If you stop by Grandma’s and Grandpa’s or Harold’s on an early morning there is a good chance you will run into the one person who is always there, Joe Kovach. Kovach starts his day off at 5:00 AM each morning when he and his wife change shifts. He spends most of his day operating his two locations Grandma’s and Grandpa’s and Harold’s.

For Joe, going into the retail business was an easy transition after working for Bob Evans on the retail side of things. Now as the general manager of both stores he is able to apply that experience. Kovach is a hands on manager and empowers his employees by giving them the freedom to provide input on how to improve the business. For Kovach, what he enjoys the most is the freedom of owning your own business and having the opportunity to make decisions.

The customers make the stores special and part of his mission at both locations is to serve them to the best of their abilities. This means going out of the way to provide products they would like and helping to ensure that they are receiving the best customer service from beginning to the end.

Kovach truly believes in the community and does his best to support it. He works with the vocational school’s culinary program, which is an area that he holds near to his heart. Kovach himself is a product of vocational education and believes that programs in vocational schools give students the opportunity to get real world experience and that is why he partners with them. “In a small business the more you give to the community, the more the community will give back to you,” said Kovach. Kovach and his businesses spend as much of their dollars in the community as they can. They utilize businesses like Georgetown Office Supply, Applegate Hardware and Farrell's Accounting. “I try not to take my dollars out of the community because that is how we build our community,” said Kovach. His advice for future entrepreneurs is simple: be prepared for long hours, have a passion for what you do and be ready for the challenges that present themselves.

Kovach has developed a long time working relationship with Paul Hall & Associates. It started years ago with his personal side but has developed to insuring his two businesses. One thing that sold him on Paul Hall & Associates is their ability to break things up step-by-step to easily explain what each policy means. He appreciates that they truly care about his business and work to insure it properly.

“So many companies when you call them you get locked in their phone system, it’s not like that when you call Paul Hall & Associates. They answer the phone,” said Kovach.

Paul Hall & Associates is proud to work with Joe Kovach, Grandma’s and Grandpa’s and Harold’s. We appreciate what they do for our community and the people within it! Thank you for trusting us with your businesses.