April 24, 2023 • 17 mins
Julie Boncarosky Holmes
After embarking on a successful law career that included clerking for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Julie Holmes went on to practice real estate and corporate law at Covington & Burling, LLP. In 2010, she gave up her law career to join her parents’ automotive maintenance and repair business. In 2014, Julie and her husband, Mike, took over the leadership of the family business, Virginia Tire & Auto, and they are now co-CEOs. Since that time, Julie has worked to rebrand the business and the couple has grown the business to 17 locations and more than $62M in annual revenue.
Believing strongly in equal opportunities for women and recognizing the low numbers of women in the auto industry, Julie is a vocal champion of bringing women into the auto repair industry. Her pursuit is paying off with more than 30 women have joined Virginia Tire & Auto over the past year. With five children, four of them girls, she wants to make sure everyone has equal opportunity.
Michael Holmes
Over the last 15 years, Mike Holmes has helped Virginia Tire & Auto innovate and stay ahead of the automobile industry’s rapid digital transformation.
While overseeing operations and driving profitability, Mike has remained hyper-focused on the future of automotive and assuring Virginia Tire & Auto’s business model and workforce are adapting to skillfully maintain one of the customer’s most significant investments.
Additionally, Mike has served as an advisor to several leading companies. He currently sits on the dealer advisory board for Bridgestone, previously served on a dealer advisory board for Goodyear, and also served as an advisor and investor to Urgent.ly, a global digital roadside assistance platform.
After embarking on a successful law career that included clerking for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Julie Holmes went on to practice real estate and corporate law at Covington & Burling, LLP. In 2010, she gave up her law career to join her parents’ automotive maintenance and repair business. In 2014, Julie and her husband, Mike, took over the leadership of the family business, Virginia Tire & Auto, and they are now co-CEOs. Since that time, Julie has worked to rebrand the business and the couple has grown the business to 17 locations and more than $62M in annual revenue.
Believing strongly in equal opportunities for women and recognizing the low numbers of women in the auto industry, Julie is a vocal champion of bringing women into the auto repair industry. Her pursuit is paying off with more than 30 women have joined Virginia Tire & Auto over the past year. With five children, four of them girls, she wants to make sure everyone has equal opportunity.
Michael Holmes
Over the last 15 years, Mike Holmes has helped Virginia Tire & Auto innovate and stay ahead of the automobile industry’s rapid digital transformation.
While overseeing operations and driving profitability, Mike has remained hyper-focused on the future of automotive and assuring Virginia Tire & Auto’s business model and workforce are adapting to skillfully maintain one of the customer’s most significant investments.
Additionally, Mike has served as an advisor to several leading companies. He currently sits on the dealer advisory board for Bridgestone, previously served on a dealer advisory board for Goodyear, and also served as an advisor and investor to Urgent.ly, a global digital roadside assistance platform.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
M and T Bank prison CEOs youshould know powered by Iheartadia. Let's meet
Julie and Mike Holmes. They arethe co CEOs for Virginia Tire and Auto
with seventeen locations in Fairfax, PrinceWilliam, Loudon and Chesterfield Counties. Before
we talked more about Julian Mike's thrivingbusiness, I first asked Julie to talk
(00:21):
about the origin story. Her dadstarted in the first store in nineteen seventy
six and her earliest memories of thosetimes and working for the company when it
started out, well, it wasvery much a big part of my childhood
growing up. The family business wasjust as much part of the family as
it was a business. My momand dad ran it together. My dad
had been a rep for an oilcompany and he had called on a lot
(00:43):
of independent dealers as part of hisjob, and along the way he realized
that they were really very happy atwhat they were doing, but he saw
a lot of opportunities to make thatbetter. So he fighted in talking about
it, and he finally got theopportunity to buy his first gas station,
and he talked and talked, andfinally my mom told either either you go
ahead and do this or quit talkingabout it. So that's what they began
(01:04):
with one gas station in Fairfax City. And it really was I say I
joined the company at birth. Itwas my dinner time conversation for as long
as I can remember, everything fromthe battles of the day to you know,
the weather and the impact of thaton the business. Everything was talked
about at that table, and soI really got an insight at a young
(01:26):
age. Now, fun fact fora listeners that Julie is also a corporate
lawyer. But I imagine you throughthe family just for a loop that you
wanted to do that now be inthe family business. So when did you
permanly give back into the family business. Well, my dad actually really encouraged
me to go to law school.He thought I could bring more to the
table with the business if I wantedto go down that route, if I
got some other experiences outside the business. But my heart was really always in
(01:49):
the business. I will say,growing up with someone people who are so
passionate about something, it was inevitablethat I would want to get back back
into the business. So I joinedofficially in twenty ten, after we'd had
our second child, all right,Mike, when did you get into the
picture? Well, I'm married intothe business. So Julie and I'm married
in two thousand and four, andat the time I was working in finance.
