Welcome back to another highlight from the Ride-in-Style Podcast! In this episode, hosts Jesse Stoddard and Josh Poulson sit down with Joey Johnston, owner of Tops and Trends, to dive deep into his journey through the auto restyling world. From humble beginnings to leading a multi-location powerhouse, Joey shares valuable lessons, industry insights, and the heart behind his family business.
A Legacy Built on Passion and Perseverance
Joey Johnston grew up in the world of cars, watching his father, a mechanical engineer, transform vehicles long before it was trendy. Although Joey initially pursued a career in finance, it didn’t take long for him to return to his roots and officially join the family business in the mid-90s.
Founded in 1977 by Joey’s father, Tops and Trends began with a simple dream—and a lot of hard work. Inspired by the trends he saw on the West Coast, Joe Johnston Sr. introduced the sunroof craze to the East Coast, even going as far as stacking twelve sunroofs into a tiny Honda Civic to kickstart the business!
Their journey led to incredible accolades, including winning a spot in the Inc. 500 list as the 407th fastest-growing company in the country back in 1988—a monumental achievement that still resonates today.
The Challenges of Growing a Family Business
Family businesses often come with high expectations and tough lessons. Joey candidly shares the reality of working under his father’s demanding yet deeply influential leadership. From being fired three times in one summer to eventually leading a multi-location company, Joey’s path was anything but easy.
One of the major hurdles Tops and Trends faced was expanding from one location to multiple stores. Joey emphasized that moving from one to two stores was one of the toughest transitions—requiring not only technical expertise but the right team and leadership skills to manage growth without sacrificing quality.
Staying True to Quality in a Changing Market
Throughout the conversation, Joey stressed one key value: quality over shortcuts. Whether installing pop-up sunroofs in the 80s or adapting to today’s market demands, Tops and Trends has always prioritized the long-term safety and satisfaction of their customers.
Unlike many in the industry who were quick to adopt subpar aftermarket solutions, Joey’s team took a cautious, methodical approach. They waited until products were properly tested, ensuring that everything they offered could meet the highest standards of safety and performance.
This commitment to excellence set Tops and Trends apart, establishing them as a trusted name in North Carolina—and beyond
Adapting to the Future of Auto Restyling
The automotive restyling industry has evolved dramatically. Joey notes that while trends like leather interiors, ground effects, and pop-up sunroofs once dominated, today’s landscape is more complex. With vehicles coming equipped with more factory-installed features and the rapid shift to electric vehicles and ADAS systems, aftermarket opportunities have shifted.
Still, Joey remains optimistic. He believes that those willing to adapt, innovate, and truly listen to the needs of the market will continue to thrive.
He encourages restylers to move beyond dependency on dealerships by connecting directly with customers—a strategy that improves satisfaction, builds loyalty, and protects businesses from dealership-driven compromises.
Lessons Learned from a Lifetime in the Business
Joey leaves listeners with key pieces of advice:
Always be proactive, not reactive—especially with supply chain challenges.
Invest in people wisely, knowing that hiring decisions can make or break your business.
Adapt to change without clinging to outdated models or waiting for perfect conditions.
Listen more than you talk, and learn to find opportunities where others see obstacles.
It’s clear that the success of Tops and Trends wasn’t just about mechanical skill or sales prowess—it’s about vision, leadership, and relentless commitment to excellence.
A Legacy Worth Celebrating
Tops and Trends isn’t just another restyling shop; it’s a shining example of how dedication, smart decision-making, and a family-driven work ethic can create lasting success. From the early days of installing sunroofs to winning national awards and becoming an industry mentor, Joey Johnston’s story is truly inspiring.
And yes—he’ll definitely be invited back for Part Two!
Read The Transcript
Josh Poulson: You know another accolade for Tops and Trends, Jesse, is they actually one year won Inc., uh, Inc. 500. One of the top businesses. Jesse Stoddard: Serious!?
8 seconds
That’s a big deal. Joey Johnston: So we were the 407th fastest growing company in the country. Josh Poulson: And it was like one of my, I’d been to SEMA a couple times,16 seconds
but now I got introduced to pro. So I came to the party, and it was that year that you won. And I remember you going on stage and getting that award, and I said, man,26 seconds
one day, one day I want to be that guy. Getting that award one day. Joey Johnston: …And this is being really candid and really honest, like,34 seconds
you know, we sat around and tried to educate dealers, to where we could offer an opportunity for them to make profit42 seconds
Ride-in-Style: Welcome to the Ride-in-Style Podcast, your turbocharged pit stop for automotive restyling. Buckle up with Jesse and Josh.Chapter 2: Introduction & Background
54 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: All right, welcome back to another episode of Ride-in-Style. We got a special guest today, Joey Johnston Tops and Trends owner.1 minute, 2 seconds
Three locations in North Carolina. Hi, Joey. How are you? Joey Johnston: Hey, how’s it going, guys? Jesse Stoddard: And, uh, Josh here, as usual, my, my co pilot.1 minute, 10 seconds
Josh Poulson: What’s up everybody? Jesse Stoddard: at the, uh, Auto Additions.1 minute, 12 seconds
And isn’t, aren’t you in, uh, I think you’re Westerville, Ohio or somewhere close to Columbus, right? Josh Poulson: Yeah, it’s basically Columbus. It’s a suburb of Columbus.1 minute, 21 seconds
So, Buckeye State, Columbus, Ohio. Yeah, Ohio State Buckeyes. Yeah, hated by the world. We’re all here.1 minute, 28 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: and I’m, uh, I’m calling out of Seattle area. So been, uh, been, been here for a little while. We’re actually, I’m actually north of Seattle just for the record.1 minute, 36 seconds
I don’t want to live in Seattle. Nobody does anymore. I’m, I’m halfway to Canada. So we, we actually go to Vancouver British Columbia for fun instead of Seattle.1 minute, 45 seconds
Okay. Hey, how about we do this?1 minute, 46 seconds
Um, Joey, if you could describe your background, uh, a little intro for yourself and, and kind of your journey into the auto restyling industry that I think that’d be a great place to start, if that’s okay with you.1 minute, 57 seconds
Joey Johnston: Okay, sure. Well, uh.1 minute, 59 seconds
You know, it’s a family business and one that for those that have ever worked in a family business probably can attest to that After you’ve done it for a2 minutes, 8 seconds
while as a kid you learn early on that you want to do anything but work in a family business when you get older and so You know after growing up, you know2 minutes, 18 seconds
from probably the ages of nine or ten watching my dad work on cars Uh, through high school and working on projects. Uh, I enjoyed working with my father.2 minutes, 27 seconds
He’s a really talented man, uh, mechanical engineer.2 minutes, 29 seconds
So he had, he had a really good understanding of how things went together, uh, and things of that nature. But so, you know, my background was just, you know, grew up always, you know,2 minutes, 39 seconds
that generation where, you know, you delivered papers, mowed yards and then. You know, work with my parents.2 minutes, 44 seconds
And so, you know, it was a, it was a, it was a lot of fun, but I knew that, you know, when I got older, I was like, you know, I’m not sure this is where I want to be.2 minutes, 52 seconds
Um, and so I went to school and, you know, ultimately, uh, uh, became a, a finance major and stockbroker.2 minutes, 59 seconds
And after a couple of years, I figured out that, you know, maybe working for the family business wouldn’t be a bad idea after all. So that’s kind of how I got back into it.3 minutes, 7 seconds
And that was in 1994, 5 and I’ve been doing it ever since. Josh Poulson: Wow.3 minutes, 15 seconds
You know, you know, it’s, uh, so speaking of your dad, Mr.3 minutes, 18 seconds
Joe Johnston Senior, uh, Jesse, he won, uh, SEMA Pro Lifetime Achievement Award, uh, like, uh, what was it?3 minutes, 26 seconds
