Why are successful shop owners in the automotive industry treated differently from successful entrepreneurs or business owners?

In today’s special episode, I’m joined by Gilda Dyckman, owner of Cars Muffler & Automotive; Denise Stanley, owner of Quality Automotive; Chris Cozad, President at Alternative Auto Care; and Frank Leutz, Marketing Director at Desert Car Care and host of the Wrench Nation podcast. We gathered this exceptional panel to discuss some of the automotive industry’s biggest flaws. 

We discuss the ridiculous questions shop owners get asked daily, the crucial role of mentorship, and the lack of diversity in the industry. We also analyze how to solve the lack of female presence among technicians, overcome “the grease monkey” stereotype, the cultural and generational factors that influence young people to join the industry, and much more. 

In this episode, you will learn:

• About the advantages and disadvantages of being a man in the automotive industry (5:25)
• How to react to: Can I talk with the person making the decisions here? (12:04)
• The automotive industry’s lack of representation (17:28)
• How to overcome “the grease monkey” stereotype (27:37)
• We must stop blaming the industry (37:01)
• We should keep the doors open, but we must open our hearts (44:58)

Resources

• Connect with Gilda Dyckman on LinkedIn
• Connect with Chris Cozad on LinkedIn
• Connect with Denise Stanley on LinekdIn
• Connect with Frank Leutz on LinekdIn