Alan first started in remodeling as a teen, helping his Uncle Mike with his construction business, where he was able to learn the foundations of the craft. He later took various jobs as a tradesman in construction and as a sales representative for various companies in the Metro Detroit area. During this time, he witnessed a lot of deceit towards customers and fellow workers, including cutting corners and mismanagement. The main things that these companies had in common were lots of short-cuts and a “caulk fixes everything” mentality. He learned more of “what not to do” than he learned what was right to do.

He immersed himself into each company he worked for by personally meeting with customers, figuring many estimates, managing some of the projects, and even answering phone calls. Learning from these companies’ mistakes, he felt compelled to teach his approach toward customer satisfaction and employee gratification to others.

Alan opened a consulting company in 2010, where he brought training to contractors and their employees. Many organizations he consulted with wished to hire him full-time, but Alan’s passion for helping and developing kept him from accepting any offers. Until, he found out from his wife that they were about to have their second child. She expressed to Alan that she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for both of their daughters. There was opportunity everywhere for Alan to obtain a full time position, but two things brought him to Kopke. First, he found that this company’s owner, Dave Kopke, was 100% dedicated to customer satisfaction and had the willingness to grow. Fate led to the second reason why Alan chose Kopke: his youngest daughter was born on the same day as Dave.