There’s nothing better than being your own boss. By the same token, there’s nothing worse than being your own boss. Having the freedom to do whatever you want isn’t always as liberating as it seems, which anyone who operates a small business will attest.
Take John Keifer. For six-odd years beginning in the late 1980s, he was co-owner of Expert Copier Service in Schenectady, New York, birthplace of General Electric. Being the “chief cook and bottle washer,” had its moments, but the experience showed him that being part of a team and collaborating with others was the life he sought. It set the stage for a gratifying, tech-driven career that has culminated with being named director of service operations at Repeat Business Systems (RBS).
Keifer simply loves working with his hands, so it’s not surprising that he was the owner of more than 30 automobiles during the course of his life and is an ardent audiophile. These are decidedly solo projects, but he also embraces the opportunity to learn and improve, even as retirement draws closer. He loves interacting with team members and feels fortunate to be among a cast of really interesting and intelligent people at RBS.
“I actually changed careers for a time and returned to the work when the tech sector was struggling around 2003, because the demand was there for people who could repair equipment,” said Keifer, a 2026 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “What I discovered over time was how diverse and interesting it actually is, all these years later I am still learning.”
Keifer’s journey has included a field engineering manager stint at Monroe Systems for Business and a five-year tour of duty at PSINet, handling customer support. The aforementioned career change represented a 12-year detour from the office tech industry, but then Keifer found his professional home at Repeat, first as a service manager before being elevated to director of service operations. While management wasn’t on his radar, Keifer had a huge supporter in COO David Lynch, himself a past Difference Maker.
Ideal Model
It was Lynch who really helped cultivate Keifer’s management chops. He proved to be an ideal mentor.
“Dave took a chance on me by moving me into management,” Keifer noted. “He taught me how to balance profitability while creating a positive working environment for my team. He really provided a great example for continuous self-improvement.”
That ongoing quest for improvement includes being a cheerleader as much as a coach by providing positive feedback to help motivate team members to even greater success. It’s an important step in leaving a positive legacy.
An indirect influence came in the form of Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” book that examines elevating companies to the next level. Up until that point, Keifer said he’d often struggled with the answer to the question “What do you do for a living?” Collins’ teachings provided some much-needed clarity.
“Shifting my focus to improving the quality of my work and contributing to the team has proven to be more satisfying that obsessing about the specific type of work I do,” Keifer added.
On the home front, Keifer and his wife, Nicole, have been married 27 years and are parents to a pair of hard-working men in Alexander and Benjamin. The couple love to spend quality time in the Adirondacks or the Finger Lakes region, in addition to Bar Harbor, Maine. He loves to go exploring on his motorcycles or the “little Miata” and looks forward to his annual trek with family and friends to Watkins Glen International raceway for the Vintage Grand Prix.
The high school version of me wanted to be a: Robotics technician or engineer
Interesting fact about you: I have a small collection of vintage Audio Gear
Celebrities you have met: Isaac Asimov, Jim Seals, Dash Crofts, Larry Gatlin, Patrick Simmons
Favorite book or movie: “Mr. Destiny” movie with Jim Belushi
Favorite food: Italian
Person you’d most like to meet: Elon Musk would be very interesting to talk to; he’s a very creative man.
Dream vacation destination: Tour Europe by auto or motorcycle
Guilty pleasure: Road trips with a great restaurant at the end and deserts!
Most prized possession: Not a possession per se, but certainly my family.
