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Nick Fox has been the Regional Manager of Gills Point S Tire & Auto for over nine years. His dedication to continuous improvement, strong work ethic, and self-motivation set him apart. Nick’s profound product knowledge and customer-centric approach foster unparalleled loyalty and satisfaction, reflecting his commitment to delivering exceptional experiences.
Vanessa Larson is the Marketing Manager of Gills Point S Tire & Auto. She has been with the company since 2020, starting as an office manager and bookkeeper before being promoted in 2022. Vanessa previously worked as a project manager with Iron Forge.
In this episode…
The tire and auto repair industry is full of inspiring stories and innovative ideas. But how can shop owners build thriving businesses while staying connected to their local communities?
According to Nick Fox and Vanessa Larson of Gills Point S Tire & Auto, the ideal business strategy involves thinking outside the box and creating unique marketing campaigns that unite people. Their annual soapbox derby in Helena, Montana, is a prime example — it started as Nick’s idea to do something different. Still, Vanessa’s implementation skills turned it into a massive community event. With live music, food trucks, and creative car designs, the derby engages customers, attracts sponsors, and showcases the personalities behind their shops. It’s this kind of authentic community involvement that helps Point S stand out and attract top talent who want to be part of something fun and impactful.
On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge welcomes Nick and Vanessa to chat about their innovative soapbox derby event. They also discuss the recent merger between their company and Gills, finding an “implementer” to turn ideas into reality, and discussing key principles like focusing on your strengths.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [5:23] The advantages of building a family business and growing through strategic acquisitions and mergers
- [9:12] How creative marketing campaigns can generate buzz and stand out from the competition
- [15:08] Merging with larger organizations to expand reach while maintaining a distinct identity
- [20:01] Seeking leadership roles to learn from mentors and guide new market growth
- [23:15] Chasing small, daily improvements to achieve long-term growth
- [26:03] The importance of maximizing strengths rather than worrying about weaknesses
- [28:10] Building a strong company culture by encouraging open communication, teamwork, and a shared sense of purpose
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Nick Fox on LinkedIn
- Vanessa Larson on LinkedIn
- Gills Point S Tire & Auto
- Mike Edge on LinkedIn
- Tread Partners
Transcript
Announcer:
Welcome to the Gain Traction podcast, where we feature top automotive entrepreneurs and experts and share their inspiring stories. Now, let’s get started with the show.
Mike:
Well, folks, welcome to the Gain Traction podcast. I am Mike Edge, your host. We have two guests with us today: Nick Fox, regional manager, and Vanessa Larson, marketing manager of Gills Point S Tire & Auto. This episode is brought to you by Tread Partners in the Retread Marketing program. What is Retread Marketing? It is a customer re-engagement program using IP targeting to win back your best-lost customers. It is a one-time, 120-day program that generates a 10-to-one return on investment Tread Partners get your best lost customers back to spend money with you. These are customers that are currently in your point-of-sale system right now. So, for example, if you were to invest $4,500 today, you will receive a return guaranteed of $45,000 within 120 days of that very list. Tread Partners works only within the tire and auto repair industry. Tread Partners specializes for you. Visit treadpartners.com to learn more.
All right, so you know how I always like to promote previous podcasts that I’ve done. I recently did one, the first ever panel discussion with Randy O’Connor, owner and principal of Dealer to Dealer Development Group, or also known as D2D. He is also a regular columnist for Modern Tire Dealer. Bobby Gillespie with Gillespie Tire and Automotive was on there, and Kayla Heiar and her brother Kyle Moore, who are co-owners of Moore Tires. They were on there. It was a fantastic discussion about generational tire dealers and the whole process, pros and cons. So if you get a chance to check that out, you can find it at gaintractionpodcast.com or any of the major platforms like Spotify.
So our guests today are Nick and Vanessa. Hey, guys, welcome to the Gain Traction podcast.
Nick:
Thank you so much.
