The Wheelbarrow That Changed Everything — Jaebird’s Automotive Journey - Superstar Series

Good morning. Glenn Piccolo here with Adams Automotive bringing you another episode of Master Tech to Millionaire presented by Auto Shop Answers. We are continuing the Superstar Series, uh, on the podcast. We've got the A-team players as we run through our lineup here, uh, the million-dollar-a-month store. And this morning on the line, we've got Jaybird J. Silva, uh, ready to tell his story. So thank you all so much for listening. Let's dive in. All right, good morning everybody. Man, we are ready to kick it off this morning. We've got superstar Jay Bird, Jay Silva on the line, uh, A-team player, uh, just part of our million-dollar team. And I'm so excited to have you on this morning, Jay Bird. Uh, you've been with us for a long time. A veteran at 1010. How you doing this morning? Oh man, I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I'm happy to be here. What's going on? Oh man. Well, I'm just giving everybody a peek in the window at

1010 to meet our team. They, they obviously see you on Moneyball, all the fun that we have and the fun pictures that we send out and all the, and all the, all the posts. That we send out, but then, you know, people hear about you guys all the time. We're in training, we're talking about our team, we're telling stories, we're listening to your calls and the rest of the team. And so to be able to kind of put a backstory with all the players on our team so that when people come through Houston or come spend the day with us at the VIP Rack Attack program, they, you know, they get to maybe know a little bit about who they're coming to visit rather than just seeing them on the post. So yeah, so I like to kind of start it out with kind of telling us a little bit how you got started and kind of before you came over to 1010, kind of just from the beginning, you know, from after you hatched. After I hatched. There we go. There we go. Yeah. So, you know,

I've been in the industry really since 2020. Right? And we're at what, mid-2026 right now? So I've been in the game for about 6 and a half years. And, you know, I was never really that automotive guy. I never really knew anything about cars or, you know, was never really a mechanical type guy. It was always my brother who was, you know, he was a technician and he bounced around from a couple places and, you know, he would always be the guy to take care of my car and stuff. But It wasn't until around COVID, when COVID hit, I was actually doing something completely different. I was running a chain of movie stores here in Houston, which is kind of like really left field compared to what I'm doing now. But one day I'm driving and I'm on the highway behind this truck that has a bunch of lawn equipment and like a trailer, and a freaking wheelbarrow flies out behind this trailer and slash— I mean, smashes into my car.

Right? So I'm on the side of the road, I end up getting my car towed, and I end up oddly at a Caliber Collision, right? And, you know, like they fix like the body and paint and stuff. And this is at a point where I'm not working, this is in the middle of COVID and I'm thinking to myself, man, these guys that are sitting here talking to me about my car and stuff, I can do that. So I go home, I apply for Caliber Collision thinking that I'm going to be one of these guys talking to people about their cars. And, um, I show up my first day of work ever and I'm changing oil. I've never changed oil a day in my life. It was like, uh, they didn't even do it. It's like, you know, they showed me how to do one and they're like, okay, here you go. Wow. So here I am in the, in the pits at a Caliber in Katy just changing people's oil. I've never done it a day in my life. I'm YouTubing my way through this, you know. So it's, uh, kind of very odd. But, um, you know,

at first I was very, um, hesitant to even stay there. Like, I, I remember going home my first day and talking to my brother on the phone, and I was like, man, I don't know if I'm gonna go back. Like, I did one day, and, uh, you know, it's not what I thought it was gonna be. Like, I, I don't want to sit here and get all dirty and, you know, change oil and do all this stuff. Like, that's not what I'm You know, not what I signed up for. And he gave me some real good advice. And, you know, basically it ended up with just hang in there until I find something different and try to find my landing spot because it was COVID. So not a lot of people are hiring and there's not too much going on. This is, you know, mid shutdown and things like that. And, you know, one of the silver linings of being here is I met an extraordinary gentleman that worked there. You guys may have heard of him once or twice. His name is Donovan Penny.

