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Power does not always come from pushing harder. Sometimes in life and in business, the smartest move is to slow down so you can move forward with control, clarity, and intention. Just like a great driver, growth means looking ahead, preparing for the climb, and knowing when it is time to change gears.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:00:00]:
Our members are just so fantastic about propping each other up and supporting each other. You mentioned the bracelet earlier that Birdie picked out for us that says she belongs here.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:10]:
She belongs here.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:00:10]:
Whoever she is, wherever she is, at whatever point of her path into the industry that she's at, it's for them.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:20]:
Welcome to Downshift with Tanika Haynes, the automotive auntie. The thing about Tanika, she gets to know you. She'll laugh and cut up with you, but then she'll hit you with some knowledge that you may not want, but that you need. Let's Downshift. So amazing women in automotive, we're gonna talk about that, but it's so much more than a group meeting once a week. Or is it once a week? I have no idea. Once a week. That's a fun little meeting.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:51]:
Yeah. That we get to go in there and say, you're, you know, what happened this week.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:00:54]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:55]:
But more than that. It's more than that. And I want you. Who's the best. Explaining how you guys came up with this and what your real goals are.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:01:08]:
Well, I'll let Birdie start, and then I'll hop in, because she was there from the onset, even before I took over.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:01:15]:
So, yeah. Malin Newton had this idea he encountered at different trainings, women, their voice being shut down. And with that, he ended up partnering with Dorie Epstein. I'm not sure if you're familiar with her.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:29]:
He had curly, amazing hair.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:01:31]:
I love her.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:01:32]:
She had this idea, and in Bellingham, which was the town that I worked in, in the collision shop, she and I got to know each other. However, she had. There was an amazing women in Bellingham group, and she took that concept, got permission, and said, I think we need amazing women in automotive.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:51]:
Okay. And.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:01:52]:
And so Malan said, you build it, we'll make it happen. I'll fund it. Let's support it. And so she came up with this concept, and it had the roundtable with the idea of doing a women's retreat and the goals of recruit, retain, and engage women trying to keep us and get more women into this industry.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:12]:
It's very important. And right now, before people lose interest because you, you know, we're heavily dominated with men, and the men are looking like, what they gonna talk about today? We're gonna talk about how you need to bring more women into your business, whether it's the front or the back, how to get the wives involved. Maybe because you're your husband. Like I've heard wives say, I don't know what to do. Even if they're not working in the shop. How can we help our husbands and support our husbands? How to allow your daughter to also come into the industry? My dad didn't try to force me out, but there's plenty of times he said, you sure you want to do this? You sure you want to do this? And then yesterday, Keith Perkins, his daughter, who is a firecracker, she is ready to teach, she's ready to run the shop, and I believe she's 15. I think she's just 15. So do not tune out, fellas, because this is important to you as well.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:08]:
And if I heard that you turned out on this podcast, you just turned it off. I was. I'll find you and I'll rip your ear off. So listen up. All right, ladies, let's do it. So, one thing I do want to say. I am a bossy, Capricorn, firm headed. You can't tell me nothing.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:24]:
You can't. I am not a timid little girl. That's not a bad thing to be. I'm not trying to be derogatory. So I am so glad that you have the space. But one thing I want to put out there is this space is not us in there talking about Kumbaya. And we're not allowing each other to cry about everything. We're in this space and we're sharing problems, sharing solutions and sharing ideas.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:53]:
So we're not in there burning broth. Okay?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:03:56]:
No man shaming idea.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:58]:
No man shaming.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:03:59]:
We don't even talk about men. This is not.
Tonnika Haynes [00:04:01]:
We ain't got time to talk about that. But what this space is, is for the young lady that is coming to the industry that has not found her tribe. And this walking into a conference, and I said it before walking into Asta, it can be intimidating to a strong black woman like me because there are a bunch of old white men. And whether you're black, white, Asian, Hispanic, that can be intimidating walking in. Nobody looks like you. Nobody has any boobies. Well, they have them, but they're not supposed to have them. So when we have fellowship as a woman via a zoom call, and it's refreshing.
Tonnika Haynes [00:04:42]:
And I think this space is important because we can get all our nieces in there that are uncomfortable and then we can help them. Hey, you know, you have to come out of this space. You know, you have to go to more networking events. Like, you can't just stay there. So. But this is. This is kindergarten. It's Head Start.
Tonnika Haynes [00:05:00]:
It's a safe space.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:05:01]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:05:01]:
Am I taking that, right?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:05:03]:
Oh, absolutely.
Tonnika Haynes [00:05:03]:
Okay. So that's what this group to me feels like.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:05:07]:
And sometimes it's really hard to get that timid, shy personality in there. Right. They're nervous, they don't know what they're gonna say. And so it's our job to call on them a little bit, not too aggressively, but, you know, get em to introduce themselves, get them to warm up. I feel like we're pretty good about that. Our members are just so fantastic about propping each other up and supporting each other, saying positive. And you mentioned the bracelet earlier that, you know, Birdie picked out for us that says she belongs here, she belongs here. Whoever she is, wherever she is, at whatever point of her path into the industry that she's at, it's for them.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:05:51]:
And some of the younger women don't feel that they have anything to offer. Well, I can't teach anybody anything yet. You would be amazed at how much they teach us because we've been in the industry so long, sometimes we get exactly liners.
