Opening a second location can feel like the obvious next step when shop number one is doing well. But according to automotive industry legend Greg Sands, who has helped scale 100+ auto repair shops, going from one location to two is where a lot of owners get tested.
The second shop doesn’t just add another building. It puts more pressure on your financials, systems, people, and leadership.
Before you scale the business, make sure the first shop is ready for it.
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Prove Shop Number One First
Greg’s first priority is a strong financial foundation. You need enough cash and stability to open the next location without putting the first one at risk. But the operation has to be ready too.
In one shop, you can get away with being the system. You’re there to answer questions, make decisions, and adjust on the fly. That gets harder when your attention is split. Greg puts it this way:
“No system is perfect, but no system at all is very bad.”
Build the processes before you need them, test them, and make sure your team can execute them consistently. If shop number one isn’t strong without your constant involvement, adding another location can magnify the problem.
Protect What’s Already Working
One of Greg’s rules for opening shop number two is simple: don’t pull your team out of shop one to build shop two. Moving your strongest people may seem like the easiest way to launch, but it can leave both locations struggling.
Build the next shop with the people it needs while protecting the business you already have. The goal is to create another strong operation, rather than redistribute the strength you’ve already built.
Growth shouldn’t require weakening what got you there.
Choose the Location Carefully
The location you choose can shape how hard you have to work once the doors open.
A strong operator can make a lot of locations work, but the right market can make growth happen much faster. Greg looks closely at factors like market growth, competition, and the surrounding area before choosing a site.
A weaker location may still succeed, but it can take significantly more time and marketing dollars to get there. Choosing well on the front end can give the new shop a much stronger starting position.
Find People Who Can Lead
Scaling also means finding people who can carry more of the business.
Greg doesn’t limit his search to the automotive industry. He has successfully hired leaders from the restaurant and hospitality industries, where customer service, people management, financial awareness, and working under pressure are already part of the job.
What matters is finding people with the track record, energy, and leadership ability to grow with the company. The right person can bring strengths into the business that automotive experience alone doesn’t guarantee.
One great hire can change the trajectory of a shop.
Build for What Comes Next
Going from one location to two requires more than another building. You need strong financials. Repeatable systems. The right people. A location that gives the business a real opportunity to succeed.
Greg says going from one shop to two can break a lot of owners. But if you build the foundation first, you give the next shop a much better chance to thrive instead of becoming another problem to solve.
The goal is to build a business strong enough to keep growing.
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Build what comes next.
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