I don't know if you guys know him. So he's an advisor there and I'm in the lube center, you know, and after maybe about 2 or 3 months, I end up working my way up to being like the lube manager. They were all just a bunch of young kids. I was the only guy over 21. I know they had a couple of guys in high school, a couple of guys fresh out of high school. So I kind of really didn't feel like I belonged there, right? So every day I would go home and I would look for jobs. That's what I used to do every day. I used to get home and look for jobs. And, you know, the lady that was running that store at the time, she wasn't a real big fan of me either way. So I was, you know, planning my exit from the time that I got there. And it wasn't until, you know, I would notice that things used to get real backed up and used to get real busy. And I used to just go in and, you know, take some initiative and help the advisors. Talk to some of the guests. And,

you know, it's kind of what we consider now like fast plays, you know, the low mileage, needs maintenance filters, you know, little things like that. I used to just take it upon myself to go talk to these people on behalf of Donovan and the other advisors that were there just to kind of help them out. And I guess Donovan saw that, you know, he saw something in me that I probably didn't see in myself. You know, so he kept encouraging me to stay. There was a point in time where I had an offer to go— this is so random too— to go do payroll for the Katy Police Department. Yeah, man, you're all over the map. Yeah, so I, I had accepted the job and everything, and I was telling Donovan, yeah, I'm gonna put in my 2 weeks, this and that. And he, you know, sat there after work and we chatted for about an hour. He talked me out of it. And, you know, he really— yeah, he, he really told me and, you know, showed me

that there's some, uh, You know, some real potential in this industry. And one of the things that he said that really stood out, and he probably didn't even remember this, but he kept calling it a career. He didn't call it a job. All right. So that's one of the things that really kind of, you know, set me up. Right. And, you know, as time went on, the lady that, you know, Donovan and I weren't a fan of and other people that work there, Nico, you know who I'm talking about. Donnie Haney knows who I'm talking about. Mike Warnock knows who I'm talking about and things like that. And, you know, as time went on, Donovan ends up becoming the store manager. And literally first thing, day one, he comes, he grabs me out of that loop center, he sticks me on a counter and just kind of throws me in the fire. And that was how I became an advisor. Donovan is sitting there molding me as we go and, you know, kind of learning on the fly. And, you know, it really

clicked whenever he, you know, really kind of laid out a game plan. The store that we were at wasn't doing so much in sales. You know, we were probably averaging, you know, $150,000, $175,000 a month at that time. It's a little itty-bitty, what'd I say, maybe about an 8-bay shop in Katy. And yeah, we started rocking and rolling from there. I think, you know, by the time Donovan exited the company, we were doing almost $300,000. And it was really me, him, and like one or two other guys. So yeah, so from there, you know, I hit the ground running and, you know, Donovan ends up exiting the company for something very minuscule that we do every day here. And it's giving away state inspections. So you could believe a company gets rid of a guy like Donovan for giving away state inspections. It's ridiculous. Yeah, that's crazy. We give away state inspections every single day because, hey, it's a $1,000 exit fee. Right,

if you follow our concept, like we just give inspections away. It's like the pickle, if anybody's ever seen that story, give them the pickle. I don't have time to get into it now, but it's just like, man, that one little thing or, you know, something in your business that you can just give to a customer as a courtesy, just to be able to, you know, just put a smile on their face and you earn the rest of their business. I love how you said little bitty 8-bay shop, by the way, that was kind of funny. You've been in 10/10 too long, You just called an 8-bay shop a little bitty shop. Hey, well, I'm spoiled. What can I say? Look at where we are. And I've been to Charlie's shop in Boston. I've been to the locations in Boston. I've seen it, you know. So I, I take that back if I offended anyone, but you already know we got, we got smaller shops doing more. So, you know, that, that's part of the game, you know. But, uh, you know,

Donovan ends up, uh, leaving the industry for a while. Um, you know, he was, uh, doing some truck driving and stuff like that, and him and I are in constant communication throughout that, that, that whole stint, you know. So I'm keeping him updated on how things are going. He's keeping me updated on his life and things like that. And, you know, there was a point in time where I figured I was like, man, my guy is out, you know. And I kind of felt alone at a little point in time there. You know, a lot of the stuff that we were working on, a lot of the stuff we were building was just kind of out the window. And, you know, I remember this day vividly. I was actually driving back from California. It was a long 24-hour drive. And Donovan calls me up. And so I got time, I'm on the road. So, you know, I got time. I'm sitting there on the phone with him and he's explaining to me about Adams and about, you know, Fisher, the BG rep who ended up recommending him

