A new book by Roger McManus attempts to put running a tire dealership in the proper perspective. Titled "Entrepreneurial Insanity in the Tire Industry," it was written to challenge the way tire dealers think of themselves.
Are dealers limiting their scope to that of a "small business," or have they expanded their view to be that of an entrepreneur? McManus, with input from some significant players in the tire industry, not only defines the question, but also describes how a dealer can tell the difference between small business ownership and entrepreneurism.
"What I have tried to do is get the owner of a tire business, whether the founder or the next generation operator who inherited the responsibility, to examine his or her role in the business," he says. "Interestingly, the owner who is vital to the daily operation of the business -- the person the employees know has all the answers -- probably owns a business worth far less than the owner who is virtually invisible."
According to McManus, if the proper operating systems are in place, the owner is almost irrelevant, and "can essentially manage the business from an iPhone!"
The book was conceived in a meeting at the 2010 Global Tire Expo in Las Vegas, Nev., when McManus was introduced to Wayne Croswell by Croswell's son, Erik (the Croswells run WECnology LLC as CEO/president and director of sales and marketing, respectively).
Within a short few days, the elder Croswell had introduced Roger to some key people in the industry; the result is "Entrepreneurial Insanity in the Tire Industry."
Contributing to the book were Wayne Croswell, also past president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA); Roy Littlefield, executive vice president of TIA; Pam Gatto, president of Gatto's Tire and Auto Service in Melbourne, Fla.; Jody DeVere, CEO of AskPatty.com; Larry Morgan, former independent tire dealer and co-owner of the Morgan Auto Group in Tampa, Fla.; and Charlie Creighton, CEO of Colony Tire Corp. in Edenton, N.C.
Morgan (2000) and Creighton (2007) are former Modern Tire Dealer Tire Dealers of the Year.
The book is available through Amazon, but orders made through a special link on the home page of the TIA Web site, www.tireindustry.org, will generate a contribution to the TIA Foundation through an educational fund established by the publisher, Ensanity Press, on behalf of TIA.
McManus, who grew up in Akron, Ohio, is a business consultant and a frequent speaker on the topic of entrepreneurism. With a professional background in marketing research, he used his access to the inside of many companies to form strong opinions about what he believes "ails most small businesses today -- dependence on the owner."
McManus also has published magazines and written for a variety of trade journals. For more information on the new book, visit www.ensanity.biz/about.