Two years ago, I believe. Joey Johnston: Yeah, I think a couple of years ago. Josh Poulson: yeah, we lost, we lost him two years ago as well. So,3 minutes, 34 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Sorry to hear Josh Poulson: very, uh, one of the titans of our industry for sure. Because what year did he start the business, Joey? Roughly?3 minutes, 42 seconds
Joey Johnston: 19, 1977. Josh Poulson: 1970.3 minutes, 44 seconds
And I told you, Jesse, the bit, the industry really took off in the 80s and 90s. So he was there at the very forefront, very forefront.3 minutes, 53 seconds
Joey Johnston: he, he, he was there with the, with the guys, you know, like the Jerry Rollmans, um, and, and some of those guys that, uh, you know, two of the original, uh, 20 group members and some of those folks, um, you know,4 minutes, 5 seconds
one of our friendly competitors down in Fayetteville is a company called C. C. Top Shops, and, uh, Charlie Crumpler Sr., he started his business recovering.4 minutes, 14 seconds
Cadillacs and Lincolns, vinyl tops and a horse barn. So, you know that again, back to the, you know, the generational thing, those people did a lot with, you know, they did a lot with a little.4 minutes, 23 seconds
Josh Poulson: Yeah. Yeah.4 minutes, 24 seconds
They didn’t have all just quick internet with all the products we have now in a SEMA show to go find whatever they need to do.4 minutes, 30 seconds
And maybe you could tell the, tell the folks how your dad kind of got into the sunroof business. I love this story.4 minutes, 39 seconds
Joey Johnston: Yeah, so it was, it was kind of interesting. I mean, uh, my dad was always, um, uh, you know, a mechanic, a wheeler dealer4 minutes, 46 seconds
from the sense that he liked to buy cars, uh, kind of especially I think, you know, for a while was it Volkswagen’s, whether it be Beatles or, you know,4 minutes, 53 seconds
micro buses and would fix them up. They were pretty easy to work on and sell them for a profit.4 minutes, 58 seconds
Uh, my grandfather was a mechanic, uh, worked for the army, uh, at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where they developed, uh, the nuclear bomb, actually.5 minutes, 6 seconds
And so, you know, we just kind of had a history of being able to work on things. My dad was, uh, you know, growing up as a kid, he was a boat mechanic, uh, working on outboard engines.5 minutes, 15 seconds
So, uh, he, uh, enlisted in the Navy, uh, served, uh, his time there and then came out.5 minutes, 22 seconds
And my dad has always says one of the best things that ever happened to him was the GI Bill. You know, the GI Bill allowed him to go to college.5 minutes, 29 seconds
Um, and, you know, he went to school, got his degree, uh, worked for a5 minutes, 35 seconds
railroad for a brief period of time in Atlanta, uh, and then came to North5 minutes, 40 seconds
Carolina, which is where we’re from originally, and began, uh, working for a couple of textile companies.5 minutes, 47 seconds
And, uh, my dad bought a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix.5 minutes, 53 seconds
And he wanted a sunroof that he had seen when he was traveling on the West Coast because in his work with textiles and, uh, logistics, he had to go to the West Coast a lot.6 minutes, 3 seconds
And he noticed that a lot of the new trends, if you would, were on the West Coast.6 minutes, 7 seconds
So things that were happening out there in California, We hadn’t even seen here on the East Coast. And again, like Josh mentioned, that’s back before the internet, right?6 minutes, 15 seconds
So, you know, there’s no, you know, just jump on a computer and look to see what’s happening. I mean, you saw it either on TV or in magazines.6 minutes, 22 seconds
And so he bought this Grand Prix and he said, man, I’ve seen these sunroofs and I really would like to have one, but nobody around here did it.6 minutes, 30 seconds
You know, he called, he went to dealerships, he asked, and nobody did it. I think I can put one of those in.6 minutes, 37 seconds
And so, he, uh, he went to, uh, he went to the library. And back then, you had business directories. Uh, I think the awards directory and some of those others.6 minutes, 45 seconds
And he basically researched who made Sunruse.6 minutes, 49 seconds
And then got on the phone and called around and found that the closest distributor was in Atlanta, Georgia, uh, gentleman by the name of Bob Jernigan,6 minutes, 56 seconds
who a lot of us that have been in the business for a while know Bob, he had a company called Atlanta Auto Accessories, and Bob’s retired now, but, uh, my dad called down there and said, hey, listen, guys, I’m interested in a pop up sunroof,7 minutes, 8 seconds
I’d like to buy one, and, uh, Bob said, well, you know, we don’t sell retail, um, and you can’t buy one, you gotta buy 12. But I only need one.7 minutes, 17 seconds
I don’t need twelve. Bob said, well, that’s just kind of the way it works. And so, my dad, I guess, hung up from that call and started thinking.7 minutes, 24 seconds
And so, he said that went a couple of weeks. And he said, man, I really want that sunroof.7 minutes, 28 seconds
And so, he went and called on a number of the dealers in the Greensboro market and said, Hey guys, um, you know, here’s some information on, on pop up centers.7 minutes, 38 seconds
Do you like this? And would you, would you ever put those in if somebody could do it local? And they’re like, yeah, we kind of like that. And so the Pontiac dealership said we’ll take one or two.7 minutes, 48 seconds
The Honda store said they’d take a couple. And you know, so forth and so on. I think the Ford dealership took one.7 minutes, 54 seconds
And so my dad had about half of the twelve that he was gonna have to buy sold during that weekend of going out and talking to people.8 minutes, 1 second
And so, you know, a couple days go by, and he calls back to, you know, Bob Jernigan, and says, Okay, I’d like to put twelve, you know, on order, but here’s the deal.8 minutes, 12 seconds
I’m gonna come down there, and, uh, I’m gonna want to watch you put one in.8 minutes, 17 seconds
And then I want to put one in a car that I’m driving down there, and then I’ll drive back with the other eleven. And so my dad had a, uh, I think it was a 72, 73 Honda Civic.8 minutes, 28 seconds
Took the passenger seat out of the Honda Civic, drove to Atlanta.8 minutes, 31 seconds
Uh, watched their installer put one in, uh, then put one in the Honda Civic and drove back with the other 11 and that’s how we got in business.8 minutes, 38 seconds
Josh Poulson: So, literally, I can just picture him driving back on the freeway, looking over, if there was a freeway, and there’s a pile,8 minutes, 46 seconds
there’s eleven pop ups on her sitting at where the passenger would be. Joey Johnston: Oh, absolutely.8 minutes, 51 seconds
I mean, you got to remember that little Civic was super small, you know, so he had, they were stacked, you know, from basically floor to ceiling, uh, and then behind him as well.8 minutes, 59 seconds
So, um, pretty, uh, pretty comical site, I’m sure.9 minutes, 3 seconds
I wish we had a picture to look back on because that would have fun. Jesse Stoddard: Joey, I have a question.9 minutes, 7 seconds
You mentioned that, uh, at first when you were younger, you were thinking, I don’t want to be in the family business. Then you went out and had the journey into finance.9 minutes, 15 seconds
And then you decided to come back and it wouldn’t be so bad. Why did you decide that? And like, how’d you overcome that? What was the transition like to start working for your dad?9 minutes, 23 seconds
And, you know, like, I’m curious what that relationship was like. Was it easy? Was it tough? Was it challenging? What happened there?9 minutes, 32 seconds
Joey Johnston: You know, probably all, all the above.9 minutes, 34 seconds
I mean, you know, so growing up, you know, as kids, um, anybody that tells you otherwise is just lying, in my opinion, because you know what?9 minutes, 41 seconds
If you’re, if you’ve got good parents, and I, and I did, and I do, um, they’re tough on you, right?9 minutes, 46 seconds
They want you to, they want you to be, uh, have it better than they did, um, but my family was one that they wanted you to earn it. And my dad was really demanding.9 minutes, 55 seconds
Um, and again, he was highly intelligent, you know, far smarter than me.10 minutes
And when we would work together, the interesting thing about it would be He was almost like a doctor in the sense that when we would work on cars,10 minutes, 7 seconds
I would go out on the weekends and we’d put pop up centers in together. And after the first weekend, the second weekend, I remember, you know,10 minutes, 14 seconds
my dad, we would be there working and he, um, he had gotten into a routine. Again, as an engineer, his job was actually to set up production floors,10 minutes, 23 seconds
