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

Hi Ian, thanks for joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

To start, I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am now, and it all started very small. Just five years ago, I was in a little 1400 square foot shop, working on maybe two cars at a time. My first jump up where my business started growing was great. . .but it was right before the pandemic. When COVID hit, I was pretty nervous. Being a small business owner, working day in and out running everything, I didn’t know if I’d make it through.

The thing that helped me continue scaling up, despite all the challenges the whole world was facing, was the great relationships I built with my customers. It just comes back to that foundation of going the extra mile for people no matter what. By word of mouth, customers kept coming my way. Those stimulus checks sure helped, too, to be honest! When people cashed those, they headed toward my shop to get something done and I was more than happy to help. That got things going, so I could hire more people, and grow my revenue more than ten times.

Next, I had to really step back and consider what to do with the money I was making. I knew I couldn’t just sit on it and that investing it somewhere would be the smartest choice. But the world was still kind of uncertain, trying to recover from all the damage that the pandemic did. So I took it slow: I did my research. It was important to me to find the right fit so I could keep climbing upward. That’s when I found another Wrap Shop that was up for sale. . .in a much bigger location.

I ended up buying that business. In fact, I purchased all of the tools in the place and expanded into an 8000 square foot location! It was a huge risk but I had faith in myself, my team, and my continued effort to keep providing the best services in the business that people could find. Three years later, I’ve actually moved again. Now I’m in a 10,000 square foot shop and we’re able to work on five or six cars at once. With the help of a few friends, great employees, and the right steps forward at the right time, I’m proud to say that we are one of the top premier wrap and detail shops in the state.

I have to admit that the first investment was scary. In the middle of COVID, when nothing was guaranteed, I wasn’t sure how it would all play out. But I’ve been lucky enough and skilled enough to survive and grow. My focus always comes back to the roots of how my customers feel with every job that’s performed. It doesn’t matter to me how much money they spend. My goal is to make each person feel like they are not only educated on their options but they’re also comfortable leaving their vehicle in our hands. . .and the looks on their faces when they come back and see the magic we’ve created is pretty cool!

This has been a dream come true for me. I’m looking forward to seeing how much more my brand can grow in the future.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I first started getting into cars in high school, where I learned about collision. After that, I decided I wanted to further my passion of customizing cars and educated myself on the basics with fixing damaged vehicles by attending Wyotech in Laramie, Wyoming. In just nine months, I graduated.

When I got back to the Salt Lake valet, I ended up working for LHM Chevrolet as a detailer. That, however, wasn’t my cup of tea at the time and was not paying the bills. So, instead I ended up working at a call centers for few years. On the side, I was doing small paint jobs and collision work for my friends and family. Fast forward a few years, and that’s when I got tired of the call center life.

After some thinking, I made the decision that if I wanted to do what I was passionate about full time, I needed to step up. So with my last paycheck from my call center job, I put every penny into a deposit on my first shop. From there, I learned a lot. Soon, I ended up making enough money to do my first certification. The rest is history.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One thing I’ve learned is to not be afraid to invest in yourself. The world may tell you to play it safe, to keep everything within a certain set of rules, but I’ve found it’s more important to unlearn those types of beliefs. They hold you back. Instead, if you have a good work ethic and a passion to do something, go and do it. No excuses.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

One thing that I feel helped me build my reputation in the industry is staying consistent. I’m also not afraid to get out and pound the pavement, attending as many car events as I can to network and make invaluable connections. It’s so important in a small business to meet as many people as possible. Building relationships with other business owners has helped me get insight on what they found are do’s and don’ts as I make my own way forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.1daywraplab.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/1_daywraplab
• Facebook: Facebook.com/1daywraplab
• Other: Instagram.com/fates_customz Facebook.com/fatescustomz Tiktok-fcs1dwl