Pub. 1 2021 Issue 2

18 with General Motors, and I kept the franchise. Duane, who is 73, was able to retire. Q: What does the TIME Dealer of the Year nomination mean for you? A: The nomination means a lot to me, and it is really special. Being recognized by peers at that level is awesome. It tells you the magnitude of the relationships that have been built. At the same time, I still feel a bit surprised. I’ve put in a lot of effort over the years, but I have a small dealership, and I live in the center of Montana. I am grateful for the recognition. Q: Are you involved in any civic or charitable organizations? A: We like to support anything that has to do with the youth in our community, and we look for organizations that have a positive impact on children’s lives. There are so many things you can give to when you are a dealership. For example, we support the Boys and Girls Club of America. We also contributed to the new swimming pool and the local skate park. We also serve on boards and work to make a difference there too. There are so many ways a dealer can support the community. About eight years ago, I worked with about 10 people to raise money and bring the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Rodeo to the Central Montana Fair. The rodeo coincides with the fair and promotes the western way of life. It brings top-level talent here. Bringing the rodeo here was very rewarding and has been great for the community. Q: What three things have you learned that you would pass on to someone you are mentoring? A: 1. Have a positive attitude and don’t give up during challenging times. We have a four-word term that we turned into an acronym: enthusiasm makes the difference (EMTD). 2. Embrace change, and don’t be afraid of it. Just because we did something one way 10 years ago doesn’t mean we need to do it the same way this time. 3. Listen to others. If somebody is successful, listen to what they have to say, and see whether you can apply their suggestions to your life. Q: What does the best day in this business look like for you? A: At the end of the day, when I look in the mirror, the question is whether I did everything I could to make a difference throughout the day. Even if something negative happens, I look at how I handled it. Did I do everything possible, and did I work to the best of my ability? If the answer is yes, then that is what the best day looks like to me. Q: Was there an “aha” moment in your career that defined you? A: When I purchased this store in October 2007, the dealer I bought it from had gotten to the point where he didn’t care about the car business anymore. Then I took over Oct. 17, 2007. It’s a small community anyway, but when I took the store over, I was alone in the showroom, by myself, for an entire week, without a single customer. That was my “aha” moment. I had thought I was going to have people coming in and seeing me, and I didn’t. My family was young; my son was 3, and my daughter was 4. My dad was supportive, but I had no guarantees that things were going to work out. I didn’t have a lot of money to work with. There wasn’t even enough money in my account to cover a month’s expenses, even though I only had a skeleton crew, so I needed to sell some cars immediately. I thought, “Man, what am I going to do? This is not a good situation. How am I going to handle it? Where do I go from here?” I decided to change my approach, and I changed the name of the company. Building relationships in the community makes a difference. I knew I needed to go to people instead of expecting them to come to me, and I decided to think of myself as if I were the mayor, so to speak. By doing that, I thought people would start to come into the store because they liked and trusted me. I went downtown to the local café, and I introduced myself. Also, I got my name out there by asking the newspaper to do a story about me because I was the dealership’s new owner. That was free advertising. We sold eight cars the last week of the month. That told me we could make the dealership work even with a skeleton crew of about 10 people. The next month we sold 19. The month after that, we sold 26. It took a lot of hours and sacrifices, but the momentum built from there. That was 14 years ago, and now I have been nominated as the TIME Dealer of the Year. Overhead was much less back then. We didn’t have as many employees or as nice a facility as we have now, but we made a go of it. Nobody had a job description. It was stressful, oh man, but it was fun. We were able to make money. In addition to sales, I had two guys in parts, four guys in service, and one in the office. We came to work and did what needed to be done to be successful. We each washed our own cars. Just reflecting on that time, it was fun, for sure. Q: Describe your all-time favorite vehicle. (It can be one you’ve owned or something on your wish list.) What are you driving now? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 Things can change fast in the car business because it is always month to month, and you never know what the next month will be like.