(02:12):
I was at a private equity firmin DC and was helping Myron with
some expansion plans and some succession planning, and ultimately Julie's dad decided to bring
me in and I started in thebusiness in two thousand and seven and was
very fortunate to work with Julie's dadfor a number of years before taking over
a CEO in twenty fourteen. Okay, so we have a lot to talk
(02:36):
about when it comes to Virginia andIronado. So there's seventeen locations Fairfax Prince
William Loudon at Chesterfield Counties started inseventy six, Julie, when you started
to take over with Mike, andI'm curious about when your dad kind of
handed the mantle to you. Guys, how many stores were there and when
did it move from being a gasstation entire place to now Virginia tiron Auto.
(03:00):
And then we can also explain thatOTTO was a majority of your business.
I think it's about eighty percent Butwith that said, when did the
changeover happen and then the growth startto happen? Well, he well,
I can jump and you can correctme in all but everything. So nineteen
eighty eight was when he opened hisfirst larger format Tiron Auto store, and
he had studied growth through the ninetiesand early two thousands, and when we
(03:23):
got involved in the business around twentyand ten or a little before that,
it was all the stores had differentnames. They were like, if the
store was in Centerville, Virginia,it was called Center of an Automotive.
If it was in Anti was sheAntilia Automotive. And we really saw a
big opportunity because we had a great, great community, great wee you know,
very connected to our communities, anda good reputation to really bring it
(03:46):
all under one name. So webecame Virginia Tiron Auto and through that we
really did a lot of work onour brand and created kind of this black
and white and green look that wehad today, and really honed into our
values that we're originally our brand valuesand became our full company values. And
(04:08):
so by twenty thirteen our stores hada whole new look and really is the
brand that people are used to seein northern Virginia primarily. Okay, so
Mike, let's talk about all thecapabilities and things that you offer clients.
We did establish that most of thebusiness is auto. There's eighty percent or
there's twenty percent tire. But withall that said, for maybe some of
our listeners that haven't been an introducedor gum by one of your seventeen locations,
(04:30):
tell us about all the things thatyou do offer. Sure, so
we offer a number of convenience orientedservices like oil changes, safety inspections,
emissions. Of course, we puttires into that bucket. And then we
also do your scheduled maintenance. Wedo breaks, any other repairs, diagnosed,
diagnostics, anything really that your carneeds. We don't do any body
(04:51):
work. We don't do anything relatedto you know. Tagon is all you
the car needs. I like thata lot. I think that makes a
lot of sense. I do wantto ask you guys about the business in
general, because I'm going to assumethat it is a competitive business. And
with that set, I want youto indulge me just for a second and
(05:13):
some storytelling. I used to livein the Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon.
There's a very famous tire place outthere in the Northwest that be sent
you guys in the business. Wedon't have to name who it is,
but their stick was that they wouldrun out to your car and meet you
and say how you do in Andthat was their deal. It was customer
but they ran out to your car. They actually physically ran out to your
car. And when I first movedthere, I thought, that's cool,
(05:35):
all right, So you got myattention by running out there. And I
imagine that with all the key offeringsthat you guys have, that customer service
and you talked a little bit inour green culture is a real big deal
because once again, you're in avery competitive business. And I'm sure there's
some great ones like you guys,there some not some good ones. So
what that said, maybe, Mike, if you could go over differentiating yourself
(05:57):
from the other competition, how doyou do that? Yeah, for sure.
So one of the ways we doit is with our people, right,
So it is a relationship oriented business. So we hire people, we
hire the smile and really provide anenormous amount of training on the industry,
provide opportunities to progress within the industry. So one of the things we offer
(06:19):
is a full training center located inTyson's Core, and we've been really building
out our training capabilities, so Ithink that's the number one differentiator. And
then of course supporting our people withthe technology, the equipment to support the
enough people to do all the jobsfor all the customers that are coming in
(06:40):
day in and day out. Soit's a full suite of capabilities. There's
not a single you know, thisis the one thing that differentiates us.
