Sam Mercanti
AGE: 69 COMPANY: Carstar Canada WHAT THEY DO: Collision repair BEEN AROUND SINCE: 1994 (Carstar’s Canadian and U.S. operations were sold to a portfolio firm in late 2015; Mercanti, who owned the Canadian arm, stayed on as chairman until December of this y
HOW IT STARTED
I started in business working for my uncles back in 1964. Then in 1972 is when I became a partner. At that time it was called Ontario Auto Collision. Under Ontario Auto Collision, I was doing startup franchises. Then I heard about Carstar Automotive from Overland Park, Kansas City. They were approaching an established collision shop and saying: do you want to be part of something bigger? I said that’s a great idea because it’s a lot faster than doing startups. I was introduced to the owner, Lirel Holt, by our paint partners BASF. After seven or eight trips back and forth, I negotiated the rights for me to bring Carstar up to Canada, and we became the official Carstar Automotive Canada.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?
I had passion for the business. I liked the people.
WHAT ARE YOUR COMPANY VALUES?
I would say servant leadership. I’ve run my company all my life that way. It really means when you’re the leader, you serve your people.
WHEN WAS THE MOMENT YOU REALIZED YOU HAD MADE IT?
When you have your own business, you never reach that point. There’s always that fear in you that you’re going to lose it.
WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU MOST?
We were able to attract great insurance partners that believed in our vision, mission and values, and when we brought on franchisees, they would have the same values of ethics, standards, consistency.
WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU OVERCOME?
Probably the biggest challenge is when you have no more money, business is not going good, and you have 20 people in your shop — this is when I first started — and you can’t meet payroll.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS YOU LEARNED?
No. 1 is making sure that you hire the right people that share your values.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS?
Write down your vision. Write down your mission. And then write down four to five values. Make sure that you choose your right team based on values. Then infect them with your vision, mission, values. And then look after them. Pay them well, make sure that they share some of the profits.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TO HELP LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS?
Unless you have a compelling business plan, it’s tough getting money. You’re going to have to accumulate some money one way or another, some assets, before the bank will give you the money.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU WERE TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN?
I’ve taken on some partners that I wouldn’t take on again because the values weren’t shared.