Cape Girardeau, Mo.--Tom Barrows' introduction to the automobile business was not the smoothest start to a future career in the industry.
"When I was 15 years old, I called my mother and dad's mechanic and asked him if he needed help during the summer," Barrows said. "The mechanic asked, 'What do you know?' And I said, 'Nothing.'"
Now imagine a big pause in the conversation.
"I thought, 'Well, this is the end of that,'" Barrows said.
Fortunately, he was wrong.
"The mechanic came back on the phone. He said, 'Well, come on out, and you can wash parts.' I didn't know a muffler bearing from a wheel bearing. I didn't know anything, but I learned so much. I worked there for five or six years, and that's what got me started."
These days Barrows is a bit farther along in his automotive career. He is an ASE-certified Master Tech (L1), the president of the Southeast Missouri chapter of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Missouri (AASP-MO), and the owner of Hi-Tech Automotive, an independent repair shop. He employs three technicians and a service manager, and his 4,000-square-foot shop is an ACDelco TSS facility, a NAPA AutoCare Center, and an AAA-approved auto-repair business. All of his employees are either ASE certified or working on their certifications.
"I started in 1985, by myself, after having worked for several different local shops," Barrows said. "I hired a single employee shortly thereafter. I worked in a rented building for three years, and then we moved to this place, which we built in 1988."
Today, his shop is a full-service facility, Barrows said. What he doesn't do in-house, he often subs out. "We do just about everything except wheels and tires," he said, "but we do sub that out."
The auto-repair business has been very good to him, Barrows said. "I have struggled with management, because I've always been a technical guy. For years, I worked out in the shop and kind of let the place run itself."
Like many technicians turned businessmen, Barrows said he had to make an effort to learn how to manage his business. He said the process was neither an overnight transition, nor an easy one. In fact, it took several years. "I am a slow learner on a computer, and we were getting into management systems and accounting at basically the same time. It was an overwhelming thing to do," he said.
Today, Barrows said he uses Alldata's ServiceCenter and Intuit's QuickBooks as his basic management tools. The combination works well together and allows him to be "much more in tune with his business," he said.
"If I had gotten a 10-year-earlier start on that, I might be a little bit better off financially today," he said, "but I've done pretty well. You're not going to get super rich doing this kind of work, but there's a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction involved."
Barrows said that having a better picture of how his business is doing has also allowed him to adjust more quickly to the changing nature of the industry, which he sees as shifting from repairs to maintenance.
"The extended warranties are eating us alive," he said. "Plus, cars are lasting a lot longer. So we are making adjustments in our price matrix, and we are trying to become a lot more efficient in our time management and in billing out our time. We've worked hard for the last couple of years on managing everything in the shop."
Barrows said he has also become more aggressive in seeking out new customers.
"When we first moved here, when we were booked up three weeks in advance, it didn't bother us so much, but as the business has aged, our clientele has changed… It used to be that Grandpa or Dad would say, 'Take your car to Tom down at Hi-Tech.' Well, now Grandpa or Dad may be gone, and everyone else is just like spokes on a hub. They go everywhere. They go with who does the most advertising. They go with who is the most convenient. They go with who can get them in and out. So we've had to get a little more aggressive with our advertising."
The changing nature of the repair business also highlights the importance of education, training, and staying up-to-date, Barrows said. Joining a group such as ASA or AASP should be among the top priorities of any shop owner, especially of a new shop owner, and continuing education should be the goal of every technician.
"Schooling and technical training have always been a big thing for me," Barrows said. "I've always made a firm commitment to training, getting as much as I can--sending my guys. I pay for all their training, and it's an ongoing thing. We usually have at least one or two nights, or days, of training a month."
Barrows said his affiliation with AASP has opened doors over the years.
"Any time you're involved in an organization in your industry, no matter what that organization is, it helps. It opens the door to better training and trainers, and better training programs. The trade shows, the camaraderie with other shop owners and technicians, it all helps. At our monthly AASP chapter meetings, we learn as much from each other as we do from anything else."
To that end, Barrows said he plans to attend the annual AASP Excel Conference Oct. 26-28 in Lake Ozark, Missouri.
"I've been going forever, even when it was back at the Breckenridge," Barrows said. "When the St. Charles chapter of ASA had it, I was going. I've always felt like, if I give up that weekend, if I learn one thing, then I'm better off than the guy who stayed home."
Barrows said there is also a "family" component to the weekend, not only because his wife attends--"she goes shopping, and she gets together with all the girls she's met over the years," he said--but because it's an opportunity to renew relationships that have developed over the decades.
"We've grown up with these people. In 20 or 25 years, I've seen a lot of people come and go. I've seen a lot of people stick it out and stay with it. Some of them are family businesses that have been handed down from father to son, and now the son's children are working in the business. So we have grown up together, really. People that worked for me now have their own shops. We're all friends, we're also members of AASP, and it's just like a big family."
Regardless of the organization, the key is staying connected, Barrows said. "Do whatever you can afford to do, whatever you have time to do. Learn as much about your industry as you can, because it's your business."
Staying connected also extends to your community, Barrows added. It pays to be involved in community activities, in the chamber of commerce, and in other organizations. Being involved allows an owner to better understand his community, raise the community's awareness of his business, and again, open doors and offer opportunities for education and networking.
Barrows said the slogan that always comes to mind is the one AASP-MO Executive Director Ron Reiling uses in his newsletter: "Investing in yourself always yields a profit."
"I'll never forget that because I think it's true," Barrows said.