Sara & Kevin Bickford Worked at Firestone for 10 years and bought the Fox River Tire & Auto

Richie & Leslie Zimmerman from Lafayette, LA, MSO, grew to three stores and sold to strategic buyer MONRO Inc.

Dennis McCarron started his career Bridgestone/Firestone working in various sales and management level positions prior to leading the national retail management training programs. Most recently, Dennis was the Executive Director of Dealer Strategic Planning Inc. (DSP 20 Group), providing coaching and consulting services to its members.

With over 25 years of experience in the tire & automotive industry, Dennis is a seasoned professional with vast tire and auto service industry experience. He is also a featured columnist for Modern Tire Dealer, “Business Insights”

Dennis continues to teach workshops around North America to tire dealers from financial acumen to behavioral selling and leadership and coaching skills. Hear Dennis’s previous episodes HERE.

Joel Zaleski started his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before joining Monro, Inc. as the Vice President of Acquisitions and Operations Support, responsible for leading the company’s acquisition strategy and supporting the operations of Monro’s nearly 1,200 auto service and tire locations. During his time at Monro, Joel oversaw the company’s commercial and wholesale operations, as well as various corporate support functions including, pricing, customer service, facilities, and training.

Joel’s experience in leading the acquisition strategy at the tire and automotive service industry’s largest strategic buyer, Monro, Inc., gives him the credibility and expertise to represent sellers during the sale process.

Joel is a CPA and member of the International Business Brokers Association. Listen to Joel’s previous episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points:

• Kevin and Sarah BickfordWorked for Firestone for 10 years
• Bought the Fox River Tire & Auto
• Richie and Leslie ZimmermanOwned and Sold 3 Shops to Dennis McCarron
• Richie now has his Residential Contractor License to build Log Homes
• Leslie is opening a boutique Fitness GymLeslie “Operate your business like it’s your last day”
• Advice when wanting to buy a businessHave a good real estate attorney as part of the transactionHave a good relationship with your local bank
• Importance of the SBA relationship
•  Challenges new owners face with existing staffLittle changes can seem HUGE
• The power of a new trash can
•  Sell your business when it’s at its healthiestAdvice to the industry to be at your pinnacle20 Group
• Align yourself with the best of the best in the industry
•  Maximize your profit margin
•  Education and making yourself better
•  Joel ZaleskiOpportunities in deals with buyers and sellers
• Evaluation of the business for buyers
• Buy up market share
• Run your business everyday like you are going thru an auditKeep it in tip top shape
• The hard work will payoff
• Expect the unexpected
• Be prepared, do it now
•  Dennis McCarronRun the business like you are owners
• Don’t buy a business to buy a job
• Successful owners run a business, not buy a job
• Learn from people that are smarter than youYou don’t always want to be the smartest person in the room
• Be ok with not knowing something and asking how to do it
•  The value set in hiring good peopleInheriting staff is a challenge when buying a business
• A crew that can drive your culture and trust they will do that
• Letting staff members go is just part of the process, a pruning process
• Hard labor, really trying at times, but it’s worth it at the end of the day
• Be patient with own learning curveInvest time in finding great staff
• Find people you can partner with and learn from
• Figure out when you need help with
• Understand your margins to be profitable
• Rewards are significant
• Hindsight is always so clear
• Rewards are all worth while
• Align yourself with the right people
• Education is important
• Take care of your employees
• Expect the unexpected
• Stay green and growing so you can be ready and ripe!
• If you’re looking to sell, use your professionals
• Use a broker and real estate attorney
• Talk to the people that do that part of the business for a living
• Know your numbers on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis
• Know what your profitability is
• Address small issues when they come up so they don’t become big issues in the future
• Is it too late to start making that change to improve the business?

Resources:

• A special thanks to Sara & Kevin Bickford, Richie & Leslie Zimmerman, Dennis McCarron, and Joel Zaleski for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Listen to all Remarkable Results Radio, For The Record and Town Hall Academy episodes.

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Academy Panel:

Bob Ward

Bob Ward is the President of Wardden LLC, Bob began his business career at a franchised car dealership, overcoming obstacles to learn and earn the required skills to become Controller, General Manager and then, a minority owner of Tacoma Dodge in Washington.

A native of Seattle, Bob serves as a financial advisor and consultant to small business owners throughout the United States.  He believes that your business should always be ready for expansion or sale, you should get paid for what you built and, when you decide to leave it, your company should continue to prosper. He believes in a Perpetual Business where there is Value, Continuity and Legacy. Look for Bob’s Previous Episode HERE.  Warden LLC website HERE.

