Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Faith Over Fear: Brad Walters' Story of Business Transformation | Auto Industry Series

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Faith Over Fear: Brad Walters' Story of Business Transformation | Auto Industry Series · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of Inspired Stories, where leaders
0:07
share their experiences so we can learn from their successes,
0:10
how they've overcome adversity, and explore current challenges
0:13
they're facing. Welcome to another edition of
0:17
the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their
0:20
experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired
0:24
by how they've overcome adversity.
0:26
My name is Anthony Kotaspodi, and today's guest is Brad
0:29
Walters, general manager of Paramount Automotive with 18 car
0:34
dealerships in North Carolina. Their founder, Benny Yont, took
0:38
a job at Paramount Auto Sales. Years later, he would buy the
0:42
business and overtime grow it into a strong collection of
0:46
brands and locations. Now, under Brad's leadership,
0:50
Paramount has seen significant growth and recognition for
0:53
successful leadership in the automotive sector.
0:56
With more than eight years as a general manager, Brad has guided
0:59
teams to meet ambitious sales goals while staying focused on
1:02
customer satisfaction. He previously worked as new car
1:06
sales manager at Hendrick Honda Hickory and also owned a
1:10
business in the automotive industry.
1:12
His broad experience has given him a deep understanding of what
1:15
it takes to thrive in a competitive market.
1:17
But his career in the automotive industry almost came to an early
1:21
end because of some big challenges that we'll hear
1:24
about. And along the way, Brad actually
1:26
realized that he's not really in the car business at all.
1:29
If you're confused, it'll make more sense as we get into this
1:32
episode. But before we get into all that
1:34
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AD back benefitsagency.com. Now back to our guest today, the
2:02
Managing Partner of Paramount Automotive, Brad Walters.
2:06
I appreciate you making the time to Share your story today.
2:09
Sure. Hello.
2:10
Good to see you again. Likewise.
2:13
All right, Brad. So tell us about the early days
2:15
of being first around the car business and then in the car
2:19
business with your father. What was that like?
2:22
You know, early on, and this was years ago, I'm talking about
2:25
1989, and even before that, when you're considering washing cars
2:30
and moving cars. And before I could even drive,
2:32
you know, my father's been in the automobile business his
2:35
whole life, therefore pretty much my life.
2:39
And so early on, you know, I was just around it, you know, didn't
2:43
appreciate it for what it was. It was just a way for me to to
2:46
make a little extra money and, and to be around my dad.
2:48
So that was that was the early part of the car business.
2:52
And then eventually after college and, you know, I was had
2:56
an opportunity to actually work in the car business.
2:59
And it wasn't something I grew up wanting to do, Anthony.
3:02
It was just something that I was around and you know, after a
3:06
short stint playing baseball in in college and then getting on
3:10
academic probation, it was kind of, he had an opportunity for
3:13
me, if you understand what I mean.
3:14
He wasn't paying to go back to school.
3:16
So he had me a opportunity working with him.
3:19
And so that's how I actually got in the automobile business,
3:23
which so I didn't really choose the automobile business.
3:26
It kind of chose me in that regard.
3:29
So, short stint playing baseball, Academic probation?
3:33
What happened there? What happened at school?
3:36
Yeah, it's, you know, baseball went to UNC Charlotte to play
3:40
baseball for a short time. And quite frankly, if I look
3:44
back, Anthony, that was a, you know, in the recruiting process,
3:48
I should have had a little bit more discretion of where I
3:54
wanted to go. I had a couple opportunities and
3:56
I feel like I ended up choosing the wrong one.
3:58
This isn't this is this is not anything yet on any particular
4:02
person, But the fit was not good for me, you know, and and my dad
4:08
was, you know, to his credit was never really somebody that
4:11
pushed me to play sports. I enjoyed playing sports.
4:14
I was that was a that was a competitive outlet for me.
4:18
I was kind of a quiet kid, but I had an outlet in competitive
4:23
baseball. And I did that from the time I
4:25
was little to an opportunity in college.
4:28
And at that point in time when I got to a point where I didn't
4:31
feel like it was a good fit, that was pretty much it for me.
4:36
You know, I didn't have the same reason he didn't push me to play
4:39
was the same reason he didn't push me to stay.
4:42
And so I look back on that and I, you know, you certainly
4:46
think, well, it wouldn't have been different maybe if somebody
4:48
would have given a little bit of resistance on my end in terms
4:51
of, hey, Are you sure you really want to do that?
4:54
And, and from that decision to the academic probation was, you
4:59
know, kind of caused me to like lose a little bit of interest in
5:03
pursuing that. And again, that's, that's,
5:06
that's me. So that decision was on me.
5:09
And, and once that was taking place, you know, my dad came to
5:13
me like most dads would and said, listen, I have an
5:15
opportunity for you, you know, just the school, you know, I'm
5:18
not sending you, but I'm not paying if you're not interested,
5:20
I'm not paying you if you're, if you're really not focused on
5:23
what it is that you want to do. So how about you doing this?
5:27
And then you can determine whether you want to go back to
5:29
school or not. And so it was kind of a, it was
5:32
kind of a temporary thing that ended up being a permanent
5:34
thing. And tell me about then the early
5:37
days of coming out of college and into the family business.
5:41
Was it something you took to right away?
5:43
Was it a good fit for you? You know what it was it, you
5:46
know, my dad didn't think it would be, but he was giving me
5:50
an opportunity because I remember him saying, hey, he
5:53
hedged his bet in that regard and said, hey, Brad, you know,
5:56
he sat me down. He looked me in the eyes, one of
5:58
these serious talks. And he's like, you know, the car
6:03
business is not for everybody, son.
6:04
And he said if, if, if you don't do well in this, he said,
6:08
doesn't make you a bad person, doesn't make you a failure.
6:12
He said, but it may just not be for you.
6:14
And he said, and we'll find you something to do.
6:16
So I had a really caring, loving dad.
6:19
You know, he's like me as a father.
6:21
I don't make all the right decisions with my kids, but our
6:24
intentions are always there. And, and, and his intention was
6:27
always there. So at that point, to give you a
6:29
little bit of background, I was not someone who talks like I do
6:34
now. I've I've learned to talk, but I
6:37
was not, but I, the competitive outlet was playing sports.
6:40
So I was very comfortable in that arena.
6:43
And So what I had to determine real early on was could I get,
6:48
could I be competitive enough in this adult environment to be
6:53
successful? And so I was really
6:56
uncomfortable for a time. But if you're an athlete or any
7:00
athletes, listen to this nose as as you're coming up, you start
7:03
looking around and you go, OK, well, if that person can do it,
7:07
I think I can do it. You know, and it's not an
7:09
arrogance. It's just a natural, OK, well,
7:11
other people are doing it. It's not brain surgery.
7:14
You know, I don't have to have a rocket science degree to do
7:17
this. So let me go see if I can do
7:19
this. And so slowly but surely the
7:22
competitive part of what we do, which is very competitive, it's
7:25
intense, what we do for a living, came to surface.
7:29
And I actually was pretty successful after about 66 months
7:33
or so, I I was seeing some pretty good success, yes.
7:37
And so in those early days, as you put it, you weren't somebody
7:40
who talked like you do now. Safe to say there was some
7:44
shyness going on that you had to overcome.
7:46
Very much I don't, I don't think it's self-confidence, so to
7:49
speak, because you know, we're all confident in certain arenas,
7:53
but it was just, you know, at that time I was 19, maybe going
7:58
on 20 and all of a sudden my peers were, you know, very much
8:03
older and my customers at that point in time were very much
8:06
older. So there was a little bit of an
8:07
intimidation factor of, hey, what's this kid going to be able
8:11
to do that's going to influence me to spend money with him.
8:13
And in 1989 and 1999 or excuse me, 89 to 90, you know, it's not
8:19
as transparent as it is current day.
8:22
You know, we there was a lot of well, non transparent times.
8:29
You know, it was a situation where you could look online and
8:31
look at cars. So it was really more about the
8:35
relationship you could build with the folks in front of you
8:40
and persuade them to spend money with you.
8:42
And so in that regard, you know, that was where the little bit of
8:49
shyness, so to speak, came in because you know, it's a 19 year
8:52
old kid and you're trying to talk to 40 year old, 50 year
8:55
old, 35 year old people you're, you know, and telling them how
8:59
they should spend their money. You know, you had to grow up
9:02
really quick in terms of what you knew and how you used the
9:06
skills that that they were that I was being tall.
