"One was getting a shop management system," said Joy, who has overseen the shop's offices and bookkeeping since she joined her husband's business two years after it opened in 1991. "The Rome Technology system is amazing.  We have a history now that goes back eight years, and it can tell us what types of vehicles we repair most; everything."

"If you know, you know; if you think you know, you don't know," Mike said, explaining the importance of a shop management system.  "With this system, when a technician comes in asking about a raise, for example, I can immediately look up his efficiency."

Another key decision, Mike said, was switching from paying employees hourly to a flat-rate basis.  Braido said he's tried a number of compensation systems, including creating teams of technicians, each working with an estimator on a specific insurer's work.  But that led to some teams being swamped while others didn't have enough work.

He also tried having more apprentices and preppers working with journeymen technicians and found there was a lack of accountability--and a lot of added expense for uniforms and medical benefits for the additional employees it required.  So today, rather than its peak of 30 employees, the shop has 18, including nine journeymen metal and paint technicians, all being paid flat-rate.

The Braidos were in their early 20s when they founded the shop in just 3,000 square feet of space.  Mike Braido's father managed the Von Housen Motors Mercedes-Benz body shop in Sacramento for 27 years, so Braido had grown up around the industry.  He attended collision repair training at American River Community College, and worked in the industry as a technician and manager for several years before going out on his own.

Since opening, the shop has grown with the Elk Grove community, where the population has jumped from 51,000 to 130,000 in the past 15 years.  Braido said the shop has continued to expand at its original location and now has $3.6 million in annual sales and 28,000 square feet in two buildings. One building houses the shop's body department, which is divided into four equal sections, each with a Rotary lift and a Chief frame rack.  The shop uses the Chief Velocity electronic measuring system, and recently purchased two Pro-Spot resistance spot welders.

"The Pro-Spots are awesome," Braido said, adding that he had his technicians demo several brands and choose the one they liked best.  "They choose the product we're going to purchase, so we know they will use it."

The shop's second building houses its front offices and the paint department, which includes five prep stations and two Global Finishing Solutions paint booths.  Auto Body Expressions has used DuPont products "from day one," Braido said, and is often the first in the county to have access to DuPont's new offerings.

"As soon as the (ChromaVision) color matching camera came out, we had it here," Braido said.  "We're still the only ones in Sacramento County with the X-Pert paint mixing system.  It makes good sense for me. A guy can put a can on it and go clean a gun or do something else while the machine is mixing the paint.  And we don't have any over-pours."

Braido said his shop will also be a demo site in northern California for DuPont's Cromax Pro waterborne products.

"Shops won't have to go to Los Angeles to see it being used," Braido said.  "Once it's here, we'll start having each of our three painters shooting some vehicles with it, and I hope within a year before it's even mandated to be shooting solely waterborne paint."

DuPont has also played a role in some of the shop's marketing efforts.  In 2001, the Braidos celebrated the company's 10th anniversary with a community event at the shop that included a free barbecue, live music, NASCAR memorabilia giveaways and a DuPont-sponsored Jeff Gordon racecar on display.  It attracted about 500 people to the shop.

"Then for several years after that, we chartered a bus each year to the DuPont tent at the Sears Point [now Infineon] Raceway for our clients and customers," Joy Braido said.  "That was great fun."

Mike Braido called the shop's paint jobber, Jim's Color Corner in Sacramento, "the best," and also cited Carmichael Honda in Citrus Heights as "the best parts vendor in Northern California."

"They have a 99 percent 24-hour turn-around on our parts orders, even though they are 27 miles away from our shop," Braido said.  "They'll jump through hoops to get it to you.  They are very competent and efficient at what they do.  If any parts dealer out there wanted to be the best, I'd tell them to go visit Carmichael Honda for a week."

The Braidos agree that their company's growth was "almost uncontrollable" at times over the years, so the leveling off the shop has seen--in part because of more shops opening in the community--has been somewhat welcome.  They've chosen to part ways with some insurance company direct repair programs to focus on those that don't require parts discounts or "substandard repairs."

And the Braidos are looking for other ways to make the shop less dependent on them being there every day.  But Mike Braido said he still likes to look over estimates and completed vehicles to make sure things are being done as he likes them to be.

"One of our goals is to not just sell the customer on bringing the car in, but to resell it once it's done, to plant the seed for that customer to become our new outside sales rep," Braido said.  "We tell them, 'If you're happy, please tell all your friends and neighbors so we'll still be here in seven years, which on average will be the next time you need us.'"