Why would I ever want to join an automotive association? I'm only one shop, what can I contribute?

Webinar Transcript:

This is a webinar talking about an association. Why have an association? What's the value of an association?

Is there any value for me to be part of an association? Oh, you know what? I get value from an association even if I'm not a member. But that's not the point. The point is that together, all of us can lift this behemoth and make things happen. Together, we can be a value to each other. This is going to be a great discussion, a great conversation.

The questions box is where we want to put in those comments, questions, concerns in your question box. So go ahead and go to your questions box on the control panel and type in where you are joining us from today in that questions box. Go ahead and type in where you are joining us from today because I will be the voice for you to make sure that these questions are asked of my guest form today.

Super awesome. Thank you, Joan. Joan is logging in from Denver, and Bobby's from Leesburg.

Who else is here? And Carl from Renton, Washington. Carl, thank you. Mike from Santa Cruz. Rick from Phoenix.

Who else is here?

McKenna from Texas.

Oh, you guys are awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I'm super excited.

Awesome that you are here. Awesome that we can have this discussion together.

And for those of you who know, that's what we're here to have as a discussion. Kukui is about bringing value to the industry, value to you as a shop owner.

Kukui, are these beads that I am wearing. Kukui, the word, has deep meaning to our company. It's the name of our company, and the name the word Kukui translates from Polynesian to English to say, enlighten or to enlighten or enlightenment.

And that's what we're here today to provide is enlightenment for you so that you can see what the future holds or what you can do in your patch, in your area, with your people.

This is super awesome. I'm excited to be able to bring this to you. And thank you to KUKUI for sponsoring our event today as we are discussing an association.

There are associations all across the country. Which is the right one? Which one should I get involved with? Which one is has the value for me?

Where are we gonna go? So my name is Jimmy Lee. I will be the host for you today. I'll be the host with the most the product evangelist for KUKUI.

You've got questions. We've got the answers, so go ahead and type those into the questions box as we are going along. We'll go ahead and ask those questions of our panel. Speaking of our panel, our panel is made up of some awesome, awesome people, really good friends.

I I love to call them friends. I'm honored to call them friends. First is mister Travis Troy with Honest Wrench. Travis is a co owner of Honest Wrench, went through college and university thank you.

To be a technician and now finding himself as a co owner. Thank you, Travis. I appreciate you being here, brother.

Appreciate you having me on. Thanks a lot.

Cool. Thank you. Thank you. As well is mister Brian Kelly, owner of Valley Automotive Repair and Electric. Brian, good to see you. Thank you very much.

Yeah. Thank you, Jimmy. Appreciate being here, and, looking forward to the conversation.

Yes. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you. And, let's see who else. And we also have miss Sherry Hamilton, executive director of the Auto Care Alliance.

Thank you, Sherry. Thank you for being here. Really appreciate you being the voice of all associations today.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having us.

Nice. Thank you. So we we have some awesome things to talk about, specifically going into associations.

What is an association?

What is an automotive association?

Sherry, what is what is an automotive association?

An automotive association is a group of automotive repair shop owners and others who support the industry. They come together, they group together, and they're working, networking, training together. They have mentoring programs together, benefits, a lot of resources that are difficult to find if you're just out in business, kind of doing business on your own day to day, you know, doing your eight to five or or some, it's more six to six AM to ten PM, and you don't have time to get out and connect. This gives you a form, a platform to be able to meet and connect with others with like minded issues and challenges.

And, you're not in this alone. That's the best thing about associations is you are not in this alone.

Yeah. I agree. There's a lot of shop owners that really feel like they're on this desert island that they're the only ones.

And this allows them to rub shoulders, rub elbows with others in the industry that are also part of the industry.

And I I wanted to add to that and just say, you know, they're an association's about relationship, and that is so much of what you find when you get into any association.

It's it's relationship. It's it's the people around you. It's so much of of what you you mean. Sure. You said it beautifully when you said you're working nine to five. Where do you have the time to find these other things unless you can go for that network exists? And and I to me, that's always the backbone.

Well, and like Sherry said, most shop owners are working just over just a little bit more than a half a day. You know, that six AM to ten PM, that's just a little bit more than half a day. Where do you find the time? So, Brian, to you, you opened this up here. What does what does the ACA what does it do for you? What does the Auto Care Alliance do for you?

So when I think of the, ACA, the first thing that, the obviously, the first thing that comes to mind for me, as I said a minute ago, is relationship. It brings people who are in the industry and who care about the industry and are dedicated to the industry together. And and being in a room full of those people, I mean, I I think back to the first first time I ever attended a meeting even before I was a shop owner. And the amount of love that I saw in the northwest, just true caring for people, caring for others' business.

And and it spoke to me ever since. And I you know, I've been a member, I mean, pretty much, I think, the second within two weeks of opening my shop doors, there was somebody there to tell me about the association, and I was a member. And, you know, that's back in two thousand four. So I I think back, and and I I can tell you I wouldn't be where I am today were it not for the association.

I would have taken probably a much different path, much more painful path.

And I I can tell you the success that I've enjoyed would look much different. And maybe I wouldn't call it success. Maybe I just straight call it failure.

You know? And there's and there's a good story to share at some point that, that I I may put out there to to even even emphasize where that goes. So that's that's really what speaks to me in this.

Alright. Well, let's get Travis's idea on what the association does for him, and then I'm always good for a good story.

