I saw a meme along the lines of “All of us want to be great until we see the invoice.”
This applies to any pursuit—business, athletic, civic, or personal—everything has a cost. When starting a dealership, you do your best to plan, but a lot happens that is not on your radar. Instead of another checklist, I recommend a few structures to have in place to successfully navigate the expected and unexpected challenges.
Inside of you:
- Purpose: The more you clarify why you are doing this, the easier it becomes to focus and make decisions aligned with who you are and your life’s pursuits.
- Plan: You will never perfectly execute your plan and reach all your goals. Thinking through the goals and hurdles you may encounter along the way will help you navigate the unexpected situations you did not anticipate.
- Track: You will learn many things in your first year. Keep track! I am a big fan of Excel, tracking what is most important and keeping tabs for each month. Track more than numbers. Journal or record goals, accomplishments, situations, and problems—if not weekly, then monthly. This will give you time to think through what has happened and gather your thoughts for moving forward. It is also encouraging to look back on the progress you have made.
- Reset Routine: Know yourself well enough to understand what sets you off and what brings you back to center. Hangry is a real thing. “Sleeping on it” is ancient wisdom. Repeating a prayer or a phrase can bring your prefrontal cortex back online. Know how to regulate your emotions because you will be triggered.
Outside of You:
- Systems: There are so many third-party systems today. Do your research and select the processes and systems you will realistically be able to execute. Document, train, implement, review – it is a never-ending cycle. In all my years in dealerships, the best-performing and least-stressful dealerships are the one where Dealer Principals have worked hard to build and maintain systems. They can have exponential payoffs, improving both financial position and quality of life.
- People:
- Team – You are going to be spending a lot of time with the people on your team. Hire people with qualities you admire; you can train job skills. The more effectively you train and enable people to fulfill their roles, the more support you have to do yours. Think about things from their point of view: Do they look forward to coming to work? Are they rewarded financially, socially and emotionally? If so, you will build an “A” team.
- Business partners – There are others invested in your success (DMS provider, OEM, vendors, lenders, investors). Most of them have plenty of applicable experience. Utilize the resources they provide.
- Other Dealers – Reach out. You are not alone, please do not hesitate to ask advice from other dealers. Join a peer group. And when you are successful, be a resource to others.
It is your dealership and there are many decisions that are yours to make. Sort through the volume of information and data and choose what you can realistically act upon and sustain. You are the one who will reap most of the rewards and bear the consequences. It is an exciting journey and we want to celebrate your success!
Laura Lemco, AM, MBA - Dealership Valuation Services, LLC
Laura Lemco grew up in her parents’ Honda, Suzuki, and Harley-Davidson dealership. When her father started a consulting firm for motorcycle dealerships across the globe, Laura worked in varying consulting and sales roles including F&I sales and building membership in professional peer groups. Eventually, Laura took over the consulting business. Laura’s consulting focuses on analyzing financials and operations to drive improvements. Laura builds on that expertise to develop appraisals to assist dealerships in transitions, succession planning, tax matters, dispute resolution, and litigation matters. Laura’s ability to work with Courts, attorneys, accountants, manufacturers, employees, shareholders, and finance companies led to engagements as an Interim Operator to stabilize dealerships in litigation or distress.