uh, so that the, the equipment was in the right place so that the machinery could operate as efficiently as possible. So, he was very much an assembly line mentality.10 minutes, 31 seconds
And even though he was a one person, you know, one man band. He had it figured out. And, you know, back in the early days, he was part time.10 minutes, 38 seconds
He kept a full time job to do the work he did, and so he would go to work in Winston Salem, and then when he would get off work, he literally would have a pair10 minutes, 47 seconds
of coveralls in his car, and he would literally still be in, um, Dress clothes,10 minutes, 52 seconds
penny loafers on, and coveralls going into dealerships to get the keys for a car that he’d be working on from, you know, 5.11 minutes
30, 6 o’clock until, you know, 8 or 9 o’clock that evening when he got done. And then he would come home for dinner. So, you know, that tells you a little bit about kind of the work ethic he had.11 minutes, 8 seconds
You know, he worked Saturdays. Sunday’s he was he loved NASCAR. So he’d watch a race, but it wasn’t beyond him to work six or seven days a week.11 minutes, 17 seconds
And, you know, in the later years, his office had a couch in it. And there’s many nights he slept on the couch so he could be, you know, finish a car that was due out and be at the office the next morning.11 minutes, 26 seconds
So, but, you know, so. I think that helps you understand kind of where, you know, I came from.11 minutes, 32 seconds
My dad was demanding, and when we would work on cars, he would expect me to almost, you know, I used to, as a kid, read my mind.11 minutes, 40 seconds
Like, when he cut the hole, he was expecting me to have You know, a set of ten snips in my hand, waved the hand to him.11 minutes, 48 seconds
And then when the hole was cut, if we were going to prom the, you know, prom the edge, or butyl next, whatever it was, I was supposed to basically be his assistant.11 minutes, 56 seconds
And as a kid, as a teenager, I mean, we, you know, I’ve been fortunate to have some great kids, but, you know, they don’t get that, right? And I didn’t get it either.12 minutes, 4 seconds
And so, you know, I’m sitting here going, Dad, you want me to read your mind?12 minutes, 7 seconds
And he’s like, Yeah, I want you to know that we’ve done this job several times and you should know what’s next and that was tough.12 minutes, 14 seconds
And, you know, he approached everything that way and he was teaching me. I just didn’t know he was teaching me.12 minutes, 20 seconds
And so you ask, you know, the question, how, how do, you know, I get to where I’m at now?12 minutes, 27 seconds
Well, when you’re a kid growing up and you’ve got that kind of expectation,12 minutes, 31 seconds
You know, you’re like, man, maybe I’d like to do something a little bit differently with less expectation. Um, and so, Josh Poulson: did you get fired?12 minutes, 39 seconds
Joey Johnston: Oh, yeah, you, you remember that story too. So I remember one summer I got fired three times and, uh, and, uh, the first one was, was talking back to the shop foreman, uh, that got me fired.12 minutes, 52 seconds
And then I talked my way back into the job about a week later, a week and a half later, and then I was mowing the grass and.12 minutes, 59 seconds
You know, my, my dumb self had the, the, the exit shoot pointed towards the cars in the parking lot. And so I’m blowing grass on the cars.13 minutes, 8 seconds
And, know, not thinking about, yeah, no rock, and my dad walks out and goes, Hey, what are you doing? I said, I’m mowing the grass. And, you know, basically, hey, you don’t do that.13 minutes, 16 seconds
And I’m like, it’s just grass. And he said, but it could be something else. And we had a discussion, then I got fired.13 minutes, 22 seconds
And so, and then I think, I think, I think he kept me out of work for like three weeks, you know, before.13 minutes, 29 seconds
But, you know, back then, again, you know, I hate to keep referencing it, but, you know, I had to make my own spending money. So, you know, I wanted to have spending money.13 minutes, 37 seconds
So I was like, You know, and I only can mow two or three yards back home, you know, when I, so I, again, I want it to be working and, uh, you know,13 minutes, 44 seconds
as, as I understood it, it got better. And I remember in high school, we did a, uh, a zone package with Oldsmobile.13 minutes, 52 seconds
We’ve been really fortunate that, uh, you know, once we went into this thing full time.13 minutes, 56 seconds
Uh, we nailed down a zone package, and we did three or four of these, and we’re talking three, four hundred cars.14 minutes, 1 second
You know, these cars would go to the Charlotte race, it’d be part of the, uh, the kickoff. And I remember that my dad needed to get a lot of cars done.14 minutes, 9 seconds
And I had learned a fair amount, and we were doing ground effects and hood scoops and things like these on Cutlasses.14 minutes, 16 seconds
And so I got a couple of my buddies from high school together, and my dad said, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna pay you per unit, not per hour.14 minutes, 23 seconds
And I remember that, uh, me and, uh, One of my friends, David Adams, and another guy, we went over there and one weekend, and this is back in, we’re talking 1983,14 minutes, 35 seconds
84, we all made over 500 in one weekend, installing ground effects and things like Jesse Stoddard: You were rich. Joey Johnston: put that,14 minutes, 44 seconds
yeah. put that in today’s dollars, right? But, you know, we did the work. We came up with a system. And, uh, and it, you know, it paid off for us.14 minutes, 51 seconds
So, um, so that’s, I guess, who made, you know, my dad and mom, you know, really taught me a lot of great lifelong skills, um, that, you know, I’ll never forget.15 minutes
And hopefully, you know, I’ve done a decent job of passing some of that knowledge down to my Jesse Stoddard: almost like an apprenticeship program. Like a very old fashioned without, without you even maybe realizing you were in one.15 minutes, 11 seconds
Joey Johnston: Oh, oh, yeah, no, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Donald Trump and, uh, and the Apprentice Gang got nothing on me. So, Josh Poulson: you’re fired.15 minutes, 19 seconds
Joey Johnston: yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, I heard that a lot. Josh Poulson: So what, so tell, tell everybody the products you were doing15 minutes, 26 seconds
back then in the 70s, late 70s, 80s, what were the, what were the big products that you, you turbocharging.15 minutes, 37 seconds
Joey Johnston: Yeah, so, you know, back then it was pop up centers was king, right? You know, that’s what we kind of started on. And, you know, we ran our business part time with pop up centers.15 minutes, 46 seconds
You know, again, Pop would put a couple in, you know, in the evenings, uh, four or five on the weekends.15 minutes, 51 seconds
And, and then we bought enough pop up centers that we actually became a distributor. So we actually started then distributing pop up centers to other folks.15 minutes, 58 seconds
Uh, we did vinyl tops, simulate convertibles, you know, became big back then. Ground effects were a thing. Rear deck spoolers.16 minutes, 8 seconds
Uh, and, you know, and then we also did, you know, early days we did target conversions. So we were converting RX 7s, uh, putting targets in those.16 minutes, 15 seconds
Toyota Celicas, we were doing some of those. Uh, we did turbocharging back in the day. Again, because my dad’s a mechanical builder.16 minutes, 22 seconds
Yeah, so we had an RX 7 indigo blue with a target top. And a turbo putting out about 12 pounds of boost and a rotary engine.16 minutes, 30 seconds
My dad loved nothing more than when he went to Myrtle Beach, he would just absolutely eat people’s lunch up in that sleeper vehicle.16 minutes, 37 seconds
Josh Poulson: So, how many of those products that you did back then are you still doing today? Joey Johnston: Uh, it’s funny, yeah, we just talked about that.16 minutes, 46 seconds
You know, my mom and I were talking, you know, how much things change, you know.16 minutes, 49 seconds
You know, until just recently, you couldn’t even buy pop ups on the roof in North America.16 minutes, 52 seconds
Um, and, you know, simulated convertible types, I was talking to, uh, you know, a friend of ours, you know, Josh Ralph George, and I said, you still doing any of those?17 minutes, 2 seconds
Because he’s in that kind of, you know, land of retirement down there in South Florida, and he’s like, nope, and, you know, we just, you know, we do a17 minutes, 9 seconds
recover every once in a while, so, you know, again, pop ups gone, simulated convertibles, for the most part, gone, uh, ground effects, for the most part,17 minutes, 18 seconds
