Consolidation Coach is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in helping body shop owners understand the value of their business, holding their hand through the selling process, and helping them to realize the next chapter of life…..confidently, painlessly and stress free.
We are not brokers. We are a consulting firm that coaches and guides you through the selling process from beginning to end.
Consolidation Coach became a reality after owner, Laura Gay, sold her MSO collision repair centers in 2015. Being a first generation shop owner and having a sharp business mind, selling her shops required Laura to take a pause and learn as much as possible at a time where there were no real sources and information. She quickly became known by friends as the go-to person for advice to sell your shop after successfully selling her shops and retiring at the age of 42.
Seeing a real need for fellow shop owners, Consolidation Coach was born.
MEET OUR TEAM
All of our coaches are former shop owners that have sold their shops.
Laura is a former small MSO shop owner. In 2014 she was approached by several aggressive consolidators to sell her shops. Feeling lost, alone, and not sure how to proceed, Laura took a few steps back to learn everything about the auto body shop Mergers and Acquisitions the process. She realized that you only get one chance to sell your shop(s) and you cannot make any mistakes. In 2015 she re-engaged with her buyer pool and successfully sold the shops in 2015 and retired at 42 years of age. Laura took a short two-year retirement and started to get the itch (self-proclaimed “Type A”) after helping a lot of her friends thru the selling process. One friend said, “Hey, Laura – you need to start a business helping shop owners sell their business as I could have never done this without your help.” Laura pondered that for a few months and a business was born. Fast forward to today and Consolidation Coach is the leading M and A firm helping fellow shop owners thru the complex selling process.
Laura enjoys all types of car related shenanigans, like drag racing, sprint cars, Nascar, boats, side by sides, and car shows. She also loves to play golf and spend time with her precious pups, Mopsie, Oscar, Stagger, and Miss Pearl.
After graduating from Southern Miss with a degree in Accounting, Chad worked for a period for the state of Mississippi as well as in private industry. In 2000, opportunity presented itself to team up with his brother and buy out an existing automotive dealership body shop that was poised to close. He and his brother soon bought their second location and then a third. In 2021 they sold their business to Caliber Collision. After doing so, he knew he really wanted to somehow stay involved in the industry he loved and had a passion for. This led to joining the Consolidation Coach team in early 2022! At Consolidation Coach, he enjoys helping fellow shop owners navigate the blur of running a successful business and helping them gain financial independence!
In his spare time, you can find him working on his property, spending quality time with his wife of 23 years, two daughters or his two grandchildren (and there is a son-in-law mixed in there as well), or feeding his need for anything automotive related. Whether it is cleaning one of his (and his wife’s) corral of car’s, working on building the next Hot Rod, or just tinkering on something… he always has something in the works!
Russell Winston is a Mergers and Acquisitions coach based out of Starkville, Mississippi. After working his way up to combo-tech while attending and graduating college at Mississippi State University, he decided that the collision repair field was the career path for him. Russell worked for a total of 10 years in the Ford dealership body shop, serving as manager for 5 of those years. Russell purchased a small existing body shop in 2006, and then purchased a neighboring auto glass business in 2007. After years of growth and adding on, he expanded to a second body shop location, and finally in 2016 combined all three of those locations into a 20,000 square foot operation in the heart of Starkville. In 2017, Russell sold the glass business to a local individual, and in 2021 sold the body shop business to Joe Hudson Collision Center.
Russell enjoys working with people that are experiencing the same fears and emotions he had while buying and selling his businesses. In his free time he enjoys traveling with his wife and 3 children to see any location on the map they have not yet visited. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and working on his property.
Dyan Shepherd has spent over two decades as a finance and accounting professional in the collision repair industry. She is passionate about providing strategic contributions to operators and executives at every level of the business. Dyan has served in an executive capacity with 3 of the largest and most recognizable multi shop operators in the industry, having had a 20-year career in finance. She has experience working with all financial aspects of the business, including M&A, initial financial set up and organization, monthly closings, P&L development, charting GL accounts and dozens of other relevant areas. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Eastern Illinois University.
She is a proud mother of 3 beautiful children, and in her spare time enjoys traveling the world, and binge-watching Survivor!
Maryellen is originally from New York and relocated to South Carolina in 2020 after retiring from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office as a Paralegal for 30 years Maryellen is an integral part of a charity, My Brother Vinny, that provides furniture and housewares, free of charge to previously homeless Veterans.
In her spare time Maryellen fosters dogs in her home while caring for her two Poms (Kodi and Finnegan) and her cat (Taegan) She has worked for Consolidation Coach for almost a year and loves learning the new “language” and procedures. Being part of this awesome team means a great deal to her and she is looking forward to another awesome year.