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The Gain Traction Podcast features top tire and auto repair professionals, shop owners, industry executives, and thought leaders.
00:00
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the official podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge, your host and I have the privilege of interviewing the tire dealers, shop owners, counter sales reps, technicians, industry executives and other thought leaders of our industry. This episode is brought to you by Tread Partners. Tread Partners is the leading digital marketing agency that specializes in digital marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. Tread Partners works with clients that have hundreds of locations, down to five locations. Get a professional, unbiased opinion and let Tread Partners review what you're doing. It starts with a simple conversation. To contact Tread Partners, visit treadpartners.com so let's get started. Hey folks, Mike Edge here with the Gain Traction podcast. I just want to make you aware we've got a great new sponsor, Cosmo Tires.
00:47
You can find out more about them@cosmotires.com they sell about every tire on the market. Here's a short video about one of their products.
00:58
Slaying that brown mud kicker Mud kick.
01:00
Up Never getting stuck Digging down deep while we crank.
01:11
Okay, folks, we're here at the Big.
01:12
Old Tire annual convention and I'm here with Joe Happle. Joe Happle is now a new hall of Fame member in Big Old Tire. Congratulations.
01:23
Thank you.
01:23
How's it feel? Does it make you feel old, by the way, that you're in the hall of fame?
01:27
Well, 39 years. You know, I work out a lot, try to stay young and hunt and climb up down mountains, but standing up there with all those guys, it's just makes you realize all the work and all the years of service. Yeah, a little bit old. I don't even think about the age really. You know, you, when you concentrate on the performance of just all the stores and the franchisees you're responsible for, it's really an afterthought. Being hall of Fame, of course, is an honor. That's not why I do it. It's a, it's a, it's great to have recognition, but I just assume get off that stage as quick as possible, get back to work.
02:10
Well, I gotta tell you, the coat looks great on you.
02:13
Yeah.
02:14
So folks, they get this red coat just like the green jacket of the masters, right?
02:19
Pretty much, yeah.
02:20
I mean, and it is sharp looking.
02:21
Yeah.
02:22
That badge on the front, everything, I'm impressed. Yeah. Yeah.
02:26
Well, it's. So we've had, in 34 years, we've had 33 honorees.
02:30
Okay.
02:32
You know, a lot of the guys have passed away, but here in this Kentucky area, We've had. I think we've had. I think eight or nine of them have been from this area.
02:42
Wow.
02:42
In the hall of fame. Yeah.
02:43
Do you attribute that because of the connection you guys have with each other locally and you've learned from each other?
02:48
Yeah, I think we just set. We set a good example of how a group should work together, and we understand that you have to serve others, and if. And if you put your time in and. And you work toward helping other people, good things will come to you. So I'm just following their lead. I didn't invent that. I didn't think of it myself. I just. Just did what everybody else did.
03:11
Well, I. Like what. I can't remember which one it was, but he was one of the ones on the right at the end and he said. He was one of the later speakers and he said, look, I'm not that smart. He said, I don't come up with any ideas myself. I just, I don't reinvent the wheel. I just learn from others.
03:26
Sure.
03:26
And if you just apply the hard work, it works out.
03:29
Yeah. Well, I said in my acceptance speech that I was basically just a representative of everybody that came for me. And basically, you know, reiterating what he had said, that you just have to. You just have to listen. And, you know, we. A tight group, we meet every month, and we encourage the younger guys to sit back and be quiet and listen more than they talk. And, and you learn a lot. And, and we take pride in a lot of the younger guys and the newer guys being successful because, you know, kind of feather in our cap, too.
04:02
Well, you like being the mentor?
04:04
Yeah.
04:04
Now. And you, You, You. You had mentors at one time, and now.
04:08
That's right.
04:08
Time pass it on. Yeah.
04:10
And in this region, and in particular, our. Our mentors were our bosses. And even at an area manager level, you just did what you were supposed to do. You were going to get. We're gonna get haze. But it was close. I mean, you just. They wouldn't let it go. And. And so we don't let it go either. Yeah.
04:31
And.
04:32
And, you know, pressure. Pressure creates diamonds.
04:36
Did you know that you wanted to be in this business? Your.
04:39
Your.
04:40
You were young.
04:42
Not really. My, My grandfather owned the international Harvester truck and tractor dealership here in New Albe across the river. And, and he. He was a businessman. My dad was his master tech. And I was going to college, but while I was working at Big O, I was going to night. Night class and I Just when I just started excelling through the ranks and quit college and just stayed with it full time. But I really like the people and I was in my hometown, a lot of, some of my grandpa's and my dad's friends were coming in. So what that did for me more than anything is it raised the bar because I didn't want anybody going back to my dad or my grandpa saying no, I didn't have a very good experience.
05:29
Yeah.
05:29
So it kind of made you perform and, and when you're trying to better than everybody else, you just gotta outthink them.
