Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Regional Developer Spotlight: Jon Langbert, North Texas

As of July, Jon Langbert, 48, has become the Region Developer for Honest-1 Auto Care in North Texas. Langbert grew up in Dallas and went to the University of Texas in Austin, where he received his BBA in finance and later received his MBA from Harvard. Langbert has always had the entrepreneurial bug and in 1995 he started his own video poker business.

Franchising has always been something that peaked Langbert’s interests. He bought a Commission Express franchise and became one of their most expansive franchisees ultimately owning seven locations. Commission Express is a small specialty financing franchise that covered the United States with 70 locations. In 2010, Langbert sold all of his units individually and explained, “I had more fun buying and selling the franchises, than I did running them. That’s how I decided to become a developer.”

“I am environmentally conscious and I wanted to be part of a brand that was in tune with my values. I met the folks at Honest-1 and saw that it was an upscale franchise. I liked the fact that they were taking a product that everyone buys and making it better,” said Langbert. “Honest-1 is doing the same thing that Starbucks did for coffee. Before, you had to go to the corner bodega or Dunkin’ Donuts. But, they turned it into an upscale cultural phenomenon. I believe that Honest-1 can do the same thing for auto repair.”

How did you learn about the brand?
I looked at a few different franchise options, but knew I wanted to be a developer which narrowed my focus. I also wanted to go into a business that was early on in its growth curve so I could help reach its potential. I started by talking to other regional developers and since there are no Honest-1’s in Texas, I made arrangements to visit a fellow developer, Steve Grimes, when I went to my brother’s wedding in Seattle. I visited four of the stores with Steve and I began to understand the way they operated within the auto care industry.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or passions?

I am a private pilot, but only have about 200 flying hours so far. I play ice hockey as does my daughter and I also have triplets that take up a lot of my time. They are going into middle school, two girls and a boy. My family is my real passion.

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