March 10, 2008 04:55 pm
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Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of profiles on the 2008 Small Business of the Year finalists. Winners will be named during the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet on April 24 at Hammons Convention Center.
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By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
It started with a Schwinn bicycle.
Steve Chenault, now 63, said he knew it would be his only one, so he had to make it count. When he got tired of the color, he would paint it — again and again.
“It was like having a new bike all the time,” Chenault said.
His knack for taking things apart, repairing and restoring them led to the business he has run for the past 27 years, and to a spot as a finalist in the 2008 BKD Small Business of the Year competition.
Steve’s Frame & Body Shop, 910 S. Joplin Ave., does dent repair, both paintless and painting, along with some mechanical work, minor paint work, alignments, and motorcycle repair and painting.
Chenault said he was more than a little surprised at his success. He attended what now is Missouri Southern State University for two years but picked up the auto skills on his own.
He spent years working for other people at local businesses. When he had the opportunity to buy his current building and start a business, Chenault took the leap.
“I didn’t have a business plan,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”
Chenault consulted a friend, Joplin dentist Benjamin Rosenberg, who helped him put together a business plan. With his dental-inspired plan and shaking knees, Chenault went to the bank and said he was surprised and terrified that the bank said “yes.”
“It scared the heck out of me,” he said, laughing. “But I’ve been very blessed since then.”
Chenault now owns all but one building on the west side of the 900 block of Joplin Avenue, and some property on the east side. He has gone from five employees when he opened his doors in 1981 to 21 employees today, and from $30,000 a month in sales to $210,000.
“It was all baby steps,” Chenault said of his growth. “It scares me to think of what it costs to get into business if I just went to the bank and took out all the money I’ve put into this place. But it’s because of the way I did it that it was possible.”
He has at least one employee who has been with him since high school, and Chenault said his family is involved in the business too. His son, Todd, mostly runs the business these days, and his daughter, April Renken, is payroll clerk. Over the years, his wife, Patty, has done everything from sweep floors to wash cars.
“It got to be a joke after a while that any time she’d wear a dress to work was the day that I’d ask her to wash cars,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here without her.”
Chenault said he doesn’t know who nominated his business for the award, but it could have been a customer or employee. He said he has tried to deal honorably with both. His motto in life is to treat others the way he’d like to be treated, with honesty, fairness and sympathy.
“The way it is today, if you can fix the people up, the cars will take care of themselves,” he said of his customer-service philosophy.
Chenault also is involved in the community, serving on the Franklin Technology Center advisory council and supporting high-school job shadowing. He has donated his labor and materials to area operations including St. John’s Regional Medical Center, Freeman Health System and the Ronald McDonald House.
Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.
High marks
Kim Vann, Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce small-business manager, said that in the initial scoring, Steve Chenault received high marks for community involvement, how he treats his employees and his reputation for being an ethical businessman.
“He is one of the most respectful individuals you’ll ever meet,” Vann said. “I wish there were more people in the world like him.”
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