There’s something very satisfying in starting up your own business – working for yourself after breaking away from a boss.
But setting up your own automotive repair workshop also means you are responsible for doing everything: working on jobs, talking to customers, handling cashflow, paying wages, advertising and promotion, finding best price suppliers and so on. Often the stress and strain makes you wonder if there is a better way. Well, now there is.
Midas, a national brand automotive service company with a long history and proud reputation is offering independent workshop owners the chance to have it both ways. That is, retain your independence as a business proprietor, but come under the umbrella of the Midas Group.
And there’s an important motivator for this. Midas General Manager, Rob Lewis explains, “There’s over 80 service centres Australia-wide in the Midas group and all of these are franchisee-owned. These franchisees have joined Midas for this very reason. They want to be their own boss, but they also want the support of the big company behind the scenes.
“We’ve been in the game a long time, and we know what our people want. We let good mechanics be good mechanics, doing quality work and looking after customers. And we handle the rest.”
So, what does ‘the rest’ look like? “In our business, customers look for reassurance that their car repair will be done by someone they can trust,” says Rob. “Midas has that reputation, and it draws customers to our workshops and keeps them coming back.
“For our franchisees, our support team is always on hand to guide and advise on how best to handle the day-to-day business questions. Everything from optimising the job booking and invoice software, through training on ever-changing vehicle repair knowledge, workshop practices and technology updates,” says Rob.
Midas franchisees directly benefit from year-round marketing that includes TV, radio, social media and other promotional campaigns. To make sure Midas franchisees optimise every job, Midas leverages its network buying power to source parts and consumables through its affiliate company, Burson Parts.
“Midas franchisees are able to buy better than the average independent,” says Rob. “And to make sure this translates to their business profit overall, our on-call support team experts are always there to check and compare prices and margins for our franchisees. Plus, our rebate system makes it simple and profitable to manage the buying side of their business.”
In the year ahead, Midas is making it easy to start the ball rolling for independents who would like to convert to the Midas brand. Midas has engaged Wollermann Franchise Development, a leading franchise consultancy, to oversee the conversion of auto workshop independents to a Midas Service Centre.
For more information about this upcoming Midas conversion program, contact Colin Crawford at Wollermann Franchise Developments on 0425 838 800, or email ccrawford@franchisedevelopments.com.au Website: www.franchisedevelopments.com.au