Car Tires and Building A Successful Business

What could a car tire have to do with building a successful business you ask? Well after today, a heck of lot more than I would have originally thought.

It actually all started on Sunday evening. I was driving back from the grocery store after shopping for a barbeque we were planning to have with some friends on Monday (Memorial Day) afternoon.

I’m riding along and all of the sudden I hear this “whopping” noise. It sounds like a helicopter is coming down to land on my roof! At the same time my steering wheel starts to feel a loose and out of control. Luckily I was only doing about 40 mph at the time.

It took me a few seconds to put all the pieces together and realize that one of my tires had blown out. I quickly pulled over and called AAA. The dispatcher took all my information, thanked me for my 27 years of membership, and promptly sent a repair truck out to replace my blown tire.

That was Sunday. Monday was a holiday and I was sure most of the tire shops would be closed so I decided to wait until Tuesday to get a new tire. Besides, I had a tee time on Monday morning and a barbeque in the afternoon, so my Monday was already full of very important stuff – golf, family, and friends! I love being in business for myself!

Monday was great, but it’s Tuesday I really want to share with you because I had a very interesting ah-ha about building a successful business.

After dropping my two oldest kids off at school (something I “get” to do, not “have” to do) I went to Sears because I had bought my tires there about 2 years ago. Actually I called Sears first, and after waiting on hold literally for about 10 minutes, they were able to find my records and suggest I come in to let them look at my blown tire. They told me I had purchased the warranty and that I would get a discount on the new tire but not a “no cost” replacement because I had bought the tire too long ago.

I drove over there, waited to be helped (about 10 minutes), stood there while the service person tried (again) to find my records, then waited more while he fumbled around with his computer trying in vain to get me a quote on a new tire.

After he was finally able to figure out his own computer system, he informed me that because of my warranty, I would get a whopping $19.50 discount on a $230 tire! The discount didn’t even cover the original cost of the warranty.

Needless to say, I’m very unimpressed with Sears at this point! Now, understand, this is not a rant on Sears. But this particular experience was the first part of the valuable lesson about building a successful business that I learned today.

You see, a while ago (probably a long time ago) I think Sears lost its focus. They started out being a mail order catalog that offered people access to all sorts of stuff they couldn’t find where they lived. Today, they have become just another department store that’s really no different than any other store that sells the same type of stuff.

Does that sound like a recipe for success? No, it doesn’t, and that’s why they have been struggling.

Looking for a second opinion on my tire, and hopefully a different experience, I decided to check out Discount Tire. I had never been in one of their stores but a few of my friends had suggested them and, in fact, so did the AAA guy who changed my tire.

Before I give you my big ah-ha let me just say I’m constantly amazed at the world I create for myself – the interesting experiences and opportunities.

As I’m driving over to the Discount Tire near my home I’m thinking that if I decide to have them put on a new tire I don’t have anything to read on my iPad while I’m waiting. I had just finished the book I was reading. I’m also thinking, I don’t have too much time before my kids get out of school and I pick them up.

These were my predominate thoughts as I walked into the shop…

The place is brightly lit and very clean. I’m waited on in about 3 minutes. Five minutes later I have a quote (which is about the same price as Sears), and I’m offered a warranty that never expires as long as I own the tire and it is for a completely “no cost” replacement.

I tell the service person about my time constraints and he says “no problem”. He offers me a bottle of water and shows me where the complimentary snacks are. I grab my iPad out of the car and figure I’ll just answer some e-mails while I’m waiting.

I sit down in the waiting room and just happen to look up and notice a sign (more like a poster) that is advertising a book about the founder of Discount Tires. It’s called Six Tires, No Plan: The Impossible Journey of the Most Inspirational Leader That (Almost) Nobody Knows.

Ah yes, another example of my world working in mysterious ways…

I download the book from the Apple Store and begin to read about this very interesting entrepreneur while I’m waiting for my SUV to be serviced by the company he founded. How cool is that?

So here’s what I’ve learned so far (and I promise I’ll write more about this in the future):

Successful company brands are not built over time. Successful companies and successful entrepreneurs begin building their brands on Day 1.

If you are an entrepreneur or are thinking about starting your own business, always be true to your values and “shout them from the mountain top”! Your values and principles, and your reasons (customer centered reasons) for starting the business will be the foundation of your brand web company Jacksonville.

Bruce Halle, founder of Discount Tire, knew this. He has created a business “empire” of over 850 stores without a business plan. His only “plan” was to offer his customers what he believed with all his heart they deserved. And he made sure anyone and everyone one he hired to work for him understood and agreed with his principles.

And that is what car tires have to do with building a successful business!