Maryann Croce [00:06:09]:
Yeah, they're fresh eyes, right?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:06:11]:
We get fresh eyes, we get another generation's take on things. There's so much to offer. One of the things we're really pushing right now, I don't even know if you knew too much about it yet. So we've always had a mentor mentee program. We've got several that just recently signed up. And so I'm reaching out and I'm like, hey, I've got somebody in your area. What do you think about mentoring this young lady?
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:35]:
I spoke much.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:06:36]:
Boo boo. Yeah. And their first response is, I've never done that before.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:06:40]:
Am I responsible enough to be a good invasion?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:06:46]:
And I'm just like, give it a try, just give it a try. If I see it in you, it's there. And sometimes we just need somebody to tell us that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:56]:
Yeah, we do need somebody to tell us that. Because I know that now I can say it, that. Why are you doing this, Tanika? What are you doing? I don't know what I'm doing, but I do know that I wish I had a me 30 years ago.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:07:08]:
Yes, exactly.
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:09]:
So when I was at a conference in Houston for Collision, it was all women, but there was nobody in my age group. I think I was 23 when I won that ICAR award. It was fun, but everybody was more mature and I really didn't fit in and there was no village and maybe just cause they didn't know how to do it. And I sometimes was like, I still don't know what I'm doing. But I will be your automotive auntie and I will take that badge and I'll run with it. And there's no blueprint, but I know that the connections that I have made made me so warm and fuzzy for a young lady to call me with her wins, her losses, her questions or joke.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:07:48]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:48]:
So.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:07:49]:
Because sometimes they just need an ear and a heart.
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:52]:
Exactly, exactly.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:07:54]:
That's what they need from you.
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:55]:
I love it.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:07:55]:
I started at the age of 18 and I was in my 30s, mid-30s, before I found out about training events. I had started doing online I car certifications, but I didn't know that there was this community out there and it took me half of my journey to discover it. So I want, that's my goal, is to help people know that there is a community out here, that there is training, there is support and there are events out here.
Maryann Croce [00:08:20]:
And I think women and I see it in this group need to be reminded it's all of us, that we're capable of so much more than we realize.
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:28]:
Oh, yeah. We need to be good at it.
Maryann Croce [00:08:30]:
We need to hear that more because people will come in. As you were saying, they're newer to the group, they're not sure, and they don't realize that other people will see it in them. I also think that a lot of women may not even be considering the automotive industry, but what they have to realize is what whatever area they're in or industry they're in, they come into the automotive industry. There's a lot of skills that they have that are transferable.
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:58]:
Marketing, accounting, everything needs.
Maryann Croce [00:09:00]:
And they don't realize that they do have things to offer, even if they're new to the industry. Sometimes it's really good to have that outside perspective.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:09]:
Absolutely. Because you don't have to. I wonder if girls, young ladies think, oh, if I go in the shop, I'll be dirty. You, you're not. I get my nails done and my hair sometimes is done. But no, you, I mean, there's nothing wrong with not having hearing nails or whatever, but it's not going to turn you into a man. If you love cars or you just love processes.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:09:30]:
Yes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:30]:
Or if it's the family business and you're not sure where you fit in and you're Facebook, Instagram, tickety talk, marketing guru. You can go in dad's shop and say that like Kelly Grace.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:09:40]:
Oh my gosh, she's amazing.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:41]:
Oh my goodness.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:09:42]:
What she has done.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:43]:
That girl don't know a car, a Toyota from a Tesla, but a marketing heart, she has it. And so there's so many.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:09:50]:
There's Facebook pages.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:51]:
Their Facebook page is so fun.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:09:52]:
Oh, it makes me so happy.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:53]:
I need my car to break down just so I can go over there and meet these people. That's what you're thinking when you look at that. And I'll tell them, bitch, you don't know nothing about no marketing. So you have. There's more than just a service advisor or a tech. There's other. Like, you came out of banking.
Maryann Croce [00:10:09]:
Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:10]:
And so with banking and managing. So with that came processes and procedures. And you do a great job of telling people, get out of your shop, go sit down somewhere. You're good at coaching.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:10:19]:
That.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:20]:
So. Yeah. So that is what amazing women in automotive is about. Just opening the doors and then opening the doors to the lobby, then open the doors to the training and open the doors to your own shop.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:10:31]:
That's right. Yeah, that's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:33]:
So how do we. How do you get the word out? I know we have the women's dinner. That is always fun.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:10:40]:
Yep. And we do the stuff with the schools. So I'm partnering with a number of. There are some colleges out there that have small female student groups or automotive student groups. There's a young lady I just recently visited with named Karen that has a group called Watt Women in Automotive Technology. I can't remember what the other one stands for, but we're partnering with them so that they make that transition out of that student group from the technology center straight into ours. So there's never any gap. They're fully supported through their education and then for their entrance.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:11:16]:
But this year, one of the really fun things that we're doing is our second retreat. We did the retreat last year in Utah. This year we're going to Gatlinburg. That is a fantastic way to teach us to focus on ourselves and that it's okay and there's no guilt. We are. We spend most of our lives taking care of everybody else, constantly pouring into other people, and we take very little time to fill ourselves back up. So we run around half empty. You know, if.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:11:49]:
If that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:11:50]:
If that running on fumes.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:11:52]:
Right. Especially if we have kids or, you know, they. They have the sandwich group, they're taking care of kids, they're taking care of their parents. You know, there's just a lot that we balance as women. And this gives them a few days to try to let it all go and refill their cup and connect with
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:12:11]:
women that we can identify with.
