Our Success Story
We are Scott and Mindy Saunders. We both grew up in small towns in Idaho and later moved to Salt Lake City UT to attend the University of Utah. After four years of the city life and having our first baby boy, we decided that we wanted the same small town lifestyle for him. That was when we decided to move to Monticello, UT and start our own business.
Scott's brother, Brett, had worked for tire companies for close to twelve years and was ready to start something on his own. Coming from an entrepreneur type family, I knew the dedication and sacrifice it took to start a business. Although, I knew it could be done. Scott and I have always been the type to pay off our debts and live within our means. We have always worked hard to have good credit. Along with school, we were both holding full time jobs. It was our goal to graduate from college debt free. We owned two nice vehicles and a s and had everything paid off. We knew we had to make sacrifices to get started.
I decided to sell my "dream car" and my s which I loved and had worked so hard to pay for. Scott and I had a garage sale to sell all the things that we could live without. When all was done, we had just over $15,000. We were left with one vehicle and a small uhaul full of the necessities we needed. As my husband puts it, "doing one of the scariest things we've ever had to do." Off we headed to our new home and big dreams.
The first things we did was buy two service trucks, set up accounts with distributors, get business cards made, and market, market, market. We knew that this was all or nothing! We had visited Monticello and had done quite a bit of research in the area. We had started out as a 24 hour commercial mobile tire service. The summer worked out great for that, but knew that as winter came, the agricultural and semi tires would slow down. There was an old service station in town for sale that we had had our eyes on for quite some time. We met with the owner and set up a really good deal with him, asking if he would let us use the shop in trade for capital gains. He agreed and we spent 2 straight months fixing it up. With the shop, we are now doing oil, windshields and light mechanical work. As of today, we are ahead on our business plan and we feel very fortunate that we didn't have to get a loan to start. We know that determination is the key. You have to believe that you can do it and anything is possible!
Have the image in your mind of you succeeding and go for it! As you go, you will learn so much and all of it will be well worth it!
Always be setting goals. When you have reached that goal or close to, set another one.
Have fun! Enjoy the feeling of being your own boss.