Absolutely. I mean, you guys you guys have hit some amazing points.

The association for me, I mean, deep down inside it, it means everything to me.

Josh and I, when when we opened, back in two thousand and eleven and and couldn't rub two nickels together, you know, trying to figure things out and and learn, you know, that the current now president of Midwest Auto Care Alliance, Tim Davidson, stepped into our doors and introduced himself, and, that's how we got a part of the association.

And this, you know, this association here, that I become extremely passionate about, I I would not be where I am today, you know, without the help of the association and the people that I've met along the way on a local level. And not only that, on a national level, you know, we've got, members all across the country. So, those connections, those people that you can reach out to and talk to and and just get advice from or provide advice to.

That's really what an association is. We've got that ability as independent shop owners to be a part of that where you've got, you know, large franchises and or dealerships and stuff like that. They're large enough that they have those resources.

Us smaller independent shops, we don't have those resources. We need to be a part of an association, in order to be able to to be a powerhouse and have those resources and work together.

Yeah. Yeah. So so we're all we're all working together. And I appreciate you saying that that this is where we can come together.

And I think both of you probably have a similar story about the success or failure of your shop and how it is that the association helped you, which is really what I wanna get to. This isn't just a a a banner on your wall. You know, Travis, you've got the Milwaukee there behind you. It's just not just a banner and a a ribbon and and a meeting once in a while, the dinner once in a while.

There is more to it. But before we get into that, Brian, what what is your story of your success or failure of your business?

As I was listening, one other thing occurred for me as well, which is I really haven't heard the benefits, you know, the financial benefits mentioned so far. And, you know, that's often the case for long time members. The financial benefits mean so much less than the personal benefits. And the story I was gonna share really is about that personal side, and I found myself locked in a and I'll make this as as brief as I can because it's a it's a ten year story.

And, I found myself locked in a just a absolutely awful, awful legal battle that I've been fighting for. I think I was at at the ten year mark at this point, and, I was fighting with the city. I was fighting with the county. I was fighting with a neighbor who, I mean, just when you when you see what was going on at her level, the only word I can use to describe it is, chaotic and and borderline crazy.

And as this as this, was, you know, tumbling down in my world for ten years, I mean, it took it took a toll on me. And I found myself, you know, becoming more ingrained in the fight than I was in the business.

And and I continued to fight because I justified it in my head that if I didn't fight the fight, the business would fail and then everything fails. And so my focus became really about winning this battle. And, you know, ten might have been close to twelve years, and then somewhere in that realm, we went to an association meeting with, my local guys from the northwest.

And little did I know they had another agenda.

And, that agenda involved I think this is twenty thirteen or fourteen. Yeah. So it's right on the ten year mark. They, they dragged me into a hotel room, four of them.

And I I I always explained it as verbally assaulted me for the next two hours, fed me a few cocktails, and then booted me out the door. And, and the whole intent of what they did was to to really bring to bring my awareness up to what was happening. And they cared enough to speak truth. They cared enough to literally just cram it down my throat and then stuff me out the door so I had to think about it.

And, you know, it well, I'm gonna tell you it was about midnight, maybe one o'clock in the morning when they booted me out of that hotel. There's no cab service. I mean, I I had to find my way back to a room with all of this going on in my head, which is the greatest thing they ever could have done for me. And and that's what positioned me to later on within two months of doing this, I found myself knocking on a person's door to purchase the building that my shop exists in now.

So were it not for that conversation, were it not for that that heavy handed approach that they knew that I needed. And and really, it all all came out of love in their heart because they could see that this battle I was going through was it was insignificant. It was about land. It was about a building.

The real the real answer was go get another building.

And they brought that clarity to me. And and they did it they didn't do it because they had to. They didn't do it because anybody paid them to do it. They did it because we we had gotten to know each other through this association, and they cared enough to to make that impact on my life and complete world of change. You know, it it I I can tell you to this day, I would I it was a high chance I might be divorced.

There's a high chance that I wouldn't have my business, and my life would look completely different. Did did those guys not drag me into that room and, as I always say, verbally assault me for two or three hours and and boot me back out in the world. And and and that's the kind of stuff that happens when you build relationship, when you're when you're willing to get real in the association and draw upon the other people around you because they have stories to tell. They've all been through something. I guarantee you. You don't go through ten, twenty years of business and not have a story.

And and how else do you get to hear those stories than put yourself in a room full of people?

I agree a hundred percent. And, Brian, I've actually never heard that story. That is that is pretty powerful. And, you know, our our local association has had several of those success stories, you know, where we've been able to step in and and help local shop owners. You know, we had a a very small, one man operation, and it was too him and his wife. And, you know, he fell out of a tree and and broke his collarbone.

And, he was the technician.

That was him. And so, you know, several of us local shop owners conquer, divided, and we went to town and started sending our technicians down there fixing cars for him while he was in, you know, recovery and and bringing cars to our shops. And, that's really what an association is. You have got not just you. You don't have the people inside your four walls. You've got an entire association that cares about your well-being and your success, and it doesn't matter if you're right next door. That's that's really what it is.

Yeah.

It's family. I mean, it's it's another layer of family is what it becomes.

Exactly. And where else would you find that type of community?

That quickly. So being connected. And if you join an association and you just sit back as a member and you don't get involved, you don't attend meetings, you don't get involved in, you know, online training and other networking opportunities, you have a really hard time getting connected to these type of resources. And where else could you find something like that if you're a shop sitting on the corner all by yourself with no connections?

