Chance Hardy, with his wife, Kim, in his window-installation company warehouse, tells how she stepped in to help after his accident.

Ygnacio Nanetti / Orange County Register

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While riding in the desert in February 2000, Chance Hardy drove his four-wheel-drive off-road vehicle too fast over a jump and lost control. He jumped clear of the vehicle, trying to avoid serious injury.

Instead, he folded in two, backward.

He instantly knew he had broken his back. Doctors at Riverside Memorial Hospital confirmed his worst fear: He would never walk again.

Hardy was 30, with a wife and two young children. He made his living running a four-employee window-installation business out of the garage of his Placentia, Calif., home.

"It was really scary. We thought we were going to lose everything," Hardy said.

But as he lay in the hospital, his wife, Kim, came to visit with a fistful of phone messages seeking price quotes for replacement windows.

"People had no idea what had happened to me; we were still getting business and doing good work," Hardy said.

At that moment, he decided that Hardy Window Co. depended for its survival more on his brain than his brawn. That simple acknowledgement transformed Hardy from a guy who was creating a job for himself into the true owner of a company.

"Before the accident, I did everything myself: following up with customers, figuring out estimates and performing installations," he said. "Being forced to sit behind the desk, I was able to see the big picture."

His role became creating the vision and setting goals. Others could do the physical labor. That change required Hardy to set aside doubt and to delegate. The former was easier than the latter.

Instead of being overwhelmed by his new limitations, he focused on the work he could still do.

"I refused antidepressants; drugs and alcohol aren't my style," he said. "I had a family to feed and bills to pay. Life goes on."

While still in the hospital, Hardy started selling windows over the phone.

Kim stepped in to do much of the paperwork. His brother did the measurement and installation work at job sites.

Business management was easier than physical rehabilitation. The first time Hardy put his shoes on by himself, it took two hours. Dressing himself took four hours. It still takes an hour. It was a year before he could drive again, with a specially modified vehicle.

Hard work seemed natural. Hardy had worked ever since he sold newspapers in Texas at age 7. When he was 19, his dad got him a job installing glass on the exterior of high-rise buildings.

When vinyl replacement windows hit the market, Hardy started a side business installing windows on his friends' houses. The home-based business was grossing $1 million a year at the time of the accident.

"It seems that once I finally learned to trust other people, the business really took off," Hardy said.

Hardy Window Co. does no manufacturing, and installation is a highly competitive business.

First, Hardy decided to differentiate his company by carrying the 15 major brands of replacement windows and doors instead of one, so that he could make bids comparable to any competitor's.

Second, he decided to try to offer the lowest price but without the gimmicks often used in the home remodeling industry.

"The price is what it is," he explained. "We don't say, "It's $30,000, but because it's Tuesday the price is $20,000, and if you sign (the contract) right now you get 5 percent off."' He gives prospects 19 pages of referrals and encourages them to call 10 to 15 of those Hardy customers before making a decision.

Hardy's third decision was to reinvest profits in the business, adding trucks and increasing advertising. The company uses direct mail, newspaper ads, a canvassing crew, five salesmen and Anaheim Stadium ads during Angels' baseball games.

"A lot of business is common sense," Hardy said.