Between December of 2008 and December of 2010, 1.8 million small businesses closed their doors, according to an article by Investopedia, “Great Recession: What It Was and What Caused It.”
Andy Emery not only got the keys to his repair shop–Antero Automotive & Truck Services–the same month that the market crashed, he made just shy of $1 million his first year in business. Emery defied all of the odds and opened a brand-new business during an extremely problematic time for most and excelled. So, how was he able to succeed when so many were forced out of business? He was smart with his money, and he made sure to go above and beyond for his customers. On top of that, he found a clever way to pay for his largest equipment expense.
Backstory:
Emery began his career in automotive working in a full-service 2-bay gas station with his stepfather. He says his stepfather’s shop did huge numbers for such a small location and had an impressive customer base that included many of Colorado’s professional athletes, including those from the Denver Nuggets and Broncos. During his time working with his stepfather, he met coaches, players and other local celebrities. “Customer service was paramount,” Emery says of his stepfather’s work ethic.
Emery went on to work for a corporate auto repair company where he learned the ins and outs of running a high-efficiency, high volume shop. He was with the company for four years and ran a few of their locations during that time. There, he learned the back end of running a shop. He also learned that his values did not align with theirs. “I was raised to take care of people,” Emery says.
Emery credits the experience with teaching him many valuable lessons about running a business–including what he wasn’t going to do. He took a few months off and then a building in Greenwood Village, Colorado–the same area his stepfather’s shop was located in–opened up. Being very familiar with the area, Emery felt it was meant to be and decided to open up his shop in 2008. Then, the market crashed.
Problem:
Emery’s biggest concern was the same as all small business owners–getting people in the door. The location wasn’t ideal for foot traffic. It’s not on a busy street and you really have to look for it, Emery explained. That presented a huge problem for him as a new business owner. On top of that, Emery wasn’t a marketing guru. His stepfather didn’t do any marketing and he was never a part of the marketing when he worked for the large corporation. Emery wasn’t discouraged. He had a family to feed and believed that if he took care of his customers the money would come. He was right, but first, he needed to find a way to bring these customers in.
Solution:
Emery’s strategy was less about how to market and more who to market to. He used his knowledge of the area to reach out to customers that he knew from working with his stepfather, which helped tremendously. On top of that, he knew that he needed to justify the cost of his $80,000 tire alignment machine so he decided to find a way to bring in plenty of jobs for that by partnering with businesses that needed that work done.
Discount Tires was his target and, although they were already working with someone, he found out that they were unhappy with their service. “I saw that as my window,” Emery says.
He found any opportunity he could to sell his business to Discount Tires. He told the employees and the manager that they would get special pricing for their own vehicles, sent them lunch and schmoozed them until they decided to switch to Antero for their tire alignments. The partnership is great because it’s guaranteed work for Emery’s shop and it’s also great word-of-mouth marketing because they will spread the word about Antero to their customers for him. In addition, Antero also partners with a few body shops in the area that need tire alignments done.
Aftermath:
The first year in business, the shop made $940,000 and Emery was able to take home a salary for himself. He started the shop with one other employee and quickly hired another. This year, he has 10 employees that work for him and the shop billed $3.9 million.
Takeaway:
“Research the area you’re looking at.” Emery knew the area extremely well from working at his stepfather’s shop, however, he says that there are so many tools available for getting information on demographics, that there’s no excuse for not being well-informed on the area you decide to open a shop in. It also helps to have a solid financial plan. On top of that, he says that his biggest piece of advice would be to align yourself with one or two people that have the same values, mindset, and excitement levels as you do. That, he says, will accelerate your success.
Oh, and being involved with coaches and groups never hurts. Emery says he went 10 years without becoming involved and now that he’s a part of a coaching group he has things that he would have done differently had he known. “I went at it by myself for a long time and had a lot of missed opportunities,” Emery says.
