Jim Lehman, 50, a longtime classic car enthusiast, is opening his first Honest-1 Auto Care location with hopes that his sons will want to follow in his footsteps.
During the summer of 1980, right around his 18th birthday, Lehman took some money he was saving and invested it in the stock market. He left it there while he attended Ursinus College as an Applied Mathematics and Economics major with a minor in Computer Science. When Lehman graduated in 1985, he realized the money he had put into the stock market grew a lot faster than he expected. At that moment, he was inspired to go into finances and investing.
Lucky for Lehman, he found the Vanguard Group, a local investing firm of about 500 people, where he started as a phone representative. Lehman stayed with the company for 27 years, working his way up to principal, and doing his part to help Vanguard become a world-class financial service company with $2.5 trillion in assets and over 10,000 employees in the Philadelphia area.
As his 50th birthday approached, Lehman decided it was time for a career change. “I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “I am a risk taker and I wanted to do something on my own. I thought that leveraging my business experience, my passion for cars, and desire to start my own company was a perfect fit for Honest-1.”
How did you learn about the Honest-1?
I have always been an avid classic car lover. My parents helped me buy a 1972 Firebird to fix up after high school to keep me out of trouble until I left for college. They thought it would take me months to get it up and running because the engine was bad, but within two weeks, I had it all fixed-up and ready to go. That’s when I developed a love for cars. But, I always made college and a career a priority.
As I approached 50, I had to decide what to do with the next 10-15 years of my life. I looked around for automotive companies and found Honest-1. They shared my morals and ethics, including being eco-friendly, starting long-term relationships with clients and providing good value and an upscale feel. I thought the auto industry could really benefit from those values.
Why did you choose an opportunity with Honest-1?
Honest-1 has a lot of the same characteristics as the Vanguard Group, the company where I started in 1985. I was attracted to Vanguard early on because of their strong ethics, reasonable costs, and positive treatment of employees and customers. I think that those three qualities (ethics, honesty, and integrity) apply to Honest-1 as well. After working for Vanguard as a phone representative, I also realized that I loved people and working with customers.
I chose to pursue Honest-1 because of the great people there and the opportunity to get in on the ground floor being the first shop in Pennsylvania. I liked the branding and the flexibility that the company provided, especially knowing that I could tailor it to the region and the market. I heard a lot of people complaining about their mechanics and not knowing who to trust or where to go. I want to open this Honest-1, knowing that I could give people a great value and amazing customer service.
What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?
Opening a franchise requires a bit of a risk-taking attitude. For example, I had worked for the same company for a long time and had stability there, but knew I wanted to do something else. From a financial standpoint, I tried to invest well, plan ahead for the unknown, and mitigate risk along the way. The other big challenge was finding the right people to work with me to get the business up and running. Luckily, I have a lot of good friends who have helped at all the critical junctures.
What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Honest-1
Generally speaking, I would love to see more Honest-1 locations across Pennsylvania, particularly in Chester County. Customers would be well served with an expansion of our service area, but, I want my current location to be at its best before I expand. I already have a lot of people knocking at my door asking me if they can get in on the business, and I have investors that have already expressed interest in me opening another location. In the future, I would love for my two sons to get involved with the business. I want to be able to pass it along.
What are some of the publications you read? Local? National? What is your goal publication with your business?
I am an avid reader and have always enjoyed reading financial and business publications like the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Fortune, Kiplinger’s and Money Magazine, as well as my plethora of car magazines. One of my favorites is Muscle Machines by Hemmings Motor News – it’s usually a race between my son Mike and I as to who’ll get to it first. Car and Driver is another that’s well read by the family.
Do you have any interesting hobbies or passions?
I spend a lot of time with my family—my wife, Beth, and my two sons, Michael and Christopher. We like adventures and spending time in the finger lakes of New York. I like anything outdoors such as road biking, kayaking, skiing and boating. Of course, I still love fixing up classic cars—right now, I’m working on a couple of Pontiacs and my wife’s Porsche though the business seems to be my biggest hobby right now. I am also a bit of a history buff and love reading about the revolutionary war, and the early history of the United States. There’s so much rich history right here in Chester County it’s hard not to be!