05:36
And, and that's a healthy kind of pressure too.
05:38
Yeah.
05:39
Because you don't wanna let em down.
05:40
That's right.
05:41
And, and I think. But it also says you were raised right because you had that work ethic or that I care attitude, you know, that I, I wanna make sure that I please these guys. Cause I respect them.
05:52
Yeah.
05:53
Yeah.
05:53
We worked on a farm with my grandpa and he had, he had no patience for tomfoolery. So we were busy and we did our work and, and the rewards were great. We thought they were awesome when were young, you know, like a, a honey sandwich or a handful of sunflower seeds or something. But it wasn't much. But were made to work when were young. So now that I, you know, got older, I was just getting paid for it. So.
06:21
Beautiful, isn't it?
06:22
Yeah.
06:22
So you have four stores?
06:23
We have five.
06:24
Five stores and Indiana and Kentucky.
06:28
Two indiana and three here in Louisville. Louisville, yeah.
06:30
Just metro area.
06:31
Yeah. One of them's about three miles off the road and they're all about, you know, three or four miles apart.
06:38
I'm glad to know that.
06:38
I travel through Louisville all the time. I'm from Owensboro and it's just one of those points that you have going east or whatever. So. Yeah, if I run a problem, I.
06:47
Know where to go. Yeah. And our managers are awesome. All five of my managers are great. A couple stores have sold parts of the store to them and then the other three will soon follow. So there's going to be an owner or a future owner in every store that you go in of mine and they take it serious.
07:06
That's awesome.
07:07
Yeah.
07:08
How did you, how did you instill that with your employees? I mean, did you just find them the right way or did you bring them up the right way?
07:16
Trial and error.
07:17
Yeah.
07:17
Mean, you can develop a guy to a certain point, but you can't make him have self reliance. And you can't teach him responsibility.
07:29
Well, it's what I said about you just saying you can't teach the I care part. You either do or you don't.
07:34
That's right. You got it. You don't.
07:35
Yeah. Yeah.
07:36
And you know, it takes all kinds. You know, there's. There's some guys that grow, grew up with facilities, and there's some guys that don't. But when you get in some of these Big O stories, you know, when a guy's got a hustle, they've. They've got to care about that customer sitting in the waiting room. It's been there probably five, two, five, ten minutes a little longer than what you thought. When then you start getting that pressure, feeling that pressure or get that feeling, that's when you need to go talk to everybody. That's when you need to walk through the waiting room and say hi to all the customers and say, hey, have you been waiting long? You know, you just kind of care and you got to put yourself in their position. And when you do that, normally customer service is pretty easy.
08:17
Before I let you go, Joe, what's the best thing about Big O Tire?
08:22
I think it's, I think it's our franchisee franchisor relationship. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not so great. But the line of communications we keep open there, their agreement and our franchise agreement that we are part of the negotiations in the development of the brand, it always adds our spin or the franchisees color to any decisions that's made in the direction of the brand and the direction of the stores and the growth. And I think that's why you. We've been around since 1962, and I think it's going to continue on as long as we keep that in place.
08:59
Joe, have congratulations again on being inducted into the hall of Fame for Big O Tire. And thank you for being on the Gain Traction podcast.
09:06
Yeah. Thank you very much for having me.
09:08
Appreciate you.
09:09
Thank you.
09:09
All right, folks, we're back here at the Big O Tire conference in Louisville, Kentucky, 2026. And I've got Desiree Elliott from Arizona here. You have eight stores.
09:20
We have 10 now.
09:21
10?
09:22
Yep.
09:22
Fantastic.
09:22
We just opened a couple.
09:24
All right, why are you part of Big O? Let's just get to it.
09:29
So my dad originally was. Is a Big O owner. He still is. He's been in the business for about 35 years, and I'm going on my 21st year, and we have bought and sold Numerous stores. And he's grown and then shrunk and grown, and now we have 10 wonderful stores.
09:50
Did you. So growing up in the business, I love to ask that, you know, on the generational question, did you know you wanted to be this?
09:57
No, I did not want to do this. I went to ASU and I wanted to be in marketing. I wanted to work in, like, an advertising company or something. I had no idea. But I was going to job interviews and things during my last year as a senior, and the only job offers I was getting was, like, automotive. I got, like, a job at Enterprise. I got a job for Chrysler. I got a job, like, all these places because I had experience from my dad. And they were talking about things, and we did this, like, school project that was on accounting, and I brought Big O financials, and so they were like, oh, you're perfect for this. And I, I, I was a district manager for Chrysler for two years, and then I came over to Big O.
10:35
That's outstanding. So basically, it was just like, all right, God, I'll get the picture.
10:38
Pretty much like he handed it right over. And they were like, you're, this is what you're doing. I'm sorry. If you had any other plans, it wasn't happening.
