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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.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:00]:
Talking to him about it, and he's like, well, sometimes I feel like you think that you are in control of me. What? I was like, so yeah, from 7 to 5:30, you exchange your talents for my money. I've got the money, therefore I am in control. That is my name on the building. I sign your paycheck. I am in control. It's okay if you have a problem, but you have to understand there's no man coming to save you. Like, there's no second opinion.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:26]:
What I say is what I say.
Ash Kaplan [00:00:28]:
Welcome to Downshift with my sis Taneka Haynes. We all know as shop owners, sometimes you got to slow down in order to speed up. And that's what this podcast is all about.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:40]:
It's time to downshift. What are we doing?
Ash Kaplan [00:00:49]:
All right.
Tonnika Haynes [00:00:50]:
We're doing the damn thing. So I think everybody knows Okay, that sounds arrogant. A lot of people may know who I am, but you introduce yourself first.
Ash Kaplan [00:01:02]:
My name is—
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:04]:
Hi, my name is—
Ash Kaplan [00:01:07]:
My name is—
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:08]:
What?
Ash Kaplan [00:01:09]:
My name is Ash. Ashley. You can call me a lot of things. A lot of people do. Just, uh, be nice, please.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:17]:
But you want to go by Ash?
Ash Kaplan [00:01:19]:
Yeah, I go by Ash. Yeah. Okay.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:22]:
Well, my name is Tanika. Tanika, and I own Brown's Automotive in Chapel Hill, second generation shop owner and shit store. So, you're Ash and you represent?
Ash Kaplan [00:01:37]:
Yeah, so I own Golden Hour Garage. We do remote estimates, extended warranty calls, and fleet management for shops. Yeah, we help you fix efficiency and be more profitable and all the things. A lot of fun.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:50]:
All the things. So yeah, it's fun when the shop owner has some of the things taken off their plate, so that's a good idea. So because this is the first time I'm recording, I'm nervous as crap, so I've got a glass of wine. So yeah, it's only one this time for me. So it's 4 o'clock, but somewhere it is 5. It is somewhere. That's what the song says. So, um, brief Story started with my dad.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:19]:
He started the shop when I was 3. He retired about 10 years ago, well, almost 10 years ago. I've been running it on my own for the last 9.25 years. It is a roller coaster ride. It is fun. It is scary. It is interesting. Some days I want to quit and go work for Food Lion as a bag girl.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:41]:
Other days I feel like I can take over the world. And then so I guess in the last couple of years I've been more vocal and, uh, somehow— as I should. So I am going to be like— I'm not eloquent with my talking, audience, and I am not a certified coach by no means. So check with your health professional before you take any of my advice. I just have good Southern advice that I'm passing on from my Grandma Kitty. So the shit she would say to me is kind of a lot of stuff, a lot of ways I run my shop. And so when people ask me stuff, not acts, when they ask me things, I just revert to what my grandmother used to say and the things that my dad said, you know, when he would run the business. And it seems a little rough, but it's not.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:34]:
Um, and so in the past couple years, I have been called upon more and more by independent shop owners, men and women, for advice and stuff. And I think it's weird or wild, but I'm kind of stepping into that and just understanding that that might be part of my new why. Um, mom of two, I've got two boys, they are 19, soon to be 20 in a couple weeks, uh, and 21. He reminded me today that he's only 21. And, um, So in the last couple years, my why has completely changed. You know, they're grown independent boys. Well, they're not independent because they're still in my wallet, but they don't need me as much. And I've always been like a really big hands-on mom.
Tonnika Haynes [00:04:20]:
And also with the shop, you know, everybody wants to run a business and work on your business is what they say instead of in the business. And my coach has been coaching me to do that more and more, and I've been drinking the Kool-Aid, and it's good. It's some good Kool-Aid. I still am in the shop a lot, but what I do find is that I'm bored as crap. Like, I don't know what to do with myself because I'm a really— I'm a mothering person. And so, um, I just had to accept my new assignment from the man upstairs and become— I'm not a coach, not going to say that. I'm not Coach Nick. I laugh about it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:05:00]:
I make a joke when I put a post, Coach Neek. But I've become, as you call it, auntie to a couple of the younger people in the industry, and not really younger. I mean, independent shop owners, they just need somebody to talk to. And for some reason, I have become that person, which I am so grateful. It makes me feel so good for people to need me. Everybody wants to be needed and wanted, right? So that's good. And so that's kind of how I met you. Actually, no, it's not.
Tonnika Haynes [00:05:30]:
Let me start over. I met you because Mike, the evil shop owner, was talking about a company that you represented at the time. And I needed a service advisor, but I could not find anybody. I kept finding crazy people. Like, I hired two nut jobs back to back. Like, everybody was saying, how did you not see that? And I was trying to help everybody. Oh, I can give you a job and I'll bring you in and I'll save the day. No.
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:01]:
So I think I did a call with you to learn more about the product. We probably talked about the product for about 5 to 7 minutes. In the other hour or so, we talked about— hell, I don't even know what we talked about. We talked about so many things.
Ash Kaplan [00:06:16]:
Yeah, we literally like became best friends in 2 hours, right? It was, it was ridiculous.
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:23]:
It was crazy because I was driving from Virginia to Wilmington. And we talked the whole way.
Ash Kaplan [00:06:29]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:29]:
And I enjoyed it. I really enjoy— I enjoy talking to you because I enjoy youth. I really do. Because that makes me mad. I'm not that old. I'm only 17. So I'm 49. I'm knocking on 50.
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:41]:
It's all good. I look good.
Ash Kaplan [00:06:43]:
Yeah, you do.
Tonnika Haynes [00:06:44]:
Yeah, I do. Oh yeah, I do. So, but I get so upset in the industry when people talk about youth Oh, they're lazy. Oh, they're this, this, this, and that. And you know what, honestly, kids don't want to work. They don't want to work. Well, I don't know what kind of music they're listening to, the hair, the clothes. Like, okay, my dad had like an afro, then a Jheri curl, and I'm pretty sure some of you guys had like mullets and crap.
Ash Kaplan [00:07:16]:
I mean, I can be pretty off-putting for some people, so that was fun. You got your piercings and your tattoos and So, but y'all, y'all ain't seen nothing. I mean, I used to have the half black, half silver hair.
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:31]:
I've had normal hair, the goth type stuff. Were you the weird kid in high school?
Ash Kaplan [00:07:36]:
Cruella de Vil?
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:37]:
No.
Ash Kaplan [00:07:37]:
Well, yes and no. Like the Cruella de Vil, uh, it was a trend. Uh, I say that I started it, but, um, yeah, I did half, like literally split down the middle, half black, half blonde, and it was like silvery blonde, and it was really pretty. It was a lot of fun. So I've tried to tone it down and be normal.
Tonnika Haynes [00:07:57]:
Don't do that.
Ash Kaplan [00:07:58]:
I know, it's boring. But I, I do, I am kind of liking being a little bit more natural lately.
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:03]:
Okay, then you might go back to something wild?
Ash Kaplan [00:08:06]:
Probably do something crazy soon.
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:08]:
Yeah, that's what's up. Do it, do it, lady. So, but no, you're not supposed to look like everybody else. Like, you should, you should show out, show up and show out. You know what I mean?
Ash Kaplan [00:08:23]:
Yes. I'm going to get like some statement glasses too. I told myself that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:27]:
Oh, I love statement glasses.
Ash Kaplan [00:08:28]:
I want to get like big, like checkerboard glasses or—
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:32]:
That'll be good with your red hair.
Ash Kaplan [00:08:37]:
I'm trying to get this red out. Red is so hard to get out.
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:39]:
Because you want to be what?
Ash Kaplan [00:08:41]:
All the boys listening are going to like, they're going to be like, what the hell are they talking about right now?
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:46]:
Nobody care. They might need some hair tips and shit.
Ash Kaplan [00:08:50]:
Yeah, red is so hard to get out. Have you ever gone red?
Tonnika Haynes [00:08:55]:
This is it. I'm gonna go— I want to go lighter, but my beautician is like, you're gonna burn your hair out. Like, well, it'll grow back. It's just hair, you know. It's a Black girl and her hair. I can just go buy some. Yes, I go buy some hair. I bought—
Ash Kaplan [00:09:13]:
Cameron and I did. Cameron, my husband, for whoever doesn't know, we, we stupidly bought one of those like pallets of Amazon returns because sometimes they have a lot of tools in them. And so I was hoping we'd get lucky with like Milwaukee tools or something cool. No, we just got a bunch of crap and it was like a lot of laptop cases and iPad cases and a lot of home improvement stuff like light fixtures, which was nice because we had just bought our house. So we had all these modern and nice, like, chandeliers and light fixtures, but there was some weave in it that somebody returned.
Tonnika Haynes [00:09:49]:
Yeah.
Ash Kaplan [00:09:49]:
And we had a garage sale because I'm like, I don't know what else to do with this crap that we're not going to use. We have a garage sale and we live in the West Valley of Arizona. And if you don't know Arizona, I don't want— not very cultured to the West Valley. It's like this sheet of paper.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:09]:
So white people, they had no idea what the weave was.
Ash Kaplan [00:10:12]:
It's either this sheet of paper or Hispanic, like white people and Latinos, and that's it. Um, it's very unfortunate, but we also— there's this weave in one of the boxes, and this lady picks it up and she's holding it and she's just like, what is this? And I said, oh honey, that's not for you. And she set it back down and she came and asked what it was. I had to explain it and I'm just like Lord have mercy.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:37]:
I mean, white women wear weave. They wear falls and extensions and stuff.