Tonnika Haynes [00:12:13]:
Right. Been there, done that. I remember. I don't know how long ago it was a while ago. But there's a young lady in one of the meetings and her kids were just running around and it's like, honey, that's fine. They're going to grow up. Like, how do I have these kids and run the shop at the same time? It's okay, actually. Use them as marketing, make them come up, get them grown.
Tonnika Haynes [00:12:35]:
Like, don't. Motherhood is not, not an excuse. But motherhood is not going to hinder you in the shop. It's actually only going to make you stronger.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:12:42]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:12:43]:
So. But having a mom that you can talk to about what do I do with these kids when they get out of school? And for me it was. It's like someone had to give me permission to do certain things. When the kids were much younger, you know, 10, I would bring him in with me all the time and it was kind of like torture to them. I thought, you know, family business, you need to be here. Someone gave me permission to hire a nanny. I know it sounds really stuck up, but it's not. I just had a kid that was in the local college.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:10]:
She'd pick him up from school, get him to practice, and by the time I got off of work, I couldn't get to practice. I was helping her. And then I had my kids could go to practice and not have to go to the shop. And I didn't feel guilty that they couldn't go to football practice. And I really didn't miss anything except for like 30 minutes. But that 30 minutes that she bought me was worth so much more. So in these groups we can have these conversations, say, how do you give yourself permission to be super mom and superboss lady?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:13:38]:
Right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:38]:
It's possible you can't do it all.
Maryann Croce [00:13:41]:
I love what you said about giving yourself permission because when you are in a situation like that and you're making a decision, I know that a lot of moms, a lot of women will. I coined it mother guilt. You feel guilty no matter what you do.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:58]:
It's just, I call it mother guilt, mom guilt.
Maryann Croce [00:14:01]:
But the thing is, is we have to be able to give ourselves permission to accept that. Help.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:06]:
Accept help.
Maryann Croce [00:14:07]:
We need to do that. It's okay. It has to be guilt free. And what you were talking about with the kids being in the shop and everything, think about the strength, think about how you're influencing your children, that you can manage to do it. You find ways. You hand off things to them, you hand off things to other people, but you're still getting it done. You're navigating through those challenges and it's leadership.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:31]:
The same way you lead your kids.
Maryann Croce [00:14:32]:
Exactly.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:33]:
Exactly the same way you lead your kids. And they can see it. They can see it. So Jordan is 20 and he called me a couple weeks ago. So it is now. What is it? May. So it's May. So Jordan called me back in April and he's in school, tech school.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:48]:
And he said, ma, I just want to let you know that you're a really good boss and a really good leader. And I'm like, wow, thank you. He's like, ma, I watch people and I watch other kids and how you taught us and things like that. And I'm just like, I thought I just ruined your whole little life because I had you there, there and everywhere and whatever. But he. But they're seeing you take on that role of supermom whether you think you're doing it right or not. They don't have anything to compare it to. Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:14]:
So we have to remind each other and we do that in the amazing women in automotive group. You're doing so much better than you think.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:15:22]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:22]:
And with all of that stuff that is part of leadership and you can take that into a business like once you figure out how to your morning routine with your kids and once you get that down path morning routine at the shop, you can put one in place as well. So, yeah, I think we don't give each other. We don't give ourselves enough credit for all that we do. And that is really a superpower. And that can translate into an amazing opportunity at the shop.
Maryann Croce [00:15:49]:
Absolutely.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:15:50]:
We're really good as women, pointing out our faults or what we can't do. But we're not so quick to give ourselves a pat on the back.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:16:00]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:00]:
Yesterday a girlfriend put on Facebook and she said, write three things that you love. And it was just a question, no picture or anything. And I was like, chicken wings, pocketbooks, and I don't know what I put. And I was trying to be funny, but that's stuff I love. And today, this morning I woke up, she made another text Facebook post. And she said of all the answers I got yesterday, nobody said themselves.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:16:23]:
Oh, yeah.
Maryann Croce [00:16:26]:
Eye opening. Huh?
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:28]:
Eye opening. So, yeah, we don't give ourselves permission to be tired. We don't give ourselves permission to take credit for things that we do. I had to learn. I'm learning that when someone walks up to me and say, hey, Ms. Tanika, I enjoy your podcast, I cannot say thank you yet. I can say, oh, it's nothing. I still do that to myself.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:16:52]:
It's not nothing.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:53]:
Yeah, like, yeah, well, thank you, but I have to learn. But a lot of women, like, you know, if I say, brady, your glasses are amazing, some people will say, oh, these cheap old things. Instead of just taking that.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:17:02]:
Right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:03]:
Yeah. So we gotta do better women.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:17:05]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:05]:
Own that.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:17:06]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:06]:
I'm working on me too. But these are the conversations that we're having in the Right.
Maryann Croce [00:17:11]:
And that's the thing to give yourself permission to do.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:13]:
Permission to do. Right. Right.