9:09
Yeah. At that point your life, you
9:10
just hadn't had that much life experience, especially as
9:13
compared to a lot of the customers that you were
9:15
interacting with. Correct.
9:17
So you feel your way through that, but at the same time, you
9:19
know, when you, when you're in meetings and you're listening, I
9:22
was well trained. So that you know, that that was
9:24
a key to my early success was, hey, I was trained well.
9:28
And so, you know, if you can, if you can follow the thought
9:31
process of the training and if you can consistently do what
9:35
they're training you to do, then certain amount of success was
9:39
going to come. And and is, is with any sales
9:41
and you're in it, you know, you kind of like, you know, you
9:45
build a book of business over a period of time based on your
9:47
relationships and, and really the experience that you give the
9:50
customer. And so that competitive spirit
9:53
kicked in, you're following the the good training that that you
9:57
were provided. You started to get more
9:59
comfortable and more successful. And so then paint a picture what
10:03
these next several years in the car industry look like for you.
10:07
Yeah, I sold cars for a good five years, which I enjoyed
10:12
that, you know, I, you know, it was as a single person and
10:15
somebody was, you know, in the dating world at that point in
10:18
time as a young person, you know, was making above average
10:21
income. And, you know, those first five
10:24
years were, if I look back, you know, the bookends of my life
10:28
have been really good. You know, the, the beginning of
10:31
the time, in the last, the the first five years in the last 10
10:35
years have been really, really good because at that time I was
10:38
really learning. And as you're building
10:39
something, as you're competitive, you know, you, you
10:43
have a lot of self motivation to continue to get better and
10:49
better and better. And at that point in time, for
10:51
the first five years, I was able to do that and I had no other
10:54
responsibilities. I don't mean financial
10:58
responsibilities, but responsibilities inside the
11:01
business. I mean, the responsibilities
11:02
were what I handled, you know, in my customer base.
11:05
I didn't have to work through any other individuals in, in
11:08
order to make a living. So you know, once you make it,
11:12
once you make that jump into management, now all of a sudden
11:16
you're utilizing other folks to bring along so that you can then
11:21
make income. So you know, at that first five
11:23
years I really enjoyed selling and at that point in time when
11:28
you're when you're successful in our industry, the next move is
11:31
OK, well, how about let's trying the finance office.
11:34
You know, you move kind of like that's just a natural
11:36
progression. You go from a salesperson to the
11:38
finance office and then from the finance office to the sales desk
11:42
and then from the sales desk to either general sales manager,
11:44
general manager, dealer principal, whatever is your
11:47
whatever it is your end goal is. But so that's the first five
11:52
years were very, very good for me.
11:55
And in that five years I grew a lot, you know, and I, and as a
11:58
22232425 year old guy, you know, you learn a lot in that period
12:06
of time. And so the first five years
12:08
were, you know, a learning ground very just, you know,
12:12
cutting my teeth and and getting comfortable in the industry
12:16
itself. So good, five years of success
12:20
in in the sales part of things then did you follow that
12:23
traditional progression and move into the finance office?
12:26
What was that? Like I did it.
12:28
It was interesting because even in our world, you don't know
12:35
what until you have to actually make a living doing that
12:38
particular role. And what I mean by that is you
12:41
eat what you kill in our business.
12:42
I mean, you, you know, if you don't eat, there's no pay plan
12:46
for not selling cars, there's no pay plan for not selling
12:48
product, you know, So you know, you until you actually get in
12:52
the seat, so to speak, in finance and have to make a
12:55
living based on selling extra product to customers, making
12:58
sure to secure their loans properly and all those types of
13:01
things. You, you kind of have an idea of
13:03
what it is, but until you get in there, you really don't know the
13:06
INS and outs of it. So that's a whole different
13:08
experience. So it's not like the first five
13:10
years. It prepared me in a way, but it
13:12
doesn't prepare you specifically for that role.
13:15
And then how everything you know, you know, then you have
13:18
influence on salespeople that you've been working with for a
13:21
period of time. You know, your peers, all of a
13:23
sudden now your peers are, are someone that's, you know, kind
13:26
of reporting to you, so to speak.
13:28
And you're having to recruit them in order to, to, to get you
13:31
and yourself in a position to be successful in that particular
13:34
office. And, and, and, and, and having,
13:37
having not, if you do not navigate that peer scenario very
13:43
well, they can hurt you and not help you.
13:45
So fortunately, again, I had some really good guidance from
13:49
people above me that, you know, earned the respect of the people
13:52
that I worked with. Therefore, when it was time to
13:54
become a leader and I wasn't going backwards or trying to
13:57
figure out how to repair things that I had done while I was at
14:01
their peers. So those those transitions were
14:03
good. So, you know, the respect I had
14:05
earned there not, not from any other thing other than just
14:09
treating people like I would want to be treated and, and just
14:11
staying in my lane and, and being successful as far as
14:14
numbers are concerned. So the next the F and I office
14:17
was interesting and so did you. Continue the progression to up
14:22
to become general manager. Was there ever an opportunity
14:25
for you to, you know, have your your own dealership?
14:28
Yeah, my dad at that time was partners with another gentleman
14:32
in here at North Carolina. And also so I, I, I've worked my
14:37
way up into finance office and then after a few years went to
14:41
the sales desk. And so from the sales desk, I
14:43
went to being a general sales manager.
14:45
At the time we were a Chrysler dealer, we had Chrysler, Dodge,
14:48
Jeep and Ram. My dad ended up leaving that
14:51
partner purchasing of another dealership, Chrysler Dodge
14:55
dealership in Lenoir, NC. And so we were there about it
14:59
was back in O + C O 8. That's when we made that room to
15:04
to no, I'm sorry, hang on a minute.
15:07
I get my O 8 was when we were having trouble.
15:09
That was when things started going.
15:10
I was going to say that's that was when the the downturn
15:12
started. Yeah, it was in 2000 and one,
15:16
2001, we went to Lenoir. Yeah.
15:19
And so this for seven years there we were.
15:21
My dad had his own store there in Lenoir.
15:25
Yeah, and, and did you ever become involved as a as a
15:28
partner yourself? Never was a partner with
15:31
Anthony, but you know, I, I was a general manager for that store
15:34
for. And and then you, you may
15:36
already sort of alluded to 2008 there being some trouble.
15:40
What what was that about? Yeah, well.
15:42
You know, during, in 2008, you know, when that was, you know,
15:45
the economy had turned a little bit S I'd say, you know, that's
15:49
probably an understatement. But S, during that period of
15:51
time and as a Chrysler dealer, you know, Chrysler and in fact,
15:54
all three except Ford, I think Chrysler and Chevrolet were both
15:58
bankrupt at the time. And during that bankruptcy, you
16:02
know, when you are a Chrysler dealer and you needed, let's say
16:06
you were in our case, we were a little undercapitalized at that
16:09
particular time. So when you're undercapitalized
16:11
and then you have the situation where you've got residential
16:14
property that banks are now calling notes on because they,
16:19
you know, they don't know what's going on.
16:20
All they know is in 2008 and 2009, you know, the banks were
16:24
having their own issues. So not only the banks need to be
16:26
bailed out, automobile dealers were going bankrupt.
16:30
And these bankers at the time, I didn't know exactly what was
16:34
going on, but they wanted to accelerate losses.
16:36
That's what they were doing when they were getting bailed out by
16:39
the government. They wanted to accelerate
16:40
losses. Go ahead and get them on the
16:41
books, clean them up and let's move on.
16:44
Kind of a clean slate scenario. So we were kind of caught off
16:47
guard when you have banks coming to you and basically saying,
16:50
hey, we know you've been paying your mortgage, you know, on this
16:53
particular property on time for however many years.
16:56
But at this point in time, we're calling that you're welcome to
16:59
get some financing somewhere else, but hey, we're calling the
17:02
note. OK, so then when you go into
17:04
another. Bank.
17:05
So hang on a second, Brad. You weren't even behind on your
17:07
payments. Oh, no.
17:09
OK, go ahead. I just got to understand the
17:11
landscape here. No, no, no.
17:14
It hadn't gotten to that point. So, but but when you're trying
17:16
to figure out how to shop them, you know, a business mortgage on
17:20
property and you're a Chrysler dealer, there was no bank.
