It’s small business month! You might’ve already noticed we’re getting in touch with small business owners who use Lenovo…
And this week is no different. I’ve cued up an insightful interview with Eric Meltzer of Fryeburg Motors (a.k.a. My Dad) for you!
My Dad introduced me to Lenovo and he’s why I used a Lenovo for high school, college, and starting my own small business in my early twenties.
“I've always gravitated towards Lenovo because they’re a reasonable value,” He shared. “I don't like to spend a lot on the computer because I only really use my computer for our CRM, bookkeeping, bill paying, accounting, and doing marketing.”
My Dad’s frugalness and entrepreneurial spirit inspired me to become a freelance writer. He pitched an automotive column to our local newspaper as a marketing avenue. “13 years later,” he says, “I'm still writing it on a Lenovo, and I just completed my 506th column.”
Let’s dig deeper. What has Eric learned after all these years of running a business?
Seven Lessons From 15 Years in Business
Eric has started many businesses in his lifetime – not all of them profitable. But he doesn’t feel like those are failures because he learned from them.
Now, in his fifth business, he’s found success. Eric and Michelle, my Mom, own and operate a car repair shop and they used to do car sales as well. Here’s what he’s learned in 15 years of business.
1. Follow your passion, not profit.
“You need to be in business because you have a passion for it, not because you think it's going to make you money,” Eric believes.
He’s started businesses in construction, landscaping, coffee, and now automotive. He tells me, “Those early businesses were things I had an aptitude for and things I thought I could make money on. There was a market for each, but I was never passionate about any of them.”
The misalignment of passion and purpose along with the significant time and financial investments for each left Eric feeling burnt out quickly each time. Consequently, he says, “Those businesses floundered.”
2. Understand sacrifice when it’s necessary
“I always made sure my employees made what they needed to make to get by, and if I needed to work a second job – I have in times to keep the business afloat – that's what I did,” Eric admits.
Sometimes business is about sacrifice, especially when you’re starting from scratch. Eric was working a full time job when he started Fryeburg Motors.
“I had to basically beg for a day off to go to the auction where we bought cars to re-sell,” he notes. “It started out with one day a week, and then it slowly built into taking the risk and trying quit that full-time job. I did have to go back to work nights to make up the difference for a year.”
When you’re passionate about what you’re doing, though, sometimes that sacrifice is worth it.
3. Don’t micromanage
“My philosophy with employees has always been the same: Hire good people and let them do their job,” Eric shares.
You can’t micromanage your employees if you want them to stick around. “There are times when that took a lot of self-control,” Eric nods. “It's easy to look at how someone's doing a job and think, I wouldn't be doing it this way. But it's working for them. It almost takes a kind of disassociation to step back and let them do their thing.”
Eric’s tips for this? Facilitate your employees ability to do their job. Ask them what they need and try your best to make it happen – everything from equipment and tools to lending an ear to listen. If you can, he also says that creating a physical separation between your workspace and your employees can help. It’s easier to be hands-off when you’re not watching their every move.
4. Manage your mindset
“Early on, we had a mentor, Jeff Solter,” Eric shares. “He was a tremendous asset and his mindset was the same as mine: There's always enough business to go around.”
Whether your business is online or in-person, managing your mindset and idea of competition can revolutionize your business and make your life much easier.
Here’s how Eric likes to think to manage his mindset and the thoughts that actually helped him find a mentor early on. “I don't need to be your competition. I just need to compliment you. If you can't get some work you need to do I'll be happy to help. I'm not looking to steal your customer.”
5. Find a mentor and a community
“We met Jeff before we had a shop of our own – when we were only doing sales,” Eric tells me about their mentor. “He was always willing to step up and help us out.”
Finding a mentor and finding your community can help you grow faster and more easily as a business. It can also make managing your mindset simpler.
Eric found community in other shops and auto parts dealers. “We're all so much in the same boat that it's easy to share information without feeling threatened, and it's easy not to feel too vulnerable.”
When you can be vulnerable with people who do what you do, you can often save your business from costly mistakes.