This gets you immediate connection, And there's no, oh, you're my competition. I'm not gonna help.

That doesn't that doesn't exist. I mean, this this is a community that, is just what the what I've seen happen in the way of they become friends, they become your family.

You know, I grew up in this industry and my parents had a repair shop and were members of the association.

And to see that love and support that they received when they had their business, when they retired from their business, and then when they had health crisis later on, is absolutely amazing. So this is this is really more than an association. It can become a family, but it takes action on your part. You can't always expect the association to come to you. You come to them, and then you're gonna experience that outreach very easily and with open arms.

So so you're saying, Sherry, that that the, verbal assaultment that Brian got, that's not normal.

That's not encouraged per se.

No. No. No. No. No. That that is a very rare but much needed situation in that.

I I'm sure with the the leaders that I don't know that that verbal assault is the right word, but Right.

Yeah. His words.

I'm serious. I think It's the right it's the right word. It's it's a loving assault. And It was And you'd have to know me you'd have to know me well enough to know that nothing else would work.

Right. And they and they loved me enough to know that. And they cared enough about my family, the the business, my employees to say, hey. You know what?

Brian's Brian's not gonna just listen to a casual conversation.

We're gonna have to disarm him, and we're just gonna have to lay it out there. And once once you once you beat him hard enough, he'll you know, I'm thick headed. I don't I don't just, you know, I don't just do. So they but they knew that well enough to to do it.

And and where else would you find that? And where else would you find the quality of people and the experience and and all of the things that are needed to cause what I what I call a mental shift. Because when you're locked and loaded into something, all you see is what your aim is is pointed to. And and in my case, in that scenario, my aim was to win the court case.

And I was I was over three hundred and eighty thousand dollars of financial cost at that point. And, I mean, there was still another there was still another hundred and twenty to go from that point. So so when you when I say locked and loaded, you know, I'm an all in guy. And I was all in, but I was all in for the wrong target.

I was all in to win the fight, not not the war. And and they, you know and when I say verbally assaulted, that's what I needed. But Yeah. But again, they knew me.

Yeah. They knew me well enough to know. If they did anything else, I was just gonna blow it off and and move on. And I don't know where else should find that.

I've never experienced anything to that level other than in the association world amongst the people who are dedicated to one another and who care enough to actually do it.

And that's and that's the part that speaks to me.

Yeah. And and I love that we can come together as a group. We can lock arms together, as a group.

Guys that are longer in the tooth have been around a while, as well as the younger guys that are just coming out of college thinking, oh, hey. We're gonna go start a business, Travis.

Or start it while you're in college. I mean, hey.

Hey, Josh. We got, like, eight months left of school. Let's go start a shop.

Right. Yes. Yeah. That's, you know.

That's the bold, brave move out of, I call it, ignorance or arrogance. I don't know which one, but you guys you guys went out to do it.

And and for those that are starting brand new, this is this is a great story that helps those that are starting new with the the with the help and assistance that they need. What what's your story here, Troy Travis?

Yeah. So, you know, Josh and I, we were met in college. We were working, you know, in a garage and, got shut down by the city, and we were just working to to pave our way through college. I mean, this wasn't a business. And, got shut down by the city and went in. Eight months left to college, went in and and opened a legitimate company in a storage unit. And, we we had a four hour gap between classes, so we'd go work on cars while we were still in college and then work a full time nighttime job after that.

And when we finally graduated college, then we worked at the shop full time and then stuck up our full time jobs for another four four years.

So, twenty When you say you went worked at the shop, is this the storage unit?

Yeah. So we're in the storage unit for just over a year. And then after that, we found another shop. Actually, right down the street from the from the place that I was working at at night, I was a diesel mechanic.

And, so found that. And so it was pretty easy for me to just basically walk down the street to the to my other job. And, so yeah. I mean, we worked, close to eighteen hour days, for about four years straight, and, I can't get the eighteen hour days out of me yet.

I'm still working on it. I'm getting close. I just it's a passion of mine. So, but, you know, when that time came, we said, hey.

We've either gotta, you know, sink or swim. We gotta put all of our all of our chips on the table and go all in with the business, and that's when we did. And, extremely thankful. That's when, you know, like I said earlier, Tim Davidson came along and and scooped us up and and brought us into the association at that time.

And, you know, a lot of a lot of times, it can become extremely intimidating when you get yourself surrounded by a lot of of heavy hitters, is what I would call it or or extremely successful people. And we didn't take it as intimidating. We took it as I wanna be them, and I'm I'm willing to do whatever it takes in order to become them. And I may never become them a hundred percent, but if I can become them eighty percent, that's eighty percent closer to than where I'm at.

You know? And so as we as we have new members joining, associations and stuff like that, it can be extremely intimidating.

And Yeah.

You you've gotta set the ego aside and the intimidation aside and going with open arms and open ears.

And, you're gonna have more value to provide than you think, and you're gonna be able to gain so much more than than than you might think as well. And that was what was really powerful for us, when when we jumped in. We we didn't bring an ego in. We didn't bring intimidation.

And and the other thing is is you're gonna hear so many different ideas.

