Brian Moak, owner of HEART Certified Auto Care.
Brian Moak has wanted to expand his family’s auto care business into a national chain ever since he was a child helping his father at work.
“It was a lifelong dream,” said Moak, owner of Duxler Auto Care service stations in Wilmette, Evanston and Northbrook.
That dream is on its way to becoming a reality. In 2018, Moak will launch a nationwide franchise organization. Before going national, the company changed its name from Duxler Auto Care to HEART Certified Auto Care, an acronym for “helping everyone achieve reliable transportation.”
“We are a company that leads with our heart. Having the heart as our symbol and name is exactly right,” Moak said.
Moak’s own heart has been in the auto care business from the start. Growing up, he spent his afternoons and weekends helping out his dad with the business. While his father encouraged him to go to college and choose a different profession, Moak decided to immediately return to the family business after graduating from Indiana University.
In 2009 he purchased three of the five Duxler locations from his father. Because there is a remaining Duxler Auto Care located in Libertyville, Moak decided to change the company’s name to HEART before going national.
Moak is implementing a strategic plan to franchise the business, with the three Chicago-area locations serving as test sites. He expects new locations to open throughout Chicagoland and the rest of the country. Following the franchise model seemed to be the ideal option. Moak said he is excited to empower others to create their own successful business.
HEART will continue to follow its guiding principals: do the right thing, do the best you can and show others you care. “Those are the rules we live by,” Moak said.
And Moak intends to hold the new franchise owners to those same high standards. Moak also established a new system with transparency in mind. All issues are photographed and shared with customers, so they can better understand why certain repairs are recommended. Customers will also receive alerts when service is due, as well as convenient, same-day service.
“We are doing good business and doing well for our customers,” Moak said.
Meanwhile, the Wilmette, Evanston and Northbrook locations will experience a facelift. The waiting rooms have been updated, and Moak said the exteriors will also be updated and include new signage.
Customers being assisted at a HEART Certified Auto Care.