10:46
Isn't it funny, though, like, when you're in life in general, you sometimes, like, especially when you're young, the obvious answer is sitting right in front of you, but you're trying to ignore it.
10:55
Yeah, I know. And my dad was like, you're never gonna be, you're never gonna have clean fingers again. And you're, this is gonn going to have to mount tires. And I was like, okay, that's not a big deal. You know, whatever.
11:06
Did he want you in the business or not?
11:07
Then so what, how it happened and I ended up is that I was a district manager for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, and they always told you know, the roads lead home to Detroit, basically. And I was like, oh, yeah. I was in California. I was happy, 22 years old, just living my best life. And they were like, you're going to. Your next move is to Michigan. And I was like, my next move is to Michigan. I'm not going to Michigan. And I know it's cold. And I was from Arizona, and I did not know what that meant. And so I, I told my dad, and he was like, well, I'm, you know, I'm looking at buying this store. You can, you know, come on and be a manager and learn the business. And I was like, okay, let's do this.
11:50
And then the irony of it all is I ended up marrying somebody from Michigan. So I still get to go there in the cold. But that's okay. I still. I get. We get to choose to go there instead of live there.
12:01
That's right. Well, look, you won. You got him to move to Arizona.
12:04
I did, yes. To stay.
12:06
Yeah. That's a great story. So with your. So your dad is still involved?
12:13
He is.
12:14
And what made him get in Big O originally? Why did he go Big O route?
12:18
So he started as a tire tech in Goodyear, and he worked in stores being a salesman. Worked his way up to a vice president of Goodyear, and. And then he ended up working for a Big O corporate in Northern California. And he always says, I saw all these guys, you know, living their best lives, making lots of money, you know, making their own schedule. And I was like, I could totally do this. And he bought his own store without ever even coming to Phoenix. He just. There was a store available. They said, here's a store. He bought it. He'd never been here.
12:49
Like, no research.
12:50
No. He was like, that, I'm gonna do it. And he did it. And that is now, 35 years later. Here we are with lots of stores.
12:57
What a. What a great testament. So do you have kids that want to be in it?
13:01
I have a son. I have three kids, but I have a son who's 17. And he's currently. He was a tire tech, and now he's a salesman. And he makes way too much money for being 17. And I'm just like, no, you've got.
13:13
To say, I'm not.
13:15
I'm not. He's a natural born salesperson, and he's probably gonna. And he tells me, I don't need to go to college. I'll just take your job. And I'm like, you're gonna go to college. I don't know what to tell you. You're going. So he's going to ASU next year.
13:28
Good for him.
13:29
Yeah. I love him, and I hope he does take over my job, but I don't want to make him, you know, feel like he has to.
13:34
It doesn't sound like he feels that way. No, I mean, this guy, if he's already selling at 17.
13:38
Yeah, he. He can sell ice Eskimos. And it is scary.
13:43
Why you even buy it.
13:44
I know. And I'm always like, wait, you just convinced me to what?
13:49
I gotta meet this guy.
13:50
That's awesome.
13:51
He'll probably be running the stores later or this Company.
13:53
Who knows?
13:54
Well, I really appreciate you being on Gain Traction and this being your first podcast.
13:59
Thank you for having me.
14:00
Absolutely. We're back next year, we'll have you back on.
14:02
Perfect.
14:03
All right. Thank you.
14:03
Thank you.
14:04
Take care. All right, I'm here at the Big Old Tire Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, with Steve Towers, franchise owner of 25 stores. Is that correct?
14:13
Yes, sir.
14:14
So I think you've got them indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and New Mexico, correct?
14:19
Yes, sir.
14:20
Wow. You're a busy guy then.
14:22
Yeah, we stay pretty busy. I mean, I'm headquartered out of Nashville, Tennessee, but I do operate in Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, New Mexico and Tennessee.
14:30
So, I mean, you are a brand guy. You've been involved in businesses before. A little bit about your past. You've owned Midas's as well. Why did you get involved in Big O? What. What excites you about the brand?
14:44
Big O itself, I mean, you know, is a great brand. I really think of it as like the Chick fil a of automotive. Right. We're the best. We're the fastest. We're all around the best. Right. And that's what I. That's what we pride ourselves on every single day, is being the best. And that's such a.
14:59
That's such a clear analogy because everybody knows what a Chick fil A experience is. I mean, you know what I mean?
15:04
Absolutely.
15:05
Yeah. When given the choice, everybody else pay that extra. It tastes great clean.
15:12
Right.
15:12
I mean, you know, and all your. I mean, for the most part, all the big old stores that I've seen, they're. They're really in good condition. People take care of them.
15:21
Yeah, we really pride ourselves in, you know, keeping our stores in really good shape. I have my own in house construction team. We're constantly doing remodels. You know, we have a lot of different, you know, stuff going on, obviously, all the time growing with 25 locations, but we make sure that our stores are in tip top shape all the time.