Mike:
Man, glad to have you on here. We’ve talked for a long time. We’ve gotten to know you guys. Let’s just start from the beginning. Nick, tell us a little bit about your business. I know you’ve got some announcements to make. We might as well make it here because I know you guys have made the big switch. I mean, you’ve already made it public, but tell us what’s going on with your business and your career now.
Nick:
Yeah, absolutely. A lot of exciting things are happening, but I guess I’ll start from the beginning. In our family business, which started back, way back in 1980 with just a single location, then added a second location in ’85, May of 1985. And my dad was operating the business at that point in time, and I had my first job when I was 12 years old, performing landscaping and cleaning duties and items like that. And then evolved into a tire technician in an apprentice mechanic, and then up to a service advisor. Left for college to play soccer and perform my studies and came back as a service advisor, and became a store manager. Then had the opportunity to become a partner, and after that, we were able to add our third location in Great Falls, Montana. And then, shortly after that, our fourth in Great Falls as well. So we have seen some pretty rapid growth here in the recent past, and it’s very exciting. And from that point, I guess here’s the big news, and this is an exclusive interview for Mike Edge.
Mike:
All right. Is it really exclusive news? I didn’t know it was exclusive. Oh, awesome. Let’s do it.
Nick:
Pretty amazing. I know. We had the opportunity to merge with some of our friends in the Gills organization. So we took our four locations and joined their 60 plus locations, and now we’re definitely a powerhouse. I mean, they saw how awesome and amazing our team is, the people like Vanessa on our team and others that we have. So we’re combining our efforts and our brains and getting ready to take over the tire world.
Mike:
Well, congratulations. If I knew we were going to do this, I would’ve sent you guys a bottle of bourbon or something and we could have toast it while we make this big announcement.
Nick:
I don’t know if it’s too late for that, but.
Vanessa:
Yeah.
Mike:
We’ll figure out a way, right? No, that’s fantastic. I mean, you guys have a great reputation. Gills does too, and for that merger to take place, I expect nothing but positive things for the whole Point S brand in general.
Nick:
Absolutely. Yeah, definitely excited with Point S, trying to get to the 500 stores in five years, in 50 states. So I think Point S and Gills are going to help accomplish that earlier than the five-year mark, so it’s quite incredible.
Mike:
That is incredible. Well, I had the privilege of having Walter Lybeck on the podcast a few months back and it was a great interview and you guys have some really good leadership, it sounds like in Point S, and then Gills is leading the way in a lot of the, it looks like just kind of the store growth and whatnot, and your guys’ merger with them just seems nothing but positive and a good thing for everybody.
Nick:
Yep, I absolutely believe so. And yeah, everyone in the Point S executive team is wonderful to work with and they really care about helping the independent dealer, so you don’t find that very often.
Mike:
No, and that’s what this podcast I feel like is here for is the independent. Tell me about your new role. So you’re going from, I mean, you’re still an owner in some way, but you’re going to, instead of managing your stores, you got a lot more under your belt now, right?
Nick:
Yeah, so I’m going to start overseeing some stores in Idaho and Utah. Those are some exciting markets. I think there’s going to be a lot of growth in the near future in Utah, and as we all know, the Utah market is, a lot of people are moving there right now, so very exciting time. But I will oversee, I think, nine stores at this point in time. And yeah, I’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot from a lot of smart people, and I know some of those people in those markets already, and I’m excited to work with them and see what we can accomplish together.
Mike:
That’s fantastic. Well, Vanessa, you’re going along with this big process as well, and you’re staying in marketing, right?
Vanessa:
Yep. I’ll be transitioning to work only in marketing. My job with Nick, I was manager of his bookkeepers and then did the marketing, but this new role, I’ll be working with Nicole Ferriter and the Gills organization, focusing just on marketing.
Mike:
That’s awesome. Hey, you were telling me before we got started here, and I thought it sounded really cool, especially because it involves adults, and then you’ve got a brewery at each end of this thing. But tell me about this thing that you guys sponsor, and it’s got your name on it, right? And Helena.