It's really dozens and dozens of differentthings combined in a relationship of those different
activities that set us apart. Andwe really really coalesced around our mission of
taking the stress out of car care. That's our north star. That's what
(07:00):
we focus on, and it helpsexplain to our our three hundred employees what
we're really here to do. It'snumber one, we want to take the
stress out of carcare. I likethat a lot. And I imagine also
too that there's an education not onlywith your clients, but with you two.
Because in the industry of autocare,especially with electric cars now and all
that's going on with that, andthat's getting bigger and bigger. But also
(07:24):
another story I used to cover carracing in sports, and I remember that
tire technology in car racing and openwheel and even NASCAR was a really big
deal. And the car companies arealways coming up with the latest and greatest
tires because that was such a bigfactor with you one or loss. And
I imagine even though it's twenty percentof your business, education on tires for
all the kind of cars out thereis paramount for you guys to know about
(07:46):
so you can pass that along tothe people that work for you that can't
educate the client that comes into thedoor. Would I be correct in saying
that, Oh, for sure,there's a ton of technology packed into those
little round black things Flare Driver.But those little round black things are the
only things that are touching in thecar if you think that's the only thing
touching the road. If you thinkabout it, are the four tires so
(08:07):
really important from a safety and performanceperspective. Let's talk about to growth because
you two have done a tremendous dealfor Julie from taking it from your dad
and making it to seventeen locations allout Virginia. I know that there's always
growth possibilities as businesses are doing wellbut we're living in kind of a funky
economy. We've been through COVID,so I imagine there's a new normal for
(08:30):
you and your staff and your customers. With all that said, how's the
business doing, and what about growthdown the road? What's the plan for
the next five or ten years foryou guys. Yeah, so we've we've
experienced a lot of growth. We'vewe've built ten locations over the last twelve
years, the new you know autoRepair twelve fourteen Bay, you know,
(08:52):
nice, nice, big art repairlocations. We're doing a lot of operational
improvements right now, and that's reallyour focus right now. We do have
two more locations in the pipeline.I expect to bring one online in twenty
twenty four and the other one islikely to happen in twenty twenty five.
But again, most of our focusis on operational improvements, delivering the basics
(09:16):
of all repair, on time fixright the first time. That's really what
we're focused on. A lot goesinto that. There's you know, auto
repair is an enormously complicated business.Every time someone's bringing a car in,
we're essentially doing justin time manufacturing.We're procuring parts we're going out for every
job, we're getting two, threefour parts for that sometimes from different vendors
(09:37):
and really tying together to supply chainto make sure that we have the parts
at the right time so we canfix the cars right the first time.
Very cool. I did want totake just a small break from Virginia Arnauto
and ask you guys about philanthropic andcharity work. I know that you have
a big family, and then Julie, you've got your family that you've got
this business from. With all thatsaid, when you guys do have time,
which I imagine with your big family, it's hard to have time and
(09:58):
then run a business together. Whenit comes to philanthropy and charity work,
what do you guys like to bea part of. Well, we're really
focusing on the next generation. Wesee a great opportunity in our industry and
just in the space at an entirespace as far as trades and looking forward
(10:18):
to a great career. There's alot of folks that I don't know if
they realize all the opportunities that areahead of them. We believe there's a
lot of opportunities in the auto repairtrade and we've really partnered with several schools,
local public schools in our area.We go out and talk to their
kids, We invite them in fora field trip, and we like to
show them the opportunities that they're reallyat their doorstep. I'm glad that you
(10:41):
mentioned that because I'm going to makea very long story short. When I
grew up, and I'm fairly old, next to my high school was a
trade school, and there were alot of trade schools also in the DMV
I live in the district. Nowthere aren't any at all. They all
closed down. So I know thatthe industry has a problem with actually training
good people where you can get areally well paid job and work for a
(11:03):
company like here. So I'm soglad that you're trying to educate and get
out there get the word about thesegreat jobs. If we can get trade
schools open up again and get thatkind of education training, and we know
we need to do our part tohelp bring that school to fruenition. So
like Mike said, we basically we'rebuilding our own school. We can't just
rely on everyone else to create aready made workforce and give them all these
(11:24):
opportunities, So we spend a lotof effort investing ourselves in anyone that wants
to join our organization where our goalsto take someone that's never held a wrench
before to make them a full fledgedtechnician in two years. The income potential
is unbelievable in our career. There'sin our industry. There are so many
people that are making well over sixfigures and having really fulfilling careers, Like
(11:48):
there is nothing more disruptive than losingyour mobility, not being able to get
your kids to school, get towork. And you can really make a
difference in people's lives when you cantake the stress out of car care.
