The seeds of a new business are often planted out of the necessity to solve a problem. Inspiration strikes, hard work follows, and the problem transforms into an opportunity to emerge victorious. This was the winning formula for founder and CEO of Crash Champions Collision Repair Team Matt Ebert, whose thriving business began when he accidentally wrecked his car at 16 years old.
Ebert didn’t have the money to get his car repaired, and he didn’t want his insurance to skyrocket. So, having grown up in a neighborhood surrounded by blue-collar workers whom he refers to as his “childhood mentors,” Ebert sought the help of a local technician who taught him how to repair his vehicle.
While speaking with Ebert, I was reminded of the Kintsugi philosophy, which is embodied by the art of repairing broken pottery by reassembling it and filling in the cracks with gold—restoring it to even greater grandeur than before it was broken. The process symbolizes “resilience and hope,” which aligns with Ebert’s mission for Crash Champions.
Ebert says Crash Champions got its name and logo, a red cape reminiscent of a superhero’s cape, because they are in the business of repairing wrecked cars and “helping people in a time of need.” He continues, “People don’t want to know us until they need us, and then we’re their favorite person in the world.”
Customers may arrive at Crash Champions with a broken car, but Ebert’s team gives them hope, and the car’s brokenness is restored. He says they intervene for customers at a time “where their lives are going to be disrupted, and it’s something that they don’t face very often, and we get the chance to make that experience as good as possible, and I’m proud of that.”
It seems Ebert has the Midas touch. He opened New Lenox Auto Body in New Lenox, Illinois, in 1999, and fifteen years later, the business was rebranded to Crash Champions. After a series of mergers and acquisitions and a capital infusion, Ebert grew Crash Champions into 650 auto collision shops located throughout 38 states. This year, Crash Champions has a projected annual revenue of $2.8 billion.
A ‘people first’ mentality from day one is Ebert’s recipe for success
Back in 1989, a local technician believed in a teenage Ebert and changed his life, and Ebert has been paying it forward ever since. He places people’s best interests at the heart of all his decisions.
The main driving force behind Ebert’s catapult to success with Crash Champions is his “people first” mentality. He believes, “People… are super important to the business.” Whether that pertains to his customers, the members of his team, or the mom and pop business owners who sold their shops to Crash Champions, Ebert champions people, and the results are astonishing—proving just how far one’s humanity and appreciation for others can take you.
Ebert shared on LinkedIn, “Whether it’s your family or your team, you have to put people first and invest in their success. That’s the biggest secret to Crash Champions’ success. I empowered others and now we’ve built a legacy no one can tear down. Because when people grow, the results follow.”
Investing in your team means investing in the future of your business
Automotive repair is currently considered one of the top 10 careers that are safe from being replaced by artificial intelligence. Ebert knows that his team is invaluable. He says Crash Champions is “…an industry that is only going to function with people. We need people to do the work. So in a service business where people are the biggest asset, you have to look at that as the most important thing to focus your attention on…. You want to get the people to feel like they’re valued, to feel like they’re an asset to the company.”
I asked Ebert if he thinks it helps him as a CEO and leader that he has rolled up his own sleeves and put in the elbow grease from the first rung of the ladder to the top. He reflects, “It gives you a believable empathy… so they know… I’ve done that job before, and so they know, to some degree, I understand what they deal with every day. And I’m not just looking at them as a number…. I happen to have been in all those seats. I think there’s a leverageable trust that comes from knowing that, and again, I have an empathy unique compared to other CEOs, because I do know what the day-to-day life of the team is.
Championing programs that uplift people
Crash Champions boasts internal initiatives and programs that celebrate, support and develop people. The company created the Skills Training and Education Program (STEP) as an apprenticeship program that trains technicians so they can earn their industry certification to work in automotive repair.
Ebert also just wrapped up the Crash Champions Champions Summit, at which part of the lineup was entitled “People at the Heart of the Process.” Beyond their repair centers, the company also strives to help the greater community via causes such as the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides® program, which donates vehicles to people in need.
Even further down the road, thoughts of team development lead the way
Ebert puts his team at the forefront of his vision and goals for the future as well. When I asked him about his additional plans for expanding Crash Champions he replied, “…more important is being the best at something, rather than the biggest at something. But when you see… opportunities to… change the way things are done for the better. Scale helps you do that…. For me, it’s [about] creating more opportunity for the team…. If we stop growing, then if the team wants to continue to advance their career, that almost requires them to look elsewhere, whereas, if we continue to grow, they can stay and have all the opportunity they want… right here.”
Ebert proves once again that his vested interest in the company is anchored in his desire to promote his team’s growth and prosperity as both a community and as individuals, providing them the stepping stones they need to continue working at Crash Champions.
Ebert says another key to success is teamwork at home
In true team player fashion and in recognition that the journey to success is multifaceted, Ebert says, “Key to all of this for me has been the support at home.” He adds, “It’s hard to be successful in an entrepreneur role if things aren’t great at home….So I think that shouldn’t be neglected as part of a key to success.”
He acknowledges that his wife and “her willingness to sacrifice with me being gone as much as I am, and her doing all she does to make sure everything is awesome for our kids” has enabled him to build a prosperous company that’s making billions.
In a time when many CEOs and business leaders are choosing to replace workers with AI, Ebert’s human-centric approach to all aspects of his business and his “people-first” mentality exemplify the golden rule.
Photo courtesy of Matt Ebert
