EP 512: A Great Garage Starts With Listening First

What makes Greg Jeffries with DFW Garage Design a good neighbor?

We talk with Greg Jeffries of DFW Garage Design about how a garage can become much more than a place to park a vehicle. From custom storage solutions and garage cabinets to upgraded lighting, overhead storage, slatwall systems, and even luxury additions like air conditioning and car lifts, Greg helps homeowners create spaces that are functional, organized, and tailored to the way they live.

Greg shares the story of leaving the corporate world and discovering an opportunity in an industry where customer service was often missing. After struggling to find reliable contractors for his own garage project, he saw firsthand how difficult it could be to find companies that communicated well, showed up on time, and followed through on their promises. That experience became the foundation for DFW Garage Design and the reason referrals continue to drive the majority of the company’s growth.

We also discuss one of the biggest misconceptions homeowners have about garage floor coatings. Greg explains why a long lasting garage floor is about much more than simply applying paint and how proper preparation, quality materials, and installation techniques make all the difference in durability and appearance. Whether homeowners are considering epoxy, polyurea, or a complete garage transformation, he shares practical insights that can help them make better decisions.

If you are looking for ideas to organize your garage, increase storage, or create a more functional space for your family and hobbies, this conversation offers valuable guidance from someone who has built a business around helping homeowners get more from their homes.

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Guest Info: DFW Garage Design | https://www.dfwgaragedesign.com | (972) 416-4545

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of custom garage interiors? Well, the right company might be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Greg Jeffries, with DFW Garage Design. Greg, lovely to have you on today. Go ahead and tell our listeners just a little bit more about your company.

What Custom Garage Interiors Include

SPEAKER_00 0:32

All right. Thanks, Sophia. Thanks for having me. So we create custom garage interiors, and that means something different to everyone. It can be anywhere from some overheads and some shelves to a full custom garage interior that includes car lifts, wet bars, air conditioning, lighting. So it's pretty much any point in between the simple, just need some storage, and you want to turn it into another living part of your house. So hopefully that answers the question.

From Corporate Burnout To Garages

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Yes. Now, how did you originally get started in this industry?

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Uh it's kind of a funny story. So this is going to go a little long. So I just got a little backstory. So my grandparents lived close to us. So growing up, I'd always go over to my grandparents' house. I didn't want to be stuck in the house talking to a bunch of you know these old 40-year-old people. I know it seems weird now. So I would go play in the garage the whole time. So I've always been in infatuated, I guess you would say, by garages and how do you organize them and how do you make it work to what you're trying to do? Jump forward 30 years. Uh I'm in the corporate world. I just get tired of corporate politics and the hypocrisy that goes along with it. So I wanted to start my own business. Really wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I was like, oh, while I'm kind of going through this process, let me look into having my garage done at my house. So I reached out to as many people as I could find on Google. And turns out there's like 10 of them. So I reached out to all of them. Only two of them got back to me. Only one person actually showed up and gave me an estimate. And that was just kind of the that light bulb moment where I was like, hey, this is something I love doing. There's either so much business that nobody can handle it, or people just don't know how to take care of people. And my professional career has always been sales and customer service. So I decided to go into this, and that was in 2014. So uh I guess that worked out pretty well.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Wow. Now, today, what is the number one misconception you come across in your industry?

The Truth About Garage Floor Coatings

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Uh, it really comes down to garage floors. Uh, so many people think that one garage floor is the same as another garage floor. That couldn't be furthest from the truth. Uh so materials do make a big difference. What materials you you need to use, quality materials, but it's really the process and then of how you apply those. Uh just anything when you're coating or painting, preparation, preparation, preparation. If it's not prepped properly, it's not going to stick, it's not going to stay. Uh, and it's looking at what the concrete is. Is the concrete in good enough condition to have a coating? So it's people think, oh wow, my garage floor is coated and it looks nice, but there is so much more that goes into it to make sure it can be done right. Uh, so that that's really the biggest misconception is people think, oh, you're just painting the garage floor. No, it is whole so much, much more than just painting the garage floor.

Serving DFW And Growing By Referrals

SPEAKER_02 3:42

So, Greg, let's go ahead and get down to the heart of things. Now we know that marketing is the heart of every business. So, ideally, what areas are your potential clients in that you're looking to attract? And how are you able to reach them today?

