Institute for Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial Education Partner
Ferguson Auto Body • Claude & Zach Ferguson
The story of becoming an entrepreneur at the age of 48 years old and creating a family-owned and operated business.
Claude has been working in the auto body industry for 47 years. His son, Zach, has been working with Claude ever since he was in his teens.
For Claude, the decision to start his own business wasn’t easy - as with any business there were risks involved.
In January 2008, after spending the majority of his life working for someone else, he and his wife Jennifer took the plunge and bought the building that the business is in currently.
When they opened their doors they already had three weeks of work lined up and thanks to their customers the demand has continued to grow.
This is very much a family business. Jennifer Ferguson, Claude’s wife, previously was the bookkeeper; now their daughter Samantha Eilerman has taken that over. Zach Ferguson, Claude’s son, took over running the business in 2023; his wife, Ashley, is involved with detailing and other tasks as needed.
They think of their other employees and vendors as family too - Doug Lindsey painter, Tom Renfrow body tech, Ron Delausus technician, and vendor Shawn Long.
We walked around what has to be the cleanest auto shop on the planet! Doug showed us how he mixes paint and the extensive process they go through to make sure the paint is an exact match. We also walked around to see some of the current repairs. Shawn showed us how he pops out dents and we were amazed!
Shawn also gave the students many words of wisdom including, “how bad you want something is determined by how much you’re willing to sacrifice for it”.
Claude and Zach agreed that their favorite part of their job is taking someone’s car that appears beyond repair and making it look brand new. They truly enjoy seeing a customer see their car after repairs and having a big smile of disbelief on their face.
The people behind this business are why they have been successful. This is a group of humble and hardworking individuals who truly love what they do - and it shows.
Thank you for speaking with us!
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