Maryann Croce [00:17:14]:
Say thank you.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:17:15]:
We've all been in the industry and doing this for how long? We're in our 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and we still catch ourselves doing it. Right.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:17:23]:
Absolutely.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:17:24]:
It's difficult not to fall back on those old habits. So like you said, having a tribe, you know, having a girl gang
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:17:35]:
that
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:17:35]:
can say, tanika, stop talking like that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:37]:
Right.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:17:37]:
You know better.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:38]:
You know better than girls. Just quit it.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:17:40]:
Call.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:40]:
That's what I love about Auntie now. Because when you call me like. Like one of my sweethearts, and I'm not gonna say her name, but she called me, she had not been at the shop because she couldn't. And she was having a hard time. She was like, the numbers. And this is going bad, and this is going bad. I believe it's a Thursday. And she said, this is wrong, and this is wrong, and this is wrong, and this is wrong.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:59]:
And just three young girls. And I said, you want auntie advice? She's like, yes. I said, screw it. And I didn't say screw. I said, screw it. Deal with it Monday and go get your girls and have a dance party. That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:14]:
Okay, you finished crying? Okay, we're not crying no more. Cause there's nothing you can do about the past. But we're gonna go have a dance party with those girls this weekend, and you better send me some footage and we'll deal with it Monday.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:18:26]:
Monday morning, we'll buckle down, send me
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:28]:
the footage and send me some footage, and we'll deal with the money. And she sent me footage of the dance party. And that's all advice I could give her at that point. But then later I said, well, with the credit card, let's go ahead and just call the company and say, hey, can you reduce this credit card rate? She said, I never heard of that. Exactly. Somebody told me, now I'm telling you. Yeah, so that's just part of the mentorship. And it's not A big thing.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:48]:
You don't have to. You don't have to be all knowledgeable.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:18:50]:
Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:51]:
It's like something that you're not thinking about sometimes.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:18:53]:
It's just those little changes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:54]:
Just a little change.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:18:55]:
Yeah. Well, like you were talking about, I went ahead and hired a nanny. That wasn't massive, but it made a massive impact.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:00]:
Yeah, but I had mom guilt because I was like, I can't take care
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:19:03]:
of my own kids.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:04]:
I can. This is the way I'm doing it right now.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:19:07]:
But Marianne's mentioned, you know, I hired somebody to fold the laundry and do the laundry at my house. It wasn't a big thing, but it was something that gave her a lot.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:16]:
Right.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:19:17]:
We've talked about using AI in our personal lives to create the grocery list and create the menu and just take a little bit off of our plate.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:25]:
Yes. My AI, his name is Franklin. He does a great job.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:19:29]:
Ruby.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:30]:
Ruby. Franklin. Franklin is. I was like, frank. Okay. And I'm just talking to it. And we talked about you can do that in the business for your SOPs.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:19:37]:
Oh, yes.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:19:39]:
Do the same thing. To be a leader in your shop.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:41]:
Be a leader in your shop.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:19:42]:
Just.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:42]:
Okay, how do I get my sops out of my head onto paper? Tell Frank. Frank, I'm writing sops for the shop. I'm just gonna talk to you for a long time, and then we're gonna coordinate this a little bit later. Do not answer me until I tell you.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:19:58]:
Oh, yeah, you have to say you have to go.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:59]:
Keep talking. It's like, no, let me get it all out. Yeah, we're doing sops right now, and that's it. I mean, AI is not gonna. Oh, talk about AI. AI is like a wonderful assistant, and he's not coming from our. For our job. Nope.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:12]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:13]:
The bots are not coming to get us. It is not a Will Smith movie. And yeah, it's just help. It's not. It's garbage in, garbage out. Great stuff in, great stuff out. It's a computer.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:23]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:24]:
Yeah.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:24]:
You can't rely on it fully. It's not. It's not you, you know, but it gives you a great.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:20:30]:
And it guides you to, like, once it gets to know your personality.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:34]:
Yeah. Mine thinks I'm crazy.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:20:35]:
It guided us to some really great places this weekend.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:37]:
That's right.
Maryann Croce [00:20:38]:
It did.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:38]:
Fabulous guy.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:20:40]:
Like the John Legend concert. Oh, yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:42]:
You did.
Maryann Croce [00:20:42]:
Yeah.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:20:43]:
You're right here in Hershey.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:44]:
Hershey.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:45]:
That's crazy.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:20:46]:
So thank you, AI.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:48]:
Thank you, AI. Hey, Ruby.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:20:51]:
Shout out.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:52]:
So. Okay, so you got these girls in the group. We've got some women in there. Do you ever have a hard time getting them to come out of shells and get out of the group? Not out of the group, leaving the group, but to actually.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:21:04]:
In person.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:21:05]:
In person, I would have to say one of our biggest successes showed up pulling. Pulling, yes.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:21:11]:
Every Wednesday. Every Wednesday, yes, yes. She finally showed up for the dinner, Michelle. And then stayed the whole weekend. She just left last night. Took classes and everything.
Tonnika Haynes [00:21:22]:
Yeah.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:21:23]:
She won our scholarship to Vision Vision
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:21:25]:
a couple years ago. Two or three years ago.
