If I drove by your tire store in my pure electric car, what would I see that would make me slow down? If I needed service and looked on the internet, would your website draw me in? When I met you at a baseball game our kids were playing in, would your business card tell your story? What about the long-term viability of your business?
Don’t let others tell the story of who you are or what your business does. Think it over and make your plans that are true to you. Sure, consultants are helpful with the blind spots, but they don’t walk in the door early every day, wondering what the future will bring.
I created and ran an independent Honda repair shop from 1977 to 2004. We were full-service, including tires and alignments. After I learned what I needed to make a business work, I then stopped comparing myself and my business to others and made a concerted effort to focus on organic growth. The “soul” of the business was not crushed under the unrelenting pursuit
of profit.
I learned some of my lessons the hard way by making some embarrassing mistakes. One lesson is the interaction between the customers and your staff is the glue that keeps your store friendly.
The topic of my column this month is barriers to offering electric vehicle (EV) service. I’d like to share a recent story. A Massachusetts-based shop was approved for a two-week electric vehicle class at my training center last year for free. The shop’s owner declined once her management group showed her the short-term cost of two-weeks’ pay and lost productivity.
I called her and listened to her explain why. I did not argue as she didn’t see the long-term value.
I started my shop at age 26. What did I know? My father, Raymond Van Batenburg, had a shop and used car lot in Ogden, Utah, where I lived until I was 12. I thought I would take over the family business, but that did not happen.
As a skilled motorcycle and automobile mechanic — remember, I worked on Hondas — I learned at a young age that advancements of better, faster and cleaner cars will never stop. If you have “false evidence appearing real” (FEAR), you may be missing your EV moment.
That morning when you wake up and enter into the unknown of EV service, the risk you were unwilling to move into is no longer stopping you. I believe that in 2025, more EVs will be built and sold. Old ones will get traded in and their owners will be looking for tires and more.
We all know the definitions of an “entrepreneur,” right? Lately, the definition has changed from what it was in the 1960s. Here’s the latest one: “A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.”
Note the words “greater than normal financial.” It no longer just says “risk.” Now it defines “risk” as only money. There are many risks that come with owning any business. Your risk could include your social standing with those who see electric cars and trucks as a political issue. Another could be the reluctance of your staff or technicians to embrace EVs. Yet another could be friends who don’t understand where the future is going as they live in a new world that has changed and they want it to be 1980 again. All of these are risks that can create FEAR.
Will you go out of business if you take in EVs? I can’t see that happening. In today’s climate, I see the shops we work with are busy and making a good profit. The shops that have added hybrid and EV service are even busier and more profitable.