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Okay, so I do cover the entire DFW Metroplex. So I I've done work in Abilene and gone out to Cedar Creek Lake. I've actually done quite a bit of work out at Cedar Creek Lake. Most of those are people that have homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but then also have another lake house, and they want me to come out and do that. Uh, I prefer I live in the prospero area. My office is in the Salina area. So just from a drive time perspective, I kind of like to stay North Dallas, uh, but we do go all over the Metroplex. Uh now the way I reach out.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

Yes, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Uh, and really the way I reach out, I do a little bit of Google marketing, just real basic stuff. 95% of my business comes from referrals. Uh, it's we try to take care of our clients, and therefore our clients either come back to us and have it to their other house or they refer their neighbors, and it just kind of builds that way.

Why Transformations Feel So Good

SPEAKER_02 4:56

So, Greg, what is your favorite part about what you do?

SPEAKER_00 5:00

The transformation, uh, to walk into a garage that is that they can't fit any cars into. And at the end, when we're done, whether it be a day or a week, or we're doing one that's taking about four months because it's very extensive, is just seeing that total transformation where it's a it's another part of the house. It's something that people feel comfortable when they come home. You sit in traffic area, you want to come home to some kind of organized blissfulness. I know, I don't know if it's the right word. Uh, but just when you pull in the garage, everything kind of has its order because if you just fought 380, the tollway, LBJ, any name any major road here in the Dallas Fort Worth area, you want to have you want to come home and feel like you're relaxed.

How Long A Garage Project Takes

SPEAKER_02 5:49

Greg, how long do these transformations usually take?

SPEAKER_00 5:54

On average, probably two days. Uh, then we get into so I said one we're doing, it's taking a couple of months. Well, the person hasn't moved here yet. Uh, and we're doing flooring, cabinet, slat wall. I mean, we're we're going overboard on making this garage extremely nice. Uh, so on average, uh the longest job normally is about a week.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Wow. I truly had no idea that it was such a quick process.

Golf Travel And Getting Uncomfortable

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Have you ever thought about having your own podcast to educate more potential clients on what all this takes to make this transformation happen?

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Uh no, because I'm kind of uncomfortable doing this right now.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

So uh it's it's always about taking that next one step, right? You expand your comfort zone.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Exactly. I'm always trying to get outside of my comfort zone.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

So now, within your comfort zone outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Uh play golf and travel. Uh I it's it's something we really enjoy. I've I married a wonderful woman that's in the travel industry, so we get a lot of benefits of traveling and both play golf. So we try to combine the two and travel and play golf places.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Wow, that's wonderful. Does she own this company with you?

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Uh no, she's she's totally she's got her career, I got my career, and then we go play together.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

Wonderful.

Care Accountability And Fixing Mistakes Fast

SPEAKER_02 7:26

Now, Greg, we've covered a lot of wonderful information today, but what is the biggest takeaway you would like any listeners to gather from learning about DFW garage designs?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Uh it's really that we care and we're trying. I don't go into a project trying to tell somebody this is what you're gonna do. I try to go in and talk to them and realize what you are trying to accomplish? Because I'm not really, I've got to organize tools. I don't need to organize children's products. So how I can't tell them what to do. I can give them suggestions on what I've done, but we really care what is gonna be the best thing for you. Uh, and then where I think it really, I think what really kind of stands us apart, we're human, we make mistakes. Uh, it just happens. But when we do make mistakes, we correct them immediately, uh or as fast as we possibly can. Uh it's not it wasn't an intentional mistake. We just we try to do the right thing.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

I love that. Final question for you today, Greg.

Where To Find DFW Garage Design

SPEAKER_02 8:31

For our listeners who are ready to take that next step, where can they go to learn more about DFW Garage Designs?

SPEAKER_00 8:39

So they can go to our website, which is www.dfwgarage design.com. Uh, they can pick up the phone and give us a call at 972-416-4545, or go to our Facebook and Instagram page, and uh you can kind of those are up pictures are updated a little more frequently on there because I know how to do that. I don't know how to put them on my website.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

Well, Greg, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

All right, thank you so much, Sophia, and you have a wonderful day.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GMP Frisco dot com. That's GNP Frisco dot com or call four six nine two two two one nine three four four four four four five.