By Wayne Croswell
Insanity, according to Albert Einstein, is what you get when you do the same thing over and over and expect different results. So what do you call it when you see business owners (tire dealers, to be more specific) engaged in this practice? We call it “entrepreneurial insanity.”
In my 22 years of meetings with thousands of tire dealers throughout the world, I have seen my share of this behavior. I have engaged dealers in discussions about their businesses and how to make them more successful.
More specifically, with my 33-year background in computer hardware and software, we often explore what technology can do for them to help grow their businesses.
After all, what is the tire dealer in business for in the first place? This is a great question, one you should ask yourself, especially if you are a tire dealership owner.
Are the same reasons that you started a tire dealership still the same reasons you go to work every day? All too often, owners start with a set of goals, but these goals get lost when the doors first open. For many, they are never looked at again.
However, it’s never too late to revisit your original goals and to do something about them. Most owners want to start a business not so they have someplace to go to work and collect a paycheck -- that’s a job. They start a business so, someday, they are in a position to sell it off for a sizeable financial gain. This is their ultimate end game. Thousands of dealers have shared this with me over and over.
Unfortunately, most of them don’t know how to achieve this goal and remain stuck working in the business instead of working on the business.
As I traveled the globe in 2009 and 2010 as the president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA), this practice of "entrepreneurial insanity" was evident everywhere. I, too, started to feel like there was no hope in site to escape. That was until I had the fortune of meeting Roger McManus.
Roger has a very special gift. He recognized this insanity and he actually has a "cure." He can help entrepreneurs rise up and achieve the goals they established when they started on their ownership journeys.
Roger and I collaborated to put into words what this insanity was and how to escape it. With the help of several key tire industry experts, icons and legends, we have published our message in a book entitled, "Entrepreneurial Insanity in the Tire Industry."
We called upon industry experts such as Dr. Roy Littlefield, executive vice president of TIA and Jody DeVere, CEO of ASKPatty.com. We sought the wisdom of independent tire entrepreneurs such as Larry Morgan, tire mogul, Modern Tire Dealer Tire Dealer of the Year in 2000 and TIA Hall of Famer; Charlie Creighton of Colony Tire and MTD Tire Dealer of the Year in 2007; and Pam Gatto of Gatto Tires, the tire industry's first female association president and Florida’s 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Along with a several other experts, we have provided a resource to bridge the gap for tire dealer owners and their quest for entrepreneurial success.
When I sought the office of president for TIA and subsequently founded WECnology LLC (www.wecnology.com), a free technology advisor for the independent tire dealer, it was my strong desire to give back my time and talents to an industry that has been so generous to me. The message in this book will help you.
To obtain a copy of the book, "Entrepreneurial Insanity in the Tire Industry," click on www.tireindustry.org (TIA's Web site). A portion of the proceeds from all books purchased through TIA will be donated to the TIA Foundation on behalf of Ensanity Press.
(To find out more about the book, click on "Author McManus asks dealers, "Are you insane?")