15:37
Do you. Do you intend to continue to grow with the Big O stores?
15:43
Absolutely.
15:43
And then in the same states or just. It doesn't matter. Just. It depends on the market.
15:48
I mean, obviously there's an interest for us to continue to grow out our existing footprint. Right.
15:53
And.
15:53
And create the synergy and really create the brand. Big O. You know, if you go to Louisville, Kentucky, the Big O tire brand is so strong there.
16:01
Right.
16:02
In Nashville, it's getting stronger every single day. But, you know, back in 2021, when I opened the first store there, nobody really knew what Big O Tires was. But today it's a lot more relevant. We've got three locations there now and, you know, more to come. So we're kind of doing the same thing in Texas as well. So, yeah, we're definitely piling locations in where we currently are. But I'll go anywhere in the country, I mean, if it makes sense, and I can get a pocket of stores.
16:26
I told you about my hometown.
16:27
Yeah.
16:27
I mean, Owensboro, Kentucky is literally. We.
16:30
It's a.
16:31
It's always been a joke for the last, whatever, 50 years. But people call themselves Big O something and big old movers. There's big old music festival, whatever. Gary Skidmore, you know, the CEO.
16:41
Absolutely.
16:41
No, Gary. Well, Gary told me when we first met, he said, yeah. He goes, we looked into a little bit of potential of a lawsuit because of the violation of using our name. And then my attorney looked into it. He goes, now you don't even go there. He goes, this whole town calls themselves Big O. Whatever. And I'm like, but we don't have a big old tire. Which is kind of funny. You know, there's, you know, it's almost like the brand is already set for the big old tire.
17:05
Yeah. And that's crazy. We don't have a store in the town. We're definitely going to be looking into that for sure. It seems like a great opportunity, so see if we can capitalize.
17:12
Well, it's just. I'm just telling you that the name recognition is already there. It's funny, but. Well, tell me a little bit about yourself. You. You've been involved with Big O how long now?
17:23
I bought my first Big O tire store in May of 2021. I was divesting from Midas Auto Service and really wanted to go all in on Big O, so.
17:32
Well, and at one time, I mean, they were both owned by tcb, correct.
17:35
Tbc. Correct.
17:36
Tbc. I'm sorry. Yes. Did you know that you wanted to be in the automotive sector growing up?
17:41
Absolutely.
17:42
Okay.
17:42
Yeah. This is all I've ever done. I've never worked a fast food job a day in my life.
17:45
Were you raised in it?
17:46
I was.
17:47
Okay. So did you have guys have stores or something like that or did you have Midas's or.
17:52
No. So my dad, you know, when I grew up, he owned a parts store and a machine shop.
17:56
Okay.
17:57
You know, part time in high school, I started working at Bridgestone Firestone and was a tire changer for them. Worked my way up, became a sales associate.
18:04
Then we came up the Firestone Complete Auto Care.
18:07
It was okay. Firestone Complete Auto Care.
18:09
So I've heard from a lot of people in the industry that didn't even sell Firestone or Bridgestone or whatever, but several people have said if you've got young sons and they don't know what they want to do but they're open to whatever, that's a great career to go into and you learn a lot working for Firest.
18:25
You really do. They have training, state of the art training facility. That's what I've heard. You know, I'll forever be thankful for my days with Bridgestone. Firestone. Think it was an absolutely, you know, eight years of my life that, you know, I would do it over and over again and it's really propelled me into the career that I have today.
18:42
So now, are you personally married, kids or anything like that?
18:45
I have a fiance. I, I, I do have a son. He's 13 years old.
18:48
Okay.
18:49
Does he like this industry?
18:51
You know, he's 13. Yeah, he's still kind of back and forth. I'm trying to get him in it, but yeah, he's shown some interest.
18:57
Is he entrepreneur minded like his dad?
18:58
I hope so, but we'll find out.
19:01
You know, it's so interesting.
19:02
Probably not. It's hard, you know. Yeah, I, I would never expect my son to be, you know, who I am today. Yeah, I feel like I've been pretty successful but, you know, I definitely, you know, want him to be introduced to the business and see if this is something he wants to do and if not, find something that he loves. You know, that's what I tell people all the time. You know, it doesn't matter what you do in this world as long as you love it. Right? I mean, look, you can be a, you can work for a garbage company and pick up garbage cans and you can end up owning that company and being extremely successful. But if you don't have a lot of passion in what you do, then it's never going to work out.
19:36
So I loved, I genuinely loved changing tires and, and I still do to this day. Right. Like when I walk into a tire store, when I start talking about tires and automotive shops and big O tires, I get really excited because I love,.
19:50
Yeah, no, I, I get it, I get it. From this perspective, I'm not a guy that really likes to work out, but if you let me chop wood and I'm not talking about using a splitter, I'm talking about with the ax or a mall. I like to do it. And it sounds very elementary because it gets brainless. I mean, you know, but you're just. But the whole process, I like. And I like when I'm doing something and, like, you talking about you, like, changing tires. Well, some people look at you like, what?
