There when you need us.

It’s early 2025. Sixty-six year-old Dana Jones is retiring from Tuscaloosa Ford, where she’s worked for 30 years, and she tells her granddaughter about her plans. She’s selling her house. Moving to Huntsville (where Rachel lives). And opening-up a new branch location for Dry Fast, which is owned by a longtime customer and friend of hers.

Rachel’s response? “Woman, you are retiring. It’s time to go enjoy a quiet life and do your thing!”

Dana has no prior experience in the water damage restoration business — which, she’s already been warned, is fiercely competitive in Huntsville. Apart from her son and granddaughter, she doesn’t know a single person in town. And then there’s the fact that Rachel isn’t interested in joining the business, which is — for all practical purposes — the only reason Dana’s doing this. “I really wanted to build something I can leave to her when I’m ready to stop working.”

Spoiler Alert

Rachel changed her mind. “I had a good job with a landscaping company, and was very happy. But Dana just kept asking. And then one day it clicked for me. She’d already done a great job getting the business started, and now we’re doing really well.”

“We did OK last year,” Dana says, “but we’ll probably quadruple our revenue in 2026.” The obvious question would be, HOW? “Well, I joined the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. I got our Google Business listing going. And then I just started knocking on doors. I met a lot of people in the insurance business, and the way I sold myself to them was, ‘just give us a chance.’”

“Here’s the thing about Dana,” says Rachel: “She has never met a stranger. She can talk to anyone.”

Growing pains? Nearly painless.

It wasn’t long before the business outgrew Dana’s garage. Which is when Rachel took the lead. “Before I started searching for spaces,” she says, “I asked people I trusted what to look-for. Then I put all that into ChatGPT, and asked for suggestions. MicroFlex was one of the first ones listed. And they were the first to respond. I really liked that. We scheduled to meet them the next day.

We looked at two different units, picked the one we wanted, and signed the lease, either that day or the next.

“It’s perfect for where our business is right now, and I liked the fact that we could get a one-year lease. As fast as we’re growing, we needed flexibility. Right now, we have room for all our equipment — which is enough for four separate operations — and my office upstairs.”

Dana has taken more of a hands-off role since getting Rachel up to speed — which didn’t take long, and which didn’t surprise her in the least. “I call Rachel Mini Me. She’s a real A Type when it comes to solving problems and getting work done.” Rachel will tell you she’s not quite a Dana clone. “She’s a lot more outgoing, whereas I tend to be quieter and more reserved.”

The most important thing?

Where Dana and Rachel are a mirror image of one another is in their approach to serving clients — which is also the fundamental quality they believe distinguishes Dry Fast from so many of their competitors: “If you’re not serving clients with compassion,” says Dana, “you’re just not serving them. These are people who’ve often just experienced catastrophic damage to their homes.”

“The first thing I tell everyone,” says Rachel, “is, ‘I know this is a lot for you. But I’m here to help.’ Then I tell them exactly what we’re going to do, and — more importantly — I explain why. When you’re turning someone’s house upside down, they need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing.”

They’ve also taken that commitment to client support to another level: They’ve identified a small group of trusted local contractors they’re comfortable recommending for the rebuilding process after they’ve done their job.

Always on call

“This is not a a 9:00 to 5:00 job,” says Dana. “We may not be in the office 24 / 7, but we’re ready to take calls any time, any day.”

“That’s another thing we really like about MicroFlex,” Rachel continues. :”The location gives us easy access to anyone in the territory we serve, which includes Huntsville and Madison, of course, but also as far as 90 minutes away.

Looking ahead

“Long term, we’ll probably want to buy our own facility, but before that, I could see us leasing a second space here. Everyone we’ve worked-with has been so good to us, and so responsive when we needed their help.”

Asked if there was anything she wishes MicroFlex could do better, Rachel pauses several seconds, then says, “Honestly, no.” Which is exactly what, she and Dana both hope, their clients say about them.