Ash Kaplan [00:10:42]:
Extensions, yeah, but it's different.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:44]:
Yeah, you just don't sew it in or glue it in or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ash Kaplan [00:10:48]:
Okay, anyways, what are we talking about? Hair.
Tonnika Haynes [00:10:50]:
And we're talking about weave. Um, we're talking about standing out. Standing out, like, okay, you're starting a business. Yeah, I stand out in my business. I do. I do it on purpose. Um, I At one point, I didn't want to. At one point, when I was starting the shop and I was on my own and I'm trying to pick up business, nobody— I'm gonna tell you, put this— nobody told me this.
Tonnika Haynes [00:11:14]:
Like, nobody ever said anything to me. It wasn't a bad encounter with a customer, but somehow— and my former coach would say this— it was just a story that I told myself. I really thought that I needed an old white man as a service advisor. Because, because I thought I did, because I thought, well, you know, I'm in Chapel Hill, and Chapel Hill is like a melting pot of people. You've got professors and you've got tweakers, you know, you've got the university is there, it's like really multicultural. So that's not the issue. But for some reason, I thought, well, you know, maybe I could increase sales if, you you know, they heard it coming from this, this older white man. And, um, so I thought I needed that, but I didn't.
Tonnika Haynes [00:11:59]:
But I hired— that's what I hired anyway. Um, but actually, um, people actually preferred me, I guess, because I'm just a hoot. Uh, it wasn't anything bad about Bill. I still love him. I talk to him like almost once a week, some something stupid on Facebook or a joke or whatever. But I was afraid to stand out. I was afraid of my differences of what I thought the industry looked like, um, and that held me back for a little bit, you know what I mean? So it's kind of hard for people to believe that— excuse me, I have a frog— but like my first ASTA Expo, which I believe it was in 2022 if I'm not mistaken— I'm really bad with times and measurements and crap— but I remember going because Lucas Underwood was talking about it on the FaceSpace, and I wanted to go, and it's literally like 5 exits up from my, my house. So I went, right? And I walk in and all I see is this sea, just like a sea of old white men with shots.
Ash Kaplan [00:13:04]:
I'd be so scared I walked into the wrong meeting.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:06]:
And I was like, oh! But then my girlfriend who actually worked for, um, worked for me at the time, she was like, oh, you got to go in there, you got to step into the room, you got to believe in yourself. I was like, yeah, I gotta step into the room, I gotta believe in myself, right? So I went in there, it's the best flipping time I've ever had in my life. And that's really how my business took off. Like, I had to tell myself, girl, self, huh? Shut up. Like, ain't nobody thinking about you. Like, not in that sense. And so that's how I met, like, all the people that I love and adore now. Like, John Firm, Buckaroo Bob.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:41]:
He was, like, the loudest thing in there, and he just embraced me, made me sit at his table, and, like, made sure I was not by myself. It was amazing. He became a good friend, and just, like, almost everybody I know now. That's how it started. It was great. He has a big heart and he's like so loud and so funny. Real story, gotta tell you a story. So I went to an event in Texas and he was going to pick me up from the airport, right? And anybody that knows me, I'm gonna look good wherever I go.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:09]:
I'm flashy, I like it. So he's picking me up from the airport and I'm like, I'm here, I'm standing by whatever, A6 or whatever it was, right? He comes in there with his F-350, 450, 550, I don't know what he's driving, but he had a train horn on it. And he starts blowing this train horn, and I can see him, and I'm like, okay, I see you. And there's this little bitty— like, this lady's 2 feet tall, she's 98 years old, little bitty old white lady. She's like looking at me like, are you okay? Because John gets out the truck and he's getting my suitcases, and she's looking at me like, blink twice You need help? Like, are you being trafficked? Oh, oh yeah, yeah, it was funny. It was really funny. And Michael was also there, and of course he had on a yellow Big Bird shirt.
Ash Kaplan [00:15:00]:
Okay, that's a picture you've been posting today.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:03]:
Yes, him and his yellow Big Bird shirt. So that is the weekend that he picked me up from the airport with the train horn, and he's amazing.
Ash Kaplan [00:15:12]:
I love that. He is, he's so sweet. And his great niece, I'm gonna say, sorry if I butchered that, she's recently joined the industry, so she stuck with us too. Okay, I forget her name.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:25]:
We met her like 2 weeks ago, right?
Ash Kaplan [00:15:27]:
Dawn? Yeah, Dawn is really sweet. So I'm excited to see, I'm excited to see more women step into this space. Yeah, I think it's very intimidating to a lot, but I don't know, it's enlightening. I mean, I was, we'll go into more in a second, but kind of jump forward and then go back, you know, as you're gonna explain the name of this podcast. Right. ASTA was life-changing for me too in other, in a lot of different ways. And I'll talk more about that. But one of the big things I noticed was like just the community that I didn't really know existed.
Ash Kaplan [00:16:01]:
I'd been in this industry forever and ever and ever. But I was a superstar who worked for shop owners that didn't want anybody else to know that I was a superstar. And so I wasn't given the opportunities to go to networking events, to go to trainings. And I didn't know these things even existed. The only thing I knew about was SEMA, like everybody knows about SEMA, right? But I could never go because I was always running the shop so the owner could go. So, you know, the prior company, I stepped out of the shop to go build that and poured my heart and soul into it. And that's what allowed me to go to ASTA, the connection, meeting Mike Allen, then meeting you, getting invited to go to ASTA. I mean, that really is what sparked Golden Hour Garage to start.
Ash Kaplan [00:16:58]:
Some of the connections we made before started it, but then going there, being around you guys, having people just pour in and believe in me was like, okay, I can do this, right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:07]:
So I'm so proud to hear that because that's important. Like, I think a lot of people could do more of that, but like, sometimes I feel like I don't— what? I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. Like, what are you asking me? You need my help? I'm like, okay, well, give me the words because I do not want to lead her wrong, but That is the reason why— well, one of the reasons why I named the podcast what I named the podcast. So I don't think we've even said it yet. So the name of the podcast is The Downshift with Tinka. So anybody that knows how to drive knows that when you're getting ready to pass somebody and you're driving a 5-speed and you want to hit it, you have to downshift. And sometimes we have to step back take a chill pill to get more power, right? So I mean, I'm not going to go into all of that right now, but I really thought in the beginning you represented that company so well. I always thought it was yours.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:05]:
So that says a whole lot about you.
Ash Kaplan [00:18:07]:
That's a whole nother story that I probably can't talk about, but it was a third one.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:12]:
Well, I'm just letting you know how good you represented a company that did not belong to you. And so I can't imagine how well you're going to do with this adventure.
Ash Kaplan [00:18:25]:
Yeah, already. I mean, we, we hit the ground running because of the relationships that I built prior, right? So, and that's, that's what sparked— again, that's what sparked Golden Hour Garage was because I had relationships with people and they knew Ash. It didn't matter what the name of the company was. They knew Ash. And so, and you knew what I represented. You were a client. Well, you were my friend first, intended to be a client first, but we talked for 2-something hours about God knows what. I don't know.
Ash Kaplan [00:19:00]:
5 minutes about building estimates and you're like, okay, yeah, we'll start Monday. I'm like, okay.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:06]:
And then I do that, but tell me more about you.
Ash Kaplan [00:19:08]:
Yeah. Yeah. We just had such a good conversation. But that's like the pattern that I have with a lot of people. I love talking to people. I love learning about other people's perspectives, their experiences and struggles. Like when people can get vulnerable with me and tell me what they're struggling with, it fires me up because I'm a fixer. I am a problem solver.
Ash Kaplan [00:19:31]:
I am a fixer. I mean, I grew up in this industry, but I grew up tinkering. My dad was in construction and then cars. Um, very blue-collar upbringing. Um, he was in all the trades. So I mean, I literally grew up either with a wrench in hand or helping with a Sawzall to build stuff for our church. Like, I remember some core values of building out, um, plywood Easter eggs or plywood pumpkins to go out on the front lawn of the church. And I would get so excited that I get to use power tools.
Ash Kaplan [00:20:06]:
Um, and then I was more excited when things broke and my dad would let me fix them. Um, so like I've taken apart drills and all kinds of pneumatic things to try to figure out how to fix them. Uh, sometimes working things I would take apart just to see if I could put it back together and get it working again. So that's the way that my brain works, right? So with my clients, like, I take a really deep interest in helping them fix things beyond what they can fix. Um, and It's a problem sometimes, you know that. You tell me all the time.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:38]:
Yes. What did I tell you? You have to focus on one course into successful, because you out here trying to save everybody.
Ash Kaplan [00:20:45]:
I do, I do.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:46]:
It's so sweet, but sometimes it could be dangerous too.
Ash Kaplan [00:20:51]:
Yeah, definitely. It's hard, it's hard. But it's just your heart from your head.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:56]:
Yeah. And that's what's going to make the difference between you and any other company is that you are really concerned with what that shop's got going on. Like, you're there to say, hey, not only am I going to write your estimates, I'm actually going to show you how to increase your ARO. Yeah, like, you are really interested in figuring out how to make it better for the shop, not just easier, but better. They should see a significant return on the investment when they're working with you.
Ash Kaplan [00:21:28]:
Oh yeah. And then you did it. It's incredible. Thank you. Yeah. But no, it's true. Like, I talk to shops when I do a discovery call with a shop. I am so confident when I say this is the price.
Ash Kaplan [00:21:40]:
And I know when you're struggling and you're reaching out to us for help, an additional cost sounds scary. But why I'm so like giddy and proud is because I know what that investment is going to turn into. I know you're going to double it, triple it, quadruple it. I had a success story with a shop that paid about $48,000 for a year's worth of service and grew over $400,000 that year in additional revenue, which was about $250,000 in profit. So if you told anybody, hey, give me $48,000 and I'll turn it to $250,000, who would say no? Hell yeah. Yeah. But it's taking that step, that leap of faith into the unknown. What I went out and built and took to market in our industry is brand new still.
