After working as a bodywork technician for several years, Tyler Keck decided to start his own business. Keck’s Collision Repair opened in the fall of 2018 after Keck built a 1500 square foot garage on his property with personal capital and began taking on clients. Because of his excellent reputation and commitment to customer service, Keck quickly turned a profit, grew his customer base, and created partnerships for local referrals.  

Unlike many businesses during the pandemic, Keck’s Collision Repair experienced continued growth; in late 2020, Keck began to explore larger facilities that would allow him to serve more customers, hire, and increase revenues.  

Before acquiring a new space, Keck realized that he needed to organize and evaluate his financials, so he signed up to work with the Penn State SBDC. During his initial meeting with Business Consultant Elizabeth Hay, Keck outlined his goals for expansion and the tools he needed to make his dream a reality. He and Elizabeth worked together using the business planning software LivePlan to evaluate his financials and see if expansion was feasible. LivePlan allowed Tyler to see the opportunity for increased revenue even considering the added expenses and liabilities associated with acquiring a new facility, which Tyler decided to build.  

“The SBDC provided us with resources that we didn’t even know existed,” said Keck. “They helped us learn about different organizations in the area to help us succeed.” 

Throughout the building process, Keck continued to seek support from the SBDC for QuickBooks assistance, human resource management, marketing assistance, and referrals. In late January 2022, Keck’s Collision Repair opened its new location.  

Keck and his wife Theresa continue grow their business with SBDC QuickBooks and marketing support. The Penn State SBDC looks forward to celebrating the success of Keck’s Collision Repair in the spring with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.