So that's something that we talk alot about and it's a meaningful career and
it has a big difference in people'slives. Yeah, along those lines,
stands a lot of people want tobe in technology industries right coming out of
(12:09):
high school or college or whatever.And what we'd like to say is,
if you want to be in hightech, come work in the automotive industry.
Here. There's a huge renaissance goingaround and they are a computers built
on wheels, is what they are. Yeah, that's all said, guys,
And once again, you know whatI took away from all of that,
which is really cool. But folks, six figures, you can actually
make good money in this industry.I think there's some kind of misnomer that
(12:31):
if you're a mechanic, I meanthat's that's that's high tech stuff that you
have to learn. Well, onceyou're educated, there's some helping jobs out
there, so I'm glad we hada chance to talk about that. All
right, I want to ask yousomething else that I'm sure you've been asked
about before, because I've been askedabout it. My wife works in the
industry and radio. Now we've traveleda lot, but we've happened to be
in the same building. She's onthe sales side. I'm on the programming
(12:52):
side. As you can probably imaginealready, we've butted heads from time to
time. So well, that said, you guys have been together for a
quarter of a century. I knowit all were listened out there. That
might be couples that are thinking ofstarting their own business or they already have
started that. How they divide andconquer, how they get along, How
does it go at the dinner tablethat night before sleeping? How do you
guys pull this off? As coCEOs what's the secret, what's the magic?
(13:16):
Well, I would say we've figuredout, we've divided and conquered.
We have really figured out what everyonehas, things that they're really great at,
and things that they love to do. And if you can figure out
what you love to do, youfeel like you're never going to work right.
And so we have really figured outwhere my skill set is and what
I like to do, and wheremike skill set is and what he likes
(13:37):
to do. And they totally complimentone another. I'm not fully baked,
Mike's not fully baked, but whenwe're together, we can we really compliment
each other, and I think that'sit can help make a great organization.
We think about things differently, butwe all want to get to the same
place and I think that's that's partof what it's a differentiator for us.
Yeah, I would add to youknow, sometimes those dinner conversations, you
(14:00):
know there sometimes they can be um, and you know that that's where some
of the good decisions come from.You know, I'm not afraid to really
share what we're thinking with each other, and I think that helps us make
better decisions. And I would addthat we also have a lot of support
around us as part of the organization. You know, it's not all falling
on us and our solder, youknow, on our soulders and on our
plates. So we're really set theagenda and there's a there's a big team
(14:24):
working on all the things that aremoving us forward as a company. Well,
I love both your answers, andmy wife and I, who have
been together for twenty five years,also divide and conquer. She's got everything
inside the house, I've got everythingoutside the house. Sometimes it crosses over
a little bit, but it works, and it's also good marital advice.
Everybody, divide and conquer and gowith your strengths out there and be real
(14:45):
supportive and loving. So that's realcool. Well, listen, I want
to kind of finish up our conversationwith a takeaway for our listener. Once
again, there's going to be awhole lot of people that have listened to
our conversation Julian Mike to maybe havedriven by but haven't stopped by in the
Tyron auto. So Julie, let'sstart with you, and then we'll go
to Mike about maybe a last takeawaythat you want to have for our listeners,
(15:07):
and maybe aren't super educated or knowabout the business. We're haven't stopped
in about what you want them toknow about Virginia Tyron Auto. I mean
I would say something I wish Icould just communicate to all of our customers
because not everything goes perfectly. It'sa challenge. Like Mike is talking about
all the parts that have to geton one vehicle, it's like just in
time manufacturing. But the level ofcare that our people put into their job
(15:31):
and taking care of the customer,I would say, is unmatched. I
mean we always say something would evergo wrong, give us opportunity to make
it right, because then it willallow you. I mean, it's just
amazing the care that people are peopleput into this organization, for our people
that work for us and work withus and our customers, and it's almost
(15:52):
all inspiring. They work really hardand really try and do right by our
customers. Mike, how about you? Yeah, I would say just this
concept of that auto repair is hightech industry. It's a great place to
work, and it's if you're thinkingabout a great place for your friends or
for your family or perhaps your kids. You know, I think we really
pride ourselves on bringing people on intodeveloping them through the organization and their careers,
(16:18):
providing the opportunities. They're really succeedin what they do and it's a
very fulfilling, rewarding career. Beingable to fix things, work with your
hands and solve problems on a daydaily basis outstanding. All right, Julie
website, social media channels. Howcan anybody just catch them? Or by
the way, the website is abeautiful, it's easy to navigate. There's
some great branding on there, butit's easy to kind of move around and
get educated at all that you do. Virginia Tiro Naudels So what's our website?
