Rental: How did you first get your start in the rental industry?
During the summer of 2011, my wife, Stephanie, and I had the opportunity to take over a small commercial space in Dexter, Michigan, that was owned by one of our family members. We would come home from work each day and explore ideas of what we could fill the space with. Finally, we settled on an equipment and event rental company. We named the company Dexter Rent-ALL and opened in March 2012.
After operating and growing that business for a couple years, we got word from a friend of ours that A-1 Rental in Ann Arbor was up for sale. A-1 Rental was a family-run business that opened in 1957 and was under second-generation ownership by the Onderdonk family. At that time, all three siblings – Linda Harvey, John Onderdonk, and Bob Onderdonk – agreed it was time to sell, and Stephanie and I were excited to buy. The sale was completed in May 2014, and I left my full-time job in the automotive industry to dedicate twice as much time to A-1 Rental.
Over the course of the next year, we consolidated our Dexter location with the Ann Arbor location and focused our efforts on learning everything we could about the rental industry and our new business, which was considerably larger than our Dexter store. We were staffed with 15 full-time members and an additional 25 seasonal staff during the peak summer months.
Rental: Can you give us some insight into your current company?
Over the course of the last 67 years, A-1 Rental has evolved from a company that originated solely as a tool and equipment company and eventually expanded into party and event rentals due to local demand. Fast forward to 2019, the party and event side of the business made up 65% of the store revenue. 
After rebounding in 2022 and 2023, Doug and Stephanie sold the party and event side and refocused to a tool and equipment rental with a fleet of small lawn and garden equipment, track loaders, mini-excavators, towable lifts, and stand-on mini-skids.A-1 Rentals
During 2020, we had to pivot and refocus on growing our tool and equipment side due to declining sales on the party and event side. After rebounding in 2022 and 2023, we made the decision to sell the party and event side of our business and go back to our roots as a tool and equipment rental company. We’ve now settled in with a staff of five full-time employees and one part-timer. Our main customer base is made up of small contractors and homeowners, and we have a diverse fleet of equipment ranging from small lawn and garden equipment to track loaders, mini-excavators, towable lifts, and stand-on mini-skids.
Rental: What have been some of the challenges and successes you’ve had over the years you've been in business?
As most business owners can attest, there are new challenges every year and our rental business was no exception. Labor challenges have always been the hardest to manage, especially when we owned the party and event side of the business. Now, our biggest challenges are combatting the rising costs of running a business and remaining profitable to continue growing as a company. And like many other equipment rental companies, we’re always trying to stay ahead of thieves attempting to steal our equipment. Equipping our machines with GPS devices and continuously updating our processes for vetting new customers takes time and money, but is worth it every time a potential bad customer is warded off.
Rental: What is your favorite business tool that's changed your business for the better?
Hands down, the best tool that’s changed our business for the better was upgrading to a more efficient rental software. When we purchased A-1 Rental in 2014, we inherited an antiquated software system that was operating from command-based prompts. We quickly made the decision to upgrade to the latest version of that software, but in 2018, ultimately changed to Alert Management Systems and have been very happy with it. It’s comforting to know as a business owner that you have a robust software working behind the scenes keeping your business organized and efficient. It’s money well spent.
Rental: In 2024, business looks a lot different than prior years. What’s changed the most for you? How have you adapted?
There are a couple things that come to mind when we talk about how different our business looks today. The first thing is our staff. When we purchased our business 10 years ago, we agreed to keep the existing staff on, but soon learned that not all of the employees would embrace the way we wanted to conduct business. Eventually, they left or have been replaced with the team that’s working with us now. Having a trustworthy group of employees who share the same vision as we do is vital to our success. 
The showroom within A-1 Rentals.A-1 Rentals
The second thing is forecasting out your equipment purchases and trying to plan for the supply chain issues that have affected our industry in the last couple years. Although most will admit that availability and timing has improved, it’s not the same as it was prior to 2020. Now we’re faced with high interest rates, the likes of which we haven’t seen since we started in this industry. Thankfully, we’ve developed a good working relationship with our local bank and also try to take advantage of OEM financing when it makes sense.
Rental: If you could travel anywhere in the world for free, where would you go?
My wife and I love traveling and have always wanted to take a Mediterranean cruise. We look forward to making that a reality soon!