20:16
Yeah.
20:16
Then people like. I mean, one of my friends, his uncle, he said, aren't y' all gonna use a splitter? I'm like, no, you're not grabbing the concept here. We're not. It's not about just getting through. It's about. We like the process. I mean, I really enjoy it. It allows my brain to relax, and you just, you know, and you can let out some frustration, you know what I'm saying? And it's one of those things. And I've told somebody else on this podcast just recently, we talk about working out. That's really the only thing I like to do. I mean, I'll deal with can't run anymore. I mean, I just, you know, But I'll. I'll go for walks or stuff like that. But if it's gonna be physical, let me chop wood. Yeah. Because I got a squat. Gotta bend over, whatever, you know?
20:54
But that's funny. Well, man, I. I can't thank you enough. And if you're ever in the Owensboro area, come see me or look me up or whatever. I'll give you my contact information. But I'm really glad to have you on the Gain Traction podcast. I wish you the best of luck. I think it's awesome. You got 25 stores. You're opening 26. Is that what you said?
21:12
Yeah. I've got another one coming to Katy, Texas, here, June 1. So that'll be number 26.
21:15
That's a big market, isn't it?
21:17
Yeah, it's a big market.
21:17
So mass energy coming in there. Right?
21:20
Right.
21:20
We just entered the Houston market, so this will be the third store this year there, so.
21:24
Okay.
21:24
We're looking to, you know, put 15, 20 there pretty quick, so.
21:27
Well, thanks for being on the GAIN track.
21:29
Thanks so much for having me. It's a pleasure.
21:31
Hey, folks, Mike Edge here with the Gain Traction podcast. Real quick, we get a lot of people ask us, they know Gain Traction, but who's Tread Partners? Well, Tread Partners is our parent company, and they're a marketing agency dedicated strictly to tire and automotive repair shops. Anywhere from five locations, all the way up to hundreds of locations. And primarily, one field that is always a pain for most people is paid search or PPC or Google Ads. We see enormous amount of waste in it. And we see inefficient spend in it. If you want to know if you're doing well or not, give us a call. We'll help you. We'll audit your account. We'll look under the hood and tell you if you're doing things the right way or the wrong way and help you optimize that spin.
22:15
You can reach me and I'll direct you in the right direction@mikereadpartners.com or feel free to go to treadpartners.com the website. Thank you. Okay, folks, I'm here at the Big Old Tire Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, the 2026 convention. I'm here with Charlie Alexander. Charlie is part of the organization that's MFA Petroleum Company out of Missouri. But you guys have locations. 36 Locations in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas.
22:41
Yeah, we've got 36 overall. We've got 28 Missouri. We've got five in Kansas and three in northwest Arkansas.
22:49
And you're headquartered in.
22:51
Our headquarters are in Columbia, Missouri. That's where MFA oil originated. We're coming up on our 100 year anniversary. So 1929 is when we started, you know, supplying at the time kerosene and fuel to. To our farmers and, you know, coming up on 100 years as an organization.
23:09
That's pretty cool.
23:10
Yeah, yeah, really cool.
23:11
So in Colombia, I mean, I've been there before. That's Mizzou, right?
23:15
Yep, Absolutely.
23:17
Absolutely. All right.
23:18
Yep, that's right.
23:19
Did you go there?
23:20
So I got my MBA from there in 2021.
23:23
Congratulations.
23:24
Undergrad in Colorado. Western Colorado University.
23:27
Nice. All right, so you've been part of MFA for how many years?
23:31
I've been with MFA for eight years. Will be eight years in May.
23:35
But then how long has MFA owned or been part of Big O?
23:39
Yeah, so MFA was actually originally, we got into a joint venture with Big o tires in 1998. Originally just four stores, two in Columbia and two in Jeff City. And then kind of grew it till 2015. And I believe there were 16 stores at that point in time that we bought out Big O stake in the joint venture and became sole franchisees in. In 2015, 2016. And then after. After that, we've just continued to grow and add more stores through, you know, new acquisitions, new builds, conversions.
24:13
And so you guys have been doing the new builds to grow?
24:15
Yeah, we've been doing new builds.
24:16
Oh, wow. Okay. Absolutely. Where do you see it going? You're talking about expanding already? Yeah.
24:21
So you know, it. Our company we had in 2022 we had 22 locations or, sorry, 21 locations. And we made a decision to, you know, there was the Kansas City market. They were big old stores owned and operated by tbc and we made the decision to acquire those. So In December of 2022, we acquired 13 stores overnight. You know, increased our overall portfolio of stores, you know, by over 40% right away. And that was a big jump for us. It was a, you know, was it.
24:56
Hard for a man in your position?
