The Tipping Point

This was a great weekend!  

We (Mom and Daughter) celebrated the birth of our baby boy with lots of family and great friends during which time Dad slept (a real rarity).  As we were going to bed last night Jeff says to me "this might sound weird but that was a great day".  No husband, that doesn't sound weird at all.  Jeff is the reason our kids sleep so well, they got his sleeping gene.  

In between the celebrating though, the weekend was consumed with "where is the business going?" talk.  

We feel like we're at a tipping point or at least a point where we need to decide if we jump into the dive tank (we're already in the deep end) or not.

As we decide where we're going it got me to thinking where we've been.  

Jeff came to me years ago and said "I think we should start up a Paintless Dent Repair shop" to which I replied "what on earth is that?".  By then I was well aware that life with Jeff would never be boring, he's always moving, always thinking and I married the guy because of and despite that fact.  

Jeff pushed ahead and we opened Canadian Dent Edmonton less than a year later and the adventure began.  

At first we struggled A LOT!  

We found out that the market was saturated with mobile PDR guys so getting any work from the dealerships was next to impossible (I think Jeff went to just about every one in Edmonton and surrounding area).  This was when we decided we needed to offer more services to make ourselves more desirable, to diversify as they say in the investment world.

We had just dipped into the world of painting by doing spot repairs and the husband was working ANOTHER late night when I brought him a positive pregnancy test.  

That's when the real adventure began!

To be continued...

All in a week's work

Just a little taste of what was in the shop this week.  

I'm always amazed at the beautiful cars so many Albertans drive.
This is coming from a gal who drives a 5 year old Yaris though.
And yes, I get a ton of flack from the husband about the tin can I drive with our 2 kids in the back but I do love my little car.

In the future we will show you some good before and afters but for now just some nice cars.

Bonus picture:

You guessed it, you're seeing deer hair in that there tire.  Only in the west.

Balance

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.  ~Albert Einstein

I loved this quote for a few reasons.  

First of all, Einstein said it so it must be true.  

Second, it involves vehicles, which is of course a large part of our lives as the owners of an autobody shop.  

Most importantly though, it represents the constant struggle to balance business and family.  As we all know, family is the most important and wouldn't it be great if it were that easy!   We work hard to provide opportunities for our family and in the process create less time to spend together now.  Seems crazy right?  Don't worry about us though, we still manage to find a little time for puddle jumping when it rains.

Picture Day!

A couple shots of the beings that make the shop so great!

 Cecile didn't feel up for a picture today, more of her pretty mug later.

 Saban, super happy to be at work!

Rex, the shop dog.  Best employee ever!

We've arrived!

Welcome to the world of blogs Shield Automotive!  Now to learn how to blog, please bear with me.  I'm excited to share our stories and update you on the life of the little autobody shop that could.
Just a little note about the '72 Charger featured in this post, it is currently sitting in pieces in our shop and has been for some time now.  Why? You would have to ask Brian (wonderful Father-in-Law, not being sarcastic), but more about him later.