And and I've learned along the way that not one idea is the only is the only way. Okay? Right. And if you're not willing to try different things and your way you're stuck in your way, you are stuck in the mud. And that was one thing that I feel, and a lot of people have said along along the years short years that we've been in business, is that, you know, we we go to these associations, we go to these meetings, and we grab these takeaways, key takeaways, and we debrief afterwards.

And then we create action, and we take off, and we're not afraid to try this stuff. We're not afraid to fail.

And what happens is we've probably failed more times than we've succeeded, but look to where we've where it's got us today. Right? And that's really what it is. But every time we fail, we've got a huge family of an association around us to help pick us back up, keep us on the straight and narrow, and keep pushing us. And that's really I mean, it's it's amazing. It's it's amazing.

That's awesome. Sherry, are are you surprised, shocked?

Is it planned? Is it oh, yeah. That's exactly what we wanted to do. Are you shocked by some of the stories you hear that come out of the association?

Actually, I'm not, simply because of my personal experience with the association, my parents' experience with the organization, and the changes that I saw evolve in their business.

And so I come from a different aspect of seeing the organization, so I understand the challenges that the shop owner faces and that they take home with them and the impact that it has on the family.

And so I see and I understand I've lived the bigger picture, and that's what gives me the passion to do what I do on this side and to keep this you know, keep the organization going and growing is because I I get the impact that it can make if somebody gets involved, and and becomes part of an association. And it's not just you can connect with them during the meetings. I mean, so many of our members have a problem, have a question in the middle of the day, and they'll pick up the phone and they feel comfortable and have to call another shop owner across the city, across the state, across the country and say, hey.

I've got this. What would you do? Where else do you get something like that? You don't you can't always go to Google, Google dot com.

It won't always it won't get you the answers, or maybe it won't get you the best the best answers that you need. So to have experienced people that you can also rely on as that, as your, what do they call the, the number you your, phone a friend.

You know, you you've got that and a great a great panel, you know, a great resource of of tons of members to do that with.

Oh, I love it.

I wanna I wanna interject real quick.

Yeah. Go on.

So Sherry brought something up that I I think kinda struck a nerve for me. She brought up about the association and who leads that association and that team.

That is extremely, extremely important in the success of an association.

In Sherry's team, I mean, we've gotta give it up to them. They are absolutely hands down phenomenal at every aspect of managing this association and making sure that they provide everything to the members at a flawless flawless every single time. I mean, it is phenomenal to see the inner workings of what goes on and the amount of powerhouse of a team that she truly has.

And that's that's a big, big thing that it takes in order to make an association truly successful. It's not all of us shop owners. It's not all of us phone a friend. It's not all of us get together just on a local level. It's what they do behind the scenes that I honestly feel they don't get enough credit for that that really makes all of us look good.

You know, inter interesting, Travis. You you go down that path because I I have a a slightly different take on it as well, you know.

And I I wanna I wanna, you know, flush Sherry up and make her feel good too, but I'm gonna I'm gonna pull back just a hair because I think this this radical ask right now that needs to happen at the membership level.

And Sherry's got a stellar team. We've got a a stellar team over here in in in in Nuwaka side. And what what occurs to me is that no matter how strong that team is at the top, it requires the shop owners. It requires the small boards. It requires the small chapters.

And and this notion of leadership, you you can have the best leaders at the top, but if they're not bringing it down through the whole organization and and, sure, you do a great job with it. You know? So this isn't taken away from you. But this is just saying that we have to have the others stepping up into those positions because that that is where I have seen the actual the the the fruits occur. And and quite honestly, I mean, if you look at where we are in the industry right now, we are at a changing of the guards.

And and, frankly, the change isn't happening in a way that I think is it meets up to where the guys are exiting.

And so the the younger guys and I'm I'm kind of in the middle, so I I don't really fit the the the old I you know, I'm I'm somewhere in between both ends of the spectrum.

And and when I look at it today, I don't see the guys coming. I don't see the young faces. And I didn't see the young faces when I was the young face in the room. And whatever whatever's going on, we aren't grabbing their attention like we should be.

And And maybe part of it is Travis, maybe it's your story, my story. It's the it's the stories that happened because maybe they're not hearing those. But but without that group, I mean, it it it becomes a daunting task for the very top to run all of the things that need to happen. And and I think when they when they really operate effectively, it's really done where you almost don't see anything from the top.

You know, the top is almost almost quiet and and non observant, and it just happens. And you and you take them for granted because it runs so smoothly because all the other things have been put into place. The leadership training's been there. The people below are bought in, and they're running with it.

And and that's my cry. That is my cry to get those people out there, get them involved, and get them building our industry even further than it is today.

You are so right, Brian. And and what we have to realize is leaders grow leaders. Right?

And so when we get to that that local level, that local chapter level, those leaders need to be growing their replacements.

And and we we do that by you know, when I was on the on the local level board, it's it's a huge honor for me to be a part of that. And, you know, if we don't show that and and make it known that that is that is something special. There is four seats on a local level, and there is a lot of members. And in order for for me to have that opportunity, I took that, I mean, as, like, a holy cow.

They actually thought that I could be here. Wow. I really need to provide for our members. And I think when you bring that and then you lead that, lead that group and then always be looking for your replacement.

And and we need to do that in our businesses as well. And you do that by by growing yourself as a leader first and then growing leaders below you, and then you get two, three leaders below you, and then those two, three leaders are now building two or three more leaders. And so, you know, before you know it, you've just got a powerhouse of leaders, and, that's that's really what we've gotta focus on.