Tonnika Haynes [00:21:27]:
Yeah.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:21:27]:
She'd not been to training. Came to that training and now on
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:21:31]:
her own, came to this one to
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:21:33]:
tools 2026. Who does she work for? She owns her own transmission shop with
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:21:37]:
her brother, second generation.
Tonnika Haynes [00:21:40]:
So I wonder what keeps not even just women, but people from coming to training.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:21:45]:
Well, they think they can't leave the shop. Time away, they can't close it down. We have to work, we have to make money.
Tonnika Haynes [00:21:52]:
Yeah.
Maryann Croce [00:21:53]:
They're wearing so many hats. They're doing it.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:21:57]:
There's so many reasons that you can't come. You have to prioritize it and it's really hard to put it at the top.
Tonnika Haynes [00:22:02]:
Right.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:22:02]:
Yeah. And one of the things we've really struggled with and I'd like to find a way, but having a technician, having more technician participation because they are in the shop during the day, so it's difficult for them to join us during our meeting but we've tried a couple times to have an after hours meeting
Tonnika Haynes [00:22:22]:
but they're tired by then.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:22:23]:
They're tired, they're at home bathing the kids, doing whatever. And so I've had a bunch of them reach out. I want this, I want this. But then we go and do it and. And that nobody shows up.
Tonnika Haynes [00:22:33]:
Yeah.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:22:33]:
You know, we're struggling in Mexico and Latin America is they're very female, technician forward. And so our group, our management group. Right. Is smaller but the technician training is happening two to three days a week. A wea Latina is happening and it's strong.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:22:53]:
Very different culture. The Latina. Yeah. Group versus our American community.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:22:57]:
We get to sponsor.
Maryann Croce [00:22:58]:
Sponsor them.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:22:59]:
Yeah.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:22:59]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:22:59]:
That's amazing. I didn't mean to say amazing. That was funny. But yeah, just be at your box, get your earbuds on and listen because you really don't have to look at us. Unless you like to watch me make faces. Because I make some faces. But yeah, I can see that could be a problem. Yeah.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:23:16]:
I wonder if.
Tonnika Haynes [00:23:17]:
Yeah. The technicians are. They're wrenching and Mixing.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:23:19]:
And some of them do just that. I've seen. Some of them will pop in and they'll put in the chat, hey, I'm working, but I'm listening. And I'm like, okay. And then I'll get messages and they'll say, you know, I really enjoyed today's lessons or today's conversation or whatever. I've learned a lot from it. So even when we don't think that they're engaged or that they're getting anything out of it, you'd be amazed. You'd be amazed about how you can just touch people by saying whatever's on your mind.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:23:48]:
Because if you need to hear it, somebody else does too.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:23:50]:
And sometimes it's just being in a space with women that makes the difference.
Maryann Croce [00:23:54]:
The energy. Yeah. There's been, as Tiffany was saying, there have been women that have been on the calls, and we encourage them to get on the call even if they're at the front counter or the phones are ringing. I'm going to silence my mic. And they're taking care of what they are. Maybe they were able to hear 20 minutes out of the hour call. But I've actually had women say to me that 20 minutes. I needed to hear that this week.
Maryann Croce [00:24:21]:
That really helped. So the nice thing about it, it's a very informal. So even if you can't make the whole thing, but jump on when you can make it some good stuff, that really helps, you know, and it's inclusive.
Tonnika Haynes [00:24:36]:
And I would ask the women that are listening and the men are listening, even if you think you don't need this, what we're talking about, get on anyway, that's what I've been doing. Like, I was like, I don't need anything. I don't have anything to complain about, whatever. Like, get on anyway. So you can become a friendly face, and then maybe you can just be a soft face for the next person that's like, oh, I saw Tanika in there. So let me go back again.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:25:03]:
Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:03]:
You know, not saying that I'm worth seeing in there, but you know what I mean? And then if I share.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:25:08]:
Oh, but you are.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:25:09]:
Yeah. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:12]:
I did it. You have permission. How are you so kind?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:25:16]:
Because it's a permission full of women. It's just the energy. It's the energy.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:20]:
And so, like, if I can come in there with my auntie energy and make you laugh.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:25:23]:
There you go.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:24]:
Or like, Christy Burrs is such an educator, if she has a drop of knowledge, I just want to be hearing it. Yeah. And if it's just like a weekly encouragement, like, you know what, it ain't that bad. You don't necessarily have to have a situation going on to be in that room. We're just in there shooting it.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:25:39]:
Well, like you said, sometimes you just need that laugh.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:41]:
Yeah.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:25:42]:
Because when you get off that call now, you got to go back and handle something, you know, so that gives you a little bit of time.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:49]:
And like I said, it's not Kumbaya, because there's been some times where someone had a situation and we looked at like, I know you lying. I don't know. Oh, that's me. That's my personality. This technician is just like. And he still got a job. Like, come on, sis, let's do better. So, yeah, we're not in there being a bunch of whining ladies.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:07]:
It's not going to happen. Not on my watch. I'm not sitting in there.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:26:10]:
But we have had some emotional tears.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:12]:
Yeah, we got some. I probably didn't share them on camera, but it's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we've
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:26:17]:
had some emotional tears where, you know, somebody newer to a shop or, or something of that nature has come on and you can feel what they're feeling
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:27]:
because you were there, been there, done that.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:26:29]:
Yes. You can feel the stress. You can feel the anxiety because they feel like their staff doesn't appreciate them. They're bending over backwards to give them the world. They're not taking paychecks because they're trying to. To make them happy and they're getting nothing out of it. And it's. It's hard.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:48]:
Some of that is hard.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:26:50]:
Some of those are hard.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:51]:
That is hard when, like, your, your, your, Your village, like that one person in the village is having a bad day and you take it personally. That means you're doing it right.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:26:58]:
That's right. That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:59]:
If you, if it, if it bothers you here, I feel like that means you're doing it right. You're doing it from a good space.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:27:06]:
Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:06]:
Yeah.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:27:06]:
The day you stop feeling it, the
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:08]:
day you start feeling it and you're just in there, pass it on to something else.
