‘Every day is a new challenge’: Q&A with a Maaco Multi-Store Owner
From one location to 10, Multi-Store Owner Helmuth Mayer Jr., talks about his Maaco journey.
Helmuth Mayer Jr. opened his first Maaco location in June 2017.
In February 2024, he opened his tenth.
The path from opening that first store in Mesquite, Texas, to owning ten locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Oklahoma City was paved with a lot of hard work.
“In my mind, greatness is achieving the best thing that you can each and every day. It doesn't mean that it's perfection or that you're always breaking records,” Helmuth says. “It means that you're putting your blood, sweat and tears into what you're doing each and every day.”
We sat down with Helmuth to hear more about his approach to leadership as a multi-store owner (MSO) and how his day-to-day life has changed over the years.
Driven Brands: What drew you to Maaco?
Helmuth: I came out of corporate America and decided I wanted to do my own thing. I actually first came across Maaco through a franchise show. My partner and I had a handful of different ideas and categories for a business that we were looking at, but for a variety of different reasons, we ended up selecting Maaco. We signed a deal to do four in the first several years, but we ended up going through an acquisition model and also some resales. In the end, we opened up four locations in six months.
Driven Brands: What did life look for you in those early days, growing the business?
Helmuth: When I started, I was in the store morning till night. Then in the evening, for a long period of time, my kids would come home at six or seven o'clock, and I would spend a few hours with them before getting back on the computer. That's not normal for a lot of folks, but early on in my venture, when it was just me and that success relied on my shoulders, I had to put in that time and effort.
Driven Brands: What does a typical day look like for you now?
Helmuth: I’m still up early. That’s always been my view – even if I’m not in the store, I want to be up when my people are and available for any early morning conversations. I’ve made it my personal motto to always call everyone back, so my day doesn't end until I've reached back out to everyone who tried to reach out to me.
Throughout the day, a lot of my time is spent on the phone with my team or in stores. When I was always in the stores, I found myself doing a lot of administrative work, and it got to a point where I decided that I needed to focus on the people when I’m there.
Driven Brands: What do you mean by “focus on the people”?
Helmuth: I spend my effort and energy knowing everyone on my team and shaking their hand every time I visit a store. I know every employee from the regional director down to the hourly worker. However, that’s more challenging now than it used to be. Our team has over 130 members. My mentality now is that I need to mentor and coach my leaders, so they're mentoring and coaching their team.
Driven Brands: As an MSO, how did you find the right people to run each location and what does that relationship look like?
Helmuth: We realized quickly we needed to hire a general manager who felt like this was their own shop and ran it like they were an entrepreneur, but who didn’t need tremendous tactical oversight. We knew we needed managers who could make independent decisions and knew that the right way to run the business was to take care of the customer.
Part of how I’ve secured these types of people is to structure compensation that's heavy on the variable side. It allows someone to make a significant amount of money when they're producing. By doing that, you've got a whole bunch of “mini owners” out there versus “order takers.”
Driven Brands: What about that next level above the stores? How has that team expansion looked?
Helmuth: I was able to get up to about six to seven locations before I hired anyone else over the stores. Now that we have 10 stores, with plans to continue to grow, I have a couple of regional operations leaders, a training leader, a fleet partnerships leader, and a regional office manager that keeps us all glued together.
Driven Brands: Looking back on the journey, what’s been a moment or event that’s stuck out to you?
Helmuth: Almost two and half years in, there was one month where we really turned the corner, to finally being in the black each and every month. There were a handful of accounts that we finally were able to attract, and we did well with them.
Driven Brands: How did you get to that place of “turning the corner”?
Helmuth: Well, we knew we were doing all the right things and working super hard, but the numbers just didn’t fall where they needed to fall. When that happens, it's easy to beat yourself up a little bit thinking, “What are we doing wrong?” Sometimes it's just a function of time and growth.
Driven Brands: What’s next for you? Do you have plans to continue to grow your store numbers?
Helmuth: Honestly, I feel like my noble purpose is to help others and change the lives of others. I do that through business. Right now, I'd be okay with where I'm at. Every day is a new challenge. But if the opportunities arise and give others the opportunity to grow and develop, then we'll take on those challenges. I’m just grateful that we have a team that is willing to go after more, do more, be better, and accomplish that each and every day.