Fast forward 30 years to B&G Paint & Body, owned by Gene and his wife Barbara, an eleven-person shop grossing over $1 million a year and repairing about 80 vehicles a month. Sneed opened his first business in 1987 with two stalls and no employees. "I kept my day job and rebuilt totals at night." Business grew and three years later Sneed bought a building on a main street that today houses B&G. "I'd work seven days a week to get'er going, but I took Christmas off." Sneed made it a point to turn customers into friends, and one of those friends loaned him $8,000 for equipment when the SBA said no. "But later I got a real good banker, Gary Jones at First State Bank. Sneed calls the local banker "my blood supply" and credits Jones as a trusted advisor. "To grow, you need a banker on your side," he advised.

The million dollar business volume is primarily insurance work, and his DRP partners, including Farmer's, USAA, Travelers, Metropolitan and State Farm keep the shop constantly busy. "We don't have any real slow months," said Sneed. While B&G relies on DRP programs for steady work, "we're always careful to tell new customers sent by insurers that they don't have to come here. If I sense any hesitation by a customer in having us do the work, I say, 'this is an option. If you want to use another shop, that's OK.' I've been a victim of steering, especially by Allstate, and I don't want to take business that rightfully belongs to someone else."

Overall, Sneed is pleased with the DRP system because he gets new customers that he otherwise would not have. A lot of them are doctors because the City of Temple, home of a major medical school, has the highest ratio of doctors to population of any city in the United States.

Prefers Star-A-Liner Cheetah racks

With a good cash flow and a cooperative banker, Sneed is finally able to invest in the best equipment. "It's not like I throw money away, believe me. I had an old Kansas Jack floor system. When I bought my first (Star-A-Liner) Cheetah rack, I did a lot of looking and research. I liked Cheetah right off because it was simple, strong and the price was right. It's got a platform, so it's easy on the guys' backs. I bought the first one with an extra tower for 360 degree pulling. These suckers are easy to use, and I've had no trouble with my Cheetahs."

Sprays BASF Diamont®

Sneed is just as enthusiastic about the BASF paint that his two painters spray. "Diamont is the top brand, and it's worth the price. It's really good paint and we have very few redos." Sneed said his painters have worked with less expensive paints but that "they don't want to hear about using them (the other paints) now that they're spraying Diamont." The BASF paint is sold by a jobber, Temple Color, a company Sneed says provides "excellent service - fast and reliable. If we have any problem, they're on it."

Although B&G has grown into "probably the largest independent shop" in Temple, Sneed is no longer working seven days a week. He recently hired a chief estimator and parts manager, James Chandler. The shop size, at 6,600 sq ft, is now a limiting factor, but Sneed feels the location is too good to move from. "We're on a main street, real visible, and the area around us has become a real automotive service area. We'll have to wait and see." He has made a decision to offer Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) next year, and considering Texas' reputation for hail storms, his customers will likely appreciate the new service.

Although Sneed says "Barbara and I still work our butts off taking care of this business," his enlarged staff now allows him more time for his children, Destany (Desi), 21, and Robert, 15. And no, Robert isn't spreading any Bondo. "We go hunting and we all enjoy fishing (in the Gulf) on our off-shore boat." In fact, as we started the interview for this article, Gene was heading to the Gulf for a fishing competition. He didn't win, but he'll be back to try again. "It's like building a business, you just keep at it."