Sherry?

Well, you know, this generation, this new generation of shop owners, I think, you know, the younger shop owners, it it's hard to find a way to get them to connect. They relate a lot differently to organizations. You know, they would rather text. And so I think as associations, we have to reach out and modify how we're reaching, how they learn, all the different things to to get to this younger generation. But there are so many incredible things that they will get involved, that they'll just take the step that where they can learn incredible leadership skills that will enhance their business, make their business even stronger, and they get more connected and more knowledge about the industry, and get partners. And then as they as they grow their business, they now have a network that comes across the country.

But getting that young shop owner, if they're, you know, talking to any young shop owners out there, you just need to get connected, get out of your comfort zone, and I promise it will pay tenfold.

There that's that's our challenge for organizations today.

Yeah. The key is being uncomfortable.

They enjoy the discomfort, and and you'll go a long ways. And that's that's not just in the association world. That's in life, and that's in business. Enjoy the discomfort.

Hundred percent.

So one one thing I haven't heard us talk about, which I love, are vendor relationships.

You know? And and, in my business, we have a thing called the wind wheel, and it's four quadrants. It's, it's the business. It's the internal customer. It's the external customer, internal customer being the employees, external customer being who pays the bill. And then and then lo and behold, it's the vendor. And and I always say, if all of those are in balance, the wind wheel serves the community.

And and I I look at this, and I I talk about, you know, vendor relationships, and you look at what the association brings in vendor relationships.

Where else can I get a one on one connection with the person who is in charge of, we'll say, the entire department of my my parts my parts delivery? Right? So I don't just I know the bottom, which is the person who hands it to me, the person who usually takes the most flack for, you know, lack of any other word. They show up, they're late and then, you know, everybody's upset it.

I'm here. Or maybe they're your best friend because they got it there on time, but they they live in the seesaw world. Right? And and, unfortunately, we get to know them when we're in our shop.

And maybe that's a fortunate thing because I've met some awesome delivery people, and I've met some that some that don't care so much. But but at the same time, how often do I get a hold of the the top end? Because you might get the salesperson who delivers to you, or you might get the salesperson who makes the call to your shop, but do you get who's in charge of it all? And through the association, we get to meet all of the contacts.

And when there is a problem or when there's something going well that you wanna you want maybe to even assist with, you pick up the phone and boom, who do you have? And they they know you by face. They know you by name, and and that relationship's already established.

So it's not they're not questioning whether or not you did what you said because they've met you. They know that you're a person of integrity.

And and when something goes wrong, they're going, you know what? Let's let's let's jump into this and let's get it fixed for you because I agree that shouldn't be happening this way. There's no barrier to correction and and getting things where it needs to happen. And, again, it's relationship, but but it's so key to have those vendor relationships. And I don't know of another place that you get them all, short of the association.

And many times, they come to us and ask us for solutions. You know, hey. We're needing some insight on this. How is this working for you? Or, hey. Can you participate in in this survey or this advisory board or, task force to to tackle a problem? So there's many times where you do your voice is heard much louder than it is as the independent businessman on the street, when you're part of an organization.

It's true. It is true. It is true. I love it. I love it. And I see this, Sherry, that you are the gardener, and you are you are laying the ground, planting the seeds, fertilizing it, watering it.

You know it's going to happen because of your past experience in the industry. You know that these stories are gonna be there.

I love the stories. I find them, amazing. I find them awesome. I find everyone unique in their story of how they came to success or how they got there.

And I see a lot of association being the value of the association. I I wonder if this next gen is questioning the value. What are they gonna get of the value of being involved in association? How much time is this gonna take, you know, because this they want that balance to happen, which I I don't know what balance people are thinking they're gonna get.

I we work half days, whatever it takes. Right?

What what what is balance? Balance, balance will be coming down the road a little bit.

How how can we how can we recruit more? How can we get that value translated to this next gen? What what can we do to get that new shop in here? Maybe even an old shop.

So so balance we all have twenty four hours a day. So we're all balanced in within twenty four hours a day. Right?

And we put more time towards stuff that we're more passionate about.

Right.

So I think our true goal is to get them passionate.

And when they become passionate, it's it's no longer more of a balance.

Okay? It's them chasing their passion.

So our true challenge is is we've gotta get them passionate about this. And in order to get them passionate about this, we've gotta bring them in. We've gotta make them feel welcome. And not just make them feel welcome, make them welcomed.

Okay.

And get them involved.

Let them get a taste of what it's like, and then they start building that. And it doesn't happen overnight, especially with the younger generation.

It takes even longer. But as soon as they become passionate about it, they become passionate about video games or YouTube or whatever. That's where they spend their time.

Yeah.

Okay? Get them passionate, and then it's no longer a balancing issue.

Yeah. You hit on a keyword there being welcomed. I I think of have you guys ever been the new kid at school?

Oh, it's so awkward. It's so difficult. I don't have any friends here. Who am I gonna talk to?

Make them feel welcomed.

Bring them into the family. Make sure that you introduce them to everybody and introduce yourself to them and find out who they are, where they are, all this. Yeah.

Brian.

Yeah. So as I was listening, you know, one of the things that's occurring for me right now is, Travis and I think we're all guilty of this, so I'm not picking on you here. But I heard you refer to them as them and them and them and them and they.

I and I think that's part of our problem. And and as I think about this and and this is I was listening to this occurred to me, but, I think all of us, myself included, refer to us as them because we are in this together.