gone, uh, you know, replaced with, Power sunroofs, uh, back in those days, uh, leather interiors and things like that.17 minutes, 26 seconds
But, you know, the business is always changing. But yet, you know, a lot of us that go to SEMA year in and year out say it changes, but it still kind of stays the same. Right.Chapter 3: Challenges & Triumphs
17 minutes, 35 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Well over the years since, I mean there’s a lot of history here, not just with your dad, but you know, you’ve had a lot of history in this too.17 minutes, 42 seconds
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in the industry and how’d you overcome them?17 minutes, 50 seconds
Joey Johnston: You know, I think things for us, you know, might have been a little bit, you know, different because I think we worried about things that other people didn’t worry about.18 minutes
Um, you know. My dad was good at sales. He was good at negotiations. My mom was good at sales.18 minutes, 6 seconds
And even though she was a nurse, when she came into the business full time to actually start selling, she was good at it. She was a natural.18 minutes, 12 seconds
Um, we didn’t worry about selling product and installing product because my dad was so talented. Um, we worried more about the, the long run.18 minutes, 21 seconds
Like, for example, liability.18 minutes, 23 seconds
You know, when we’re doing a target top, Uh, you know, and you’re cutting the A and B pillars in a vehicle, what’s the chances that that customer may have an incident where they’re in an accident?18 minutes, 32 seconds
Uh, and I don’t think a lot of people thought that way back then. Uh, you know, we sat on the sidelines, uh, for probably three or four years when Leather Interior first came out.18 minutes, 42 seconds
Um, when airbags became an issue because we’re like, you know what, I’m not sure that we’re really comfortable with the aftermarket approach on how they’re doing airbags and things of that nature.18 minutes, 52 seconds
Um, PowerSundry is very similar.18 minutes, 55 seconds
I mean, you know, again, um, there’s been multiple companies in the PowerSundry business over the years, you know, uh, ASC is who we started with, and then you had19 minutes, 3 seconds
Hollandia Webasto, uh, you’ve had ICE and, you know, uh, uh, uh, uh, Skytop, you have a number of guys that have been in it. But.19 minutes, 10 seconds
You know, we really only felt like one company really actually had the wherewithal and the, the, the asset base and the testing base to, to,19 minutes, 18 seconds
to put in a product that was good. And that was Webasto. And, you know, their OE contracts kind of spoke for that.19 minutes, 23 seconds
So, you know, we look at a lot of that, you know, when we’re, when we’re doing installations, we want to think about what’s the, the long term ramifications of what we’re doing.19 minutes, 31 seconds
You know, we had a customer call us just yesterday and said, Hey, will you put in this adaptive cruise? And we’re like, And he’s like, it’s a Ford aftermarket part.19 minutes, 39 seconds
And we’re like, well, you said Ford aftermarket. So I, I listened for about 30 seconds and said, no, you know, the, the, you know,19 minutes, 48 seconds
the fact of the matter is, I just think that, you know, all of us, if we want to have a long term business, we live in a Letitia society and you have to think,19 minutes, 56 seconds
um, You know, is it something, A, I’d want to put my family in, would I want to put my son or daughter in that vehicle after I work on it, and, and two, you know,20 minutes, 5 seconds
if you’re looking out for the customer, the business is always going to be okay. Jesse Stoddard: Yeah, that’s good, good philosophy.20 minutes, 10 seconds
Did you guys have any significant failures over the years that you had to bounce back from and maybe learn from? Anything that you could address there?20 minutes, 21 seconds
Learning Joey Johnston: know, Jesse Stoddard: I guess? Learning lessons? Failures? Joey Johnston: mean, I think we’re, you know, we’re always learning, you know,20 minutes, 27 seconds
at the end of the day, you know, when, when you come in, uh, and you think, you know, anytime you think you’ve got it all figured out is about the time you’re ready to really screw something up.20 minutes, 35 seconds
Um, so, you know, I, and I think we’re all guilty of that, but, you know, I think for the most part, we were pretty methodical about things, um, you know,20 minutes, 45 seconds
uh, you know, we all get caught kind of off guard, whether, you know, it’s something as simple as, you know, you open up an email and next thing you know, you’ve got a virus worm in its way through your database and all of a20 minutes, 53 seconds
sudden you can’t produce invoices and you don’t know what three months worth of history of, uh, of accounts receivable is.20 minutes, 59 seconds
I mean, you know, we, we had a small issue with something like that one time and you just learn from it, right?21 minutes, 4 seconds
Um, you know, we’ve made bad hiring decisions, but anybody that’s a business, you know, owner and employs people’s made bad hiring decisions.21 minutes, 11 seconds
Um, so, you know, I’d like to say, you know, if I could think about any one huge mistake I’ve made, you know, um, you know, I’ve had lots of, you21 minutes, 21 seconds
know, anecdotal stories, you know, I remember that when we bought a Uh, a classic salt rim branch in Raleigh.21 minutes, 27 seconds
Uh, we had a week, uh, basically, uh, preparatory period when we went in and we worked with their current staff. And they were going to close the branch down.21 minutes, 36 seconds
And the staff didn’t know that, but we knew that going in.21 minutes, 38 seconds
And so we went in and, you know, we basically watched the operation trying to get a feel for the people. Uh, and they had some good, uh, Uh, some good folks and some folks that, you know,21 minutes, 47 seconds
probably wouldn’t have wanted to keep on. And so at the Friday, we made an offer on the business.21 minutes, 51 seconds
We, we agreed on the price, we bought the business, and we agreed on two of the five employees coming to work for us.21 minutes, 58 seconds
And between Friday and Monday, those two employees decided they were gonna go work somewhere else.22 minutes, 1 second
So I laugh at the fact that we bought a business, committed to a lease, and had no employees working for us when we started on Monday. Josh Poulson: Yeah, that’s a problem. Joey Johnston: Yeah,22 minutes, 10 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Wow. Joey Johnston: so, but, you know, we’ve been there, been there, done that.22 minutes, 13 seconds
I mean, we’ve had operations before where, um, you know, where we’ve been in that situation, you know, um, when we, we bought a gentleman out that22 minutes, 22 seconds
came to work for us in Asheville and it was a small store and, uh, His son was one of the primary workers, and when his son went off, we didn’t have a, you know, we didn’t have a tech.22 minutes, 31 seconds
We had a salesperson and no tech. That’s not good, right?22 minutes, 33 seconds
So, you know, we, we basically managed that office for about nine months remotely, you know, mobile.22 minutes, 39 seconds
We would go pull seats, and so I think a lot of times, you know, you know, if you got lemons, you make lemonade, right?22 minutes, 47 seconds
And so, you know, we’ve always been to that mindset that there is a solution. to almost every problem. You just got to think about it.22 minutes, 55 seconds
Josh Poulson: How did you, how did you grow from one store to three? Joey Johnston: You know, for us, that was probably, uh, my parents did not want.23 minutes, 7 seconds
More than one store, you know, my, my dad, again, simple man in the sense that he said, you know, the happiest day and the saddest day of his life was the day he hired an employee.23 minutes, 16 seconds
Um, and, uh, and I said, what do you mean?23 minutes, 18 seconds
He goes, well, it really wasn’t that day, but it was the day that I had a customer call and say they weren’t happy about something and I related back to hiring that employee. He said.23 minutes, 26 seconds
The fact is that if you’re not doing the work, there’s always going to be a variable in what that other person did, even though you teach them to the best of your ability.23 minutes, 33 seconds
And so, you know, my dad, over the years, when we actually opened our second store, we had about 60 employees at that point.23 minutes, 41 seconds
And we knew the Raleigh market was a good market. We were doing some work in it.23 minutes, 45 seconds
You know, from a standpoint of you had to be there, you know, you can only Josh, as you know, you can only service so far off in our business,23 minutes, 53 seconds
