"Burn It Down or Build It Back” – with Lola Schmidt
00:00:00.03
Lola
Sometimes that's just what you gotta do.
00:00:01.45
Jimmy Purdy
That's crazy.
00:00:02.89
Lola
Trying it off and trying it again.
00:00:02.93
Jimmy Purdy
i think right
00:00:06.63
Jimmy Purdy
like i came I came in yesterday and just left it open. So I think I might've, that might've screwed me.
00:00:11.23
Lola
Oh, do I need headphones microphone or can you hear me?
00:00:12.21
Jimmy Purdy
What I get for.
00:00:14.86
Lola
Okay. What would you prefer?
00:00:15.42
Jimmy Purdy
You sound, no, you sounds good.
00:00:16.94
Lola
Okay, great.
00:00:17.60
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:00:19.98
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. Just get for trying to get ahead of the curve, you know?
00:00:23.06
Lola
Perfect. How's the baby?
00:00:26.29
Jimmy Purdy
She's good. It's crazy. It's a,
00:00:28.42
Lola
How's being a daddy?
00:00:29.77
Jimmy Purdy
It's a crazy thing. It feels like it's the same, but different. I don't know. It's like, uh, it's just amazing. You know what to do without knowing what to do. Is that, is that weird?
00:00:42.34
Lola
It is weird.
00:00:42.45
Jimmy Purdy
You know, it's like, I don't know. Like I've never done that before, but if for some reason I'm like, Oh, I'll just, I don't know.
00:00:49.04
Lola
Did you have, do you have like baby experience? like do you have a bunch of nephews or nieces or I mean, neither.
00:00:53.31
Jimmy Purdy
No, not at all. Not even a little bit.
00:00:56.41
Lola
I'd never changed a diaper or like fed a baby or anything before I had mine.
00:00:56.30
Jimmy Purdy
That, that,
00:01:00.00
Lola
Right.
00:01:00.55
Jimmy Purdy
But you just know what to do. It's like, how do I know this stuff?
00:01:02.18
Lola
It was crazy.
00:01:05.41
Lola
weird right it's like embedded in your dna somewhere from millions of years ago you know what she is still alive so you are great at it yeah yeah that was my only goal at the end of the each day i was like okay you're still breathing i've done a good job like it's all we can compare
00:01:10.71
Jimmy Purdy
I'm probably not very good at it, but I mean, it's working so far, you know?
00:01:16.92
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, yeah. And she looks like she likes me, I think.
00:01:27.72
Jimmy Purdy
That's pretty much it, right? I mean, I don't know if she's happy yet. And it's been a month, a month and a week or two weeks now. It's crazy.
00:01:35.66
Lola
How's your wife doing? she feeling okay? Doing okay?
00:01:37.75
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, she loves it. It's hard to pry the baby out of her arms at the end of the day. Cause I'm still going to the, I'm still going what's that?
00:01:44.31
Lola
It's her baby. It's her baby.
00:01:47.64
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. I mean, I still come to the shop every day. Right. So she's at home with the baby all day. figure by the time I get home, she's wants a break, but no, not yet. Anyway, I guess that comes later.
00:02:00.28
Lola
Around three months, she'll be like, here, take this.
00:02:05.43
Lola
I need a nap. but yeah
00:02:06.60
Jimmy Purdy
I think maybe she gets a little, they get a little more vocal by then.
00:02:09.91
Lola
Yes.
00:02:09.86
Jimmy Purdy
know, they start screaming and cause right now she's just like eat and sleep, you know?
00:02:11.17
Lola
That's the good story.
00:02:14.14
Lola
Yeah. I actually, it was kind of boring.
00:02:15.34
Jimmy Purdy
Like this is easy.
00:02:17.77
Lola
I found having a newborn to be really boring. I was like, can you do something?
00:02:26.51
Jimmy Purdy
That's funny.
00:02:27.43
Lola
I was just stuck in the house.
00:02:28.75
Jimmy Purdy
I can totally, I totally understand that though. You're like, come on, do something.
00:02:33.92
Lola
Right. I like to have conversation. so I'm like talking this little lump and I'm like, can you give me something? Like I'm giving you my best work. Like, like yeah, exactly.
00:02:40.79
Jimmy Purdy
Not even staring, not even looking at you either. Just staring at the ceiling fan. Like, ah and really, that's what, you know, it's like crazy to think about. There's like the ceiling fan. Like, why is that so interesting, right?
00:02:53.13
Lola
It's like the most fascinating thing that really big light fixtures.
00:02:58.04
Jimmy Purdy
And I think it's the depth perception that's like, I mean, it's a theory, but stay with me here, right? I think i think it's it's like, at first, it looks like the fan is part of the ceiling. Like it's all flat. Like it's all 2D.
00:03:12.69
Lola
o
00:03:12.98
Jimmy Purdy
And then like their brain starts like connecting, like, wait a second. It's like 3D, right? So it's like starting to slowly pop out at them.
00:03:20.34
Lola
Right.
00:03:20.35
Jimmy Purdy
That's just, I don't know. I just, but those are the thoughts that are going in my head as I'm holding this this small child, right?
00:03:21.62
Lola
like It's moving now. oh
00:03:26.83
Jimmy Purdy
i'm like, what are you thinking about? I'm like, I wonder if. all of a sudden your brain is just starting to actually realize that it's like, you know what I mean?
00:03:33.69
Lola
Yeah.
00:03:33.75
Jimmy Purdy
Like what a trip, you know? Cause it's like never seen it before. Like how did, how would they know the difference? don't know. The whole thing is just, it's crazy.
00:03:40.41
Lola
That's the best thing I think about having a kid is when they see the stuff that you see every day. Right. And like you take it completely for granted and they see it and it's like, but it's the first time they ever saw a snail or a frog or whatever.
00:03:48.94
Jimmy Purdy
Mm.
00:03:55.81
Lola
And it's just, that was all of my favorite moments was the first times.
00:04:01.01
Jimmy Purdy
First bath. yeah
00:04:02.68
Lola
Yeah. First bath pooping.
00:04:03.81
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:04:05.17
Lola
That's so fun.
00:04:08.10
Jimmy Purdy
You know what? The one thing that no one says is ah you got to burp your, you bur you know, you got burp your baby. but They didn't say nothing about the gas.
00:04:16.05
Lola
No.
00:04:16.09
Jimmy Purdy
Like the amount of just ripping. Like, wow, that came out of you, huh? No one said anything about that.
00:04:21.05
Lola
Yeah. There's a lot of gatekeeping secrets, actually, that you get to find out.
00:04:27.50
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. Like. That's like an adult ass fart. Like what just came out of you?
00:04:31.74
Lola
Yeah. I don't think it's something this big, right?
00:04:33.73
Jimmy Purdy
so I'm impressed.
00:04:36.89
Lola
Right? It's like, you're not even really eating anything. Like, what? It's more.
00:04:42.32
Jimmy Purdy
no, it's, it's great though. I mean, I can't go back now, but it's, I wouldn't want to anyway.
00:04:47.65
Lola
No. Are you going to have like 70 of them, a bunch of babies?
00:04:48.40
Jimmy Purdy
No, No, probably not that.
00:04:52.26
Lola
Yeah.
00:04:53.75
Jimmy Purdy
mean, I vividly remember still, it was a month ago, but like that night after I was like, who does this twice? That's wild, right? there's Like there's no way. Obviously now a month later, I'm like, oh, god can I can kind of see, like it doesn't seem that big of a deal anymore. But man, that night I vividly remember thinking to myself, like I would never put, what just happened?
00:05:14.07
Lola
I wrote it all down like day by day by day. So I could go back if I ever felt like I want to have another kid.
00:05:18.23
Jimmy Purdy
Oh, that's smart.
00:05:19.69
Lola
I was like, this is the stuff to read to make you realize that you don't want to do this again.
00:05:24.56
Jimmy Purdy
I do not want to go through that. I won't put anybody through that again. Yeah, so it was quite a trip. But it's, you know, the lack of sleep is totally worth it. So don't know why everyone's going to scare you away from that.
00:05:36.97
Lola
I get right month three and let me know if the lack of sleep is still worth it.
00:05:40.46
Jimmy Purdy
Okay, fair enough.
00:05:42.55
Lola
What did I think in the first like three years of having a child or something like that?
00:05:42.45
Jimmy Purdy
Fair enough.
00:05:47.54
Lola
I read that you lose like a full year of sleep as a parent. So you're consistent. Like you will never, ever be caught up ever again.
00:05:58.06
Jimmy Purdy
That's fun to think about.
00:05:59.95
Lola
Yeah, but it's okay. It's a joy, right? Like you're raising the next generation and that's powerful.
00:06:03.94
Jimmy Purdy
Well, I guess that the segues into and and into the talk about shop ownership because it's pretty much the same thing.
00:06:09.70
Lola
what Yeah, exactly. Let's do it.
00:06:14.43
Jimmy Purdy
I mean, the lack of sleep is is real no matter what, right? At least I think it's more worth it with a child than than owning a shop maybe. I don't know. At least they're not like you know full grown adult adults that you're having to babysit, you know?
00:06:23.55
Lola
on the day.
00:06:29.01
Lola
and some Again, depends on the day.
00:06:34.38
Jimmy Purdy
ah So your your journey into into shop ownership, we talked a little bit and i know we've met once or twice and we were just talking before we came on.
00:06:44.74
Jimmy Purdy
It was like over a year ago in Utah.
00:06:47.61
Lola
Yeah. Yeah. And we really didn't get to like talk, talk much.
00:06:49.99
Jimmy Purdy
Crazy.
00:06:53.06
Lola
You were like podcasting and was writing a class.
00:06:55.07
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:06:58.27
Lola
So we we didn't even really get to chill.
00:06:58.56
Jimmy Purdy
Busy, you know.
00:07:01.19
Jimmy Purdy
Everyone's always busy.
00:07:03.08
Lola
It's a stupid excuse.