Vanessa:
Yeah. So every year in Helena, we host the Septemberfest Soapbox Derby, and it’s kind of a, I don’t know, Nick, it was Nick’s brainchild. He saw a video of the Red Bull soapbox derbies that they race and thought, well, why can’t we do that? So it started out in his brain, and then it’s just grown into what we’ve made it be. Last year, we estimated about 3,500 spectators came downtown to watch the races.
Mike:
Awesome.
Vanessa:
We have a live band, food trucks. We got face paint guy, beer gardens.
Mike:
You also have some pretty big national sponsors, I mean, that support your business, right?
Vanessa:
Yeah, this year we’ve got, it’s super exciting, this year we’ve got Nexen Tire, Nokian Tyre, Fortune Tire, [inaudible 00:08:03], and Napa Auto Parts are joining us as sponsors for the event, and it’s amazing to see how big it keeps getting year after year.
Mike:
Who do you work with at Fortune? I had Samuel Felberbaum on my-
Vanessa:
We have Sam. Yeah, I cornered him at the Point S annual meeting, was like, Watch this promo video. I want you to be involved in this event. And he didn’t even hesitate. He is like, “Yep, send me the info.”
Mike:
He’s one of my past great guests. I enjoy Sam’s friendship, and he’s actually introduced me to some great guests along the way, sent people our way. So no, that’s awesome. And the Fortune brand, obviously, has really grown a lot, but that’s cool. He’s the right guy to do something like that. What I got excited about, just because I think about myself and I think about friends of mine, would enjoy an event like this, but there’s really, it’s not like the strict rules. We were talking about this. I mean, my kids had done it when they were younger in the American, I think it’s called the American Soapbox Derby Association or whatever. Those rules are super strict on those cars, but you guys only have a loose set of rules. It’s got to be a certain size, but it doesn’t have to all be made of fiberglass and whatnot. Yeah.
Vanessa:
There’s no prefab cars. Last year we had somebody make a car out of an old swing set frame. Somebody made a car out of gearboxes and a go-kart chassis.
Mike:
That’s what I’m talking about. You said somebody put something together with a wheelchair, is that right?
Vanessa:
Yeah. One of the years we had a guy make a car out of a wheelchair. Last year, somebody took two, was it 10 speed bikes, Nick? And they attached them together and race that down. So as long as it has working steering, working brakes and it fits the height, weight, and length requirements, you can race it down the hill.
Nick:
And four wheels
Vanessa:
And four wheels.
Mike:
Oh, so four wheels is required, correct?
Vanessa:
Yeah.
Mike:
That’s good. That’s a good requirement. I get it.
Vanessa:
Obviously, we have safety requirements for what the drivers have to wear when they’re racing down the hill, because accidents do happen, but.
Nick:
No one like to admit they like the wracks, but everyone cheers for them. I don’t know.
Vanessa:
Yeah.
Mike:
So let me ask you, how’s this fit into the whole merger thing with the Gills? Is this thing going to be, are you going to teach them how to put this on? They’re going to do it company-wide across the board?
Vanessa:
Yeah. Well, one of the things that I asked was I’ll move into a new role, but I want to keep the soapbox derby, so that event will still happen in Helena, and I’m hoping to bottle that energy and take it to other communities that I’ll be doing marketing in and then showing other point S owners that you don’t just have to be a sponsor of an event. You can put on an event yourself. You don’t have to wait around for people to come to you to sponsor.
Mike:
What I like about that is that it’s one of those festival type events for a community, city, small community, and it’s something that you guys, like you said, you control it, it’s yours, you’re putting it on, you’re the sponsor, your name. And granted, the first year probably starts out a little slower than the next, and then you get that snowball effect, and everybody is like, Man, that’s a good time, and now you guys are marketing it much broader. This thing’s only going to get bigger, isn’t it?