24:57
You know, I, I have a great team and it was. Definitely had its challenges.
25:01
Had its.
25:01
I mean, you're VP of Ops. Yep. Right. So I mean everything hits your desk for sure.
25:05
And it was, you know, the, those stores had kind of been on the market for a couple years and you know, just working with TBC was great to get that deal done and across the finish line.
25:15
And so TBC, when they actually owned. They are the Kepler miss corporate stores. One time they were Big O corporate stores.
25:22
Okay.
25:23
Yep.
25:23
I'm learning a little bit more all the time about the organization and that is. But, but are there any more.
25:28
There's not, there's no more corporate rans.
25:30
What I thought.
25:30
Nope.
25:31
I think that kind of, they kind of invested with that a few years ago. Yeah.
25:34
TBC kind of sold off their corporate stores.
25:37
Yeah.
25:37
Mavis in 2023.
25:39
What do you guys love about Big O Tire and the brand?
25:43
Yeah, so we, you know, MFA Oil Company. We're a farmer owned cooperative. We have 40,000 farmers across Missouri, Arkansas, surrounding states.
25:52
That's impressive.
25:52
Yep.
25:53
And you know, we have a, a board of directors and you know, they elect our CEO and our CEO has his executive team. But you know, we're a co op. Right. You know, stronger together and really, you know, bringing everybody together to make those decisions and buying power and so on and so forth. Actually, Big O's roots was a co op with okay. Tire rubber welders.
26:17
I heard that today there was one of the hall of famers, gave that history on that their beginnings.
26:22
So there's a lot of similarities from what Biggo is as being our franchisor to what we see in the co op world. We have, you know, we have our committee structure inside of Big O where you know, the dealers and the franchisees are part of committees that really help the strategic inputs, you know, to Big O on behalf of the franchisee. And you know, working together with corporates just. Yeah, it's, it's awesome. We can Help, you know, drive the success of the overall company.
26:50
That's awesome. Well, I can't thank you enough, Charlie, for being on the podcast. You know, I've reached out to you before. We may do. If you don't care, we may do a. The longer version. Absolutely.
27:00
One day.
27:00
But this is. But I really appreciate you being on.
27:03
Thank you.
27:03
Take care.
27:04
Yeah.
27:04
All right, folks, I'm here at the 2026 Big Old Tire Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and I've got Terry and Tim Hollander from New Mexico with two stores, right?
27:15
Correct.
27:16
Correct.
27:16
Fantastic. You got that one right. Didn't have to look at my notes that time. So let's talk about Big O. Why are you here? Why do you. Why are you a franchisee?
27:26
Well, I've been doing it since I was 16.
27:29
And you're only 20 now, though.
27:30
Yeah, I wish. So I started working with Mike Lyons in Longmont, Colorado, as a tire installer within. I was just doing the high school. Yeah. And I saw a different type of life than what I was brought up with that was possible for me. And Big O was a direct route for me to go through and get that and have those options in my life that I did not have before.
27:57
So you. You saw the value of the brand and the. And the course that they. They can take you on.
28:05
I grew up really, really poor.
28:07
Okay.
28:08
Okay. My family did not have the options that I seen that Mike lyons and Mark McDonald. My Mike Lyons was the owner. Mark McDonald's was the manager, and they had a different lifestyle.
28:22
Caught your attention then?
28:23
100%. Yeah. And it gave me the drive, and I saw that Big O was a path that I could go through and take to go through and achieve that.
28:32
That's awesome. And then I take it you guys got married somewhere along the way.
28:37
Go ahead.
28:40
My parents, we used Big O tires before he and I ever even got together. Yeah, it was always for the free rotation that came with the free flat repairs. So were a big Old tires family before were ever franchisees or whatnot. We dated.
28:57
So you were a customer before you fell in love?
28:59
Yeah. So when were dating, he would, you know, we got to go, you know, fix the showroom, and we have to go wash some tires. I'm like, we've washed some tires. Nowadays, I'm more than happy to wash the tires and make sure, like, they're supposed to. But, yeah, we've been. We just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, and we've been together for 30 years.
29:20
Congratulations. Now, did you meet in that store.
29:23
No, we actually had similar friends in high school.
29:26
Okay.
29:27
And dated in high school, and then different paths.
29:30
Okay, that's cool, though. But you had a different path in regards to how you knew Big O.
29:35
Correct.
29:35
Yeah. All right. So how long have you guys been franchisees?
29:41
February 15th of 2006.
29:45
Oh, so, yeah. That's 20 years then.
29:47
Yeah.
29:48
And you just crossed your 20 year mile marker.
29:50
Yes.
29:50
Congratulations. Why do you come to the convention? What's the value?
29:55
Networking. When we go back to our stores, we take the information, but it's the camaraderie. It's the seeing people that you only see once a year, seeing how they're doing. And I thought they gave.