Maryann Croce [00:27:11]:
Exactly 100%.
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:14]:
So you. How much are you in the shop anymore? You got.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:27:17]:
Oh, I mean the grandbabies. No, no.
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:20]:
Who had grand babies in the background? Marianne, you got the grandbabies in the background?
Maryann Croce [00:27:24]:
I have the grandbabies.
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:25]:
How much do you go into the shop now?
Maryann Croce [00:27:28]:
Now I'm in approximately five days a month.
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:32]:
Oh, like a week. You still work a month?
Maryann Croce [00:27:36]:
Yeah, five days a Month. And it depends, you know, if I'm traveling, it's less. But I feel so blessed to have the amazing team that I do. Once Tony and I started growing the business, we realized that it was like one day we were talking about it, and I said, we have to do things differently. This has become bigger than we are. It's bigger than us. We started seeing it as something separate from us, and that was a good thing. But that was hard shift to make and really pouring into your team and the team, stepping up, giving them that opportunity, because it's so easy as an owner.
Maryann Croce [00:28:16]:
I've been there. I know it. I still have to keep reminding myself of it. Letting go of things, you're allowing your team to feel those wins. You're empowering them. They wanna step up, they wanna do things. And I phrased it in my mind to myself that I am actually robbing them of that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:35]:
That's true.
Maryann Croce [00:28:36]:
If I don't do it, I'm robbing them of those wins. So we saw it bigger than ourselves, and it was time to really develop people.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:47]:
I think I'm there now still feeling guilt for not being there and traveling so much with the podcast and doing other things like that. And I'm enjoying that whole journey. But then I'm feeling, like, the guilt of my absence. Like, oh, man, I should be at work. I should be at work four days a week from 7 to 5:30, even at 7. Cause I need them to see me working. Right, Right.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:29:09]:
So they know I'm not. Just so they know I'm not just collecting a check.
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:13]:
Exactly, exactly. So that is real. But I know that when I'm in the shop, I'm in the way.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:29:19]:
Right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:20]:
I am in the way at this point because I have been working on training my staff and allowing them to do their jobs without me. Micromanaging. And that is a hard thing. That is hard.
Maryann Croce [00:29:31]:
It's a hard chef. It's a very hard chef.
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:33]:
And to walk away from, because we were talking about someone else, was like, that. That's my baby.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:29:38]:
And Marianne, I would argue that it isn't luck. You crafted this, you designed it and created that freedom for yourselves and empowered your team. That is skill.
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:50]:
That skill.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:29:50]:
It's a developed skill that was on purpose.
Maryann Croce [00:29:53]:
That was one of the things that I wanted to be able to do. And, you know, I challenge you too, because I felt the exact same way that you did. But I wanted to be available when I had those grandbabies, to be able to have them one day a week. And that to me is like, I've earned that. And I don't feel guilty about that at all. I just have my day that I can spend with them, and it's Mimi time with the grandkids, and I absolutely love it. So my challenge to you is when you think about your role as the owner, what you've probably done is said, this is what worked so far. Now you have to change that role, change what you do, define it, and give yourself permission to do that.
Maryann Croce [00:30:38]:
It's a hard shift. I had to make that shift.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:30:40]:
It's hard when I think of what you and Tanika have done by empowering them while you are still there in the shop and giving them that independence. So when you are there, they're not relying on you. What I see happen so often is that all of a sudden they just take themselves out of the picture and they haven't empowered their staff, and so now the morale just drops. My, you know, my guiding star in the shop is just gone. And then there's no leadership because now they're like, well, I can't work in the shop, you know, because I'm supposed to be working on the shop.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:16]:
Right. I think people do that too soon also.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:31:19]:
Yes. Yes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:20]:
The coaching companies are saying you should be working on your business, not in your business. And they're doing that in the first 18 months. It's like, if you don't take your goofy butt back to work, like, you have not earned any of that yet, love, like, go to work. You need to do both, and you need to stay there, 70, go home, eat, come back to work. It takes time to get there. But what I've been doing, I think I know I've been doing a good job. You see how I rephrase that? I've been doing a good job of that because I've been checking in. What do you need from me? This is where you are.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:49]:
This is where we should be. Do you have all of your tools being available? Hey, Ms. Taneca. This is happening. Okay. My question to you now is, okay, what do you think you should do? Give me some. Give me some ideas of how you think you should handle that. And I was thinking this, and I was thinking that, well, this would work, but this is the consequence of that, and this would work, and this is the consequence of that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:12]:
That's leadership. Leadership. I've been talking about that a lot. Yeah. So let me know which one you choose, and then we'll learn from there.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:32:21]:
Encourage their own critical thinking.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:23]:
Exactly.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:32:23]:
We're lacking a lot.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:24]:
It Was really good. Like, the leadership part is what I've really been talking about in the podcast. Because to me, I just thought, like, you just come to work, you do your job, we make some money, we go home. Because I said so was the leadership. Because this is the way it's the leadership. And that's how my father was. Just fine. But it's so much more to it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:40]:
And to see them get their own wins and be excited about beating a number from last month or last year. Some owners think, and I have thought this as well, that if I show the numbers, they're going to think I'm rolling in dough, or if I show them the numbers, they're going to steal from me. Or if I show them the numbers, they're going to want more money. And that has not happened for me. They understand, and it gives them a goal. And then they're just like. And they shoot the shot.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:33:09]:
You empowered them.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:10]:
We have empowered them.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:33:11]:
Ditto. Yep.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:12]:
Yeah. So that. That is. And women are good leaders.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:33:15]:
And what, you just build a team of leaders, Right? Doesn't matter if you're a lot porter, you can still be a leader.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:21]:
He's the best lot porter in the whole flipping world.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:33:23]:
Exactly, Exactly.
