I love working with Champe Granger. She is professional, crisp (but with a sense of humor), clear and she always tells the truth. She also is fair to me as her vendor. Always has been - she wants our partnership to be equitable to both sides. And it has always felt equitable, from our first conversation. I would like 4 more clients like her! Moving on.....
Cutshaw Automotive has been operating in the Scott's Addition part of Richmond for over 30 years. It is in a great location. Cutshaw Automotive is near the art district and a couple of blocks from the museum district. It is REALLY the perfect location, if your business is fair and operates with a profit! And hers does.
Although Champe has owned the business since 2012, this summer, she bought the property underneath it. Champe Granger purchased 3105 and 3117 Cutshaw Avenue, home to her Cutshaw Automotive business. She is committed to keeping it open as an auto shop (and that fact may have sealed the deal she signed).
“The dad of the Goodwyn family started the auto repair shop and ran it as it is today. It’s been there for decades,” Granger said. “The area was losing car repair services because of all the development, and development is great, but you still need to have your car worked on somewhere.”
This is a big step (to transition from just the business side to the property side), but not for Champe Granger. She has always had the entrepreneur spirit and ideas. In fact, she published a book at the beginning of January.
Champe Granger covers:
What business(s) to buy.
How to pay for it.
The ONE thing you have to do when you're starting.
How to operate your business, and make 6 figures a year.
How to achieve a declining work week (ending in 10 hours-ish).
How to sell your business, when you want to.
How to grow your net worth (with these secrets).
I really enjoyed Champe Granger's writing. It was humorous and motivating. It was also hope-giving. Like, me with only a few thousand in the bank? zero experience in small brick-and-mortar businesses? Could I really do what she did? Well, I am (can be) charming, sane and I am a problem solver, by nature...so she gave me hope that I COULD work 10-hour weeks and make six figures. That hope of retiring in a few years from my break-neck pace of 70-hour weeks and no time to breath was worth the purchase. Champe Granger left corporate America and began her small business journey by buying a struggling oil-change business in Richmond, Virginia, despite having no experience in auto maintenance. She draws us through her decision-making process (to buy a franchise versus starting from scratch) and then her experience with buying and running an independent garage. She breaks down the benefits of hiring lawyers and accountants, the challenges of hiring and keeping staff, and gives her wisdom in bite-sized chunks and give concrete examples and even financing advice...truly giving you the 1-2-3 steps to making a new life for yourself. I found this a very motivating read. This isn't a get-rich scheme or a franchise doing advertising nor is it having Facebook parties selling things to your friends.....this could be real. For you or I, or for anyone!
I devoured the book in about 4 days. She didn't start with a lot of money, but she does say you have to have a few things to truly be able to work 10-hour weeks and make six figures. What are they? They start with being able to be sane (loved that one!), be a problem solver, be financially savy and be able to be charming (at least a couple of hours a day). Buy the book, be inspired by my client, Champe Granger, Richmond, Virginia.