After losing his job in a corporate closure, a Dry Fork man re-employed himself and others by opening up a local version of the same business.
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. closed the Expert Tire in Ballou Park last year because of its new marketing strategy, not because business wasn?t going well, said former Expert Tire manager Kenny Russell.
Longtime customers had asked if Russell would open his own automotive repair business. Russell worked for Bridgestone for more than 20 years.
Russell sought the help of Longwood Small Business Development Center in Danville, where he learned the do?s and don?ts of starting a business and developed a business plan a month later.
On June 6, he opened Ballou Tire & Service Center at 140 Wooding Ave. in the former Expert Tire location. He hired two technicians who had worked with him there and employs five people total.
?Our true and faithful customers were extremely glad,? Russell said.
While the business volume so far isn?t as high as it was, the shop also doesn?t have corporate overhead to worry about, he said. Owning a business is a different kind of stress than working for a corporate employer, but Russell likes being aware of what?s going on.
Yet, he warns others it might not be as easy to open a business as they think. Securing financing and satisfying different entities were the hardest parts in the current economic climate. Business owners also need to manage paperwork, insurance and taxes, he said.
?You?re going to spend some money before you put that key in the door and open for business,? Russell said.
His plan to keep and gain customers is to provide quality service that leads to good word of mouth referrals.
?We?re honest guys,? Russell said. ?We?ll give you an honest opinion.?
He is also honoring the lifetime alignment service to customers who have receipts for buying it at the Danville Expert Tire to keep people in town instead of Greensboro, N.C. The store offers more variety in tires than Expert Tire did.
As a local business owner, he advocates for residents buying local. He used Danville Paint & Supply to refresh the store?s look and is offering financing to customers through Springleaf on Piney Forest Road.
Margaretta ?Gretta? Trivers of Danville, who had been an Expert Tire customer for about five years, is glad to have an automotive shop back in Ballou Park near where she lives and works.
?It?s convenient,? Trivers said, adding she doesn?t need to cross the river.
If You Go
? Ballou Tire & Service Center
? 140 Wooding Ave.
? Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday
? For more information, call (434) 799-5893 or email balloutire@hotmail.com.
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