00:07:04.73
Jimmy Purdy
It is. ah you You make time for the things you want to do.
00:07:08.43
Lola
Right?
00:07:08.92
Jimmy Purdy
That's the bottom line.
00:07:10.92
Lola
Clearly we didn't want to make time for each other that day at Mars.
00:07:11.03
Jimmy Purdy
That's the... Oh, that's really sad. You had to go there, huh?
00:07:15.94
Lola
I'm sorry, friend.
00:07:18.12
Jimmy Purdy
That happens, you know?
00:07:19.95
Lola
It does. That's all right.
00:07:21.08
Jimmy Purdy
So you came out of the the corporate world a little bit.
00:07:24.14
Lola
I did. Yeah. Cosmetics.
00:07:25.38
Jimmy Purdy
And that and then what what have you used... like Tools wise, because like managing and you, I mean, you guys have shop, you and Eric kind of went through a lot. Right.
00:07:36.20
Lola
Yeah.
00:07:36.15
Jimmy Purdy
And I don't know little bits and pieces. I haven't really gotten the full fledged story from the from the horse's mouth, I guess is what they say. But um definitely went through a lot.
00:07:42.41
Lola
Mm-hmm.
00:07:43.92
Jimmy Purdy
But how does that like the stuff where you came from, like pivot and helped you into running an auto shop?
00:07:51.89
Lola
Well, in corporate America, you have lots and lots and lots of structure, right? Like almost too much structure. But I came from Estee Lauder, which is like a multi-billion dollar corporation internationally. So you have to have lots of processes, lots of rules and regulations, right?
00:08:09.36
Lola
So I took a lot of that in to the shop, which was not what Eric wanted because he had left like corporate dealer because he didn't like corporate. wanted it to be like looser, friendlier, not paperwork feeling and I was watching him try to grow and hire people. And he had like one tech, it was like him and one other tech.
00:08:35.16
Lola
And I watched that tech leave. um Like he fired that tech because did something ridiculous, but there was no paperwork in place, right? So Eric lost his unemployed or he lost his unemployment case to that, which makes his unemployment raise, his rate raise.
00:08:51.04
Lola
And I was like, if you had just had paperwork in place, you could have solved this whole problem. And there would not have been a case. So he was like, okay. So he let me like tread in a little bit with some light paperwork.
00:09:04.91
Lola
So I just started kind of coming in and structuring the stuff that I could see, like this could be a potential problem later on This could be one. How could we like try to wrangle it up?
00:09:17.24
Lola
But it took me probably like a year and a half to become less aggressive, mean corporate lady. So I went into the shop ready to be like, we're a Fortune 500 company.
00:09:28.86
Lola
Let's go. Schmidt on OK. And that didn't work for anybody.
00:09:33.11
Jimmy Purdy
Right.
00:09:33.96
Lola
um So I definitely like made people leave because I was trying to be like a hardcore businesswoman and that wasn't working in the independent. And it actually was one of my coaches that we had brought on who was like, listen, this isn't you can't act like that.
00:09:49.89
Jimmy Purdy
Just cool it a little bit.
00:09:52.17
Lola
You have to calm down, corporate America. Like, this isn't working. um i I took our Processes book from corporate America. Thanks, Estee Letter. And really edited it down, like, a lot.
00:10:03.95
Lola
Like, a lot, a lot. From, like, a 400-page book to, like, a 40-page book. um So I did take a lot of the steps from that and kind of just start to edit it and... see what would work and not work.
00:10:13.73
Jimmy Purdy
Thank you.
00:10:15.41
Lola
I worked a lot on myself, like personally, because you i couldn't come at it as aggressively or bluntly as I would have in corporate. I had to like, I didn't realize i was going to have to wear such kid gloves to deal with technicians, but I really had to make sure I was being very gentle with these grown men.
00:10:34.18
Jimmy Purdy
do Yeah, I understand that.
00:10:34.87
Lola
but
00:10:36.17
Jimmy Purdy
And do you think you think having SOPs or procedures or or whatever you want to call them, do you think it stifles creativity?
00:10:48.02
Jimmy Purdy
Do you think there's a little bit of like having too much stuff that's like in such a strict box that it doesn't allow um the employees or technicians or advisors to to like want to venture outside of that box?
00:10:48.28
Lola
Oh.
00:10:59.40
Jimmy Purdy
So it kind of negates their creativity a little bit. Have you noticed that?
00:11:02.20
Lola
I think I was trying to at the beginning. i think you do have to find the balance. I still very much believe in processes and procedures. That's what I teach. Like I teach it a lot. I write them endlessly.
00:11:14.46
Lola
um But I do keep it in mind that the processes I'm writing are more about the function of the shops more than the function of the people. So as long as they're staying and functioning inside of that, like what the shop needs to do, like, I don't feel like that should stifle their creativity.
00:11:30.98
Lola
um Now, I don't really also want my text to be too creative. Like, we're going to torque wheel this way. I'm not in your creative way.
00:11:37.64
Jimmy Purdy
Correct. Right. right
00:11:40.39
Lola
um I think there has to be a very fine balance of of both things. And it's taken a long time. I mean, you know i don't think you know that balance. And I think that has to change, too, as the shop grows. Like, we used to have very few processes and procedures.
00:11:57.35
Lola
But we realized that growth was getting messy. So we had to have more. And now I'm at a point where we're starting to grow again, but the level of of them that I'm having to put in are a higher level for a higher functioning type shop.
00:12:11.15
Lola
So I think they just have to change as you go along and you need to be mindful of that.
00:12:15.58
Jimmy Purdy
Maybe the people too, the people that that are receiving them. I just feel like like for me, I have a technician and it's like I almost want to tell him I need you to break the rules at least once a month.
00:12:27.52
Jimmy Purdy
You know what I mean? like
00:12:28.27
Lola
We want our guard. We want our break.
00:12:29.74
Jimmy Purdy
Well, you know, it's it's interesting because it's not like a common problem, I don't think, for for a lot. And it's it's it's it's interesting for me and I have two other techs and it's like...
00:12:41.31
Jimmy Purdy
you kind of got to keep them in the bounds, right? I got to like check in with them. Hey, don't do that again. Hey, you missed this. Hey, you missed that. And I feel like that's normal. And like with him comes in and asked me just, just really random, like, man, just, just make the decision. You know, like if it needs a little washer fluid, just top it off. You don't need a pre-approval and we don't need to like, it's fine.
00:12:58.52
Jimmy Purdy
Just, just get it done. Right.
00:13:00.64
Lola
Yeah.
00:13:00.59
Jimmy Purdy
um And it's, and it's really hard. Cause feel like sometimes the processes and the play, he's just staying so much confined in the bind and the bounds. I feel like the advisors do the same thing where,
00:13:11.09
Jimmy Purdy
There's just no creative thinking. And it's like, well, this is how you want me to do it. It's like, yeah, but like, think about the situation. So I got an example. Last week we had a, uh, uh, I think it was a Honda Odyssey get towed in and the guy had tried to replace his CV axle himself.
00:13:27.18
Jimmy Purdy
And then it, and then it got put on triple A and got towed in. So the vehicle's already here. Okay. Let's cut to, right? So he doesn't want to buy our part. He's got the part in the back. He doesn't want to do the diagnosis. He doesn't want to do the assessment. He just wants us to pull it in and put the axle in the vehicle.
00:13:43.83
Jimmy Purdy
And it's like that. It's like red flag city, right? Like everything about screaming, like red alert, red alert, you know, let's get this thing out of here. We're not doing that. I'm like, well, hold on a second here. Like it's in, it's like, we're here to help people.
00:13:55.70
Jimmy Purdy
Okay. Like he's, he's from out of the area. He's trying to get home to to Los Angeles. Right. And so he's three or four hours away from home. Like we are here to help. Like at the end of the day, let's get this guy back on the road.
00:14:07.42
Lola
You turn every everyone away. Mm-hmm.
00:14:09.61
Jimmy Purdy
Well, yeah, I mean, it's like, yeah, I guess I get, I get that it's outside of our procedures and it's like, that's not what we we do. We always sell our part and it's like, but like, come on, like we, we got, we got to help this guy, but we also have to make money.
00:14:22.95
Jimmy Purdy
Right. So how do we, how do we design it? So I told, you know, our service manager, said, look, right up the, right up the repair, whatever we were going to make on that part, just pat it onto the labor. Right. Right.
00:14:34.49
Jimmy Purdy
like just inflate the labor rate at an hour, whatever you got to do to make up the loss that we, that we're not going with the part and then let them know if we get into it and it's not the axle or whatever, right? Like then he's going to pay for the time up to that point.
00:14:49.11
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And just leave it at that. Like, and and if And if we get into the tech, can't get the axle out or whatever happens, like he's going to pay for that time up to that point. As long as he's, you know, there, like, let's just move forward.
00:15:01.61
Jimmy Purdy
Sure enough, pull it in. Took like 30 minutes, pop the axle out, put it in, back, ready to go. Like, and everything was fine. But it was like, I had to step into that process. So it was like, because it was outside of what I've written down, i feel like it stifled the creativity to work through that, that situation. You know what saying?
00:15:18.92
Lola
yeah but it's also very good that they were respectful to your process right like following your goal
00:15:23.88
Jimmy Purdy
Yes. ah That's where it's like like like, no one's in trouble here, but...
00:15:28.27
Lola
Yeah, I have an advisor that's very similar and I very much appreciate that he is a rule follower. He likes process. He was an old banker. um So process is like embedded into him.
00:15:41.41
Lola
But I also had that kind of conversation last week about a situation because we like to have our inspections back by like 11 or 1130. So we can start the estimating. And he was getting them back at like 1231.
00:15:54.05
Lola
And he's like, I need everybody to hurry up. Like this is, this is not on the process timeline. And I'm like, bruh, it's one hour off the timeline. Like, like I'm going need you to calm down a little bit.