Ash Kaplan [00:22:26]:
Yes, I've been doing it for a year and a half, 2024. Yeah, but it's still brand new, and I'm the first and only reputable company actually doing it. So there's going to be people that want to come in and do what we're doing, right? I'll tell anybody you ask me, email me, call me, whatever, I will show you the P&Ls because it's not as profitable as some of these other things in the industry you can do, but that's not why I do it. Yes, we're a business, we have to make money. Oh my gosh, profit, crazy. But we get to help shops grow. I get to help shop owners breathe. One of the shop owners we know very well, I won't throw them out there, but they were done.
Ash Kaplan [00:23:09]:
Like, this shop is it. I'm gonna come in, go home at night and be done, right? Because they were so burnt out from all the chaos. And within, I want to say like 2 or 3 months of working with us, I— we do like a checkup and we're talking and catching up. He's like, I'm ready to go look at some more shops. Oh my God, I'm ready to go grow now. But it's like going from that mindset of I, I almost like resent my shop to I'm ready to grow this. I'm like, okay. Okay, I know I'm doing something right.
Ash Kaplan [00:23:43]:
Like, I know what we're doing means something and it makes an impact on people. And that wasn't even the first intent of doing it. I did want owners to be owners, right? Work on your business, not in it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:23:56]:
Right.
Ash Kaplan [00:23:56]:
But also for service advisors, we give a lot to the industry, especially the good ones, right? Like, they— you'll sacrifice, you'll put in more hours than you're paid for. You'll do everything. You take these customers in like they're your own family and you sacrifice a lot. Like for me, that was a big, big issue was putting my health off, canceling appointments. And you know, I got chronic stuff I should not be ignoring. And it took emergency surgery, being in the hospital to give me a wake-up call that, oh crap, my shop can't run without me. I need to figure something out.
Tonnika Haynes [00:24:33]:
Yeah, yeah, I've got a story about that. We'll save that for a different day. Yeah, well, I mean, tell a story. Like, we get— like you said, we get in our own way. We are sitting there and we're trying to be everything to everybody. We are shop owner, HR, the janitor, um, service advisor, all the things. Accountant. Oh my goodness.
Tonnika Haynes [00:24:58]:
So I was having this symptom and it would come and go. It was a radiating pain and I would just breathe through it like I was having contractions. And Bill, at the time, Bill was like, you really need to get that checked out. And I went to get it checked out and the doctor that checked it out, she was a bitch. And so imagine me crying. I was so upset because I took the time and I made the appointment and I really just— the pain was so bad that I could not describe it. I have had a 9-pound child via C-section. I've had a 7-pound child naturally.
Tonnika Haynes [00:25:36]:
I've had 3 kidney stones at the same time. And I'm telling this lady, lady, this hurts worse than anything I've ever felt before. This woman asked, told me, I'm not sure how you even got this appointment because I was booked. And so I just start crying like, F it. I'm just going to go back to work. Whatever it is, it is what it is. Gotta fix it, right? Um, so one day I'm getting up and I'm taking Santana to Charlotte, which is about 2 hours away if anybody doesn't know. He had a football thing to go to, a football camp.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:06]:
I said, okay, Mommy has to go to work and run payroll. I'll come back and then we'll go. I opened the garage door and pain hit me and I just vomited. Sorry. For anybody that is going to cry about that. I said, oh, here we go again. Maybe I should go to urgent care.
Ash Kaplan [00:26:28]:
Sorry, but it was the noise effect for me.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:33]:
Um, so yeah, uh, I said I have to go to urgent care, and I'm thinking this might be a little bit more than urgent care. And God bless that I live close to hospitals, so UNC is only 15 minutes. It's actually on the way to work. My silly ass took a Ziploc bag and I put a pair of underwear in the Ziploc bag because I was like, well, just in case I have to stay, I'll have some clean drawers, right? I got to UNC and God made every light green. I could have ripped my steering wheel in two going through that. I just prayed the whole way that I can just get to the emergency room. And I remember getting to the emergency room and I remember the valet saying, "What is your phone number so I can valet his car?" And I said, "I don't—" I said, "Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep." And they were like, "You need a wheelchair." And I said, "Yes." And that's all I remember for 3 days. My appendix had ruptured and I was septic.
Tonnika Haynes [00:27:34]:
And I did not take care of myself. And when I was in the hospital, I had to stay for 5 days. I begged to go home. They really wanted to keep me longer. I found out in the hospital that I had high blood pressure and diabetes, and my A1C was off the chain. Like, I had no idea that my A1C was like 13, which is really, really bad for people that didn't— don't know that. Um, and they were like, well, if you don't take care of yourself, you're just gonna be like dead. They didn't say that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:05]:
They probably said medical terms, but they was like, you gonna die. Lady. Um, but while I was in the hospital, the shop ran fine. Wow. They did a great job without me. And that's kind of one of the reasons we went to a 4-day week. Um, running around trying to hit all KPIs, trying to make more money, more money, more money. Um, working in the business and on the business, not delegating, not building a team that can handle everything because I'm Superwoman, right? So, and I'm a woman doing that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:42]:
You know, men don't go to the doctor as much as we do.
Ash Kaplan [00:28:46]:
No, they just drop dead.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:47]:
They just drop dead. So imagine how many of our male friends don't take care of themselves because they can't stop, because they've got to do everything and wear all the hats. And they're not really good at delegating, like me. I suck at delegating. I will run over you. I'll just do it myself. Just do it myself. That's me.
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:13]:
I'm really bad at that. So I've had to learn to delegate and whatnot. So your service, you know, the remote estimating was so great. And not only that, not did it just take stuff off our plate, it allowed us to talk to the customer more. So we're not spending 15, 20 minutes building the estimate. We're spending that 15, 20 minutes presenting and getting them to say yes. So that's part of the magic.
Ash Kaplan [00:29:45]:
Did you see that?
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:49]:
The magic.
Ash Kaplan [00:29:50]:
Well, you know how much that means to me. Like, that's one of the most important things, and that's literally in our mission statement.
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:55]:
What is your mission statement?
Ash Kaplan [00:29:58]:
Empowering shops to grow through sustainable profit, reclaimed time, and meaningful connections. So heavy on the meaningful connections. That is my— that was my superpower. Like, I have customers from 12 years ago that are still friends with me from Atlanta. I live in Arizona now, right? Right. I have customers from years and years ago that still send me— she sends me Christmas presents in the mail. She sent me a housewarming present. And it's just like taking the time to show people they're important, right? Like that customer that's walking in, it's not just, hey, you're the F-150 customer, give me your keys, here's the keys.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:41]:
Okay, transactional, right? Whatever.
Ash Kaplan [00:30:43]:
It's, hey, Tanika, how are you today? Right. Hey, I heard about puppy. Last time I saw you, Santana had this going on. How did that go? Right. It's just caring and remembering things. And even if you're not, you know, you don't have to be good at remembering things, but it's just making people feel important. I was talking to a shop earlier today. They asked a question about— it's a question I get all the time.
Ash Kaplan [00:31:07]:
Hey, so our estimates are a lot higher than we're ever used to, and we're worried that customers feel that way too. I said, Great. Here's how I work through this. And it's just getting to understand where people are coming from. Are they just saying the price is high to say the price is high? Because it's like, oh yeah, I know inflation, we're trying to keep up too. Or is it, hey, do you have a budget you need to work with? Because we can still provide quality parts with a warranty we're comfortable backing that fits within your budget. It doesn't have to be OEM, but we can still do quality work for a little bit lower of a cost. But what is your goal with the vehicle? Have you had this car since it was new? Do you want to keep this car for 20 years? Do you need to get by the next 3 months so you don't go bankrupt? Right.
Ash Kaplan [00:31:53]:
What is your situation? And when you talk to people and you come back down to that human level, they're vulnerable. They'll tell you where they're at, and then you can solve their problem, which is— that's literally what we're supposed to be doing. Yes. Solve their problem. But you can't solve their problem if you don't know their problem.. And you're not, you can't make up their problem in your head. No.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:14]:
And then you can't sell out of your own pocket because you just assume that you know what they want. Like you have to have that conversation, right?
Ash Kaplan [00:32:23]:
It's a big issue that I see with our industry of people say, oh, you can make a lot of money being a service advisor. Let me jump in this and be a service advisor. But man, customers suck. No, you suck. Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:35]:
Because you didn't even try to figure out who you were talking to.
Ash Kaplan [00:32:38]:
What they needed. What did I need? Yeah, the best customers I've ever had are the ones that were an asshole to me to start with. Yeah. And I broke through that barrier and then they told me something that was actually going on. It's somebody was just diagnosed with cancer or she's got just enough money to get her son back to college and she's sacrificing everything to make sure her boy gets an education and is safe on the road. Right. You have to spend time getting to know people.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:07]:
You gotta have the conversation.
Ash Kaplan [00:33:08]:
We could have 10 episodes like just me ranting about that kind of stuff.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:12]:
Well, you got to have conversation. And I'm not saying that they're not idiots out there because there's some idiots. I mean, we're not trying to say— because you guys know that I'll be like, no, we're not gonna do that. But I had a similar situation, uh, the lady was just Oh, her son is at UNC and she was mean to my service advisor. And she was like, you got to get this one because I can't. And I said, okay. I'm talking to her and I'm letting her talk. And she's just going on.
