Geoff Knautz, Owner Yakima Autospa

New Ownership Emphasizes Old-time Service

YAKIMA - When Geoff Knautz learned the owner of the Yakima Autospa wanted to sell, he knew it was a great opportunity—for someone.

Located in The Orchards shopping center off 72nd Avenue, the Yakima AutoSpa is a one-stop center for fuel, changing your oil, and washing your car --both the exterior and the interior. In addition to two dog wash bays and four do-it-yourself car wash bays, there was an automatic “soft-touch” wash and an open bay earmarked for auto detailing.

Opportunity was knocking, but Knautz, a young family man, didn’t have the capital to open the door. When the owner proposed a deal where Knautz could work his way into owning the business, Knautz said, “it felt like a gift from above.”

Still, it wasn’t easy.

“As most entrepreneurs are, I am visionary, driven, hardworking,” Knautz said. But, he said, when it came to profit-loss statements, loan applications and debt schedules, “I didn’t know where to begin.”

A banker friend suggested he call the local Small Business Development Center office for help and that’s when he met Linda Johnson, an SBDC certified business advisor since 2006.

“She told me what she could do and she told me what she was going to require of me,” he said. Johnson believed in his vision of the Yakima Autospa as a customer-friendly, old-time service station with the professionalism and efficiency that busy clients expect.

Still, making the numbers work was a long, hard slog.

“Quite honestly, I don’t think I could have done it without her,” he said.

Together they looked at financial projections, how long it would take to pay back the banks and what his debt schedule would look like.

“Linda edited more spread sheets than you can imagine,” he said.

As an intermediary step to buying the business, Knautz proposed buying a new touch-less car wash machine and installing it in the bay that had been set aside for auto detailing. When the owner agreed, he took out another mortgage on his house and borrowed money from a relative. “It was a risk, but it was a calculated risk. I told the banks and Linda we would do 30 percent more business, and we did, in fact, do 50 percent more business.”

That kind of business savvy, combined with a lot of hard work, finally paid off.

“The bank told me, ‘If you fail, there’s not much we can take from you, but you’ve done so well with what you’ve been given that we think you are a good risk,’” he said.

He became owner of the Yakima Autospa on May 1, 2010.

In some ways little changed, but in other ways it’s completely different, Knautz said.

“I don’t believe in people waiting behind the counter,” he said. Knautz said he has about 10 people on his payroll and most of them are part-time. Often, he said, working for him is their first job and he’s a stickler for customer service. If employees aren’t helping at the car wash, he said, he expects them to be washing car windows while customers fill up with fuel or finding other ways to assist customer or keep the Autospa in tip top shape.

Vintage memorabilia—including a ’52 Chevy, a restored pump from the 1930’s and Coca-Cola signage from the 1940’s give the AutoSpa a retro look that sets it apart from any other gas station in Yakima. While the décor might draw customers in, Knautz said, he hopes they’ll be back for the service.

“We know a ton of our customers by name,” he said, and he cultivates a sense of community through social media and onsite promotions. “We’re just different and I love that.”