Old Brooklyn CDC Announces Business Contest Winner

 

The Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation (OBCDC) announces Autos Direct Online as the winner of the Business Plan Competition awarding a $25,000 grant. They will be utilizing the grant to develop a new retail service department to open this August. “We are very pleased with the growth of Autos Direct Online in general since they opened here in February and are excited about their continued expansion through the new service department,” stated Robyn Sandys, the executive director of OBCDC.

 

Twenty businesses submitted proposals for the contest including new business start-ups (businesses less than a year old), or expansions. Autos Direct Online has been in business for five years but only for five months in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood leasing the old RTA building at 4371 Pearl Road.

 

OBCDC narrowed the field of submissions down to four businesses who were interviewed by community and local business representatives as well as a staff member from the City of Cleveland’s Economic Development Department (the co-sponsor of this contest) and OBCDC. The three other finalists were Chiro Cleveland an existing business in Old Brooklyn wishing to expand, Rooms Outlet Today also an existing business in Old Brooklyn with a desire to expand, and Emy Baker’s Originals a new business currently located in Brooklyn Centre. “Old Brooklyn CDC plans to provide technical assistance to the three runner ups by providing them as many tools as possible to assist them with their business goals,” said Tom Collins the CDC’s commercial manager. John Young the chair of the commercial committee of the OBCDC board was one of the reviewers. He said “The review committee was very impressed with the four finalists; it was a difficult decision selecting the winner because they all had great business plans and they were very prepared for the interviews.” All of the review committee members believed Autos Direct Online was a thriving and growing business in Old Brooklyn and they were particularly excited about how many new jobs they have added in Old Brooklyn (50) since they opened here and how many more they will be adding once the new service department opens (9).

 

Councilman Kevin Kelley, representing Ward 13 and a major supporter of the contest stated, “Autos Direct Online is a solid good business in Old Brooklyn who has great ownership and strong interest in supporting Old Brooklyn. They have done so through jobs created and commitment to the community as demonstrated by the support they have provided OBCDC for community events.” “Of course, we are thrilled to be selected for the grant,” said Shawn Payne owner and Vice President. We are excited that the funds will expedite the process for the expansion of our service department so that we can offer our mechanical services to the residents of Old Brooklyn and the areas surrounding Cleveland.” “We have seen it proven over and over again that our move to Old Brooklyn was the right decision for our business and we are more than blessed with our experience in this community thus far,” said Victor

 

Hugo, owner and President/CFO. He went on the say, “We hope to prove ourselves to be an asset to the community and sincerely thank the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation for selecting our business as the recipient of the grant funds.” Hugo and Payne believed a new service department would be a great addition to their business and seemed to be needed in the community. They hired Greg Barrett as the Service Director. Barrett offered 40 years of experience in the automotive service industry, providing a wealth of knowledge and a solid foundation for a retail service department.

 

The expansion includes nine new positions, including automotive technicians and service writers. ADO will be doubling the amount of lifts in their current service department, painting the entire service bay, installing additional lighting and renovating a service reception center to better serve the customers. Within the first year of opening the service department, Payne, Hugo and Barrett are hoping to service 100 vehicles per month. In the second year of business, their goal is to service 150 vehicles each month.

 

“The service department will be built on the same philosophy as Autos Direct Online – we want to offer a quality product to the public for the lowest possible price,” said Barrett. “Instead of vehicles as the product, we are offering automotive services at a fraction of the cost of other shops or dealerships.”

 

Autos Direct Online (ADO) was founded ‘Cars Direct Online’ in June 2008 by owners Shawn Payne and Vince Hugo in North Ridgeville, Ohio, on the premise of selling large numbers of used vehicles on smaller profit margins than a typical dealership. The initial staff numbered less than 5. After outgrowing the first location (and changing the company title to ‘Autos Direct Online’), Payne and Hugo opted for a 10,000 square-foot warehouse in Brook Park, Ohio in Dec. 2009.

 

In a few years they needed an even larger location. While actively looking in 2012, Payne and Hugo found the vacant Greater Cleveland RTA 117,000 square-foot space which had closed in 2003. They believed this was an ideal location for storing their inventory of 250 – 300 vehicles.

 

On February 2, 2013, Autos Direct Online officially opened for business at this new site. Payne and Hugo are enthusiastic about the increased growth potential that comes with the larger spaced and advantageous location. The first several months of ADO’s lease of the building have more than proven their worth – the staff has broken sales records each month and Payne and Hugo increased the size of their inventory to include over 450 vehicles.

 

Autos Direct Online is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their web site is www.autosdirectonline.com. They also have a Facebook page.

 

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Vehicle in the picture yesterday was a 2012 Mercedes-Benz S550 Premium Sport in “Lunar Blue Metallic.” The people to id in the photos from the left are: Victor Hugo, owner, President and CFO, Shawn Payne, owner, Vice President; Greg Barrett, Vehicle Services Director, and Natalie Hamilton, Community Relations Manager.