Simply Driven celebrates the scrappy, brilliant, and often-overlooked small business owners redefining entrepreneurship. From side hustles and gig-driven startups to solopreneurs in non-traditional trades, these founders are shaping the future on their own terms. While they take the leap, Simply Business is building the tools to support them — because the businesses rewriting the rules today are the ones defining tomorrow.
Meet Brandon
Brandon Johnson is one of the many small business owners we’ll feature in Simply Driven, a new series that celebrates the often-overlooked entrepreneurs redefining what it means to run your own show.
Brandon built Radiant Glass and Repair to give homeowners a smarter, more affordable way to fix damaged windows. From cracked glass to worn-out seals, he helps customers restore comfort, safety, and energy efficiency — without the high cost of replacement.
In this Q&A, Brandon shares how he turned years of hands-on experience into his own business, the lessons he’s learning as a new owner, and the freedom that comes with being his own boss. This interview was slightly edited for length and clarity.
What motivated you to start your business?
I was at a big window repair company for 10 years and after about 5 years, I was promoted to general manager.
I had always wanted to do my own thing but I didn’t have a lot of experience with running a business. Then I realized, I’ve been doing that for them the whole time.
One day, I called my girlfriend, and said, “do you care if I quit and start my own business?” And she said, “go for it.” I came home on my lunch break, got online and found Simply Business — it was very easy, the price point was excellent, and it was everything I needed to get started and ensure my business would be protected.
Was the thought of going out on your own scary at first?
Getting started meant being brave enough to quit. Some people told me not to because my second son was about to be born. There was a lot going on but I just knew I could do it. That was 6 months ago and I’m about to finish my 68th invoice.
What makes your business stand out?
I can service someone’s existing window system — I remove the old glass, scrape the frame down, adhere a new piece of glass, seal them back up, using the same frame. It’s a fraction of the cost that someone would have to pay for a new window.
Now that you’re up and running, what’s your biggest challenge?
I’m great at what I do, and I have a very good supplier, but my biggest challenge now is there’s always so much going on. It’s sometimes hard to keep things straight.
How do you keep yourself organized?
FreshBooks helps me keep the finances intact. I can take pictures of my receipts, and it uploads and categorizes everything for me, and then I can go through and review.
How are you using social media to grow your business?
My online presence is very strong. That’s been a huge factor in my success. I already have twenty-eight 5-star reviews on Google. So, now I’m getting at least 2 new phone calls a day.
What other tools do you use to promote your business?
My Radiant Glassdoor and Repair Facebook page is pretty popular — I try to make daily posts there. And I’ll run ad campaigns. There’s at least 5 nearby cities that I can target on Facebook. I also target property managers, apartments, realtors, things like that, in the ads.
What marketing advice can you share for other small business owners?
For service-based small businesses, I would say Facebook is probably the number one place you should advertise. I ran an ad campaign the other day and a woman commented on it. I ended up sending her a quick message, went to her house, gave her an estimate, and she accepted. It’s pretty cool.
My thing is I like to communicate. I’ll take someone’s window apart right in front of them, explain the process, and put it back together, and have the right size in 5 minutes. That usually kind of seals the deal.
What’s been the best part of starting your own business?
The freedom. I’m a mobile service worker, so when I’m done with the job, I’m able to come home. I can help my partner on maternity leave — I’m able to be there and that’s huge. I worked 8 to 5 before, and a lot of times throughout the day, I was just waiting for another job, but I couldn’t leave. Now I’m able to be home more.
When it gets busy, it gets busy, but that freedom is the thing I’m very thankful for.
If you could give one piece of advice on starting a business, what would it be?
Make sure your skills are on point before you do anything. You don’t want to get out there too soon, and make mistakes.
Hone your abilities, and make sure you’re a true professional at what you want to do.
Small business owners like Brandon are reshaping what success looks like. Simply Driven celebrates their vision and Simply Business is here to support them every step of the way with the tools to grow, manage risk, and stay protected.