Entrepreneur Files with Andrew Ellenberg
Entrepreneur Files with Andrew Ellenberg
How A Moving Company Owner Brings Joy to Life's Third Most Stressful Experience
What do Hebrew National kosher hot dogs and Christian-owned Open Door Movers have in common? They both report to a higher authority. Whether Tim Neitzy and his crews are moving 50,000 library books after a flood, a Grand piano down a fire escape, or memorizing streets and neighborhoods so they can find destinations without GPS, he relies on his photographic memory, relentless work ethic, and purpose-driven culture to deliver an unforgettable customer experience. His team might even treat you to an impromptu concert before they pack up your piano.
Andrew Ellenberg is President & Managing Partner Of Rise Integrated, an innovative studio that creates, produces, and distributes original multimedia content across digital touchpoints. Email andrewe@riseintegrated.com or call 816-506-1257.
00:03
Entrepreneur Files. Inspiration Inside. Welcome to another thought-provoking episode of Entrepreneur Files. When business owners discover new meaning in their businesses, they feel more connected to the people around them. Executive producer Andrew Ellenberg created this fast-paced 30-minute podcast to inspire business owners to create deeper perspectives into their personal and professional motivations. Join the conversation with other entrepreneurs who give you the energy you need to power through the daily grind of owning a business.
00:35
And we're back. Andrew Ellenberg here, your host and executive producer. I don't even know if host is the right positioning, but I'm sitting here in the studio live with Tim Neitzy who is the owner of Open Door movers. That's a cool name. What was the thinking behind that name?
01:02
Took a while. I wanted to think of something that would stand out and be different. I tried for several months to find something about some things that God had tried to show me some different thoughts, but it never really was kind of clicking, so it wasn't till I wasn't looking that God gave me something through a sermon from a brother that was preaching back in 2016. And I had the word Open Door pop out to me during a Facebook post that he posted several weeks later.
01:38
So divine intervention. We'll chalk it up to that. I like that. And I know that your religious beliefs and upbringing inform your philosophy in business and how you treat your customers. So can you talk to us a little about that with the foundation that it gives you?
01:58
Yeah, it's an open door for us to come into people's homes and businesses, whatever it may be. But just to provide something different. There are many other moving companies that provide some of the same services. But if we can come up with a different aspect of different avenues to serve them, to give them the best service we possibly can. That's what we wanted to strive to be to give them the best service that they possibly can have and deserve.
02:26
And the golden rule too Right, right? Treating people how you want to be treated exactly, you know, seems to work a lot better than other approaches in my experience, right? We were talking the other day about a story about one of your new customers, I guess, and how you approached the opportunity, probably a lot differently than your competitors would have. Can you expound on that a little?
02:56
Yeah. She was a potential customer as everyone is a potential customer. I was with a couple of guys late in the afternoon, four or five o'clock or somewhere around there. And I got this call. We're finishing up another move. And obviously, in the moving world, some customers get left behind and overbooked by the moving companies. For whatever reason, her movers were not going to be able to make it, so she was looking for another company to come and take care of her stuff. I had conversed with my guys Hey, are you guys up for doing another move here in a little bit? And we were all on board to do that thing to take care of her so so we were gonna go over and take care of her she called back a little bit later and said that other guys were able to make it, but she and I are not anticipating any kind of review she posted I think the next day or two with reviews saying how open we were and that was not being pressured to her or from her. We had an open mind an open heart to be able to serve her what she needed. She was in a dire situation. She needed some help, and we were able to go help her if we were able to so worked out for her for the other guys to make it though.
04:14
Yeah, that's a great story. I mean, think about that. You've got everything lined up, and this whole grand plan timed to the second right, and then the movers don't show up. And then she calls Open Door movers, and you're able to back her up at the last minute. That means you have to move things around your schedule and everything to make it work.
04:37
If you're already on a move, you have to obviously finish what you're doing then, you know if it's eight, nine o'clock at night, what's happened many times, you know, business for 16 and a half years now. So I've had a lot of things happen in the movie world. So moving is the third most stressful thing in people's lives. Number one, and number two are death and divorce. So I understand that people get stressed out, so you want to try to ease that kind of mindset for them and make it a little easier for them.
05:04
Absolutely. Yes. I would argue it may be more stressful than the other two. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's so disruptive. You know, just everything is in different places and boxes. So what were you doing before you started Open Door Movers?
