Al & Sandra Gibson

From Unemployment to Employing Others

Al Gibson was 50 when, in 2005, he was laid off from his 20-year position as a powder-coatings supervisor. Sandra, his wife, had previously left her job as an instructional assistant with the Hamilton Southeastern School System and, suddenly, they were both unemployed. Al began the search for another supervisory position in the powder-coatings business, but feared the prospects at his age weren't good.

Through the Christian Employment Association, Al met with a group of businessmen who helped laid off, downsized or outsourced people find employment. After he introduced himself to the group and told them about his work experience and what kind of job he was looking for, one businessman suggested that with his background and knowledge, he should be seeking instead to own his own business.

The Gibsons decided to explore the idea and have never looked back. Al worked temporary jobs and scouted equipment and potential locations; Sandra went online to search for business resources, discovered the Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana and signed up for the Business Beginnings course. Things began to fall into place, and soon they had a business plan and were close to making a commitment.

Then an industry salesman Al knew invited him to take a ride out to McCordsville to visit an established powder-coatings business, Advanced Finishing Corp. During their visit, the owner told them he had just decided to sell his business, but hadn't yet advertised his decision. The facility was perfect!

"It was a Godsend," Sandra says. "It might have taken us 20 years to build a business to the point where this business already was." So they bought the equipment and signed a five-year lease on the building with financing arranged through National City Bank. Their first request for financing had been turned down, but Sandra had learned through her BOI course not to be discouraged and to keep trying.

Crown Coatings LLC opened its doors on March 13 with five employees, including Al's brother, the couple's 20-year-old son and three others who stayed on through the transition. "It's exciting, tiring and consuming," Sandra says, but one of the best parts of owning your own business is offering employment to others. "Because we've been there," she explains. "It feels good to be able to employ people, and treat them the way you'd like to be treated - with respect, of course, but also the little things that mean something to them."