Success Story - Grease Monkey

“Bryan and the team at the SBDC have been
instrumental with the training classes and support
needed to grow our business.”

Tyson started out working for a competitor before bootstrapping and putting everything he and his wife Angela had into purchasing four Idaho stores for $1.4M in 2014. Even when his credit accounts were briefly frozen, he was able to leverage his relationship with strategic suppliers who helped with the down payment and credit lines.

In only eight years, this loan has been nearly paid off, and Tyson has expanded from four locations with thirty employees to eighty employees in ten locations with two in Colorado. These include service centers, car washes and glass replacement centers bringing in $6M in 2021 and expecting $7.5M in 2022. Gaining state-wide recognition, the Idaho Falls Grease Monkey on Channing was the winner of Idaho’s Best of 2021 and 2022 business award for oil changes. 

Although Tyson considers his typical customer as anyone who drives a vehicle, he focuses on B2B fleets. He has added SCAN tools and acquired new software and credits his convenient locations, friendly employees and the variety of services offered as giving him an edge over the competition.  Looking ahead, he plans to extend his focus into offering 15 minute services, battery and brake services, and auto glass and detailing.

Tyson was originally drawn to the SBDC because of their training and networking opportunities and office space available through the Idaho Innovation Center, a business incubator that houses the Eastern Idaho SBDC. He has taken the opportunity for his employees and himself to participate in Grease Monkey University classes and many SBDC trainings

Since 2020, Tyson has been President of the Grease Monkey Franchise Advisory Council. His advice to other business owners is to leverage relationships to seek out ways your business success will benefit others and sell them on your goals.