Grease Monkey Franchisees Sara and Miranda White are Proud to Lead a Female-Run Automotive Shop in Fort Collins, Colorado

Grease Monkey has been a part of Sara White’s life since she was a teenager.

“I started working at Grease Monkey when I was 15,” said White. “My dad owned the Fort Collins, Colorado center, so I started working part-time on the weekends and during the summer. Now, over 15 years later, my sister Miranda and I have been gradually taking the reins from our dad. Miranda and I work together so seamlessly, so it has been great to embark on business ownership as sisters — I couldn’t do it without her. Recently, my stepdaughter also started working at the center as well, meaning we have three generations of family in the center.”

Grease Monkey was founded in 1978 by two entrepreneurs who noticed that it was becoming increasingly inconvenient for consumers to get their oil changed. Since then, the brand has grown to become the largest independent franchisor of automotive oil change centers in the U.S., operating over 350 centers internationally, with locations in Mexico, China, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.

White notes that the Fort Collins Grease Monkey is different from other locations due to the fact that it is predominantly female run. “We always make sure to prioritize a female presence in our center, including hiring female employees, and that is what people love about us,” she said. “Customers come to us because they know us, they are our family and they know that females can do it just as well as the boys.”

The family’s Grease Monkey location has been a part of Fort Collins for 26 years and White says that the community is a big part of its success. “My dad really ensured that our Grease Monkey center was a part of the community, which is what has allowed us to grow,” she said. “We have a huge percentage of return customers that have seen me, and my sister grow up over the years and who come in to say hello. Although, my sister and I look like twins, so sometimes they mix up our names!”

When it comes to what the family loves most about Grease Monkey, White points out that the brand has really become a second family at this point. Sara and Miranda have known everyone on the corporate team since they were young and have grown up with the Grease Monkey business model.

The brand sets itself apart from the competition with its Certified Pit Crew Program, wherein all of its technicians are rigorously trained using proprietary systems developed by executives with decades of experience in the automotive industry. The brand also offers over 250 other education courses available online at FullSpeed University. This exceptional offering led Grease Monkey to be recognized on Franchise Times’ Top 200+ List for 2019 and Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list for 2020.

During COVID-19, White was able to keep the Grease Monkey location open with limited hours and has since returned to full-time and brought back all staff.

“As soon as we reopened after quarantine, we had a record-breaking July,” she said. “We tried to keep things as normal as possible for customers and people really appreciated that.”

Looking to the future, White is excited to continue working with her family and creating lasting relationships with customers. “We are the number one rated Grease Monkey center in the Fort Collins area,” she said. “We continue to look for ways to support women in the community and locally-owned family businesses, including working with the local roller derby team and softball fundraisers. Anytime we can help our community, we are excited to do so.”

Thanks to dedicated franchisees like Sara and Miranda White, Grease Monkey is continuing to bring its second-to-none services to new customers and building an even stronger business across the U.S.

The investment level for opening a Grease Monkey center ranges from $156,695 to $347,850 with a $35,000 franchise fee and a 5% royalty.  Franchisees who meet the established criteria are eligible for a 10% royalty rebate. Grease Monkey offers veterans and first responders a more substantial royalty rebate for their first two years of business. Candidates should demonstrate financial capability of a minimum$300,000 net worth and $60,000 to $75,000 in liquid assets, per unit developed. To learn more about franchising opportunities with Grease Monkey, visithttp://www.greasemonkeyfranchise.com/.