05:22
I started moving furniture in 2006. I worked at a company here locally for a couple of years. Worked for a number of years with the Kansas City Water Department reading water meters, worked the water plant as well, and then went over to WaterOne and worked over there. We read water meters again too. So I got to be familiar as with the city, the main streets, the block numbers, and stuff, and how the address system works even better. This, in turn, helps me logistically with the city learning where this address is if someone gives me an address most likely I can get at least that general area without having to use a GPS. So it's enabling me to be stronger and more able-bodied to learn the city and to be a better more effective mover to as well know where I'm going.
06:14
So people should call you for directions. Instead of using Waze!
06:18
or yeah, I've had people call me in the past and look and say I'm lost. Can you get me here? So you got to ask him some questions. I don't know where you're at. So tell me what street you're on. What numbers do you see, street names, what's around you so I can know where to guide you?
06:33
Wow, do you have a photographic memory?
06:35
I do actually.
06:36
I was gonna say how could you possibly do that if you didn’t? That must come in handy, that superpower.
06:43
Well, it's a blessing from the Lord, so I can know where I'm at and kind of know how to get out of a certain place if I need to do so.
06:53
Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to strike out on your own? You just said you know what? This is not working. I want to bet on myself. I want to run my own show. Can you tell us that story?
07:09
Yeah, so initially, back in 2006 when I first started work, the guys I work with, were great. They were positive and encouraging to me, not being physically fit. I was athletic, but I wasn't, you know, really strong obviously. I wasn't one of the athletes in high school that was in the gym for eight hours a week. So I didn't have the strength. But I was able to build a good amount of strength in this business. So so obviously it's a good workout, but just the positivity from the guys that I had. We had fun PE was obviously good. You're learning stuff. And so within six months is a hands-on stuff that I feel like I could do. And so just but it took time to get to the point where I needed to be apt to have a business so obviously I did that for a couple of years. Learning how to work with customers and being more open with customers and learning them and having compassion for them and for their needs of what and not just for the moving part. You move people that are going through divorces or a death or someone has cancer or some kind of illness. And so you're able to pour yourself your heart onto them and just love on them in some way. So pray with them and let them know that you're there not just for the furniture but for friendship.
08:32
So, in that case, they're dealing with two of the most stressful moments sometimes Yeah, divorce and moving right. Ouch. You know that is a lot to
08:42
but initially wasn't until about 2017, when I was working with the other company where I had management experience of about four years, that I had the higher capabilities to start my own business.
08:57
Interesting. So how's it going? You're growing. How are you scaling up and adding new teams and
09:07
yeah, I was looking for more guys. Other businesses are not even just in the moving business but it's hard to find some good guys that want to work hard. And then there are guys out there. It's just fun for those guys who want to have a good work ethic and work hard and enjoy what they do and have fun with it. We tried to bring a little bit of life and joy to the move to make it more fun for the customers and more enjoyable as it should be. Because we know it's stressful. So I might have had guys in the past that can sing a couple of guys that have played the piano. So if we have a piano and I move one of my guys up on a piano playing play a song for the customer Nice. So just different aspects. It just kind of brings a little lightness to the scene. So
09:51
Absolutely that is a customer experience and a show right dinner in a theater. So what was the hardest move you ever made?
10:05
There's a couple. One would probably be it's not a furniture move per se, but we've done some commercial jobs. One was with the local Bible college out here, Benton County Bible College. Several years ago, they had actually had some flooding that went ahead with all the rains, like in August and September, and so their library and flooded the search summit backed up, and they had holes in the roof, so I just happened to walk into one of the gentleman's office. Brother Randy grim Grafton just retired from there. He was like what do you do on right now and what do you got going on so he had to go to the library, and they had to consist of about 50,000 library books, and the book sells as well. So we spent about two weeks moving the books over and to another part of the building. So that obviously took a long time. And you want the library, so everything's organized in a certain way. So trying to keep the books organized and not make it hard for the librarians to try reorganizing everything again. So you did that. We did that in about two weeks. So I had to organize we had to move bookshelves with them with the books in order from top to bottom, from left to right because that's how books are organized and the library so, and in trying to get four or five or the guys on the same mindset and the process how to move
11:32
those books. How do you do that? Your commitment, your passion, all of that. How do you engage your people to feel like you do and have the same philosophy and approach to customer service?
11:49
I guess a couple of things just want to just make sure that they understand, hey, this is our customer. We're here for them. We're here to serve them. And if we don't do a good job, you're going to call us back for the one you know, so is to provide the kind of service that they need, as I've stated already. I deal with a good heart attitude as well too. So, you know, trying to ensure that guys know what to do and how to do that. Guys have questions I want to be able to teach them and train them and not just with moving but also with their body mechanics of a habitable piece of furniture that way they're keeping themselves safe physically as well too, because I don't want guys to get hurt.
