Porsche repair shop fights its way through COVID-19

Two years ago, Precision Motion in Colton was looking to expand into three out-of-state markets, hoping to escape California’s oppressive business practices.

Unfortunately, nature intervened. “COVID-19 stopped that idea cold,” said Don Kravig, owner of the Porsche repair shop in an industrial park near Interstate 215 and Barton Road, not far from Stater Bros.’ former headquarters.”There was no way we could do it.”

Kravig, whose father started Precision Motion in 1973, said the business is just now recovering from the pandemic and is again looking to expand outside of California. Last week, he spoke with iebusinessdaily.com regarding those plans, how much damage COVID-19 did to his business, and which federal program helped keep the business afloat.

 

Q: It’s become standard, especially when we’re talking to the owner of a small business like yours, to ask how you’ve dealt with COVID-19. The answer is usually something like “with a lot of difficulty.”

A: Well, that’s the way it’s been for us. It’s been very difficult, like nothing we’ve ever been through. I’d say “with a lot of difficulty” is a good way to put it.

Q: What changed?

A: We had a big slowdown in everything, particularly with things like oil and tire changes. People weren’t getting those things done because they weren’t driving as much. Those things are maintenance, and they didn’t need as much maintenance. The quarantine was keeping them at home. The other thing we noticed was that our customers were acting differently. They were more on edge and a little pushier about getting work done when they did need it.

Q: What was the first sign that this might be something big, that it wasn’t a bad flu that was being passed around?

A: In late January, when first started to hear about it spreading in China.  At that point, our phones stopped ringing. Our business started to slip, and everything seemed to go downhill from there.

Q: From the perspective of a business owner, do you believe it was handled well?

A: I think a lot of it was an overreaction. When people look back on it years from now, I think they’ll realize a lot of the information that was put out wasn’t true. But it was very serious, and (state officials) had to do something. I wouldn’t want to be in the position they were in.

Q: How much do you usually make in a year, and how much do you think you lost because of COVID-19?

A: We gross about $1million a year, and I’d say we lost about one-third to one-half of that. That’s a big percentage. But we’ve gotten a lot of it back. Right now, we’re probably about 15 percent off of where we would normally be.

Q: How much did your business drop at its lowest point?

A: About 70 percent.

Q: Did any of your people get COVID-19?

A: Yes, a couple of them did, but they recovered. I got it, too. It was like a flu that wouldn’t go away, but eventually, it did.

Q:  Two years ago, you were considering setting up business in other parts of the country. You were looking at three markets: Colorado Springs, Colo., Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. Your research found that each of those markets was filled with Porsche owners, and you were planning to establish repair businesses modeled after Precision Motion in all three. What happened to that?

A: It never happened. We’re still looking at doing it, but the pandemic stopped it cold. We know there are a lot of Porsche owners in those markets, and some of them are former customers of ours who left California, so we know it would work. We want to do it, and we’re going to look at it again, probably at the end of the year.

Q: But Colton would still be your primary base of operation. Wouldn’t it be difficult to manage three businesses that are so far away?

A: Not really. Once we got them operating, we would have a revolving door of managers that would go to each one and check on them to make sure things are running OK. Maybe visit them once a month.

Q: And you would expect to find former customers in those markets? That seems like a good way to get the business started.

A:  Absolutely.  In Colorado, we would get about 100 to start with. Wyoming we would probably get about 50, In Idaho, about 30 to 50.

Q: Business owners in California are usually very critical of the state legislature in Sacramento for being anti-business and too bureaucratic, but they’re sometimes more generous when it comes to their local government. You, however, have said the local business climate isn’t very good, either.  Have you changed your mind?

A: No, I haven’t. It’s still too difficult to get anything done. When we wanted to expand into a 3,000-square-foot space that we need for storage, and all we needed to do was install a door, we couldn’t do it.  The city wouldn’t let us. A city council member tried to help us and couldn’t. One week after he found out about our problem – he learned about it when he read your article – he called us and told us there was nothing he could do.

Q: Where do you think you will be one year from now?

A: That’s hard to say. It all depends on what the economic policies are, what happens with inflation, and some other factors. A lot depends on what other people do. That makes it hard to speculate.

Q: Has COVID-19 helped you in any way?  Some businesses – logistics, for example, because of the increase in online shopping – have gotten a boost from the pandemic.

A: Maybe in one way. A lot of specialty repair shops have gone away, and we may have picked up some of their business. One thing we like about the three out-of-state markets we’re looking at is that none of them have many Porsche repair shops. People have to drive a long way to find one, or they go to a regular mechanic.

Q: How much did the stimulus help you?

A: The Biden stimulus might have gotten us some business, I don’t know. It’s hard to say. But the PPP [the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program] saved us. It literally allowed us to stay in business. We had six employees when the pandemic started, and now we have seven. We not only didn’t lose anyone, but we also added an employee. Say what you will about President Trump, I think we were fortunate, when this thing hit, that we had a president who was a businessman, and who understood meeting a payroll. We would have gone under without that program.