It's not them. It's not us. It's we. We are all together in this. And you nailed it a second ago when you just said, what's it like being the new kid?

We we aren't none of us are new kids.

We are all together working in this industry. And until we can embrace that and and fully, fully bring ourselves to it, it's gonna be a it's gonna be a them, and it's gonna be I want they, and and and we're gonna we're gonna struggle with this. And I I don't have the answers perfectly on this one. I just know that in order to do it, the inclusivity has to be there. And we have to be embracing, and we have to involve all of the entire industry. And and when you think about the independent world, we we have seminars that are set up to talk to the millennials, and here's how Gen X works, and here's your baby boomers. Screw that.

We are all automotive shop owners. We are all automotive shop industry.

Mhmm.

And and and create that group and and I love Travis on your passion because you are spot on. My my I was just I was getting excited when you said that because that's what it's about. We make we we create a space that we can be passionate about what we believe in. We didn't we didn't come into automotive because we don't like cars.

We didn't come into automotive because we just happened to fall into a shop. And and there's something about us that drove us here because it's not an easy profession. There's nothing there's nothing nice about getting your your knuckles beat up and and oil in your face and, you know, my favorite diesel or gasoline in your eyes. There's just there's nothing nice about that.

Right? So nobody subjects that self to them unless they have passion to begin with and and continues to stay in it unless they have passion.

So when you talk about building that passion, how do we get them to have that same passion that keeps them under that car in our group?

And how do we all embrace each other and say, this is the network that we need, and this is the network that we should have? And quite honestly, I believe the network that once existed at a stronger level.

You know? So so bringing that back together in that sense of community is critical.

And the more we the more we have seminars on how we speak to Gen x and how we speak to the millennials and now it's Gen z, In a lot of cases, I think we were actually doing ourselves harm. Because I I have a millennial who works for me and I love him to death. And he says, if I hear one more thing about how you should talk to me, I'm gonna lose my freaking mind.

And I go, well, then you tell me how to talk to you because I'm not good at it.

But but the more we focus on us and them, I think the tougher it becomes. And, you know, that's that's my thing is we need to embrace it all and know that we're all in the same thing and we're all cut from the same cloth.

We all put our pants on one leg at a time at the end of the day.

Well, Sherry does both his I'm a double legged.

You just I just run it. Boom. Snap.

Well, you know, and I think for shop owners that say, I don't have time.

My day is so busy, and then I wanna get to family, and they're already feeling the pressure at both ends.

They need to take the time. Just that little investment of time, what you can come away with from a meeting can make a difference in your day, in your month, in your month end, in a challenge that you're dealing with that's keeping you at the shop late at night, that's keeping you awake at night.

Just make the commitment and that time, it will pay off. What you invest in the organization pays off personally and professionally.

Truth.

Truth. That's the that is that that's a hard lesson, though. These guys I mean, I walk into a lot of shops, and I've I've spent weeks and weeks working with our outside sales guy going into shop after shop. And and I I mean, I I when we walk into certain shops, I almost chuckle because I go, oh god.

Here we go. You know? And and the first thing that happens is the guy comes up from the back and he's he's the owner and he's covered head to toe. He didn't stop to wash his hands before he walked up front.

And I the first thing I always say is, hey, I'm really sorry. What do you mean? Obviously, we interrupted you, so I'm sorry for that. And I, you know, I I we probably should have called and set something up, but but we're here anyway.

How is this how is this working for you?

And and that always gets quite the interesting reaction. What do you mean? Well, you you seem pretty busy. Yeah. I just I've got no time. Oh, okay.

By the way, I own a shop too, and I'm out here visiting you. And it's not because I'm some different guy or I'm I'm some high intellect or I'm I'm just some some ultra driven dude. It's it's because I I manage people, and and I care about my my team, and and I care about the industry. And I I think you do too. But for some reason, you've made a choice to to grind it out in the way that you are.

And it's enticing people and getting them to understand there's other ways of doing things, and and there's nothing unethical about it. There's nothing that you're you're less of a hard worker. It's it's there's better ways to do things. And the only way you gets to see you know, the only way to know what you don't know is to see others who do know.

And and that is so often the key is to get them to you can if you can give them that that realization that, oh, gosh. What I'm doing, other guys did this, and I don't have to do it this way. And so when I go into that shop, I always I almost try to, you know, once I've apologized, once I've set the stage, then I almost try to get them angry with me. And because I want them to have to think about what's going on around them. I wanna challenge their belief, and I wanna create friction. And I I want to make them, you know, get them agitated to where they actually think about it.

And and so many times, it comes down to what Sherry just said. They think they're too busy. But in reality, they're just busy being busy.

There's no there's no there's there's no order to what busy is. It's just the next fire on top of the next fire on top of the next fire. And you if you can explain to them that fire prevention works a whole lot better, then all of a sudden their whole life changes. And and back to what Travis said a minute ago, that's where the passion comes from.

The minute they see that their life can be different than it is, and it can be exponentially better than it is today, that's where that passion comes from. And and that's where that's whenever I think about the tension I create, that's what I'm thinking in my head. Yeah. This is uncomfortable even for me because I've had guys almost throw stuff at me.

Right?

Who the hell market practice.

Yeah. What are you thinking? Oh, oh, hey. I just I just questioned something you're doing.