Vanessa:
Yep, that’s the plan is just keep growing it year after year, and we couldn’t do it without the people in the community that support us, the brewery owners, the tourism board, the Chamber of Commerce, other downtown businesses that they love this event and they want to do whatever they can do to help us keep it going. So it’s truly become an all-encompassing community event.
Mike:
I think events like this, I mean, to take it back to the business side of it, it’s got to help you guys in regards to, say, recruitment. Employment is always an issue, hiring the right people or whatever, but it gets your name out there that says, Hey, you come work with us. I mean, this is the kind of atmosphere we create.
Vanessa:
Yep.
Mike:
Is that accurate?
Vanessa:
Kind of like what I explained to you earlier was that it shows that we’re more than just an automotive shop. There is a personality to the guys that work in our shops, and we know how to have fun, and we want to be involved and engaged in the communities that we’re in.
Mike:
That’s all. Nick, you were going to say something?
Nick:
Well, I was just going to say that as we are, I’m going to call it courting mechanics or service advisors or managers, we do mention that they have the opportunity to shoot our T-shirt cannon at the soapbox derbies, which is a big deal, and I don’t know if you’ve ever shot one, but they’re super fun.
Mike:
No, I’ve been shot at with one, but I’ve never shot one.
Nick:
It’s much more fun to shoot a T-shirt cannon.
Mike:
Yeah, I’d like that. No, but I sense that. I mean, I’m feeling kind of the enthusiasm. I’m picturing it, right? And I’ve been around the traditional soapbox derby, but this is the thing for adults, and you get to come in with these creative rods and whatnot. But yeah, I think, and for your name, first of all, it’s the best business to do it with. I mean, if a bank was to sponsor something like this, it’s just not the same, you know what I’m saying? It’s like, but you guys, being in tires and auto repair, it fits. But I can see the enthusiasm it would build to know that, Hey, I want to work for a group like that. Because I mean, you’re not just, Hey, clocking in, fix cars, put tires on, and go home. We’re here to be part of the community. And now you’re hosting one of the bigger fun events of the community on an annual basis. And how many years have you been doing it now?
Vanessa:
This will be the fourth year.
Nick:
It’s going to be the fourth year.
Mike:
Oh, yeah. You guys are really starting to hit the momentum stage now really probably.
Nick:
Absolutely.
Mike:
I mean, people are looking forward to it, right?
Nick:
Yep.
Mike:
Yeah, that’s awesome.
Nick:
We have our mechanics volunteer their time to come inspect the soapbox cars and make sure they’re safe. So it gives the community the opportunity to meet our mechanics as well, which is always a high-anxiety piece for someone bringing in their vehicle to get repaired.
Mike:
You know what? That is a great angle. I didn’t even think about that because you’re right. If you get to meet the guys that could be inspecting your car or fixing your car at Point S, then all of a sudden, these are the guys that are what? Making sure you meet the qualifications for the race.
Nick:
Yep.
Mike:
That’s cool.
Nick:
Making sure the brakes work, making sure the steering works, and being just part of the community, which has always been very important to us.
Mike:
You’re not just the Hat Rock, are you, Nick?
Nick:
No, no.
Mike:
No, I can tell. This is a great idea. I mean, you’re really the first one. I mean, from all the people I’ve talked to over the last two and a half years, I’ve never heard of a marketing idea like this, but I like it because it’s just deep-rooted in the community and it’s got a lot of momentum each year. I can see it just steamrolling for you guys.
Nick:
Yeah. And we’d love to have you attend the next one if you want, Mike. I mean-
Mike:
Is this an official invitation?
Vanessa:
Yes, of course.
Mike:
I think I might just end up out there. And so when’s this big race?
Vanessa:
September 13th and 14th. It’s a two-day event.
Mike:
Okay. And is that on a weekend?
Vanessa:
Friday, Saturday.
Mike:
Friday, Saturday, awesome.
Vanessa:
Friday night-
Nick:
Friday night, right? We have a car show Friday night with a band and all the fans vote for the fan favorite car, and then the next day’s race day.
