Going out on your own

Imagine losing three key employees… all in one day.

That’s what happened one Friday afternoon at Auto Electric in Regina, SK, when two technicians and a service writer announced they were going into business for themselves.

Jason Mancinelli, Wayne Isted, and Daryl Kulczar opened up their own shop, Drive Automotive, just a couple of blocks away. And of course they took a number of clients with them.

Sound like the set-up for an ugly battle? Not really.

One reason is that Auto Electric is mainly a jobber operation, and it did not want to alienate its former employees, who were now potential customers.

But more importantly, both sides in what was admittedly a highly charged situation kept their heads. In the end, lessons were learned, relationships were preserved, and both businesses prospered.

Auto Electric found excellent replacements for Daryl, Jason, and Wayne, and they’ve become big supporters of Driven Automotive – even recommending it as a profile subject to Canadian Technician magazine.

Business at Driven Automotive, meanwhile, is booming. Daryl, Jason, and Wayne were joined by a fourth partner, an automotive detailer named Billy Dick. They’ve hired another technician and an apprentice, and there’s talk of expanding the premises already.

And Auto Electric is their number one supplier of parts.

Asked what advice they’d give to prospective entrepreneurs, Jason and Daryl drew on their own experience to offer the following:

Don’t burn bridges

“We took the approach that this wasn’t a whim. We weren’t going to a rival employer. We just wanted to do our own thing,” says Jason. “And we made it clear that we still wanted to do business with them. We were walking on a lot of egg shells to make the transition as smooth and as painless as possible.”

“As a show of goodwill, we told them straight out we’d like them to be our number one parts supplier. And we bought most of our equipment for the initial set-up through them,” says Daryl. “As a result, our relationship with Auto Electric is awesome. We buy probably 85 per cent of our parts through them. They give us good pricing, excellent service. They’ve been very good to us.”

Pick great partners

A lot of people think of starting a business… but not everyone can do it alone,” says Jason. “If you surround themselves with the right people, you’ll be all set. You just have to recognize what kind of person you are, and then find people who cover your shortcomings. That’s basically what we strive to do here.”

Daryl concurs, describing the Driven Automotive team as a carefully balanced collection of personalities and skills.

“Everyone here is a critical component of our success,” he says.

Seek business training

“We’re strong believers in using the best systems and procedures,” says Daryl. “That’s why we’ve joined NAPA’s Pro-Shop training with Dave Meunier. We want to get the business set up properly. We’re concentrating on things like booking the next appointment, and tracking work flow.”

The learning curve is steep, admits Jason, but learning opportunities are everywhere.

“None of us are university educated in business, so you start reading articles and watching what successful businesses do. You learn from that.”

Treat employees right

Driven’s employees get paid by the hour and receive performance-based bonus on top of that. The pay structure and working conditions are extremely important to Jason who believes techs have been under-appreciated and poorly treated for decades.

“I love working on cars, but I’ve worked flat rate before,” he says. “I’ve worked driveability at a dealership, so I know what’s it like to get paid point-three for two hours’ work. I’m kind of glad there’s a shortage of technicians. It’s nice to be needed. Trades like this require a lot of knowledge and a lot of skill, and we should be compensated fairly for it.”

Employee loyalty is increasingly important, he says, so he’s willing to invest in his people to earn it.

“I know that it’s a big deal when a shop loses a tech. And maybe if I lose an important employee, I’ll know how it feels. But it will also be my own fault if I’m not looking after him properly.”

Treat customers right

Regina is a small enough market that reputations are easily damaged. The success of Driven Automotive is the relationships they’ve built in a relatively short period of time.

“You deal with people and let them know who you are and what you’re all about. That’s how you earn their trust,” says Daryl.

“Our biggest challenge is we don’t have customer histories because we’ve only been around for a year and a half,” adds Jason. “We don’t know which customers are ours because they love what we do, and which ones are just trying us out, or kicking the tires.”

They’re determined to have the right kind of client, though, so they’re pulling all the stops in trying to please people. So far it seems to be working. In its first year of operation, Drive Automotive won the automotive category in the local Better Business Bureau awards.

Be prepared to work hard

“A lot of technicians have the same dream to have their own shop. But not enough of them will really reach out and make it happen,” says Jason. “If you want a better future for yourself, go out and make it happen. I think we did.”

“Day to day you can get frustrated but when you stand back and look at what you built, you realize you’re actually getting somewhere,” adds Daryl.

“It’s a little more stress, and the ups and downs are bigger,” Jason says with a smile. “But I’d have to say I’m having a lot more fun!”