Case Study: How One Teen Makes His Business Tick Juggling a business and school isn't easy. Here's how Lefty's Auto founder Mike Wilson does it.
By Paul Seaburn
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
(YoungBiz)- Log on to www.leftysauto.com, and you'll automatically feela need to fasten your seatbelt. A car revs its engine and a pair ofheadlights moves toward you as Lefty's high-performance sloganappears: "Welcome to Lefty's Auto, where it's yourparts at my cost."
Eighteen-year-old Mike Wilson of Overland Park, Kansas, foundedLefty's Auto two years ago with a simple purpose in mind: toprovide performance parts at reasonable prices for do-it-yourselfcar buffs like himself. Wilson had just acquired a 1987 blackCorvette that "needed some work." He was shocked at theprices auto supply stores were selling parts for and decided tolook for an alternative.
"My parents offered to help me start my own auto partsbusiness as long as it didn't interfere with my studies andafter-school activities," Wilson said. He made contacts withparts wholesalers, the companies that sell parts to auto supplystores, and signed agreements with a few that didn't requirehim to pay a fee to work with them and were willing to educate himon their product lines. The next item on his list was to get aplan.
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The BusinessPlan
Wilson's interests, besides cars, are in business management,so he did some research and wrote both a mission statement and abusiness plan for Lefty's Auto. The business plan definedresponsibilities for both a financial manager and a sales staff. Hetook on the financial tasks and some of the selling and hired afriend as a sales rep. That friend soon taught Wilson a valuablelesson.
"He copied my business plan and started his own competingcompany," says Wilson. What did he learn from this, besides tokeep his business plan locked up? "Lefty's Auto is mycompany, and I need to control the operations," he says. Hisemployees are now commission-only sales reps who work under asimple written contract. The more orders they bring in, the moremoney they can make.
Mike's sales reps must also know and follow his companyphilosophy: The customer comes first. If there is a problem with anorder, "I am the one responsible for telling the customerwhy," he says. This doesn't mean that the customers runhis life. Wilson's success has occasionally forced him tomodify his business plan. "My first priority is school,"he points out, "so during the school year I limit my companyactivities so I have time for studies and sports." He sharesthis information with his customers so they'll understand whyhe's not as readily available for questions during the schoolyear.
A Team Effort
Advertising for Lefty's Auto is the responsibility of theentire company. Wilson runs ads in the school newspaper, and he andhis sales staff pass out window stickers and brochures at schooland at a local racetrack. The best ad is Wilson's 1987 blackCorvette, now restored with parts from Lefty's Auto and turningheads at the racetrack.
When the orders become more than he can handle during the schoolyear, Wilson immediately cuts back on these activities. Thatapproach to business discipline keeps his customer service, hisgrades and even his entire body at a high level. Besidesmaintaining a GPA of 3.8 to 4.0, he takes extra business courses ata nearby junior college and is a four-year-letterman on the trackteam as a pole-vaulter.
Wilson pays his sales reps up to 20 percent commission on partsorders after paying his suppliers and taking a small profit. So hisslogan, "Your parts at my cost," really means that hesells his products at his cost plus a small 20 percent markup."Most auto supply stores have a 100 to 200 percentmarkup," he says. "My parts are very affordable incomparison."
PlanningAhead
In the fall, Mike will enter the University of Kansas as a juniorbecause of all the college courses he's already taken. He plansto major in business administration and possibly go on to studycorporate law. After that, the business plan for Lefty's Autowill probably undergo another change. "I will have to hire abusiness manager responsible for some of the day-to-dayoperations," he said. Those responsibilities will bewell-defined in his organizational structure so the quality serviceLefty's is known for continues.
One last question: How did he get the nickname Lefty? "Tobe honest, I don't remember," he said. "I'm notleft-handed or even left-wing." With the success ofLefty's Auto and his dedication to customer service, educationand BIZ Experiencesship, it won't stand for "left out"either.