to you guys. And he's telling me about all the things that are great about the company and about how he's signing on and things like that. And, and I remember being real excited for him. And, you know, a lot of the things he was telling me, I was like, man, it kind of sounds too good to be true, to be honest. But, you know, I was gonna let him come, come see what you guys were about and things like that. And, um, and as time went on, you know, we kept talking and talking and talking, and he's telling me more, telling me more, telling me more. And, um, and things weren't going so great at Caliber, you know, um, a lot of, uh, empty promises and things like that, just trying to keep me in place. And, um, uh, the next day, you know, I ended up coming by here just to say Hello, just came to see Don, just came to say what's up to my guy. And man, I don't know if it was a training weekend or I don't know what exactly was going on, but when I got

here, everyone who needed to be here, everyone who I needed to meet was right there. Todd Hayes, Perry, Patty, Jose, and of course, Glenn Piccolo, right? So I'm here, they gave me a shop tour, I meet everyone, shake a bunch of hands. And I really didn't think too, too much of it. And on my way home, uh, it might have been that same night or maybe the next day, I get a call from a Mr. Piccolo. Um, yeah, and, uh, that's where the recruitment started. Yeah. Um, man, that was— that's wild, man. Just think about that. Like, Donovan was driving a truck, and I mean, he's a superstar in our industry, and he's going to be on soon, so get ready for that one too. So he's driving a truck and then his guy, like his right-hand man, is on his way to go do payroll for the— you say the Katy Police Department? Yes. Like, just imagine how that, uh, could have just played out, man, had, you know, the stars not have aligned and, you know, the timing been— had

been perfect. So, and, and here's how it all happens. Like, man, Like, you can recruit off of Indeed, or you can recruit off of, you know, some of these recruiting sites. Uh, but if you go through what I call our family tree and you start breaking down how everybody came to our company, it's quite crazy. And, you know, it started out with the phone call. It's like you guys heard on the previous episode, you know, cliffhanger, one phone call. Just gets us in touch with Cliff. 24 hours later, he's on the team and he's a stud. And so then I've got, uh, my BG rep where I'm like, hey man, do you know anybody in the industry? Is there anybody? Uh, and you know, look, uh, if he happens to be listening to this, uh, super, super high integrity guy, Fisher, you know, would never like recommend someone from one of his competing shops. And you got to respect that, right? But he tells me about this guy that was in the industry but is not anymore. Okay,

and that's Don. He's like, this guy was really great, man. Just, he's just such a nice young man and I really liked him and he's no longer in the industry. And I'm like, really? What's he doing? Well, he's driving trucks. I'm like, all right, well, uh, let me get his number. So I call him up and I set up an interview and then boom, I get Donovan hired. And then of course, man, who do you know? And so, uh, you were at the top of his list. Who do you know? And so Uh, we get you over there and we do that shop tour and, you know, the recruiting started, but it didn't end there. It got a little— Yeah, it got a little— Got fun. Fun story we like to tell all the time. Yeah, you know, that's true. What happened from there? So from there, um, you know, after you and I spoke and, uh, you know, you offered me a position to come join the team, I kind of thought it over for a little while, right? And I did initially accept a position. I did.

And when I got back to Caliber, I let them know. I'm like, hey, this is what's going on. I've accepted this position. My 2 weeks are effective starting now. And then their process of trying to retain me started, right? So then I'm getting calls from people who wouldn't normally call me. And, you know, getting a lot of this attention and they're just like, you know, that's not the move, man. They're not good people over there, trust me. I was like, what do you mean they're not good people? I just met everybody. Everybody seems so nice. He's like, no, no, no, they're not good people, man. They, you know, they're shady people. They do this, they do that. I'm like, what? I can't believe what you're telling me right now. And, you know, just to kind of retain me, they kind of gave me a bunch of things that, that I guess, you know, to anybody in the industry would be very appealing. You know, they offered me a store that's

one of the more high-dollar stores that does, you know, pretty good, that was looking for a replacement for their manager. And, you know, they're promising me this store. They said, hey, you know, we just gotta, you know, exit this guy and put you in there, you know. So this is coming and this and that. And, you know, I I called Glenn and basically told him that I wasn't gonna do it. And, you know, he never gave up, man. You know, me and Glenn spoke on the phone, you know, even after that multiple times. You know, just, you would just every now and then just call to check up on me and things like that. I remember one time you even offered me, I wanna say it was like, you know, a little incentive to come see you guys just for a couple of hours and I didn't show up. Yeah, I had a nice gift card waiting for you. Which, that's a good pro tip, guys. Like, hey, shop tour, uh, it's kind of like an open house. It's like, look, man, I've got a

