Shop of the Month

Importech
Jason Stretch, Owner

"No wonder my first attempt at running my own business didn’t pan out: I didn’t know what I was doing!"

I think I got into this business a little differently than most. I have a love for mechanical things. My father always had old air-cooled Volkswagens, Model Ts, tractors and things like that. I really enjoyed being around these things and tinkering, but I didn’t start out wanting to be a tech or at least I didn’t think so.

When I finished high school I went to college for Hotel Restaurant Management. I didn’t go to a vo-tech school or anything having to do with mechanics. I liked cars and especially race cars, but I didn’t think my life was going in that direction. About my third year through school I had a total shift in interest. I found myself reading more car magazines and books and getting more out of that than what I was studying. This was really where my attention was focused. So I said, maybe I need to do something about that, and I did.

I left school, enrolled in the Russell Racing School for a year and learned how to drive and repair open-wheel Formula Mazdas. While I was there an American LeMans Race was at the track and those cars were great! So at about the six month point in the program I started sending my résumé and letters of recommendation to all the teams in that series that looked like they worked well together. I managed to make a good enough impression on the North American BMW team. The guy gave me a call a couple weeks later and asked if I was ready to come out to Virginia and work for them. I told him I had to finish school first but would definitely do it.

When I was done with Russell Racing School I packed my bags and tools and headed south. When I arrived I went right to work on gear boxes, rear ends, and carbon fiber body work. I learned a whole bunch of fabrication skills there. After a while I got itchy for a bigger game, more responsibility. I was ready to be lead tech on a car but there were no opportunities and I was sure the shop manager was keeping me back. So I quit there and I went to work at a place called Alon Composites. Doing IRL (Indy Racing League) bodywork and chassis work. These were all great learning experiences but I was getting tired of working for other people, it just wasn’t working for me. It left me with a very unsatisfied taste. So I kept going from job to job to job, not being able to advance as fast as I knew I could.

I sat back one day and took a long hard look at my life. I realized that my only option was to go out on my own; start my own business or partner up with someone else. Scary thought, but that is exactly what I did. I tried doing a partnership with another gentleman and tried doing something on my own, but neither worked out. So I moved back up north and went to work on passenger cars for an import shop. That was three years ago. That same year the owner turned 50 and I made him an offer to buy him out because I really did not want to work for someone else. He accepted. Now I think he kind of wishes he hadn’t, but hey, what can you do? Even before I officially owned it I got a Management Success flyer in the mail. And it was like, wow, I don’t know anything about what I am about to do. It thought it would probably make sense to find out more about this. So I went and did the seminar down in Connecticut. The speaker was amazing and the topics covered were exactly what I needed. No wonder my first attempt at running my own business didn’t pan out: I didn’t know what I was doing! I thought being a great tech was the long and the short of things, but I found out being a great tech doesn’t mean you are going to be a great businessman.

When I finally took over ownership of this business I hit the deck running with what I had learned from Management Success. I now have a very successful business, one that runs great. I learned how to put a great team together, how to compensate them and how to manage my business from advertising to understanding the finances and everything in between!

If you own and operate an automotive repair business you will not get where you want to go without the help of Management Success. That’s the truth! I can’t imagine where I would be. I don’t even want to think about it. In just two years of ownership I have gone from confusion to receiving the AAA Top Shop Award for the state of New Hampshire. I was able to do that without ever having owned or managed or run an automotive repair business before. I honestly believe that would not have happened if I had not said, sign me up!

I’ve gone from one or two new customers a week to now five, six, seven a week. In two years! All the doors open up when you get involved with Management Success, there is just no limit! It comes down to “What do you want? What’s your goal”? Do you want to make money and provide for your family? Before Management Success I used to think that maybe I could have a car or maybe a house. I’m thinking way beyond that now! It made me realize that I can definitely get whatever I want!

I tell other shop owners that they need to sign up for the seminar! If you don’t go, how will you know if it will work for you or not? Signing up with Management Success is the one thing that caused me to change the way I looked at my business. It helped me figure out where I’m making money, what my percentages need to be and how to attain affluence. I look forward to the future now more than I ever did.

Jason Stretch, Owner
Importech

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