But but to me, that's where the the meat really comes down, and that's where caring about the industry comes down because they've got a family. And I've watched too many guys go out of business. I've watched businesses burn down to the ground and because they didn't have the right coverage, because they they wouldn't come to events that I'd invited them to for over a year or two, I've watched them lose everything. I've watched guys take and remortgage their house to pay for their shop that they didn't correct.

They lose their house. They lose their business. They lose their wife. Their kids hate them.

And then they they end up working and and become an alcoholic on top of it. And Yeah. And you watch these spirals happen, but yet there's resources out there that can pull people up. And and you don't have to be at the bottom to get pulled up.

Sometimes it's just walking into the group.

And, you know, I've seen it happen too many times that when I stand there now, that's what goes through my head. Hey. You're you're busy being busy. Let me show you another way.

So no matter how how bad that tension might become, it's it's worth it to me because I don't wanna see another one of them go through what I've seen people go through.

Like a great evangelist, you're going door to door, Brian. I appreciate that.

Helping to bring people in. That that is super awesome.

That's what it's all about.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It really is. So, Sherry, I I know that the, Auto Care Alliance, does stretch all across the United States.

If a shop did wanna get involved Yes.

How do how are they gonna do that? How do they do that? Is there is there a chapter everywhere?

So there's not a chapter everywhere, but we do have what we call a virtual chapter where they have access to resources, our training library to, we're gonna be kicking off the SOS or shop owner support groups that are gonna be virtual.

They have access to everything no matter where they are, and then, hopefully, they will want to start a chapter there locally. So they'll want to work. And so we'll work with them if they don't have something in their area to where then they can, get like minded shop owners together. And we will help support a chapter and the growth of a chapter to where we can begin getting this concept across to even more, more of the country. So we're really excited. There's some there's some great opportunities ahead, and it's been finding those new leaders. And those leaders in those local areas very well have an opportunity to be, you know, national leaders, within our organization, with other other, organizations and industry advisory boards.

There's really there's really no limit, and I'm excited to make the opportunities available. So all somebody needs to do is go to auto care alliance dot org. We have a site in there that says where you are. Depending upon what state you're in, we do have some alliances that already have an organization, open and, functioning. You would join one of those organizations. Or if you're outside of those areas, you would join the virtual, which would which is under the umbrella of the Midwest Auto Care Alliance.

We have the the support and everything to, already online, there's over a hundred different management and technical training classes that you have access to in a library, as well as numerous other resources and benefits.

Beautiful. So real quick, Brian. You brought up a pretty strong point that our industry has a lot of issues with, and that is, you know, substance abuse or, maybe that's alcohol.

I might put Sherry on the spot here a little bit.

But is there a benefit that might be releasing really, really soon that could, potentially help with some of that stuff?

Actually, yes. There is a there's an email and press releases that are going out this week. We have an employee assistance program. So many times, a small shop can't afford that.

And, you know, if you work for a large corporation, you have that where you have access to a counselor, who can help you through. Maybe it's, you know, putting a parent in. Maybe it's the death of a loved one. Maybe it's struggles with a child.

Maybe it's your child needs some assistance. And this EAP program will actually help all of your employees plus their household family members.

And we've come together, and we're ready to announce the SHOP care benefit program. Thirty dollars per employee per year is all it costs.

Did you hear that? Per year.

Yes.

When I heard that, I about fell backwards.

Yes. Pretty much.

You get you get twenty four seven, three hundred and sixty five days a week. If you have anything at all, you pick up, call this number, and you've got somebody within seconds to help you navigate through whatever issues it is, whether that's substance abuse or marital issues or, it it doesn't matter.

That is a enormous benefit.

And that that again is is another reason why it's so important to be a part of association. A small company like us, we can't afford to to bring some of those large, large benefits to the table.

Those are multibillion dollar organizations that can do that.

So having an association that backs you and supports you in those ways, that's just another huge reason why it's so important to be a part of association.

So we do Let's flip that on its head too, Travis. There's no way for thirty dollars you could provide this level of No.

Not a chance.

No. No. So, you know, we're really taking the care of the shop owner and their shop family, to heart. And so we've unfortunately experienced, several employee suicides, shop owner suicides, So and some really difficult times, and I think the last couple of years have really brought us to, really look at things differently, having some some challenges emotionally, mentally, as well as our children. And we need to address those, and those impact the shop. And those impact your team culture and your efficiency.

And you know what? Let's let's find a solution. So we went out. We found this EAP program that we can implement on a nationwide level for all of our members for just an incredibly low price.

And, you know, if you end up with a situation and, heaven forbid, you have a shop you know, you have a shop employee that, you know, commits suicide. There's a support program that you can enact. It does cost extra for that support program, but you don't have to scramble on what do I do because it impacts everybody in your shop, and we've seen it happen. And we don't want any any other businesses to experience. And so let's try to find the solution ahead of time before it reaches those crisis points. And we're we're really excited. It's, ShopCare is what we're calling it, ShopCare, and it's an employee assistance program.

You have to register before December first for an open enrollment, and it's good for a year.

We've really we've had some some incredible response to the announcement, and there'll be official announcements and press releases going out this week.

Oh, that's super awesome.

Great stuff. You know, so one thing we we haven't mentioned either, and I think this is actually another one of the largest things that the associations offer, is tech training.

