Robert Camarda has always had an interest in cars and a strong knack for entrepreneurial endeavors. His latest business venture, Honest 1 Auto Care's new Phoenix location, allows him to combine these two passions in a way that also allows him to help others, another inherent part of his character.
At only 39, Mr. Camarda has already owned and operated several very successful businesses. Rob worked his way through school making deliveries at a local pharmacy and moved on to be an administrative assistant at a Bronx, NY hospital. While working at the A & O Chemists Mr. Camarda quickly moved his way up to a lead sales position in enteral nutritional products, with yearly totals of over one million dollars. He later moved on to manage two pharmacy and durable medical equipment corporations - Economy Drug and Surgical and Derma Pharmacy.
In December 1994, Rob was presented with opportunity to manage a local Bronx automotive repair facility - Bee 1 Auto. At Bee 1, Rob joined his interest in cars with his business acumen and savvy to help the shop perform a complete business turnaround in less than 6 months. Mr. Camarda made this company profitable in 9 months, the shop's business was booming and the customer satisfaction rates were greatly improved.
Simultaneously, Rob started two very successful durable medical equipment companies - Quinn Essential Home Health Care and QuinnCare, Inc. and moved to Syosset on New York's Long Island.
During his time on Long Island, Rob became a very active volunteer fire fighter for the Syosset Fire Department, receiving many awards for dedicated service to the fire department and the community. In 2004, he received the Nassau County Fire Fighter of the year Award.
In 2005, Rob and his wife decided to leave the metro New York area for the clean air and new opportunities of Arizona. The decision was facilitated by two factors - the positive impact of the climate change on their young daughter, who suffered with several severe allergies and the fact that Mr. Camarda and his family had fallen in love with the Southwest while visiting relatives there in recent years.
After settling his family into their suburban Phoenix home and divesting himself of his New York-based medical supply firms, Mr. Camarda was ready for new challenges. He also wanted to do something he was familiar with.
For several years, Mr. Camarda had wanted to return to the automotive service business. A relative in the auto service industry advised Mr. Camarda of a franchise opportunity with Honest-1 Auto Care. He opened his state-of-the-art service facility on Camelback Road in West Phoenix in mid-March 2007. Today, the store is open six days a week and services over 192 cars per month from its six mechanic's bays.
