Business View Magazine
3
Franchising
Octob r – Business View
25
relationships with our franchisees and the customers
we serve.”
Formal meetings are held three times a year to
review businesses and discuss ways to improve. Two
of the meetings are focused, comparative operational
reviews. The third is an annual convention where the
corporate management team reviews the business and
franchisees, and corporate staff engage in workshops
and other opportunities to build relationships.
“We believe the model of our service to our
franchisees really manifests itself to their customers at
the dealerships, resulting in great customer satisfaction,”
Welter said.
Recent corporate growth has been fueled an
investment made by Altamont Capital Partners.
“We have a strong businessmodel and an opportunity
for investors to help us grow the brand’s footprint,”
Welter said. “We see a great opportunity to grow our
total system – via franchisees and company stores.
I’m very optimistic about the future and expect to see
many more people to join our team.”
For all 25 years of its operation, the Carmel, Ind.-
based company has offered quality cars and service to
customers. Its founder, Jim DeVoe Sr., had been in the
car sales business since 1961 and recognized a need
for outstanding customer service and professionalism
absent in the industry at the time.
Through leveraging a background in the car and
finance businesses, he launched J.D. Byrider.
“From day one, J.D. Byrider has focused on meeting
our customers’ needs, helping them get a car and a
loan and providing quality service they deserve, to set
them on the long-term road to success,” Welter said.
Welter joined the company with a background in
multi-unit management with publicly traded companies,
including PepsiCo, YUM!, KB Home and 24 Hour
Fitness, a multi-billion dollar operation. He joined J.D.
Byrider because it was a family-owned operation in a
position to grow, and he knew he could take it to the
next level.
“We grew (24 Hour Fitness) from a single location to
400 units, a leader in fitness across the United States,”
