By James Chevrette
In a recent episode of The Fixer, FOX’s new reality business makeover series hosted by business turnaround expert Marcus Lemonis, GoFast Solutions played a starring role in revitalizing one of Long Island’s most colorful car audio shops: Jazz Audio.
During the episode, Lemonis addresses some of the problems typical of other 12 volt shops including a dysfunctional relationship with installation staff, outdated accounting systems, poor inventory management and letting go of the reins.
We, as an industry, do not get people of Lemonis’s caliber looking at our stores, so the episode may well be worth a watch for store owners and employees alike. By the way, Lemonis has some positive things to say about the aftermarket accessory industry in the episode. (See video towards the end of the post).
Additionally, as many shop owners start nearing retirement age, they will relate to the owner of Jazz Audio, Gene Cella.
The issues of profitability and succession are highlighted in the segment.
Lemonis is widely recognized for transforming struggling businesses on CNBC’s The Profit. He’s also a driven entrepreneur, and he’s dedicated to promoting financial literacy. By the age of 25, Lemonis had already made a major impact in the RV industry, helping turn Camping World into the largest RV retailer in the United States.
Lemonis uses the four key words to explore Gene’s business: People, Process, Product and Profit. Coming from the RV industry, Marcus places a big emphasis on the installation technician and giving the customer a great experience from the initial sale to final installation.
This episode follows the journey of Cella, who first greets Marcus by pulling up in a car blasting music—perfectly on brand for a man who once dreamed of being a rockstar but found his true calling in stereos and sound systems. While Cella’s passion was loud and clear, what wasn’t was his inventory system… or lack thereof.
The full story here –
(episode starts at 6:30 in the video clip)
This is a must watch for the 12-volt industry. It is not often, we get eyes from outside our industry looking at a car audio business and the installation bay in today’s market. Wait until the host sits down for a conversation stating “1985 wants their store back!” The idea of a conversation piece in the show room, alone is worth the watch!
Thank you, Bob Hernandez | VP of GoFast Solutions for the share! See also https://gofst.com/gofast-solutions-featured-on-foxs-the-fixer-with-marcus-lemonis/
Wow, that was great! Thank you for leaving the link. I now have some great ideals on my own store.
Gene, as a store owner you I know it took a lots of guts to do what you did. Hats off to you!
With a name like Jazz Audio maybe think about franchise in areas with Jazz ie: St Louis, Chicago, New Orleans and Utah.
100% agree!