An Interesting Beginning
Brad and Julie Zara met shortly after high school, married in 1985 and opened Zara’s Collision  Center, Inc., in February 1987. The business wasn’t exactly the direction that they had initially intended for their livelihood. Julie was finishing her teaching degree at then Sangamon State University, doing preparation for her teacher education certificate. With her credentials in hand she taught special education for a number of years, while Brad immediately entered the workforce.

“I went to work straight out of high school in a (auto body) shop and was fortunate enough to get into a growing business,” Brad said. “Nobody really wanted to fill the new roles that came available, and I was eager to learn.” As a result he was able to experience and grasp a strong understanding of the business in a short time. “The bottom line,” says Brad, “is that it came down to thinking that I wanted to get out of the business, when in fact the things that maybe were driving me that direction, I ultimately thought were issues I could deal with if I were running my own business.”

Julie said she remembered him coming home from work one day and saying “‘I’m either gonna start my own business or go back to school.’ He had already been accepted into the landscape architecture program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We had looked at the school and everything.” But then Brad decided he should weigh his options.

“I could go to school for five years or take advantage of an opportunity that was more immediate, go into business and in five years start making money,” he said. “It (landscape architecture) was also a field that after five years of education I might not like.” Julie said he had built their house and with the help of one other person did all the landscaping and had really enjoyed it. “He liked that so much that I think it was what gave him the idea,” she said.

Brad agreed. “It came down to wondering if I would enjoy doing it as much for others as I did for us, and also understanding that landscsape architecture was a far cry from what I was doing in landscaping around our house. The problem was I had already put in my notice with my employer in November that I would be leaving the following January to start school. As time grew nearer though, that’s when I switched gears and looked for a location to open my own shop. In doing that, word got out, and I went to my employer  (Dick Taylor) and told him my change of plans. He actually ended up renting me the building that I started with him in. So I really started my own business in the same place where I got my first job in this field.”

“We were really fortunate,” Julie said. “When we opened the doors he had immediate business.” Brad had talked to Rob Isringhausen of Isringhausen Imports about whether or not there would be a market for add-on accessories for the high-end cars. His honest response was ‘no.’ However, Brad said, “We had enough experience working together that if I were to open my own body shop he said he would send me business, and he was true to his word. That really helped us to get going and establish credibility quickly. We had high-end vehicles sitting out and people would see that and have confidence that we could do the job.”

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