00:16:07.02
Lola
Um, so for some of them, I do think that, and maybe that's just like, maybe I'm not doing a good enough job for making him feel comfortable to like lead and pivot, you know? And I've been thinking about that. Like, is there something I could have done that would have made him feel like he could just say like, okay, this is going to be okay. That it's like this one extra hour or for your guy, like, okay to make that call to bring it in.
00:16:30.02
Lola
Um, I don't know.
00:16:31.37
Jimmy Purdy
like the
00:16:31.54
Lola
Yeah.
00:16:31.95
Jimmy Purdy
Like maybe the bigger picture, right? Like they're just lose a sight a little bit of like, what's the main, what, like, what are we doing here? We're fixing cars and we're trying to turn a profit. Like, like that's the, that's the overarching like vision, right?
00:16:43.81
Jimmy Purdy
Like, and I feel like it's like, well, I just have to do exactly what you've written down.
00:16:45.46
Lola
yeah
00:16:49.49
Jimmy Purdy
And like, and it's like almost robotic to a sense. And, and, and you try so hard to get everyone on that. on that too page, right? Literally like on your SOP page.
00:17:01.78
Jimmy Purdy
And then all of a sudden it's like, you lose sight of like what the main goal of what we're doing here, like use these as like a guideline, but like, like, right, exactly.
00:17:10.94
Lola
If it makes sense for the business, make it make sense as well without being like utterly defiant. um
00:17:19.62
Jimmy Purdy
That's a good way to put it.
00:17:20.92
Lola
Yeah.
00:17:20.93
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:17:22.58
Lola
So that's why I tell people my processes class, like, yes, they're written down in black and white, but you have to make room for a little bit of gray in there, or you're either never going to grow or you're never going to take time to see where the other opportunities are that you could change that because those s SOPs are probably going to change at some point in your company.
00:17:43.04
Jimmy Purdy
They have to.
00:17:44.76
Lola
Yeah.
00:17:45.58
Jimmy Purdy
You know, we always um we all say we're shifting gears or we're shifting expectations, right? The name of the shop is Shifting Gears. So try to use that as a play on words like make everyone realize like we can't keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over.
00:18:00.09
Jimmy Purdy
like Cars are going to change.
00:18:00.33
Lola
Right.
00:18:00.93
Jimmy Purdy
Everything evolves, right? So we always have to... like Try new systems, try new managing systems, try this, try that. And the other thing, and like kind of drives everyone crazy because they try to get used to the same thing, you know, wash, rinse, repeat.
00:18:13.49
Jimmy Purdy
i just don't think that's, I don't think that's a recipe for, for success. But then again, it's like whatever your definition of success is, right?
00:18:21.99
Lola
Sure. If you're a shop that's like really happy with what you're doing, like I have a friend and they're happy with their shop. They don't want it to grow anymore. They don't want it to shrink. They have a nice lifestyle, a nice shop, a nice staff, and they are totally fine and content with that.
00:18:37.58
Lola
I will never be content with that. i wouldn't I will always push for more. I will always want more. So for me, I know it has to change and evolve.
00:18:46.89
Jimmy Purdy
The thing is like a... I mean, it's always exciting for the new stuff. And um I think I'm on on the same page as you. It's like always wanting to keep trying, push forward. But I also feel like there's a little bit of like sustainability kind of wrapped into that as well.
00:19:01.33
Jimmy Purdy
Where... you can kind of get by for a really long time doing the same thing in this industry, but eventually like drum brakes turn into disc brakes. Right. and And if all you want to do is drum brakes in your shop, cause you don't want to learn how to do disc brakes.
00:19:15.95
Jimmy Purdy
Not only like, are you eventually that's going to phase out, but you're never realizing how much easier it is to do a disc brake job than a drum brake job. Cause you're so afraid of change.
00:19:24.92
Lola
Yeah. I don't think that you can come into this business at all if you're afraid of change.
00:19:25.55
Jimmy Purdy
Um,
00:19:29.80
Lola
Like you just should stay somewhere else. Don't come here. Don't come here. Because this business changes. Like I have never... But prior, I'm still not a car girl, but when I sat back and like, I listened to these technicians and I'm just like, wow, like even the 2009 is so much different than the 2012, which is so much different than the 2019. And I don't know how their brains aren't exploding all over my wall all the time. Like, and for those shops that don't do education in their shops, I don't, I don't understand how they'll move forward in the future.
00:20:07.03
Jimmy Purdy
yeah Yeah, that's the biggest thing. So 10 years, that's ah that's a long time to not be catching up on stuff.
00:20:15.43
Lola
You can't do it because my same advisor that I said was a bank person, his father owned an auto shop. And when his father passed away, he took over the auto shop. Right. And that's been like eight to 10 years ago, probably that he did that.
00:20:29.73
Lola
And now he works for us. And when the texts come and like say things, he's like, oh my God, I never even heard about this before. That was on a car when I was selling it in St. Louis. So he's like, there's no way he could step in the back and help anymore. No way.
00:20:44.24
Jimmy Purdy
Too many things.
00:20:46.40
Lola
yeah
00:20:47.52
Jimmy Purdy
What's been the realization to segue back from corporate world till now or getting in the auto industry? Did it kind of come in? You were kind of coming a little light-footed like, oh, it's just it's just cars.
00:20:58.24
Jimmy Purdy
like i can I can handle this. and did What have you noticed?
00:21:01.13
Lola
yeah
00:21:02.19
Jimmy Purdy
is like Has there been like a huge... Wow, I had no idea it was this complicated.
00:21:09.49
Lola
Here's my eternal position on it. I think that if you run a business or you are a certain level in business, you can go work in any industry because you're just buying and selling things, right? Like the numbers move the same, everything moves the same.
00:21:18.71
Jimmy Purdy
Sure. True.
00:21:21.57
Lola
I'm going to tell you where you get screwed up in automotives.
00:21:21.49
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:21:23.83
Jimmy Purdy
it
00:21:24.56
Lola
And that's the parts people. I hate that we have to deal with parts. You can't control them. You can't rely on them. I wish we could own a parts warehouse and that would take out a lot of the variables,
00:21:38.71
Lola
That was the part to me that I was literally mind blown with. And I remember I looked at Eric and I was like, why does anybody own an auto shop? There's way too many hands and moving pieces. This industry is relies on too much to move one day.
00:21:53.71
Lola
Other industries don't rely on that. That's it. Like for me, the parts part of it is just mind blowing every single day so me.
00:22:04.78
Jimmy Purdy
I never really thought of it that way.
00:22:07.10
Lola
it gets screwed up because you can have people.
00:22:07.29
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, it's interesting.
00:22:10.88
Lola
I can go hire people all day, like greatest technician in the world. We can sell the job all day long, but then there's this parts person that comes and screws it all up. They don't have the part. They give you the wrong part. They can't get there on time.
00:22:23.34
Lola
They're the ones that are the people that are the big problem for me. So and from corporate America, that was my hugest thing. I was like, I hate the parts people. I hate And my only goal is to buy a parts warehouse ah immediately.
00:22:40.61
Lola
And then I found out how much parts warehouses would cost. And i left for that goal.
00:22:45.37
Jimmy Purdy
Well, then you become the person that you ultimately hate anyway. So then. Yeah.
00:22:49.47
Lola
Yeah. Well, would rather hate me than these other people, but and cause I felt like I could at least control it better. You know, i don't know.
00:22:56.15
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:22:57.51
Lola
Like there's, there's a lot of variable insides of relying your day to day on someone else, which is the parts people.
00:23:05.14
Jimmy Purdy
There's a lot of small things, I guess, if you really think about it. I mean, for me, I don't really know much other. um im I'm a little bit into real estate, but I mean, as far as automotive business wise, I don't really know any other business mottos.
00:23:17.43
Jimmy Purdy
So it's just kind of maybe I'm um blinded by ignorance. Like maybe maybe there's other businesses that are probably easier to to manage and maintain. i just don't know.
00:23:27.44
Jimmy Purdy
Right.
00:23:28.20
Lola
I mean, think anything easier to manage and maintain than auto care, to be honest.
00:23:28.10
Jimmy Purdy
I think a lot of us get into it and we don't know the difference. Like this is just what we know.
00:23:35.70
Lola
um Wrangling cats or having think a zoo would be easier sometimes. Um, you know, cause in corporate, like it's right.
00:23:41.96
Jimmy Purdy
A zoo would be nice, yeah.
00:23:43.19
Lola
Like the product ships to you on Wednesday, you check it in. It's coming from a distribution center. When the sales count is low, more product comes like, it's just a nice cycle. I don't happen in auto care when I'm out of oil.
00:23:53.91
Jimmy Purdy
That's true.
00:23:55.11
Lola
It doesn't just automatically come to me. Well, the oil actually does now, but like there's certain that they don't just automatically come, you know, like there's no certain distribution center. I got to call around five people to find this, to find that it doesn't come until June. And it's got to come from Germany and like, Oh,
00:24:11.25
Lola
It's a lot. It's a lot.
00:24:13.85
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, there's there's a lot of hands in the in the ah and the pot. I guess
00:24:19.65
Jimmy Purdy
there's it's too easy to get into this this industry. There's the other thing too, right? And there's a lot of other skilled trades, right? Like ah drywall, right? Like anybody can go grab a pan and a knife and be a drywall contractor, right? um but it But it also isn't that complicated.
00:24:36.92
Lola
Yeah.
00:24:37.63
Jimmy Purdy
you You put the wall on, you put little mud on you call it a day, right?
00:24:37.78
Lola
There's a...
00:24:39.91
Jimmy Purdy
It's not, you're not going through all these different steps and processes and then getting the the wrong boxes put in the wrong parts put in the box or the greasy one that was, that was, uh, shuffled back, you know, that was used as a test.
00:24:51.60
Jimmy Purdy
You know, i was like, there's a lot and there's no QC for any of that stuff. And that's what we're doing.
00:24:55.86
Lola
No. And really, the stores don't care.
00:24:57.62
Jimmy Purdy
We're selling parts.
