This Lone Star State couple knows that everything's big in Texas — including their body shop.
Hutch's Paint & Body was founded in 1991 and by March of 1998 the company added several employees and moved into its current 10,500-sq.-ft. location. Also at that time, Janette, who had married Jason in 1996, got involved in the business and it continued to grow.
Despite its strong growth record, it was only a couple of years ago that the company achieved its target profit margins. In an era when shops everywhere are experiencing pressure on margins, the Hutchisons' experience is not unique — and how the couple addressed the situation offers lessons to other shops in similar circumstances.The company succeeded in attracting customers — and repeat business and referrals — because of the quality of its work. But with 50 percent of its work coming from insurance company direct repair programs (DRPs), the shop was limited in how much it could charge for many of its jobs. As Janette puts it, "No matter what we do, we're going to do quality work. But on some jobs we don't get paid as much as we would like to. It took awhile to get into areas where we could make money and put out work that we could be proud of and make the insurance companies happy."
The first step the couple took to address the situation was to look closely at their numbers to determine where changes needed to be made. Janette obtained guidelines from a key supplier that showed what percentage of the total cost various factors such as paint, labor, etc., should represent. By comparing the shop's performance data with the guidelines, the Hutchisons determined they were overstaffed, particularly in the back office — and based on that analysis, the couple made the decision to downsize, eliminating several positions, primarily on the clerical side. Although this meant both Jason and Janette had to take on additional work, Jason believes, "Downsizing helped extremely. We get more productivity out of less time."He hastens to add, though, that he's not a slave driver. Instead, he says, employees sometimes get to leave early if their work is finished. "A lot of shops take in jobs on Monday and they're out on Friday. But we do not make Friday our rush day out. We still take in a lot of work on Monday because that's what customers want. But we try to deliver vehicles every day."
One area of the business where the company continues to experience narrow margins is on several services that it outsources to outside suppliers — auto glass and paintless dent repair. But the Hutchisons like to offer such services because they bring people into the shop who often are good customers for core services. As Janette puts it, "If we can get them in the door, we can keep them."Another factor that keeps people coming back to Hutch's is their fond memories of the front office. On display is Jason's extensive collection of Hot Wheels trucks, which customers love to peruse — and there's always plenty of popcorn and coffee for the hungry and thirsty. "We try to make it a real friendly atmosphere," says Janette.
Eight years after the building housing Hutch's Paint & Body was built to Jason's specifications, Jason and Janette are considering expanding the business. The goal would be to enlarge the shop area to enable the company to handle recreational vehicle repairs, and add more to the bottom line.
