We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matt Michelson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Matt, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

After my time in the Marine Corps, I was accepted into the Caterpillar “Think Big” program. It’s a 2 year program where you intern at a Cat dealer location for 8 weeks then go to a community college for 8 weeks. I really enjoyed my time as an intern at the Ohiocat Troy and Cleveland dealer locations. As an intern it is so important to pay attention to everything going on around you. Often times you pick up tips and tricks by working with or observing others. Sometimes however you might also learn bad habits or shortcuts. You need to take what you’ve learned and discern what is good to do or not good to do. Be honest and do the job right while keeping a good line of communication with your clients. One of my mentors told me “ you should try to be the most valuable person in your shop”. That line always stuck with me. I believe if you’re honest, hard working, respectful, willing to learn, and dependable you will be the most valuable person in your shop. You will make mistakes, you’re not perfect. Learn from those mistakes and keep going.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Matt Michelson and I am the owner of Michelson Repairs and Restorations LLC. I have been married to my beautiful wife Holly for 15 years and we have been blessed with 5 beautiful children. We love God and it’s because of his grace and mercy Holly and I can both run our businesses from home with our family. I got into repairing and restoring things back in high school. As a kid I would love to take things apart or modify them. In high school I took a 2 year course about Automotive Collision Repair. After high school I served 4 years in the Marine Corps as a 2141 AAV mechanic. I always described them as personnel carriers from ship to shore. This is where my knowledge for heavy equipment really started to grow. After my time in the Marines I interned at Ohiocat for 2 years resulting in an associates degree in applied science. I was then hired on to be a full time technician for them at their Cleveland headquarters location. I started out working on small equipment and engines but quickly realized I really enjoyed working on the bigger equipment. I worked there for 8 more years until I felt God leading me to start my own business. I took a couple months off after I left Ohiocat so I could refurbish an old feed and supply building in downtown Mantua for Holly’s new studio. January 2021 I officially opened my business and have been blessed with steady work ever since.

I have a shop at my house where I do a lot of my work. I also built a cool custom service truck that I use to do field service type of work. Since the business is young and I’m constantly trying to
improve my skills and services, the best thing for a potential client to do is reach out to me and we can discuss what they need and if I can help.

The bulk of my work is repairing heavy equipment, farm equipment, and diesel trucks. I also do diesel engine swaps or custom fabrication. The restoration side of the business deals with restoring classic cars and trucks. Whether it’s individual pieces and parts or the whole vehicle itself.

I’ve learned that a lot of people are in need of a local diesel technician. I’m not a dealer so I don’t have all the resources a dealer has but I will do my best to help you out and get you back up and going as quickly as I can.

I’m so thankful for my family’s support in everything I do. It makes it easier knowing I have a great team along side me. My son Matthew is showing a lot of interest in working with me when he gets older. It will be exciting to see what the future has in store for him and this business.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Social media has been a big help in getting new clients, but I feel like word of mouth has been the biggest help. If I do 1 job well and that client tells his friends about it, I could start getting calls from several different people about things they need help with which usually means more work in the near future.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A few books I read that really helped me where -Capital Gains
-Who Moved My Cheese
-Happy, Happy, Happy
-The Magnolia Story
-The Circle Maker
I’d like to also add that my wife and I have been working together since 2011 building Five Five Media Co. which is a multi media creative business providing photography, videography, graphic design, and more for weddings, businesses and families.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.michelsonrepairsandrestorations.com
• Instagram: Www.Instagram.com/michelson_man
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/michelsonrepairsandrestorations

Image Credits
Holly Michelson @ Five Five Media Co.