00:25:00.22
Lola
There's not a lot care because there's 10 other stores that are going to call them for the part, so you're not really special to them.
00:25:10.96
Jimmy Purdy
That's true. As much as they like to make you feel like you are.
00:25:14.87
Lola
Yeah. The only time I knew i was special was when we completely had pulled from our number one vendor that we ordered parts for and they showed up to be like, Hey, where's all of the parts ordering?
00:25:15.70
Jimmy Purdy
It's not.
00:25:25.92
Lola
But for them, and they really only care because of the money. They didn't care because they were trying to figure out what they did wrong.
00:25:33.80
Jimmy Purdy
Oh, yeah, just the sales at the end of the day.
00:25:35.35
Lola
Yeah. For the sales. Cause they didn't offer a fix when they came down and we told them what was wrong. They were like, Oh, sorry.
00:25:40.94
Jimmy Purdy
you know and that And that kind of translates over to like client retention as well. right like
00:25:46.96
Lola
Yes.
00:25:47.03
Jimmy Purdy
We focus, or i mean in the last few years I have anyway, really focus on the numbers. right i've I've gone from technician to owner. So I've gone from like, let's just focus on fixing the cars. right And hopefully I can figure out the money later.
00:26:02.00
Jimmy Purdy
Cause I don't know, i don't know what any of that stuff means. Right. I just want to, I just want to, I just want to fix cars. I want to be the best transmission builder. i want, that's what I want. Right. And I realized, uh, pretty quickly that that wasn't going to be sustainable.
00:26:16.72
Jimmy Purdy
Right. I can't, I can't sit on the bench and I can't keep up with technicians and I can't manage a business if I'm like actually doing the technician work. Right. It's like the E-myth, right.
00:26:25.88
Lola
like
00:26:26.55
Jimmy Purdy
I can't be the technician and the manager and the entrepreneur all at one time.
00:26:30.02
Lola
Yeah.
00:26:30.28
Jimmy Purdy
So, Yeah, as you start pivoting into like like managing the money, you start realizing... ah you're starting to look at things as as numbers. you start you start You start looking at your customers as numbers, and then you and then you lose that other part of it that you still need.
00:26:45.63
Jimmy Purdy
right i feel like I feel like you got to try to retain that empathy part and still understand like, hey, we're still fixing cars for people that are stuck on the side of the road. So they're not just all numbers, but when you don't see them for a year, you're calling them because you need them to come back in to spend more money.
00:27:06.24
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And and it's it's like that fine line, like, yeah, I'm calling to check in on you and hopes that nothing's wrong with your car. But also like, if you're going somewhere else, you need to come back here. Yeah.
00:27:16.20
Lola
Come on back. so
00:27:17.48
Jimmy Purdy
you get You get a little salesy. And I think i think maybe that's a but something that a lot of people that get in the industry don't like to do. Because that's not why they're doing it, right? It's like, I did it because I want to fix cars. i want to help people. I don't want to call them back in six months.
00:27:31.40
Jimmy Purdy
want to call them and and sell them to come back to the shop. But without doing that, you stop growing. And it's such a hard thing to, like, don't wrap my brain around. Like, who am I anymore, right?
00:27:42.21
Lola
yeah
00:27:43.19
Jimmy Purdy
And then you get into the whole, like, what am I even doing anymore?
00:27:47.77
Lola
Well, I think especially now I wasn't a technician, but I did watch Eric pivot from, you know, technician, only him in the shop to getting some people to trying to still be the tech plus be that like where you were talking to finally giving up the ghost and saying, okay, I'm just going to be the owner. I'm not touching a car. Yeah.
00:28:09.24
Lola
And I think that is some of the like craziest mind shift and it took years. And I still don't know if he's fully there, but he's way better off than he was. But for all of you, that is a crazy transition that is so hard.
00:28:25.13
Lola
And I don't even know if most of the techs turned owners belong in the front of the house. I think y'all belong in the office work in those numbers, probably not talking to the customer. Because you are passionate about fixing the car and you need somebody up front that's passionate about fixing the person's problem. And those are a little different in nuance with how you would like talk to the person.
00:28:45.68
Jimmy Purdy
Very different, yeah.
00:28:47.76
Lola
So like Eric is very passionate about fixing their car, right? So he's going to give them a 45 minute dissertation on like exactly detailed on what we're fixing. And they don't want to hear that. They want like a five minute recap on what it is and how much it costs.
00:29:01.19
Lola
So, and like, again, with a loving sales kind of approach.
00:29:08.50
Lola
So it's like a, it's a game you have to play, but I feel like most techs turned owners need to be in an office, not upfront with doing service or dealing with your customers.
00:29:17.94
Jimmy Purdy
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, that you, I mean, yeah, you just killed it with that, with the dissertation there. Cause that's, that is my crux and I have to actively catch myself in the middle of it.
00:29:29.77
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And like realize they don't want to know any of this stuff. Right. But in that, in that process of me realizing that I've, I've, I watched, I listened one of my advisors and and he does that.
00:29:40.86
Jimmy Purdy
And so I can quickly like, like, okay.
00:29:41.69
Lola
Great.
00:29:44.00
Jimmy Purdy
Cause at first was like, oh man, that's exactly how I would do it. Perfect. Not perfect. Not, like not what we want. and And I'm not, yeah I didn't come in the industry as an advisor or as a business.
00:29:54.18
Jimmy Purdy
I came in as a tech, right? and Like, and, and so I think people want to hear what I would want to hear, which is like, tell me exactly how you're going to fix it.
00:29:56.10
Lola
ah
00:30:02.18
Jimmy Purdy
And exist like, tell me the testing procedures that you conducted to come to your conclusion. Right?
00:30:07.00
Lola
yeah
00:30:06.90
Jimmy Purdy
Nobody wants to hear that, but me and there's something wrong with me. So that's, that's all wrong. Yeah.
00:30:11.83
Lola
yeah No, I think, I mean, okay, as a technician, how many sales classes did you go to? nine Oh, so you actually went to some, I mean, Chrysler didn't say,
00:30:17.41
Jimmy Purdy
ah Up to this point in my life, maybe two.
00:30:23.59
Jimmy Purdy
well Well, as of the last couple of years ago, but before that, like zero, right?
00:30:27.56
Lola
yeah, you took no customer service classes. You took no sales classes. You took no business classes, no psychology of sales, no objections type things.
00:30:35.58
Jimmy Purdy
Nothing.
00:30:38.03
Jimmy Purdy
Oh, no way.
00:30:38.26
Lola
And all y'all are like, let me go deal with some customers.
00:30:42.18
Jimmy Purdy
No, I'm just like, my ego is this big. And I'm like, you you don't want me to fix your car.
00:30:44.34
Lola
but
00:30:45.58
Jimmy Purdy
Then you get the hell out of here then.
00:30:47.47
Lola
Yeah,
00:30:47.47
Jimmy Purdy
Cause I'm the best at what I do. That was my sales pitch.
00:30:49.25
Lola
like exactly.
00:30:52.88
Jimmy Purdy
So yeah, that worked really well too.
00:30:56.15
Lola
that little bit of corporate that I bought to the table with like, hey, maybe you don't talk to the people. Let's let somebody that works in sales talk to the people. That was something I brought to the table.
00:31:07.34
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that was the biggest one.
00:31:09.00
Lola
but
00:31:08.92
Jimmy Purdy
You know, it's funny you you you say that because that's like, it's really, really similar. ah did just strikes a chord with me because i I was in that place where i was i was doing everything, right?
00:31:19.34
Jimmy Purdy
And I'm literally like answering the phones and working on the cars you know and Leanne came in, right?
00:31:22.12
Lola
you
00:31:25.01
Jimmy Purdy
And she took over the front and that's kind of where this the Ember started, really. And she came from absolutely zero automotive background, right? Like She came to the point where when she was going to ASU in Arizona, her AC went out in her car and the guy did the AC system, he didn't replace the expansion valve.
00:31:43.83
Jimmy Purdy
So the it would work and it wouldn't work. And so she had me call this guy that owns a shop in Arizona to like try to help, right? Cause she ah literally zero automotive. Like, was he supposed to replace that?
00:31:55.17
Jimmy Purdy
Was he not? Like, so that's kind of like where she came from and she went in to get her anthropology
00:31:56.56
Lola
Yeah.
00:32:03.72
Jimmy Purdy
um degree right so yeah like totally 180 degrees away from no not even close but people but just a people person right she's just very outgoing and likes people and it's just amazing for me to see that because she was able to like i hate to call it sales but she was able to get way more sales and way more keep way more people happy than i ever could but i'm like well wait a minute i know more about cars and that's why people are coming here
00:32:05.78
Lola
Cool.
00:32:09.17
Lola
Not cars.
00:32:31.84
Lola
Yeah.
00:32:31.99
Jimmy Purdy
Right. But i'm ah I'm not fixing cars for technicians. I'm fixing cars for people. So it it was quite it was quite the um enlightenment for me. Right. And I realized like, OK, well, it's I was doing it wrong.
00:32:46.87
Lola
The person up front in the face of your business has to be relationship based, even more than sales based. They have to be a relationship builder. And I don't find... and i don't want to like blanket statement this, but like most technicians aren't exactly big relationship people.
00:33:01.09
Lola
They like to be in the bay. They like to work by themselves. They like to get their job done. And they're kind of like a lot of them that I meet are like loners or have a very small circle or very just like into the car world or whatever their personal desire is.
00:33:15.43
Lola
And they're not like deep relationship people. um And that's fine because a lot of technical people, that's not a skill they have. And that's fine.
00:33:22.79
Jimmy Purdy
That's true.
00:33:23.56
Lola
But Leanne, like, I can't imagine not talking to her, not sitting down and having this like great conversation or witty banter, you know? And that's what it takes to make people comfortable at the front of the house to be able to give them money to get a car fixed.
00:33:39.86
Lola
They want, feel a real person there, not a technical person there.
00:33:39.96
Jimmy Purdy
Right.
