SHOP STATS: Jack's Collision Center Location: Bonita Springs, FL Owner: Kevin Lipscomb Average Monthly Car Count: 80 Staff Size: 9 Shop Size: 7,500 square feet Annual Revenue: $2,500 Annual Revenue: $2.4 million
1. What’s in a Name
When Kevin Lipscomb and his father Jack were trying to decide on a name for their business in 1990, they for a time settled on “Jack & Son.” But they later decided that “Jack’s” simply sounded better, and the rest is history. Kevin bought out his father several years back, but Jack’s legacy remains in big, red letters.
“We stuck with [the name],” says Lipscomb. “I'm glad that we did. Because it seems like it's been a really, really good name for us.”
That name has endured through 32 years of history, including selling the original Fort Myers location to Service King, leaving the current location in Bonita Springs under the Jack’s name that opened in 2008. The building was already a body shop and Lipscomb felt it was a “hidden gem” with little competition in that part of Florida.
“There’s only three body shops within probably a 15-20 mile radius,” says Lipscomb. “So it was a great opportunity for us in ’08 to go ahead and actually acquire the shop.”
2. Polishing the Gem
After taking over the shop, Lipscomb spent about $100,000 on improvements. That included aesthetic upgrades such as new paint and pavement. And it also included upgrading the paint booth and other mechanical improvements.
“And they just put everything brand new in the system, brand new frame machine, brand new measuring system, I wanted to make sure that we had the best of everything,” says Lipscomb.
Lipscomb is also proud of the human resources his shop has deployed. Among his nine employees, seven have been with the shop for more than 10 years. One painter has been there 23 years.
“Longevity, it's about taking care of your customers, taking care of your employees,” Lipscomb says. “And then in fact, they turn around and take care of my customers, because good help is hard to find. And I'm so blessed that I have such a great crew.”
3. Finding a Niche
In their area of Florida, Lipscomb says the shop gets to work on a lot of high line vehicles—think Bentleys and Ferraris. But a bulk of the shop’s work is relatively quick fender and bumper repairs, and they don’t cater to any particular car or customer.
“We'll have a Ford Escort to a Hyundai Genesis to a Bentley to a Mercedes and then to a Dodge Ram truck, it doesn't matter,” says Lipscomb.
That’s a niche that has served the shop well and will continue to do so. The area has seen an influx of new residents since the pandemic, and Hurricane Irma in 2022 has also brought an influx of work. So Lipscomb is planning a small expansion to handle more cars. Other than that, it’s all about maintaining the team he’s built and preparing for any future challenges.
“I'm just very fortunate that I've got a great, great staff,” says Lipscomb.”… I'm always basically trying to see what who I can draft and prospect and make sure that I've got a full all-star team here.”
