Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Howes.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was told it couldn’t be done. The industry veterans I talked to said: “you can’t run an honest car business”. I set out to prove them wrong.
We started out selling cars out of our dining room and eventually grew into a small commercial space. When our customers started dropping off their keys and asking us to take their car somewhere to get it fixed, we realized there was a need for trustworthy service after the sale.
On a leap of faith, we leased a “gigantic” 10,000 square foot building. We opened for business one morning and by noon our parking lot was full of cars. We had brought up a dart board to have something to do during slow times… we never threw a single dart! We have since moved to a bigger building (although not a big enough, still!).
We have continued for 31 years hiring talented people and rewarding them, having procedures in place to ensure efficiency, knowing our costs and telling the truth. In the long run, this is the way to build a lasting business.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Hell no.
We had no formal training, we HAD to learn how to run a business via on-the-job training.
At one point, we were $100,000 in debt on our personal credit cards. Our bank believed in us and made us a loan that we paid off in 24 months.
We had employees steal from us.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We specialize in servicing European vehicles, including commercial Sprinter vans with few exceptions. We love making it easy for customers to do business with us. We have a small fleet of loaner cars and offer free Uber rides.
Several years ago. We made the decision to fully inspect each vehicle in a more detailed degree than any other company that I have ever heard of, including the franchised dealers. We take our responsibility to communicate our findings to the customer to provide enough information to make intelligent decisions. We are driven to do everything we can to ensure our customers are in safe and reliable vehicles.
What sets us apart… we are a family-owned and operated business. Both of our adult daughters work with us and will take over the company when we retire.
What were you like growing up?
Jon was a loner. Growing up outside the United States in New Zealand offered a chance to see the world through a different lens. After moving back, his hobbies always centered around motorized vehicles and mechanical things. He spent his time in the driveway, fixing friends vehicles. Off to college and he was bored silly. Bottom line, he wanted to experience the daily excitement of being in business.
Contact Info:
- Address: 11353 Mathis Avenue
Dallas, TX 75229 - Website: https://www.southwestauto.com
- Phone: 972 488-2525
- Email: info@southwestauto.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southwestauto
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