00:33:44.23
Jimmy Purdy
And they couldn't, they don't want to hear one thing about anything about what's under the hood.
00:33:48.32
Lola
No, every now and I have a couple like engineers that come in and they let you know, like, I'm an engineer and they want to know, everything. But for the most part, no.
00:33:59.47
Lola
And even if you told me, I'm still probably not listening or don't care. So I'm listening the bottom line on how much this is going to cost me and how long I'm about to not have my car.
00:34:04.75
Jimmy Purdy
That's true.
00:34:12.22
Lola
That's all.
00:34:12.24
Jimmy Purdy
And how nice of a, and how nice of a person you are. Cause I have to come back.
00:34:14.92
Lola
Yeah.
00:34:15.65
Jimmy Purdy
Cause something went wrong. I want to know that you're not going to be an ass about it.
00:34:18.60
Lola
Exactly. and ah And I want a clean facility to be in. I'm not taking my car just to wherever.
00:34:26.11
Jimmy Purdy
That's very true too. That one, that one's missed a lot.
00:34:29.00
Lola
Yeah. Well, before I started dating Eric, I have like a little tiny Corolla.
00:34:29.48
Jimmy Purdy
Have have,
00:34:34.42
Lola
And so there was two or three different Toyota and like dealers in my area. And generally Toyota shops are like pretty nice because they're like a big fancy dealer. Right. But we have one that's like, like the dudes feel skeevy at the counter. There's always a bunch of crap on their desks.
00:34:50.32
Lola
And I never went to that one ever. I would literally drive 30 minutes out of my way to go to the other one because they were clean. They were nice. There were women there. i don't know.
00:35:02.71
Lola
I always would go out of my way to go to the nicer, cleaner one.
00:35:06.67
Jimmy Purdy
I think most people would.
00:35:08.35
Lola
Yeah.
00:35:09.17
Jimmy Purdy
And the ones that don't like it, and um I think I'm... ah I do it. i you know I look for the ones, it's like the the owner that that's running the shop and he's doing everything. And it's like that that discount mentality. Like I know I'm going probably get the best price there.
00:35:23.89
Jimmy Purdy
And it's because I was broke for so long. It's like, that's just that just what I look for. And i've like slowly in the last three years, I've started to realize like, okay, i'm um um um I want to buy service. Like um I want I want someone to take like take care of the problem and like have the quality service.
00:35:41.21
Jimmy Purdy
And it's still hard for me to do to this day. And the first thing I'm looking for is like the guy at the very bottom of the Google list. right like If I'm looking for a service, like I'm scrolling all the way to the bottom because I know I'm probably going to get like the economy price, like the cheap one. right
00:35:53.89
Lola
yeah
00:35:53.86
Jimmy Purdy
And I'm like, hold on a second here. like I can afford like to you know But, you know, and it's like now I'm looking for more quality. looking for someone to take care of me, be professional, like answer the phone like I want someone answer the phone tonight. Like it's it's just amazing how it changes.
00:36:08.05
Jimmy Purdy
And then like your quality of everything that gets done around. It's like, wow, I had that guy fix that. And and it's and it's still good. Like I don't have to call a year later and have it redone.
00:36:15.80
Lola
Yeah. Exactly. And there has to be a shop, I guess, for everybody on all levels of shopping. um But there is it is an amazing moment when you realize that you're shopping for service over a price.
00:36:34.72
Lola
I try very much to cater our shop so you're not coming for price. You're coming because you want the service, you want the nicer cars to be for your loaner, you want the app, you want the perks, the professional things that we give.
00:36:50.96
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. The money just comes and goes and you realize like it's all about your time.
00:36:56.54
Lola
Yeah.
00:36:56.88
Jimmy Purdy
Like whatever, whoever, whoever can, manage my time more efficiently or make sure i'm I'm getting the best use of my time. And I'm not like having a call and check up on you. And man, the landscapers around here are like the worst.
00:37:07.81
Jimmy Purdy
It's like, ah we've I think we've gone through 15 different landscapers for for a property that we try to keep maintaining. It's like, dude, like, can you just show up when you say you're going to show up and not make me drive over there and make sure that you're actually like landscaping?
00:37:20.56
Jimmy Purdy
We just went over there yesterday so like, yeah.
00:37:22.51
Lola
That sucks. Our landscape do a good job. Like they do the whole road, every business. So they come once a week regularly.
00:37:28.15
Jimmy Purdy
I'm sure there's one out there. I'm sure I'll find them eventually, but like, oh, it's crazy.
00:37:32.04
Lola
There's probably so many in California. And again, you've got the good weather. Everybody can have access to a lawnmower. So everybody probably thinks they're a landscaper.
00:37:39.31
Jimmy Purdy
yeah
00:37:42.03
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. To talk about the easy, easy access to run a business. Yeah. The landscaping is probably the easiest one to get into. I mean, I did it when I was seven years old.
00:37:48.44
Lola
Yeah.
00:37:49.64
Jimmy Purdy
I was a landscaper, right?
00:37:51.19
Lola
Exactly. Like super laborious for sure, but very easy to drop into.
00:37:56.36
Jimmy Purdy
It's just, yeah. And it's just wild to think about it. Cause I was thinking about yesterday. was like, we had to drive over there and sure enough, like all the, all the bushes are over. like, Oh, and it's like on the way, we're driving over there to check on the property. was like, sure. I'm like, you know, you just have this thought, like, please don't. And sure enough, it's like, Oh, I got to fire another one. Like, come on, man, you own a business. You know, you're like, you're not like my, but feel like it's my, you're my employees. It's like, that's crazy.
00:38:21.94
Lola
No, vendors are harder and harder to work with these days. It's unfortunate.
00:38:26.98
Jimmy Purdy
just becomes more about time, you know, but but
00:38:29.10
Lola
We've tried to get a concrete person for like probably six months to show up at our house and I'm still looking at gravel.
00:38:36.52
Jimmy Purdy
crazy.
00:38:36.86
Lola
Yeah.
00:38:37.98
Jimmy Purdy
That's crazy. Well, I mean, and and to talk about that too, there's, there was a time when you guys had to kind of revamp the whole shop and how how, how did that whole scenario go?
00:38:45.67
Lola
Yeah.
00:38:48.66
Jimmy Purdy
Is that, is that something that was like slowly built over time? You just had to go there and just clean house.
00:38:54.70
Lola
o Yeah, we saw it. Well, I saw some things happening in 2021 that I questioned heavily, but nobody really wanted to listen to me. So I was like, okay.
00:39:08.10
Lola
And in 2022, it started to just unravel. And I was like watching and watching and I was trying to point things out, but there was always like Somebody always had a good cover story and we were all working very like independently. So nobody like was like seeing what the others were actually doing.
00:39:27.32
Lola
And then we just started like purging and losing tons of money, like tons and tons and tons. And then we started losing technicians and then I was like, what is going on?
00:39:38.85
Lola
And then we started losing customers and I was just watching the whole thing fall apart, like 15 or 14 years of business just crumbling.
00:39:45.60
Jimmy Purdy
Thank you.
00:39:47.83
Lola
ah And I just knew, I was like, things are off. So i just started like digging in. This is where my corporate skills came in because I didn't care what was happening in the shop physically. I could see everything on the numbers in the paperwork.
00:39:59.88
Lola
I could see that our P&Ls, I could see the balance sheets. I could see everything was faltering, everything. So I knew there was a hole.
00:40:09.11
Lola
So we really wanted to be hands-off owners though. So we just wanted to be so hands-off owners that we just put it at the expense of about to lose it all. And finally I sit down with Eric one night and i was like, listen, we're not going to make payroll next week. Like there's a really big problem here.
00:40:25.78
Lola
and he was like, Oh, and that was like his moment to wake up. Right. Like he was like, Oh shit. Sorry. And, um, We talked to a few people and made some decisions and tried to move forward with some things. I started listening to phone calls very in depth.
00:40:42.77
Lola
I had two customers come and say something wild to me that was very off base. And I knew we had a huge issue. So we got with a coach. We took picked up um the institute.
00:40:54.57
Lola
And when I say we pick them up, I don't want to hear anybody tell me they don't have money to get a coach. I had $600 in my bank account. That was it for my family and my business. And we have, we needed to break even at like right around 40 some thousand dollars a month.
00:41:09.49
Lola
And I had $600 in my bank account at this point. And i just put the Institute on a credit card. And I was like, if I'm going bankrupt, I'm going bankrupt with a coach. And so i did it and within 90 days we were flush and making more money than we'd ever made.
00:41:25.90
Lola
But on May, what was it, May 15th 2023, Eric walked in the shop and we knew we had to start over fresh and he let everyone go 8 a.m. m and at 9 a.m.
00:41:38.02
Lola
Savannah started her first day with us and we went into a valiant PR campaign because we had been slandered terribly by our service advisor. all through town because he was trying to bankrupt the shop so he could purchase it.
00:41:52.15
Lola
And he was telling the technicians that, he was telling the community that, um and it caused a lot of problems. But we are now, what, like right over two years out of that scenario.
00:42:01.43
Jimmy Purdy
That's wild.
00:42:06.49
Lola
And when I tell you that the people matter, the people in your business matter more than anything.
00:42:18.02
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's that's a pretty hard realization too.
00:42:21.35
Lola
It sucks.
00:42:21.32
Jimmy Purdy
Because ah everyone wants to be handsoff hands off and be like the absentee owner, right? But you don't realize people aren't people. like They are, but they aren't, right? like You have to...
00:42:33.89
Lola
They'll switch on you. They'll turn on you.
00:42:34.86
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:42:37.09
Lola
um And it's unfortunate. And you know there's no ill will. Everybody has reasons for what they have to do. We're just moving forward. um We are still at the Institute. i Highly recommend having some form of accountability and coach in every shop.
00:42:53.09
Lola
And I will urge people that if it feels wrong in your gut and something smells wrong, there's something wrong. You got to dig it.