17:24
You know, again, if we had been more, if we had to have been
17:28
somewhat undercapitalized and we're part of a stronger group
17:32
or something like that. But you know, in an individual
17:34
situation there, I mean, we're just trying to make it where we
17:37
were. And so that put us in a really
17:41
kind of a tough scenario to the point where my dad just
17:44
basically says, listen, I'm not going to lose everything that
17:46
I've worked for. So we're going to close and so
17:50
so we ended up closing that particular dealership and my you
17:54
know, and, and again, I was not a partner.
17:57
So what that put me in a position was OK, well, at some
18:01
point in time I got to find a job because my income is getting
18:04
ready to be, you know, eliminated in terms of that is
18:08
concerned. So that's, to be honest with
18:11
you, the up until that point, my life, you know, that's where my
18:16
real life started. You know, in terms of my story
18:20
really starts when everything kind of goes away.
18:25
Up until this point, you know, my life had been really, you
18:29
know, kind of, you know, I want to say ideal, but it, it, it
18:34
really had not meet a ton of resistance, Anthony, up until
18:37
that point. And, you know, not because of
18:42
any other thing other than I had a really good opportunity with
18:45
my dad. I had really good mentors, I had
18:47
good training, I had really good industry.
18:49
I had I had learned, I had progressed.
18:53
But at that period of time, everything that I thought the,
18:59
the trajectory I was heading completely changes.
19:04
And that's when you find out a little bit about who you really
19:10
are. And so at that point in time,
19:15
you know, when you come to that realization, you figure out, OK,
19:19
well now what you know, and, and again, we talked about this off
19:24
camera. When you, when you're put in a
19:29
situation like that, you really just have to determine, OK, take
19:35
inventory of where we are and who I am because at the time,
19:39
you know, I have three young kids, a wife, she's, you know,
19:44
not working at the time. So it's a, it's a, it's a
19:47
situation where, you know, it all falls on me, which is great.
19:49
I mean, I've, I've never have not wanted that, you know, it's
19:52
just that the realization of it was, OK.
19:55
Well, my income's going away in this particular lane.
20:01
Where do I go from here? And, you know, I'd always worked
20:04
for my dad, which is great. Then I had to build a lot of
20:06
other good relationships as well.
20:08
But you know, it's, it's, it's different.
20:11
You know, when you're you, you're, you're basically 19
20:15
years in One Direction and you really never worked for anyone
20:18
else. So OK, it's time to go to work.
20:22
Everything you had known up to that point was familiar.
20:25
It was on a certain trajectory, a certain path.
20:28
You kind of had you. You felt like you, you knew
20:30
where things were going, like you, you were following this
20:32
progression. And then very quickly the the
20:36
rug kind of gets pulled out from under you.
20:38
Yeah, that's right. And again, and, and the, the,
20:42
the lesson in this to me and to everyone listening to whoever's
20:45
listening is, is the blessings come in all kind of different
20:49
ways. You know, they just come in
20:53
really, really interesting ways. And, you know, had you known,
20:58
and I think back in my life where I've learned the most,
21:00
which is 100% during the, the times where it's the toughest.
21:04
And would you want to go through those times?
21:06
No, you don't want to go through them.
21:07
And, and if you knew ahead of time you would just, you know,
21:10
you'd just abstain and just say, Nah, just, I'm not going to do
21:13
that. And, and take another route.
21:17
But always on the other side of those things is, is when you
21:21
actually grow and, and can sustain growth, because it's,
21:27
it's, it's, you learn a lot about yourself.
21:30
You learn a lot about your faith.
21:31
You learn a lot about your family.
21:33
You learn about your friends, you learn about everyone around
21:36
you, how they act during a, you know, and listen, hey, I've,
21:42
I've had wonderful friends, wonderful relationships and, you
21:45
know, and, you know, even in tough times, if I needed to go
21:49
to somebody and, and to get a little bit of help or here, you
21:52
know, I had, I had wonderful, I had wonderful friends who were
21:56
able to do that. The issue is you don't want to
21:59
do that as an adult. I mean, that's the last thing
22:01
you're interested in doing. So during that period of time,
22:05
Anthony, that I had to determine, OK, well, what do I
22:08
have to offer from this 19 years of moving in this direction?
22:15
And now I'm not exactly sure where to go from here.
22:18
So what do I have to offer? Well, I have the skills that I
22:22
had, you know, I had accumulated over a period of time.
22:26
I had the experience and so and I had the will to work.
22:32
So those three things kind of propelled me into, OK, well,
22:35
let's start walking. You know, I don't know where I'm
22:38
walking to, you know, pray about it.
22:40
And you're like, you know, hey, I don't know, it's really
22:43
devastating. I mean, I mean, if I'm really
22:46
internally. And, and what I found out
22:50
though, during that period of time and I learned so many
22:55
lessons was the actual thought of losing all these things and
23:00
the inevitability of it. And and when you're looking at
23:03
your circumstances was much worse than when you actually
23:06
lost it. Oh, interesting.
23:09
Because once you lose it, there's No Fear of losing at
23:15
that point in time. Again, going back to what do I
23:18
have to offer? And so the the fear of the thing
23:22
happening was worse than the thing happening itself.
23:24
Oh, absolutely. And what and and speak more
23:27
specifically about what you were afraid of losing income.
23:31
Income, home, cars, you know what, never really considering
23:36
losing my wife. You know, I have a beautiful
23:38
wife. That's hey, we'll be next year
23:41
or actually this year since 2025, we'll be married 30 years.
23:44
So we've been together since 1992.
23:46
Happy anniversary. I have 3 kids and they're, you
23:49
know, I had a son and then 25 months later we had twin girls.
23:52
So I've got three children all within 25 months of each other.
23:55
They're adults now and doing well.
23:57
So, but I, but you know, I never, I never thought about
24:00
losing her or them, but just our, our lifestyle as it was.
24:06
So never lost her home, never lost her car.
24:09
You know, Lord provides in all kind of different ways.
24:10
So you, you kind of just move on.
24:15
You don't feel, you don't really have time.
24:16
I didn't have time to feel sorry for myself too much.
24:18
You know, it's kind of like I was put in a situation where
24:20
it's like, OK, it's just me, you know, I mean, yeah, I can ask
24:26
her to go to work or but I got to figure out what to do because
24:29
I've got to provide for this family, you know, and I checked
24:32
my children were very young and, you know, they never, I tell
24:36
them this story that I'm telling you now.
24:38
They have absolutely. They really weren't affected
24:40
very much by this. They had no idea what was going.
24:42
On and so but at the same time, you know I get to tell the story
24:46
now and and I know I talk and I go on but I really it's therapy
24:49
for me almost talking about this story because it's it it
24:53
impacted my life in in a great way.
24:57
And when I did move to the next step, which was I went for a
25:02
short period of time, we had a property that we rented, I
25:05
already rented up the street. And so for a short time, I went
25:09
into the independent automobile dealers dealers arena for a
25:15
period of time and kind of just sold some used cars as an
25:18
independent dealer until I got to the point where, hey, you
25:22
know, I need to go get a like a real job, you know, because I
25:25
didn't have enough money to to sustain that.
25:28
So what I did at that point in time was one of the people that
25:34
I called on to actually buy these used cars that I was
25:36
selling was the Honda store in, in Hickory, NC.
25:41
And so I got to know the managers there and then I got to
25:43
know the general manager and he and I, you know, as a
25:46
relationship built as all things go, you know, it's like, hey, is
25:50
there an opportunity? And, and there was.
25:53
And so when that came about, it was a great learning process for
25:58
me because I got to learn under someone other than my dad, you
26:03
know, another side of a pretty good sized corporate dealer
26:10
body. So, you know, Rick Hendrick has
26:12
a lot of stores and you know, what a wonderful, listen, they
26:15
have a wonderful business and I enjoyed working there.
26:20
And so, but I think you and I had talked earlier, you know,
26:24
I'd always had my influence from my dad.
26:26
And you know, and there's a not his fault or anybody's dad's
26:31
fault necessarily, but you tend to want to please your dad.
26:34
You tend to want to please your parents.
26:36
And throughout this whole time that I was working in this
26:40
business, I tended to skew more of what he, I thought he wanted
26:45
me to be as opposed to who I really was in my, in, in my
26:51
personality and in the way that I, I did things, you know, now
26:54
you can mask a lot of things selling because you're really on
26:57
stage anyway. I mean, you know, you don't have
26:59
to, you don't have to be you to sell.
