"You can't have all your eggs in one basket," Dominguez said. "The business has been around for 25 years, so we get a lot of return customers and the people they refer, and we get our fair share of government vehicles. You need to pull work from wherever you can. That's why every customer is an important customer to us, whether it's an insurance company, or a customer off the street, or the city of Reno, or whoever."

Though the business was founded decades ago, Dominguez and Smith have owned it for just the last two years.

"Perry and I have worked together at various shops for the last 18 years," Dominguez said. "He's a body tech, and I'm a painter. Our wives brought it up five or maybe 10 years ago: Why don't you guys open up your own shop? We started looking into it about 2 1/2 years ago. Perry knew the previous owner here, and we came over and spoke to him, and the doors just sort of opened up."

At times, the two have still donned coveralls to work on vehicles, but with nine other employees, they are increasingly working more on the business and administrative end of things.

"We're still learning a lot," Dominguez said, adding that he's planning to take some business classes. "We've had some key people kind of give us some direction, but we're still learning every day."

In particular, Dominguez said, he has learned to hone his people skills to work successfully with customers.

"It's made me a better communicator and hopefully a better listener," he said. "I try to just listen to people more. When they bring their vehicle here, it's been wrecked; it's traumatic for them. To us, it's just another wrecked vehicle, but you have to look beyond that at how it affected that customer."

The two shop owners' experience as technicians also taught them the value of the right equipment, Dominguez said. They've added a Chief Portal Vehicle Analysis Center for measuring on the shop's existing Chief EZ-Liner S-2. They bought a new Robinair Cool-Tech 34700Z air conditioning recovery, recycling, and recharging unit. They put new infrared heating systems into the shop's two Sunkiss downdraft paint booths. And they bought a Pro Spot PR-10 resistance spot welder.

"It's a great piece of equipment," Dominguez said of the Pro Spot welder. "You need to move with the times or you'll get left behind."

One thing that hasn't changed at the shop since Smith and Dominguez became owners, however, is the company's paint jobber, R&W Distributors, based in Reno. Dominguez said he has had experience shooting most of the different paint lines throughout his career, and when they bought Coachcraft Autobody, the shop was spraying Sherwin-Williams.

"They say once you're used European paint, you'll never go domestic," Dominguez said. "But I came here and told the jobber who had been here since day one: 'You know what, I'm going to give this paint a fair shake. If it's comparable to what I've been using, I'll stay with it.' And I'll tell you what, if anything, it's better than what I'm used to."

Dominguez said he believes his and Smith's experience as working techs also help them be better managers.

"When my guys are out there doing something, I have respect for them because I've been there before," he said. "Someone who hasn't done this before doesn't have a clue. When the techs have a problem, I don't freak out on them. I've been there before. I understand their frustrations."

Dominguez said he and Smith hope to expand their 11,000-square-foot facility onto some of the adjacent 7,000-square-foot lot. That addition will allow them to move their detailing area indoors, he said, and add an alignment rack.

He said the business certainly has its challenges, including trying to understand and comply with various insurer requirements, trying to ensure that the shop has the right parts at the right time, and trying to find qualified technicians. But overall, he said he and Smith have been satisfied with their initial years of their new venture.

"We really strive to do quality work," Dominguez said. "We're there for the customer. That's our main concern here, to work with the customer as much as with the insurance companies to put out a quality product in an efficient and timely manner. Going into business for ourselves was a great decision."