00:43:00.60
Jimmy Purdy
and And I feel like i've I've just in the recent year realized, like, if you don't know in in the in like that first week or two weeks, like, you're not you're not paying attention, right?
00:43:13.31
Lola
Mm-hmm.
00:43:13.70
Jimmy Purdy
should And i'm im I'm guilty of it for sure. And I'm sure a lot of others, like...
00:43:18.14
Lola
We all are.
00:43:18.34
Jimmy Purdy
You just kind of put people kind of in their place and you you you expect them to be you, right? Like you expect them to to care for the business as much as you do. And even if it's been two years, three years, four years, like they' they're never going care as much as you ever.
00:43:32.20
Lola
know And they their own life stuff that will start to seep in. you know like
00:43:36.74
Jimmy Purdy
Hmm.
00:43:37.98
Lola
The person who was handling it, like they started to become very depressed in something that was going on in their own life. but it translated heavily and destroyed our business.
00:43:49.50
Lola
So
00:43:51.35
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's ah that's really sad.
00:43:53.63
Lola
people change.
00:43:54.50
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, it's it's it's just sad when you do as much as you can for someone and then they still turn around and and they can't take care of... you know The whole mentality of like, oh, you're the boss and...
00:44:03.50
Lola
Yeah.
00:44:07.64
Jimmy Purdy
um You know, I just work for you. Right. Like, and you can just replace me at any moment. And like all, all that stuff you hear and see, you know, on social media or like on the internet, like it's like, it's so crazy. Right. Like you just, and you don't really quite understand it unless you've done it.
00:44:24.75
Jimmy Purdy
Like you just, and you can't, explain that to anybody. Like there's so many things that I do for you as a and quote unquote employee, right? Like I treat you better than like anybody else I've ever known. Right.
00:44:39.30
Jimmy Purdy
And I need you here and I want you here and all this other stuff. Right. And it's like, you you typically get paid more than I do. And it's like, and I can do all this by myself, but I decided to like open it up and and give you the work.
00:44:53.48
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
00:44:54.26
Lola
my life to you.
00:44:54.20
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. Like I, I can't even explain it.
00:44:55.13
Lola
know
00:44:56.05
Jimmy Purdy
Right. Like it's just like unexplainable and then to have them turn around and slander you and, and, and take advantage of you. And it's, it's just such a, like, you can't, it's like, Oh, it's just business.
00:45:04.08
Lola
Yeah.
00:45:05.11
Jimmy Purdy
it's like, no, no, no. It's like, it's definitely personal. Right.
00:45:09.21
Lola
yeah
00:45:09.23
Jimmy Purdy
Like, and, and the whole like, oh it's just business. Like, no, it's, it's definitely, it's definitely a personal for me at least. Maybe I'm not wise enough to realize that it's just that I can divide the two, but.
00:45:20.26
Lola
No, our our situation felt very personal. um And I don't know if it is just because it is a small business. I'm sure in corporate America, I was probably backstabbed and slandered all over the place. But didn't know because there was 9 billion employees running through the world, you know?
00:45:35.45
Jimmy Purdy
Mm-hmm.
00:45:36.54
Lola
um in corporate America, I did not care. my The people who i was in charge of, I moved them around like chess pieces.
00:45:47.57
Lola
So you have to, to be able to win in corporate America. So I would, I was the person who was going fire you and replace you um frequently. ah It's probably, but that doesn't work in the industry that we're in now. I can't just go around doing that. One, there's not enough people to do that.
00:46:05.68
Lola
And two, I've had to change my stylings a lot as a ah boss and an owner from corporate mentality to an independent mentality. And that was a very hard shift as well.
00:46:18.46
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, the the word travels fast, I guess, too. And I mean, it sounds like something that you you went through where you had to rebuild the brand, right?
00:46:27.16
Lola
Yeah.
00:46:27.31
Jimmy Purdy
All because one person. It's like that stuff it travels so quickly. like there And it's just, it's amazing to be able to step back into it and like build what you've built after something like that.
00:46:32.44
Lola
Yeah.
00:46:37.46
Jimmy Purdy
Because it's, its so I think it's like what everyone fears. Like it's the biggest fear I think we all have when we get into this.
00:46:44.18
Lola
Well, I'll tell you how quickly it went. I was supposed to do, well, not me, Eric was supposed to do a panel in Chicago talking about like um something about like what kind of technicians we were needing in the industry. he was going to do with that with some like automotive panel, right?
00:47:01.04
Lola
I got a phone call from this panel talking about, hey we called your truck to check in and we were told you guys left the industry. Like that's what he was just telling people. So word got all the way to Chicago that Eric and I were just not even in the business anymore.
00:47:14.49
Jimmy Purdy
Wow.
00:47:17.71
Lola
And I was like, Oh my God. And then I started hearing that from people in town. Oh, I heard you guys left the shop. I heard you guys weren't ah in the auto shop anymore. Oh, what's going on? And I was like, this is, this is a nightmare, an utter nightmare.
00:47:30.29
Jimmy Purdy
Just one person. um
00:47:32.18
Lola
One small person. but
00:47:34.93
Jimmy Purdy
That's wild. That's wild. That's all it takes. And it's sad that, that it's all it takes, you know,
00:47:40.89
Lola
Yeah. What's even more sad is I don't know how long it was said and nobody came to ask us directly about it.
00:47:48.05
Jimmy Purdy
Exactly. That's what I'm, yeah.
00:47:50.60
Lola
And that was where I was like, bro, what?
00:47:50.79
Jimmy Purdy
That's the sad part.
00:47:53.36
Lola
Like, why have none of you come to be like, hey, this is what's going on? And so it had elevated to a bad boiling part.
00:48:01.06
Jimmy Purdy
That, that, that's the part because if it was something good, like, Hey, we're opening a third location, right? Everyone would be coming. Hey, is this really true? But being that it's something negative, they just automatically assumed it was correct and moved along with their life.
00:48:17.10
Jimmy Purdy
That's what's wrong with like people in general. They're so willing to question you when it's something positive. But if it's something negative, they're so willing to accept it without any question.
00:48:28.15
Lola
run
00:48:28.19
Jimmy Purdy
and and And that in a nutshell is like what's wrong with the industry. Yeah.
00:48:33.47
Lola
humanity
00:48:34.74
Jimmy Purdy
You man, yeah. Yeah.
00:48:35.64
Lola
general
00:48:35.59
Jimmy Purdy
I guess it's not just, it's not just us. See, I'm in my little bubble. i so I just think like, this is all I know. So I just assume that it's just us, but I definitely need to realize like, think i think a lot too, like, oh, i need to get out of this industry and and and maybe go sell cupcakes or I need to do something else.
00:48:41.90
Lola
Yes. Yeah.
00:48:48.76
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And it's like, I think you just realize like, this is, this is, it's the same everywhere. Right. We got parts problems, right? Like, like you were saying, there's some things that are like a little unique to our industry, but like people are are I mean, it's, we're in the hospitality industry.
00:49:03.61
Lola
yes
00:49:04.52
Jimmy Purdy
and And you're going to deal with that no matter where you go.
00:49:08.08
Lola
yeah
00:49:08.64
Jimmy Purdy
Unless you want to sell feet pics on Etsy or something like that. but
00:49:12.67
Lola
listen, even then you're going to have somebody who doesn't like something about them feet. So that's the
00:49:20.93
Jimmy Purdy
Wild, isn't it?
00:49:22.97
Lola
way it goes.
00:49:24.06
Jimmy Purdy
That's so crazy. so you got yeah So in that process, was there any... like like ah any sort of like horror stories or something that really stands out in your mind other than what you just said was, was kind of bad enough.
00:49:35.91
Jimmy Purdy
But was there something in that process with like, what's that?
00:49:36.48
Lola
That was the worst horror story. That was by far the worst horror story.
00:49:42.56
Jimmy Purdy
But like in that whole process of like having to kind of get the shot from the inside and seeing everything go through, was there something that really stands out in your mind that you really took and like, and learned a lot from? Cause there has to be something that came out all that, that was a positive. What did what did you find that was a good learning experience?
00:49:59.92
Lola
Okay, so both Eric and i learned that hands-off ownership has to look differently if that's the way we want to go. Like, it can't actually just be we're gone forever.
00:50:10.93
Lola
um We learned we can do by ourselves. And that if we needed to scale it all the way back, just to me and him, we could. But also, if we wanted to move forward, we could.
00:50:25.15
Lola
We learned who our friends were. quickly um and who the people were that would stand by us in really dark times.
00:50:36.09
Lola
That was very important. And we learned that our community really loved us and believed us.
00:50:47.55
Lola
And then all the work that we had put into the community, paid off. So once we made those phone calls and just had those really difficult conversations, like we're sorry that this is how you were treated because we spent time apologizing to people for a long time.
00:51:03.06
Lola
and We made individualized phone calls. We did a lot. And it was just about being humble. And it was very humbling. I'm not somebody who enjoys the humble experience.
00:51:17.31
Lola
So for me, it was just hard all around like But you take a lot out of it about how strong you are. Like, I didn't realize how strong Eric and I were as a marriage or as business people until that moment happened.
00:51:32.83
Jimmy Purdy
That's a wild ride. That's, that's a lot of gut wrenching mornings. It sounds like, cause were kind of like, ah kind of like scheming over the top.
00:51:40.28
Lola
got
00:51:41.70
Jimmy Purdy
Like, like we're kind of over the, Oh, cut to here we are. But like, like that day to day of like that re of like going through there. Right. And it's ah obviously still fresh.
00:51:52.14
Jimmy Purdy
It's like not that long ago and like having to show up every day and like sit down and like,
00:51:52.52
Lola
Yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:51:58.18
Jimmy Purdy
call and like put your tail between your legs, put your ego aside and be like, this is, you know, cause I have that thought sometimes and I'm like, you know what? I would just let it go. You know, like, like whatever, like you just get so overwhelmed sometimes with this where you're, I I'm just done. Right. Like who wants to buy this place? Who wants the keys? Right.