27:02
You know, you just have to be somebody that someone wants to
27:04
listen to and you have enough, you have enough of the things
27:11
that they want in order for you to move forward.
27:14
So you don't have to necessarily be authentic to be a good
27:16
salesperson. So what were some of the things
27:18
that you learned about yourself and maybe a different way of
27:21
approaching things working for Hendrick?
27:23
It's, it's the authenticity that if I can look back and say, OK,
27:28
what was the difference maker from that point on, from 2008 on
27:34
would, would be that I finally got to a point where I was just
27:40
OK with me, You know, in, in terms of, of how I wanted to
27:46
treat people, how I wanted to do things.
27:49
I kind of got an opportunity going to another place to just
27:52
be me because no one knew me beyond me because it.
27:57
Was So what? What was the real Brad Walters
27:59
like under that previous? Been a natural encourager.
28:04
I've always been a natural coach.
28:06
You know, it was like that when I played baseball.
28:08
You know, I really was the one that, you know, it was very easy
28:13
for me to want the success of other people.
28:17
And, and you know, I never wanted to be successful at the
28:20
expense of someone else ever, you know, and, and to the point
28:24
where, you know, I just really looked after my teammates and
28:31
I'm not patting myself on the back.
28:32
This is just natural. It was natural for me to do
28:35
that. And so I wasn't always that way
28:39
because my dad's personality is different than my personality.
28:42
And, and, and he had really built a business.
28:45
I mean, he was really, he was one of the guys that hadn't, you
28:49
know, that grew up very, very poor, was able to get into the
28:53
automobile business and, and just take off and, and, and that
28:57
this, this is 1 industry. It's a little different now
29:00
because there's, it's so much capital needed in order to, to,
29:04
to be very successful. But back in his day, you know,
29:08
you had a lot of opportunity, you know, you know, you didn't
29:11
have to be so capitalized that that people would give you an
29:15
opportunity on franchises and new franchises were coming out.
29:18
I mean, you know, these a lot of these franchises that you know
29:20
now Honda, Nissan, all they, they weren't even franchises
29:24
back when he got into business. And then so as it's grown,
29:27
they've had opportunities. Benny's very similar in that
29:30
regard. You know, Benny and my dad are
29:32
close to the same age. And Benny had an opportunity,
29:35
you know, starting out as a, I'm talking about in a small dealer
29:40
here in town is an independent dealer and was able to work his
29:42
way into an opportunity at a new car franchise.
29:46
And then from one new car franchise became many new car
29:49
franchises. And, you know, it's just that's
29:51
a wonderful story in and of itself.
29:53
But my dad's personality and my personality were different
29:57
because we were coming from totally different places.
29:59
We're two different people. He's coming from a place of
30:02
where he started to then, and I'm coming from a place of where
30:05
he kind of gotten to and where I started on my own.
30:08
And so I really felt myself because I didn't know, you know,
30:14
and early on, I'm thinking, OK, well, in order to sell, in order
30:17
to be a part of this, I may have to be somebody that I'm not
30:19
naturally, because it's a young man.
30:22
You don't understand that, you know, what you're doing on the
30:25
ball field is the same, same thing that's going to be going
30:28
on on the showroom floor. You don't understand that
30:30
because one's more intimidating the other.
30:32
I grew up all my life playing baseball.
30:34
It's very natural for me. OK, Then all of a sudden I get
30:37
into the showroom floor of a lot of older people who I don't know
30:40
a lot about. And, and I think it's a totally
30:43
different arena and and it's not, but for for years and years
30:48
and years, I thought it had to be a certain way in order to
30:51
gain influence, in order to gain leverage, in order to be
30:55
successful. And it didn't need to be that
30:58
way. It it you know, I need to do I I
31:01
would have been much more successful had I just been me
31:04
from jump street and use my use. What natural abilities that I
31:08
was given, which was you know, I like to encourage, you know, I
31:13
like to coach, I like to sacrifice from a teammates.
31:17
I like to do. I could have taken all those
31:19
things and and rolled them into what am I doing for the customer
31:23
and what am I doing for the company And I I never put that
31:27
together until. So I want to, I want to kind of
31:30
pause for just a second before we move forward with the story
31:33
and kind of sum up what we've heard here, because it's, it's
31:36
it's kind of an interesting arc, right?
31:39
So the, the first several years of your life, you were on this
31:42
good path, you know, sort of the blip with the college and what
31:46
not. But you get into the car
31:47
business, you're finding some success, you're doing the things
31:50
the way you think your dad wants them to be done.
31:52
And then all of a sudden, 2008, 2009 hits the rug, gets pulled
31:55
out from under you. And the, the really interesting
31:59
thing that you said here is this is where my life story really
32:02
starts. Up until this point, I didn't
32:05
really have resistance or friction.
32:08
And it's so interesting to me to hear you say that it was that
32:11
resistance, that friction that you ran into that really started
32:15
to, I don't know, this, this new chapter in your life allowed it
32:19
to unfold. And and so as you're moving
32:22
through this difficult time and realizing, man, I have got to
32:24
get up, I've got to walk, I have got to find, you know, new
32:27
gainful employment. I'm terrified of losing
32:31
everything that I have. And the other interesting thing
32:33
was you sort of get to this point of realizing that, hey, it
32:37
was the, the fear of losing the thing was actually much scarier
32:41
than losing the thing. And, and let's hang out here on
32:45
this thought for just a second because, you know, I really want
32:47
to call people's attention to this because I think so much of
32:50
the, the stress and the anxiety that we sort of 'cause ourselves
32:54
in life are, you know, worrying about things that may happen in
32:59
the future. And many of them never do,
33:01
right? And with exceptions, we are
33:03
generally safe in the present moment.
33:05
But that stress that we put ourselves on, that's what
33:08
wreaks, wreaks havoc. And, and you're kind of living
33:10
proof of this, right? Yeah.
33:13
And it's, you know, it's a lot easier looking back, you know,
33:15
you know, as you see that, but you know that you, you can't get
33:18
any traction without friction. I mean, and you don't know that
33:21
until you have it. And then and then and then
33:26
realize, OK, well, through this friction, it's, it's requiring
33:30
the best of me, you know, so whatever that best is, you know,
33:34
whether it's OK, well, you know, I really need help.
33:37
And you know, I rely on my faith to help me.
33:39
You know, I, I, I, I pray to God and I, I want the wisdom.
33:42
I want the, the right steps. But, you know, again, you know,
33:46
he keeps us in that. He keeps us in the faith part of
33:49
it too. You know, I mean, I, I man has
33:50
his plans, but God directs his steps.
33:52
So, you know, you just kind of have to just, you know, stick
33:55
with, with the plan. And the plan is very basic, you
33:58
know, Hey, I need you and, you know, open doors for me.
34:02
Well, that's when the doors started opening.
34:04
And again, I didn't know this, you know, as I'm looking back,
34:06
it's much easier to, to, to tell this story, you know, and, and,
34:11
and so when I'm looking back and I'm thinking, OK, well, you
34:15
know, the only thing I had to offer was me, you know, and, and
34:17
I didn't have, you know, and So what I had was my personality.
34:23
And I, I'm just thinking, OK, well, up until this point, I've
34:26
had some success, but I also had some defeats.
34:30
But when was I most successful? I was most successful when I was
34:33
when I was free to be me. So let's try it a different way.
34:38
So that's why I mean, all that up into that 2008 and 9 kind of
34:42
set the tone for me just to give up on being someone else and,
34:47
and start being me. And some, you know, the fear a
34:50
lot is driven by what other people think, Anthony.
34:53
And again, that's the fear. What are people going to say?
34:56
What is, you know, because you have an idea, this is what I'm
34:59
going to be doing and and this is what I would provide for my
35:01
family. And you're constantly looking,
35:02
OK, well, that's, you know, that person's doing this.
35:04
And I, you know, and again, I go back to my beginning, which was,
35:08
hey, I look around and say, well, they can do it.
35:10
I can do it, you know, So that's if there's a fallacy in that.
35:13
You know, the issue is it's OK to look at that on the surface,
35:16
but really it's my race to run. It's no one else's race, you
35:19
know? So if you can just be you and
35:22
just run your race and concentrate on what it is you've
35:25
got in front of you and make the best of it, that's when things
35:29
start getting better for you. Not looking to the sides and
35:32
looking to other people or looking back at what you did.
