time turning it off, and I mentioned my wife, Amy.

She's a partner in this process.

And we had this opportunity a couple of years ago where, there was the opportunity to acquire both Universal Windows Direct and Champion and bring them into the company at the end of ‘21.

And for us at the time, that was a very big step.

It would more than double the size of the company.

but it also meant sort of doubling down on the commitment to the business and longevity.

And I had the conversation with her saying, “so what do you think?” Right?

And, you know, her her mindset, fortunately, is the same as mine, which is, you know, you know, if you're in a position as an entrepreneur with this kind of an opportunity, how can you not?

RIght?

You can't not go for it.

So we went for it, right?

And and this past summer, there was this opportunity with “Leaf Guard” and the gutter business.

And we did more of the same.

So yeah, it's hard to envision not being involved, but at some point you've got to make room for the next generation.

And I have to let that go.

- Yeah.

- That's difficult.

- That's that's my job over the next ten years.

- So in the in the 30 seconds that we have left, I'd like you to answer this question If you can.

As a, as an entrepreneur, do you do it for love?

Do you do it for money?

Do you do it for some other reason?

Why do entrepreneurs do it?

- It's the thrill of the hunt.

There's these problems that haven't been solved.

And you say, “I think I can fix this in a way that creates these kind of themes that we've been talking about.” And yeah, I think early stage, it's about making money, right?

But at some point it becomes much bigger than that.

And it's about building something, and it's about seeing people come together and there is no joy like rallying a group of people together with a common purpose.

And being successful with it and sharing that joy and the bounty from that joy with everyone that was a part of it.

- Thanks.

There are more than 31 million entrepreneurs in the United States, making up about 18% of our workforce.

The number of entrepreneurs in the US has increased every year since 2005.

Owning your own business and growing it, can be a thrill ride full of ups and downs, but ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you that nothing beats doing what you love for a living.

I'd like to thank Ed Weinfurtner for being here today, and encourage each of you to keep your eyes and mind open.

Until next time, on Forum 360.

Forum 360 is brought to you by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, Hudson Community Television, The Rubber City Radio Group, Shaw Jewish Community Center of Akron, Blue Green, Electric Impulse Communications, and Forum 360 supporters.