12:25
Got it. So can you scale your philosophy, model, formula, or whatever you want to call it? One of the things that I found interesting when we were having lunch is the care that you take in taking inventory and knowing in advance as you do your walkthrough what's going to require special protections and things like that. You have a multi-point quality inspection and safety inspection, don't you?
12:54
Yeah. I do a walk-through and take notes. You know, someone has a china cabinet, china hutch, piano, baby grand. You know, they're delicate things. Some people have some really ornate art items. So just taking the time to show them that you care you know, they may not be a very valuable piece, and maybe they are a valuable piece, but you want to do the best you can, and we're not perfect you know we're gonna make mistakes, and we want to try to do the best we can on even those situations as well too. So, in taking the time to pad a piece of furniture if it's got glass, we want to pad that with the furniture pad and put cardboard on anything glass cabinet TVs as well. And then stretch up has got through that protection that way if someone does kind of thing doing it. It's got the protection on itself and then obviously being careful when you're carrying those items and then also putting the items in the truck even with like mattresses in front of the glass arms to give that extra protection because matches are about six to eight inches thick, so it's got a really good extra protection when you're packing dishes, learn how to pack them properly in boxes, and is teaching the guys how to do those things
14:10
and you pack up for people. Yes,
14:12
we can do a full pack and move.
14:14
Okay, got it. Yeah, that's that sounds good. That takes a lot of stress out if you don't have to put all your worldly possessions in boxes.
14:19
We did one recently with the guy who was retired from the United States Army up in Leavenworth and ended up packing almost 200 boxes, and it's took two trucks and a trailer to get them moved from our house into their new home.
14:32
Whoa, yeah, audacious. That's quite a move there. Yeah, your first customer tell us about your first customer. Yeah, how did it go? How did they? How did they respond to your outreach? And what did you learn from the experience?
14:49
The first customer was the one that I just kind of mentioned. We kind of did a couple of firsts with them. When I was they knew about me, how about 10 years ago, it was 2012 I was actually a student out there at Calvary Bible College, and I already knew some people there too. So they knew I was in the moving business. So when they had acquired the new buildings that they moved into about 10 years ago from the Marine Corps, they had their music department had to move, which consisted of 11 upright pianos to a baby grand seven-foot Grand, an Organ, a keyboard, and something else there were about 17 pieces. So they hired us to move all those over down two flights of stairs insights there's also a fire escape
15:33
That must have caused quite a scene in the neighborhood I would think. Did the fire department
15:38
come? Thankfully not. The gentleman that called me said that they actually called the piano-specific moving company to come out there and but they wouldn't even touch it. Really. So but they hired us instead.
15:55
So you go where others dare not tread. Right? I like that. And I also like that you report to a higher authority. Right? It reminds me of the kosher hotdogs, you know that they report to a higher authority than the what is it the Food and Drug Administration or
16:14
whatever? FDA, FTC I think I've been seen
16:17
maybe I don't think it matters. We're not big on acronyms here, anyway. But yeah, that's kind of your north star, and I guess everyone on your team is also of your religious belief.
16:31
not everybody is. So no, we don't mind. We want to be able to hire others, whether they're, you know, different races or different religions. We want to accept whoever we can to look for work well, we'll take them, and then we'll teach them and train them.
16:48
You give back to the community, and your business; what kinds of community outreach and initiatives are you launching?
16:54
Yeah, we've done a few things in the past. We'll look at doing some more things down the road, a church I'm currently involved with right now. We've kind of been doing some things out in the community out in March city. We've done there was one of the teachers passed away not long ago, I think was a car accident. So we helped with a fundraiser for him and his family. I've done some stuff with our churches in the past to help raise some money for Missions Fund and stuff like that to raise money for some discipleship trips out to Central America. I think Colombia.
17:39
Do you think that corporations and small businesses have an obligation to give back to the community?
17:45
Yeah, I think it just shows the people that you care about, not just your business and your people but, you know, the community and the people that are in it in different ways, you know, could be helping with the food bank or just being there for different groups in your area.
18:03
What would be your advice Gen Z, or you know, a teenager that's getting ready to move into the workforce? Kids in college. What advice would you have for them? Should they just do the corporate path and just get a job and learn the skills and get the experience? Or should they just go for it and start their own business?
18:31
Kind of a difficult question kind of depends on what they like and enjoy. I would say, obviously, find something that you enjoy, because if you get into something that you don't enjoy, you're not gonna have fun. You're not going to have the heart attitude you should have in a job. And you want to be able to give back to people that you're working with. What what you are, who you are, and what your worth is.
