Past Winner Stories
Don Hinds Ford
www.donhindsford.com
In matters of business, the owner of Don Hinds Ford realized you can resist change or go with the flow. About 20 years ago, the dealership decided to take it a step further by going with the flow of traffic, paving the way for a major transformation of the company.
Don Hinds was operating in the suburb of Noblesville back in the’80s when its management noticed traffic patterns shifting as a result of the construction of new State Road 37.
Although Noblesville was considered a vital community, residents had started leaving the town at increasing rates to seek employment and to shop at the newly built retail stores and malls in the quickly developing Castleton area. The dealership was among the businesses that suffered as a result.
“It became increasingly difficult to attract customers and employees,” recalls John “Bud” Colglazier, president of the dealership. “Advertising wasn’t causing potential customers to buck the stream from the Castleton area. Buyers and workers drove south, not north. It became apparent that relocation was going to be necessary for us to prosper and grow the business.”
As it turned out, the dealership’s decision to follow the traffic south of Noblesville led to success after success. However, it had to face a number of setbacks along the way.
In 1987, the company moved its operations from an aging “old school” facility to a new site on 126th Street in an effort to position itself for the traffic traveling south. “The main goal was to reinstate our business back into the major traffic flow,” Colglazier says. At the time, the population of the nearby community of Fishers wasn’t much of a consideration, as it only had 1,000 residents.
The move was a major undertaking. The designated area was practically desolate. There wasn’t a traffic light in sight. Nevertheless, the operators of Don Hinds had the foresight to commission an aerial survey which “showed so much dirt being scraped off” throughout the area that they decided to move forward with plans to develop a 60-acre site, including the construction of roads. According to Colglazier, the aerial survey was a good indication that there would be substantial development in the future.
“It was scary coming down here,” Colglazier says. “There wasn’t much going on. We thought it was a pretty big gamble.”
After that extensive development, more trouble lay ahead. Following the dealership’s move to its new location in June of 1989, “both the automobile business and the commercial real estate business promptly went into the tank,” Colglazier recalls. Also, its primary lender, American National Bank, was acquired by an Ohio bank, effectively ending a 35-year relationship.
However, the Don Hinds Ford team was undaunted, focusing on its goal to expand its business. That perseverance paid off.
“When the business turned around in 1992, it did so with a bang,” Colglazier says. Each year the dealership realized sizeable increases in sales over the previous years, partly due to the exploding residential and commercial construction in the Fishers area.
Don Hinds Ford, which has been operating in Fishers for 18 years now, has maintained its philosophy of changing with changing circumstances. With the company located in a bustling neighborhood, the demand for a different type of competitive look was required, Colglazier explains.
Three years ago, Don Hinds Ford opened a state-of-the art 28,000-square-foot collision repair center, Fishers Collision Repair. Recognizing the new way customers like to shop, the dealership also is constructing a new showroom and a customer lounge/work station area that is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007.
In looking back on the dealership’s ability to succeed, Colglazier has this advice for other businesses contemplating a major move: “Do your homework and take a leap.”
Don Hinds was operating in the suburb of Noblesville back in the’80s when its management noticed traffic patterns shifting as a result of the construction of new State Road 37.
Although Noblesville was considered a vital community, residents had started leaving the town at increasing rates to seek employment and to shop at the newly built retail stores and malls in the quickly developing Castleton area. The dealership was among the businesses that suffered as a result.
“It became increasingly difficult to attract customers and employees,” recalls John “Bud” Colglazier, president of the dealership. “Advertising wasn’t causing potential customers to buck the stream from the Castleton area. Buyers and workers drove south, not north. It became apparent that relocation was going to be necessary for us to prosper and grow the business.”
As it turned out, the dealership’s decision to follow the traffic south of Noblesville led to success after success. However, it had to face a number of setbacks along the way.
In 1987, the company moved its operations from an aging “old school” facility to a new site on 126th Street in an effort to position itself for the traffic traveling south. “The main goal was to reinstate our business back into the major traffic flow,” Colglazier says. At the time, the population of the nearby community of Fishers wasn’t much of a consideration, as it only had 1,000 residents.
The move was a major undertaking. The designated area was practically desolate. There wasn’t a traffic light in sight. Nevertheless, the operators of Don Hinds had the foresight to commission an aerial survey which “showed so much dirt being scraped off” throughout the area that they decided to move forward with plans to develop a 60-acre site, including the construction of roads. According to Colglazier, the aerial survey was a good indication that there would be substantial development in the future.
“It was scary coming down here,” Colglazier says. “There wasn’t much going on. We thought it was a pretty big gamble.”
After that extensive development, more trouble lay ahead. Following the dealership’s move to its new location in June of 1989, “both the automobile business and the commercial real estate business promptly went into the tank,” Colglazier recalls. Also, its primary lender, American National Bank, was acquired by an Ohio bank, effectively ending a 35-year relationship.
However, the Don Hinds Ford team was undaunted, focusing on its goal to expand its business. That perseverance paid off.
“When the business turned around in 1992, it did so with a bang,” Colglazier says. Each year the dealership realized sizeable increases in sales over the previous years, partly due to the exploding residential and commercial construction in the Fishers area.
Don Hinds Ford, which has been operating in Fishers for 18 years now, has maintained its philosophy of changing with changing circumstances. With the company located in a bustling neighborhood, the demand for a different type of competitive look was required, Colglazier explains.
Three years ago, Don Hinds Ford opened a state-of-the art 28,000-square-foot collision repair center, Fishers Collision Repair. Recognizing the new way customers like to shop, the dealership also is constructing a new showroom and a customer lounge/work station area that is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007.
In looking back on the dealership’s ability to succeed, Colglazier has this advice for other businesses contemplating a major move: “Do your homework and take a leap.”