All About Adam – A Blog on Running Rim Guard - Rim Guard

Adam Donovan: The man. The myth. The legend. In 2017 he became the president of Rim Guard. Ever since he has been determined to change the world one gallon of Beet Juice Tire Ballast at a time. Since 2017 Rim Guard has seen many changes including additional tankers, an expanded staff, updated technology and branding, and an excess of jokes from The Office thanks to Mr. Donovan himself.

Adam graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Immediately following he took on a job as a Sales Engineer, traveling the country and selling custom modifications on HVAC equipment. He went on to become the President and CEO of a custom HVAC manufacturer, carrying his expertise in leading and managing teams over to Rim Guard.

We asked Adam some questions on what his transition to Rim Guard looked like and the adventure of running the company.

How did you get involved with Rim Guard?

I was looking to acquire a small business, and while meeting with a banker and M&A firm this opportunity was brought to my attention.

What has been the most rewarding thing about running a business?

Building teams, developing people, and strategically altering the direction of an organization.

What has been the hardest part about running a business?

Building teams, developing people, and strategically altering the direction of an organization……seriously. Building teams and developing people is part of managing the culture which is important, and difficult. When you get it right everyone can feel it and it’s extremely rewarding, but it’s exponentially more painful when you get it wrong. Regarding altering the direction of the organization, growth is important and crucial to the long-term success of any company. Growth is typically synonymous with change, and I love working in a growing, changing environment.

What is something you are currently working on at Rim Guard?

Building our brand and growing sales. The team and I are focused on being more supportive to our current dealer network, adding dealers to our dealer network, and stimulating consumer demand to drive sales to our dealer network.

If you could do anything else as a job, what would you do?

I have been extremely blessed to lead a couple organizations and I am confident that’s what I enjoy and find value and purpose doing. That said I think I would enjoy turning around a financially failing business, I would like the challenge.

If I would have told you ten years ago that you would be running a business that sells Beet Juice Tire Ballast, what would you have said?

How am I doing? I would have been very excited to hear I was running a business. I guess I may have also asked, “What is Beet Juice Tire Ballast?!?!”