From the PGA Tour to the Trades - John Peterson - Founder of Westoplex Garage - EP.269

Think Like an Owner

In this episode of Think Like an Owner, host Alex Bridgeman sits down with John Peterson for a wide-ranging conversation on entrepreneurship, adaptability, and building a service business from the ground up. John traces his path from professional golf—where he saw firsthand the parallels between sports and entrepreneurship—to flipping houses during COVID and ultimately founding Westoplex Garage, a garage door and epoxy floor company based in Fort Worth, Texas. With honest pricing and a service-first mentality, John shares how he grew the business from a two-man team in his garage to a multi-division operation poised for expansion into new markets.

We discuss:

• How John's early golf career shaped his entrepreneurial mindset and approach to financial risk

• Why a $2,200 garage door quote sparked the idea for a new business

• The importance of interpersonal skills over technical experience in hiring technicians

• Lessons learned from starting a service company from scratch versus acquiring an existing one

• The strategic decision to expand into Baton Rouge and the advantages of using private aviation for business

A must-listen for operators and builders interested in the intersection of blue-collar service and entrepreneurial scale.

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Links:

John on X

Alex on X

Westoplex Garage

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:10) - John's career as a pro golfer (00:14:53) - Pivoting into the garage door business (00:23:48) - Epoxy vs. concrete floors (00:25:36) - Latest tech innovations in garages (00:27:53) - The self-storage market (00:33:05) - Building a new customer funnel (00:36:48) - Training new technicians (00:37:55) - Recruiting talent (00:40:31) - What to look for in hires (00:43:38) - Why people leave the industry (00:48:02) - Opening a Baton Rouge office (00:52:35) - Growing pains (00:55:17) - What are you most excited about in the next year?