18:59
Excellent answer. What is it about the business that gives you the most joy or personal gratification?
19:08
Teaching the guys and even ladies when I've had some ladies working with me. Teaching them how to do certain things. And just when you're out on a big move, and you're loading a truck, and you've got half the house, and the truck packed nicely, and the customer comes out, and they're shocked of how much room is still left in a truck to, and you got it nice and square, high and tight. You want to keep your truck high and tight, and square to maximize the space so you can get everything in. That brings joy to just knowing that you're doing a good job and you're getting good reviews, but you're impressing customers, and you're getting calls back from them, and then they're referring people to you.
19:55
How do most people find you? And you know, what do they just pick up the phone and call
20:01
me if they know who we are. They can just call us directly by mostly we can find us on Google, Instagram Facebook. Okay. Getting well, I have some others I think Twitter I think we've got that, or we'll get that going again here. Referrals. A lot of referrals from people that do know me have come back many times. just word of mouth is the best advertisement too.
20:24
No questions about it. Organic growth is awesome, especially at this level at this stage the in your company's development, but who in your life has been the biggest influence in shaping your career philosophy?
20:42
I'd have to go, obviously, being a Christian. It would have to be the Lord just to guide me with the things that have gone on. He's been a rock in my life and having gone through a divorce and then the death of my brother this year in January and my stepfather the month after that. You got to hang on and keep going, so I'm just going be a positive influence on people even though I've had a rough year. You know, I want to be there to help people as best as I can, whether it be a move or someone needs a shoulder to cry on. So
21:19
sounds like there's a lot of empathy in how you do your work. And I can see how that completely differentiates you from, I don't know, there are so many movers out there that do not have that kind of care at
21:35
all. But many of them are there for a paycheck because you hear a lot of guys, I need a paycheck. You know, the paycheck is good. We need them, but it's more than just a paycheck for me.
21:45
What qualities do you look for in new hires?
21:50
Willingness and eagerness to learn, and you get some guys that are kind of arrogant, who can work in this business. You know, they're willing to put forth the work and learn. But sometimes those guys, you know, have their own mindset and think that they know everything. And I'm all for helping them out. But if they're not going to listen, whether it be me or someone else that might be a crew leader. You know, it's hard to learn anything. But just being there to teach the people that God brings along.
22:24
Excellent. What do you want people to say about your company? Your legacy that you want to leave behind?
22:31
He was caring, compassionate, understanding was always there and helpful.
22:39
Is ambition allowed in your religion? Yeah,
22:41
Yeah, there are other things that have been just business, but yeah, yeah, I mean, if somebody has another goal or a dream, whether it be in moving or not, you know if there's something I could do personally, or as a business to help them out, you know, help guide them the way because we need somebody like that in our life. So if we try to do things on our own, it's hard, but if we've got at least one person to guide us, it's a much better, smoother pathway.
23:08
Okay, so let's discuss your ambitious plans to dominate the Midwest. Are you looking at other markets right now?
23:17
Not currently, but down the road? I would like to be able to open markets and other Midwest cities once we get better established here in Kansas City. We're looking at Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, and St. Louis. So out and then maybe even some other cities too. So you
23:42
do you see yourself in maybe five years being a national force?
23:48
Yeah, for sure. Within maybe three to five years, have been maybe, you know, four or five other cities. What's the first
23:55
place you would go to expand?
24:00
Maybe stay close by maybe hit up St. Louis and Oklahoma City. I've got family in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston. So making some contacts with them, letting them put out some feelers for a little bit and put some advertising out in those cities and see where it goes.
24:17
Got it. Got it. Good plan. Yeah. So start almost in your backyard. A little outside.
24:25
I mean, hey, Starbucks, McDonald's, got it down.
24:27
Maybe they need you to move the origin or something. There you go. We'll do it. You probably would with all the stuff that you do and everything. What is your most significant source of optimism about the industry, and what do you think the factors are that are driving more movement?
24:46
Obviously, people need to move. We wouldn't have our job without real estate agents in their line of work, so other companies are moving their employees or hiring new people to move to a different city. So knowing that, as long as other people are moving to a different home, people are growing, having kids or getting married, or downsizing. They're 56 years old, the kids are graduating from high school, and they don't need the four-bedroom home anymore. They move into a two-bedroom home, and so sure, no one those things will always happen. So you're always going to have some move somewhere.
25:28
I would imagine that the remote workforce movement with many people moving to places they would prefer to live in now. They don't have to be physically in the same city or the same office. So do you see that as a growth driver there?