Maryann Croce [00:33:25]:
You just. Just described in your business was you built your team, and that's a stage of business. I call it buildup. And then from there, now your role is shifting. And now you're in what I call leader up. Now you have to develop leaders and have them be able to make.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:44]:
To do that. So I feel like with Stuart, I'm trying to push leadership on him, and I'm getting. He was like, yeah, what would you do about that? Now this is what I'm seeing. You see what I see? Like, he was having an emotional time with. And I was like, you're not looking at it right. You're looking at it as an employee. I want you to step back and look at the facts and look at this, and then you make a decision. And he was able to do that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:05]:
He's like, I see what you're talking about. So I'll be feeling good as a leader. But this problem, I ain't got nothing to do. Yeah. So the hard part for me has been the fact that the boys don't need me anymore because I've raised those crumb snatchers so they don't need me. They don't call me every day. And it's not mom, mom, mom. Cause moms, we really think that, oh, I'll be glad when you get out my House.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:31]:
You're not.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:34:32]:
No.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:32]:
Or you're not. Cause then you're like, well, what am I supposed to be doing now? So that's how I feel at the shop. So I'm there at the shop, and they're handling everything. I don't know. One car, not one ro. I don't know what's on the books. I don't know what's coming in. I don't know what's going out.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:45]:
Which is a good feeling to you. Like, what am I supposed to do now?
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:34:50]:
You worked yourself out of a job.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:51]:
I worked myself out of. I've let myself out of a job. You don't need me. You don't need me to order that. Like, you handle it without me. It's like your kid. Oh, you want them to take the training wheels off and, you know, ride the bicycle, but when it's happening, you don't need Mommy to hold the back of that thing. No, I'm gone.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:10]:
And like, he's like, you don't need me to take you to practice. I've got a car, woman.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:35:15]:
Yeah, but see, now you're transitioning to sharing your knowledge.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:18]:
I'm sharing my knowledge and you're not, Auntie.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:35:20]:
That's right. That's right. All your talent has given you value in another.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:25]:
But that's where your why comes in. Right. So that's not. We're not just talking about women right now. We're just talking about shop owners that need to transition. You know, you're leading, and everything you've put into places has got it going on.
Maryann Croce [00:35:37]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:38]:
What do you do with yourself now?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:35:40]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:41]:
So that's a question that you have to ask early on. And I thank God that Braxton just kept. Ms. Tanika, you should do this. Ms. Tanika, you should do that. I'm just like. And I told Michael from the Institute, and I've said this before, we were at the leadership intensive, and he's like, well, what's your new why and who are you? And blah, blah, blah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:59]:
And he's like, I just want you to write it down. And I was like. And it all came aflowing, and I wish I had it in front of me. I need to memorize it. But it says that you are a strong, courageous leader. And I was like, I ain't no leader. I don't want to do that. You know? And I had been praying for the prayer of Jabez, which is, you know, dear God, increase my territory.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:22]:
Let me do no harm, you know, And I have said this before. And I'll tell you ladies, but I'm sitting there telling God for the last 10 years, that was the prayer I had in front of me. And I'm thinking, oh, I'll have more shops or I'll have, like, land in Jamaica.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:36:37]:
Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:37]:
And I have a helicopter. And I'm thinking about worldly goods. Right, right. And he was like, no, I'm gonna make you a fisher people. And you're gonna have a whole lot of. You're gonna be an automotive. I'm like, God, this is not
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:36:52]:
what
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:53]:
I asked you for.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:36:53]:
And I said what you need, Tanique, and not what you want.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:56]:
I needed a condo in Jamaica.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:37:00]:
With a helicopter.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:02]:
With a helicopter. But like, like finding your new why? Because your why does change.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:37:09]:
Yes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:09]:
It changes for men and women at different ages and stages as kids grow up, as the shop gets better. Like you said, the sandwich generation, the kids are this age and your parents are this age. And then you think you're taking care of everybody. Then everything is working out better. Then you forgot about yourself, you know, what did I do with myself now?
