Greensboro Honest-1 Auto Care Celebrates Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting

Local Owner Erik Rhyne Invites the Public Out to Celebrate Honest-1’s Commitment to the Greensboro Community

GREENSBORO, NC. – Honest-1 Auto Care (Honest-1), the only national full-service auto repair and maintenance franchise that is 100 percent ESA® Certified Eco-Friendly, is proud to announce a ribbon cutting at the Greensboro Honest-1 location owned by Erik Rhyne on Wednesday, September 18^th, 2013. The ribbon cutting is a celebration of the Greensboro Honest-1’s commitment to the community by joining the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce.

"As the owner of Honest-1 Auto Care in my native Greensboro, NC, I am so excited to have brought the new face of what automotive repair should be to our great city,” said Erik Rhyne, owner of the Greensboro Honest-1. “It's time to put the customer first and there's no doubt from the rave reviews we’ve received from our happy customers in Greensboro that we are doing just that!”

The ribbon cutting will take place at 2 p.m. and will feature refreshments, discounts, a speech from Rhyne, and the unveiling of the brand new Greensboro Honest-1 vehicle. There will also be a raffle for a VIP Card. Members from the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce will attend the ribbon cutting and Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins, Greensboro City Council members and community leaders have been invited to take part in the celebration. The public is invited to attend and experience all that Greensboro’s Honest-1 location has to offer. Honest-1 team members will be on site to answer any questions.

“Honest-1 has prided itself on its commitment to the community it serves and we’re very excited to celebrate the eco-friendly car repair we provide to the residents of Greensboro,” said Rissy Sutherland, COO of Honest-1. “Through our partnership with Erik, we’re able to bring awareness and genuine customer service that is both family and female-friendly, as well as the highest quality auto care to the community. Not only are we continuing to put ourselves in front of new customers, we’re able to uphold our promise of being the best choice for full-service auto repair.”

Rhyne’s Honest-1 takes pride in supporting Greensboro’s public service officials including police, firefighters, and teachers by offering them a 10% discount.  They have also enjoyed a positive relationship with nearby UNC-Greensboro since opening, providing students with a 10% off labor discount, and have partnered with Wheels for Hope and other charities and community organizations as well.

With emphasis on servicing customers from all capacities, Honest-1 technicians have a wide scope of knowledge from oil changes to more advanced transmission-based service work to ensure long-term efficiency of vehicles. The trustworthiness and comfortable experience provided at each location, combined with professional employees and owner-operators, positions Honest-1 for even greater success in the future.

“We are proud to be an active member of the Greensboro community and plan to continue striving to make a positive impact,” said Rhyne. “As new members of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, we invite all of our current customers, as well as anyone who hasn’t yet stopped by, to come join us for our ribbon cutting ceremony and see what we have to offer and learn why our motto at Honest-1 is ‘The most important part is you’!"

ABOUT HONEST-1 AUTO CARE
Honest-1 Auto Care is the only national full-service auto care company that is 100% ESA Certified Eco-Friendly. Honest-1 leads the industry in numerous eco-friendly initiatives including strict recycling of automotive materials, pollution prevention, resource conservation and offering Eco-Friendly Auto Care services such as the ECO TuneUp and ECO Oil Change. In addition to its high environmental standards, Honest-1 has a very unique customer-centric approach to the auto care industry providing centers that are family-friendly, characterized by clean and upscale waiting areas, Internet cafes, children's play areas, comfortable leather chairs and couches, big screen TVs and complimentary beverage stations. Honest-1 was ranked 321 in Entrepreneur magazine's 2013 "Franchise 500" and ranked 338 in the magazine's 2011 "Franchise 500" list. Additionally, Honest-1 ranked as one of the top companies in the Lube and Oil News 2011 "Top Oil Change-Plus Chains" and in the 2013 “HOT 100 FRANCHISE LIST” by RedHotFranchises.com. For more information, visit http://www.honest-1.com. For franchise information please visit, http://www.h1franchise.com

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Franchisee Spotlight: Jim Lehman, Malvern, PA

Jim Lehman, 50, a longtime classic car enthusiast, is opening his first Honest-1 Auto Care location with hopes that his sons will want to follow in his footsteps.

