WTF?! Origin Stories!

Today we take a look at some video origin stories from the fixed ops and automotive community. It's amazing to hear how influential people got to where they are today and what hardships they've gone through to find success and stability in their automotive careers. We have some pretty inspirational stories today that we are going to share with you!

Ed Roberts' Origin Story

Let's start with Ed Roberts, COO of Bozard Ford Lincoln. Ed is a visionary when it comes to creating a center of convenience and customer promise at his dealership, including providing a full-service restaurant in his service center! He's truly one of the most progressive fixed ops visionaries there is. Little do most know, he's been through great hardship and strife in his early days. As sad as it is, his experience has paved the way to make him the man he is today. Much love goes out to those in similar circumstances today.

Listen to Ed Roberts' quite human origin story here:

This is a SNEAK PEEK clip! Ed's full episode will air July 25, 2022. Be sure to like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page to receive notifications of when it comes out!

Art Shaw - Self Described 'Poor Kid to Entrepreneur'

It's a misnomer to think that all successful people were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. That's certainly not the case for Art Shaw, CEO of RepairPal. He worked very hard to get where he is today, starting as a self-described poor kid from the Midwest, to a full-on entrepreneur!

Listen to Art's origin story here:

Art Shaw's full episode aired July 11, 2022. You can watch the episode in its entirety here . Be sure to like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page to receive notifications of when episodes and shorts come out!

How Sean Reyes Became Sean Reyes

Being well-known and a serial entrepreneur doesn't come easy. Sean Reyes, CMO of Recall Masters worked hard to get to where he is today. A lucky client, a love of cars, an opportunity, a dream, and the stars align...

Hear about Sean's origin story here:

Sean's full episode aired June 27, 22. You can watch it in full here . Be sure to like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page to receive notifications of when episodes and shorts come out!

Laurie Halter - Finding The Right Mentor

Successful people often meet their destiny with a mixture of hard work, luck and relationships. Laurie Halter, Owner of Charisma!, found her success with the same sort of mixture. A fun and interesting story!

Watch Laurie Halter's success story here:

We aired Laurie Halter's full episode on June 13, 2022. Watch it here ! Be sure to like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page to receive notifications of when episodes and shorts come out!

Dave Foy Finds His Road to Success

I can't think of a lot people who stayed in their general industry from college, but Dave Foy did! Dave (Fixed Ops Mastermind and Quantum5) takes us on his journey from college, aided by his father, to his path today.

Check out Dave's origin story here:

Dave is self-described as not being a natural at podcasting. Those of us who have heard his shows would disagree. We go into detail about how this contradiction makes him a natural in his full episode, available here . Be sure to like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page to receive notifications of when episodes and shorts come out!

Shawn Armorer's Roots

Shawn Armorer's - The BDC Alchemist - roots begin with a single mother and economic hardship. His mother was the epitome of strength and instilled a work ethic like no other in her son. From washing cars to running a business, Shawn's determination made him the man he is today.

Watch Shawn's inspirational story here:

Shawn's full episode is great. It aired May 2, 2022 and can be watched in full here . Be sure to like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page to receive notifications of when episodes and shorts come out!

Corey Smith's Pathway

Corey Smith's (National Auto Care and Fixed Ops 5 Podcast) first job started at a radio station where he learned how to DJ! Luck, dad, and a mistake played a big role in how he got into broadcasting. We'll let him tell his love of music and his story!

Corey tells his story of how he got into automotive broadcasting:

Corey was one of our first guests and shared his story with us on May 16, 2022. Thank you, Corey! Watch his full episode here . Don't forget that to get notified of full episodes and shorts, you must like and follow our LinkedIn company page !

Kaylee Felio - A Subway Sandwich Artist

Kaylee Felio, the Sales and Marketing Manager at Partsedge, has shared her origin story many times. The famous Subway story. We won't ruin it for you if you've not heard it!

However, did you know that she was also into real estate? We hear from Kaylee how she took a different path and turned herself into the face of Partsedge!

Kaylee was kind enough to be one of our first guests on WTF?!, back before we knew about audio, video and what we were doing (still working on it, btw!). This clip comes from her more recent and improved episode that airs August 8, 2022. You can watch it then here !

You can also get notifications on these new episodes by - that's right - liking and following us on our LinkedIn company page . We also offer an audio-only version of the podcast, available on all of your favorite podcasting networks. Check out our website to get a hold of those.

Perhaps Not Origins, But Learning and Growing

Not all guests share with us their origin stories. But we all go through learning curves and obstacles in our careers. We'd like to shares these learning experiences from industry hard-hitters here:

Michael Barich - The Fixed Ops Doc

Michael Barich was the Fixed Ops Director of Murfreesboro Nissan before he became The Fixed Ops Doc, where he had the intensely difficult task of getting the dealership from the bottom 10 in ranking, to the first! Great story. You heard it on WTF?! first:

Watch Michael Barich's full episode here .

Fred and Lou - The Solutionaries & Car Guy Coffee

Fred and Lou started in the automotive world. They worked together to formulate the plan to start a podcast and a business, which is no easy feat I assure you! These guys are truly inspirational and will give you a little pep in your step after watching their video today!

Fred and Lou's full episode can be found here .

Jay Goninen - WrenchWay

Lastly, Jay started WrenchWay with the vision of helping dealerships find reputable staff and helping staff find reputable dealerships - no easy task, especially when software development is involved. The beauty of Jay is that he realizes that without his staff, he wouldn't be where he is today. Let Jay tell you how he sees it:

Jay's full episode can be found here .

Thanks for taking the journey with us today to take a look at some of the origin stories of those most recognizable faces in the automotive industry. We can all learn something from the stories and hardships of others. Regardless of your circumstances, what you're up against, your roots, or misfortunes, hard work and making friends is a great start to getting what you want out of life.

Our Appreciation

It's not always easy to share - especially publicly - where you came from, what you went through, or obstacles you've had along the way. That's why we want to give a BIG THANK YOU to all of our WTF?! guests. We appreciate you sharing with us and we hope that we've done your stories justice. Without you, there'd be no US. Thank you.

Finally...

Join us on our upcoming episodes. We have many automotive storytellers joining us in upcoming episodes, all with unique stories and life experiences. To get notified of when we post a new episode or short, do you know what you should do yet?? That's right - like and follow us on our LinkedIn company page . Or, if your more of a listen-rather-than-watch type of person, you can find us on any podcasting platform. Check out our website for information on how to get a hold of those.

Thank you for sharing these stories and your time with us today! You can further support us by doing all the social engagement-type stuff (commenting, liking, sharing, etc.). But what would really make us happy is if you enjoy our videos we work so hard on. We are learning too as we venture through our podcasting journey!