$100 gift card. Come over here, just come grab some lunch or stop by. Just want to bring you back over to the shop because typically, like, if I can get somebody in the building, there's a good chance I'm going to close them eventually. Because, man, when you see that culture, you see that team, and you understand that it's real, there's a pretty good chance that wherever you're going back to is probably not as good. And, um, you know, that obviously, um, you know, shook out over time when you realize that, you know, because that's, that's what a lot of people do. We call it FUD— fear, uncertainty, and doubt. People plant those seeds in your head, and I get it too. It's like you're, you're, you're kind of in a comfort zone because, man, this is your, this is your spot, and you know everybody, and you work there, and you go there every day. And then now you're about to go start a new position, a new career, not career, but like

a new career path. And then, you know, you can start to, you know, like think and start to maybe feel a little bit uncomfortable because there's a lot of anxiety that comes with probably starting somewhere from zero and coming in, you know, day one. And so that fear, it can kind of set in a little bit. And so it may become a little bit more appealing to stay, but then what we find is all those things that took place to keep you, uh, they start to fade over time. Is that kind of what happened? That's exactly what happened. You know, like, I was offered this sweet guarantee on top of like my, uh, my commission and things like that to kind of make the money make sense. And at the end of the day, it really wasn't about the money. It was about, you know, the progression of my career because, um, at that point in time, like, I was you know, one of the top guys in the entire company. And there wasn't too much more that I could do,

you know, as far as like moving, moving forward and things like that outside of becoming a store manager. But I'm kind of glad it didn't work out the way that it did because, you know, the cards, you know, revealed themselves and I started to see people's true colors. And, you know, things literally just like you said, you know, they were not what they said they were going to be because they end up sticking me in some little itty-bitty store in Fulshear. Um, that was doing like $70K a month, and they basically sent me over there to shut me up and get me out of the way. And, um, and man, it was just one of those perfect timing type deals where, uh, if you know the story, um, enter Todd Hayes, right? Enter Todd Hayes, right? So it's funny because every time he tells this story, it's a little bit different. And, you know, it's, it's like real cinematic when, when he tells it. It's like a scene out of a movie. Like, it was like, it was like

thundering rain, like, you know. And, uh, man, you know, I had just so happened to be at the location on, on Mason Road just for, you know, whatever the little bit of time was, like a day or two. And, um, and it was, it was pouring raining, I remember. And enter Joe and Todd Hayes, just walk into the store. And as I'm watching them walk up, I see the smirk on Todd Hayes's face. And if you know Todd Hayes, you know what smirk I'm talking about. And he opens the door It's like, you know, like I said, it's like a, you know, a Tarantino flick. Like the doors fling open, Todd walks in, like everything stops, you know, you can't hear anything. It's just dead silent. And, you know, he walks up to me with his hand out extended, full extension, you know, walking from the door to the counter and, you know, saying it nicely. He tells me, when are you going to stop messing around? Right? And he said, when are you going to stop

messing around? Saying it nicely. And, you know, and I froze. I was like, I didn't know what to say. So I told him the truth. I was like, look, man, I'm about to have my— my son is gonna be due any day now. I'm in the process of moving. I got some things lined up. So if that's the move I'm gonna make, I'm gonna give you guys a call. And he read right through it. He knew exactly what I was doing at the time. But that was in late May. And come July, I'm here at Adam. So things worked out. Oh man, that's great. I love hearing that story every time you tell it because you were standing there with a couple, like one of the managers were there. It was like me, like it was me, Alex Torres, who's like one of the regional guys, and then like a manager that I was like training allegedly, uh, it was kind of a doofus type guy. I don't even know what happened to him. But yeah, it was just one of those, uh, one of those

things where, you know, had I not, had I not been there that day, you know, Lord knows what would have happened. I probably wouldn't end up here. Maybe I would have, I don't know. But I think the timing was perfect because, you know, I think back in, uh, you know, 6 months, 7 months earlier when I was initially looking to come on to the company, like, you know, my mind wasn't in the right spot. So I think then when I had already made that decision, you know, instead of like letting other people influence it for me. So I think that's kind of the biggest difference on, you know, when I decided to come over here. Yeah, so I just think about all these people like just throughout our company and we've obviously grown this, you know, just massive company and we have all these superstars on our team and it's like a few of them came off of an ad, right? But you have to go through like thousands of them like to get to those, you know,

