Mohammed tailored the transition from computers to cars for his son from the beginning. “During those first months and years,” Ahmad recalls, “my father was con- stantly training me: in business management, customer service, employee management. My father taught me slowly, giving me more and more responsibility over time, and when I made a mistake he would coach me. I learned a lot from my father but I also have a very ambi- tious academic side to me. I’ve taken several courses on Automotive Management, I regularly consult successful business coaches, and I attend regular monthly meetings with other shop owners to analyze business strategies and industry innovations.” “About four years after he opened the business I stopped by one day to ask him for a part-time job to earn a little extra money.” After nearly 18 years in business, Mohammed’s vision con- tinues to change and his business acumen shines through his son’s efforts. The original Hamilton service centre has ballooned to 7,000 square feet and includes 10 bays – not to mention spacious parking. And with the expansion to Oakville in December 2014 came new opportunities. The home and headquarters of companies the likes of Tim Hortons, Siemens, and The Ford Motor Company Canada – not to mention a hoard of high-end automotive dealer- ships – Oakville was the ideal location for the Liaqats and CRS Automotive to plant a new flag. “Both locations offer the same services when it comes to vehicle repairs,” explains Ahmad, “but we’ve added a lot with our Oakville location, including vehicle sales. The Oakville location is 13,500 square feet, has eight service bays, a vehicle show room that holds up to eight vehicles and a parking lot for about 80 vehicles. Oakville also houses our boardroom and five offices for key staff. The Oakville location also sees a lot of higher end vehicles in for service because of the market that it is located in. In Oakville we are surrounded by new and high-end car dealers and many of them use us on a daily basis for services they don’t do themselves. We take on wheel alignments, service off-brand vehicles, perform emissions testing, you name it. We’re constantly seeing that kind of business our way.” As it is for Ahmad himself, the unofficial mantra at CRS Automotive is “embrace your roots.” While the added sales division in Oakville has helped the company expo- nentially grow quarter after quarter and accounted for 20-25% of CRS Automotive’s 2015 profit, “the mechani- cal side is our core and is where our concentration is,” Ahmad emphasizes. “We’re still growing the sales side of the business and expect it to continue to bring in a larger percentage every year.”
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • AUGUST 2016
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