5 Tips For Small Business Owners

When Mike Caruso returned from U.S. Military service on a Friday night, he expected to start school shortly after to become a dentist. Little did he know a phone call from a family friend asking for temporary help would change everything. 

After working in his friend's shop for three years, Caruso learned about a body shop in Peotone going out of business when the owners contacted him to purchase equipment. When he drove to the shop on a Saturday morning, Caruso had a strong feeling that's where he belonged. 

At just 23 years old, Caruso and his wife, Nancy, bought the Peotone shop, which would become Central Collision Center, for $40,000. 

"It might as well have been $40 million," Caruso said. "I didn't have 40 cents to my name then."

The couple closed on the property on May 12, 1981. A few weeks later, a hailstorm hit, damaging nearly every car in Will County. 

Thirty-two years later, Mike and Nancy Caruso have created Central Collision Center, a family owned and operated six-shop collision repair business.

We sat down with Central Collision Center President and Owner Mike Caruso to learn how he created a successful business at such a young age. Here are his top 5 tips for small business owners:

1. Be honest and loyal to your employees, customers, business partners and yourself

My favorite part of what I do is spending time with our employees, most of which have been with us long enough I consider them my extended family. Having an open relationship with the people you work with – whether its employees, customers, vendors, etc. – makes work enjoyable. I want our employees to be proud to work at Central Collision, and that can’t happen unless I’m honest with them.

2. Deliver a product better than your competitors

We will continue to invest in continuing education and training for our employees to make sure we are delivering the highest quality product and service. If you’re not providing a quality service, you’re setting yourself up for failure. I stand behind our technicians’ work 110% because I know the type of quality they produce on every vehicle.

3. Always work to improve your process

Our team meets regularly to discuss ways to improve. Between monthly planning, management, CSR and manager meetings and daily production meetings, we are constantly troubleshooting ways we can be more efficient. You can never sit back and say “things are going great.” There is always at least one process you can improve. 

4. Be open to change

One challenge we face is staying up to date with changes from auto manufacturers, insurance companies and general regulations. Each of these factors affects our repair process. But we work extremely hard to make sure we are on top of the changes and execute procedures properly. Embracing these changes instead of fighting them has been one of our biggest keys to success.

5. Give back to the communities that support you

Without the local communities’ support, Central Collision would not have made it 32 years. I can’t thank everyone who has supported our business enough. We will always give back to our communities because of what they have done for us. Even as Central continues to grow to serve our expanding customer base and insurance partners, we will never be too big that we can’t service each individual customer properly.

From the entire Central Collision Center team and the Caruso family, thank you for your continued support. We could not have made it 32 years without you!