When Judie and Roger Gershaw started All Seasons Rent-All in 1979 in Greenwood Village, Colo., they focused on equipment rental. As the needs of their community changed, so did the rental operation. What hasn’t changed is the company’s commitment to quality and service.
“I was 9 years old when my parents opened the store,” says Matt Gershaw, now general manager/owner, who also serves on the ARA of Colorado board.
“My parents got into rental because my father, who was a safety manager at Coors, wanted to be his own boss. They started looking at different business ideas. My mom drove by the exact building we are still in today. It was just being built at the time, with only a dirt road in front. A sign said it was a rental business for sale. While neither of them had ever been in the rental business, they thought this was right up my dad’s alley. He had been a diesel mechanic in the Navy and was very good with his hands. The rest is history,” Matt says.
Back then, the Denver suburb was more rural. People in the area did their own lawn and garden work, which made it a great location for an equipment rental operation, he notes.
“When my parents opened the store, the inventory was almost completely opposite of what we are now,” Matt says. “We were probably 80 percent equipment, 10 percent party and 10 percent medical. We still offer medical and some audio/visual, everything from sound systems and karaoke machines to disco balls and LCD projectors. My dad saw a need, especially for the medical equipment. He and mom really were partners in deciding what to offer as far as inventory. Most of their ideas came from attending The ARA Show™. They would see vendors, and if they had received calls about it, it would click and they would get it. The medical and even the audio/visual have been great sources of income, particularly in our slower months. And, particularly with the medical equipment, it is great to help people who need those services.”
Over the years, the area became more affluent, with more high-end residential and commercial buildings being erected, including the Denver Technological Center.
“It got to the point where people didn’t do their own yard work or home improvement projects. My mom really liked the party end, so it was an easy transition to make. It was a very gradual process, but it was one we had to make or we would have gone out of business,” Matt says.
Besides offering all the traditional party and event inventory, Judy expanded into costumes.
“This was my mom’s thing,” Matt says. “She bought some Santa and gorilla costumes on a whim at the show as she thought it would be a good thing to have during our slower months. It went from a couple of costumes to enough to fill three, 20-ft-by-20-ft. storage units. It got bigger and bigger every year. She went to costume shows with Linda Jones (who recently retired from owning Area Rent-Alls in Westminster and for a time owned a shop strictly dedicated to costumes). Linda went crazier than my mom when it came to costumes,” Matt says with a laugh. “The day after my mom retired, I got rid of almost all the costumes. I kept the bunny and Santa costumes, but the costume business overall had been declining for the past few years.”
While the inventory evolved and changed, the core tenets never did. “Equipment had to be of high quality, cleaned and sanitized. We always have had those as priorities — not only for our hospital equipment but also on everything else. My mom instilled that in all of us. People will come back if your equipment meets those standards. She was right for sure,” Matt says.
Growing up, Matt wasn’t sure he wanted to make his career in rental. His sister, who had helped out at the business while growing up, went in a different direction. But after graduating from the University of Colorado with a business degree in marketing, Matt decided to return to the family business full time. “This was such an opportunity. I couldn’t walk away from it as I really do love the business and the people we get to work with. I like the person-to-person interaction. That is my favorite part of the business. With the party side, you are helping them with their circle-of-life events. You make a difference in their lives and that makes me feel good,” he says.
Matt took over the day-to-day running of the business about 12 years ago when his father retired. “My dad broke his ankle really badly and couldn’t be on his feet for long periods of time. My mom stayed on and retired almost six years ago. She passed away in November 2020,” he says.
Like all rental businesses, Matt and his family saw a lot of changes over the years and dealt with many different challenges. Besides flipping their entire inventory mix, Matt found that working within the confines of a family operation could be difficult.
“It is not an easy thing to work with your family. Even though you love them, you are so emotionally tied to the business and to your family. However, looking back, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I remember my parents saying that ‘You may be upset about this now, but when we go home, leave work behind us. We are still your mom and dad. You are still our son. We are family. We are not going to lose that for the business.’ That is hard to do. Even at the dinner table, you talk about work. In my younger years I didn’t get it. As I have gotten older, I really appreciate how they tried to separate work from home. When I look back, I am so appreciative of being able to spend that time with both my parents even though I butted heads with my mom a lot. As I became more mature, we both realized that we needed to leave work at work. That was an important lesson for me,” Matt says.
Another significant challenge was the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“COVID was horrible,” Matt admits. “Being mostly party, everything was shut down. There was nothing. I furloughed my employees for eight months. I just worked here by myself. There was no business, but the bills still came in. I took out a large debt load. Even with the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan and grants, I had to borrow a lot of money. When things opened back up, I was on the verge of losing it. I didn’t know whether I could stay in business. I didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. But then things opened up and the phones exploded. There was such a pent-up demand for every type of event — weddings, birthday parties, even funerals. There was such a huge demand. This has been my best summer ever,” he says.
During this time, he completed ARA’s Clean.Safe.Essential. program and was fortunate to be called upon to put up a lot of tents for the state. “We initially installed long-term tents for COVID testing. When they started with the vaccinations, we set up tables and chairs at the Ball Arena for four months. That got me out of the red. It was a negative thing that turned into a positive thing for me,” he says.
Besides having a very busy summer, his fall has been quite active. “We always are busy for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but even this September and October, which begins our slower season, have been busier than usual,” he says.
Matt admits that he has learned a lot over the years. The most instrumental was learning patience.
“I learned patience with my family, which propelled me to learn patience with my employees. My dad said you get a lot more with honey. I am a big believer in that. I believe patience is the most important virtue for any business owner. It is stressful to own a business, and it’s a lot of work, but you have to be patient and good to your people and your customers,” he says.
Demonstrating that quality has attracted team members who have the same values. “My team members are amazing. They are all people-people. We feed off each other. They treat the business like it is their own, which I love. They care about quality and serving our customers. That is so important because it takes a little village to run a rental store. That is the truth. Having good people around you, taking care of them and treating them how they deserve to be treated — financially and as people — that is vital. It shows in the way they take care of my customers and the business. That is what it is all about and what is so satisfying,” Matt says.
Gorilla becomes company’s mascot
Many companies go through extensive research to determine the right logo for their operation. That wasn’t the case for Judie and Roger Gershaw, who opened All Seasons Rent-All in 1979 in Greenwood Village, Colo.
For them it was more of a whim that began at The ARA Show™ many years ago, according to Matt Gershaw, general manager/owner.
“My parents bought a mechanical clown and a mechanical gorilla at one of the ARA shows years ago. They thought they could rent them out. Unfortunately, they didn’t rent much. They put the clown out front of our building, but it tended to scare more people than make them smile. They switched it out with the gorilla and people loved that,” he says.
Ever since, “Harry” the gorilla has been out front of the store. “We named him Harry after my grandfather, as he was a pretty hairy guy,” Matt says with a laugh. “We made him our mascot and then added him to our logo. He has been a hit with our customers all these years.”