Episode 25: Being a Dominant Force in Your Industry, with Damon Gersh

Damon Gersh is the President and CEO of Maxons Restorations, Inc., an innovative leader in the property damage restoration industry. Damon is a winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Fast Company Award for Leadership, and Inc. 500 and Inc. 5000 awards. Damon is also a Past President of the Entrepreneurs' Organization New York City Chapter, the co-founder of the Gathering of Titans annual entrepreneurial conclave, and the co-founder and Past President of Restoration Affiliates, LLC. •Damon shares how he founded his business, Maxons Restorations, along with his father when he was fresh out of college. He shares how Maxons specializes in disaster cleanup and how they aided in the post-9/11 recovery efforts. •Damon discusses how he identified the "choke point" of his business, which is skilled labor who knows how to handle the cleanup of any disaster. He shares how he developed a variable labor model to corner the market on those skilled people. •Damon describes the efforts Maxons Restorations took to help restore the city of New York after the 9/11 attacks, with 1,600 team members cleaning up lower Manhattan from the damage done by the fall of the World Trade Center towers. •Damon talks about founding Restoration Affiliates, identifying an opportunity to strategize and bring together the leading organizations across the restoration industry. •Damon shares how he has worked to partner with competitors within the industry through Restoration Affiliates and through other methods, and he discusses the advantages of partnering with competing businesses. •Damon talks about his decision not to sell his business and instead to commit to it, and he explains why his organization is the perfect platform for his interests and passions. He discusses allowing his team to run the business independently. •Damon describes his company's virtual equity program and the reason he chose to set it up. He explains the benefits of offering virtual equity in the company, rather than selling the company or offering ownership. •Damon shares how he ensures the authenticity of his work and how he aligns his business decisions with his values. He discusses the value of being a part of the Entrepreneur's Organization.   Listen to the DealQuest podcast today! Website: https://www.coreykupfer.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoreyKupfer Twitter: https://twitter.com/coreykupfer