Joel Zaleski

Joel started his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before joining Monro, Inc. as the Vice President of Acquisitions and Operations Support, responsible for leading the company’s acquisition strategy and supporting the operations of Monro’s nearly 1,200 auto service and tire locations.  During his time at Monro, Joel oversaw the company’s commercial and wholesale operations, as well as various corporate support functions including, pricing, customer service, facilities, and training.

Joel’s experience in leading the acquisition strategy at the tire and automotive service industry’s largest strategic buyer, Monro, Inc., gives him the credibility and expertise to represent sellers during the sale process.

Joel is a CPA and member of the International Business Brokers Association.

Listen to Joel’s previous episodes HERE.  Cardinal Brokers HERE

Greg Bunch

Greg Bunch is the owner of Aspen Auto Clinic, a five-location automotive and service business in Colorado. Greg started his passion for cars at 15 when he began rebuilding a 1966 Volkswagen Bug. Greg has moved from a Volkswagen mechanic to ASE Master Technician, to Management, to starting his shop 18 years ago in his garage, to an award-winning multi-location business.

Greg is currently a board member for the STEM-based charter school call “Automotive Institute of Science & Technology” and on the Advisory board of Ratchet and Wrench Magazine. Greg is also a board member of the Autocare organization and a certified instructor for the Worldpac Training Institute and Carquest Technical Institute. Greg’s unwavering passion for the industry has also led him to form a company called Transformers Institute, a coaching and training company dedicated to transforming the automotive industry.

Listen to Greg’s previous episodes HERE.  Transformers Institute HERE.

Key Talking Points:

Resources:

• A special thanks to Bob Ward, Joel Zaleski, and Greg Bunch for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.



Are you ready to sell your business? Do you know how to prepare? Is it a buyers market or a seller’s market? Do you understand some of the financial principles that drive a transaction? About 50% of you will be impacted by this discussion in the near future.

We cover a large swatch of ground as we talk about the incredible opportunity for sellers as the industry consolidates, getting your financials right, processes, leases and the all-important EBITDA number.  

The Panel:

Norm Gaither

Norm started his brokering and consulting business in 1984 and is well known in the industry. For 35 years he has helped tire & automotive service dealers vastly improve their profitability.  During this time, he has helped countless tire dealers realize their dreams in taking control and correctly profit from fixing their business, and ultimately selling their company. Norm is the founder of Dealer Strategic Planning, Inc (DSP 20 Group), the industry’s first tire-focused 20 Group, that he sold to Bobit Business Media, publisher of Modern Tire Dealer in 2015 and was elected into the Tire Dealers Hall of Fame in 2017 for his contributions to the industry.

Norm is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) and a member of the International Business Brokers Association.

Dennis McCarron

Dennis started his career Bridgestone/Firestone working in various sales and management level positions prior to leading the national retail management training programs.  Most recently, Dennis was the Executive Director of Dealer Strategic Planning Inc. (DSP 20 Group), providing coaching and consulting services to its members.

With over 25 years of experience in the tire & automotive industry,  Dennis is a seasoned professional with vast tire and auto service industry experience.  He is also a featured columnist for Modern Tire Dealer, “Business Insights”

Dennis continues to teach workshops around North America to tire dealers from financial acumen to behavioral selling and leadership and coaching skills.

Joel Zaleski

Joel started his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before joining Monro, Inc. as the Vice President of Acquisitions and Operations Support, responsible for leading the company’s acquisition strategy and supporting the operations of Monro’s nearly 1,200 auto service and tire locations.  During his time at Monro, Joel oversaw the company’s commercial and wholesale operations, as well as various corporate support functions including, pricing, customer service, facilities, and training.

Joel’s experience in leading the acquisition strategy at the tire and automotive service industry’s largest strategic buyer, Monro, Inc., gives him the credibility and expertise to represent sellers during the sale process.

Joel is a CPA and member of the International Business Brokers Association.

Jeff Pohlman

Jeff started working at his father’s business, J & J Tire Company, at age 16 as a janitor in the tire warehouse. Eventually moved up to other positions within the warehouse until he was sent to a retail location at the age of 20 starting as a tire changer before moving into sales. By 21, Jeff had been promoted to store manager and ran a retail location for the next 7 years. In the meantime, his father sold his company and he stayed with the new owners until his father’s non compete expired. His dad would open a Goodyear service center and Jeff left to run that location for him.

