Coming to you for a (tire) change

If you haven’t yet scheduled your appointment to have your snow tires removed, don’t fret– one local entrepreneur might have an easy solution for you. With life so busy and typical Canadian snow returning as soon as we’re all convinced it’s gone for the season, it’s hard to keep up with important seasonal appointments. However, in good news for your car (and your busy life), there’s a new tire expert in town, and he will travel to wherever you are to make it happen. Dennis Ho, Fanshawe College and Ivey graduate and car enthusiast recently founded Wheel Easy, a London-based tire change and car maintenance service built for busy lives. Not only does Wheel Easy provide at home (or wherever you like) service, but they also have a strong focus on education, making vehicle upkeep and care information more accessible to those who need it.

Wheel Easy was founded to provide easier access to vehicle maintenance for Londoners, specifically specializing in seasonal tire swapping. With the quick click of a button or call to their phone line, customers from across the London region can book their car in for a tire change anytime and anywhere. As vehicles sit idle in driveways, parking lots, and work offices, Wheel Easy will come to you to service them, providing utmost convenience to their customers. Avoiding the drive to a mechanic isn’t the only perk, as Wheel Easy also offers tire storage and other mechanic services at your request, taking the worry and time commitment out of your tire swap in a few simple steps.

What originally started as a venture creation project at Ivey Business School quickly became the passion-driven venture that Wheel Easy is today. With seven years of auto shop experience, Ho’s dedication to this innovation truly started to manifest and mold through his education. “I’ve always had this idea,” said Ho. “So when the opportunity to work on this venture at Ivey Business School arose, I knew that my balance of expertise and new understanding of business would create value in a venture like this.”

With an idea in mind and a passion for mechanics, Ho started cultivating a customer base the way that most entrepreneurs start out, by figuring out who, what, why, and how in whatever way that he could. He talked to neighbors and locals, posted ads on sites like Kijiji and Facebook, and went through the process of making sure his innovative solution was fulfilling the needs of consumers. Solving a common problem among many vehicle owners, Ho saw a promising influx of interest, and customers started paying for his problem-solving services. Once launched, Ho recognized another hole in the market that needed to be filled, as his customers were asking questions about vehicle mechanics and maintenance. He happily educated those customers and started to focus on providing this education to everyone. Realizing that this educational insight was missing for a significant amount of his customer base, he set out to add more educational value to both his website and his services.

“Helping people become more comfortable with their vehicle is a goal of mine,” said Ho. “It’s important for Wheel Easy to focus on the education, because it is a traditionally gate kept area of expertise, but everyone who owns a car should have access to this basic knowledge, as well as a helpful professional to ask their questions to.”

With a recent partnership with Real Adulting 101, an adult education platform that helps people learn how to do household and “adulting” tasks, Wheel Easy has provided videos and content on the basics of car ownership and maintenance through their platform. Touching on the basics for vehicle and mechanics newbies, Wheel Easy creates content to educate folks on topics such as how to look under the hood, how to check your oil, how to use windshield wiper fluid, and more. Building the Wheel Easy platform towards similar education goals allows for his customer base to feel comfortable and supported working with Wheel Easy.

Celebrating a new acceptance into Fanshawe College’s LeapIN Business Accelerator set to boost Wheel Easy throughout the summer, this venture continues to be built step by step by its dedicated founder and the incredible accelerators and entrepreneurial supports in the London region. As Wheel Easy’s customers benefit from the minimal impact, maximum convenience of Ho’s innovation, it is exciting to see the continued growth and thoughtful path of this humble venture. With a positive student attitude and education momentum, Wheel Easy is a great example of what it looks like to have a founder specialize in the problem that they innovate for, and work alongside community organizations, students, mentors, and teachers to bolster their business and create a community around an innovation.

To learn more about wheel easy or book their services, go to www.wheel-easy.ca or call 519-870-4546