Mike:
Oh, that’s even, yeah, that’s a whole nother angle. You’ve got fans voting for the best-looking car and whatnot. Even though it may not win tomorrow, the next day, whatever, it still gets some, if somebody puts effort into something, they again get recognized for that effort, right?
Nick:
Yep.
Mike:
So I guess that’s turned into its own contest, right?
Nick:
Oh, yeah. The creativity gets better and better every year. I mean, we’re starting to see people with smoke machines or fog machines on their soapbox car.
Mike:
This is so cool. Yeah, I love it. So what’s next for you guys as part of this merger with Gills? I mean, you’re just getting your feet wet, I know, but where do you see the next steps now with Gills?
Nick:
Next steps with Gills is hopefully we just carry our momentum forward. They’re a great organization. We are a great organization as well, so hopefully we can combine our ideas and just continue to make it better and better. Like Vanessa said, she was being a little modest when she said she’s going to try and integrate ideas like the soapbox derby into other markets. That is specifically what they asked her to do. They said, We need help creating these events because this is awesome.
Mike:
What was it you were telling me before we started recording about she’s a bulldog, she goes after sponsors and everything?
Nick:
So people like me, I might have the idea, but I need people like Vanessa to make it happen. She’s the one that does all the groundwork and takes care of everything, and I can just show up and look pretty.
Mike:
I’ve got a daughter, I mean, she’s, I think, she’s 25 now, or she’ll be at 25 this summer. She’s working for a company, and the owner that she works for, it’s down in Greenville, South Carolina, not even related to this industry, but he’s like, I didn’t realize it. He goes I knew this. I had a hunch about you, but my daughter’s that implementer. She’s the doer. She can take an idea and make it all come together because she loves all the details. I mean, and she gets after it. So if you don’t have that person, nah. Yeah.
Nick:
It’s just a dream at that point.
Mike:
It is. And the thing is, everybody’s got a dream. Everybody can think of an idea or whatever, but who can take that? And Vanessa, the great thing about you is that you can take somebody else’s idea or dream and say, no, this is how it’s going to have to happen. You want to see your dream come true? Listen to me.
Vanessa:
Thankfully, Nick has always given me that freedom to do that same exact thing, take his idea and go forth with it and implement it in a way that makes sense.
Mike:
Honestly, Nick’s going to be probably modest on this too, but that’s considered great management. You let people do what they do best and you just, Hey, I’ll hold you accountable. Just go get it done.
Nick:
I’m pretty sure I just have fun with people and then they make stuff happen because they’re having a good time.
Mike:
Yeah.
Nick:
So that’s about it.
Mike:
Well, that leads to my next question. You got a funny story for us, Nick.
Nick:
Oh.
Mike:
You can share with the public in general and that-
Nick:
Yeah, we won’t get too racy, but I’ve been part of Point S, and I guess, prior to that, it was Tire Factory for quite a while. And like I said, I like to have a good time, and Tire Factory used to host these annual meetings, but every year they would choose a different theme for the end-of-year party there, and they’d give away prizes for the best costumes. And so my wife and I, she tags along with me, and dresses up, and all that stuff, but we would always go all out for these Tire Factory annual meetings. And I guess each year we got a little bit more racy in our costume because we ended up being crowd favorites most of the time because of the lack of clothing we were wearing. We were always covered, right?
Mike:
Yeah.
Nick:
Some of us, but not all of us. But apparently the last year we took it too far because the year after that they said no more costume parties because of Nick.
Mike:
That was it, huh?
Nick:
That was it.
Mike:
What’d you do go as Adam and Eve or something like that? I mean, without the figure-
Nick:
Not quite that. That one I think was a Western theme, but I showed up as the Naked Cowboy.
Announcer:
Oh, nice.
Vanessa:
That was Risky Business.
Nick:
It could have been Risky Business. I’m trying to remember. That was a while ago. So it was either Risky Business or Naked Cowboy. One of the two.
Mike:
One of the two got the whole event barred or the whole costume thing.