those ones that we have. But the majority of them are just from that family tree. It's just like a recommendation and it's, you know, just reaching out and then being, you know, persistent in recruiting because it's like, what if we don't just keep following up with you? What if we don't reach out to Donovan that day? What if we don't make that one phone call phone call to Cliff that day, it's like, man, think about all these people. They just would— they, they wouldn't be here. And so, uh, it's such a huge, huge part of what we do is, you know, always be recruiting. Now, the funny thing is, going back to the very beginning of your story, was, uh, you know, you started out as a lube tech and boom, you're just changing oil day one. And that's so funny because People, you know, I always tell my story of how I started out as a, you know, I actually started out as a general service technician at Todd's original company. After Todd had sold the company,

I started out as a GS. But actually, there is a part before that that I really don't talk about, which is there was a brake check down the street from my house, and I was 16. And I wanted a job. So me and my buddy, we decided we're going to go, like, I don't even know if we drove there. I think we rode our bikes or something. And it's like, I want to get a job sweeping the floors, right? So I go into BrakeCheck and I'm like, we're like, hey, we're looking for a job. We live down the street or whatever. Do you have anything? We do an application. We get hired. And day one, we're doing brake jobs. Okay. Now I don't know anything about anything. And they're like, look, this— and we're doing drum brakes too, by the way. Uh, back then, like everything had drum brakes on the back. And so we had this little toolbox they gave us. They like came with the job and they showed us how to do brakes. Like, they're like,

look, this is how you do it. You take this side apart and then they— and then you put it back together like you took it apart. And the other side, you just replicate And then you had to like hone out the wheel cylinders. I remember they used to sell these wheel cylinder like rebuilding and like I was doing that, right? 16 years old, okay? So I always bring that up to customers whenever they mention like, hey, I'm gonna go get my brakes done over at BrakeCheck after I recommend a brake job and they think it's too high. I'm like, let me tell you a funny story about BrakeCheck. And I tell them about, you know, little old me and they're like, oh wow. You know, so, but that's exactly what our industry has. It's like they hire you, they don't train you, and now you have to go on YouTube to learn how to do an oil change. And then shortly thereafter, you're just, you know, luckily Donovan saw that in you and was able to bring you up. And now you just have

this amazing career. You've been with Adams for how long have you been with us now? I made 3 years last month. 3 years, and I'm just like a, just a veteran guy in our company. And man, just did such an amazing job. Um, and so we're so, so thankful to have you on our team. It's really, really— absolutely, man. Really, really been awesome. As long as I've been here, you know, I, I sometimes it's, it's, you know, you get so caught up in how things run and things like that, like I don't even remember what the industry was like outside of here. Like, I remember, but I don't remember, like, the day-to-day, you know? It's just so— it seems so, like, long ago to the point where it's like, you know, we hear these horror stories of all these shops, you know, and things like that. And I'm just like, man, people actually do that? And, uh, you know, I used to do that is the thing. So it's like, you know, I feel so far removed from it. But, you know,

it's, um, it's definitely something that had to happen. I had to be there to be here, if that makes sense. You know, I think maybe, you know, This is, you know, when I first got here, like the guys, the team that was here, you know, I'm around guys like Hollywood and Coupon and Lewis and, you know, people like that. And, you know, just watching what other people's careers turned into, it's very eye-opening for sure, because there's a lot of room for, you know, growth and improvement within our company. And, you know, the camaraderie that we have, everybody, you know, kind of boosting each other up. I wasn't used to that. So it definitely was scary at first. Yeah, and it's just so funny how just everybody comes from just all different walks of life. Like, you're running a chain of movie stores, which in 2026, I, I, I don't know how those, those companies are doing, right? I mean, with everything online and everything with streaming and

all that stuff. And so that was kind of a dying industry. And so Yeah, go ahead. No, it's definitely obsolete now for sure. Yeah, and so we have people from everywhere, you know. I do a joke in Key to Key, you know, when Joe kind of tells his story about growing up in the industry and then I have to tell my story and, uh, it's like, yeah, you know, when I was in second grade and they, they asked what you want to be when you grow up, you know, and everybody was saying firefighter and doctor, you know, I raised my hand and said, I want to be a service advisor. You know, it's like that never happened anywhere, right? Because you're either born into this industry, like, or you end up in this industry is how I look at it. And, and so you have like just all these different, you know, walks of life that come through. And, you know, to see you come from that and only 6 years in, so in 2020, Well, because you came over like shortly thereafter that.