During the summer of 1980, right around his 18th birthday, Lehman took some money he was saving and invested it in the stock market. He left it there while he attended Ursinus College as an Applied Mathematics and Economics major with a minor in Computer Science. When Lehman graduated in 1985, he realized the money he had put into the stock market grew a lot faster than he expected. At that moment, he was inspired to go into finances and investing.

Lucky for Lehman, he found the Vanguard Group, a local investing firm of about 500 people, where he started as a phone representative. Lehman stayed with the company for 27 years, working his way up to principal, and doing his part to help Vanguard become a world-class financial service company with $2.5 trillion in assets and over 10,000 employees in the Philadelphia area.

As his 50th birthday approached, Lehman decided it was time for a career change. “I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “I am a risk taker and I wanted to do something on my own. I thought that leveraging my business experience, my passion for cars, and desire to start my own company was a perfect fit for Honest-1.”

How did you learn about the Honest-1?

I have always been an avid classic car lover. My parents helped me buy a 1972 Firebird to fix up after high school to keep me out of trouble until I left for college. They thought it would take me months to get it up and running because the engine was bad, but within two weeks, I had it all fixed-up and ready to go. That’s when I developed a love for cars. But, I always made college and a career a priority.

As I approached 50, I had to decide what to do with the next 10-15 years of my life. I looked around for automotive companies and found Honest-1. They shared my morals and ethics, including being eco-friendly, starting long-term relationships with clients and providing good value and an upscale feel. I thought the auto industry could really benefit from those values.

Why did you choose an opportunity with Honest-1?

Honest-1 has a lot of the same characteristics as the Vanguard Group, the company where I started in 1985. I was attracted to Vanguard early on because of their strong ethics, reasonable costs, and positive treatment of employees and customers. I think that those three qualities (ethics, honesty, and integrity) apply to Honest-1 as well. After working for Vanguard as a phone representative, I also realized that I loved people and working with customers.

I chose to pursue Honest-1 because of the great people there and the opportunity to get in on the ground floor being the first shop in Pennsylvania. I liked the branding and the flexibility that the company provided, especially knowing that I could tailor it to the region and the market. I heard a lot of people complaining about their mechanics and not knowing who to trust or where to go. I want to open this Honest-1, knowing that I could give people a great value and amazing customer service.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?

Opening a franchise requires a bit of a risk-taking attitude. For example, I had worked for the same company for a long time and had stability there, but knew I wanted to do something else. From a financial standpoint, I tried to invest well, plan ahead for the unknown, and mitigate risk along the way. The other big challenge was finding the right people to work with me to get the business up and running. Luckily, I have a lot of good friends who have helped at all the critical junctures.

What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Honest-1

Generally speaking, I would love to see more Honest-1 locations across Pennsylvania, particularly in Chester County. Customers would be well served with an expansion of our service area, but, I want my current location to be at its best before I expand. I already have a lot of people knocking at my door asking me if they can get in on the business, and I have investors that have already expressed interest in me opening another location. In the future, I would love for my two sons to get involved with the business. I want to be able to pass it along.

What are some of the publications you read? Local? National? What is your goal publication with your business?

I am an avid reader and have always enjoyed reading financial and business publications like the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Fortune, Kiplinger’s and Money Magazine, as well as my plethora of car magazines. One of my favorites is Muscle Machines by Hemmings Motor News – it’s usually a race between my son Mike and I as to who’ll get to it first. Car and Driver is another that’s well read by the family.

Do you have any interesting hobbies or passions?

I spend a lot of time with my family—my wife, Beth, and my two sons, Michael and Christopher. We like adventures and spending time in the finger lakes of New York. I like anything outdoors such as road biking, kayaking, skiing and boating. Of course, I still love fixing up classic cars—right now, I’m working on a couple of Pontiacs and my wife’s Porsche though the business seems to be my biggest hobby right now. I am also a bit of a history buff and love reading about the revolutionary war, and the early history of the United States. There’s so much rich history right here in Chester County it’s hard not to be!

