Meet Galen Wood | Start-up Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Galen Wood and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Galen, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Honestly there wasn’t as much thought or careful consideration as there should’ve been. I just one day realized I had two options: work towards my dreams, or work towards someone else’s. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the latter – it is a much easier and laid back path in life. Failure is a lot less likely as well. However, I decided that personally I would rather try and fail than never had tried at all. Even in failure, I can always go back to working for someone else.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I occupy an interesting space currently. I have a large amount of business-to-business work, as well as direct to client. Being a repair specialist in my industry, there is a high demand for my skills and capabilities. Repair work also isn’t consistent enough for the vast majority of smaller service company’s to be able to hire their own repair technician. So, my company fills that gap by providing these smaller company’s with trustworthy, reliable repair work. I’ve also branched into helping new company owners and teaching them sales methods and language, as well as pricing models and industry standards for repairs. I’ve even begun teaching a couple company owners I now consider good friends how to do the repairs themselves to help make them more profitable.

Where I am today was not easy to accomplish and honestly it feels surreal that I’m here. I went from homeless, living in a 1993 Lexus LS400 exactly while working out of a 2008 Ford Ranger 2 years ago; to launching my business while living with my friends parents August 2021; to working for my company full time and leaving my job 6 months ago. I now live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my good friend Alex and work out of a 2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road. It’s been an insane and incredible journey. There were some incredible challenges along the way, some personal some professional.

When I got homeless 2 years ago, it was because a girlfriend left me and abandoned our lease. I had an old aggressive dog named Odin at the time. I got him from the pound a few years prior, and I was not informed of his aggression. We got him mostly rehabbed, but unfortunately he was very much not good with strangers. His hips couldn’t handle living with me in a car. The vet recommended euthanasia given his health, age, and aggression. I called around to find a shelter, I searched from Oregon to Oklahoma as far as I could afford to drive him and no one had openings. We ended up having to euthanize him. When things got difficult I remembered that situation, that if I had just been in a better financial position I would still have a dog, and an innocent life wouldn’t have been cut short. It was a brutal wake up call, but has served as amazing motivation to keep me on track and overcoming any obstacle in my path.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I may be a born and raised Phoenix native, but I’ve honestly only recently started to have the disposable income to be able to try out restaurants and bars. That said, my list would be a bit more nature oriented: I would definitely take them to Camelback Mountain and hit the Echo Canyon/Cholla Trail hike. Then I’d want to take them up to Payson and the Mogollon Rim for a day or two, Woods Canyon Lake and Horton Creek. The rim has some of the best views in the state, and Woods Canyon Lake is absolutely gorgeous. Horton Creek has some awesome off-roading trails and great camping spots. We’d have to get a pie at the Pinon Cafe as well, that’s some of my favorite pie in the state (but it could just be the flavor of nostalgia haha). Then I’d take them around old town Scottsdale if they wanted to check out a more vibrant night life, or some of my favorite dive’s if they preferred that scene. I’ve really been enjoying Bailey’s Pub off of 35th Ave and Union Hills.

Finally I’d take them to Top Golf, since I haven’t been either but I’ve heard it’s fun. Always fun to do something new together, because then even if it sucks you can still make it a fun time sharing in the suckage!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s so many incredible people that have helped me so much, it’s quite the task to narrow it down to 1 singular person. If I absolutely had to name only 1 person, it would be my good friend Alex Paz. Multiple times his couch has been where I called home, and he is the one who introduced me to the industry and trade I’m now in.

Instagram: @lifeofgalen