you know, um, and we’ve always actually extended our reach probably further than most, you know, to 2.23 minutes, 58 seconds
5 hours away is not uncommon for us, but we knew that that was a growing market at the time. It was, uh.24 minutes, 3 seconds
Demographically speaking, it had good, it had, um, good income ratios, you know, it had high growth with, uh, with that RTP area.24 minutes, 10 seconds
So, we knew that we needed to be there, but my parents were at a point in their career where they said, Hey, we’ve made the money we need to make. We’re comfortable.24 minutes, 18 seconds
But if it’s something you want to do, we’ll, we’ll back you in that, in that endeavor. And so, that’s kind of how we went from one to two, uh, stores.24 minutes, 27 seconds
And then, the third store was a.24 minutes, 29 seconds
Uh, was a, was an acquisition that, that worked out well, um, and then our fourth store in Roanoke was, uh, uh, was just a new venture that we started from scratch.24 minutes, 38 seconds
But, you know, I tell people, and Josh, you’ve heard this story, I know some of the other guys in, in our 20 group have heard it, but going from one to two damn near killed me.24 minutes, 48 seconds
It is an absolute beast to try to run two locations in our line of work because of the just high degree of technical expertise that’s required.24 minutes, 59 seconds
When I went from two to three, I didn’t miss a beat though.25 minutes, 3 seconds
Um, you know, and so I think, you know, A lot of shops, and this is really unfortunate, and it goes to the point of, you know, something we25 minutes, 12 seconds
touched on earlier, is a lot of shops are suspect, um, and I know people that are good people, but they were held hostage by the back of the house.25 minutes, 22 seconds
And when I say that, you had technicians that would want to put in a subpar product because it was easier. Right?25 minutes, 28 seconds
Um, you know, sunroofs are a good example, and they wouldn’t want to put in a product that was harder, but better, because, um, it took longer, or whatever the case may be.25 minutes, 39 seconds
And, and, and, you know, in my sense, that’s the tail wagging the dog, and you don’t want to ever be in that situation, and I, and, where I’m going with this25 minutes, 47 seconds
is that once you get to a critical mass, where you have enough good technicians,25 minutes, 54 seconds
Then you can be confident if you have to let a technician go or you have to call the herd because you know that the wheels aren’t going to come off the proverbial wagon, if you would.26 minutes, 4 seconds
And so, when you get to that point, to grow your operation gets easier.26 minutes, 8 seconds
Um, but for a lot of small, you know, smaller shops, you’ve only got one guy that does leather, one guy that does electronics, one guy that does sunroofs.26 minutes, 17 seconds
And so you’re. You know, you’ve got to be a good manager, right? You’ve got to, I mean, you know, and be a good leader. Getting people to follow your, you know, your desires and things is not easy.26 minutes, 28 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Have you, uh, dealt with or navigated the, all these challenges with the supply chain issues and the low dealership inventory,26 minutes, 35 seconds
just the economy in general and how it’s impacted the, the, the industry. Are you seeing much there where you’re at? Do you notice it?26 minutes, 44 seconds
Joey Johnston: I think, you know, all of us, uh, have seen, you know, and again, this, you know, COVID was, uh, was a, was an interesting time, right?26 minutes, 52 seconds
You know, you saw low inventory levels, um, with record high demand, uh, for the inventory levels that were present. And yes, we saw supply chain issues.27 minutes, 1 second
And I think, again, a lot of it is you have to be. Um, proactive and not reactive in any business, and ours is no different, right?27 minutes, 10 seconds
You know, if you see something coming, um, or you get an inclination and you’ve got the, the asset base to do it, you tend to try to stock up. You know, we would try to keep materials.27 minutes, 19 seconds
We were never one to say, Hey, I’m going to keep one video system on hand.27 minutes, 22 seconds
Well, if I think I’m going to use four or five in a month, I’m going to have six or eight on hand.27 minutes, 25 seconds
Um, and again, not everybody can do that, but, you know, we tended to stock more product.27 minutes, 31 seconds
We tended to, to try to help insulate ourselves prior to COVID, prior to some of the issues we’re running into now. Um, and, and so that helps, right?27 minutes, 40 seconds
But not everybody can do that. But again, you can’t just think about today. You got to think about tomorrow. Jesse Stoddard: Right, right. Joey Johnston: And so, yes, we’ve been impacted by it.27 minutes, 48 seconds
Um, but, um, I think you just have to have a good long range plan. And even then, you know, the best plans, you know, Things happen.27 minutes, 55 seconds
So, you know, trust me, we’ve, you know, we’ve been, we’ve been suspected,27 minutes, 59 seconds
you know, part shortages, you know, again, a lot of OE parts too, you know, where you may be two, three months before you get that part back. Josh Poulson: Mm. It’s tough.28 minutes, 8 seconds
You know, uh, another, uh, accolade for Tops and Trends, Jesse, is they actually one year won, um, what, Inc., uh, Inc. 500.28 minutes, 16 seconds
One of the top businesses. Jesse Stoddard: Serious. That’s a big deal. Josh Poulson: what, what year was that, Joey Johnston: Yeah. Oh, so I think that was in 88.28 minutes, 26 seconds
I’m pretty sure it was 88. So we were the 400th, yeah, 407th fastest growing company in the country.28 minutes, 33 seconds
And so that, and you have to, you know, you have to send in all your,28 minutes, 36 seconds
you know, financials and it’s pretty big, uh, to do, you know, you, you go to a, a event, you know, with, with all these folks, and again, I didn’t28 minutes, 44 seconds
go, my parents went, uh, and, you know, they, uh, met, met, you know, with the governor and things of that nature.28 minutes, 49 seconds
So it, it was a neat, you know, it was a neat time and, and, So and if you look at some of the companies that have been on that list, you know Some of those are are now not incorporated 500 companies or fortune 500 companies.29 minutes
We didn’t have that same luck, but that’s okay We’re in a good spot. Josh Poulson: No, I mean, so, Jesse Stoddard: It’s a big deal just to get on the Inc. 5000 list, by the way. So, Inc.29 minutes, 8 seconds
500, that’s pretty elite. That’s pretty awesome. Wow. Joey Johnston: Yeah,29 minutes, 13 seconds
well Josh Poulson: for all the sunroof installers in North Carolina. They made top 500. No, I’m joking.29 minutes, 18 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Ha ha ha Josh Poulson: No, it just Joey Johnston: no, no Josh Poulson: Go Joey Johnston: it was North and South Carolina. Josh Poulson: Oh, North and South Carolina were included.29 minutes, 27 seconds
Okay, probably a little bit of Tennessee, I bet, too. But, Joey Johnston: Uh, maybe. Southern Virginia too while you’re at it. Josh Poulson: yeah. But, you know, I mean, think about this, Jesse.29 minutes, 35 seconds
Most second generation owners and businesses fail.29 minutes, 40 seconds
And there’s a big reason behind that, like Joey talked about, because maybe they don’t have the drive, the work ethic, the know how, the understanding, just the desire, the care.29 minutes, 50 seconds
But to Joey’s credit, you know, he didn’t even have a brother or sister to do this with.29 minutes, 55 seconds
You know, he had two parents that were actively running this business, then he takes over. And think about that, to grow up from… From what it was an Inc.30 minutes, 4 seconds
500 company and then to say, okay, we’re going to branch out. We’re going to get out of our comfort zone.30 minutes, 8 seconds
We’re going to go do a second location, a third location, open up some new spots, really diversify in your, your real estate, your buildings, and keep on top of that to the point where now.30 minutes, 20 seconds
You know, they’re, they’re, uh, they’re, they’re one of, they’re the main restytler in North Carolina.30 minutes, 25 seconds
Um, so, kudos to you, Joey, for, I’m sure you, I’m sure it doesn’t go without hard work, and, you know, I’m sure your wife at times goes, yeah,30 minutes, 33 seconds
the stress level is there, but, you know, kudos to you and your team. Joey Johnston: Yeah, oh absolutely.30 minutes, 38 seconds
You know, family businesses have, uh, you know, you’ve always got family to depend on.30 minutes, 42 seconds