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:37:28]:
Because your identity is wrapped up in.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:29]:
Identity's wrapped up in Santana and Jordan and Browns Automotive. Yes.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:37:33]:
Yeah.
Maryann Croce [00:37:33]:
And it's hard to shift. It's hard to shift and develop a new identity.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:37]:
Oh, I seen Landslide.
Maryann Croce [00:37:38]:
A lot happens. Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:40]:
Now I have a lot of Landslide moments, which is I've been afraid of changing. Cause I built my life around Brown's Automotive. But yeah, so it's true. I love how my conversation just go absolutely nowhere. It's my favorite thing. So what's new for you, miss? She's madd.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:38:05]:
Yes.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:38:06]:
We're building a house. That's been an adventure. We'll see how it was going while I've been gone.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:38:14]:
It's been quite the adventure.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:38:16]:
I've been following. Following Dominic's journey. Yeah, we had a little bit of trouble, but, you know, it'll always work out. The Lord doesn't give you more than you can handle. Right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:26]:
That's what he said. But I had questions about that too.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:38:30]:
Sir,
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:32]:
that was not mine for me to handle. You gave that to the wrong person.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:38:35]:
That's right.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:38:36]:
Or I hope that's the worst of it. Because if there's more coming, I'm not ready for it. That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:42]:
And you?
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:38:43]:
I'm working on my private pilot's license.
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:46]:
Oh, you have no idea how bad I want to do that, really. So I had a customer, had like an old 87 RX7. And he always thought his daughter. He had A daughter late in age. And he's like, oh, she's going to want it. She's going to want it. She does not want that car. And he's a pilot.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:00]:
He's a commercial pilot. And he flew. I forget which. I think it was Navy. And so he's like, well, help me sell it. And I sold it. And he's like, well, how much do I owe you? I said, flying lessons. And so I went up with him a couple times and it was like, so cool.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:39:14]:
It is so cool.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:15]:
When I said on my Facebook post this weekend, like, I wish that pilot let me fly this plane. He wouldn't let me. I love it. So good for him.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:39:23]:
Thanks. Yeah, I have about 15 hours right now.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:39:28]:
My logbook.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:39:28]:
And I'm working towards my goal. Maybe, maybe I'll solo this spring.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:33]:
Birdie's gonna be up there with the birds.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:39:34]:
That's right.
Maryann Croce [00:39:35]:
Yes.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:39:36]:
She could fly you to Jamaica two years ago.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:40]:
I love the plan.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:39:40]:
Maybe, maybe if you tell them you're gonna use it for our next women's retreat, you'll get it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:43]:
Exactly. That's what I would say. Sir, we need to get this for women's retreat.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:39:47]:
It'll serve a good purpose.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:49]:
Yes. Mimi, what are you doing?
Maryann Croce [00:39:50]:
Well, we have a fun project going on at home. We're putting on a screened in porch. I love the outside, the outdoors. And it's a project. It's a small project, but it's a project and I'm enjoying it. And I plan on spending more time with the grandkids. We have a family wedding coming up this year, so a lot of good things.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:13]:
I'm so glad you ladies have put in so much work in the industry and we appreciate it.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:40:17]:
Thank you.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:18]:
And we're just going to have to find more people to.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:40:21]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:21]:
Follow behind you. So we can keep this all going.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:40:23]:
That's right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:24]:
Yeah. Recruitment, so.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:40:27]:
And we have to recruit sponsors too.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:28]:
Sponsors too, to keep this going, going, keep women connected. So tell everybody how to get in touch with you and when the weekly meetings are.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:40:43]:
So the weekly meetings are Wednesdays, 01:00 Central, 02:00 Clock Eastern Time, almost every single Wednesday. You want to become a member. Currently, membership is free. You go on our website, www.amazingwia.com. there's a little button that says become a member. Fill that out. You'll start getting the weekly emails with the reminder and it'll have the zoom link for the meeting in it. If you want to donate, you can go online and donate.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:41:12]:
We've also got fabulous T shirts and hats and goodies.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:16]:
Sweatshirts.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:41:16]:
Sweatshirts.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:41:18]:
And in 2026, we just started a twice monthly newsletter. So there's no cost to that. But if you wanted a sponsor, we get your name on there. You could write an article. It's a great way to connect with the whole industry, Men and women that were supporting women in the industry.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:41:33]:
But women tend to be decision makers in the shop. Yes. So it's a great audience to have your business in front of.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:38]:
Absolutely. Men. And so.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:41:40]:
And if you need my email, it's tiffanymazingwia.com and reach out for anything.
Melissa Birdie Patterson [00:41:44]:
We're a 501c3 nonprofit, so it is tax deductible.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:41:49]:
So you have no excuse, no excuses.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:51]:
No excuses. Well, ladies, I had so much fun talking to you guys. I'm glad you joined.
Maryann Croce [00:41:56]:
I didn't know you were here. It was a surprise to me too.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:42:01]:
That's how we work.
Tonnika Haynes [00:42:05]:
All right, so you got trade show floor again today is on our way down. Let's go down there and get some bands and give them out. I'm going to take a handful of bands and I will give them out. Thank you so much.
Tiffany Scherado-Birou [00:42:18]:
Thank you for having us.
Tonnika Haynes [00:42:20]:
Braxton. I love that cute.