00:52:16.69
Lola
yeah
00:52:16.94
Jimmy Purdy
And, and, but then that you really realize like, hold on a second. What am I really giving up? like 10 to 15 years of of my life.
00:52:22.59
Lola
know
00:52:23.70
Jimmy Purdy
And like, this is like my business and like my whole, I was like, I'm so, I'm so willing to just like throw the towel in like 11 o'clock on a Tuesday. Right. I'm like, I'm done. That's it. Yeah. we We all go through that, but to have it actually happen is like, it's totally different.
00:52:34.44
Lola
i was
00:52:37.95
Lola
I was done. um I was completely done. I had already started like by March of 2023, I was applying and interviewing ah but back in cosmetics. I had lined up ample amount of people to teach piano to. i could have just rocked it on that.
00:52:53.93
Lola
I was done. i had checked out. I had opened up my greenhouse. I was done. um It was literally Eric coming to me and i was sitting on the call.
00:53:04.86
Lola
I was like listening to Cecil talk, but I really wasn't listening to Cecil talk because in my brain, I was like, I'm going to a job in a few minutes. Um, I was done. I didn't want any more part of it because it was just so volatile to me and I was so hurt and I didn't want any more employees and ever want to have another employee. I didn't ever want to go back into that shop.
00:53:24.45
Lola
I was embarrassed. Um, I don't fail at stuff. And that was a failure to me in my brain. i was devastated. So I was done.
00:53:35.55
Lola
I was like, this thing can burn to the ground. In fact, let me go light that match and turn it right into the insurance company. didn't care. But Eric came and was like, can we just, can we give it one more shot? I can do this. Like, can we just do it one more time? And I was like, no, I'm not.
00:53:50.44
Lola
And he wasn't gonna go forward unless I was on board. So I knew, but I was like, I can't take his like dream away from him either that he's built for 15 years, right? Like what a crappy wife I would be.
00:54:02.04
Lola
So I just told him, I was like, I will come back on board in the capacity that I'm not coming on board with what I was doing. I'm not going to do x Y, Z. So find somebody to do that. Cause I don't enjoy it.
00:54:13.88
Lola
And you agreed to that. And we got somebody to do all the financial government crap that I didn't like to do And I said, okay.
00:54:24.94
Lola
So for me, I was devastated and I was done, but I'm so glad I didn't give up. And I'm so glad Cecil said, Hey, you're not done. And Dutch came to me and said, you're not done.
00:54:37.70
Lola
And Eric was like, I don't think we're done. And those three men kicked my butt back into gear.
00:54:45.94
Jimmy Purdy
The community. That's what it's about. That's what we're all trying to do is build each other up.
00:54:47.78
Lola
Yeah.
00:54:49.99
Jimmy Purdy
i mean that's but That's the biggest part.
00:54:52.45
Lola
They saw something that I didn't see. i just didn't think I fit. I didn't think I belonged. i didn't think I can do it I just felt like a failure. And I didn't even want anybody to see the failure. I just wanted to disappear.
00:55:04.20
Lola
I'm glad.
00:55:04.22
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's that's a big one to take. It's a big step to come back to, you know.
00:55:09.98
Lola
Oh, perfect.
00:55:11.48
Jimmy Purdy
But I think we we all have those those thoughts from time to time, you know. and And then we think we're all pitted against each other and we we think we're all competition and we think we're all, you know what i mean? And like at the end of the day, we're all like if you really need help, like that's what's, that's probably the difference between this industry and anything else.
00:55:30.02
Jimmy Purdy
Right. Like everywhere else is willing to like step on you when you're down.
00:55:30.86
Lola
ah
00:55:33.84
Jimmy Purdy
And like, this is the only industry where we're like, Oh, you're really down and out. All right, let me help you out. Like we, give we give each other some shit, right? Like we, we knock each other down a little bit to make each other grow a little bit. But it's like, you're really down and out. Like that's the only difference is like, we're actually willing to like, okay, if you, you can, here's my hand.
00:55:48.64
Jimmy Purdy
Let's go.
00:55:49.89
Lola
It's so true. And it really is why I decided that I was going to keep going and work it out because there was a level of help and love that I would never, ever received in corporate America ever.
00:56:05.01
Lola
So I knew then I was like, okay, this is actually like an honest industry with good people in it. And I probably need to settle in.
00:56:16.24
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's cool. That's awesome.
00:56:19.51
Lola
And I'm so glad I did because then i got to meet people like you too.
00:56:24.39
Jimmy Purdy
I'm just a normal average everyday guy.
00:56:26.91
Lola
But I mean, the normal average everyday people are the ones that make the average normal everyday world move. And we, those people are like, that's what you have.
00:56:33.10
Jimmy Purdy
That's very true. Good point.
00:56:35.82
Lola
Like if everybody was exceptional and glowing all the time, like it would be too much.
00:56:40.36
Jimmy Purdy
it's all it's all a It's all a front anyway, you know?
00:56:42.82
Lola
Right.
00:56:43.54
Jimmy Purdy
It's all bullshit.
00:56:43.70
Lola
Right. Yeah, just want to keep it real. And that's what I find. I find a lot of just really real people in automotives. They share the good, they share the bad, they share the ugly. Corporate America only shares the good ah until it's way too bad. And then they have to share the bad.
00:56:58.69
Jimmy Purdy
I was like an Instagram reel or a Facebook reel, right?
00:57:01.86
Lola
Yeah.
00:57:01.94
Jimmy Purdy
You're only, you're only seeing like the highlights. You don't see all the struggle from that's going on, you know, in the between and,
00:57:06.56
Lola
Yeah.
00:57:09.00
Jimmy Purdy
That's why your your your story too, and and there's and there's other stories out there, but all you hear is like the gloss over, you know, this happened, this happened, cut too, and now, you know, we're back on track, we're successful. But and man, that that nitty gritty in that in that and there, there's so much that goes on in there.
00:57:25.99
Jimmy Purdy
Like that that small two years, right? Like when you look in the grass, that's massive though. That's, you know, that's decades of work in two years, and in my opinion.
00:57:33.74
Lola
Yeah.
00:57:35.88
Jimmy Purdy
That's just, that's how I see it.
00:57:37.10
Lola
It was, because it's not the eight to seven that were open. It's the seven to 11, we're having meetings in the night, or the 12 to 2 a.m. we've lost sleep, and the 2 to 4 a.m. we're up, like, trying to come up with ideas, and it was 24-hour around-the-clock non-stopping to rebuild.
00:57:57.31
Lola
And that that is the stuff no one sees. And the stuff that nobody really likes to talk about, but
00:58:02.99
Jimmy Purdy
Well, they should because you know we started this whole conversation about losing sleep, having kids and losing sleep, having a business. And you you do. like and And it's exciting. like and And that's what I said. like you know it's I don't mind losing sleep because it's exciting. You have a child, right?
00:58:17.72
Jimmy Purdy
and and And the same thing with the business. like it's It's exciting when you're building a business. But then you have the nights when and it's not exciting and you're still up, right? And it's like you have to take that. with the, with the good too. But yeah, it's like every, you go out to lunch on the weekend and like, what's the conversation you have at the, at the lunch table.
00:58:34.12
Jimmy Purdy
It's about the damn shop. Right.
00:58:35.70
Lola
ah Right back to it.
00:58:35.80
Jimmy Purdy
And what ah like what else are you going to talk about though? Right. Like there is nothing else. And it was like, well, you can't just, you have to leave it at the shop. was like, but what, but what else is there to talk about?
00:58:46.12
Lola
We actually like probably about a year after it, right. We realized we were on a date night one night and we realized that we were just like talking shop. Like we might as well just have the date in our office.
00:58:57.51
Lola
And so we like implemented a role like, okay, tomorrow we're not going to talk about the shop all day.
00:58:58.26
Jimmy Purdy
Yep.
00:59:04.66
Lola
ah kid you not, we had like nothing to talk about. It was like dead silence in the house. We were like, wait, do we know each other on a different way than just work? Like, It becomes all consuming when you work together in a marriage.
00:59:16.56
Jimmy Purdy
ye
00:59:16.82
Lola
So you have to really separate it or you are literally just working people. Then that's it. And there will be no more like marriage firework talk. It was so weird. We were like, oh, we got to go out more like
00:59:30.09
Jimmy Purdy
Well, I think you're like, you're actively trying not to talk about it. So then you can't, you can't think of anything else to talk about.
00:59:33.29
Lola
Right. When you're in your' mad, you're like, do the dishes. Right.
00:59:42.98
Jimmy Purdy
it's like trying to say off social media for the day. Like that's all you, let me just, let me just get one quick. Let me just get one quick look.
00:59:47.55
Lola
like see look yeah it's ye That's exactly what it is.
00:59:48.49
Jimmy Purdy
So then you're like, so you're like, let me just one quick thing I want to bring up and then I won't talk about the rest of the day. Right? Like you just can't get it off your head. Right. You have like two or three days.
00:59:59.72
Jimmy Purdy
I'll go find a hobby. like Find a hobby. like ah I started a business based around this hobby. like I don't have any of their other hobbies. this is this is This was the hobby.
01:00:06.45
Lola
Yeah.
01:00:09.74
Lola
I don't really recommend starting a business around your hobby either. Right?
01:00:14.09
Jimmy Purdy
Well, I wish you'd have told me that 15 years ago, but it's a little late now.
01:00:16.35
Lola
like right
01:00:20.02
Lola
Sorry.
01:00:20.90
Jimmy Purdy
That's Hobbies change over time.
01:00:23.10
Lola
It's true.
01:00:23.70
Jimmy Purdy
The only one thing about it, they all require a gas engine, so.
01:00:25.17
Lola
more
01:00:28.42
Lola
Do you like cars more or less than when you started?
