Far be it for me to say that we are running out of great people to talk about in Valparaiso. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Every day I speak to or hear about someone who is doing good things in and for the community. Greg Engstrom is one such someone. He is this week's A Valpo Life in the Spotlight, and most deservedly.
Engstrom started as a Hoosier at birth. He was born in Wabash, IN, then raised here in Valparaiso. He attended Valpo schools from Central Elementary all the way through VHS. After graduation in May, Engstrom went right into the working world and opened his first business in October of 1980 in County Seat Plaza (where the YMCA is now). He took classes at Purdue and Notre Dame to help him along in his career.
Now Engstrom is the proud owner of two Engstrom Jewelers, four Ameripawns, Engstrom Auctions, and his newest prize: Engstrom Home Furniture.
So how did he get started down this path?
“I was really into coins,” Engstrom said. “My dad would take me to coin shows when I was a kid. I got more and more interested in it. My aunt and uncle operated a real estate office on East Lincolnway. They let me use a desk and I purchased a little ad in the paper. This is while I was still in high school.
When Engstrom was sixteen, he got a job at Gil Drugs on Lincolnway and worked there for two years. He surprised me when he said that it was the only job that he ever had. He’s been self-employed ever since. How interesting?
As the years passed, Engstrom opened his various businesses in different locations throughout Northwest Indiana. He has quite a bit going on, and he tells me that he keeps on top of things with the help of his great staff. Engstrom makes sure to spend time at each of his stores as much as possible.
“I don’t have a schedule. I could wake up in the morning and be a jeweler, tomorrow I could be a pawn broker, an auctioneer, or a furniture salesman.” Engstrom said. “It’s fun because I can kind all sorts of things.”
And he never had any training. Everything he leaned was on the job.
“When you make a decision and it costs $500 out of your pocket, it becomes so much more deeply ingrained in you than if you were to read it in a textbook,” Engstrom said. “On the job training is incredibly valuable.”
Engstrom is very active in the local community as well as the bigger business community. He along with a few other formed the Indiana PawnBrokers Association. He sat on the board of the National PawnBrokers Association from 1995-2006, he’s on the board of the Indiana Auctioneers Association, he is very active in Polygon which is the world’s largest online trading community for professional jewelers, and CoinNet -which is the same as Polygon but with coins. Engstrom is a member of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, the La Porte Chamber of Commerce, and he’s involved with many fundraising auctions that benefit various charities in the community.
“I’ve done a lot of cool things,” Engstrom said. “I love the business world. I love it. I wouldn’t do anything different.”
Curious as to what Engstrom likes to do for fun? He told me that he loves to ski, mountain climb, scuba dive (scuba is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus...just in case anyone was curious), and spend time with his two sons and his lovely fiancee, Rebecca. He and Rebecca are to tie the knot in July of 2013. Congratulations! We at ValpoLife as well as many others wish you both the best of luck!
Along the way, Engstrom must have learned a thing or two that helped him become as successful as he is now.
“I don’t think that entrepreneurs can be created. I think it’s in your blood. You can coop an entrepreneur up in an office, but eventually they’ll do their own thing. They’ve got to have that fire in their bellies,” Engstrom said. “It takes dedication, and a lot of sacrifices. Anybody’s business is the embodiment of them. Bottom line is that it takes a lot of work. If you wake up in the morning and your are excited to go to work, then you’ve got it made.”
So that’s that, readers. Given the nature of this segment and the nature of this man, I’d say that Greg Engstrom is undeniably A Valpo Life in the Spotlight.