Owning your own quick lube shop: It’s the ultimate dream for many. Jacobe Krizman felt the same way—but rather than jumping headfirst into murky waters, he spent 20 years building an exceptional background in running Premier Oil Change locations and training others in the quick lube field.
Throughout that time, Jacobe fostered connections that offered him resources he wouldn’t have had as a newcomer to the industry. Not only that, but he is joined by co-owner and wife, Emily Krizman, who brings experience specifically with marketing for Premier Oil Change.
Emily and Jacobe shared what their journey has looked like, and how their experience in the franchise world proved to be a huge benefit for them down the road.
The Beginning of a Career
Having both grown up in Hood River, Oregon, Jacobe and Emily attended college together at Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon. While Jacobe waited for Emily to graduate, he took on a position with Oilstop, which would later branch out and become a second brand, Premier Oil Change, in 2011.
Jacobe worked there for nine months before a manager role opened up in Eureka, California. Seeing an opportunity for himself in a field he was enjoying, Jacobe threw his hat in the ring, and was promoted to the role July 1, 2007, taking him from his home state down to California.
Eight years later, in 2015, Jacobe was on the move again, relocating to Redding, California, to become the district manager over five Premier Oil Change stores in the area. During his time in that role, he saw the business continue to expand, with the five stores he oversaw soon growing to eight quick lubes and two car washes. He managed all aspects of the business—from finances to operations—and gained training and insight from the brand owner himself, Matt Webb.
Jacobe has contributed much of his time to helping the quick lube industry at large, too. As a manager for the Eureka store, other auto shops in the area would often send their own staff over to receive training and tips from Jacobe and his team. The first shop to do so was Benny’s Car Wash and Oil Change. Through the 20 Group, Jacobe has met many other owners and operators to exchange insight with as well.
In addition, Jacobe has been involved with the Preventative Automotive Maintenance Association for about a decade now, having even sat in on PAMA’s Hot Topics panel two years in a row.
Take it and Run
The more that Jacobe saw the Premier Oil Change brand grow, the more he played with the thought of creating something that would be all his own.
“While I was doing that, I always kind of had the dream of owning my own oil change facility,” tells Jacobe. “It wasn't very easy to do—took some time.”
Jacobe let the idea simmer, until the perfect opportunity presented itself.
Through old friends, Jacobe and Emily learned that the owner of a quick lube back in their hometown of Hood River had decided to sell his business. The shop, Hood River Quick Lube, had been in town for around 20 years, with Jacobe and Emily remembering its presence in town as kids.
Emily and Jacobe sat down with the owner, and saw that he had been doing a great job running the facility. Upon returning to California, the couple knew that this was the next step for them.
“After we hit it off with them, we came home and kind of made a decision that we were going to try to open our own oil change facility,” says Jacobe.
Though the shop had been run well, its new ownership came with a complete makeover. Now rebranded as Hoody’s Oil Change, the building underwent a new paint job and was filled with new equipment.
One of the biggest challenges, though, was bringing the existing technicians along with the improvements. In addition to new equipment and an expansion of services, many of the existing techs were not trained in communicating with customers—something that Jacobe places a high value on.
“We're really doing a lot of interacting with the customer, back and forth, a lot of talking, more personable. And some of the staff members that were there before were real quiet—didn't like to talk, would just go about their day,” explains Jacobe.
Within a week, five employees turned into one, leaving Jacobe nearly running the shop as a one man show while also having to hire a new team. It was a tremendous challenge; working in a franchise network, Jacobe had been in situations where team members from surrounding stores would be brought in as needed, but that wouldn’t be an option this time.
But Jacobe made it work—not alone, but with the help of his family and friends, who volunteered time to help out at the shop for about three weeks until new, qualified technicians could be recruited and trained.
Indeed, the shop’s success has been dependent on several factors, one of which being co-owner Emily’s skills with marketing and social media.
Emily is no stranger to utilizing her talents in the auto repair space, either. For around two years, Emily managed Premier Oil Change’s social media and substantially bolstered the brand’s online following. When she and her husband opened Hoody’s, she sought to do the same for their own shop.
Hoody’s social media incorporates information for drivers into fun, entertaining content that connects users with the people in the shop through videos showing the team interacting and working together.
“I think people really enjoy seeing our employees’ personalities, seeing them have fun, seeing that we're not just nose to the grindstone. We can have fun at the shop as well,” says Emily.
Hoody’s posts often get comments from people in the community, saying that they’re eager to see what the shop posts next. It’s clearly been a huge success, with the page having gained over 400 followers. Emily aims to increase that number to 1,000 by the end of the year.
An Industry Built on Connections
Jacobe and Emily’s experience with Premier Oil Change prepared them not only with the skills needed to thrive, but also the industry connections. Possibly the most impactful was getting in touch with a former colleague who managed Premier’s accounting, and bringing her on to help at Hoody’s. Now, the shop has a trustworthy resource that is able to answer any questions Emily may have about finances at any time.
“She was great because she already had experience in the industry, versus just someone else that you know doesn't really understand how (an oil change shop) operates,” says Emily.
Immersing themselves in the industry and gaining decades of experience beforehand made Hoody’s Oil Change possible for Jacobe and Emily. To this day, Jacobe emphasizes how important it is for every shop owner to be involved in the industry, and to make connections that could be lifesavers down the line.
“My biggest word of advice would be to have as many relationships as possible with people in the industry. This would have never happened if it wasn't for the relationships that I have with a lot of people,” says Jacobe.