35:34
But hey, what's happening to me right this second?
35:38
What can I do to improve where I am right this second?
35:41
Not worried about later. I'm worried about today and how
35:44
I can be successful today. And that's where I was.
35:47
I was, you know, crawl before you can walk and then walk and
35:51
then do a little bit of running. But I never get out over my skis
35:55
anymore in that regard because I understand that I have to get
35:59
back to all right. What am I doing right now?
36:02
Am I distracted or am I doing the best I can do today to
36:06
maximize what I've been given? And that is people.
36:10
I'm given the opportunity to make an impact on people every
36:13
single day. That is such a gift.
36:16
And I don't know how well I do at it, but I know I do better at
36:20
it now than I did up until 2008 or 9.
36:23
That's what I know. So.
36:26
So a couple of things I want to tap into here.
36:29
You you, you kind of go into this idea of your identity.
36:34
Your identity is was like for a lot of us is was attached to
36:38
what you were doing, right, what your business was, what your
36:40
career was, what your, how you were earning money.
36:44
And there all of all the other stresses that are going on
36:47
around you, one that should be relatively minimal, but isn't,
36:52
is right. What are other people thinking
36:54
of me? And probably also to a certain
36:56
degree, what am I thinking of myself?
36:58
I used to be in this box over here.
37:01
I was this guy, I had this title with this company and and now
37:04
that's gone away. Now how do I frame myself?
37:07
What box do I fit into and and how are other people going to
37:10
view me as I'm sort of looking for that next box, right?
37:14
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, the identity is, is, is is
37:20
so important, you know, And again, I guess that's what I'm
37:22
saying, when authenticity is that who, who am I really?
37:25
Who was I created to be and what what do I do to maximize that?
37:30
Because I, I am of the opinion that, you know, every gift that
37:35
I have, every experience that I've had is designed for other
37:40
people because everything that, that I can do that can help
37:45
anyone needs to be utilized. You know, so every talent that I
37:50
have, every, it was given to me, not for me, but for other
37:54
people. And so as I keep in mind every
37:57
single day that I'm, that I'm studying, I'm trying to get
38:00
better, I'm self improving, I'm doing all these things.
38:02
I understand the reason I'm doing it so I can give it to
38:05
someone else because I can't give what I don't have.
38:09
And if I've got people that are looking to improve their life or
38:14
make more money, because, you know, I've, I've had a lot of
38:18
success with young people. And I think the reason I've had
38:21
success with young people and I don't, I don't know this to be
38:23
true. But this is just a gut feeling
38:25
is I am very impassioned about my youth and how I wasn't
38:31
authentic and how that stunted my growth.
38:35
Even though, you know, the end is going to be better than the
38:37
beginning. You know, it really didn't have
38:41
to be that way. And if I can, if I can really
38:43
tap into, hey, I know you want to be successful.
38:48
We all want to be successful, but what does that look like?
38:51
You know, and, and if I can keep them from doing some of the same
38:56
things that I did that kind of got me unfocused and off the
38:59
right track, then that's, that's my lot in life.
39:05
I mean, I am very happy with just being the person that went
39:09
through some of this stuff so that I can then help some other
39:12
folks and not go through it. That that's that's where I am
39:15
every single day. It sounds, Brad, like this path
39:18
really led to a kind of a foundational shift in how you
39:22
view personal relationships. Absolutely, 100%.
39:26
And I would have never known that had I not gone through it.
39:28
I would have never. The wisdom just wasn't there.
39:31
I mean, it just, I mean, it was, again, just not a lot of
39:37
substance there. Be honest with you, I love my
39:39
family, you know, I love people, but I didn't know how to
39:42
leverage those two things into what I do for a living.
39:47
I thought it was separate, you know, and a lot of people think
39:50
it's separate. You know, you got your family
39:52
life over here and you got your business life over here and you
39:55
know, you got to be this way here, but you can be this way
39:57
home. And you know, I found that.
39:59
No, I mean, I can, I'm going to be the one person and I'm going
40:02
to be the same person at home. I'm going to be the same person
40:05
with my friends and I'm going to be the same people at work, you
40:07
know, and, and my dad was really good at being different.
40:10
He was really good at being different.
40:11
I mean, he was one way at home and I mean a good way.
40:14
Not any, but once you hit that pavement.
40:17
He was a totally different dude. He went into character.
40:19
He went into. Character and that's what you
40:21
did for a long time and it worked for you, but there was
40:25
something that felt uneasy about it, especially as you're going
40:28
through this transformation and you realize as you got this sort
40:32
of new work opportunity, there's a different approach here and
40:34
one that feels more comfortable to me, more authentic to me, to
40:38
be somebody who is looking to give first.
40:41
What can I help you with? What can I do for you?
40:45
And that seems to be a big part of what let some of these doors
40:48
continue to open for you. Yeah, and, and Anthony also, you
40:52
know, mostly the, the most of the people that you're around in
40:57
the world tells you that you got to take care of yourself.
41:00
I mean, you're you. I mean, you got to, you'll be
41:01
the one to take care of it. It doesn't tell you that, OK, by
41:04
taking care of others, you and yourself are going to be taken
41:08
care of. So it it's you're doing some of
41:11
the same things. You're just doing it with a
41:13
totally different perspective, you know, like I'm doing.
41:16
You know, I didn't change how I sell automobiles.
41:20
I just changed the approach that I took every day of why I sell
41:24
automobiles. You know, and, and I want to
41:26
pause for a moment on this, Brad, because this, this
41:31
foundational transformation that you went through, it almost
41:37
seems a little unlikely to me because you're going through a
41:41
very scary and difficult period. And like you said, like the
41:45
natural human instinct is you got to, you got to take care of
41:48
yourself, survival, right? I got to take care of me.
41:50
I got to take care of my wife. I got to take care of my three
41:52
small kids. And so to me, the natural
41:55
reflexive instinct would be, I'm going to keep doing things in a
41:59
very transactional way. And, and how can I get more for
42:02
me And you know, how can I get a safe place?
42:03
But but somehow something flipped in you to where when you
42:07
were in this, I don't know, almost backed into a corner kind
42:11
of a place that you did something that it it almost
42:16
seems non instinctive to say, hang on, how can I help you?
42:21
I'm in a huge place of need, but how can I help you and you and
42:25
you? Well, again, it'll go back to my
42:29
faith, you know, and because I'll dive into that for a little
42:33
bit. I mean, and you know, the Holy
42:37
Spirit led me to do that. It wasn't, it wasn't me, so to
42:41
speak. And I didn't know exactly how,
42:44
you know, but what I did know was and it, and it goes back to
42:47
this as well, you know, and I'm getting into, I'm getting into
42:50
some stuff you asked. So here we go.
42:53
You know, tithing helped me a lot.
42:56
And because I told my wife, you know, we, we had gotten to the
43:00
point where it's like, OK, financially, we were just in a,
43:02
you know, we're just barely getting by, you know, behind
43:04
barely getting by. And I said, Jennifer, I'm going
43:08
to take full responsibility of where we are.
43:10
I mean, I just, I've got to take full responsibility of where we
43:13
are. That's what you do in order to
43:15
get better. I said, but what we're going to
43:16
do, we're going to do this God's way this time because I've done
43:20
it my way and my way has been an utter mess.
43:23
I said, but we're going to do it God's way this time.
43:25
I said, I'm going to be available for other people.
43:29
I'm going to give to other people what I have to give.
43:31
And I said, and we're going to tithe.
43:34
I said and we're going to tithe and we're going to tie up
43:37
because I had to say it several times because of what the
43:38
situation where. That's a hard time to make that
43:41
commitment to tithing. Natural, you know, it's very
43:43
unnatural and, and the fact that it is supernatural.
43:46
So once I started doing that, Anthony, I saw what God will do
43:53
with a tangible thing like money to the point where I can live
43:59
much better on 90% than I could on 100% with the right attitude
44:04
and the right heart. That's what changed and that's
44:08
what changed my life. And that's what got me so sold
44:13
out on the process of continuing that particular methodology or
44:17
methodology, because it's all about giving, you know, and I
44:21
understood at that point in time, the reciprocity is real,
44:25
you know, and, and so the more you give, the more you get.