And and you look at and you look at what goes on there and what that requires from a shop. And and and were these associations not in place, there's absolutely no question that we couldn't we could not compete at the level we do without them. And, you know, whether it's vision, whether it's, oh, gosh, whether whether it's vision, whether it's ATE, I mean, we've got shows across what what was that? Bimmers. Bimmers. Yeah. Bimmers.

You know, as you as you talked about all the Saturday.

There's so many of them.

Yeah. And were it not for those, I think it's just what the cost alone would be to train our technicians. And, you know, in some cases in the past, I brought in trainers to the shop.

You try and catch some of the parts ones that challenge there. If it's done by a parts vendor, how much of it is their mantra that they wanna stick into into it?

And and when you when you have the associations in charge of it Yeah. We're gonna push out and say, hey. It's gotta be to the subject. You know? It's gotta be education.

Exactly. It's not a sales pitch.

Not a sales pitch. Yeah.

And that and that to me is one of the the greatest pieces that's been put out there. We're not trying to brainwash our technicians to where you're only gonna buy this brand of part. No. Here's how you fix the car. Now figure out what part's gonna work. And and we can show you the advantages of certain parts, but but it's not just about that manufacturer. And and to me, that's that's one of the biggest benefits of the associations that are out there right now.

I love it. I love it. Thank you. Yeah. The training is freaking amazing and awesome. I wanna throw one last one out as well, and that's the legal, the lobby, the government.

Yes.

I I've been a lot of shop owners, people aren't aware or don't know that there's a lot of laws being passed or proposed that benefit or to the detriment of our industry. How does the association help out there?

So we have an eye on the legislation.

In Missouri, the Midwest Auto Care Alliance, we actually have an on staff, lobbyist now, to represent us. And then we are working on something nationally, as far as grassroots efforts, that will be announced soon, as well as some other partnerships to have representation and have a voice in that legislative arena. There is a lot coming down on the national level, you know, federal level, and state level.

We're we're very excited about some of the, the new, partnerships and and organizations. So the ACA is now getting the recognition of other organizations who are now coming to us and saying, hey. We wanna partner with you. We love what you're doing. We wanna partner. And so there'll be there'll be a lot of new developments that you'll be hearing about over the coming months as, as all of these come together and some some big meetings coming in Vegas at Apex and CEMA and, and even more. So I you'll you'll be hearing you'll be hearing from us.

Nice.

Beautiful. To to piggyback on that, though, don't be afraid at your local level. And and I've spent a lot of years at my local level, at at both the, I would say, even county all the way to state level, fighting for what you know needs to happen. You know, don't be afraid to go to, your legislative days where they walk on your capital.

Don't be afraid to join up with some of your business groups to go experience what's out there so that you can be a voice. And and the associations need people at grassroots level. We need people at the national level. And and it's critical that, again, it's back to be involved.

Because if you don't do it, you might be the one who's getting the hatchet. So find the people who are passionate about it. You know, it doesn't happen by itself. And Yeah.

And with as many states as we have in the union, it's not it's not like one person can do all of it. Although they do have nice software, if you if you're into it, they can they can find a lot of the details for you. So so, again, it's it's so much of it is still just get involved because you'll find out where the needs are too.

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Well, let's put a a beautiful bow on this. Any last thoughts, words, comments, Travis, then Brian, then Sherry, and and we'll close this thing out because I I tell you, this association talk is strong, and I love it. I love it. Travis, to you.

Yeah. I mean, final thoughts is if you're not a part of an association, it's a must.

It's it's how you grow. It's how you continue to to take this industry and transform it, to what you see and and what you want, and then also learn. Learn and grow. Learn and grow.

So So the first thing that comes to mind, I hear people say, well, it's the association.

And my response is always, it's not the association. It's our association.

And and understand that the ownership is right here for every person. It's not it's no one else's association other than yours. And to not belong to an association, you're just flapping in the wind. I mean, we we have so many, not just benefits, but people that wanna stand with you and for you.

That if you're not a part of it, I quite honestly, I think you're lost. And and that's the that's the piece that sticks out to me. It's our it's always our association. And and that's that particular comment came from one of my past presidents of NWACA.

And and when he said that to me, because we were talking about and this started in monetary context at the time, that is our money that we are spending. This is our association.

And that's right. We make the decisions. We drive it. And the more people we can get to understand that, the stronger the association becomes.

How do you, how do you top those two, two good closures?

You know, I would say if it's not you, then who will it be? If you want changes in the industry, you can't keep looking to other people to make those changes. If it's not you, then who?

Get involved, be part of it, and you will benefit, leaps and bounds beyond, what you ever imagined. Just give it a try.

Totally agree. Totally agree. Dropped.

Boom.

As we focus on collective we, the collective us, the collective family, we're gonna lock arms and together we can do this. It reminds me of an experience I had recently. We were trying to move a piano. Shuffle shuffle shuffle, person person person shuffling around, and we had, like, ten of us around this piano trying to move it. And finally, we said, alright, listen. Everybody just stand where you are and lift.

And we did. And together, we were able to move the piano. Grand piano, huge, big, heavy duty. Mhmm.

This our industry our industry, us, let's lock arms. Let's us together make the difference because we can and we are.

And this is our industry. This is us.

With that, my name is Jimmy Lee. Aloha to you all. Mahalo. Thank you very much for you being here, Travis and Brian and Sherry and those of you who are listening, whether it is live or in the recording. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much. We look forward to seeing you at our next event.