30:10
They even gave me a bracelet.
30:11
Yes.
30:12
But I. I thought there was a couple things that are on there, but delight the customer. That's a cool phrase because you don't hear the word delight. Yes, but delight is a delightful word. Almost. It's positive is what I'm saying.
30:24
Like, it.
30:25
It feels good, you know, because it's way better than just satisfy the customer.
30:30
Satisfying is a very, very low measurements. When you delight a customer or you wow a customer, then you have won that customer because they start believing in you and trusting you.
30:43
Yes.
30:44
And you can't do that without your other friend. Fellow franchisees.
30:50
Who was that hall of Famer that said that? I think it was the first speaker, if you remember the hall of Fame panel I did tomorrow. Yes. Tom. Tom Staker. All right.
31:00
Yeah.
31:00
All right.
31:01
I got their names mixed up. This is my first time here, so it was. Right. And everybody was referring back to somebody. I'm like, what the Helms are you talking about? But that was one of my favorite. And it was one of the first ones to talk. I didn't mean to cut you off, though. You're talking about the word delightful, though. That's okay. Delight to your customers is just. I never heard that before. I really liked it. And that would seem like that's why he. Tom.
31:24
Live by 100. Yeah, 100. Growing your business is not just how much money you can go through and put in the bank. Growing your business is just like they were saying, building relationships with customers, relationships with families, getting to know your customers and watching their kids grow up and their kids becoming your customers. That's what Big O has had as tradition and a lifelong. A lifelong relationship.
31:51
Well, it's interesting because I have five children. Me. My wife and I have five children. He'll be married 30 years this year, but congratulations. Thank you. The. The interesting thing about it, the whole, like, when they all start driving and I've got a little miniature fleet out, you know, it's. And it's always like, I can't keep up. And everybody's got the little sticker in the wind. I'm like, tell me when you're getting close to Ultra. I'm not checking everybody's car every month. You know what I mean? And then, like, my second daughter, she was spot on. Dad, I'm. We're about to hit that marker for change, oil or whatever, and they'll be like, all right, you know, Then I got a son that he doesn't. Oh, he didn't care, you know, as long as it turned over. And, you know.
32:35
But when I would take the cars in, I had somebody I could trust. Yes. We don't have a big O in our area, but I had somebody I could trust. And it was like, literally, I could throw the keys on the counter and just say calmly, when you're done, you know? And that feels good. Yes. Because I got too much. I got too much going on in my life to sit here and worry about the nitpicky stuff. I just need to know. And tell me if I need anything else. Right. And don't try to sell me anything. I don't need either, you know, but they knew that, you know, and they had all five vehicles, so it was like, why wouldn't you treat me right?
33:06
Exactly.
33:06
It's about the relationship.
33:07
Yeah.
33:08
And it can't be the relationship for that day. It's got to be a lot longer relationship. A lifetime relationship. Relationship.
33:13
That's it. And it feels like big O. I mean, especially with that phrase, delight the customer. That's what you guys really try to accomplish.
33:20
Yeah, yeah. In every instance. Now, Terry and I, we have a. Our stores are very settled in the Peruian basin, so we do a lot of gas and oil trucks.
33:32
Oh, okay.
33:32
Okay. And even though that driver doesn't own that vehicle, you treat him and build the relationship with him the same exact way as you would a soccer mom or a football dad or a baseball dad. Okay. Or a grandpa. It's still the vehicle. You still go through and ask them the key questions to find out their concerns, find out what their maintenance is, and you go through and have that relationship. So he tells his other partnering drivers, hey, just take it over there and leave it with Tim, leave it with Dylan.
34:05
Okay.
34:05
They'll just take care of it. They'll get it handled for you. You ain't going to be gouged on the price or anything like that. It's going to be fair, but they'll just take care of you. Ain't going to worry about it. You're back to work.
34:15
Beautiful relationship right there.
34:17
Yeah.
34:18
And that's what you guys were talking about. The retention aspect of customers is so valuable because you don't have to work as hard if you can keep customers and just treat them right.
34:28
Yeah. There's two ways to go there. And look at that. It costs so much money to get that customer in the door.
34:32
Okay.
34:33
You got to work on keeping that customer in the door, keeping that relationship. But at the same time, you've got to go through and do the same thing with your employees.
34:41
Yes, it is cheaper to go through.
34:42
And keep an employee than it is to find an employee, train an employee. So you've got to go through and build that culture with your employees the same exact way as you're building that relationship with the customer.
34:53
Great words of wisdom. Well, Tim, Terry, thank you for being on the Gain Traction podcast.
34:58
Thank you so much.
34:58
Yeah, pleasure meeting you.
35:00
You too.
35:01
Okay, folks, we're back here at the Big Old Tire Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, the 2026 convention. And I'm with Gary Skidmore, the CEO. Gary, welcome back to the Gang Traction podcast.
