About Jack Sheppard Enterprises

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Frankly, there’s not much exciting about the installation of carriage doors. It’s one of those things that it’s easy for people to take for granted. You need ‘em, you buy ‘em, someone installs ‘em – you have ‘em. Voila!

Behind the scenes, however, are those who see that carriage door installation goes smoothly and are delighted to eliminate the worry for their clients. Take Jack Sheppard and his Dream Team. Owner of Jack Sheppard Enterprises since he founded it in 1975, Sheppard knew long ago that he wanted to work for himself, be with his family and do a job well.

He was 28 and just looking for a way to make ends meet. He had been working for an overhead door company, living out of motels. Tired of travel and of always being gone from his family, Sheppard was convinced that he knew enough about doors to go solo, but it would barely pay his bills. Still, the time away from his family was wearing him down and he decided to give it a try on his own.

“I quickly found that nobody would sell me any doors,” recalls Sheppard. “I had no business, no prospects and less than $2000 to my name, period. I found a firm in Little Rock, AR, that said they would sell me doors under two conditions: I had to pay cash, and I had to come get ‘em.”

So for almost three years, Sheppard flew to Little Rock, rented a U-Haul, and brought back enough garage doors to make ends meet until the next week.

Sheppard and his sons play together as well. Nestled in his backyard is a custom shop for his second love: building hot rods.

“When I was a teenager, I always loved to fool with hot rods,” he says. “But with building the business and family, I always had to put it secondary. I have no other hobbies: i don’t golf, fish or hunt. So this is what I do every night. The kids like to hang around and it keeps them off the streets. Several of the cars have won Best of Show honors at the car shows we’ve entered. It’s a lot of fun.”

Though Sheppard says he’s almost ready for his family to take the ball and run with it, he’s not quite ready to let go just yet.

“I said once when I got to be 40, I would hang it up,” he says with a smile. “That moved to 50 and I’m still not ready. I’ve pretty much reached all the goals I want – I took it from nothing to sales over $3 million and I’m pleased with that. But it’s kind of like turning your kids loose – I don’t want to let go just yet.”

What started as a one-man backyard operation has grown into a multi-million dollar business which includes factory-built fireplace installation and a heavy equipment rental division. His employee base has grown from a one-man show to 22. Sheppard’s personal and professional philosophy has not changed in 35 years and it has paid off.

“My clients know they can trust me,” he says. “First of all, you’ve got to have a good product and good service. Just be honest with them. That’s the main thing. It’ll always come back to you full circle. For 35 years, we’ve had one salesman and almost no advertising — just be honest and build that repeat type business.”

Garage door installation may not be exciting, but repetition is not boring to everyone. Just ask Jack Sheppard. He’s smiling all the way home.

– By Cheryl Vaughn