April 2017 | Business View Magazine

42 43 washing cars.When older, there were count- less hours on the sales floor, learning all facets of the business. “Nobody’s been given anything,” he remarks. “You’re not just taken aside one day and told, ‘Here’s your store, or here’s what you’re going to do.’ You have to work for it; so when you do get to a position where you’ve got some authority, you not only appreciate it, you understand why the company has succeeded and why you want to contribute to its growth.” The enduring growth that the Byers Au- tomotive Group has experienced for over Downtown Office: 366 East Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215 Dublin Office: 535 Metro Place South Dublin, OH 43017 Contact us for more information: 614-228-6135 • www.cpmlaw.com C a r l i l e P a t c h e n & M u r p h y Years Celebrating Business Law • Litigation • Labor & Employment • Family Wealth & Estate Planning Real Estate • Banking • Tax • Securities • Insurance • Family Law A Tradition of Legal Excellence for 50 Years. CPM_ColumbusMonthly_FP_FEB17 2.indd 1 2/6/17 2:27 PM The Byers Automotive Group a century can largely be attributed to the compa- ny’s ethos as passed down, over time, from father to son– and grandson. “One of the things my grand- father always used to tell me was, ‘If you think you’re going to sell one person one car, you’re not going to be in business very long,’” Kauffman relates. “’You have to treat that person well enough that they want to come back to you for everything. You want to sell them, their kids, their parents, their friends. And in order to have that opportunity, you need to sell that particu- lar person in front of you, right, the first time.’ It’s something I’ve lived by ever since I was a little kid. I completely agree with that.” But innovation has also been a hallmark of the company’s business mod- el, and each generation has made its own con- tribution. Kauffman says that he came of age at the ‘If you think you’re going to sell one person one car, you’re not going to be in business very long. You have to treat that person well enough that they want to come back to you for everything. ... It’s something I’ve lived by ever since I was a little kid. I completely agree with that. George Kauffman