“When you can ask the local auto parts dealer or another local shop, we need to hire another guy, do you know anybody? Or this guy came in for an interview, what do you think? It’s a lot easier.”
6. It’s about determination, not qualification
“I never had formal business education. It was always trial and error,” Eric admits. “My education was hard knocks and hoping I was making good decisions.”
But even with very little business knowledge, Fryeburg Motors is as successful as it is because of when they started it. They’d already had four businesses that failed, each of which weren’t their passion – just things they thought could make them money.
“I was so desperate to make something happen that failure was virtually not an option,” Eric shared. He worked two jobs at the start, even working nights for a while. This time, he found help from a mentor, he hired reliable employees and made sure they were compensated, and he did whatever it took to keep the business open and thriving.
7. Customer service and integrity are key
“It turned out customer service was huge,” Eric noticed. Integrity and customer service because the cornerstones of Fryeburg Motors.
“I was never averse to apologizing or admitting I was wrong – even if it meant returning money that I did not have.” Eric stated. “If we felt we were genuinely in the wrong we did what we had to do to build our integrity.”
Fryeburg Motors now has loyal customers. Some who travel from a few hours away. Others who’ve been coming back for 15 years to get their cars repaired. Reputation is crucial for service providers who want returning customers and referrals.
3 tips for working with your spouse
It wasn’t just Eric who started and worked at Fryeburg Motors, the coffee shop, and the construction business before that. My Mom, Michelle, was also a part of these ventures.
“Frankly, having my wife, who was willing to jump in and help out, was instrumental in our success,” Eric shares. “We couldn’t afford to pay anybody a second salary back when we started.”
They’ve been together for 37 years! They’ve sat side-by-side in an office at the automotive shop for the past 15 years. How do they do it? I asked Eric for tips, just in case any of you out there are thinking about starting a business with your spouse, too.
1. Play to your individual strengths
“Kind of like with employees, you need to identify your individual strengths and weaknesses and let the let your spouse do what they do best,” Eric advises. “She shines with interpersonal relationships. But I’m better at the marketing.” Eric brings people in the door and Michelle handles the relationship from there.
Many people think that when you start a business with someone else, you’ll each be doing 50% of all the work. In reality, it often looks different. “Michelle does 75% of the customer service work,” Eric notes. “I do the online stuff and consulting with the technicians.”
2. Don’t micromanage
“She has a very different way of dealing with certain things,” Eric laughs as he tells me. “I was always that person who would punch up the positive and then get to the negative when talking to customers. She always starts with the negative and I used to cringe! But it works for her.”
You can’t micromanage your spouse. And you wouldn’t want them to micromanage you either, right? Eric decided, “I'm not going to tell her what she's doing right or wrong because it's not right or wrong it's just different than how I would do it.”
3. Have fun
“You need to divorce the work from the person,” Eric says adamantly. “Remember that your relationship is not all about work.”
Not everything has to be profit-motivated, either. Especially if you're turning a hobby into a business, and you want to keep it fresh you want to keep it exciting. You have to keep stuff fun, too. Eric laughs, “I mean doing a tune-up on a late model subaru is not my idea of fun but finding an old truck is.”
Eric says they keep it fun by, “making space for passion projects, even when they won’t make us money.” He also shares that they, “make time to go on dates with each other and don't talk about work the whole time.”
What about you?
As we wrap up Small Business Month, let's kick back, grab a coffee (or a gin, no judgment here), and chat about our own adventures in entrepreneurship. Comment below or interact in the forums!
Whether you're a seasoned pro or just dipping your toes in, we wanna hear from you.
What are your top tips for running a business? Do you work with your spouse? How do you find balance there?
About Rachel Meltzer
Rachel has been a freelance writer for 6 years and a business coach for 4. She grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and carries the torch for the next generation. When she’s not writing, she spends her time adventuring in the outdoors, doing arts and crafts, and snuggling with her cat, Bonnie.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmeltzer
Website: meltzerseltzer.com