Reflecting on the last few years, a lot of things have significantly changed. My professional life has gone from being a production painter and supervisor, to utilizing all of my life and business education to start Auto Massage. Going in, I knew the direction I wanted to go, and to be a one-stop shop for general detail services, but more importantly, offer luxury detail services not easily found. Services like wet sanding, multi-stage paint correction, learning old-school tricks lost to time, and elevate myself & business to offering a higher standard.
It all starts with education. Education being not watching self-appointed "experts" blither on via YouTube and social media, but actually seeking out the best of the best in the industry, and getting appropriate training by real-world experts and masters. I've travelled to Florida, Arizona, Montana, California, & Nebraska, made some great friends, which has allowed me a vast network of true professionals. True professionals that are experts & masters in the game, but set the ego aside. In addition to learning, I've been fortunate to host three webinars over the last year to educate other professional detailers across the country with my personal expertise. I was also invited to the local high school twice as one of their guest speakers on education and careers to the junior and senior classes. Following the guest speaking, I was contacted again to assist in performing mock job interviews with seniors, and to offer critique of do's and don'ts after the interview. These have been very rewarding experiences, which I look forward to continuing.
The collective passion of my network of mentors and peers, means we can reach out to one another when we come across a problem we've never encountered before. As a production painter and a custom painter for years (you can see some of my stuff at www.spikedairstudio.com) I regularly get calls from detailers across the country or text messages with pictures saying "What's this?". Likewise, I too have reached out to people with a problem issue and gotten a professional, correct, resolution to the problem at hand. Most recently reaching out to folks in Florida regarding a boat issue. Problem solved!
Striving for excellence is something I work toward daily. That doesn't mean I never have an off day. I do make mistakes like everyone else. But, learning and growing from those mistakes is a huge key to success. As a supervisor, I valued those teaching moments to help my staff grow professionally. Always try to be better today than yesterday.
Below are a few pictures from some of the trainings I've attended and speaking at the local high school.