44:29
But the issue is you can't give to get, you know, it's just a
44:32
really, really nuance to giving. And so once I started seeing
44:39
that, then it gave me the confidence to still be me
44:43
because I felt for the first time in my life that I was
44:47
living the way I should be living.
44:49
And I was stress free in that regard.
44:52
Now you still have your problems don't go away.
44:56
They just become different. You know, they don't, they're
45:00
just obstacles to either go over, go through, or go around.
45:05
They're not, they don't stop you, they just slow you down.
45:09
And so I started looking at obstacles different.
45:12
I started not fearing so much of the future and understanding if
45:16
I keep this process going, if I'm faithful in this area and
45:21
I'm faithful in this area, then he will 100% be faithful in the
45:26
other areas. And I don't know exactly what
45:28
that looked like at the time, but I can tell you this, I can
45:32
tell you from 2008 and 2009 to 2025, my life is unbelievable
45:41
compared to what it was up into that point in terms of home
45:45
life, my relationship with other people, my relationship with
45:49
God, and how I feel about myself.
45:52
So I'll leave it at that. That's incredible.
45:56
What does it look like for you on an ongoing basis to lean on
46:03
your faith and to let God lead? Like is there and I'm, I'm
46:09
talking sort of, I guess nuts and bolts, like are you sitting
46:12
down to prayer and kind of listening for a voice?
46:16
Are you sort of like listening for a a gut instinct to the
46:21
different options you're considering?
46:23
Like what is? What does this look like for a
46:24
man of faith? You know, I don't hear a voice.
46:28
I never, I mean, you know, I hear some internal nudgings.
46:31
I guess the Holy Spirit will bring back a thought or bring
46:34
back. I don't, I don't hear any
46:35
original like voices. I I just haven't had that
46:38
experience. But what I do, Anthony, you
46:42
know, I get up every morning at 5:15 to spend time with him.
46:50
And it's whether it's in devotion, I write, I write out
46:53
my prayers. I'm not a good, surprisingly not
46:59
a good talker when it comes to prayers.
47:02
I run out of steam and I run out of things and my thoughts don't
47:07
flow like they need to. So what I found worked for me is
47:10
I journal and I journal my prayers.
47:14
And what's interesting about that, it becomes a gratitude
47:17
journal and it also becomes things that I want to accomplish
47:21
Journal as well are in my prayers, things I'm concerned
47:25
about, things I would, you know, that that that I have as goals,
47:28
things that that he's put on my heart.
47:31
And I end up being able to refer back to those journals.
47:35
I, I, I continue to write. I also get to check off a lot of
47:39
things that that he's allowed me to accomplish.
47:42
And as I look back at the things that I've accomplished, because
47:46
you can really get, you know, in everyday life, you can forget
47:50
all the things that you can forget.
47:52
All the blessings that you asked for that were answered.
47:55
I mean, how quickly can we forget, Hey, you know, will you
47:58
please do this? And boom, we do this.
47:59
And then you're moving on. You know, it's like, OK, what's
48:02
the next thing? And then you forget.
48:04
So the journaling has helped me a lot.
48:06
That's what and he's spoken to me through my pen so many times
48:10
because I, I, I start writing and I really write a lot of
48:15
things that I go back and and read.
48:17
I'm thinking, God, did I write that?
48:19
I mean, what was I going through at the time?
48:22
You know, and, and that doesn't even sound like me, but that's
48:24
just always spirit taking over my pen.
48:26
And I learned that for me, you know, you know, and people do it
48:29
different ways. Some people, you know, some
48:31
people are really in tune and you know, they can, they can
48:36
prophecy and they can do all this stuff.
48:37
Listen, now, he keeps me in the dark for a reason, you know, he,
48:40
he knows I'll get too far out there, you know, So, you know,
48:44
every day is a step for me, you know, and, and I like it that
48:47
way, you know, it keeps it adventurous and it keeps me
48:52
humble because I don't know what's coming my way.
48:55
And, and so many things I've been able to accomplish that I
49:00
never dreamed it, quite frankly. And I hadn't given up on, you
49:04
know, during that period of time.
49:05
One of the things we didn't hit on was dreams that I had, that I
49:13
gave up on. And that's a tough place to be.
49:16
But they were the wrong dreams. They were the wrong dreams.
49:20
And so now I only dream and that's the truth.
49:23
I'd like to do some things, you know, financially and I'd like
49:27
to do some things that my wife would like us to do, but that
49:30
that's, that's secondary. And I'd love to, we'll, I'm sure
49:34
we'll accomplish those things. I don't even doubt that.
49:37
But I really, really, really want to impact people.
49:41
And that's really the only reason I kind of, and this may
49:44
not impact a soul. This particular podcast because
49:50
of me, not because of you, but it may not impact anyone, but my
49:54
desire is always to impact someone and tell them, hey, you
49:58
know, it's OK to be you. It's OK to find yourself in a
50:01
situation where you know, you know, it's OK, It's just OK.
50:06
And whatever, whatever you wherever you find yourself in
50:11
whatever situation it is, just remember that you the the
50:15
frictions necessary for the traction.
50:17
So if you're really wanting traction, just expect the
50:19
friction. Don't run from it.
50:22
You know, I have to remind people around here all
50:24
especially managers and leaders are my company.
50:26
It's like, hey, the day that we don't have problems is the day
50:31
we don't, we're not needed. So embrace, embrace them.
50:36
You know, if problems aren't negative, problems are a part of
50:39
life. And how do you get better
50:41
without solving problems? And you know, the people that
50:43
solve the most problems make the most money.
50:45
If so, if you're after money, learn how to solve a lot of
50:48
problems. So, you know, and again, that's
50:52
that's what I try to do every day, solve problems.
50:55
So Brad, let's move kind of present day.
50:58
How did the opportunity at Paramount open up?
51:01
That's another God thing. You know, I was at Hendrick and
51:05
I had formed a relationship with a guy that was a former dealer
51:10
here in town. He would come by and he would
51:12
still buy some cars from us and, and so I had known him only by
51:18
reputation. I've never met him.
51:20
And so I met him a few different times and again, I tell people
51:25
you're 1 handshake away from your life changing.
51:27
I mean, you're one person, you meet one person and it can
51:31
change the trajectory of your life.
51:32
You just just meet people and be kind to people and do that
51:35
because you're really just, you know, how close you are to like
51:38
your life really changing. But I'd formed a relatively
51:41
short relationship with this guy, but it was a good
51:43
relationship. He told me several times he's
51:46
like, Hey, I got a friend of mine that you really need to
51:48
meet and he said you guys would really, really hit it off.
51:54
And I'm like, well, who's your friend?
51:55
And he said Benny Young. I didn't know anything about
51:57
Benny Young at the time, you know, and, but they were friends
52:03
and good friends. And I stiff armed it several
52:08
times, Anthony, because I mean, I, I was really happy with what
52:10
I was doing. I was just getting back on my,
52:13
you know, financially getting back to where, you know, we
52:16
could live and have some breathing room.
52:18
And I really like my team and you know, it was just, I was
52:21
really felt like I was making a difference.
52:23
So I enjoyed working there and he kept after me and kept after
52:28
me. And I finally said, well, I
52:31
guess it wouldn't hurt to listen.
52:33
I said, but I'm not interested in like going up to the his
52:37
place of business. I said I it'd have to be at a
52:41
kind of an obscure place. I'm just listening to
52:43
conversation, but I'm not interested in leaving.
52:45
So he did get us introduced and I met Benny at he's got a
52:53
classic car place here in here in town.
52:55
It's got some unbelievable classic cars.
52:58
I mean, this, this is really awesome place.
53:01
But he had and Anthony, this is pretty cool.
53:07
He's got a replica inside his classic car place of his
53:11
original office and building for the independent store when he
53:17
started. And so he said, meet me over
53:21
there. So we went in that office and I
53:22
mean, I'm talking about wood paneling, old carpet, just one
53:27
phone on the desk, just just good old, you know, just
53:31
independent cars. So we met in that office just he
53:34
and I, and we really hit it off like really, we connected really
53:40
well that meeting and we set up another meeting and Nick
53:46
Kincaid, who is my boss and he, he came that time, Nick and
53:50
Vinny both and we talked to him. And so we probably met 3 or 4
53:53
times because again, I, I was not interested in leaving, but
53:59
there was something about that connection with those two guys
54:03
that I just knew that I needed to pursue it.