25:46
Yeah. I mean, if you can like it yourself, you said you work from home, so maybe not every day. If you could do your job from the beach. You know, many people want to go to the beach to do their job because they have a laptop. And they can do that. And a lot of people can do that. Maybe they have an online business. So obviously they can move wherever they want to go. They have a specific spot be it Cancun or Florida, or California, they can move to those cities.
26:12
I just want to buy a coffee shop now in a few years or a couple of years, depending on how things go in terms of scale and everything, but I would like to call it the Rise Customer Experience Bistro, and it feels not like an office but like a Hangout. Yeah. And then everybody just kind of comes in when they want. And we bounce ideas off each other, and there are all kinds of, like, I can't say high fives anymore. That's not hip. But whatever they do, the dabbing or the fist bumping. That's the kind of thing that I want. I get a lot of energy from other creative people. There you
26:52
go. Yeah, definitely.
26:54
So you know, I love the remote, and I think that it's great that people are getting more flexibility and everybody for me, for me personally, as a business owner, I would love to have that environment that translates culture that way supercharged creative environment.
27:10
You're inviting yourself into a community of people who are positive thinking, want to do better, and want to help people. So that's what you want. You can't be around a group of negative people because it will bring you down in a sense too. You know, it's not going to be positive. Nothing good is going to come from that.
27:29
Right. So you had you were doing a side hustle. I think, if I remember correctly, you were working somewhere else. And you started this business as a side hustle. Yeah. So when did he know it was time to bust the move and just go full force all in?
27:47
Yeah, so I mentioned earlier it was in 2017 when I was working at the other moving company. I had been there for years. Work was good working 80-90 hours a week. Some weeks. I had 100 hours and 110 hours. During the summer you're working as a manager. You're not only doing management work you're out there leading crews when you need to help other crews get their job done. You know, I'd go and bring food to guys if they were on a move and didn't want to take a break because they want to keep going you know, on a hot day I go Wendy's and buy Frosties something to cool them down. Sometimes I would pitch in and work for an hour or two if I needed. So often, I'd be out there till midnight, two o'clock in the morning. The longest move I was on was in 2006 with former Chiefs player Mark Collins. I moved him from four storage units in Overland Park to his new home. We started Saturday and finished Sunday morning at 815 took us six hours to do the first load because there were three storage units up on the second level at paces from the elevator.
29:05
Whew, that guy has too much stuff!
29:18
That's amazing. The work ethic. We don't have any questions about your work ethic.
29:23
We didn't complain we didn't like it, but we got the job done.
29:28
That's all awesome. What a great story. So other than God, if you wanted to have lunch with someone, somebody famous and we're going to tag them so they might take you up on it.
29:46
You know, you asked me that question a while back just kind of be thought-provoking to see who I might think of, and I couldn't think of anybody there are probably dozens of people that I would want to meet. I had an opportunity to go to my old church I used to go to Graceland. They had a concert last week with a few Christian rappers, KB and Flame, and Triply. Yeah, so having listened to some of these guys on the radio or YouTube or whatever music report that might have can't be said, he has his own podcast that he uses also. So he would probably be one I would want to hook up with.
30:32
Sounds like that will be a very interesting conversation. Yeah,
30:35
KB. I look forward to seeing you there!
30:39
This has been an excellent conversation and thought-provoking. You opened my eyes to some new ways to super-serve customers to delight and surprise them and anticipate their needs. You do quite a bit of that. And I love the fun in the business with your guys playing the piano or whatever's going on. Or somebody's got a painting, and they're admiring the painting and talking about how much they like it, and that's the kind of art they like or that personal connection. That's what it's all about now, authenticity and personal connections. People don't want to do business with a robot. So thanks for coming. on Entrepreneur Files. You're going to be seeing this all over your social media. Because we break up the long-form show into shorter segments to address the fact that people have the attention spans of goldfish but the podcast is pretty sticky. We tend to get people listening to the whole show because you can do other stuff while you're doing it. The independent activities. So that was and still is in the studio. Tim Neitzy, the owner of Open Door movers. Make it a newsworthy day everybody!
32:11
We hope your inside look into the entrepreneur file of today's industry titan left you inspired to bust through any walls between you and success. Not literally, Entrepreneur Files is not responsible for any property damage caused by uncontrollable zeal. Well, our job here is done. You could be the next entrepreneur we feature on the podcast Call 816-506-1257 or visit riseintegrated.com to schedule a quick meet and greet with our producer. Now we're off to visit Quotability. Our creator community, where we share what we love and love what we share. It was designed for creatives by creatives to collaborate and grow media projects like Entrepreneur Files, Find Quotability on LinkedIn and continue the conversation there!