I mean, it must have been what, like— I came, I came here, I came here in 2023. 2023. And so, man, you're just barely in this industry and you would never know that. I mean, you're very, very talented and nobody would know that you didn't have your like whole career in it, you know? So yeah, it's really, really cool. So it's kind of shifting gears, you know, our concept and, you know, what's different. I know we're in this Moneyball bubble and It's just completely different than what's out there. But, you know, I'd like to hear a little bit about, you know, Courtside, because I know when you went to Courtside, I was not surprised, but more just like shocked. I don't know, shocked. I don't even know what the right word is. But when I got your feedback from Courtside, you gave some really cool feedback that I was like, wow, I never really thought about that. But I'd like for you to kind of share that. Yeah, no, absolutely.

And so, you know, Courtside, yeah, yeah. So, you know, here it's like, you know, there, there's really no— like, I think you, you definitely say it all the time, I'm like, you know, titles don't matter, right? It's like, you know, everybody running their business within the business, right? So a lot of the guys here, like, they're, they're, you know, have either ran shops or like, you know, done things higher up in the industry. And, uh, and a lot of people here are those guys at those companies that people look at, um, as as being like the top guys, right? And then here's like, it's literally the all-star team. Like, you know, we're the dream team for sure, right? And, um, a lot of the things that we learn is like on the go, but it's also like things that, um, you know, shop owners and, and people that run their own business and people that, you know, are the, the heads of these companies, uh, kind of do and, and learn throughout their careers

and things like that. And we learned that just, you know, doing our day-to-day. So at Courtside, you know, I'm in there, I'm probably one of maybe, you know, maybe 6, 7 advisors. The rest are shop owners. And, you know, a lot of the things that they're talking about are things that we do here every single day, a lot of the things that we talk about every single day. So, you know, Coupon and Charlie are doing the course and they're asking a lot of questions. And, you know, I'm looking around the room as they're asking these questions to see who's raising their hand, who's answering the questions. Who's doing what. And, you know, a lot of the things that they're asking, I already know the answers to just being here as a service advisor. Things that shop owners, you know, are, you know, not to offend anybody, but are oblivious to. Things that almost seem common sense, um, you know, from just being in the workflow and being in the shop and things

like that. Um, I was kind of taken off guard. I was like, wait, like, you guys own a business and you're asking this question? Like, what? You know, so I almost wanted to be like, I'll take it from here, Coupon. Let me answer that one. I'll take this one. You know, it's kind of how I felt. But, you know, also looking at the way that their team operates, you know, from the outside looking in, like, I know a lot of those guys over at The Woodlands and, you know, watching them on their Hammer panel and, you know, the questions that people are asking and things like that. It's just, you know, from the outside looking in, their team seems really, really together. You know, they seem like they got each other's backs and things like that. But knowing just like our shop, you know, from the outside looking in, you know, people that come from the training on rack attack training and things like that, who really get to be in the

trenches with us, they get to see kind of behind the scenes and see how things really go. And just kind of being at another shop was pretty eye-opening for sure, because it's like we all do the same thing. We all do the same thing. Yeah. And Todd talks about it all the time. It's like if you're out in the industry, you're just, man, you are working a shift, right? You're punching a clock or you're— we call it working a shift. But here, not only do you learn how to just be really, really great at being an advisor or being a store manager or whatever that is, but you're learning business, right? Every single day you are learning business, you're learning entrepreneurship, and then you have access to people that can teach you even far beyond that if you want, right? If you wanna learn about, man, what a great company just to learn. I mean, you can learn about real estate, you can learn about private equity, you can learn about pretty much

anything in business, right? Like Todd is teaching us and he does it, you know, I posted something the other day and it was funny 'cause Charlie apparently posted something or text Todd the same thing like a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea. And it was like learning from Todd is like learning, it was like Daniel LaRusso learning from Mr. Miyagi, right? It's like, you're just doing all these things and he's teaching you, But he's doing it in these increments. And he thinks so far ahead. That's why we call him the chess master, is because he's 10 steps ahead and he can't really tell you what's about to happen on step 3 or 4. You gotta understand step 1 first and then step 2. And he already had it kind of mapped out way before we understand it. And he says that, he's like, I can't really explain everything because you won't understand it yet. But as time goes on, you start to like really understand it. And I get that.

