Dec. 1 marked Manka's re-entry into the industry when he and his wife, Margaret, completed the purchase of Swis Tire & Auto on Wilcox Street in Castle Rock.  With past experience at Canadian Tire, a mechanical engineering background, and entrepreneurship after co-founding and selling a telecom venture, he said he's well equipped in his new endeavor.

Before purchasing the shop from former owner Dan Cook, Manka said he did his due diligence to understand how business was conducted.

"I was literally here months behind the counter, trying to get a sense of the business," he said, a task that involved observing employees and customers.  "I'm not here to work on cars," he said.  "I'm here to run the business." 

 
One of the first changes Manka said he made was in the customer waiting area, which now more closely resembles a living room rather than a waiting area.  Two black leather couches flank a large-screen TV, he noted, adding that customers have even stayed after their vehicle repair was complete to finish the show they were watching.

Another major change was the decision to purchase the Omnique Business Solutions shop management program, he said, which he purchased through Kenz & Leslie Distributing in Wheat Ridge.

One of the deciding factors was that Omnique is Web-based, Manka said.  "When you're a startup, you can work on the business from anywhere with a Web-based program."  He said it allows him to further customize the program from home and also manage inventory and run reports from afar.

Next to the shop is a warehouse that houses mainly Cooper Tires, a brand Manka said is extremely popular locally.  "This is 'Cooper country,'" he said.  "The tires they make fit Douglas County so well."  He said he buys the majority direct from Cooper, supplementing orders from Premier Tire Terminal, a wholesale distributor in Denver.

"I sat behind the counter for months and saw what the customers wanted," he said.  Douglas County's vehicle demographic, terrain, and driving habits match the Cooper Discoverer ATR well, a light truck and SUV tire for vehicles up to one ton. 

For that reason, the majority of the tires in the warehouse are that type, he said, allowing him to provide quick, same-day service to these buyers.  Other brands sold include Continental, Pirelli, and Bridgestone, he said.

A major challenge when Manka purchased the business was working with vendors, he said, as he had no established business credit or buying history.

Having been out of the automotive repair industry for decades, Manka said he didn't know all the vendors, so he still does business with a majority of the vendors that Swis purchased from.

In addition to his valued relationship with Cooper Tire, Manka said his decision to become a NAPA Auto Care Center holds equal weight.  The combination of tires and general repair allows the shop to take care of all of his customers' needs, which adds to repeat business.

"Tires are part of the whole package," he said.  "If you try to be most things to most people, you have to have the whole package.

"You can't write enough business in one day to retire, so we have to have people come back," Manka said.  He pointed out that many shops unnecessarily sell repairs or services, giving honest operators a bad name.  "I've turned down more transmission flushes than we've actually done."

"In the '70s, you took your car to one place and one place only," he said.  The industry has become fragmented, with a lot of niche providers, he said, adding that it's his intention to return to the earlier philosophy, earning the trust of his customers with a good reputation.

"I have two daughters and want my shop to be a place a woman can go and not be taken advantage of," Manka said.  "The only way I can be successful in this business is to get people to come back.

"When business is slow, shops try to maximize profits," he noted.  "If you really keep the customer in mind long term, you won't lose them."