We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anton Dabbs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anton, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I began my career as a mechanic but eventually transitioned into mechanical breakdown analysis for extended warranty companies. In this role, I would visit automotive dealers and independent repair shops to verify failures before warranty claims were paid. After doing this for about two years, I began to think bigger. Rather than receiving work through inspection companies that partnered with warranty providers, I realized I could become the inspection company myself and cut out the middleman.

This shift meant I needed to hire inspectors in the field to handle the work. Within two years, I had inspections happening across the United States, and the business was growing rapidly. The first few years were brutal, as scaling up at such a fast pace was incredibly challenging, especially since I had little experience as a business owner.

Within five years, I had built a network of around 5,000 inspectors. Little did I know, this was just the beginning. The business continued to grow beyond what I ever imagined.

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 began my career as an automotive mechanic, but I was never truly satisfied with the job. I always felt there was something more for me beyond the typical nine-to-five life. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a mechanic—something I was very good at—I wanted to pursue a different path. Even in the shop, I constantly pushed myself to be better and faster than anyone around me. That drive to achieve more never left me.

This background as a mechanic sparked the idea of starting my own business in the automotive industry. I frequently worked with automotive inspectors who represented extended warranty companies, verifying failures before authorizing claims. As part of my job, I’d show these inspectors the issues I found in the vehicles. Observing them, I thought, “How do I get into this side of the business?”

Initially, I tried to learn from the inspectors I encountered, but they were tight-lipped, not wanting to encourage more competition in their field. After all, the more inspectors in an area, the less work there would be for each one. However, through persistent research and determination, I managed to break into the inspection business part-time. Within a year, I had learned enough to transition into it full-time. Leaving the dealership and no longer working as a mechanic was a liberating experience. This is how it started.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

During my 15-plus years as the owner of Lemon Squad, I learned a great deal about myself and how to work with others. Along the way, I received several offers from companies interested in buying my business, but I never took them seriously—until one came along that I couldn’t refuse. By that point, I had already earned enough to retire early, but my strong work ethic kept me pushing forward.

When this offer came, it also included the opportunity to stay on with the company, so I decided to take the deal but not walk away entirely. I stayed on as a consultant for another four years before finally stepping down. Selling the business at that time was the best decision for me. It allowed me to reset and take some much-needed time off from ownership.

It’s been a year since I left Lemon Squad, and now, I’m ready to start something new.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Working as a mechanic didn’t provide me with a lavish lifestyle or much extra money. So, when it came time to start my own business, I had to do it on a very tight budget. Looking back, I’m still not sure how I pulled it off. I started the company from a small one-bedroom apartment. My wife and I slept on a futon in the living room while our daughter had the only bedroom.

To run a national automotive inspection agency, I needed a website that not only represented the company but also had a robust backend to manage operations. On my limited budget, I couldn’t afford the ideal website, but I managed to get something built that was good enough to get started. It wasn’t perfect, but it allowed me to generate enough business to upgrade to a better site later on. This cycle continued until we were eventually able to invest around $100,000 in the final version of the website, which is still in use at Lemon Squad today.

It took a tremendous amount of hard work, making both great and poor decisions, and learning from those mistakes to get to a place where we could keep upgrading our technology and bring on better people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.antondabbs.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antonadabbs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/antonadabbs
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antondabbs/
• Twitter: https://x.com/anton_dabbs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@anton_dabbs