54:06
And, and so I, I talked to my, to Jennifer, my wife.
54:10
And I'm like, listen, I really feel like the Lord's leading me
54:13
to go work for these people. And she's like, I don't, he's
54:17
not telling me that at all. And I said, well, pray about it.
54:23
I said, because I just have that feeling.
54:26
And I said, I don't anytime I'm uneasy in my spirit, I feel like
54:31
there's a decision that I need to make one way or the other.
54:35
But it was a, it was a real stirring in my spirit.
54:38
And I, I really have a, had a real piece about it.
54:41
And I told her, I said, Jennifer, I have a real piece
54:44
about this. I said, I really believe God's
54:47
got a place for me there. And I said, because I, and in
54:50
the back of my mind, I knew with Hendrick I was going to have to
54:52
move. And my kids at the time were in
54:54
middle school. And that's just a, that's a,
54:57
that was a big decision for me. And, and so it, that was in the
55:00
back of my mind. And then he's got these
55:02
locations here in Hickory. And so I said, I really have AI
55:08
just really had a piece of that and I did.
55:10
And so the rest is history. You know, I, I told him I would
55:16
come here. And so he said we have a place
55:17
here at our Porsche, Volvo, Volkswagen store.
55:21
And he said, I would like you to run that store.
55:23
And I'm like, well, I have no idea about a Porsche.
55:26
I know I, I don't like Volkswagen.
55:28
And I'm thinking to myself, I said, I don't like Volkswagen,
55:31
know nothing about Volvo other than they're ugly.
55:34
And you know, I Porsche is cool, I said, but I do know people.
55:40
I said so. And and again, it was a real
55:43
leap of faith. It was a real leap of faith.
55:45
But I'm going to tell you how God works.
55:48
Benny sat down with me the second day I was here and he
55:54
said, Brad, I have a he said, I have a vision for that store and
56:00
for you. OK, Now keep in mind I've met
56:03
this guy maybe four times and I've spent my second day and I'm
56:06
not thinking anything other than I got to get to know these
56:11
people because I'm gonna have to.
56:12
I have a lot of help. And he said, I've got a vision
56:16
that he said you're going to change the culture of that
56:18
store. And he said, and from there he
56:23
said, I can see the culture changing through all our other
56:26
dealerships. Now that's him saying that.
56:31
That's a. Big game.
56:31
This guy's been in business at that time for 40 years and I'm
56:35
two days in. And I'll be honest with you,
56:38
Anthony, at that time that didn't really it.
56:41
It didn't like send like major shivers down my spine or
56:44
anything like that because I was seriously nervous.
56:47
You felt like you ran over your head a little bit.
56:49
I got a job and I'm, you know, here I am.
56:52
But as I look back, that vision has come true and that is God.
57:02
That's it, you know, and I've just been, and that's why I'm
57:05
really, I really want to emphasize I'm just a, I'm just a
57:11
vessel on some of this stuff, 'cause I mean, he had the
57:14
vision, Nick's got the leadership and they've allowed
57:17
me to be me and, and, and, and affect their employees.
57:24
And that is such a blessing. And that all stems from that
57:30
tithing. And we're going to do it his way
57:34
because I could have have orchestrated any of this.
57:36
I, you know, I in my wildest dreams, I couldn't have
57:39
orchestrated any of this. You know, Brad, I've heard umm,
57:43
stories that kind of have a similar thread as yours where,
57:48
man, somebody feels like they're just hitting their head against
57:51
the wall. They've hit rock bottom.
57:53
Things are not working, and there's this moment of complete
57:58
and total surrender that takes place.
58:02
It's like what I'm doing is not working.
58:05
I don't know how to do this anymore.
58:08
I give up. I hand this over to a higher
58:10
power, and that seems to be where the the flow of changes
58:17
really starts to begin. Yeah, that's my story.
58:22
You know, I don't know if it's everybody's story, but it can
58:24
be. But that's my story.
58:27
And, and I can't, you know, I just look back and think to
58:30
myself, I just can't. If I try to take credit for it,
58:33
I couldn't take credit for it because it's just, it's just so
58:36
unlikely. You, you said it earlier, it's
58:39
just, it's just seems unlikely and it is unlikely.
58:43
And, and because I, there's nothing special about me, zilch.
58:48
I mean, there's, there's really not.
58:51
And sometimes I have to think to myself, you know, I don't know
58:56
how I got here. But then as I go back through
58:58
this, I'm thinking, man, what a blessing.
59:01
You know, I, you know, talking about journal.
59:02
I started journaling, you know, years and years ago.
59:05
And I look back and there were some really tough times, you
59:08
know, and I'm, I'm dating things in my Bible and seeing how, how
59:12
the steps are. But it's good for me to talk
59:15
about things like this because I don't get to talk about this
59:17
very often, you know, because I'm busy or, or, or, or somebody
59:22
doesn't have the context of, you know, takes a long time to get
59:25
the context of this. And you got to be close to my
59:27
age to even understand, you know, some of this stuff, You
59:30
know, the, and I understand that I can't lay all that on a 21
59:34
year old and say, listen, this is how it's going to be.
59:35
And, you know, you just have to be there for them when they hit
59:38
the hit the friction and, and just encourage them to say, Hey,
59:43
you know, that's necessary. It's necessary.
59:46
You know, and the other thing that I understand is really
59:48
important to you, and I'll share something with the listeners
59:50
here before, you know, we got on air, I shared the intro with
59:54
Brad that we had prepared for him and it almost kind of
59:57
blushed a little bit. And it's like, yeah, that's all
1:00:00
fine and accurate. He's but.
1:00:02
I really want to make the point that this isn't me, right?
1:00:05
I, I, I'm a cog in this wheel, This, this great wheel with lots
1:00:09
of wonderful team members around me.
1:00:11
I couldn't do this. Let's hear it in your words,
1:00:14
because I know that was an important point that you wanted
1:00:16
to make. Yeah, and again it goes back to
1:00:18
our owner, Benny Young and and Nick Kincaid.
1:00:21
I cannot tell you they have been such an inspiration to me and
1:00:28
allowing me again to have, I mean, it's their business and
1:00:31
you know, to allow me to have influence in their business and
1:00:36
and you know, from that I just have a lot.
1:00:41
I have such good people or we have such good people and, you
1:00:46
know, they're the ones doing the heavy lifting, you know, and,
1:00:50
and, and it's really hard for me now at times when I feel like
1:00:53
I'm, you know, because I spent so much time in the trenches in
1:00:56
this business and I love that. But my role is so different now.
1:00:59
And I kind of just, I'm, I'm back looking at all the people
1:01:03
doing the heavy lifting. And really the only thing that I
1:01:05
bring to them is some, you know, some experience and wisdom and
1:01:09
some, and some inspiration every once in a while and making sure
1:01:12
that the behaviors and that we're moving in there in the
1:01:15
right spot, you know, and, but at the same time, Anthony, I
1:01:18
can't pour that into a 25 year old.
1:01:21
I mean, a 25 year old don't have those experiences.
1:01:23
A 25 year old doesn't, He hasn't been through a lot of what the
1:01:28
older, you know, people like me have been through.
1:01:31
And that's our role now, you know, that's people like me.
1:01:34
It's our role now to say, OK, this is my experience, this is
1:01:37
what I've learned. And and this is how you can be
1:01:40
successful quicker and and have a more balanced life with your
1:01:43
family and have and have a career that takes you to the
1:01:47
moon. So let's spin this around a
1:01:50
little bit and from a, a customer perspective, people who
1:01:53
are coming into Paramount Auto Group or, or you know, they're
1:01:57
considering coming in, they're looking for a car.
1:01:59
You know, because of the way that you approach things and
1:02:03
because of the team that you have surrounding you, including
1:02:06
the ownership leader, the other leadership group.
1:02:09
What would customers notice from their perspective about how
1:02:14
Paramount is run differently? OK, well, a lot of companies say
1:02:20
this and and it's just a poster on the wall, but we really,
1:02:23
really practice GR 101, which is the golden rule.
1:02:26
We really treat people the way we want to be treated.
1:02:30
Whether it costs US money or not, we're always going to
1:02:33
endeavor to do the right thing, period.
1:02:35
And I think that comes across to our customers.
1:02:37
That's why we've been able to build a business.
