Rod Morgan for Alabama State House District 91
Small Business Owner
I want to ensure that you have the opportunity to fully evaluate my qualifications before casting your vote for State Representative. Since just saying I am a small business owner does not give you much to consider, I’d like to share more about our family business with you. I’ll be as brief as I can be, but this may be a little long. If there is someone you feel needs to see this, then please share it with them.
In 2017, my brother, Will, and I took out a loan and purchased the Badcock Home Furniture store in Florence, Alabama. We chose Badcock because Will had worked for the corporation for over twenty years and we selected Florence because the local stores were already owned by other dealers. The Lord blessed us and we were able to add the stores in Athens, Decatur, Cullman, Gadsden and Oxford over the next several years.
Our goal was to open a store in Tuscaloosa. Not just because we are Alabama fans, although that did not hurt, but because it was the largest city in Alabama without a Badcock. In 2019 we acquired a piece of property and began the process of building a store. Unfortunately, we started the process about the time COVID began ramping up. After receiving the necessary rezoning and variances, we requested bids on construction. Due to COVID, construction prices were increasing rapidly and the bids were much higher than anticipated. We redesigned the store and went to the SBA to fill the gap in financing the store. I hope none of you ever have to go through the process of getting an SBA loan. We selected a builder and prepared to move forward, but the SBA process took so long that we had to go back to the City to get the variances approved again. We stuck with it through the challenges and on June 25, 2021, we held the grand opening for our Tuscaloosa store.
Then, after being owned by the Badcock family for 117 years, the W.S. Badcock Corporation was acquired by Franchise Group in November 2021. Two years later, Conn’s Home Plus purchased Badcock. Unfortunately, Conn’s was struggling and they filed for bankruptcy in July of 2024. Now I have been responsible for most of the trouble I’ve had in life, but this was truly not on me. It was a shame too, the Tuscaloosa store was second in the Corporation just prior to the bankruptcy.
After being forced to go through the liquidation process and close all of the Badcock stores, Will and I decided to open two smaller stores with some of our amazing long term employees. In January of 2025 we opened Morgan Home Furnishings/Bama Outdoor locations in Florence and Anniston. We will see where this new venture takes us.
So, when I say that I am a small business owner, I mean that I know what it is like to risk your own capital and take out debt to start a business. I know the dedication it takes to grow it and how it feels to watch every expense. I understand how much of your life you have to pour into it.
I also know what it is like to lose what you built for reasons completely beyond your control. And how badly it hurts to have to watch the people who built it with you, and who you love, have their lives upended for reasons beyond their control too.
And I when I say it is a family business, it truly is. Our daughters and my niece and nephew have all worked in stores. Beyond that, we consider all of our employees, and at one time we had more than sixty, to be family. Some of those employees are likely to see this post and I trust they will correct me if needed.
I know what it takes to build a business and create jobs because I’ve done it. I understand the pressures small businesses face because I face them. I know the importance of small businesses to our communities. And l’ll do all that I can to protect and promote small businesses as our State Representative!