And, you know, that means that you can depend on them to have your back and, and stab you in the back too. And they don’t mean to stab you in the back.30 minutes, 48 seconds
It’s just, you know, family always has a lot of, uh, Uh, of, you know, ideas on how things ought to work and so, you know, not having a brother or sister is30 minutes, 56 seconds
not something I, uh, you know, aspire to, but it did make certain negotiations a little bit easier, um, you know, from the standpoint that, you know,31 minutes, 3 seconds
I didn’t have to convince, you know, but again, my mom and dad were, were, were pretty interesting in the sense that when we would have discussions,31 minutes, 9 seconds
we, we kind of agreed early on that it was kind of a democracy and sometimes my mom and I would align and sometimes my dad and I would align and sometimes my mom and dad would align and so, you know, The chips fell where they may.31 minutes, 21 seconds
Um, and, and you don’t often hear that.31 minutes, 23 seconds
I’ve got a lot of friends that have family owned businesses in other areas and other industries.31 minutes, 26 seconds
And, and a lot of times there’s a big struggle, you know, where, you know, The mom or dad don’t want to give up control, and you know, I’m not going to tell you that my parents wanted to give up control.31 minutes, 37 seconds
They didn’t.31 minutes, 38 seconds
My mom still, you know, there’s a pretty fine line between, uh, what gets said and what gets done, um, you know, when it comes to her, her location.31 minutes, 46 seconds
But, you know, for them, they always, and I was really fortunate, they always supported my desire to grow the business and the vision that I had.31 minutes, 54 seconds
Um, and, and we really operated well in that, that, That space and I will say that’s probably, uh, not the norm for a lot of people,Chapter 4: Evolution & Trends
32 minutes, 3 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: You guys have a, you have a broader perspective than I think a lot of business owners would just because of that multi generational thing and you, you sort of talked about it already, but how, how have you seen32 minutes, 13 seconds
the industry change since you first got involved and, and more importantly, where do you see it heading in the future?32 minutes, 18 seconds
I don’t, you know, I don’t, I know you don’t have a crystal ball, but I would love to hear your thoughts on that.32 minutes, 24 seconds
Joey Johnston: you know, I think, you know, there’s always going to be, uh, something that’s going to upset any marketplace. Right?32 minutes, 31 seconds
You know, and, and the old saying, if you’re not, uh, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.32 minutes, 34 seconds
And so for us, the challenge has been, you know, we go to the SEMA show, which is, is, you know, coming up here, uh, very shortly and, uh, uh, 1st of November.32 minutes, 44 seconds
And we go out there to see what’s the new product.32 minutes, 46 seconds
And, you know, We struggle in the restyling business to find that new product over the last probably, Josh, what do you say, four to five years?32 minutes, 53 seconds
Maybe even a little bit longer. We’ve really struggled with what’s that new product?32 minutes, 57 seconds
I mean, we’ve had some, some things that have, you know, that have garnered some interest, you know, whether these things like some ADAS products like33 minutes, 3 seconds
Blind Spot, uh, and things of that nature, but there’s not been that really Powerful product like weather was 20 years ago or sunroofs or ground effects.33 minutes, 14 seconds
You’ve not had that product where everybody has to have now you’ve had some things like, uh, I’d say vehicle wraps are probably 1 of the things that maybe a lot of the restylers have got into.33 minutes, 23 seconds
Um, that has been helpful when attending has always been around. You’ve got some resellers kind of delving into that market. Some guys doing some of the band and fleet work.33 minutes, 32 seconds
Um, but, you know, we’re all kind of standing around looking at each other, trying to figure out what’s going to be. You know, that next step.33 minutes, 39 seconds
And as you look at, you know, being a greater and greater market share of what’s being sold, uh, and, you know, so much of the technology being integrated into the vehicle from the factory, where, where does that leave us?33 minutes, 51 seconds
Right? And, and I think that, you know, that’s a struggle and a lot of people. Are not good at change. And that’s that’s unfortunate because they don’t know.34 minutes, 1 second
They don’t know where to go.34 minutes, 2 seconds
And so what happens is I see a lot of restylers and I see a lot of businesses in general. They just keep doing the same thing over and over again. And then before, you know, it there.34 minutes, 11 seconds
They’re on a dead end path, um, declining revenue, you know, stagnant sales, whatever it may be, and then you’ve got a workforce that, you know,34 minutes, 20 seconds
most of them are smart enough to know when they’re on a ship that may not be, you know, afloat for much longer.34 minutes, 26 seconds
Um, and I’m not saying that that our bid, but again, we have to recognize that we have to go out and find new opportunities for growth in our, in our industry.34 minutes, 34 seconds
And, you know, the traditional, you know, for many of us as restylers,34 minutes, 38 seconds
you know, it was always the dealership and, you know, the, the, the dealers are making record profit right now.34 minutes, 45 seconds
So, you know, and have been for the last three to four or five years. And so, you know, when somebody is doing really well.34 minutes, 52 seconds
You know, when you ring the doorbell, they don’t always come to the door because, you know what, they’re busy. They’re busy going and printing money and taking it to the bank.35 minutes
Jesse Stoddard: How do you stay up to date, like, with the latest trends and all the technology?35 minutes, 4 seconds
Is it, I mean, do you have to rely a lot on the manufacturer’s rep or somebody or connections or just SEMA or reading magazines or the web or, like, how are you keeping up with all this stuff?35 minutes, 18 seconds
Joey Johnston: Well, you know, it’s funny, you know, uh, uh, reps play a very small part of what, you know, I do from a, from a, I guess, a research standpoint. I mean, it used to be huge, right?35 minutes, 26 seconds
It used to be you depended on your rep to come by and show you the, you know, open up his, his suitcase and show you his latest wares.35 minutes, 33 seconds
And, you know, Josh, I don’t know about you, but, you know, if I get visited by a rep, you know, from some of the biggest suppliers I work with more than once a year right now, I think somebody’s about to, you know, something must be wrong.35 minutes, 45 seconds
Josh Poulson: Yeah.35 minutes, 45 seconds
And it used to be, it used to be twice or once a year, but then COVID came and they’re like, Oh, we can just do all this on zoom or just email. So we’ll just never leave our house.35 minutes, 55 seconds
Joey Johnston: Yeah, and, and, hey, listen, you know, we’re, we’re enjoying this discussion probably from our, from our home. Um, and so, yeah, there’s a, there’s a place for that.36 minutes, 2 seconds
But, yeah, I mean, to your point, Jesse, about how I get information, uh, you know, that’s, we’re all guilty of it. Yeah.36 minutes, 10 seconds
If we’re a business owner, and especially if we have a sales mentality, we like to talk more than we listen.36 minutes, 14 seconds
You know, my grandmother, you know, I come from a family that’s full of stories, as Josh will tell you.36 minutes, 18 seconds
Um, you know, there’s always a joke or always a story, but my grandmother said, there’s a reason why God gave you two ears and one mouth. You’re supposed to listen twice as much as you talk.36 minutes, 27 seconds
And, uh, I don’t, I don’t do it very well, but I know that you’re supposed to and so when you want to, when you want to learn, you just, you listen to people that know more than you.36 minutes, 37 seconds
So, you know, I try to listen to, you know, I read a lot, you know, pretty much my morning routine is, you know, I typically read a lot of publications.36 minutes, 46 seconds
I read automotive news. Uh, I try to talk to the dealers. I try to see what’s going on. Um, but yeah, I mean, it’s.36 minutes, 55 seconds
Magazines, you know, again, but almost everything’s went digital, right? So, you know, I don’t do a lot of, you know, publications like we used to read.37 minutes, 2 seconds
But so I would say going to the dealer lots, trying to identify things. And that’s where I’m probably weak. I used to be pretty good at it. You know, we used to Josh probably tell you the same thing.37 minutes, 10 seconds