Nick:
Yeah.
Mike:
Good job. Wait, look, man, you changed the trajectory of the event.
Nick:
I did.
Mike:
You made it memorable. No one will ever forget. No one will forget that Nick is the guy that got us canceled. That’s awesome. I do appreciate good stories. Vanessa, you got one? You were telling me you got a bunch of little ones, in a sense. All the funny things happening around you.
Vanessa:
Yeah, Nick knows this pretty well, but when I’m at work, I’m pretty much all business. I don’t know, I just go to work.
Nick:
Is that why they call you Mama Larson?
Vanessa:
Probably.
Mike:
Mama don’t take no crap.
Vanessa:
Nope. So I’m not nearly as risky as Nick is. I just have, I mean, any day around the shops is never a boring day. I mean, just last week or the week before, I locked a parking pass in my car that I really needed for a leadership training that I was attending, and the guys broke into my car for me so I could get my parking pass out.
Mike:
Hey, when you need it, just go to the experts, right? You needed it done.
Vanessa:
Yeah. So there’s little things like that. Or when I attend the Point S annual meeting and I get two of our owners mixed up and make a fool of myself. So shout out to Wade and Chip in Utah, because I totally mix those two up. Plus, bless Chip’s heart because he just went along with it and let me call him Wade.
Mike:
Oh, yeah, he just played into it, huh? He didn’t-
Vanessa:
Oh, yeah, he just let it ride. And then Giuseppe, our GM, kindly nudged me and was like, “That’s not Wade.” So then I had to go around the entire annual meeting a little sheepishly when I ran into Wade and Chip because I had completely mixed them up.
Mike:
Now if you didn’t do that, you wouldn’t have this memory, right? We wouldn’t have this moment and this story. This is what makes these things great in life.
Nick:
Can I tell a story about Vanessa with a marketing campaign?
Mike:
Absolutely.
Nick:
So I had this idea where I wanted to do a sale on Nexen Tires. I was like, Let’s do the penny install Nexen Tire sale. Vanessa, that’s the idea you’ve got to come up with the creative. So she gets, I don’t know, I think it was $100 of pennies. That’s a lot of pennies, right?
Mike:
Oh, yeah.
Nick:
And so we’ve got Vanessa there, we’ve got myself, we’ve got Giuseppe, our general manager, and we have Hugh, who’s a store manager, and then Lenore, who’s an assistant manager, and we’re doing the photo shoot at Vanessa’s parents’ property because they have a nice open field, and we’re doing all the poses. And then Vanessa’s like, all right, and I’m sure most people have seen the movie Flash Dance, right? Where she’s on stage, and the water comes down. So Vanessa’s like, We’re going to reenact this with pennies. So we got our managers doing that pose, and Vanessa’s throwing pennies at them. And then she’s like, No, Giuseppe, I need to take some pictures. You throw pennies at them. So we’re doing flash dance with pennies on our managers, and it was just camping.
Mike:
I love it though. You guys have fun. Pennies didn’t feel probably as good as water. Were you smacking them around with them?
Vanessa:
Yeah, that was the part of the instructions is throw the pennies gently, but Hugh ended up with pennies down his shirt. There were pennies everywhere.
Mike:
Do you still have a clip of this video? I’d love to see this one.
Vanessa:
Yeah, I’ll send you a link after.
Mike:
Oh, good. Thank you. I’d love to. All right, so on another personal note, what’s you all’s favorite movies of all time? And listen, I’m not going to make you say one. Everybody I know has a couple. So if you got a couple to throw on the table, we’ll give everybody a little piece of your personality here.
Vanessa:
Oh, yeah. Like I was explaining, mine depends on my mood. I could go for Robin Hood: Men in Tights, to A League of Their Own, to, I mean, St. Patrick’s Day, you have to watch Boondock Saints. Yeah, it kind of just depends on the time of the year. If it’s a rainy or snowy day, of course, it’s the Harry Potter marathon.
