Ziebart is an automotive service store in Morgantown started by brothers Nick and Mark Lambie. It’s a West Virginia Small Business Development Center story flourishing with drive and determination.
Todd Crump, a business coach with the WV SBDC first met Nick when he applied for funding through a local lender.
“They weren’t familiar with our services,” Crump said. “We got to know each other and talked not only about their business plan, but their personal plans, as well.”
The family-oriented, business-minded brothers had a pretty good idea of what their franchise could provide for the market. The Lambies worked with Crump to do additional research and gather additional information to come up with a business plan for the lender.
Because Ziebart was primarily in larger cities and markets, Crump says they also talked about franchise agreements, business models, and consumer needs.
“We did some demographic research and figured out how many people are traveling in the area they’re going to be located,” Crump said. “We also looked at what a person was willing to pay for some of the services they offer now and then comparing that to what Ziebart had in its franchise plans.” Crump says they took extra time on the comparative analysis and market analysis to build out the plan.
“For the first year, we looked month-over-month, factoring in seasonalities, and building financial projections,” Crump said.
Building Ziebart and making it a thriving business met its challenges, but not in the way most businesses have them. You see, starting the Ziebart franchise began in April 2018 while Nick was living in New York and Mark was living here in West Virginia.
Not only were the Lambies working through budding entrepreneurship, it was followed by navigating it through a pandemic.
“I think a lot of the challenges were more philosophical,” Crump said. “It was helping to validate their plans that their business could be successful.”
Crump says working with Mark and Nick was a great and rewarding experience because of how determined and passionate they were about doing something for their families and the community.
“Mark is definitely hands-on, gets his hands dirty, and is a hard-working leader within the day-to-day operations,” Crump said. “Nick has the vision and the passion for growing the business and brand, as well as making sure their families are taken care of.”
Crump says it’s been fun working with them and he hopes to be part of additional great things with them in the future.
WV SBDC is an accredited member of America’s SBDC, a federal partner with the SBA and a state partner with the WV Department of Economic Development.
WV SBDC business coaches have professional certifications ranging from exporting, innovation, technology and economic development, to finance, management, marketing and entrepreneurship.
For information about starting a small business in WV and resources for entrepreneurs, visit wvsbdc.com.