We used to walk that dealer a lot, right?37 minutes, 11 seconds
Pounding the pavement and trying to read window stickers and see where the opportunities were. And.37 minutes, 17 seconds
You know, I think there’s a lot of gold in them hills, but people don’t do it anymore. Us included like we should. Um, cat skin, you know, again, to give them some credit.37 minutes, 26 seconds
I think they do as good a job as anybody with trying to help identify opportunities, uh, within the, the, the, the, the menu of.37 minutes, 35 seconds
Vehicle trim levels to help give restylers a good opportunity to find things that they can work with.37 minutes, 40 seconds
And if more manufacturers would invest the resources to do that, I think restylers could, could do better. But, you know, now that’s a chicken and egg story, right?37 minutes, 49 seconds
Which comes first, right? Is it the restylers job to go out and find the opportunities? Or is it the manufacturer’s job to go out and find the opportunities?37 minutes, 55 seconds
You could argue it either way, but at the end of the day, I guess it’s the person that wants to be the most successful is the one that’s going to grab the bull by the horns. Jesse Stoddard: Yeah, that’s good. Josh Poulson: Yeah.38 minutes, 3 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: You got, now with, Josh Poulson: Let me tell you another thing, Jesse, about Tops and Trends. 20, let me guess, 20, 2006?38 minutes, 12 seconds
Was it 2006 when Tops and Trends won Restyler of the Year? Maybe it’s 04, 05? I think it…38 minutes, 21 seconds
Joey Johnston: Has it been that long ago, but yeah, it’s, it’s, I mean, then get older, Josh Poulson: SEMA prestigious award. You can only win it one time. That’s, that’s, um, that’s why it’s been so long.38 minutes, 29 seconds
But I mean, it’s, it, you can only win it one time. So, um, but uh, Uh, when I was kind of coming up in the business, I remember…38 minutes, 37 seconds
I think I was there. Funny story. I don’t know if I’ve even told you this, Joey. It was November Fest. That’s what they called it.38 minutes, 43 seconds
So we had our little pro party in the, uh, at the SEMA show in the Westgate Lounge. And, um, I remember my wife and I were there.38 minutes, 52 seconds
And it was like one of my, I’d been to SEMA a couple times, but now I got introduced to pro.38 minutes, 58 seconds
Um, so I came to the party, um, and it was that year that you won.39 minutes, 6 seconds
And I remember you going on stage and getting that award, and I said, man, one day, one day I want to be that guy. Getting that award one day.39 minutes, 14 seconds
And then, funny enough, like the next year, I don’t know whether it was, you know, did you ever sell Amway because you invited me to the PRO meeting and I’m just, wait, it was, I felt like it was an Amway thing, so he invited me to pro.39 minutes, 25 seconds
He’s like, what are you doing tomorrow? I was like, uh, I, I don’t know. What are you doing tomorrow at seven 30 in the morning? I’m like, probably sleeping. He goes, no. Come to this pro meeting.39 minutes, 33 seconds
And, so Joey was on Pro before I was ever even introduced. So he invited me to the Pro meeting. And then I thought we were going to be selling Amway later.39 minutes, 41 seconds
But he never did bring up the Amway thing.39 minutes, 43 seconds
Um, and then I also asked him, How much of my business are you getting, Are you making a piece of me off of this Pro thing? He said, No, no, no. It’s all about just networking and everything like that.39 minutes, 51 seconds
So, Joey’s the one that created the problem child that you see before you, Jesse Stoddard: Awesome. It’s your fault then. Awesome. Now we know the Frankenstein.39 minutes, 59 seconds
Joey Johnston: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Josh, Josh, uh, Josh doesn’t listen very well, getting back to that analogy of listening twice as40 minutes, 6 seconds
much as you talk, because I told him, hey listen, this pro thing, it’s a volunteer gig, it doesn’t pay anything.40 minutes, 12 seconds
And, you know, back when I was doing it, uh, SEMA was, through one of their cyclical spells, we were in the bottom. So they didn’t have any money to pay for travel and meals and things like that.40 minutes, 22 seconds
And so it was pretty much mostly on my dime when I would go and, you know, work for the industry, quote, quote, right? And, uh, And I did that for six years.40 minutes, 30 seconds
And I basically, you can only, you know, you can only basically serve on council for six years and unless you become the, uh, uh, the chairman.40 minutes, 38 seconds
And, uh, you know, we looked around and a couple of us are like, you know what? I think six years is enough, um, for this. And we told Josh that going in, but you know what?40 minutes, 47 seconds
He was already at a good full run. So we just figured we’d let him hit the wall head on. Josh Poulson: here I am 12 years later. I hit the wall.Chapter 5: Unique Selling Proposition
40 minutes, 56 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: That’s awesome.40 minutes, 57 seconds
Hey, uh, Joey, a little bit more about your business back to the, you got a multi location, uh, business, which is impressive and all of the history and the Inc 500 and all that stuff in the past.41 minutes, 8 seconds
Um, what makes you guys unique?41 minutes, 11 seconds
In, in restyling, uh, and what sets you apart from other companies in the field and in your area? How do you guys separate yourself in, in that way?41 minutes, 22 seconds
Joey Johnston: well, you know, I think, you know, we’re not special in the sense that I think in any market you’re going to have. Kind of a good better best.41 minutes, 31 seconds
Uh, group of, uh, of players, right?41 minutes, 34 seconds
And, you know, obviously I’m a little bit, uh, uh, you know, one sided maybe in this, but I think we’re the best.41 minutes, 42 seconds
Uh, and we charge a premium price for it. And, and that’s okay, right? But there’s also a need for those other players, um, that are offering,41 minutes, 52 seconds
you know, a service that may be not at the same level with different level products, because that may be, uh, a budgetary need for the end consumer.42 minutes
Uh, I think. Where we try to excel, um, or try to excel, and let me, let me preface that, because dealers, God, we love them and we hate them, right?42 minutes, 11 seconds
Um, and this is being really candid and really honest, like, you know, we sat around and tried to educate dealers, and Maybe that sounds conceited, but42 minutes, 20 seconds
you know, to where we could offer an opportunity for them to make profit and dealers just, you know, sales staff in general are not very good on details.42 minutes, 28 seconds
They’re not very good on processes and very few dealerships and their management teams would really take the time to invest in a model where they could sell the product.42 minutes, 38 seconds
And so, you know, a lot of us said that, you know, we don’t want to ever upset dealers because that’s our primary customer.42 minutes, 45 seconds
And I think COVID really, for the most part, anybody that was sitting on the fence said, You know what? We can’t depend on the dealership to be the only way we sell our product.42 minutes, 54 seconds
And I’m coming back full circle to that good, better, best, right?42 minutes, 58 seconds
Dealers, my issue with how dealers interact with the customers when they sell that customer a brand new vehicle, whether it be a Ford F 150 or a Toyota Camry.43 minutes, 10 seconds
The customer probably wants the best product that’s available, but if they only, if they don’t get an option and the dealer makes the decision for them,43 minutes, 20 seconds
then maybe they’re getting a subpar product with a subpar installation and they made it, they made it. They didn’t make a decision. The dealer made the decision for them.43 minutes, 28 seconds
And so, and oftentimes, unfortunately, that was done to keep the price point down or increase their profits. And again, it’s nothing wrong with making a profit.43 minutes, 36 seconds
Um, but we found that when you interact directly with the, with the consumer, That our, our positivity, our customer satisfaction was considerably higher.43 minutes, 47 seconds
And, you know, so, we still work mainly with the dealer, but we try to engage with that end user. We want to make sure that we’re meeting their expectations.43 minutes, 56 seconds
And, and that’s been helpful, and I think that’s maybe one thing that sets us apart. I think a lot of people look at that as being additional work.44 minutes, 2 seconds
And yes, it is more work up front, but I can tell you it saves a lot of heartache down the line, right?44 minutes, 9 seconds