Jeff left his employment to open his first location in 1990 at the age of 30 and would soon open a second location in 1992 and a 3rd in 1993.  For the next 25 years, Jeff would open new locations, closed two locations, until he netted 5 locations that he eventually sold to Monro inc.

Jeff’s dad still has the Goodyear location and shows up to work 6 days a week at the age of 93. My brother Alan is the manager of the location and another brother, Eric, would have his own very successful location that he sold to Jeff’s son Ryan as he was selling his locations.

Key Talking Points:

•  Consolidation opportunities are the biggest they’ve ever been
  • A seller’s market
  • A great time to sell your business
• It is incumbent on the seller to get their house in order. Speaking to a consultant at least two years out will benefit the transaction
• Consolidators are buying market share. Multishop owners are more attractive because they are dealing with just one owner.
  • A buyer can leverage synergies quicker
• Type of buyers:
  • Local
  • Regional
  • National
• Growing from one to two or two to three are big challenges to the shop owners. Key ingredients:
  • People
  • Processes/systems
• Multishop owners are more attractive to consolidators
• Big buyers need to acquire to buy share
• Earnings Before Income Tax Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)
  • The determines the ‘Free Cash Flow’ in the business
  • Looked at as the primary measure of the value of your business
  • Buyers will pay a multiplier of EBITA. Certain industries have a multiplier range
  • A single store multiple can be in the range of 3 -4.
  • Multistore multiple  from 3 – 5 up to 7-10 depending on the eagerness of the buyer 
  • The Multiple includes the assets and a minimal inventory
• Some CPAs may not know how to evaluate an automotive service business
• Selling assets is not a great plan. EBITDA is the best way.
  • Therefore a profitable bottom line is your best offense in a transaction
  • What the market will pay is also an important factor 
• Selling a family member has a different set of dynamics
• Selling to an employee
  • You may need to retain the risk of the business
    • If they fail, you are back in business
  • Need a down payment
    • Can be worked out over time
  • Can involve SBA
  • You can sell the business for more with an outside buyer
•  Getting your Profit and Loss (P & L) statement ‘right’
  • Get your cash sales and any rebates recorded
    • It is not extra spend money
    • For every dollar you put in from any cash sales go directly to the bottom line
  • Business owners have perks that are on the P & L
    • There are some legitimate expenses that provide benefit to the business
    • For a new owner, they will not value those expenses and can be added back to the overall earnings of the business
    • There are some that are not and need to be normalized out of the statement or exposed when calculating the business value
    • Be prepared to talk about these perks with the buyer so they know what will be non-recurring expenses when they acquire the business.
    • Some expenses can be excessive and may be scrutinized if they are added into EBITDA
• Buyers look at a business where the owner is not the center of the wheel.
  • The business cannot be owner-centric
  • Process and procedures allow the business to run without the owner
  • If the owner has not let his people run it, the business could dive into a black hole with a new owner because the owner had been the face of the business
  • Can you take off two weeks and have your business run
• Many buyers are looking for general repair facilities
  • They may worry that a nice business may not fit into their operating model
  • It is harder to find a buyer for a nice facility (Euro)
• Lease or owner-occupied are not factors in the evaluation of the business
  • Owner the building brings long term income as the landlord
  • Buying your building/real-estate should be a goal
    • Forgo your toys and buy your land
  • You can make more money off of real estate than your business
• We are in times of tumultuous change
  • You need to stop and formulate a plan short term or long range on your options.

Cardinal Brokers Website HERE

Resources:

• A special thanks to Norm Gaither, Dennis McCarron, Joel Zaleski and Jeff Pohlman for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

Carm and Grandson Donovan. Also:

• Moon landing 50th anniversary. Where were you? Do you remember? Just imagine the tech advances in the last 60 years
• Web-A-Thon for Brakes For Breats coming next Wednesday, July 24th. (First Ever Web-A-Thon from Carm)
• Have a vacation planned? Spend time to recharge. Listen to the Town Hall Academy epiosde on this topic with Jon Bockman, Gerry Frank, and Jim Hayes HERE.
• Timely discussion on ‘Valuing and Positioning Your Business For Sale”. Panel is Norm Gaithe, Dennis McCarron, Joel Zaleski and Jeff Pohlman. Released July 18, ’19. Listen HERE.

WATCH VIDEO HERE