Tonnika Haynes [00:33:40]:
And she was something else. And I had to say, hey, well, let me find out what's going on and I'll call you back. Because I had to bring, I had to calm myself down. Because I was like, if I talk to this lady right now, I am not going to make it to the upper room because I'm going to cuss her the hell out. But anyway, so Got myself together because sometimes you got to check yourself before you wreck yourself. And I called her back. And when I called her back, I could hear that she was crying or had been crying. And I said, okay, so miss ma'am, what's going on? I'm fine.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:10]:
No, no, no, ma'am. Sister to sister, why are you crying? She was having medical issues. The hospital was giving her a hard time. She felt alone. She was a single mom. She felt alone. And I said, whoa, okay, sis, let's talk about this. Have you tried this? Have you tried that? And, you know, I'm just letting her talk it through.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:32]:
And I said, I'll tell you what I need you— actually, she had somebody, she just didn't want to tell him. I said, I need you to call your boyfriend. I need you to tell him that you need him. Stop being a strong, independent woman, because you know how we can be, right? And I said, and we'll talk about your son's car. Later. I said, it's going to be fine, you and I will figure this out, but right now I need you to take care of yourself. Talk to her later about the car, next day or whatever, we got it situated. She apologized, but she didn't need to apologize to me because I recognized that it was something else.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:04]:
And it's not an excuse. Nobody should treat anybody bad because you're having a bad day. Just cause you're having a bad day, don't go messing up everybody else's bad day. But it does happen. I do it, you do it, I'm gonna do it again. But she ended up sending us snacks That was part of her apology, and I will take snacks any day of the week. But again, it was us providing service, and it wasn't all about the car. She was just overwhelmed, and we just had to have the conversation and not just be too busy to look people in the eye and connect with them.
Ash Kaplan [00:35:35]:
I think there's this wall that gets put up of like, I'm the business, you're the customer, and at the end of the day, we're just community. And like, that's what keeps That's a missing piece in a lot of businesses, and it's hard because we're in a very transactional world and we have to— like, we need profit, right? Like, we—
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:54]:
yeah, we—
Ash Kaplan [00:35:55]:
this is a capitalist country. We have to be profitable. We have to make money. But we can be human too.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:03]:
We can definitely do that. Yeah. But when we don't have time because we're doing all the things and we're wearing all the hats We forget that.
Ash Kaplan [00:36:12]:
So you get burnt out and it's like, that's part of your mission statement. Stacked up, 7 estimates to go. I got all these warranty calls to make. Oh, and you wanna call me to ask me a question again about the damn brakes that I just told you you need. Instead, it's like, all right, the estimates are covered, the warranty calls covered. Miss Toni, can you help me? Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:35]:
Well, do you, are you sure I need those brakes? Yes, ma'am. You need the brakes 'cause you will be driving like Fred Flintstone if you don't.
Ash Kaplan [00:36:43]:
Yeah, it's really, that's one of the most important things to me about what we do. But you know, it's no secret, I've recently shared online about this. I've been hesitant on how I word it because I feel like if you read this as a headline, you're like, what the heck? But I said like, I am not passionate about building estimates and doing warranty calls. Right. Our team is great at it because I've put in process and efficiencies, but that's not what I'm passionate about. What I'm passionate about is people getting to take care of themselves, get back to enjoying what you do about your job. For me, working so hard at the shop to make my shop owners tons of money, flip their shops around, was taking my passion out of it. I told you, I love cars, I love fixing things.
Ash Kaplan [00:37:32]:
And I didn't touch my project cars for months, years. I have one of my cars sitting there for years that hasn't been touched.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:39]:
And isn't that everybody though? I don't have any project cars.
Ash Kaplan [00:37:42]:
I don't do that. Yeah. Look at your nails.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:45]:
They're so pretty. They are so bad. Do not— oh, you can see them?
Ash Kaplan [00:37:51]:
Heather, my administrator, she, she's so talented, but she has her nails done all the time. They're gorgeous. She's got a routine. And a schedule, and she—
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:01]:
you do not want to play about my nails. Yeah, but we're getting ready to have the stupid ice storm in North Carolina, so do you mean the world's going to shut down for 72 hours? And my guy and his wife could not get me in, and so zero stars. Rude. I, I know I waited to the last damn minute.
Ash Kaplan [00:38:20]:
Tanika, how dare you make your scheduling problem their problem?
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:27]:
Good Lord, wait till I see them in person. Yeah, so I will have the raggedy hands for a little bit, but I'm not happy, John and Lovey. But anyway, so, oh, you said reclaiming your time was part of your mission statement.
Ash Kaplan [00:38:47]:
Yes, I love that. I get emotional, so I'm not going to go into too much detail, but like Girl, cry, cry for the camera.
Tonnika Haynes [00:38:54]:
Do it.
Ash Kaplan [00:38:56]:
I'll cry. Yeah, you— yeah, anyways, I'm a boohooer.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:01]:
Um, don't do that.
Ash Kaplan [00:39:03]:
I'm a boohooer. But, um, no, it's just like, I, you know, I don't have children, but I know how fast people— like, your children grow up really fast, and it's really easy to miss important moments. And I just think, like, if you're stuck in your shop You're literally stuck where you're trying to fix things, you can't fix it, and you're literally like on a treadmill. Like you're not getting anywhere, you're just going faster and faster. Yep. Why wouldn't you wanna spend that time with the things that matter? Like your children, your business isn't going anywhere. I mean, it could, I guess, but it's not going anywhere. Your kids are growing up.
Ash Kaplan [00:39:41]:
You not being at that soccer game or whatever, recital, they're looking out in the crowd for you and you're not there because you're so focused on this little thing in your business. Like those are really important things.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:51]:
So I'm not— I think a lot of dads miss out on that because of work. Like, the moms are usually there, but I, I did find that when I went to that 4-day work week, it was a blessing because that's right when Santana was starting with his football career and getting recruited for the colleges, and I could go with him. I think I missed one of his games, of all of his games, is because I had literally just had surgery on my foot, and then a friend Unfortunately, her son had passed away, and Santana's like, Mom, do not come to this game. It's on TV. It was on ESPN too, so I just sit there and holler at the TV. But he was my baby. He was on ESPN too. Wow.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:30]:
But he was there. I hollered so loud that, um, my neighbor, because she knew I had surgery, had came over like, did you fall? I was like, no, my baby's on the TV. Um, but it's my baby. On the TV. Um, it's nothing— that's not— it's not a greater feeling because even now they're back home. Jesus Christ, they're back home. But I mean, it's like, my God, I had a routine and everything. But they grow up way fast.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:00]:
Dads— because, you know, this is a male-dominated industry— are missing games and they're missing the time. And then I don't want them— what is the song? Singing Cats in a Cradle and a Silver Spoon. We don't want the dads doing that. So if you don't want to sing Cats in a Cradle and a Silver Spoon, just hire Golden Hour Garage. And no singing. You want me to finish it? Little boy meeting the man on the moon, when you're coming home, girl, I don't know when.
Ash Kaplan [00:41:33]:
That's all I know.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:35]:
Okay, you know I got a full-time band. So if you don't want to sing Cats in the Cradle to your children— no, maybe you do— hire Ash and her team.
Ash Kaplan [00:41:52]:
Reclaim your time. What?
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:56]:
What?
Ash Kaplan [00:41:56]:
Reclaim it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:58]:
So yeah, that was— it was the best. And profits are going to be there. And if you go ahead and put the things in place, your team can do it. Believe in them, let them do their jobs. And if, if you're there and you know you can push out $10K a day, but if you're not there, they only push out $8K, don't get mad. Go to the daggone game. It's okay.
Ash Kaplan [00:42:24]:
Reality check that I got recently, I went to a business summit, and one of the things they, they were talking to people in the crowd and they said, what could— what can you sell in a day? He said, $10,000. He said, okay, what can the other person sell in a day? He said, maybe $6,000 or $7,000. He goes, then that's amazing. If somebody else who's not you can do $6,000 to $7,000, you can do $10,000. That's amazing. Go find 5 more of those people. There you go. I was like, interesting.
Ash Kaplan [00:42:54]:
Okay. Because I get told a lot that I hold people to really high standards, um, and sometimes too high of standards. But I just have to realize not everybody is me, so I need to lower that expectation that I have for myself for other people just a little bit and give them some room to freaking breathe and grow.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:15]:
Yeah, because you got to think about it— well, I have to remind myself, okay, you've been doing this your whole life. Like, literally, you've been doing this whole she's been doing for 2 days. Okay, 2 years. Calm down. Yeah, calm down. The numbers don't lie, people and feelings do. She's growing, we're growing, everybody's growing. Nobody's singing Cats in the Cradle, we singing Friday Night, just got paid, party hearty.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:47]:
But anyway, so what else do we need to talk about? We talked about golden hour. We talked about you tinkering.
Ash Kaplan [00:43:55]:
Yeah, um, that people just don't really know about me because you don't look at a woman and assume they can do all the things.
Tonnika Haynes [00:44:06]:
But, uh, and you're cute doing the things. Oh, you're cute doing the things. And we need to let other girls know, young ladies to know, that you can actually be cute do the things and being in the industry?
Ash Kaplan [00:44:20]:
Yes. Yes, you can. Yes. My only hesitation in that is don't do it just to prove people wrong, or like, oh, I, you know, turned this wrench this one time and now I'm a mechanic. Like, do things the right way. Like, I got pink tools. Certifications are important for a reason. So like part of my journey was I'll kind of— okay, I'm going to use this chance to kind of explain a little bit because it'll make more sense.
