Craig Tire Company Made a Sharp Turn Toward the Future with the Help of GPS

Craig Tire Company is a long-established family-run business, known for its extensive inventory, competitive prices and top quality service. Founded by a young couple in 1981 in Belen, NM, Craig Tire expanded with a second location in 1993 and is now a recognized regional leader for tire supply in the Southwest. Yet, this prominent business once faced serious problems which seriously endangered its future and threatened the business that the family had worked hard to develop.

Since the time John and Carolyn Craig started their business, John managed every aspect of the enterprise. Although, their son, JR, was active in the company from a young age, it was his father’s vision and determination which had brought the company into existence and then guided the firm for well over two decades.

“My husband always had the last word on everything. It was his company,” shared Carolyn. “When, all of a sudden he died in 2007, he wasn’t there to consult with us. He wasn’t there to answer questions.”

Although JR poured his heart and soul into the business, it seemed nearly impossible to fully take over a company originally designed and run by another person, especially when there was no detailed plan for succession for the next generation.   “I was feeling very insecure. I was making decisions that were blind,” JR explained.  “I was working a lot of hours to achieve very little as far as my goals. I was overwhelmed.”

JR wasn’t entirely sure that the situation could improve until he was contacted by GPS about business consulting services. “When the GPS analyst came in, he sat down with me, and he spent a little time talking about all the different systems and procedures that needed to be put in place. The information that he was giving was really making good sense to me. That’s when a light bulb came on. I decided that I needed help and that GPS had the help I needed.”

JR’s mother was equally impressed with the expertise supplied by GPS. “The consultant totally immersed himself in our business. He found out things about our employees, our customers, our community, our suppliers and our competitors. He was able to give us some insightful ideas that were tailored specifically for our company. We never felt pressure, as far as implementing certain ideas. We would brainstorm. We would come up with workable solutions and then, he would help us implement them. I think that having a person outside our company, outside our family, looking in, gave us the perspective that we needed to make some critical changes.”

Among numerous projects, the GPS team focused on productivity, employee management and the importance of a strategic compensation plan. JR learned how to utilize reports in order to put business information at his fingertips and use it to control costs and make better purchasing decisions, increasing the profits in his pocket. JR now has the ability to manage his business by the day, week, month, and year. With operations running smoothly, he had time to enhance his sales and marketing efforts.  “It has put me back in the driver’s seat,” says JR.  “It has allowed me to run a more productive operation with considerably less man hours and a considerable amount of control.”

Perhaps, the best description of the results from this critical business transition comes from the original co-founder, Carolyn Craig, “the company, in a sense, became uniquely JR’s, my son’s company, so that he was no longer managing his dad’s company. He was now managing his own company and he was able to manage it at a much higher level. That took a lot of pressure off me, too, because I no longer have to wonder if something happened to me tomorrow, what would JR do? He’d be fine. He’d continue to implement and grow.  I have no doubt.”

GPS was honored to be part of the continued success of the Craig family business. JR has capitalize on some of the very qualities which had helped his father succeed—vision, persistence, and decisiveness, while charting a path for his own future.