Life & Work with Anthony Montelongo of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Montelongo.

Hi Anthony, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Anthony Montelongo.

I was born in Cancun, Mexico, and raised most of my life in San Antonio, Texas. My dad started taking me to work with him at 9 years old, and he started teaching me about business, entrepreneurship, how to think about money, value, and much more way ahead of my peers. I spent my summers working in the construction field with the labor crews and a couple of days a week, in a suit and tie, riding around with my dad in sales calls, political action committees, Chamber of Commerce events, networking mixers, and more.

I always knew I would be an entrepreneur, but I never could have guessed in my wildest dreams that I would be doing what I do now. I am the Founder and lead Certified RV Technician of Certified RV Solutions. We are a premium, mobile RV repair service based out of Ellijay, Georgia. During COVID, I saw an opportunity to open the first professional mobile repair shop for RVs and motorhomes in North Georgia.

There have been mobile RV techs around for years who were jacks of all trades and handymen who jumped into the RV space, but what North Georgia deserved was a white glove service, small business-trained professional with corporate experience and technical training. I spent five weeks living, breathing and consuming everything RV’s at the RV Training Academy Trade School. I spent some time working at a dealership for lots of hands-on experience in a short amount of time, while slowly building the business in the evenings and weekends.

We have been blessed to work with thousands of incredible people from all walks of life, background stories, and industries. We set the standard for what a high-class mobile RV repair company should be. It has been very validating to watch new companies move into our region who modeled themselves, their names, their marketing, and their value offer after our company, even if they won’t admit it publicly.

We are in the process of reinventing our operations and changing the game again in our little niche industry to turn our local family-owned business into an ecosystem that reaches far beyond North Georgia.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not been a smooth ride at all. It has come with countless challenges. I have put thousands of hours of blood, sweat, and tears to get where I am, and I mean that literally.

From battling the elements to handling difficult customers, to trying to understand what in the world the factory was thinking when they built a certain RV a certain way, we have seen it all.

We have forgotten parts or tools at home that wrecked the day and caused us to lose time and reschedule. We have received wrong parts and faulty parts right out of the box. We have scheduled with customers in advance and when it came to the day of doing the job, they had already called someone else to do it quicker and didn’t bother to call us or think about it.

We have made mistakes and owned up to them. We have taken losses and or charged a lot of time to the game to fix it right to save a relationship. That’s what comes to mind right now. I’m forgetting hundreds of other scenarios and struggles, but we don’t focus on them.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are a mobile RV repair service and inspections company based out of Ellijay, Georgia. We service a large service area from Chattanooga to Blairsville, to Dawsonville to Marietta and in between. We repair:
– RV electrical
– plumbing
– ACs
– furnaces
– water heaters
– refrigerators
– awnings
– roof maintenance
– pre-purchase and pre-sale inspections
– and much more

This question was largely answered in a previous question

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see more and more Americans getting into the RV life because it offers a level of freedom and excitement that is unique. “RV people” are some of the best people around. The vast majority of them are genuine, honest, hardworking, and down-to-earth. Most of them will give you the shirt off of their back if you need it.

The RV industry does not innovate a whole lot. It just borrows from every other industry. RVs are a mixture of cars, homes, boats, and trailers, and I don’t see any major revolution happening. I love RVs and I have owned four of them, but they are basically crap boxes stapled and glued together that experience an earthquake every time they go down the road. Stuff breaks constantly. You never know if you’re going to have an issue. I don’t see that changing. That is not good for the customer, but it does ensure job security for companies like ours.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.CertifiedRVSolutions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certifiedrvsolutions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertifiedRVSolutions
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/certified-rv-solutions-ellijay-7
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@certifiedrvsolutions