Purpose Before Profit: Chris Tyrrell Of Chris’ Garage Doors On The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business

An Interview With Chad Silverstein

Don’t compromise your ethics. — If you have any success in business, there will come a time when you have to make a decision to decide whether or not to compromise your ethics. You have to make that conscious decision to choose the right way.

In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Tyrrell.

Chris Tyrrell is the owner of Chris’ Garage Doors, a local business serving the greater Denver area. He has been in the garage door industry for many years and prides himself on providing high-quality service to his customers. Chris has won awards such as the Better Business Bureau’s Spark Award (2022) and Torch Award (2023) and the South Metro Denver Realtor Association’s 4 under 40 Award (2023). Chris is a proud resident of Centennial and is committed to giving back to his community. He is an active member of the local Chamber of Commerce and is always looking for ways to help his neighbors. He is also a strong supporter of local charities and regularly donates his time and money to help those in need.

Chris started his company, Chris’ Garage Doors in 2017 and realized very quickly that he could incorporate purpose, vision, and mission into the company culture to make it more than just a garage door company. Chris’ Garage Doors’ Vision is to Make Colorado a Better Place to Live and he strives to fulfill that vision by valuing people, doing the best possible work, and giving generously back to the community.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I always describe my upbringing as your average “lower” middle-class family. I never lacked food or shelter, but my family was on the verge of bankruptcy for much of my childhood. My parents worked hard and raised me well. I can attribute a lot of my success to my family. I mostly lived in smaller towns and moved around a bunch (6 different states before I was 18) but otherwise had a fairly average upbringing.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?

I was given the opportunity & introduced to a person years ago. That person referred a job to me; from that one, I got another job and another one after that. It kept going, and I’m still getting opportunities from that one person I met five years ago! It teaches you that everyone you meet can make a big impact. No matter what you think of a person or how they might benefit you. You should give everyone the opportunity. Also, you can help others even if maybe they can’t help you.

We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?

I bid on a job for a parking garage structure, and we won the bid. 1st mistake: I realized I don’t like working on commercial properties, especially high volume where people are coming in and out all the time. I don’t have the capacity to manage that in the long run. 2nd mistake — I underbid the project which helped me learn how to bid on projects better. From that lesson, I learned I should push more towards residential, and it gave me a better understanding of how to price projects and quote them appropriately.

As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?

We live by our 5 Company Core Values:

Quality — We strive to be a company anyone can trust. Having quality products, service & installation. We can’t give up on this.

Integrity — Doing the right thing matters

Kindness — Anybody can be nice, but being kind is different. We strive to meet people where they are and help them in any way we can.

Dependability — It’s important to show up when you say you will and do what you say you’re going to do.

Community — This is our biggest one; our company is very vision-driven. Our top value is making Colorado a better place to live. We donate 3% of our top-line revenue to local non-profits. Building a culture of giving and supporting our community. A part of that is also building a strong team within our company.

What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?

As part of my upbringing, I am a person of faith, a Christian, and very dedicated. I went to school for an undergrad in Biblical Studies and got a Master’s Degree in Divinity. I incorporate my faith in all parts of my business, as it is very important to me. I didn’t want a business that just made money, I wanted to make an impact. Everything I’ve been taught just made sense to make it that way.

Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?

You really have an opportunity to change your community for the better if you’re focused on more than profit. It helps you make an impact and set yourself apart from other companies. It shows people why you might be worth investing in vs. other companies. At the end of the day, you feel better accomplishing something that’s bigger than you.

How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?

Building our reputation gives people a positive view of my company, whether they need my services at this time or not. One specific metric we can use to evaluate is we recently won an award from the Better Business Bureau — an Ethics Category Award. This gives us more exposure to the business community.

Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?

I attended a Lunch & Learn in the business community about CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility. The speaker asked if any business owners had any clear vision for their company. I raised my hand — and said, ‘to make Colorado a better place to live.’ After that, about ten other businesspeople in the room gave a testimonial about how my business made their community a better place. That response really touched me and helped me realize what I’m doing is being seen and really making a difference.

Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?

This year we saw a huge hit in profitability and revenue, but we are standing by our commitment of giving 3% of top-line revenue. I believe that giving should be done sacrificially. At the beginning of this year, a lot of people stopped spending money due to higher interest rates and other factors. We haven’t been making a profit for much of the year, but we are still committed to our giving. It will impact our profitability, but giving is extremely important to our values and not something we will give up on. Fortunately, I have not been challenged by anyone on my team, and I’m super grateful for all of them.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business? What are your “5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.”

1. Know your personal why. — Your personal why is what you believe you’re on this earth for. It’s only specific to you, and it can’t be taken away from any circumstance in your life. It will help you understand how to create a vision for your business.

2. Create a vision for your company. — This is the north star of every decision you make as you build your company. It’s a litmus test; anything you do in your company, it will guide you, and it will help you create a purpose-driven company.

3. Don’t compromise your ethics. — If you have any business success, there will come a time when you have to decide to decide whether or not to compromise your ethics. You have to make that conscious decision to choose the right way.

4. Have a mentor or coach. — I think this is important beyond just business. No one knows everything. Mentors & coaches have either been through it before or at least have a different perspective that can help guide you through the process. Find someone you can talk to, to help you through all decisions in business and life.

5. Don’t be afraid to fail. — Failure is a guarantee, and you will make mistakes. Life isn’t defined by not failing, it’s by how you respond to it. One of my favorite quotes is ‘You win some, you learn some’ by Don Maxwell. When you make a mistake; it’s an opportunity to learn. Maybe this company won’t be here in 10 years, but then I learned how to make a better company next time.

I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute?

We have regular team meetings 2x per month. During this time, the team can address any concerns/issues, and they can get additional training. I have an open-door policy, and open lines of communication, my phone is always on — they know they can come to me any time with anything, good or bad. We have team volunteering events, where we go during business hours and volunteer — I also give up to 8 paid hours per month if they volunteer their own time to charity, and they can submit a form. In one of the first volunteering events we did, we got positive feedback from the team. They appreciated being put in that situation; it impacted them, and they wanted to implement it more in their personal lives.

Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?

My success doesn’t have to be measured by specific accomplishments. I am satisfied as long as we are giving back to the community and building our team. In the next year or so, I would like to see 2–5 more technicians on the road and to expand our office and sales staff. The bigger the company gets, the bigger the impact we have on the community.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

In my personal philosophy of influence, I think every one of my generation (millennials) wants to make a big impact. However, I believe if you can have a positive influence over two people and make a big impact in their lives, then in turn, you encourage and inspire people to turn around and simply do positive things to their immediate sphere of influence. If that keeps going, it’s not about what one person does but what everyone does for the people around them and in their sphere.

How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?

Follow us on social media @ChrisGarageDoors (Facebook, Instagram & Linked-In) or fill out our Contact us on our website https://www.chrisgaragedoors.com/, to receive more information and receive our newsletter!

This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!

About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is an accomplished entrepreneur and visionary leader. He started his first company, Choice Recovery, Inc., while attending Ohio State University and grew it to become an industry outlier before selling the business after 25 successful years. With the launch of his second venture, [re]start, a career development platform, Chad aimed to help people find meaningful career opportunities. Under his leadership, his team was recognized as a “Top Workplace” award winner for over a decade, twice being ranked the #1 small and medium-sized business to work for in Central Ohio. Chad sold [re]start in 2023, enabling him to focus on building an online community of high-performing leaders and continuing to make a positive impact in people’s lives.