Area Developer Spotlight: Greg Gonville, Philadelphia

Greg Gonville, 45, is the regional developer for Honest-1 Auto Care in Philadelphia. Greg received his B.A. in business management and entrepreneurship from Northeastern University.  He also has his MBA in technology and e-commerce from West Chester University. As an undergraduate, Greg put his entrepreneurial curriculum into practice and successfully started two businesses: a t-shirt production and design company and a seal coating company for homes and commercial buildings.

In 2000, Gonville went to work for Sara Lee Household and Body care where he was in charge of $135 million division of the corporation which included brands such as Kiwi, Kiwi Select, Ty-D-Bol, and Liquifresh. After five years at Sara Lea, Govnille went to work for SCA Personal Care in Philadelphia, P.A.

But, after years of corporate management, Greg was ready for a change. After doing his research on various franchises, Greg discovered that Honest-1 Auto Care would be his next step.

How did you learn about the brand?

When I left the corporate world, the personal care company I was working for was being restructured. I got a severance package and during that time I was thinking through my career and what I’ve done and what I wanted to do. I wanted to run my own business and I had always had a knack for automotive repair. I got together with a broker and they showed me a bunch of different companies, but I didn’t see anything that interested me. When a local auto shop came up for sale, I went to visit it. While visiting, I just thought about all the things I would change. It was dingy and old and dirty and I wanted to change that. I went to a discovery day for another franchise. While I was there, I was talking to other prospective franchisees and they told me about Honest-1, and it was exactly what I was looking for. I saw that they were looking for a regional developer and that fit my personality, so I shifted from being an owner to being a regional developer.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?

One challenge I’ve faced is discipline. When you are an employee, you get up and go to work. But when you own a business, you have to have both drive and discipline. Learning to be flexible was also a challenge; when things change, you have to be able roll with that. Patience is also key in any business ownership. You have to be patient.

What is your end goal with Honest-1?

My end goal is to have 15–20 shops in my territory. I have some great employees helping me and the owners realize their goals. Currently, I have no shops open, but we will have one open in the second week of September in Malvern.

What are some of the publications you read? Local? National? What is your goal publication with your business?

The Inquirer

Do you have any interesting hobbies or passions?

I stay active by playing ice hockey and baseball. I am also married with two children—my son is 12 and my daughter is 15.

Honest-1 featured in Tire Business

Honest-1 Auto Care was featured yesterday in Tire Business discussing the growth of its franchisee base by 50 percent in 2013. Getting prepared for nearly 13 openings before year end, Honest-1 has proven itself to be a critical player in the after-market automotive care industry. Providing a much needed service, sales are up in the first two quarters nearly 35 percent! The franchise system is providing a clean environment, family-friendly services and honest mechanics and technicians to help educate customers on their cars needs.

Read the full article here.

PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 5, 2013

Honest-1expects "deluge'

William Schertz

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Honest-1 Auto Care L.L.C. will grow its franchisee base by 50 percent in 2013.

That tally takes into account locations that the franchisor opened earlier this year in Tacoma, Wash., and Portland, Ore., along with another 13 expected to open before year-end.

It's been four years since Honest-1 completed the rebranding of its now eco-friendly-focused business model, and Chip Baranowski, Honest-1's vice president of franchise development, said he couldn't be more pleased with the program's rate of expansion.

“We opened eight stores last year, and we've had two open this year and now we have a whole tsunami hitting here soon,” said Mr. Baranowski, who co-owns the program along with Jack Keilt and Rissy Sutherland. “We're finishing up financing and construction, and we're going to see a deluge in openings the rest of this year. It's pretty exciting.”

Scheduled to open this year are outlets in Atlanta; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Houston; Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; Minneapolis (three stores); San Antonio; San Diego; and northern Virginia (two stores). The new openings would boost the Scottsdale-based franchisor's store count to 45. 

To continue reading article, click here.