For brothers Jamon and Taj Jones, entrepreneurship is in the blood. “Our grandfather started a construction business back in 1949,†says 33-year-old Jamon. Today, Jamon and his 35-year-old brother, Taj, have added a twist to the family’s construction legacy by focusing on servicing and selling an often overlooked component of properties: the humble garage door.
Their efforts have resulted in The Garage Door Co. (www.thegaragedoorcompany.com; 770-774-1900), an Atlanta-based business with six employees that grossed nearly $250,000 in revenues last year and is currently projected to grow about 10%–to more than $275,000 for 2010.
The idea for the business came to Jamon while he was in an externship at a garage door company. Jamon says garage doors aren’t considered sexy, leading many to choose more high-profile construction specialties, such as home building or general contracting. Recognizing opportunity, Jamon and Taj started the company in 2005. They also linked up with a college friend, Terrence Arthur, and began cold-calling area homeowners to offer their garage-servicing skills.
To finance the business, Jamon, the company’s president, and Taj, the vice president, borrowed about $65,000 from their parents, Fred and Betty Jones. The money went toward the purchase of two trucks, a business license, computers, and cell phones. It seemed only natural for them to sell garage doors too, but while it was easy to persuade homeowners to service malfunctioning garage doors, it wasn’t so easy to get them to buy new doors entirely, since they could run anywhere from $400 for builder’s grade to $10,000.