Ash Kaplan [00:44:54]:
But go tinkering as a kid, doing the damn thing. I always have had the English. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and it started as young as 7 years old with duct tape. When you remember when duct tape came out with all them prints and stuff. Yeah, and designs and stuff. So I took— what did you do? I went to Walmart and I bought like 10 rolls of duct tape, leopard print, zebra print, all the camouflage, all these colors. And I got a— it's going—
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:29]:
a huge—
Ash Kaplan [00:45:30]:
I got a huge board. I don't remember what the board was called, and X-Acto knives. And I started making wallets and purses and belts and phone cases at 7 years old. And I took them to my church. We had our Easter extravaganza and the bake sale. I said, can I please have a table for my duct tape? They're like, look at this little child. Of course. Well, I'm pimping out duct tape wallets for $15, $20, and people are like, I can buy a roll of duct tape for $3.
Ash Kaplan [00:45:58]:
What are you charging me for this? I said, because I'm cute. And so I sold all these duct tape things. Well, this person came to our church and they were a website developer and they said, I'd like to build you a website. I said, okay. So they said, what do you want to call it? I said, Duct Tape Diva. So they made me a website at 7 years old called Duct Tape Diva. And I made little videos of me making the things and they put them on the website. So there was like tutorials on how I was making this stuff.
Ash Kaplan [00:46:25]:
It's not still there because I didn't continue. My dad didn't pay for the domain. Yeah, but yeah, so it started really young that I knew like, okay, I have a talent and I can turn this into money, right? Cool. Let me keep doing that. So I just kept doing that. Then I was hustling snacks at school because I went— I was in middle school and high school during the Michelle Obama, like, the healthy—
Tonnika Haynes [00:46:50]:
you couldn't have any.
Ash Kaplan [00:46:53]:
Yeah, honey buns. No. Yeah. So I was pimping out snacks and stuff at school and school supplies and erasers and mechanical pencils. Oh yeah. Anything I could do to make money, I was trying to figure it out. Um, so anyways, I had to grow up really quickly. You know my whole story, I won't get into that.
Ash Kaplan [00:47:10]:
But move out at 15, what do I do? I need to keep a roof over my head and also have an education. So I do that damn thing and I get into car sales. Um, wasn't the plan. I did not anticipate being in the industry because I saw how hard the industry was on my family. And, um, so I was taking accounting classes when I was in college. I was— I did dual enrollment where I was in high school and college at the same time. Um, so I was taking business management and accounting classes. So I thought I wanted to be an accountant because it's stable.
Ash Kaplan [00:47:46]:
And—
Tonnika Haynes [00:47:46]:
oh my God, me too. Yeah, but I— my eyes cross when I look at all those numbers. Yeah.
Ash Kaplan [00:47:52]:
So the first big girl job I got offered was at this car dealership in Marietta, Georgia. Shout out to to them. I loved that place as an account receivable, accounts payable, title clerk. It was kind of a multitude of things, but just helping them fill the gap in that. And I was underage, but they took a chance on me because I talked the talk and I walked in, I said, this is what I can do. I was 17, so legally I wasn't supposed to be doing titles and state stuff and whatever. But anyways, I hated it. I was really good at it and I did it faster than anybody had ever done it.
Ash Kaplan [00:48:27]:
And they were so surprised and they're like, how do you do it? It had to be boring.
Tonnika Haynes [00:48:31]:
It was so boring.
Ash Kaplan [00:48:32]:
It was the same thing over and over. And I wasn't fixing things. I wasn't creating things. I wasn't solving problems. And I would start to get in trouble because I would go over on my lunch break because I'd be sitting down on the lobby talking to customers or salespeople. Right. And my boss would, when she would come storming down the stairs to come get me, I was like, oh, I got to go. But I realized I just didn't have the heart.
Tonnika Haynes [00:48:53]:
Young lady, get your ass back in there and count the beans.
Ash Kaplan [00:48:56]:
These numbers ain't gonna count themselves.
Tonnika Haynes [00:48:58]:
Yeah, numbers not gonna count themselves. Sorry, sorry.
Ash Kaplan [00:49:01]:
So I ended up going to the president of the company. I said, "Hey, I do a really good job at this and I value that, but I don't like it at all. I really like talking to the people and trying to help them find a car that actually fits their needs." And when your sales guys are super busy, chasing finance, bringing in paperwork back and forth and dilly-dallying on their phone in the parking lot. I said, these customers are sitting here talking, talking themselves out of things. And I've just— I literally would walk up to people, they'd be like, I don't know, but, you know, this other website has it for $3,000 more. And I just walk up and be like, hey guys, have you guys been helped? And just like jump in naturally. Do you have any questions that I can help answer for you? Well, yeah, I'm curious about this one thing or whatever. So it's just natural to me to like go in and talk to people.
Ash Kaplan [00:49:46]:
And so I went to the president, I'm like, "Can I please work in sales?" They didn't have a position open in sales yet, so he put me in finance and collections to start. Did that for a little bit until the salesman role finally opened and I sold cars. And then I went on to an independent buy, it was like a buy here, pay here that had a whole service shop. And I sold cars, ran operations. I was director of operations at 19. And I just realized I really liked taking care of people on the mechanical side more because that's more my style. With buy here, pay here, we had to fix the cars that we were financing people so they would continue making payments. And I just found myself liking that type of problem to solve.
Ash Kaplan [00:50:34]:
Like, they're really stressed out because they need to make this payment and they need to get to work. They like figuring out how to maneuver all that so that they could get by was fun. And so that's what got me. Yeah, that's what got me into the independent world. I left that to go work in a shop. So my first real just shop, that's all it was, was a shop in Georgia that was woman-owned. It was female-owned and operated. And that, that is where I learned majority of what I now continue to teach other people.
Ash Kaplan [00:51:09]:
So I did, I had a lot of fun there, but I was quickly promoted to like an assistant manager, service manager role. And the technicians really loved me because I sold, you know, I, whatever they told me, you know, I'd go out, look at the car with them and I would actually want to understand. It wasn't just, hey, go sell this brake flush. It was like, okay, well show me, show me why it needs it. Tell me what happens if they don't do it. Like help me understand. And a lot of the technicians really respected that. But at the end of the day, I could not step in and do their job if I had to.
Ash Kaplan [00:51:43]:
And there was a lost respect because of that. And I had like a come to Jesus moment with myself where I was like, how can I tell somebody to do their job if I don't know how to do it? So still working full-time, I enrolled at Chattahoochee Technical College to do the automotive technology. Yeah, to do the automotive technology program. And I went through the majority of the course. I'm a 4-time college dropout. So yeah, I went through majority of the course and I learned what most technicians go through school to become certified. Had I finished, I actually would've had a master technician certification, which means nothing, by the way, from a school. If you actually go and do it in the trade, it means something.
Ash Kaplan [00:52:27]:
But the school hands you a paper that says you're a master tech when you're not. So anyways, I learned more of the technical side and then would actually wrench. So like my days off, I would go in as a lube tech and like Wednesday and Saturday were my days off and I would literally go put the lube tech uniform on and change oil and do random other things. Started working on my own cars a lot more independently. Like usually I would do it, but I'd always want someone to like be there to make sure I don't screw things up. Started doing it more independently and realized I just like, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Yeah.
Ash Kaplan [00:53:00]:
So yeah, it gave me a lot more respect too for technicians. So I, when technicians get to know me, you know how big my heart is for you. Right. Like that's something I can get into a whole other topic and conversation about because of how much respect I have for people that care about customers' cars, care about safety, care about doing things the right way. I'm like, boy, you ought to make $250,000. Like go make your money. Um, so yeah, and then I ended up going to school again. Like I said, 4-time college dropout, girl.
Tonnika Haynes [00:53:34]:
So you— damn, what did you not do?
Ash Kaplan [00:53:38]:
You ever work for McDonald's? And I worked for Burger King for 6 months when I was 15, and then they wanted me to be manager.
Tonnika Haynes [00:53:45]:
Part Jamaican, like, I got 15 job, I do all the job. I, I've done a lot of things. So when people say Oh, what was it on Face Space the other day? You're just out here trying to make a profit. That was the dumbest thing I've ever read in my whole life. Like, we all are. But you have completely just edified yourself today. You're like, I know what the hell I'm doing. I've been there, done that, did it again, got a certificate, kinda.
Tonnika Haynes [00:54:12]:
And yeah, so you know how to do it.
Ash Kaplan [00:54:16]:
I am ASC certified. I am an ASC certified technician. So there's that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:54:21]:
You got dirt on my hands.
Ash Kaplan [00:54:23]:
She's got everything. Insert it right here. Yeah. Um, yeah, AC, brake, and, um, I— well, not anymore.
Tonnika Haynes [00:54:30]:
My brake is expired, but you got it.
Ash Kaplan [00:54:33]:
It's the same.
Tonnika Haynes [00:54:34]:
Yeah, they just want their money. I just want their money. So you're legit. You know what you're doing sometimes. What would you tell— I love learning. What would you tell a person that wanted to do Like, what would you tell a female that wanted to come into the industry? What do you think the hardest part is being a female in the industry? Like, you already said that you already know, you know your stuff, you can actually do it. What would you tell a young lady?
Ash Kaplan [00:55:05]:
Don't be a victim. People are going to be mean to you. People are going to tear you apart. They're going to test you every day. And like You know I struggle with that sometimes even as hard as I, like, I have credibility and then I forget sometimes and I'm like, and I was trying to defend myself. I'm like, I don't need to defend myself to this person. Not to you anyway. Yeah, but no, that's a big thing.
Ash Kaplan [00:55:28]:
Like I talk to a lot of young girls that want to get into automotive. I have a friend who has a 17-year-old and she became very interested after watching me and my husband's Like we're big into drifting and stuff and working on our cars and she is fascinated by it and I love that. But I won't be like, I won't be the person that's like, do it, go for it, absolutely do it without giving them some of the like warning, like a trigger warning. Like, hey, if a technician got in your face and started screaming at you and called you every name under the sun, how are you gonna handle that?