01:00:30.93
Jimmy Purdy
Oh man, what a good question. I think about that a lot. i I think it's it's different. I still have an appreciation for like I think it's pivoted more into history. Maybe that's just because I'm getting older now. I watch a lot of history stuff, but you know, it went from like the cool horsepower and like cool cars are like, now I really appreciate like the history and like watching what Henry Ford developed and like the Dodge brothers and like how Chevrolet got folded into it. and Like learning about like the history is like, Oh, that's so cool. And like how it changed America. Right. Like it just,
01:01:04.50
Jimmy Purdy
it's just so awesome how like so that i think it just changed but i still have an appreciation for the car in itself it's just ah placed in a different area but i definitely
01:01:14.29
Lola
Do you tinkering on your time off? Like, are you in the garage tinkering on something or?
01:01:19.32
Jimmy Purdy
um typically yeah yeah i have a ah ah i just finished a ah project 66 68 c10 project
01:01:27.08
Lola
so you do still, you still love cars.
01:01:29.15
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.
01:01:29.28
Lola
Okay.
01:01:30.03
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. It's different because but when I started, it was, it was learning a lot. And so i was like, Oh, i want to learn how to, you know, rebuild a carburetor or like, you know, do a disc brake conversion.
01:01:42.06
Jimmy Purdy
Right. Like that's really interesting. It's really cool. And it's really easy to find that information and do it. And now I'm at the point where the technical stuff that I'm looking up, it's not that easy to find. And it's a lot more frustrating to because it's like the answer isn't so available anymore.
01:01:55.54
Jimmy Purdy
Um, and then a lot of the other mundane stuff, like, like when I'm, when you're going through a project or a build like that, it's like, oh I've done that. I've done that. I've done that. I've done that. and you're just like waiting for the next exciting thing that I haven't done before.
01:02:06.72
Jimmy Purdy
It's like, Oh, I've not to say I've done it all, but you know what I mean?
01:02:07.59
Lola
Yeah.
01:02:10.13
Jimmy Purdy
Like, it's just kind of like,
01:02:11.57
Lola
yeah
01:02:11.69
Jimmy Purdy
Now it's just a job. Now it's just like, I'm just doing it another build. just another thing, right? Rewiring a whole car. Like the first one was like, oh man, that was so overwhelming, but it like, it was so satisfying when it was done.
01:02:20.57
Lola
ah fantastic
01:02:22.47
Jimmy Purdy
And I was like, I've i've wired probably 15 or 16 cars. And i'm like, yeah, that's just, I know exactly what to do, where to go and it's just like, it's just a job. So yeah.
01:02:30.54
Lola
yeah
01:02:31.12
Jimmy Purdy
I think that's like the tech thing, right? Like you have like the ADD makes you do things that you have never done before because you get all those fireworks and all those like, and then once you've done it, you're like, I don't want to do that again. i got to do something different.
01:02:42.42
Lola
Exactly. That's why I'm an artist. To be honest, I'm a terrible worker anywhere because I can't do the same thing every day.
01:02:47.16
Jimmy Purdy
That's fair.
01:02:51.42
Lola
I'm miserable when I do that.
01:02:53.78
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. That's, yeah. That's the best way to put it. Yeah. Yeah. But,
01:02:57.61
Lola
got don't think any of us though are made to like do the same thing every day.
01:03:03.92
Jimmy Purdy
I think maybe being a chef would be my...
01:03:04.26
Lola
Okay.
01:03:06.10
Jimmy Purdy
I've thought about that a lot too. like that That would probably be the only other thing I could possibly do.
01:03:12.63
Lola
A chef? you cook?
01:03:13.50
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. I do, yeah. yeah
01:03:15.85
Lola
Oh, nice.
01:03:15.89
Jimmy Purdy
Don't you notice... Do do you any of your techs do... like They don't barbecue or cook? like you know I've noticed like most of like the better technicians, they always are are at least decent with cooking.
01:03:26.56
Lola
James probably can grill really well. They're eaters. They're big eaters.
01:03:30.31
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's that. I mean, and if if you want to eat, you want to eat good. So you got to cook yourself.
01:03:34.67
Lola
I guess they probably always are like, I guess they're like probably pretty good with that kind of stuff. Because James is a
01:03:41.19
Jimmy Purdy
Well, Eric's got to be pretty good, right?
01:03:42.79
Lola
Like, gets his own, like, meat and kills it and and guts it and grills it. So he he gets into it for sure.
01:03:48.88
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. Eric's got to be a pretty good cook.
01:03:53.44
Lola
um Grill? He can grill. I don't know. He could live if he had to.
01:03:58.88
Jimmy Purdy
Okay.
01:03:59.85
Lola
But we both suck at cooking. Honestly, like, our poor child.
01:04:09.25
Jimmy Purdy
It goes right back to like, hey, no one's died.
01:04:11.84
Lola
Poor child.
01:04:12.07
Jimmy Purdy
Like, but has anyone died? No.
01:04:14.13
Lola
Everyone's alive.
01:04:14.51
Jimmy Purdy
Oh,
01:04:15.19
Lola
Good. um I don't enjoy cooking. I do it only to keep people alive.
01:04:21.15
Jimmy Purdy
okay. I enjoy it.
01:04:22.18
Lola
And that's,
01:04:22.62
Jimmy Purdy
I do like that.
01:04:26.36
Lola
it's a function to me.
01:04:26.48
Jimmy Purdy
I don't know.
01:04:27.42
Lola
That's all.
01:04:27.50
Jimmy Purdy
I thought maybe maybe it's just maybe it's just me. I don't know.
01:04:30.48
Lola
No, I think that's cool. I love that. My best friend loves to cook and I love to watch her. Are you like somebody who puts out videos and food pictures? I don't feel like I see food stuff.
01:04:37.19
Jimmy Purdy
No, definitely, definite definitely not.
01:04:38.67
Lola
Yeah.
01:04:38.79
Jimmy Purdy
I'm not, I'm no, no, no. I would need a lot of training. And like, I think if I, if I wanted to, I could like, I could, I could, I could, but for the most part, it's just kind of like got my wheelhouse and I like to experiment a little bit, right.
01:04:51.88
Jimmy Purdy
Make my own bread and, and stuff like that.
01:04:53.56
Lola
Oh, you're making bread.
01:04:53.93
Jimmy Purdy
But I mean, it's easy.
01:04:54.91
Lola
Nice. It is easy.
01:04:57.87
Jimmy Purdy
It's like science.
01:04:59.39
Lola
Moments where I really want to cook and I want to be a homesteader because I do can and I like to make bread, but just to sit and make like big elaborate dinners and breakfast and lunches. That's just not me.
01:05:10.96
Lola
That doesn't speak to me.
01:05:12.38
Jimmy Purdy
Well, if you weren't running an auto shop on the side, you could probably have the time to do it too.
01:05:16.26
Lola
Maybe.
01:05:17.95
Jimmy Purdy
but Like, I got to clean all this shit now?
01:05:18.92
Lola
Possibly i'd be happier to do it.
01:05:22.01
Jimmy Purdy
I don't have time for this, I guess.
01:05:23.42
Lola
but
01:05:23.47
Jimmy Purdy
That's real.
01:05:23.90
Lola
It's true.
01:05:24.31
Jimmy Purdy
But you have your garden and and you do your your greenhouse stuff. So, yeah, it's I mean...
01:05:29.80
Lola
And I do try to utilize it as much as possible.
01:05:32.41
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's cool.
01:05:33.44
Lola
That's because I have a fear of the grocery store. but
01:05:37.11
Jimmy Purdy
No, that's valid. I mean, that's...
01:05:39.22
Lola
I'm like terrified of our food, to be honest.
01:05:39.28
Jimmy Purdy
and so
01:05:41.03
Lola
So I just grow my own.
01:05:41.43
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. Yep. You should too. Yeah. That's pretty bad.
01:05:46.74
Lola
Yeah.
01:05:46.83
Jimmy Purdy
Luckily we're in California, so we get probably the the better side of it, but it's still not the greatest.
01:05:52.68
Lola
You get some nice fresh things and you get some ocean things.
01:05:55.81
Jimmy Purdy
Mm-hmm. We pay for it though.
01:06:00.04
Lola
Yeah. Yeah, you do. it
01:06:04.97
Jimmy Purdy
Well, I appreciate you coming on This has been fun.
01:06:08.11
Lola
Thank you Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
01:06:10.38
Jimmy Purdy
There's a whole lot of good information here, so hopefully somebody gets something out of it.
01:06:14.72
Lola
They will. Let me know when it comes up. oh
01:06:17.32
Jimmy Purdy
And is there is there any training events that you're going to be teaching at this year you want to give a shout out to?
01:06:22.67
Lola
Um, yeah, I'll be at a couple different ones. There is, oh you'll find me in ratchet and wrench. That'll be in Arizona in the fall. um the Institute is going to do a marketing event called Mars. Again, that will be a pitch to a couple of people. I'll be at that speaking. i will be hopefully at ASTA. I'm waiting to hear from the grouping now, but I'm hoping ASTA call me.
01:06:47.95
Lola
I'll be at apex in Vegas. Um, and I think If I left you out, I'm sorry, but that's where I am so far.
01:06:56.27
Jimmy Purdy
Awesome. Well, I will see you at Apex. We'll be there.
01:06:59.57
Lola
Awesome. Yeah. I've never been to Apex or Vegas.
01:07:02.67
Jimmy Purdy
Oh man.
01:07:03.97
Lola
So I'm so excited. Eric is not excited because I love to gamble.
01:07:09.14
Lola
yeah
01:07:09.22
Jimmy Purdy
You're going to have a great time then.
01:07:11.07
Lola
If you want to gamble, pull me away.
01:07:11.07
Jimmy Purdy
There's a lot of that there.
01:07:15.59
Lola
yeah
01:07:15.95
Jimmy Purdy
Good luck with that one.
01:07:18.27
Lola
Hopefully I have an auto shop. At the end of Apex, they'll be like, put the auto shop on red.
01:07:23.12
Jimmy Purdy
Holy moly. Oh, we're going to good time. Thanks again for coming on. and appreciate you.
01:07:31.23
Lola
Thank you so much for having me.
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