And I've been able to see that over the past 6 years of stuff that he already just had mapped out in his brain that we just weren't ready to understand yet. And, but he does it in such a way that is like just so humble. And like, I mean, obviously everybody knows Todd and he's like just super energetic and, you know, like the way that he is. But he's also extremely like on our level in terms of like when he teaches us. And I appreciate that and I love that so much because as I look back over this last 6 years, I'm like, wow, you know, we've learned so much, but it's like almost like, it's like you weren't even, it's like you weren't being taught. I don't know, it's kind of weird to explain. It's like it just happens and you just, you start to learn the language. And so You know, when you came back with that feedback, I was like, man, that's great, because I thought you were going to kind of just tell me different stories about, oh well, like we

did this or we did that. But, you know, the biggest takeaway I got from that was like when people raise their hands and we're asking questions, you already knew the answers. And I was like, wow, you know, because we forget that sometimes. It's like we're so close to it, and every single day we are training. Um, but I believe that 90% of training is unintentional, and it's watching the habits of the leaders and watching the habits of these, these guys in the trenches showing you how to do it versus telling you, hey, do this, and then going away. Because I know the previous company that you were at, and because it's just like our industry, is you have a lot of people in the ivory tower that pop up, do store visits, kind of check on things, go to the next store, pop up, show, do some, and then they go. And the reason I know that is because I did that. That was me. I worked my way up through to become a regional manager. And all of a sudden

you're just doing store visits and you're not in the trenches anymore, at least not at my previous company. But here, to be able to watch Todd literally drench himself in sweat every single day. It was like he was just showing us what to do, not telling us what to do. And, you know, you look back and you're just like, wow, it's like Mr. Miyagi, man. You know, he taught us and now all of a sudden it's like we know it. And so, and so you know it and our team knows it. And that's why I'm bringing our team on, you know, and I'm gonna bring the rest of our company on and we're just gonna go through everybody. Like we've got a bunch of people are signed up to come and tell their story. And I think it's just absolutely incredible to listen to all these different stories from Houston to Boston to Chicago, everybody, because it's very, very similar when you listen to the stories. And it all comes down to in the trenches leadership,

and then everybody learns a concept and just learns this culture and it just, man, it's just absolutely life-changing. Yeah, no, it definitely is. Yeah. So maybe if we got a few minutes left here, but some of the differences, I know you had kind of a short stint in automotive before here, but for those listening that have never been to Key2Key, Courtside, uh, VIP Racquetech Day, which I love. Uh, you're a big part of that. Um, you know, for someone that maybe hasn't heard of us or maybe has heard and, and, and thinks maybe like you think or thought, uh, this, this is probably too good to be true. What, I mean, what would you say to somebody thinking about coming down or, um, you know, who hasn't been able to make it? That's a great question. So So on that note, you know, just kind of keeping, keeping your eyes open. Right. And really not letting people make that decision for you. You know, somebody can sit there and tell you all day long, you know,

hey, this is that, that is this. But, you know, it's kind of like an adult, you know, or like a parent, you know, when they're telling you something like, don't do this, don't do that. But it's like you kind of got to do it for yourself to really understand it and to really know if it's for you or know if it's what they say it is. You know, like somebody can tell you exactly what's going to happen, but you still want to go see for yourself. It's kind of what it came down to where it was like, you know, I kind of got to go see, you know, if it's too good to be true and I'm making a mistake, then cool, then that's on me, you know. But I had to take that leap of faith, man. I wanted to progress in my career and I knew I wasn't going to do it the way that I was doing it there. So, you know, if I wanted something to change, then I had to take that jump. And I'm very glad that I did. And, you know, upon getting here, just like I said,

man, and, you know, anybody will tell you their first day at 1010 is It's pretty scary. But after a while, I started to realize like, hey, these guys are just like me, you know? And it's very easy to fit in and very easy to get along with these guys. And everybody was very helpful. I never came across one person who wasn't open or willing to teach me or willing to show me how to do something or anything like that. Everybody just had open arms. Everybody embraced me from day one. So I knew very quickly that this where I was meant to be for sure. Yeah, you know, it's funny that you say that about like the being intimidated and all that, and because it can be for people coming in like day one. But one thing I've learned after, you know, hanging out with Todd for the past 6 years was, you know, and Cody Sanchez posted something about this. I don't know exactly what you know, how she said it, but it was like, the most successful people in the world, one thing you'll