(16:41):
Yes, vatire dot com and seventeenlocations Fairfax, Prince William Loudon,
Chesterfield Counties and continuing to grow.To guys, I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your time because Iknow how busy you are professionally and personally,
So thank you so much and continuesuccess and we really apprecia you joining
us on CEOs you should know,Yes, thanks for having us dance.
(17:03):
Thank you. Our community partner MANDT Bank supports CEOs you should know as
part of their ongoing commitment to buildingstrong communities, and that starts by backing
the businesses within them. As abank for communities, M and T believes
in dedicating time, talent, andresources to help local businesses thrive because when
businesses succeed, our communities succeed
M and T Bank prison CEOs youshould know powered by Iheartadia. Let's meet
Julie and Mike Holmes. They arethe co CEOs for Virginia Tire and Auto
with seventeen locations in Fairfax, PrinceWilliam, Loudon and Chesterfield Counties. Before
we talked more about Julian Mike's thrivingbusiness, I first asked Julie to talk
(00:21):
about the origin story. Her dadstarted in the first store in nineteen seventy
six and her earliest memories of thosetimes and working for the company when it
started out, well, it wasvery much a big part of my childhood
growing up. The family business wasjust as much part of the family as
it was a business. My momand dad ran it together. My dad
had been a rep for an oilcompany and he had called on a lot
(00:43):
of independent dealers as part of hisjob, and along the way he realized
that they were really very happy atwhat they were doing, but he saw
a lot of opportunities to make thatbetter. So he fighted in talking about
it, and he finally got theopportunity to buy his first gas station,
and he talked and talked, andfinally my mom told either either you go
ahead and do this or quit talkingabout it. So that's what they began
(01:04):
with one gas station in Fairfax City. And it really was I say I
joined the company at birth. Itwas my dinner time conversation for as long
as I can remember, everything fromthe battles of the day to you know,
the weather and the impact of thaton the business. Everything was talked
about at that table, and soI really got an insight at a young
(01:26):
age. Now, fun fact fora listeners that Julie is also a corporate
lawyer. But I imagine you throughthe family just for a loop that you
wanted to do that now be inthe family business. So when did you
permanly give back into the family business. Well, my dad actually really encouraged
me to go to law school.He thought I could bring more to the
table with the business if I wantedto go down that route, if I
got some other experiences outside the business. But my heart was really always in
(01:49):
the business. I will say,growing up with someone people who are so
passionate about something, it was inevitablethat I would want to get back back
into the business. So I joinedofficially in twenty ten, after we'd had
our second child, all right,Mike, when did you get into the
picture? Well, I'm married intothe business. So Julie and I'm married
in two thousand and four, andat the time I was working in finance.
(02:12):
I was at a private equity firmin DC and was helping Myron with
some expansion plans and some succession planning, and ultimately Julie's dad decided to bring
me in and I started in thebusiness in two thousand and seven and was
very fortunate to work with Julie's dadfor a number of years before taking over
a CEO in twenty fourteen. Okay, so we have a lot to talk
(02:36):
about when it comes to Virginia andIronado. So there's seventeen locations Fairfax Prince
William Loudon at Chesterfield Counties started inseventy six, Julie, when you started
to take over with Mike, andI'm curious about when your dad kind of
handed the mantle to you. Guys, how many stores were there and when
did it move from being a gasstation entire place to now Virginia tiron Auto.
(03:00):
And then we can also explain thatOTTO was a majority of your business.
