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Klarer Automotive
Business ownership revives mechanic's passion for cars
Schererville, IN – Wilhelm Klarer always knew he wanted to set up his own auto repair shop. After facing a lay-off and while waiting on a new job opportunity, he decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship by opening Klarer Automotive in March 2009.
"From Day 1 I wanted to start my own business – that was my ultimate goal," Klarer said. "But I was always afraid."
Now, Klarer believes that his shop, located at 1145 Commercial Drive Unit E, fills a niche by offering Mercedes and BMW owners an alternative to dealer service. He had worked as a service technician for area dealerships for 15 years. While his specialty is Mercedes and BMW, he also works on other import and domestic vehicles.
"If I had gone into general auto repair, I don’t think I would be doing as well. Just on this road (U.S. 41) here, there’s a bunch of competition," Klarer said. "I wanted to specialize in what I know and it’s easier for me and more rewarding."
Klarer feels his experience working at dealerships is a strong foundation for his new business, which has renewed his mechanical spirit.
"With the dealer I knew the ins and outs from management, from parts, from here to there. It made everything here easier. I knew what I was getting myself into," Klarer said. "It is a lot harder. I’m here from 7 in the morning to 7 at night and I don’t mind it. At the dealer, I hated being there and I would make it there right at the second if not later. I would leave early because I hated being there. I hated the work that I did.
"I think now that the passion for working on cars is back again and I feel that it’s more rewarding to me now. Then, it was just a job."
Klarer jumped into business ownership by himself and he found that taking time to do the research has paved the way to his success.
"I’ve done everything by myself. I incorporated by myself and did all my research to find the place. All my equipment I bought on my own," Klarer said.
Research is what led Klarer to the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center when he realized he needed assistance. He found NWI SBDC business advisor Cindy Bertram to be a sounding board as he is building his business knowledge through his research and lessons he learned while working at the dealerships.
"I don’t have a business background, all that I know is from what I witnessed at the dealer. I’ve got a lot of ideas from what you guys do. It makes me more knowledgeable and in some way, it will help out," Klarer said.
"Talking at a meeting with Cindy, she said maybe, if I needed to, I could go with someone like a friend of mine that has a shop, go together with them, to keep costs down. If I had been at a point where I had a bigger shop that I couldn’t afford the costs - that would make sense. I would have never thought of that. You can talk to friends and that but it’s not the same as a neutral party that kind of helps you out."
Klarer is looking forward to expanding and is currently tackling the best way to find potential customers, who he is reaching right now through word of mouth and his Web site, www.klarer-automotive.com.
"If I was on a main street, I’m sure business would be crazy," Klarer said. "I have competition out there, but nobody knows about it. It’s just like me - nobody really knows that I’m here. I want to go further with it."
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