Where are you going, what defines you, and what will you choose to become? Are you stuck in a rut or caught in the cyclic challenges of market swings, lack of help or self sabotage? Or are you capitalizing on current trends and innovating your way towards profitability, sustainability and promotion? Does processing x amount of vehicles each year,  making y amount sales each month, or dismantling z amount parts each day make you successful? Or is the expansion of your customer base, reputation and confidence propelling you towards greatness. And what will you become? Will you keep dismantling the same amount of cars each day or will you elevate your game to process more and earn higher. Will you go from the grounder out roaming the yard, prepping parts and cleaning, or will you become one of the lead techs dismantling the top dollar drivelines? Are sales and an office position in your future or will you move into upper management showcasing your leadership? Wherever you are going and however you define yourself, you choose what you will become. Growing the business, whether you sign the checks, your name is on the door, or you are working your way up, even if you are just entering the company, it all starts and ends with you.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” Ralph Waldo Emerson. What if I told you that you have all the tools you need to succeed. What if I told you that each of us are all more powerful, capable and resilient than we can ever begin to imagine. Makes you start to feel invincible, does it not. Live it, love it and embrace it. Attitude adjustment is the first step towards growth. Realize your own limitations, faults and flaws and then embrace them. Deal with it, move forward and make it happen. If you want to grow your business, spend more time working on the business instead of inside of it. If you are on the inside of it, then earn and elevate yourself. Cultivate your craft, be the agent of change because no one else can do it for you nor should they, nor should any of it be given. You want something, go out there and earn it, every bit of it, every second of it.

Taking extreme accountability for what you do and how you go about your business is the ultimate way of controlling what is within your control. Sometimes the auto recycling industry seems out of touch with the ways of the rest of the world, for those in it have worked hard and expect those around them to continue to do the same. Sorry but no participation trophies here. If you think Everett’s Auto Parts started off processing the amazing feat of 30,000 vehicles a year or that prestigious ISO Certifications were just given to Pam’s Auto Parts, then you may be experiencing delusions of grandeur. These auto recyclers, just to name a few, pushed the ceiling and set the bar for what is the epitome of serious growth in the industry.  Many recyclers who have garnered growth and sustained success owe it to taking control of their circumstances. All have worked extremely hard and smart to achieve what they have attained. They have sown the seeds they hoped to reap, and if you feel otherwise, change your perception and add it to your motivation. We busted knuckles, breaking free bolts, pulled transmissions out on our backs, sold everything short of our souls, and picked up the yard until we thought we could not build character any longer. We earned it. We showed up to work each day, we were on time and worked past closing without expectations. So why is today any different in a time where evolution and innovation have progressed the industry to offer unique opportunities to all who may choose to reach out and grab it?

Everything has changed and continues to do so. For those in the business working and for those working on the business, the understanding of the business background is crucial to understanding the vision realized and the goals to come. Knowing our own histories and where we started, can remind and educate us on how the road to present has been paved. Auto Recyclers have struggled and suffered and have transitioned and thrived. Understanding how we made it thus far and realizing the expectations we have made and have been set upon us can allow our goals to materialize. If we can define where it is we want to go, as well as the metrics of how to evaluate how we get there, along with the plan it takes to reach our destination, then we are planning to succeed instead of succumbing to the failure to plan.

Even with the best plan in place, unforeseen and unexpected variables and challenges will arise and force us to make hard decisions. Growth is seldom linear in progression. ARA Past President and a leader in the Auto Recycling Industry, Shan Latham, had an excellent quote in a previous article entitled “Direction” Shan had to say, “As a second-generation auto recycler, it isn’t good enough to do things the way my parents did. I must keep up with the times, and that means heading into unknown territory”. How right she is. The success of others before us or amongst us, is not an indication that we will achieve the same. Nor are we the same people as our predecessors or face the same challenges that they once did. We can study how others operate, whether they be leaders above us, coworkers who occupied our position before us, or even other successful businesses. We can also analyze how they persevered and grew. But the responsibility lies within us to forge our own path. So, what may have worked well for others may not for us. Present challenges and variables may require going against intuition, doing something different or moving in a completely new direction.

Sometimes models for success or other’s path to success does not translate to what we do or how we operate. The future is a foreign land but as Shan goes on to say, “I need to grow my business the way I want to grow it, there is no manual as to how to run an auto recycling business and no two businesses are the same. Yet I know I have people to lean on, ask questions of, or just hang around to inspire me to make the necessary changes to grow my business”.  How you choose to move forward is as imperative to your growth as is your resiliency and vigilance in your pursuit of success. Setting goals, creating and communicating expectations, defining metrics with incentives and consequences, and working smart and hard while remaining creative and persistent throughout the process is a model to get you where you want to be. The implementation and execution of your plan and goals is where growth leads to success.

So how do you grow? I could say you eat the elephant one bite at a time or dismantle the vehicle one part at time. But let’s skip straight to the cheat sheet. The key is to invest. Invest your time, energy and resources into what you are trying to achieve or build. Invest in proven innovative technologies and practices. Invest and Implement. You cannot just subscribe to Vin Match Pro and expect your returns to no longer happen, just as you cannot buy into the YardSmart App  and think your yard is just going to manage itself. You have to apply the tools you have to fit your needs and operations. Invest in your equipment. You do not want to be seen as a junkyard, then step up your game and strengthen your infrastructure. Stop delivering in vehicles that would be better suited as part of your inventory. Cease to do junkyard or perceived sub quality things. Amp up your product presentation and stop pedaling junk or pay closer attention to the minor details to offer superior products and services. Sell smarter and buy better. Stop overpaying for cars that should be scraped and start paying up for quality inventory. Buy more vehicles, inventory more and sell more because of it. Do your research. Join supportive and leading organizations such as ARA, URG or PRP. Get involved. Even if it is just with your state auto recyclers association. But the best suggestion I can make is to invest in yourself and your people. For it is ourselves and our people and not our parts, that are our greatest asset and the most valuable catalyst that we have to achieving our mission.

Reach out, ask questions and do not be afraid to fail. Apply yourself to each task at hand and remain focused and determined to meet your goal. Put your name behind your work and take pride in what you do. You want to become the top dismantle tech, get disciplined and stop cutting corners. Exhibit consistency and become trustworthy. Work your way up. Play to your strengths and work with your weaknesses. Practice and Improve. Watch youtube videos about tips to removing stubborn airbags or Trailblazer front actuators. Looking for an edge for making sales, check out a Rob Rainwater training seminar like “Sales is just a game”. Or reach out to ARA to look into the mentorship program. Whatever your position within the company, realize your own potential and choose what you will become. Make a plan, move forward and make it happen. Your potential success and the growth of yourself and your business begins and ends with you. Take extreme accountability and determine how you will be defined and where you will go. And with that I will leave you with, “You’re off to great Places, Today is your Day! Your Mountain is waiting, So…get on your way”!

-Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go