I think it's about eighty percent Butwith that said, when did the
changeover happen and then the growth startto happen? Well, he well,
I can jump and you can correctme in all but everything. So nineteen
eighty eight was when he opened hisfirst larger format Tiron Auto store, and
he had studied growth through the ninetiesand early two thousands, and when we
(03:23):
got involved in the business around twentyand ten or a little before that,
it was all the stores had differentnames. They were like, if the
store was in Centerville, Virginia,it was called Center of an Automotive.
If it was in Anti was sheAntilia Automotive. And we really saw a
big opportunity because we had a great, great community, great wee you know,
very connected to our communities, anda good reputation to really bring it
(03:46):
all under one name. So webecame Virginia Tiron Auto and through that we
really did a lot of work onour brand and created kind of this black
and white and green look that wehad today, and really honed into our
values that we're originally our brand valuesand became our full company values. And
(04:08):
so by twenty thirteen our stores hada whole new look and really is the
brand that people are used to seein northern Virginia primarily. Okay, so
Mike, let's talk about all thecapabilities and things that you offer clients.
We did establish that most of thebusiness is auto. There's eighty percent or
there's twenty percent tire. But withall that said, for maybe some of
our listeners that haven't been an introducedor gum by one of your seventeen locations,
(04:30):
tell us about all the things thatyou do offer. Sure, so
we offer a number of convenience orientedservices like oil changes, safety inspections,
emissions. Of course, we puttires into that bucket. And then we
also do your scheduled maintenance. Wedo breaks, any other repairs, diagnosed,
diagnostics, anything really that your carneeds. We don't do any body
(04:51):
work. We don't do anything relatedto you know. Tagon is all you
the car needs. I like thata lot. I think that makes a
lot of sense. I do wantto ask you guys about the business in
general, because I'm going to assumethat it is a competitive business. And
with that set, I want youto indulge me just for a second and
(05:13):
some storytelling. I used to livein the Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon.
There's a very famous tire place outthere in the Northwest that be sent
you guys in the business. Wedon't have to name who it is,
but their stick was that they wouldrun out to your car and meet you
and say how you do in Andthat was their deal. It was customer
but they ran out to your car. They actually physically ran out to your
car. And when I first movedthere, I thought, that's cool,
(05:35):
all right, So you got myattention by running out there. And I
imagine that with all the key offeringsthat you guys have, that customer service
and you talked a little bit inour green culture is a real big deal
because once again, you're in avery competitive business. And I'm sure there's
some great ones like you guys,there some not some good ones. So
what that said, maybe, Mike, if you could go over differentiating yourself
(05:57):
from the other competition, how doyou do that? Yeah, for sure.
So one of the ways we doit is with our people, right,
So it is a relationship oriented business. So we hire people, we
hire the smile and really provide anenormous amount of training on the industry,
provide opportunities to progress within the industry. So one of the things we offer
(06:19):
is a full training center located inTyson's Core, and we've been really building
out our training capabilities, so Ithink that's the number one differentiator. And
then of course supporting our people withthe technology, the equipment to support the
enough people to do all the jobsfor all the customers that are coming in
(06:40):
day in and day out. Soit's a full suite of capabilities. There's
not a single you know, thisis the one thing that differentiates us.
It's really dozens and dozens of differentthings combined in a relationship of those different
activities that set us apart. Andwe really really coalesced around our mission of
taking the stress out of car care. That's our north star. That's what
(07:00):
we focus on, and it helpsexplain to our our three hundred employees what
we're really here to do. It'snumber one, we want to take the
stress out of carcare. I likethat a lot. And I imagine also
too that there's an education not onlywith your clients, but with you two.