Tonnika Haynes [00:56:05]:
'Cause it's gonna happen. Automotive. Yeah.
Ash Kaplan [00:56:07]:
And if you start crying, you're done. You gotta pull them britches up, hold back those tears and wait until they're done. You can go in the closet later, in the bathroom later and cry. Cry tomorrow.
Tonnika Haynes [00:56:19]:
Yeah.
Ash Kaplan [00:56:19]:
That's, no, that's what I've done. I've literally, okay, call me, I don't know what I can say on this, but call me everything you wanna call me. That's fine. How are we gonna get this problem solved? And then I'm gonna go in the bathroom and boohoo and get mad, wipe, wash my face with some water, go back in the office and start over. But Yeah, you, you have to be strong. You have to be resilient. You have to have a lot of grit. Grit.
Ash Kaplan [00:56:44]:
Because this industry will try to rip you apart if you let it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:56:47]:
Any industry will try to rip anybody apart, but you just cannot have your feelings on your sleeve. Like, feelings don't pay. Yeah, you got to have boundaries. Feelings will not pay your bills. Everybody's got them. Like, dudes deal with this stuff too. I mean, it's no joke. Yeah, but you have to decide, like, if you can— you have to know how to handle this.
Tonnika Haynes [00:57:11]:
And it's like with anything in the world, honey, baby, nobody cares what your mom about you crying. That's not going to fix it. You're going to box or you're going to kick rocks. Yeah, like, but you have to find your tribe to cry to.
Ash Kaplan [00:57:25]:
Well, that's important. Find a community, build a community, build your, um counsel, right? And that's what's changed for me. It went from— I have a little bit of an inflated ego. I definitely have an ego, but it definitely used to be a lot higher. And it was because I thought I knew everything. And then when I got out and actually started learning more and hearing other perspectives, I realized how much I just didn't know. But it was good. It was a good reality check for me.
Ash Kaplan [00:57:58]:
But yeah, I have a hard time with that because I want more women in the industry. We are so talented. Women are so good at multitasking. We're so good with people. We're naturally nurturing. And so for a customer, that's great. But also as a technician, we are far more attentive to detail. Exactly.
Ash Kaplan [00:58:16]:
We are far more committed to a better outcome. And so like even with my husband and I, we can work on the same problem and have two different outcomes because he gets with this, ooh, him and I can't work on cars in the same space together because I will throw something at him because he'll skip steps to like if the control arm bolt sees or something, he skips steps and compromises some safety things. And I'm like, I would rather do it the right way and by the book.
Tonnika Haynes [00:58:47]:
Like I just wrote a note to myself, he can't work on my car. He will kill you, do not let this man work on your car.
Ash Kaplan [00:58:52]:
He means well, but there's times where like he's doing something, I'm like, I don't think that's sure. Structurally, like that's not integral. Like let's take a step back here. But anyways, we just tend to be a little bit more of by the book, follow the process, trust the process. So the female technicians that I know that have done really well in the industry, that's why, because they're so attentive to detail. A lot of men are too, but men are very good at compartmentalizing where we're very good at multitasking. We just have strength. We each have our strengths.
Ash Kaplan [00:59:25]:
Men have their strengths, we have our strengths. And if we can foster a better industry that welcomes both working together, it will change and it will be amazing. But we have to kind of separate that. Like, I struggle with the feminism thing, not getting into too much of that, but just the like, I don't think I'm better than somebody else because I'm a woman. I don't think you're better than me 'cause you're a man. Like, what makes me— like, I'm good at what I'm good at, you're good at what you're good at. Just bring to the table whatever you bring to the freaking table, right?
Tonnika Haynes [01:00:01]:
So we're not trying to be a man, don't want to.
Ash Kaplan [01:00:04]:
I like my lady.
Tonnika Haynes [01:00:05]:
Yeah, no, like you say, 1 1 2. We can all work together, kumbaya, in the industry. That would be so cool.
Ash Kaplan [01:00:13]:
Yeah, yeah, egos aside. There's a lot of great men in our community that, that are very accepting, very welcoming, and protect us.
Tonnika Haynes [01:00:24]:
I've only met like a couple of them, and I don't even remember them. None-factors. It's like, I don't know if their mama didn't love them or what, but I have never really had a problem. And that's one thing when people say, how is it to be a woman? I've no— I've only been a woman. I don't know how it is to be a woman in the industry. I mean, I know because that's the only thing I know. I don't know what it's like to be a man, so I can't compare it. So don't ask me that.
Tonnika Haynes [01:00:46]:
Please do not ask me that question. What is it like to be a woman? What's it like to be a Black woman? I've only been a Black woman. I don't know the difference, so I can't answer that for you. But if I transform and I become a white man, then I can answer that question for you. But until then, and only until then, I can only just be me. I love when you say that because it's so true. It is. And I feel like sometimes I may get canceled for it, but I hate that question.
Tonnika Haynes [01:01:09]:
It's like, I don't know that this is my experience. I have never had another experience, and I don't know the difference to tell you what it's like because—
Ash Kaplan [01:01:21]:
so that goes back to the first thing I got. My gut reaction to your question was just don't be a victim. Like, woe is not me. Yeah, my journey has been hard because it's been hard for certain reasons.
Tonnika Haynes [01:01:34]:
Yeah, like it's been hard because you're a woman. It's just been hard because that was your situation at time. Yeah.
Ash Kaplan [01:01:40]:
So yeah, just don't be a victim. Things are going to happen. Take accountability for what you can take accountability for. Don't let people disrespect you either. Oh, hell no. Find that line. Like, I'm going to help you figure this out, but what you're not about to do.
Tonnika Haynes [01:01:53]:
What you ain't going to do is. I had one guy that worked for me and I could tell he was a duck. The other technician said he owned his wife. It was the way he would talk about his wife. He was like, he owns himself a wife. So one day he says, he just pisses, he pissed me off. Oh my God. I don't remember exactly what it was, but a car needed a taillight was blown.
Tonnika Haynes [01:02:17]:
He never pulled the taillight because it was an HID or something. But what happened, we were like, you must have a short or somewhere. This guy's checking everything. He can't find anything wrong. I apologize. You might have to take this to the dealer. We just can't find it. She was great.
Tonnika Haynes [01:02:32]:
I was like, I'm sorry, I can't help you with this one. Get to the dealership, it was a pinched wire right at the connector. And he never pulled the taillight out. Because he was just thinking, you got to think small sometimes. I was like, he was just trying to make this big problem. He's just trying to trace this electrical problem that didn't exist really. She bought the car used. It had been in an accident.
Tonnika Haynes [01:02:55]:
The wire was pinched. And so blow the fuse, blow the bulb every now and again. But anyway. Well, talking to him about it, and he's like, well, sometimes I feel like you think that you, you are in control of me. What? I was like, so yeah, from 7 to 5:30, you exchange your talents for my money. I've got the money, therefore I am in control. That is my name on the building. I sign your paycheck.
Tonnika Haynes [01:03:26]:
I am in control. But the craziest thing, I, I do ask sometimes, you know, that I'm a woman, this is my shop, this is never going to change. It's okay if you have a problem, but you have to understand there's no man coming to save you. Like, there's no second opinion. What I say is what I say. I'm the HBIC. So I'm the head in charge. So if you have a problem with that, I need you to go into your soul now.
Tonnika Haynes [01:04:03]:
I'm not saying you're wrong, but if you cannot listen and take dictation, correction, instruction from your female superior I'm not superior, I work with my team, but what I say goes at the end, then you might not want to work here because there's no man. My daddy ain't coming, my man ain't coming, my children ain't coming, nobody's coming. I'm the beginning and the end. Do you want to be a part of this team? Hell yeah! Okay then, let's go!
Ash Kaplan [01:04:42]:
But anyway, Let me switch the pace real quick because there's something I want you to tell people that I know about you, but I don't know, I don't know if many people do. Like, the— your shop is your dad's legacy, sort of. Like, yes, Mr. Brown is— his name is on the building, your family name is on the building, but please tell them how you turned that shop from literally nothing.
Tonnika Haynes [01:05:08]:
Like, tell them the story. The story is it wasn't a shop. So my dad started— it was originally called The Body Shop. So my dad started as a collision specialist. We had a body shop since 1980, um, and we grew. Like, we moved into our current location, uh, was like 2 weeks before 9/11. Wow. So yeah, it was crazy, um, We built the collision center.
Tonnika Haynes [01:05:38]:
It was at that time, I don't think it's still out, it might still be, it was the largest independently owned collision center on the East Coast. Wow. When my daddy does something, he does it big. Like, people think that I'm extra. I am not. I'm very muted compared to Mr. Brown. My dad is a trip, child.
Tonnika Haynes [01:05:57]:
Um, so like, we had, we have, we rent that building out now, but Down draft paint booths. We had all the latest equipment, technology, blah, blah, this, blah, blah, that. Um, and, but we built the service department as a different business, different building to play the game with the insurance companies. Because, for example, my current labor rate is $180. Okay. I don't know what it was back in the day. Back in the day, I want to say it was about $120. And when I say back in the day, 10 years ago.
Tonnika Haynes [01:06:28]:
I could take a car that had been in a collision that needed suspension work or AC charge, evacuate and recharge, um, and do that, but they would only pay us— the going rate back then was like $38. I think we finally got to $40 an hour. But if I took that same job and took it to Chapel Hill Tire up the street and sublet the work, they would pay them the whole rate. So what Dad decided to do is like, well, I'll just open another shop. And we opened Brown's Tire and Auto, different tax ID number, right in the same parking lot, just right next door. And we hired a mechanic to do the work over there so we could get more money from the insurance company and get paid for what we were doing, because they don't do that. And I don't even know how these people still live because the rates are still that low. I don't think it's above 50.
