Meet Cara Lea Lewis and Mark Debono of East Coast Paint and Panel (see video below) who have committed to sharing their business journey during 2019 in the magazine and online. The couple are typical of so many autobody repair business in Australia. Lewis and Debono have no business experience and recognise that they need help to take their business to the next level.
Mark Debono, a qualified paint technician, founded East Coast Paint and Panel (ECPP) in Cairns in December 2014 initially because he couldn't find a job that he wanted, so he created his own. He roped in his partner Cara Lea Lewis who had 15 years experience in the hospitality industry and zero experience in the autobody repair industry. “Green as” is how they describe themselves. They knew nothing about running a business and yet in four years, learning on the job, in difficult market conditions, they outgrew their first shed and moved into a new one a year ago.
Paint & Panel encountered them on the 2018 awards judging tour and was impressed with their work ethic, what they had achieved and by their potential. We could tell that they were a little unsure as to how to grow the business any further. Does any of this sound familiar? This could apply to a large number of independent collision repair businesses. The couple feel they have enough work for the number of staff and are almost apprehensive about taking on more work, which means that their growth has stalled.
Market conditions
Cairns has a population a smidgeon over 150,000 and 10-15 collision repair shops (depending on your definition).
Airport Smash is a Suncorp shop and Wilmott Smash Repair Specialist are NRMA (they will both work for other insurers as well), between them they have a significant chunk of the insurance repair market sewn up.
ECPP is in no position to compete against these large enterprises and, sensibly, hasn't tried to. Theirs is a mix of private, insurance, restoration and fleet work.
Setting goals
Ben Fewtrell, managing partner at Max my Profit has agreed to coach Lewis and Debono over the next 12 months. Not only will there be a monthly coaching and goal setting session but Max My Profit has an online hub with over 700 resources to help with every aspect of running a business. At their first session it was clear that the pair didn't have a clear, set goal. After some discussion is was agreed that the goal will be to generate a gross profit of $500,000 in five years time. While we won't be publishing ECPP's financial information, we will be reporting increases in terms of percentages. A brief look at their business information revealed the business isn't paying them the market value for their roles which Fewtrell suggested was one of the first matters that needed to be addressed. He explained in very simple terms how fixed expenses and business costs impact business profits so that the couple understand exactly how each business decision, such as putting on a new member of staff or investing in new equipment, will affect this. Lewis and Debono are proud that they have no debt on the business however Fewtrell pointed out that debt isn't always bad and could have a positive effect on cashflow, the lifeblood of successful companies.
Once the goal was set it was broken up into manageable chunks for each 2019 quarter and then in 12 month periods.
Lewis said: "Mark and I are excited beyond measure to be embarking on this journey. I think one of the most important parts of this venture is the fact that it will be documented. It definitely keeps us accountable. Looking back over the last few years, I am amazed at how far we have come, and after our initial meeting with Ben, I now realise how much further we can advance. We are looking forward to coming back fresh from the holidays ready to absolutely smash 2019."
We’ll be co-ordinating a team of advisors from different areas of the industry to help ECPP. Melanie Spink from their paint company Valspar is spending a couple of days with them this week to set up some robust processes, develop KPIs and identify business opportunities.
Lewis has started the new year with a brand new computer on which she will install iBodyshop after signing up for a free 30 day trial. iBodsyhop has agreed to give Lewis some training and one of the benefits of the program is that we will easily be able to keep track of their progress and identify areas of improvement.