Mike:
For you, then it’s mood and weather related.
Vanessa:
Yes.
Mike:
Okay, good to know. What about you, Nick? You got any that stand out to you?
Nick:
Oh, yeah, I would agree with Boondock Saints. That’s a definite classic in my life.
Mike:
It is.
Nick:
For a more recent movie, it’s not that recent, but it’s a little recent. St. Vincent with Bill Murray. Really enjoy that movie,
Mike:
Man, I saw that. Listen, that’s so funny. I couldn’t get anybody to validate it for me, and I didn’t know if it was good or not. They’ll lie to you on the rating thing about whether you’re going to like it or not, but I thought, Oh man, I don’t know if I want this one or not. And I didn’t gamble, so you liked it?
Nick:
Well, it’s awesome. Great movie. Definitely watch it.
Mike:
He’s something about a next door neighbor. Something. Yep. Okay. Yep, I’ll watch it now. I feel safe. I had no referral. I had no reference point. I thought-
Nick:
You’re going to really like it.
Mike:
Okay.
Nick:
What else? We go way back to A River Runs Through It.
Mike:
That’s a good Montana movie, right?
Nick:
Absolutely. And then to fulfill my comedy genre, I’d say Will Ferrell had a good phase there, so like Step Brothers or Talladega Nights. So those are-
Mike:
Will Ferrell did such a good job in the movie Elf for our family. There’s nobody there that could play that role. If they did a remake, it would just suck. I mean, the fact that he’s so big, right? And dressed like he is. And then James Caan, who was a famous actor who’s passed on now, but the dad, he was a great jerk in there.
Vanessa:
He was.
Mike:
I mean, it was just so well done. It’s funny how much we still quote that one because in my family, we can be smart [inaudible 00:27:09]. And so when someone’s upset about something, we’ll go, oh yeah, he’s an angry elf. He must’ve been in the South Pole. That’s awesome. Any words, back to business, any words of wisdom you can leave anybody out there that does tires and auto repairs somewhere in this nation that may be tuning in? What do you guys live by?
Vanessa:
Mine’s not really tire and auto related, but I always live by the saying of you do you and just stick to your guns on stuff. Everyone’s going to have an opinion, but just stick to what you know and what you do good and everything will work out.
Mike:
I like that.
Nick:
Yeah, mine really is just the 1% rule, where I just try to improve 1% every day. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s just small improvements, but over time, you’ve improved dramatically. And so common theme when you’re sitting in one-on-ones or coaching someone on your team is, you might be a tire tech today, but if you just try and improve a little bit each day, you can be whatever position you want to be in this organization.
Mike:
That’s awesome. Simple stuff. And that’s really what makes it. I mean, that’s what makes us all better is just to focus on the little things. And it took me a long time, but my dad used to always tell me this, Stick with what you’re good at and don’t worry about the things you’re not. And it’s amazing how much time you spend worried about the things that you can’t do, trying to get better at them when you should have just maximized your time on what you liked and what you’re good at. And then that helps everybody.
Nick:
Yep, absolutely.
Mike:
Well, guys, you guys have been awesome as guests on here. I’m really glad we did this. Thanks for being on the Gain Traction podcast.
Vanessa:
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Nick:
Our time’s up already? I was having so much fun.
Mike:
And that’s the way it works, man. But before I go, before I wrap this up, I want to give a shout-out to encourage our audience. If you haven’t signed up or if you ever thought about it, I’d encourage you to go to the Traction Summit 2024, hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 13th and 14th of this year. If you feel like it’d be a good summit for you or a conference, just check it out at tractionsummit.com, and to all our guests out there, thanks for tuning in. You’re awesome. We’re very grateful for you, you keep accelerating our growth. If you have anybody that you want to recommend to me, please email me at [email protected]. Till next time, be safe, be grateful, and have a great day.
Nick:
Thank you, Mike.
Vanessa:
Thanks, Mike.
Mike:
Bye, guys.
Announcer:
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