Tonnika Haynes [01:07:18]:
No, in North Carolina, I don't think it's— because insurance companies, they rule that whole world. So anyway, my dad decided to retire And I've always been a body shop girl. That's what I won my awards in. That was the industry I knew. And he decided to lease the building out, and he let me— and I do say let because Black people don't get to have a conversation with their parents about, hey, Dad, you know, I really wanted that. He was like, shit, I ain't got to give you nothing. So I was grateful for what he gave me, and I remember the first year, I did have a mindset of if I can just break even, if I can just make enough money for me and my kids, that's all I need to do. So I think— and I really need to look this up so I'll make valid statements, but true statements— I think the number that I needed to reach was like $60,000 a month.
Tonnika Haynes [01:08:17]:
So I've never had coaching, we never advertised that shop, because we only just did our insurance work. Our customers kind of knew we did it, so we did oil changes and state inspections, and that was about the extent of it. So I was saying yes to every oil change. I was doing every coupon, every state inspection, saying yes to everything. Lawnmower tires, tractor tires, do this real quick, bring my own parts, all of this stuff. Um, but then I found the community. Of ASOG on Facebook, and I started to creep around there to see what are you people talking about. And they were talking about making some money.
Tonnika Haynes [01:08:59]:
It's like, well, you know, maybe I can do a little bit better. And start following Lucas Underwood and his talking tail, and he made me very comfortable to go into Facebook Messenger. I would never put anything out there and ask questions and, um,. And he would, you know, answer my questions like, okay, maybe I can implement that. And I was very meek and mild about it because I didn't know what I was doing. And then I heard about the expo. I heard about, he was talking about the expo. And I also did follow at that time, Rick White had a lot of information on the interweb.
Tonnika Haynes [01:09:35]:
And I did enjoy the things that he would say. And I remember the first meeting, we would have the pre-party at this little wing spot in Cary when it was in a smaller spot. And Rick was sitting outside on the patio, and I told Dionne, I was like, listen, I said, I'm going to coach with that guy. I was like, I really want him to be my coach. And I attended every class, and I was sitting there like, what? And so I really soaked it up, and the community was great at the Expo. I mean, it really, really changed my life, and I know I talk about it a lot, and I'm very involved with the board, but this thing was life-changing for me. It was the networking and the knowing that I wasn't alone, seeing other females. What? There are females here? Meeting people like Rick, meeting Becky Witt, meeting Mimby.
Tonnika Haynes [01:10:27]:
Just, it was crazy. The lobby was lit and it's just a lot of conversations. I'm just looking at people like they're superstars. I'm looking at Lucas Underwood like he was somebody. Ain't nobody Lucas. But I was just excited to meet him, right? Girl, start coaching with Rick. Start listening, because I'm not coachable. I am something else.
Tonnika Haynes [01:10:48]:
Start listening. Start implementing. I did do a lot of pushback, um, but when I hit that first million and it was a profitable million, you couldn't tell me nothing. I remember calling my dad. I was going out— no, no, I was going somewhere. I was calling Dad. I was like, hey, So there's a lot of money in my checking account. Um, I feel like buying something that I don't need.
Tonnika Haynes [01:11:13]:
And it was like, when you say a lot of money, what you mean? I was like, that's a lot of money. Like all the checks have cleared. Cause you know, sometimes it's like, oh, there's a check that's got to clear. And I was like, I just reconciled. All the bills are paid. All the vendors are paid. All the checks have cleared and there's money left over. And I'm going to buy myself something stupid.
Tonnika Haynes [01:11:33]:
And he was like, well, just send me a picture of what the hell you go buy. So that was fun. So just growing and trusting the process and doing what Rick said. And it irritated the crap out of me. It was like, Tanika, you're, you've got too many cars. What do you mean I got too many cars? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life. You got to have the cars to make the money. He's like, no, if you bring less cars in, you'll make more money.
Tonnika Haynes [01:12:01]:
Listen, man, don't give me a snake oil. I don't want to do this. Just tell me how to make the money. Do less cars. I want to do less cars. I'm a Capricorn. I'm bossy. Nobody tells me what to do, right? So I drank the Kool-Aid and I started to do what Mr.
Tonnika Haynes [01:12:16]:
White said. And guess what? Did less cars, make more money. So right now I, um, work less hours, do less cars, and still make more money. Each year I've grown by at least 10%. Actually, last year only grew 9.6. I do a lot of working on the business, is not in it. I do still work in my business. I'm going to keep my finger on the business's pulse.
Ash Kaplan [01:12:39]:
I was gonna say, weren't you just wash— hand washing?
Tonnika Haynes [01:12:42]:
I will hand wash a rug. Yes. Yeah, I did, because I'm not paying nobody to do that because I can put that money in the bank and buy something. But I do, I like to clean. I do. The technicians call it rage cleaning. I like to still go in there, like on a Friday I went in and polished the floors today. I like to clean up because it gives me time to look at the shop from a different angle and, um, I can see like, oh, I need to fix that, or, oh, that's dirty, because it's the shop's closed.
Tonnika Haynes [01:13:07]:
I can pay attention to everything. So I still like to go and do my own things. And I don't ever want to be that— yeah, I don't want to be the absentee owner yet, yet.
Ash Kaplan [01:13:16]:
Oh no. Well, even, even when you step more into the investor versus business owner aspect, you'll still be present in that shop. You will.
Tonnika Haynes [01:13:25]:
You'll get bored and you'll be— I love the people.
Ash Kaplan [01:13:27]:
Yeah, I like the people. Yeah. But I was going to say that people talk a lot about the word culture and it's something that's really difficult. Like, it's very difficult to have the picture-perfect culture.
Tonnika Haynes [01:13:41]:
I do not have it.
Ash Kaplan [01:13:42]:
I don't care what Facebook tells y'all. Please stop, because that's what I've admired about you and your shop. Like, they don't— I'm one of your biggest fans on Facebook. When Brown's Automotive posts, I'm sat because your people are gleaming with joy in every picture.
Tonnika Haynes [01:13:58]:
I have like a gun behind the camera. Girl, stop.
Ash Kaplan [01:14:02]:
Hey, you better smile.
Tonnika Haynes [01:14:03]:
Take the damn credit. You better smile. No, right. I'm going to take my flowers because I'm bad about that.
Ash Kaplan [01:14:08]:
I don't take credit very well. You have built that. Like, Tanika, you did that shit. Yeah. Like Haley, well, I don't know if I can name drop. Can I name drop? Haley Stewart. Oh gosh, I'm gonna, now this is bad 'cause I can't remember everybody else's name. Who, who is it? Anyway, they are so smiley.
Tonnika Haynes [01:14:29]:
They're so goofy.
Ash Kaplan [01:14:30]:
They're so happy. They are goofy. I love them. They live, they live in that shop. Like watching them at ASTA was hilarious.
Tonnika Haynes [01:14:40]:
I was so proud of them. All of them together. Like, they're downtown Raleigh on the little scooter things, riding drunk. It was hilarious. I was like, what do you got? And they are like, the age groups are from like 22 to 30-something. And they were all together the whole time. That was really a great moment for me. I felt left out.
Tonnika Haynes [01:15:02]:
I did. They didn't ask me to go on a scooter. But anyway, but no, that really made my day, especially them dancing on the little photo thing with a photo booth.
Ash Kaplan [01:15:15]:
I think it's just like, you, you show up, you care, you put your heart out there, you hold people to a high standard, but it's an achievable high standard, and you show them how to get to it. Like, you give them the tools, you give them grace so that they can get up to that standard, and then you pour into them. Like, What did we— we were in Arizona for Ratchet and Wrench. Ratchet and Wrench. Yeah. And you're on your phone. We're talking, you're on your phone and kind of like trailing off conversation. You're like, sorry, hold on.
Ash Kaplan [01:15:44]:
I'm ordering lunch for the team right now to surprise them. Like, and I'm like, wow. Wow. My people.
Tonnika Haynes [01:15:50]:
Like they didn't ask you to do that. Without them, there's no me. I mean, there could be, but it'd be a different me. And so I really take pride that I am helping to support the families, the education, the growth, because they may not be with me forever, but I want them to remember me and I want them to have learned something. And my dad was always like that. Like, oh my goodness, if my dad has had 100 employees, 95 will show up for his— for him at any time. Yeah, like everybody just loves that, no matter how crazy he act or how pissed You know how many times he fired them? Like, he fired me a couple of times, but I just want to be that. I don't want to just be a paycheck to them.
Tonnika Haynes [01:16:34]:
I want everybody to have something to take away if they ever leave me.
Ash Kaplan [01:16:40]:
And this is what's hard. Like, I'm new into being a solo entrepreneur now because coming from a really bad partnership to let me do this by myself, let me trust myself, which when I said I would elaborate more, like ASTA changed my life because I was carrying a lot of metaphorical weight of representing a company that I poured everything into building to things that were out of my control because I had partners tainting everything that I built. Carrying that weight, having to look in, look at you, you are my friend and a client, right? Other people were my friends and my clients and having to look at you I don't under— and I couldn't fix the problem. I am a problem solver, like, and I couldn't fix this problem. And I— oh, it tore you up too. It really did. Heather. Heather is, um, one of my employees who is phenomenal.
Ash Kaplan [01:17:40]:
She is my right-hand woman. And she— so we had never met in person because my business is remote.
Tonnika Haynes [01:17:47]:
My prior business was remote.
Ash Kaplan [01:17:49]:
You've never met Heather?
