BY LEAH MARXHAUSEN | PHOTOS BY JJ PHOTOGRAPHY
Chris Myers, president of Myers Automotive in Andover, Kansas, always knew he wanted to be a business owner. He had gained experience in vehicle repair from a young age, helping out at his dad’s shop and farm. He always had a knack for working on anything mechanical.
Getting Started
At 19 years old, Myers worked as a service advisor at Firestone in Minnesota, where he was fast-tracked into a management posi- tion and learned the basics of running a business. After working for roughly a decade and gaining the necessary business knowledge, he was ready to go out on his own.
“The goal for me was to have my own shop by the time I was 30,” said Myers. “I spent my 20s preparing for that, and then in 2009, I was knocking on that door. I took that as the extra initiative I needed to solidify what I needed to do in my business plan.”
This plan sprung into action when he stumbled upon the owner of a local auto repair shop who was ready to exit the industry.
“In 2009, I made a friend,” said Myers. “I brought my vehicle to what was then Unruh Automotive, and the owner was looking to retire and I was looking to get into the business. I went to work for him part-time and we developed a friendship and eventually, he was my mentor for a few years.”
Although the previous owner of Unruh Automotive has moved away, the mentorship offered to Myers at the beginning of his career continues to impact his success.
“If he was still living here, I'm sure he would be helping out as he always did,” said Myers.
Branching Out
All was going well with his first location. With his confidence boosted, Myers acknowledges that he decided to expand his business before he was ready.
“In August of 2009, I took over operations at Unruh Automotive. Three months later, another opportunity presented itself, so I decided to expand,” said Myers. “There's lots I didn't know, but we were in a recession. I saw big increases from the first business from day one. That area was in need of a shop, and that location needed someone that was young and ambitious and to provide the level of services that we did.”
For three years, Myers had his work cut out for him, working overtime to keep both locations running. Working with inadequate equipment and a lack of additional management staff led Myers to decide to sell the location. This time spent running two locations taught Myers what to look for when expanding and shortly after he was able to find a better option for his second location.
“I worked a lot of 80-hour plus work weeks for three years until I had an opportunity to sell that location, and I added my Derby location in 2012,” said Myers. “That was a good experience and one that has led me to where I'm at today, but I've learned from it and learned what I do not want to do.”
Setting up for Success
Since then, Myers has slowly expanded, and he now owns five shop locations across the Wichita area. He is working hard to ensure his shops are in good hands today while building a prom- ising future for himself and his staff.
“Currently, we have 35 employees,” said Myers. “We're looking to hire experienced younger technicians that will support us in the future. We can take someone that's pretty novice in the industry and make them proficient in short order. What used to take years in some cases can take months, depending on the individual.”
Myers has utilized his talented network of employees to help educate entry-level techs and grow his team.
“We’ve been able to grow our entry-level technicians into flat- rate technicians within a few years rather than having to take a decade to get someone else really qualified,” said Myers. “Just because the individual doesn't have the experience, someone within their company or our network definitely does. If the employee knows how to tap into that shared knowledge, they can fix the problem.”
Keys to Success
Myers credits his business success to his team’s excellent customer service.
“In every transaction, we have a triangle, and all sides must be equal,” said Myers. “We have the employee, we have the company, and we have the customer. If you short any of those, then the triangle will collapse. We try to keep that mindset going through every single transaction and every single situation. When you follow that, the end result is always success.”
Myers set himself up for success even before he purchased his first shop. With his heart set on being a business owner, Myers took advantage of any and all educational resources available to him to learn how to be successful.
“There are lots of resources out there to help people plan for businesses,” said Myers. “I tried to utilize as many as I could to learn what a business plan looks like, what you need to be concerned with within the first year to the first five years, and so on. I did as much research and reading as I possibly could stand.”
Although Myers’ path to ownership has been rewarding, he says there are a few things he’d do differently. If he could start over, he’d work with an experienced coach to guide him and help him learn from his mistakes. And, speaking of mistakes, he encourages other shop owners to view those as opportunities for growth.
“Find a trustworthy source of information,” said Myers. “I have had a business coach for multiple years and seen some real success. I would look at having a business coach much sooner. Find someone that has been through some of the things that I was about to go through. Don't worry so much about the failures — don't dwell on them. Those are just a part of growth.”