Real Stories: Jim Kowalski on Competing as a Family-Run Restoration Business in a Landscape of Franchises
Ask the Expert
Jim Kowalski is owner and vice president of Kowalski Construction Inc., a third-generation, family-owned and operated property restoration and repair company in Arizona that was founded in 1967. He is also president of the Restoration Affiliates board, founded in 2011. In this interview, Kowalski shares secrets to success and lessons learned in purposefully growing Kowalski Construction over the years. He also explains the role of Restoration Affiliates as a national network of 30 cleaning and restoration firms representing 88 locations and 14,000 zip codes.
“I was born into the restoration industry,” Kowalski said. He started off working for his father, cleaning equipment with his brother at the end of the day.