Tonnika Haynes [01:17:50]:
No, we have now, but we have now.
Ash Kaplan [01:17:52]:
But before you hadn't? We had not ever met in person. We talked on the phone for hours and hours and hours and hours. She worked for me remotely, but at ASTA was the first in-person interaction, which it didn't even feel like the first time we actually met because we'd been pretty close. But I get up, I come down the, um, what's it called, the thing that goes— escalator, Ashley?
Tonnika Haynes [01:18:17]:
Elevator.
Ash Kaplan [01:18:17]:
Elevator. One of the elevators. I come down the elevator and go to give her a hug, and she immediately— like, if you know Heather, you know You get what you get with her. There is no filter. If you want to know how she feels, she will let you know. So it's not, hey, how are you? She goes, Ash, you okay? And I'm like, yeah. And like, I'm somebody that I carry all my emotion in my throat. And so when I'm anxious or sad or mad, it's in my throat.
Ash Kaplan [01:18:47]:
Like, I get emotional about things. That other people wouldn't get. Like, every feeling I feel is right here. So I'm like choked up and I can barely talk. And she just, she created a very safe space for me to just let it all out. And, um, yeah, I shared what was really heavy for me and she was the first person to validate what I felt but was too scared to admit. Was, I can do this on my own. I did this.
Ash Kaplan [01:19:22]:
I— the previous company, I built one. Okay, let me backtrack. 99.5% by myself. I did everything except the parts that didn't work. So she said, you already did this. You already did the parts that work. Just go do it again. And this time, don't let other people have control over how you do it.
Ash Kaplan [01:19:45]:
And so I wasn't sure. I was like, sounds great, but who am I to go do this? And I always say that, like, who am I to whatever? And I started letting the limiting beliefs that other people put onto me creep in where I'm like, oh, but I'm so young. She's like, that doesn't matter. Look at what you did before. And she starts bringing up my emancipation and all the things I did at such a young age. She's like, don't let that get in the way. You, you know that that's a lie. She was calling me out on my shit.
Ash Kaplan [01:20:16]:
She's like, that's an excuse, that's an excuse. And I was like, okay, okay. So then, um, I meet my— one of my new favorite friends, who again, like you, I can't believe we've known each other for as short as we have. Um, but Miss Katie, I love you. We immediately bond immediately. And Katie was the second person that's like, you've got something going on here. And she has backed me up and she introduced me to Bimby and then Bimby pulls you up. We already knew each other and you knew the good parts of what I had built.
Ash Kaplan [01:20:55]:
And she comes to you like, Ash, you need to talk to Tanika. And I'm like, I am scared.
Tonnika Haynes [01:20:59]:
I am so scared. Oh my God. She called me and she's like, Ash needs you now. And I'm thinking, who I gotta fight? Like, what happened? Because she's like, no, come right now. But I'm so glad that we took that time to talk, and we will continue to talk and pour into you because you deserve it. You've worked so hard for so long. Now it is your time. It is your golden hour, literally.
Tonnika Haynes [01:21:29]:
You have done the work. It is time for your reward. You deserve everything that's coming to you. It is on the way. I saw the tracking number. It is on the way. You are amazing. People just don't— enough people don't know it yet.
Tonnika Haynes [01:21:49]:
You are here to give people their time back. You're here to help them be more profitable. You're here to help them, and they don't even know they need you yet. But when they need you, you're going to show up. You're going to do all the ash magic.
Ash Kaplan [01:22:08]:
That's one of the things I journal intentionally about. I said, just keep putting me in the right place at the right time. For whatever reason, I keep getting put in the right place at the right time. And I told you, we talked about this yesterday, but like opportunity. I've been asking for opportunities and they show up in mysterious ways that don't look like opportunities, but I'm starting to find the opportunity in every little thing. So like, every little thing— the whole story of picking up the penny, I felt like that was a test from God or the universe that why would I give this child everything she's asking for if she's not going to pick up this penny?
Tonnika Haynes [01:22:43]:
She's not going to pick up this penny, right?
Ash Kaplan [01:22:45]:
So I picked up the penny and I passed the test. So just doors keep opening and opportunities keep coming up. And I'm beyond— like, I'm positively overwhelmed. Anytime someone's, I want to learn about your business, I'm like, who, me? Like, yeah, you. Like, let me, let me like contain my excitement first and be professional because I get—
Tonnika Haynes [01:23:07]:
it's like, don't just praise him at that time and be yourself. If I— when I would say that to myself at the shop, and we've got— we've been here like an hour and a half— when I would say that to myself, when I said to myself, oh, I need Bill, I need a white guy up here, um, when I would say contain yourself, mute yourself, don't wear your hair like that, maybe you shouldn't put red lipstick on today, my customers would really say 'Are you okay?' The people that knew and loved me, I promise you, if I answer the phone and I'm not me, I do not use scripts, and I answer the phone, 'Brown's Automotive, this is Tanika, how may I help you?' 'Is you all right, Miss Tanika? Are you having a bad day?' I mean, these are my grandmas and stuff, you know, like, they're like, 'Mm, that's not who we were expecting.' I remember my NAPA representative told me one time, and that was my identity— not a crisis, I don't have a crisis— but when I really didn't feel like I fit fit in the industry. And I went to my desk to the back, and I had Bill up front. I remember him saying— Van Whitmore— he said, um, you are the brand. So, Ash, you are the brand. You are the golden hour. If you have emotion behind what you're doing and what you're saying, that is okay. That's being authentic, and that's all that we need.
Tonnika Haynes [01:24:35]:
That's what the whole world needs. And I'm going to stop because I know you're trying to hold your, your tears back.
Ash Kaplan [01:24:40]:
No, it's just that's my number one core value. So I have four core values and they're in an order for a reason, and it's authenticity is number one.
Tonnika Haynes [01:24:48]:
Yeah. So don't say stop and let me be professional. Don't stop. I just need you to be Ash. Yeah. Because that's who people are wanting to buy from. People buy from, you know what they say, people they trust, know, and love.
Ash Kaplan [01:25:03]:
I got on a warranty call the other day 'cause when a warranty rep gives one of my team members a hard time, because my goal is to make your shop profitable, right? So when the warranty rep gives one of my team members a hard time, which by the way, little small plug is all of my employees, my entire team are from the industry. They're you, they're you, they're you, they're you. They're service advisors, managers, technicians from the industry because My whole philosophy is we cannot serve you if we haven't been in your shoes. So that's a little snippet. But anyways, so they're smart, they know how to do these warranty calls, they know the right things to say. My clients, you don't ever have to worry that they didn't say the right thing to get you the approval. So when a warranty rep wants to be ugly with one of my people, I'm like, patch me in. So I'm talking to this guy and I speak the way that I speak.
Ash Kaplan [01:25:56]:
I don't have a super high-pitched tone. And to some people who don't know me, hear me speak, they think that I have an attitude. I don't have an attitude.
Tonnika Haynes [01:26:08]:
This is just how I talk.
Ash Kaplan [01:26:08]:
I just have a deep voice. So I'm explaining to this guy the situation with the car. Well, what really grinds my gears is if I have to repeat myself and I know that somebody's not listening to the words that I'm saying. And so he keeps asking me the same question. And I said, at what point are you going to stop asking me the same question and actually listen? And he paused. He goes, ma'am, I'm going to need you to be professional so we can continue. I said, sir, this is professional. You don't want to see when Ashley gets unprofessional because Heather knows we had a QuickBooks situation where they said, should I just talk to the owner? And she said, oh no, no, no, no, no, you do not do that.
Ash Kaplan [01:26:47]:
No, don't get on my bad side.
Tonnika Haynes [01:26:50]:
But like, just listen, listen, Linda. Listen, listen. Do you understand the words that are coming out my mouth?
Ash Kaplan [01:26:59]:
I don't know where I was coming or going with that, but that's where I landed.
Tonnika Haynes [01:27:03]:
So that's where you landed.
Ash Kaplan [01:27:08]:
So authentic, no apologies. Authentic and integrity, empathy, and tenacity.
Tonnika Haynes [01:27:16]:
All the E's. Yes. Well, I don't even know how to sign off from a podcast, but I do want to say that people, if you're still listening, because we haven't included you a whole lot, um, Ash will be joining me as a co-host on most, if not all, for a while. Um, you see, we talk a whole lot. If there's anything that you want to talk to me about, or if you have a topic or a person you want to hear from, just hit me up on FaceSpace. Um, don't send me anything creepy. I don't do that. Or, you know, check Ash out, follow her on Facebook, follow the Golden— I'm not going to do it.
Tonnika Haynes [01:27:54]:
I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I promise.
Ash Kaplan [01:28:01]:
No. Golden Hour Garage. Okay. Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [01:28:04]:
And I'm on Facebook as Ash Kaplan. Okay.
Ash Kaplan [01:28:07]:
And that's Kaplan with a K. Yes. K-A-P-L-A-N.
Tonnika Haynes [01:28:12]:
It's not that. It's not.
Ash Kaplan [01:28:15]:
All right, everybody, Ash, love you. Bye.
Tonnika Haynes [01:28:18]:
I love you. Bye.
Ash Kaplan [01:28:19]:
All right, bye-bye.
Tonnika Haynes [01:28:20]:
How do I leave this thing? Downshift with Tanika is where we slow down long enough to have real conversations, hosted by myself, second generation shop owner Tanika Haynes. This goes beyond your car count, your KPIs, We want to talk about leadership, legacy, mindset, and the messy, beautiful journey of building something that lasts. You will hear stories from shop owners, technicians, and other industry leaders who are figuring it all out by themselves in real time. This is a space for growth, tough love, laughter, and leveling up.