Because in the industry of autocare,especially with electric cars now and all
that's going on with that, andthat's getting bigger and bigger. But also
(07:24):
another story I used to cover carracing in sports, and I remember that
tire technology in car racing and openwheel and even NASCAR was a really big
deal. And the car companies arealways coming up with the latest and greatest
tires because that was such a bigfactor with you one or loss. And
I imagine even though it's twenty percentof your business, education on tires for
all the kind of cars out thereis paramount for you guys to know about
(07:46):
so you can pass that along tothe people that work for you that can't
educate the client that comes into thedoor. Would I be correct in saying
that, Oh, for sure,there's a ton of technology packed into those
little round black things Flare Driver.But those little round black things are the
only things that are touching in thecar if you think that's the only thing
touching the road. If you thinkabout it, are the four tires so
(08:07):
really important from a safety and performanceperspective. Let's talk about to growth because
you two have done a tremendous dealfor Julie from taking it from your dad
and making it to seventeen locations allout Virginia. I know that there's always
growth possibilities as businesses are doing wellbut we're living in kind of a funky
economy. We've been through COVID,so I imagine there's a new normal for
(08:30):
you and your staff and your customers. With all that said, how's the
business doing, and what about growthdown the road? What's the plan for
the next five or ten years foryou guys. Yeah, so we've we've
experienced a lot of growth. We'vewe've built ten locations over the last twelve
years, the new you know autoRepair twelve fourteen Bay, you know,
(08:52):
nice, nice, big art repairlocations. We're doing a lot of operational
improvements right now, and that's reallyour focus right now. We do have
two more locations in the pipeline.I expect to bring one online in twenty
twenty four and the other one islikely to happen in twenty twenty five.
But again, most of our focusis on operational improvements, delivering the basics
(09:16):
of all repair, on time fixright the first time. That's really what
we're focused on. A lot goesinto that. There's you know, auto
repair is an enormously complicated business.Every time someone's bringing a car in,
we're essentially doing justin time manufacturing.We're procuring parts we're going out for every
job, we're getting two, threefour parts for that sometimes from different vendors
(09:37):
and really tying together to supply chainto make sure that we have the parts
at the right time so we canfix the cars right the first time.
Very cool. I did want totake just a small break from Virginia Arnauto
and ask you guys about philanthropic andcharity work. I know that you have
a big family, and then Julie, you've got your family that you've got
this business from. With all thatsaid, when you guys do have time,
which I imagine with your big family, it's hard to have time and
(09:58):
then run a business together. Whenit comes to philanthropy and charity work,
what do you guys like to bea part of. Well, we're really
focusing on the next generation. Wesee a great opportunity in our industry and
just in the space at an entirespace as far as trades and looking forward
(10:18):
to a great career. There's alot of folks that I don't know if
they realize all the opportunities that areahead of them. We believe there's a
lot of opportunities in the auto repairtrade and we've really partnered with several schools,
local public schools in our area.We go out and talk to their
kids, We invite them in fora field trip, and we like to
show them the opportunities that they're reallyat their doorstep. I'm glad that you
(10:41):
mentioned that because I'm going to makea very long story short. When I
grew up, and I'm fairly old, next to my high school was a
trade school, and there were alot of trade schools also in the DMV
I live in the district. Nowthere aren't any at all. They all
closed down. So I know thatthe industry has a problem with actually training
good people where you can get areally well paid job and work for a
(11:03):
company like here. So I'm soglad that you're trying to educate and get
out there get the word about thesegreat jobs. If we can get trade
schools open up again and get thatkind of education training, and we know
we need to do our part tohelp bring that school to fruenition. So
like Mike said, we basically we'rebuilding our own school. We can't just
rely on everyone else to create aready made workforce and give them all these
(11:24):
opportunities, So we spend a lotof effort investing ourselves in anyone that wants
to join our organization where our goalsto take someone that's never held a wrench
before to make them a full fledgedtechnician in two years. The income potential
is unbelievable in our career. There'sin our industry. There are so many
people that are making well over sixfigures and having really fulfilling careers, Like
(11:48):
there is nothing more disruptive than losingyour mobility, not being able to get
your kids to school, get towork. And you can really make a
difference in people's lives when you cantake the stress out of car care.
So that's something that we talk alot about and it's a meaningful career and
it has a big difference in people'slives. Yeah, along those lines,
stands a lot of people want tobe in technology industries right coming out of
(12:09):
high school or college or whatever.And what we'd like to say is,
if you want to be in hightech, come work in the automotive industry.
Here. There's a huge renaissance goingaround and they are a computers built
on wheels, is what they are. Yeah, that's all said, guys,
And once again, you know whatI took away from all of that,
which is really cool. But folks, six figures, you can actually
make good money in this industry.I think there's some kind of misnomer that
(12:31):
if you're a mechanic, I meanthat's that's that's high tech stuff that you
have to learn. Well, onceyou're educated, there's some helping jobs out
there, so I'm glad we hada chance to talk about that. All
right, I want to ask yousomething else that I'm sure you've been asked
about before, because I've been askedabout it. My wife works in the
industry and radio. Now we've traveleda lot, but we've happened to be
in the same building. She's onthe sales side. I'm on the programming
(12:52):
side. As you can probably imaginealready, we've butted heads from time to
time. So well, that said, you guys have been together for a
quarter of a century. I knowit all were listened out there. That
might be couples that are thinking ofstarting their own business or they already have
started that. How they divide andconquer, how they get along, How
does it go at the dinner tablethat night before sleeping? How do you
guys pull this off? As coCEOs what's the secret, what's the magic?
