Have you ever made a decision that made sense to you, but seemed completely backward or even controversial to friends, family, and the public? When you live in a small community, this seems to get amplified 100x. I wanted to take this opportunity to explain my situation in hopes that if anyone out there is going through a similar situation, or feels like they are holding themselves back from making a move that they need not worry or stress. We must transfer that negative energy into positive energy so we can inspire others to make these traditionally unconventional “brave” and “ballsy” moves.

First of all, I’m extremely grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to not only Partner into a multi-million dollar Auto Dealership by the age of 28, but to also have owned the Majority of the company at age 31. That’s all with spending a little over 9 years in the industry to that point. Some people aspire to be in that situation their whole life and never get there, others get a smaller piece of the pie while some buy into the dealership quicker and at a younger age than I did. Perhaps the part that I’m most proud of is the fact that I never grew up in the industry, I’m not a “Car guy”, and my parents never owned a dealership. My mom still works at a grocery store in our small hometown. It was their work ethic, support, and love that really structured my character into what helped me get to where I am today. However, the largest contributor to my success is undoubtedly my best friend and wife of 9 years, along with our 2 kids. They are what give me purpose, and they are who I want to leave a lasting legacy for.

Most people out there who know my situation with Woodworth question the move from Kenton, Manitoba to Kelowna, BC. And I can understand why, after all, I’m moving in a month and will be buying out the rest of the company on October 1st. They ask questions like How? Why? I don’t understand? What I’ve come to find is that it’s not my job to explain it to them in detail, it’s my job to explain it in detail to our team because if they understand, then that’s ultimately what matters. They trust the decision, they trust the process, our systems, and our culture. If they understand, the clients coming through the door will soon understand to that depth as well, it may take time, but they will come to understand.

From a Business perspective, we’ve made progress in our systems that will help control a lot of what “micro-managers” like to oversee. For example, instead of paying our Service and Parts Managers on a Salary, we’ve adjusted their pay so that they are incentivized on the performance of their departments. What’s great about this structure is that we must all work together in order for every department to have success. What’ I’ve noticed thus far is morale has increased, stress has decreased, the relationships have become stronger and sales have increased. Our vision is to be the dealership that clients drive 100 miles to come and deal with which we currently have on a regular basis. It’s a matter of maintaining and growing that database. We spend a fraction of the money our “competitors” do on advertising, and yet we’ve had 18% year over year Sales Volume growth over the last 4 years. Our customer acquisition costs are extremely low and our retention rate is through the roof. We have employees that have been with us for anywhere from 4 years to 32 years and have virtually no turnover.

When you structure your business around the people, vision, and systems, my job becomes less relevant to physically be there. What I’m able to do now that is extremely valuable is look at the company from the outside in. I was listening to a Less Brown Audiobook the other day on the plane and he said “You can’t see the frame by being in the picture”, and that resonated so much with me. Having the ability now to look at Woodworth from the outside in will help us elevate our game to another level. I’ll be able to focus more in depth on Tracking and Measuring, Advertising and Marketing, Systems, Ideas, Culture, etc.

By putting my ego aside and giving our employees more freedom, time, money, opportunity, and ownership has led to more of all of that for me and my family. It’s a win/win. If you’ve ever read Stephen R. Covey’s – 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, you’ll understand the value in Win/Win situations and that’s what we’ve created. It wasn’t an easy decision at first, having majority shares in a multi-million dollar company with multiple locations, but it’s proving to be a great business decision.

Now my family and I are able to enjoy a warmer climate, nicer views, hiking, biking, skiing, etc., on a daily basis because I’ll have the flexibility to do so, whereas if I stayed here, I’d feel physically obligated to be at the dealership every day.

If you’re in a similar situation, I hope you can come up with a strategy that will allow you to have the flexibility on time the way that I have now. After all, as you know, time is our most valuable asset.