We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dean Morash. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dean below.
Dean, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
In the Auto Concierge/storage space the cost of buildings has the biggest impact on your profitability. The decision to purchase or lease buildings is critical. This decision is driven by your personal finances and if you have a partner and their access to capital. The monthly cost of the building has a direct influence on the cost to store a vehicle and you have to determine if your clientele can afford that in the neighboring community. Surprisingly, during the Covid years, the cost of warehouse/industrial buildings went up impacting the cost of our services and presenting profitability challenges to the business.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I bootstrapped my company with a buyout I received from a software high tech company that I worked for back in 2105. I spent most of my career working for for large corporations and I thought that it was time to become an entrepreneur and pursue one of my passions, collectable automobiles.
So Cal Classic Car Storage is a concierge car storage company and we provide storage and an extensible host of services for car collectors and enthusiasts. Our goal is to not only exceed our customers expectations when we deliver services to our customers but to build lasting friendships and networking within the automotive community.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I want to encourage those that are early into their social media journey. As a small business in the last 3 years I have grown my business Instagram page to about 45,000 followers and about 30,000 followers on Facebook. On one hand, I would say that I was very fortunate to be surrounded with social media heavy hitters in my space that were and still are willing to help me get more proficient and stay relevant on social media. That is my best advice, surround yourself with some of the best at it in your space and then help them in any way you can and they will help you improve your social media chops. Also, select only channels that you can support with resources as you need to be consistent for years to have them make an impact. And finally, don’t think of social media as advertising, focus on creating engaging content for the community you serve.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Certainly Social Media has had a big impact on our reputation in our space. But more important is consistency with delivering to our brand promise. Your customers at some point will be your best sales and marketing teammates. Never forget their influence. Also, do not try to do too many things in your business. Focus on services that algin with your core competency and continue to re-evaluate them. Don’t be afraid to shed them if they do not. Also, be active in the community, trade shows, mixers, etc. Be relevant and contribute.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.socalcarstorage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socalclassic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socalcarstorage/
- Youtube: https://www.yelp.com/biz/so-cal-classic-car-storage-laguna-hills-3