35:12
Thanks for having us, Mr. Edge. Appreciate you very much.
35:14
Well, I enjoyed interviewing you. I think it's been at least six months ago, something like that. Right. And we had a good time on that interview, but I didn't foresee this opportunity, and I'm glad to be here. It's been very exciting. You guys have a very impressive organization, a lot of impressive dealers, and a lot of legacy dealers, you know, I mean, that follow the footprints of their parents or dad or whatever. And I can't say enough about what. I mean, the brand and enthusiasm that some of the franchisees have expressed just on this podcast. So it goes deep.
35:50
Yeah, we've got a few second, third generation already in our system. And then as you quite a few different youngsters walk back and forth where I think we've got the fourth generation coming up next to.
36:00
So where do you see Big O in the next one, three, and five years?
36:06
Yeah.
36:06
So we have two big goals for Big O. One of them has to deal with our existing stores and same store sales growth. We've had positive trends over the last 10 years, and we want to continue those with that. Then our second year is having adding new rooftops. So we want to grow with both our existing store, our franchisees, and then also bring Some new franchises into our markets with our new store growth. We have many markets where we have pretty good saturation, but we have some pockets where we could add a couple of stores here, there, then we have a few markets where we have a few stores and we can add a whole lot more. Those are kind of our two big focuses.
36:40
Do you guys actually have a growth.
36:42
Number that you want to achieve?
36:44
We do. Not wanting to share it.
36:45
All right, yeah, no, that makes sense.
36:47
So, you know, TBC is owned by Michelin and Sumitomo.
36:50
So.
36:50
So part of what we do is we have five year long range plans and then within that each year we kind of update them and then we also figure out our budget for each year. So depending upon how years go, we may escalate the number, we may lower the number, but we always make sure we want to challenge ourselves to which we don't. If you met Don Byrd, he doesn't like giving easy goals, but he likes giving goals we can achieve.
37:10
Yeah, no, that makes sense. I mean, and it, you know, and I think it's important like from a franchisee standpoint, because they're not. I mean, I know you guys collaborate and everything, but at the same time they like to probably see that growth as well.
37:26
Absolutely.
37:26
Yeah. Yeah.
37:27
So again, as our, as their sales grow, I think that increases the value of their business in one way. The larger the chain becomes, that increases the value of their business in the second way. So not to say that anybody wants to sell their store today, but at some point every franchisee is going to sell their location. So everybody wants to make sure the viability of our business is long term and very sustainable.
37:47
How has this convention been different than any others?
37:51
So I think this year, so I believe I'm not a surprise, the industry last couple of years has been somewhat challenged. We've maintained our market share, we've increased our sales some, so we've done okay. But it's really not what has made anyone happy. So what we have tried to do on this one is talk about the things we can control and how do we make sure we maximize impact where we can both within our organization, within Big O tires, corporate wise.
38:14
Yeah.
38:15
And within that.
38:16
I gotta compliment you guys on the way that you celebrate your hall of famers. I've talked about several of the franchisees or whatnot. And then we also had Joe on here who just got inducted today, which is fantastic. But one of them, and I think his name was Tom, I've never heard this before and I mentioned this to the franchisee but delight the customer. I got one of the bracelets they handed me, but I just love the term. I never thought of that term, you know.
38:47
Yeah, Steve Clower and Tom Staker were both ex corporate people, but back in the day we always talked about. So you always get market surveys and everything like that. So you'd have satisfy the customer at a 7 or 8, but those customers would sometimes lose. But when you talked about getting a 9 or 10 on a score, those were the people that were delighted and more likely to stay with you.
39:06
So.
39:06
So how do you take that somewhat good customer and turn it into a great customer that also becomes an advocate for your brand? They're not just going to stay with you, but they're going to continue to help you grow your business by sharing you with other people.
39:18
That's awesome. Well, I can't thank you enough for being part of the podcast. It's been a joy being here and I appreciate you guys inviting us.
39:24
Well, Mike, I always say you make me look good. I've heard more good things about my podcast. I kind of call Mike the bartender. He makes you tell stories and relax and do things and it's like, yeah, I just felt like I was sitting here talking to no friend I know a second time. But always enjoy it and I appreciate you being part of our.
39:40
You. You make it easy too, Gary. And I've always enjoyed talking with you and being the fellow Kentuckian. I think it makes it easier. We're just the same kindred. So we don't.
39:49
We don't have much of an accent to each other.
39:51
Right.
39:52
All right, thank you very much.
39:53
Appreciate you greatly. All right. To all our listeners, thank you for being part of the Game Traction podcast. We are grateful for you. If you'd like to find more podcasts like this, please Visit Gain Traction podcast.com if you'd like to make a guest recommendation, please email me@mike treadpartners.com this episode has been powered by Tread Partners, the leader in digital marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. To learn more about Tread Partners, visit treadpartners.com.