Two Brigham Young University-Idaho students and lifelong friends recently set up their own Idaho Falls car dealership called Steal of a Deal Auto Sales.

Ben Royer and Collin Howald, both just 25 years old, set up shop in August 2021. Both from Washington state, the two have been pals since they were in the second grade. They grew up learning about cars and how to sell from Royer’s grandfather, “Papa Mel,” who they both claim. Yet, the men say the greatest thing he taught them was how to interact with people.

“We grew up in the shop with Papa Mel. He was always having people over buying and selling things,” the men wrote on their dealership’s website. “We loved spending time with him and meeting new people along the way. There was always a new project, and he was doing something to help another person out.”

Both Howald and Royer served Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missions, with Howald serving in Las Vegas and Royer serving in Peru. After returning from their missions, the friends headed to BYU-Idaho where they’re both majoring in business.

While working on their degrees, the two wanted to start their own business and they decided to sell cars. After finding a vacant Idaho Falls lot, the men opened for business.

Howald and Royer admit that they didn’t know everything about running a car dealership when they started.

“We didn’t have any previous business experience, but we knew a little bit about cars,” Royer said. “For the first while, we were just figuring it out as we went along.”

The men have two employees, one of which is a mechanic. They always have at least 10 cars for sale.

Neither wanted to work for someone else, Royer and Howald said.

“Neither of us wanted to go get a job,” said Royer. “We don’t like working for somebody. Family is our main focus. We want that to be our main focus — not our career.”

Howald has been married to Savannah Howald for four years, and the couple has a daughter. Royer married Miranda in 2019, and they also have a daughter. The wives are supportive of their husbands’ endeavors, and both men say that helps enormously.

The car dealership is located at 7953 North 25th East, “right off of Hitt Road,” they said.

The men buy their cars from wholesale dealers or at auctions. Since starting their joint venture, the pair has sold about 40 vehicles, and as a result, have generated an income to help support each of their families.

“It’s getting a lot busier with the summer coming up,” Howald said.

Howald and Royer say they can arrange financing for customers and recently had a backer sign on to assist them with their business.

“Nobody wanted to deal with us because we were so young,” Howald said. “(Lenders said), ‘Nope, you need at least three years in the industry. You need to have someone with better credit or a house to leverage’ — all these different things. We got a line of credit, and our private investor is super awesome.”

While an education always helps, Royer and Howald find that it’s best to specialize in one portion of the business rather than learn a smidgen of each aspect as is taught in college. For example, they suggest hiring an accountant to do all the number crunching while the business owner focuses on customer service.

“I felt that school doesn’t teach you the actual things you need to know when doing a business,” Royer said. “You take all these different classes, but you don’t know enough of one of those things unless you specialize. You can pay a professional versus trying to do it yourself.”

The men say that the best thing for someone interested in starting a business to do — whether they’re young or young at heart — is to just start.

“I’ve talked to a lot of entrepreneurs who’ve said, ‘The biggest thing that deters people is that they won’t start now,’” Howald said. “Honestly, that’s the first step. You have to dip your foot in the water before the waters part. If you’re not going to do it today, you’re probably not going to do it. Have that faith to take that first step.”

The men are considering opening a soda shop inside their current car dealership. They’re also thinking about setting up a second car dealership and have thought about doing so in Rexburg.

“We would like to get up there,” Royer said.

For more information on Steal of a Deal Auto Sales, visit stealofadealauto.com or call 208-346-2297.