Ankeny, Iowa. -- In his reading of the E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, Mark Martin, co-owner of Ankeny Auto Body, said he learned that he skipped a step in becoming a small-business owner.
"I skipped the technician stage and went straight to the manager and entrepreneur stage, which gives me a different perspective," said Martin, who has degrees in business management and construction engineering. "It made me focus on sales and growth rather than one car."
Martin's father, mother, and brother opened the business in 1979, but when his brother became burnt out with the business in 1990, Martin said he took over and has been involved ever since, along with Betty Martin, his mother.
"I didn't know anything about the industry," he said. "It was completely new for me -- I just started by learning to write estimates."
Martin attributed much of his success to his early involvement in a 20 group through Akzo Nobel, which he said got him off on the right foot.
"If there is one thing that helped me establish goals or learn about the business side--financial analysis, marketing strategies, payroll, sales expectation--it was the 20 group," he said, adding that he has not missed a conference since he joined in 1995, attending 29 in a row. Shortly before joining the 20 group, Martin said he added 8,000 square feet to his 3,000-square-foot shop to make room for a new paint booth and a professional waiting area -- a request from his DRPs, which were just getting started.
In 2002, he said he purchased a 5,000-square-foot building next door to use for body work and two years ago implemented a "blueprint" repair process.
The blueprint process focuses more attention on the initial estimate procedure by creating a complete and accurate evaluation of damage, which results in faster repairs, fewer supplements, and more money, Martin said.
Martin said he has also incorporated a fast-track system for vehicles that requires less than 10 hours of work. Magnetic hats are put on vehicles to indicate that they are to skip prewash and go straight to blueprint and then to the paint department.
"With the fast track, we have turned what would have previously been four-day jobs into two-day jobs," he said.
In December, Martin said, Ankeny Auto Body changed to Sikkens Autowave waterborne paint by Akzo Nobel.
He said the idea stemmed from his attendance at a 20 group break-out session on switching to waterborne. A lot of individuals in the group were from California and already spraying waterborne, he said.
"At the end of the day, I asked one of the owners, 'If you didn't have to shoot waterborne, would you go back.' He said, 'Now that we have done it, we would never go back.'"
The final decision however, was made by his two painters, who traveled to Shur-Way Auto Body in St. Louis to see a waterborne paint system in action.
Martin said his painters returned very happy with what they saw, so he began the transition, which included retrofitting his paint booth with new fans, different filter, new spray guns, and portable driers. In all, it was a $30,000 investment, he said.
All the conversions took place on Dec. 8-9 while his painters were at Sikkens waterborne training school. When they returned, they were ready to spray waterborne paint, he said.
"It was a very smooth change-out," Martin said, adding that he gets his waterborne paint from local distributor Body Parts Store. "We did everything in two days, and then Sikkens had three guys here for the rest of the week and two guys here the whole next week."
"The painters can really see a difference in the finished product. They truly believe that it is better for color match, better clear, better production, and less harmful to them."
The implementation of blueprint, fast-track, and waterborne systems have all increased production and efficiencies at Ankeny Auto Body, which experienced 13.6 percent growth last year, Martin said. However, he acknowledged that there is still a big bottleneck in the system -- insurance-based paperwork.
About 50 percent of business at Ankeny Auto Body is derived from DRPs, which he said bring in a lot of work that do not necessarily mean a lot of money.
"The 'Wal-Mart way' is how a lot of the DRPs do it," he said. "They fill your shop up and then come in and request more discounts or they threaten to pull out."
To get involved with body shops throughout Iowa, Martin said he got involved in the Iowa Collision Repair Association (ICRA), an affiliate of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). In October, he said he was elected chairman of the group.
As chairman, he said he hopes to balance the budget, increase membership, create a new Web site with resources for members, and generate a larger legislative presence, specifically on issues such as sales tax on paint and materials.
Ankeny Auto Body is also a member of the BodyPros group, a network of collision repair specialists in the Des Moines area that pool a percentage of profits together so they can advertise in media that they could not afford alone, Martin said.
Martin said he works closely with Ankeny dealers Dewey Ford and Karl Chevrolet for wholesale parts. "They offer good service, good discounts, and it is quick delivery," he said.
Martin said his business has been very fortunate. "We have had steady growth, we are in the fastest-growing community in the state, and we are also in a pretty good location, and we have some longtime employees," he said, adding that a second location is next on his list.