learn is after meeting and kind of rubbing elbows with the most successful people in the world is that they're not nearly as smart as you think they are. They just work harder and they're obsessed. They're just everyday normal people. And, you know, I've, I've had, I've, you know, been able to experience that, you know, being with Todd, like people, we talk about like, like maybe it might seem untouchable. It's like, like 5, 6 years ago, I'm watching these podcasts from this guy named Tommy Mello. And, you know, he's all, he's all online. He's got this freaking billion-dollar, you know, garage door company. And he's like kind of like a celebrity in my mind, right? Because he's like all over the internet and he's got these podcasts and he's like, he's like a big shot, right? And it's like, wow, dude, like, man, that guy's, you know, he's got it going on. And then like 4 years later, I'm eating dinner with them.

Like, I'm sitting face to face across the table in a— I forget where we were at, maybe Atlanta or something, or Arizona. We were in Arizona, you know? And Joe had met Tommy and they started talking. And then next thing you know, boom, we're sitting there with Tommy Mello. And I'm like, this guy's just like us, right? It's like we had Brandon Dawson come do a shop tour. It's like, this guy, I mean, these people are so similar, right? They're just obsessed with what they do, you know? And then I'm on a call like a Zoom call with like, I'm talking about like these super like, like, you know, successful like private equity guys, right? These guys do like billions of dollars in transactions, right? And I'm like, wow, like, you know, it's like, it's not what you think it is, right? It's like we got Adam Coffey doing a private equity roadshow, right? It's like we're right there, we're just having a conversation. You know,

these are just normal people. And so, you know, it's easy to look at somebody and be like, wow, they're so successful. And, you know, like, that's kind of untouchable. But the reality of it is, is like, these people, these are just normal people, just like all of us. We're all the same, right? We all have the same 24 hours in a day. It's just what do we do with it? And And you come to find out that, look, if you can just be obsessed with what you do, execute at a high level, man, have an amazing attitude, you can do all of these same things if you choose to. And so yeah, I can understand coming in day one because you think it's something that it's, that it's not, you know, it's just like you said, it's an all-star team of superstars. Just doing what we do every single day. We have so much fun. We laugh and joke literally all day long while we're taking care of customers, and it's just so much fun. So if you haven't come down, I highly

encourage you to come down. If you've come down before, I highly encourage you to come back because I tell people all the time, it's like watching a movie, man. The first time you watch a movie, you're like, man, that was a good movie. But then when you watch it the second time, you understand it differently. You understand the beginning of the movie differently the second time you watch it when you already know how it ends. And every time you watch it, you start to pick up little nuances and little things that you didn't catch the first time. And then you start to understand it, right? You understand it like the back of your hand. And then you could tell that story, right? You could, you could literally, you know, recreate it. And so if you haven't come down, you have to come down. It's so worth it. It will pay for itself 10 times over, you know, your, your first couple hours here, no doubt about it.

And, you know, if you've come down, man, you got to keep coming back. It's getting better and better and better as technology grows. And so, yeah, Yeah, that's pretty much what I got. Any final thoughts, Mr. Jaybird, before we wrap this thing up? Oh man, this was great. I appreciate the opportunity to come tell my story. Everybody who's listening, just like Glenn's mentioning, if you guys have not been to Key to Key, if you guys haven't been to Rack Attack Training, if you guys haven't been to Courtside, you know, you guys are gonna pick up so many gems just by coming to spend a couple days with us. So if you haven't, definitely come see us and you'll get to see what we're all about. Boom, let's go! Well, that's it for today, that's our time. Hey, let's have an amazing week, everybody. Thank you so much, Jaybird. Um, now it's time to go into that Take 5. Let's go! For more information, reach out to Todd Westerland at 925-980-8012

or visit autoshopanswers.com. You can get more information about Key to Key to Callbacks, uh, Courtside. We have a VIP Rack Attack day where you spend an entire day in the trenches with our team learning this perfected business model. Uh, we offer leadership classes, we have an AI academy, and also get more information about auto shop callbacks. Uh, we have auto tech training. We are literally your one-stop shop. Once again, that number for Todd Westerland is 925-980-8012.