(13:16):
Well, I would say we've figuredout, we've divided and conquered.
We have really figured out what everyonehas, things that they're really great at,
and things that they love to do. And if you can figure out
what you love to do, youfeel like you're never going to work right.
And so we have really figured outwhere my skill set is and what
I like to do, and wheremike skill set is and what he likes
(13:37):
to do. And they totally complimentone another. I'm not fully baked,
Mike's not fully baked, but whenwe're together, we can we really compliment
each other, and I think that'sit can help make a great organization.
We think about things differently, butwe all want to get to the same
place and I think that's that's partof what it's a differentiator for us.
Yeah, I would add to youknow, sometimes those dinner conversations, you
(14:00):
know there sometimes they can be um, and you know that that's where some
of the good decisions come from.You know, I'm not afraid to really
share what we're thinking with each other, and I think that helps us make
better decisions. And I would addthat we also have a lot of support
around us as part of the organization. You know, it's not all falling
on us and our solder, youknow, on our soulders and on our
plates. So we're really set theagenda and there's a there's a big team
(14:24):
working on all the things that aremoving us forward as a company. Well,
I love both your answers, andmy wife and I, who have
been together for twenty five years,also divide and conquer. She's got everything
inside the house, I've got everythingoutside the house. Sometimes it crosses over
a little bit, but it works, and it's also good marital advice.
Everybody, divide and conquer and gowith your strengths out there and be real
(14:45):
supportive and loving. So that's realcool. Well, listen, I want
to kind of finish up our conversationwith a takeaway for our listener. Once
again, there's going to be awhole lot of people that have listened to
our conversation Julian Mike to maybe havedriven by but haven't stopped by in the
Tyron auto. So Julie, let'sstart with you, and then we'll go
to Mike about maybe a last takeawaythat you want to have for our listeners,
(15:07):
and maybe aren't super educated or knowabout the business. We're haven't stopped
in about what you want them toknow about Virginia Tyron Auto. I mean
I would say something I wish Icould just communicate to all of our customers
because not everything goes perfectly. It'sa challenge. Like Mike is talking about
all the parts that have to geton one vehicle, it's like just in
time manufacturing. But the level ofcare that our people put into their job
(15:31):
and taking care of the customer,I would say, is unmatched. I
mean we always say something would evergo wrong, give us opportunity to make
it right, because then it willallow you. I mean, it's just
amazing the care that people are peopleput into this organization, for our people
that work for us and work withus and our customers, and it's almost
(15:52):
all inspiring. They work really hardand really try and do right by our
customers. Mike, how about you? Yeah, I would say just this
concept of that auto repair is hightech industry. It's a great place to
work, and it's if you're thinkingabout a great place for your friends or
for your family or perhaps your kids. You know, I think we really
pride ourselves on bringing people on intodeveloping them through the organization and their careers,
(16:18):
providing the opportunities. They're really succeedin what they do and it's a
very fulfilling, rewarding career. Beingable to fix things, work with your
hands and solve problems on a daydaily basis outstanding. All right, Julie
website, social media channels. Howcan anybody just catch them? Or by
the way, the website is abeautiful, it's easy to navigate. There's
some great branding on there, butit's easy to kind of move around and
get educated at all that you do. Virginia Tiro Naudels So what's our website?
(16:41):
Yes, vatire dot com and seventeenlocations Fairfax, Prince William Loudon,
Chesterfield Counties and continuing to grow.To guys, I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your time because Iknow how busy you are professionally and personally,
So thank you so much and continuesuccess and we really apprecia you joining
us on CEOs you should know,Yes, thanks for having us dance.
(17:03):
Thank you. Our community partner MANDT Bank supports CEOs you should know as
part of their ongoing commitment to buildingstrong communities, and that starts by backing
the businesses within them. As abank for communities, M and T believes
in dedicating time, talent, andresources to help local businesses thrive because when
businesses succeed, our communities succeed
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