What is myWindshield?
myWindshield was launched in 2014 to connect local auto glass shops in the United States with customers in need of affordable windshield repair and windshield replacement services. Essentially, we operate a lead generation site that attracts independent auto glass shops trying to compete online with big national franchises.
The business model is straightforward: Americans in need of dependable and affordable auto glass services can enter their ZIP code and quickly get in touch with our auto glass member partners. Our member partners provide everything from windshield crack repairs to windshield replacement, ADAS calibration, body glass replacement and more.
From the point of view of the customer, broken or shattered auto glass usually leads to a quick Google search for “auto glass repair near me” or something similar. Usually, they’ll click on the first few results and go on to retain one of these companies for auto glass services. We want to be the go-to choice for these types of customers, which is why we devote a lot of effort to SEO and digital marketing to try and hit that coveted first page of Google search results.
Overall, we’re trying to stimulate healthy competition in the auto glass industry which can benefit customers with lower prices and faster turnaround times as well as independent auto glass shops who are often competing with the big national franchises.
How did you come up with the idea for myWindshield?
I tried to model the layout of the myWindshield website and the business approach on the success of my UK-based auto glass venture, myWindscreen. The spark all started with myWindscreen, too, when I found my car windshield destroyed and needed auto glass quickly. It came as a great surprise to me at the time how difficult it actually was to get dependable service from the national chains, and I was left thinking “there’s got to be a better way.”
myWindshield is solving that specific need in the market, which is – as far as digital marketing goes – dominated by the big corporate names operating nationwide both in the UK and USA. It’s leveling out the playing field by making it easier to find the local and independent auto glass shops that often provide much better quality of service and much better prices. They just tend to struggle when it comes to digital marketing, which nowadays is essential for service-based businesses.
What’s the demand like for auto glass services in the United States?
Well, there are two things to consider when it comes to demand for auto glass services. Firstly, there are around 290 million registered vehicles in the US, and every single one of those vehicles is prone to rock chips, cracks, or shattering from collision or burglary, for example. On the other hand, modern vehicles are increasingly coming with advanced security features which might lessen the demand somewhat.
Overall, though, demand is still very high. Just think of how much the average American relies on their car to get to and from work, grocery shopping, hanging out with friends. Being stuck any longer than a day or two without access to your vehicle can really limit your opportunities, so there’s definitely a need for same-day and next-day auto glass services from local auto glass technicians.
If you then consider that the market for auto glass is largely dominated by a few big corporations that tend to offer inconvenient appointment times and expensive prices, you could say that there is a pretty strong demand for small businesses that can provide much better service at much better price points.
What’s your background like and what did you do before starting myWindshield?
So before starting myWindshield (and myWindscreen), I worked for many years in online sales and internet marketing going all the way back to the stone age of the internet. You know, dial-up modems and all that. Back then, nobody really knew what a domain name was and there certainly wasn’t anything like SEO, especially before Google even became a household name.
As Web 2.0 came along and practically everyone was able to get online, I transitioned into digital marketing and worked for a web hosting provider in the UK called UKFast for nearly a decade.
Did you ever see yourself starting and running your own business?
Of course! Ever since I was young, I yearned to run my own business someday. I like to think systematically and analytically, always looking at business processes and thinking “how can I take this and improve it, make it more efficient?”
My first business venture was a junk removal platform in the UK called Rubbish.com, which eventually became the biggest platform for man and van rubbish removal services in the UK. Just like with myWindshield, I noticed that the big national chains that did rubbish removal in the UK tended to be somewhat sluggish and expensive in terms of service, so I wanted to improve the situation by helping customers connect with local junk haulers.
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you raise startup capital for myWindshield or your other business ventures?
I’m happy to say that I’m not beholden to any investors and never needed to pull out any loans to get my businesses off the ground. I’ve saved up all of my capital myself and designed all of my website platforms to be self-funding so that I don’t need to borrow.
I think that this gives me a lot more freedom to do things the way I think are best. This includes choosing my own ways of designing the website, reaching out to auto glass shops and always keeping the website free and straightforward to use. I’m also able to handpick professional talent to help with everything from web development to content writing, taxes and accounting and all of that.
How does myWindshield generate revenue?
The way myWindshield generates revenue is by using a membership model for any auto glass shops that want to be featured and listed on the platform. That’s it! I know that there are many other platforms that offer a similar service like Angi and HomeAdvisor (also run by Angi), but they tend to have pretty expensive fees for listing a business and they often have huge per-lead fees that end up forcing the business to raise prices to compensate.
A lot of the auto glass shops we talk to are worried about having to pay a per-lead fee and we always reassure them that we simply use a membership model no matter how many leads are generated. In return, the auto glass shop gets their own profile page put together by our content writers and will be found whenever the customer enters a ZIP code in their coverage area. This means that there shouldn’t be any ‘bad’ leads. Nobody asking for windshield repairs in New York from businesses serving Los Angeles, for example.
What sorts of challenges have you overcome since launching myWindshield?
There are always plenty of risks that come along with starting a business. I’d say that the niche we’re targeting is relatively safe and the auto glass industry is fairly steady in the United States. There will always be customers and there will always be auto glass technicians so long as we’re all driving cars with glass on them!
Some of the biggest challenges are partly things we can adapt to and partially things we simply can’t. Keeping up with changes to the Google Search algorithm and SEO best practices, for example, requires a lot of guesswork at the best of times since there’s no secret formula to ranking higher.
That’s why we always try to abide by Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines and keep up to date with any changes. All of our content is original and not AI-generated, which was a bit of a worry when ChatGPT and other language learning AI tools became mainstream in late 2022.
When did you see the first signs of success with your business?
Well, building websites and generating traffic usually means you’ll need to play the long game. Results don’t often come overnight and to generate lots of organic traffic, the website usually needs to be up and running for quite a while and it needs to be providing value to the customer.
While that’s all well and good and we keep the website fresh by adding and revising our service pages, adding informative blog content, and redesigning the layout to make it clean and provide an excellent user experience, getting professional consulting for web development and SEO really added lots of fresh insights that helped boost the ranking of myWindshield in search engines.
What sort of advice would you give to an entrepreneur in today’s business world?
The first and probably most important thing I’d say is that you must have some passion for what you’re doing or you’re going to burn out. Everyone needs money and lots of us chase dollar bills paycheck to paycheck to keep our roofs over our heads, but running your own business is going to take long-term planning, lots of unpaid work and sleepless hours, all for what? If you don’t enjoy it, it will show. So yes, I’d say you have to love what you’re doing or at least find some joy in it.
With websites and online business ventures, you will also need to have patience. Like I said before, growing organic traffic is playing the long game. You might want paid ads on Google, for example, which can bring in short-term traffic, but to generate long-term results you’ll need to be patient and work away at improving your website.
