We were lucky to catch up with Justin Stricklin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Jim Rohne has a average of 5 rulew, where yiou take the 5 closest people in your life, the average of their income is what yours is. It was spot on for me, so I knew I needed to connect with more influential people. Two of which were in the hail repair industry, I wanted in. One day I received a call asking if i still wanted in, I said yes, he said your plane leaves tonight. Whoa! I need time, he asked if Im in or not, so I said yes, I left the next morning to my first hail job In Tucson AZ. From there I learned alot, by the end of the year I started doing my own thing and made more income in one month that I ever made annually. It was great, until I blew it all as fast as I earned it. I fell on my face and lost everything, homeless in fact.

In 2019 i borrowed $500 to go chase a storm in Midland TX, I worked hard and paid that loan back in one week then went on to earn $50K that month, I ended up working 8 cities that year bringing back the money earned and sunk it all into my own company in Grand Prairie, After The Storm Hail Repair. Everybody warned me bad idea, or dont invest everything back into it because you dont know when it will hail again. A few months later down to my last dime and not sure how I would make rent on my shop that I also was living in , we had a series of storms that all fell right on top of me. We made 3/4 million in 3 months, all because of the marketing and advertising i sunk into the company long before it hailed on a gamble that we may or may not even get a storm in grand prairie. It worked out great! The company did well until 2022 when a series of bad decisions on hiring led me to losing everything again. Had theft within the company and conflicting personalities working for me that was my downfall. I ended up having to shut my company down and just run mobile detailing route for a couple months until i could figure out another plan. With saving what I could from detailing, I sunk everything into a shop in Plano in late winter of 2023, changed my marketing team, rebranded to After The Storm AutoworX, expanded services to include collision and auto glass, and trial and error with several employees until finding the team that fits the company best. It was a gamble going bigger, but God had blessed the company and its been amazing ride so far this year. In fact, we are now looking for a second facility to work out of, and in January will be obtaining a 3rd location in Fort Worth.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I came to texas for a fresh start in life and to be where i don’t have limitations other than those I set on myself. I have an entrepreneurial spirit and want to use my God given talents to be all I can be, and do so in ways that can help others in the process. My company, first goal is to help customers find peace, as their calm after the storm. When you provide great service, care for others, and take pride in what you do, money takes care of itself. Yes we work for money, but if you make everything about that, you will miss everything else and it wont be around long. My company provides a one stop option for people so they dont have to go everywhere and constantly find new shops to trust or deal with. We do everything from paintless dent repair, collision, detailing, even auto glass repair and replacements. We strive to calm storms for people by assisting them with things that they may not have ever experienced and feel thrown out to fend for themselves on. It can be a scary process, and our staff is trained to help others. My goal is to always help however i can and when i can in and out of work life. It is a kick in the gut when there are some occasions that no matter what I do, Im not able to fulfill that. Im that guy that normally has somebody crashing in the spare room, helping find work with me or other places better suited, Ill give the shirt off my back to help you. With that Ive had to learn boundaries being I do get burned often, but it is what it is,, I do things from the heart wo further expectations. I do struggle with anxiety, so sometimes Im the most pleasant to be around, but even during that I mean well and want to see others succeed and prosper too.

My company, we want to help others, be family and be there for each other even when the customers we have dont need any of our services. We understand we may not be a good fit for everybody as well, and thats ok, we help you find a fit if we arent it. My name and my brand name are very important to me and everything we do we back for life, even our products used.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I started my company in 2019 in Grand Prairie as After The Storm Hail Repair, we did great because we had hail which provided work. In 2022, we unfortunately had a bad year, no hail, so I had to take a risk and chase a storm in Arkansas, my home town. The crew I was left with hiring I had previous experience a few years back as an r&i guy for them, and offered them a spot for me this time, behind my back over $80,000 was stolen from me and on top of an already failing year, this was the final cut that caused me to shut my company down.

I then used my transit van to do what mobile detail jobs I could while i figured out a new plan. Once saving up a small amount, I made a pivot and sunk it all in on a shop in Plano in March of 2023, rebranded to After The Storm AutoworX and decided to take a leap of faith in offering up services that weren’t so much seasonal such as collision, and auto glass. it worked out too great, God really has blessed the company. None of this be possible without Him running things for me, we are currently looking for a second location as an immediate must to handle our rapid growth, and in January will be opening a 3rd location in Fort Worth!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Life is a roller coaster, up and down left and right and all around. Have to hold on tight and if you puke you puke, you’re still on the ride. How we handle this roller coaster life is what defines us. Me when Im down, I WILL get back up. Yes Im human so I may stay down for a second, but Im getting up and I always come back at least twice as strong as before. I sometimes think my life of Job, I will not blame my misfortunes on God ever, I may lose everything, but they werent mine to begin with. And with faithfulness, and hard work, He always blesses me many times over. I have hit the bottom a few times in life, and Im sure I may hit it again though I pray I dont, will be what it is, but I will always be thankful for every opportunity given and try to appreciate them to the fullest.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.afterthestormautoworx.com
• Instagram: atsautoworx.dfw, ats_collision_dfw, ats_autoglass_dfw, ats_ceramics_dfw
• Facebook: After The Storm AutoworX- Hail Repair, After The Storm AutoworX- Collision, After The Storm AutoworX- Auto Glass, After The Storm AutoworX- Ceramics
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/1iw99MSvNG
• Other: Google- After The Storm AutoworX TikTok- afterthestormdfw Clapper- afterthestormdfw