So it’s kind of like that, you know, an ounce of, you know, prevention’s worth a pound of cure type thing. Josh Poulson: Jesse, just to give you an example.44 minutes, 16 seconds
So, you know, what we’re talking about here is a dealer will call us and say, Hey, uh, put in, put in, uh, this, uh, this DVD system.44 minutes, 26 seconds
All right. Which one do you want? We have three options. Put in the cheapest one you got. Okay. So why? Because they don’t, they don’t tell us why they don’t know.44 minutes, 35 seconds
We don’t know if it’s, it’s part of the deal and the bank will finance it.44 minutes, 39 seconds
If the customer’s short on cash or they’re just trying to make money, we just do what we’re told. Cause they’re our customer. They spend 20, 30 grand with us a month.44 minutes, 46 seconds
So we put it in customer, absolutely hates it. You know, they saw one and it’s got all these other features and this or that.44 minutes, 53 seconds
So who, so then they’re mad. They come to us, they go, this is crazy. Then they see the other ones we have. Like why I want that one.45 minutes
And so then we say, you know, without throwing the dealer under the bus, who’s our customer? Well, your dealer told us to put this one in, and that’s, you know what?45 minutes, 9 seconds
Well, then they call the dealership. Then the dealership calls us put the good one in for you got. You need to take care of it. You know, you need to do this. You need to do that.45 minutes, 16 seconds
And we’re like, Well, you told us to do that. We’ll just take care of it, and I’ll make it up to you later on. Just take care of this customer, you know, right?45 minutes, 24 seconds
To Joey’s point, if we would engage with the consumer first, that customer probably would even be willing to pay additional money.45 minutes, 31 seconds
But the sales people at the dealership, they’re just not trained to work with a third party and get the consumer what they want.45 minutes, 38 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: And they’re short sighted. They’re not looking at the long picture. They’re like, it’s quick fix. It’s hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up. Josh Poulson: Yeah.45 minutes, 46 seconds
Joey Johnston: Well, yeah, and Jesse, to that point, you know, and, you know, um, I think maybe unique in the sense that, uh, that we do a thing called PTA, right?45 minutes, 55 seconds
And, you know, for those of you that are old enough to remember, you know, Harper Valley, I say, no, it’s not that, right? So. Uh, I’ve just dated myself with the Harper Valley PTA reference, but, uh,46 minutes, 3 seconds
for those of you who want to look it up, Josh Poulson: There’s an old person laughing in their car right now. Joey Johnston: that’s right. They’re like, yep, yep.46 minutes, 9 seconds
But no, you know, so PTA is a profit through accessorization, and we go in and we do a training session, and we talk to people because, you know,46 minutes, 16 seconds
And most salespeople, even though, I mean, Josh can tell you, uh, Jesse, if you’ve done it, you know, and you’re, and you’re, uh, experienced working,46 minutes, 24 seconds
if you walk into any sales training room at a dealership, there’s going to be more positivity on the wall.46 minutes, 29 seconds
It’s like you’re going to a Notre Dame game and you’re getting ready to slap the wall before you walk out into the stadium, right?46 minutes, 35 seconds
It’s like, there’s a lot of run, run dealerships and there’s a lot of great selling processes and there’s a lot of great, you know, um, Engagement and how you work with the customer.46 minutes, 46 seconds
The problem is it gets left in that room as soon as they walk out and they get out on the dealership lot. And when, you know, Mr. Smith, Mrs.46 minutes, 53 seconds
Smith walk up and they say, hey, I’m looking at a vehicle.46 minutes, 56 seconds
It’s a race to the cheapest price, because that’s just what salespeople envision in their mind.47 minutes, 2 seconds
And, because the customer thinks that the best price is what, is what they ultimately are looking for, then everybody’s on this mindset, and, and I said, look, you’re doing it wrong.47 minutes, 12 seconds
You’ve got to address the need.47 minutes, 14 seconds
Like, if a customer comes in saying, I’m looking for an XLT Lariat 302A package, Um, do they do that? No.47 minutes, 21 seconds
They say, I’m looking for an XLT, and you don’t ask them why, you just go show them that, or they’re looking for a Lariat, or they’re looking for a Laramie, right?47 minutes, 29 seconds
So, when that comes up, the salespeople are, they don’t think about the needs analysis, they just go show them the vehicle.47 minutes, 35 seconds
And now all of a sudden, they’re sitting here going, wait a minute, why, you know, why do you want that vehicle? Do you really want navigation?47 minutes, 44 seconds
Do you really want a sunroof? Do you really want leather?47 minutes, 47 seconds
And the customer says, no, I just really want leather, but you’ve got to get the sunroof and the navigation to get the leather.47 minutes, 52 seconds
And, and, you know, if the good salespeople, and all of us have a couple of those salespeople that get it, man, they hit home runs.48 minutes
They have better, they have customers that are more satisfied. They, in a lot of cases, are putting them in a vehicle that costs less,48 minutes, 8 seconds
and the customer’s got a better payment, and to the dealership’s point, the salespeople make more money.48 minutes, 13 seconds
Because, you know, there’s a, there’s a thought within, You know, consumers that if you go out and you buy that 000 pickup truck, the salesperson made more money than if you bought a 55 to 60, 000 truck.48 minutes, 25 seconds
They think the cost of the truck directly relates to the income that the dealership or the salesperson makes. And that’s, that’s almost opposite.48 minutes, 33 seconds
If you, the, the less expensive vehicle. Oftentimes has greater margin potential in it.48 minutes, 40 seconds
And, and again, back to what I said earlier, the dealership should make a profit, but if you can save a consumer money by not letting them overspend on a vehicle, that’s a home run and a win for both parties.48 minutes, 51 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: That’s awesome. Wisdom. Hey, uh, I think that about does it in terms of our time today, but Joey, this was awesome.48 minutes, 59 seconds
You have like so much to share.49 minutes, 1 second
I don’t know if you’d be willing to come on for a part two at some point in the future, but I don’t know. Josh, Josh Poulson: It’ll all be stories. It’ll all be stories, one after another.49 minutes, 10 seconds
You know, uh, cause we never even talked about, you know, his first install and why he’s not an installer to this day. Same as me.49 minutes, 17 seconds
You guys heard why I’m not an installer, but Joey had a similar experience. But, anyway. Go ahead,49 minutes, 22 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: I Josh Poulson: Sorry. Jesse Stoddard: I would you agree Josh? Should we have him back?49 minutes, 25 seconds
If he’s Josh Poulson: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. One of my mentors. That means he’s really older. Much older than me. Joey Johnston: Yeah, yeah, a lot of, yeah.49 minutes, 34 seconds
So, hey, just listen. After this first check clears for this first podcast, uh, we’ll talk about the second one.49 minutes, 39 seconds
But yeah, I’d Jesse Stoddard: We’re looking for a sponsor. It could happen. Josh Poulson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Joey Johnston: Wait minute. Jesse Stoddard: Awesome. Awesome.49 minutes, 47 seconds
Well, thanks again for being on here today. Really appreciate it. This was a, this was excellent. Joey Johnston: No, no worries. Happy to be here. Thanks for inviting me.49 minutes, 57 seconds
Ride-in-Style: And there you have it, another high octane episode of the Ride Style podcast, revved up and ready to go.50 minutes, 3 seconds
Your hosts, Jesse Stoddard and Josh Poulsen, shifted your automotive game into overdrive.50 minutes, 10 seconds
If you’re hungry for more insights, trends, and game changing interviews from the automotive restyling universe, don’t forget to hit subscribe and leave a glowing review.50 minutes, 19 seconds
We’d also love for you to share this podcast with your gear heads, installers, and auto lovers network.50 minutes, 24 seconds
Because remember, knowledge is power, but shared knowledge turbocharges the whole industry.50 minutes, 30 seconds
For more expert resources to supercharge your business, cruise on over to AutoStyleMarketing.com, your one stop shop for everything automotive marketing.50 minutes, 40 seconds
Until next time, keep those wheels spinning and your passion ignited. Thank you for riding in style with us. See you on the next lap.