1:02:38
That's why we've been able to keep a lot of our clientele and
1:02:41
continue to add to it, Anthony, because we really believe that.
1:02:44
And some of the checks that you see that I write or that we
1:02:47
write that we do that it, you know, for things that not, we're
1:02:52
not necessarily responsible for, but we feel like it's the right
1:02:54
thing to do. You know, because in our world,
1:02:56
you can hide behind an as is forum, you can hide behind a lot
1:02:59
of technicalities that, you know, we're not legally
1:03:01
responsible after a ticket, but, but we're, we're obligated to
1:03:05
our clients and, and we, we're OK with that.
1:03:09
You know, again, it goes back to similar, Hey, we're give the,
1:03:12
the, the law of reciprocity is real.
1:03:14
We believe it, we practice it. And, you know, although we're a
1:03:17
business and we're, you know, we're for profit, you know,
1:03:21
there's, there's still a level of stewardship that we have that
1:03:29
certainly is not just with our employees, but with our
1:03:32
customers. I mean, you know, because it's
1:03:33
a, you know, people buying automobiles, they, they, you
1:03:37
know, they have a certain idea about who we are and how we do
1:03:40
business. And, and we really try to be
1:03:42
transparent and we let them understand that, hey, we're
1:03:44
going to do the right thing. We're just going to do the right
1:03:47
thing. And I get to prove that.
1:03:49
And the phone calls that I get to the customers, I get talk to
1:03:52
the phone calls with issues. The and our and our leaders are
1:03:55
also compelled to do the right thing and they don't have to ask
1:03:58
me. You know, a lot of times we get
1:03:59
counsel on this because we like, we, we love counsel, you know,
1:04:02
is if we, we like to talk about things and do it, But we always
1:04:07
at the end of the day, and I'm not just this not lip service,
1:04:10
we always at the end of the day, you're going to do the right
1:04:12
thing. And Brett, is there maybe a
1:04:14
particular story, an anecdote that you could give us that
1:04:17
would help to illustrate that well?
1:04:20
There's a lot of different situations in terms of
1:04:24
automobiles. We sell a lot of used cars, you
1:04:26
know, as well. And you know, used cars could be
1:04:29
out of warranty. But we really, really do our
1:04:31
best to make sure that all these things, we give you an example,
1:04:36
Anthony, if you bought a car from me and it was a pre owned
1:04:38
car, you would know as much as I know about the car.
1:04:41
We would tell you exactly, hey, this is what we've done, this is
1:04:44
what we know. And hey, if something takes
1:04:47
place, we want you to leave here.
1:04:49
And the only thing you got to be concerned about is, hey, where I
1:04:51
get my next oil change at some point in time.
1:04:54
And I just want to drive it, enjoy it because I'm not
1:04:56
interested in you leaving here and having to take it somewhere
1:04:59
to get it fixed, bring it back to me and get it fixed.
1:05:01
I mean, you know, you're taking your time, you're doing your
1:05:04
research, you've got your budget, you, you need someone to
1:05:08
trust. So when you come to do business
1:05:10
with us, we're those folks and we're relishing that.
1:05:13
OK, If something happens in in two weeks from now, 30 days from
1:05:16
now, 45 days from now, and you've got, hey, it's got a
1:05:18
problem. And I think it's within reason
1:05:20
to say, hey, you know, that's not something we could have
1:05:22
seen. But hey, Anthony did this and he
1:05:25
did this and this is how it was done.
1:05:27
We're going to take care of that for you, Anthony.
1:05:28
And that's, that's the stuff we do.
1:05:30
We do it a lot. And I find that people aren't
1:05:33
looking to take advantage of us. People are just really looking
1:05:37
for someone help to help them, you know, because it's a major
1:05:41
purchase. You know, these are important.
1:05:43
You know, people, they can't work without transportation, you
1:05:47
know, they can't transport their families without transportation
1:05:50
and they need reliable transportation.
1:05:52
And I'm not saying everyone should do it the way we do it.
1:05:54
We just feel like it's the right thing to do.
1:05:56
And so, you know, there's a lot of businesses that do it
1:05:59
different and we pay for that reputation too, but we just
1:06:04
don't do it that way. And I tell a lot of people that,
1:06:08
that our salespeople and different things because they
1:06:11
don't understand a lot of times while we're, you know, hey,
1:06:14
yeah, it's costing us this amount of money, but it's the
1:06:16
right thing to do. Well, well, I don't understand,
1:06:19
you know, because I did everything right.
1:06:20
Yes, of course you did everything right.
1:06:22
You know, we're not. But we're also not punishing
1:06:25
what we feel like would be our customer that trusts us to do
1:06:28
it. So we're going to take care,
1:06:29
care of that particular scenario.
1:06:30
And, and we enjoy doing that because we feel like, hey, it's
1:06:36
kind of like the tithing part. I go back to the tithing we're
1:06:39
going to give and it, it's, we're just going to have to take
1:06:41
care of the rest. And, you know, we're so
1:06:42
fortunate and so blessed and we're, we love doing what we do.
1:06:48
And it makes it so much easier to come to work when I know I
1:06:51
can pick up the phone or somebody's calling me that I can
1:06:54
solve their issue. You know, there's very few times
1:06:57
that I get on the phone and not able to help someone.
1:07:00
And, and, and when I find I can't help someone, it's
1:07:03
generally, I don't think I could ever help that person, you know,
1:07:06
because there are those folks too, you know, that, that you
1:07:08
know, that you're never going to satisfy.
1:07:10
But for the most part, it's just really freeing to be able to
1:07:13
just come in every day and, and, and be on the same page with
1:07:18
everyone to, hey, we're just going to take care of the
1:07:20
customer. You know, at some point in time
1:07:22
we'll get taken care of, but we're just going to take care of
1:07:24
the customer, so. Brad, I just have one more
1:07:26
question for you. But before I ask it, I want to
1:07:28
do 2 things. First of all, for those
1:07:30
listening today, I know that you like today's content.
1:07:32
Please hit the like, share or Subscribe button on your
1:07:34
favorite podcast app. I also want to let people know
1:07:37
the best way to get in touch with you.
1:07:38
Brad, what would that be? Well, I got a cell phone, so
1:07:42
that's the easiest way to do it and I don't mind area code
1:07:45
828-850-1970, it's my personal cell phone, said.
1:07:50
I text and call and like I said, if I can make an impact on
1:07:53
somebody, that's exactly what I want to do.
1:07:55
Very generous and we'll make sure we include that in the show
1:07:57
notes. Last question I have for you,
1:07:59
Brad, I'm curious what you see the big changes coming to
1:08:03
Paramount in the next couple of years, whether it's growth plans
1:08:06
or adoption of new technologies or or something else that's
1:08:10
shifting? You know, Anthony, we have, we
1:08:13
have some, some of our brands are going to be looking at, at
1:08:17
building new buildings, our Porsche store brand, our Genesis
1:08:19
brand, you know, so you know, we're doing a lot of work.
1:08:25
We built a new Ferrari store in Charlotte and we've got some
1:08:28
anytime you're dealing with Ferrari and Porsche and, and the
1:08:31
higher ends, and this is just part of it.
1:08:33
You know, you're always going to be, there's always going to be
1:08:35
some demands in that way to, to, to improve your facility and
1:08:38
things of that nature for the customer, which we completely
1:08:40
understand. But that's the, you know, we've
1:08:42
got buildings to build and I don't necessarily have any
1:08:46
franchises on the horizon, new franchises, but you never know.
1:08:50
This business can change at any point, but we just really
1:08:52
concentrate on the foundational growth of our people.
1:08:57
And if we can, we just prepare, you know, prepare for growth.
1:09:02
And the best way to prepare for growth is just to be better at
1:09:04
what we already do and that way grow the people that are with
1:09:07
us. And that way when we do expand,
1:09:09
which we will I'm sure, and when we do expand, we have the people
1:09:12
that we can put in place that are ready for an opportunity and
1:09:15
and do it our way. Brad, I want to be the first one
1:09:19
to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us
1:09:21
today. I really appreciate it.
1:09:23
Oh. You're welcome.
1:09:24
You know, again, I just thank you for reaching out to me and,
1:09:27
and and, and you make things easy.
1:09:29
So you're a nice man. I appreciate that, folks.
1:09:32
That's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
1:09:35
Thanks for learning with us today.