Smart Business Magazine, Feb 2013

February 2013 Smart Business Houston 13 Born Syracuse N Y Education I barely made it out of high school There were 32 kids in my class and I graduated in the top 30 I skinned out although I did get accepted at three of the top art schools in the Northeast What was your first job I had a paper route when I was about 10 I used to clean toilets in a bar before I went to school in the morning and I was a garbage collector on the back of a truck because I refused to collect unemployment I also delivered fuel oil in upstate New York in 20 degrees below zero weather Whom do you admire in business Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines is one of the smartest businesspeople that I read about The guy is so smart All his planes are the same The maintenance is low He treats people well Its not flying first class but they treat you well The customer service everybodys got a smile Nobody likes to fly anyway but I just think that his whole philosophy his whole concept of business and his making it so practical in the industry hes the only one out there thats profitable I also admire Lee Iacocca He took something that was a mess and turned it into something that was good I think that is why I like what I do Im trying to take something that is really crummy and make it into something decent And it works so far What is the best business advice you have ever received My dad said to me Mark credit is everything Pay your bills pay your employees and pay yourself last I think thats been really good advice The credit has gotten us where we are never defaulting on any loans He was right I have paid myself last and not very much There wasnt much left But I took care of the employees What is your definition of business success Its not size Its getting to a point where you dont have to worry about paying your bills you dont have to look over your shoulder to worry that something is going to come up that you did dishonestly You really enjoy getting up in the morning and going to the office And if it is one employee or 1000 it doesnt really matter Just because you are bigger doesnt mean you are more profitable if you make 1 million a year and your expenses are 999999 you didnt make any money NAME MARK CARR TITLE PRESIDENT AND CEO COMPANY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AUTOMOTIVE CORP The carr File everything and it spreads rapidly be it positive or negative People are talking about us which makes me proud in a good way Carr says Its all about Love your neighbor as yourself That is our motto Whatever race color creed country no matter where youre from everybody wants that Another image lifter was a new design scheme Carr created a positive culture shock when he installed an upscale homecharm décor that includes hardwood floors leather couches artwork and decorative lighting in the waiting rooms The scheme was a hit among women who had a negative perception of dingy auto shops and the possibility of questionable practices Dont skimp on training Training is a large part of jobs today and few organizations can afford to skimp on educating their carefully selected employees In service related businesses such as car repair a business often comes out ahead if it starts with a manager or executive who doesnt have skills in the service field but instead is strong in business operations Carr says We do not want any of our franchisees knowing anything about cars he says If they know about cars they can be in the running but 90 percent of the time we turn them down We turn down by probably a 2 1 ratio Instead for his companys franchises Carr looks for businesspeople who know how to manage people and manage money To get around their lack of knowledge of the industry Christian Brothers hires all the employees for the new franchisee because that person doesnt know what to look for Then after about a year that person will have a better understanding of what to look for says Carr Because no amount of training can address every possible task or situation for a new manager or executive the education process has to be as thorough as possible We go through extensive training with these people Carr says I actually have an exact replica of what my store looks like inside my office Its got the lobby and