It’s in a farm family’s DNA to pitch in wherever and whenever needed. In the case of the Kottschade family, who also operate an independent Gold Class® body shop in Mankato, MN, pitching in meant that their son Dan and daughter Laura spent a lot of time at the shop. Laura, who is the youngest, regularly helped her mother Geri in the office. “It felt natural and a part of life,” she says. Yet, it was quite a different thing from folding laundry or helping with chores on the farm. Early on, it was evident Laura had quite a knack for it.

A favorite memory of Laura’s was when she handled a car delivery while just in elementary school. The front desk employee had briefly stepped away, and when a customer came in, Laura jumped into action. Her mother overheard Laura going through the paperwork with the customer and quickly stepped in. “The customer was so cool about it and told my mom, ‘No, just let her keep going.’ I’ll never forget how patient and supportive that customer was,” Laura says.

Geri also has a favorite memory of her daughter’s early business acumen. She recalls speaking to a customer who “spoke highly of the young lady who answered the phone and helped him with a tow.” According to Geri, the customer was very surprised to find out she was only 10 years old.

Under Jerry and Geri’s management, their single-location shop has more than tripled in size, and has often been featured in industry media and honored at a number of local community and major industry award ceremonies. The couple’s dedication enabled them to build a remarkable business, but they never wanted their children to feel obliged to follow in their footsteps. “We wanted our children to have opportunities for their dreams, not ours,” Geri said.

Achieving work-life balance is extra hard for family-owned shops, but the close-knit culture can make up for that. Two generations of management and employees at Jerry’s Abra Auto Body & Glass “all have each other’s backs,” says Geri Kottschade, first-generation co-owner.

Being supportive parents can be nerve-wracking for the first-generation of a family that starts and builds a business. Geri understood that it wasn’t a guarantee her children would have the same passions she and her husband did. They also recognized “it would be hard to find a buyer that would carry on our brand as we had.”

Still, Geri says that they proceeded with heavy investments in a downdraft paint booth and the latest welding and frame equipment.

It was time to face a moment of truth when Dan was about to graduate high school. He decided on a different course. This news “got my brain going,” Laura said. In sixth grade at the time, she’d been regularly coming to the shop both before and after school and during summers. She recalled being in the car with her father. “I told him, ‘Dad, I am going to take over the shop.’ His head shot around. ‘What?!’ And I said, ‘Yep. I am going to take over the shop.’ He said he was glad to hear that, and it started from there. I had already spent countless hours at the shop and grew up there. I was a sponge taking everything in.”

During her college summers, Laura explored other opportunities, but nothing felt as right as the family business. In 2017, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business management, as well as a coaching certificate. The Monday after graduation she reported to the shop’s parts department, ready to commit full-time.

It felt as right to her parents as it did to Laura. Geri calls her daughter a natural. Though she and her husband raised two highly capable children, when it comes to the family body shop business, it was always clear whose heart was in it. “Dan would play games or fall asleep under my desk,” Geri says. “Laura, on the other hand, took control.”

Growing up, Laura had spent time “talking shop” with her father, but it was the business side, not the technical side of the shop she gravitated to. This was her mother’s forte; and once becoming full-time, Laura learned the ins and outs of human resources functions, managing relationships with insurance carriers, equipment purchases, and business development from her mother.

“If I didn’t learn something new in a day, then I didn’t achieve what I wanted to do that day,” says Laura Kottschade, who’s been prepping to take over the family business since childhood. She enjoys AMI and I-CAR courses.

Laura never had to be prodded to learn. Besides being mentored by her parents, she takes training including technician classes. “I need to know everything about our customers’ vehicles. I have to know how to make safe repairs and be able to negotiate with insurance companies. It’s not just so I can do my job, but to be able to speak confidently to my customers. I want to show them they made the right choice getting their car repaired with us.”

She added that a well-trained staff is a key competitive asset. “My estimators and staff have the knowledge upfront,” she says. “Technicians get a repair plan so they can get right to work versus having to rewrite estimates or work without a proper blueprint done ahead of time for repairs and any necessary supplements.”

Giving back to the community and industry is woven into the shop’s DNA — a commitment that has both earned the shop widespread recognition and fueled its growth.

That dedication shows up in the accolades: the 18,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art shop has earned its place as a market leader, including being named the 2023 Driven Brands Abra Franchisee of the Year and the 2024 I-CAR Russ Verona Award, which honors the nation’s top Gold Class Collision Repair facilities.

Laura has carried that spirit forward, following her mother’s lead in supporting industry and local causes. She’s particularly proud of revamping and running the scholarship program of Women’s Industry Network (WIN), an organization her mother helped found. She was just named chair at WIN’s 2026 conference, 20 years after her mother held that same post.

Laura will continue the shop’s support of NABC Recycled Rides, area technical schools, and local causes like an Alzheimer’s Walk. For a number of years, she’s been involved with Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), SkillsUSA at state and national levels, and Mankato United Young Professionals Board.

“The community has been good to us,” Geri says, “and we need to help when we can. The best community promotion I came up with is working with the Mankato Moondogs, a farm league baseball team, and the Habaneros softball team.” Every home run scores a $100 donation from the shop. Each year, over $5,000 gets donated to the local sports teams.

Jerry and Geri carefully planned their retirement, with Jerry the first to retire in 2023. Geri still works full-time, doing the complex transfer of all accounting functions. Her primary focus is on transitioning the second-generation of Kottschades to take over the shop. Laura has now worked in every business department, including estimating and supplements.

Although she doesn’t work on vehicles, she takes on bumper projects from time to time. She has assumed the title chief operating officer, while her cousin Eric Kottschade serves as general manager. The shop’s 35-member workforce includes several two-generation employees.

Laura is grateful she was given the freedom to spread her wings even if it meant making some mistakes at times. Her parents have complete faith in her and are always available as sounding boards for ideas or to suggest advice.

New chapters will be added to the story of Jerry’s Abra Auto Body & Glass. With a second generation of Kottschades in charge – and even second-generation employees on the team – Jerry and Geri enter retirement with the satisfaction of knowing their journey is being continued by homegrown talent that will do them proud.