Chrissy Bailey

To be honest, I think it comes down to just being a single mom, having to grind it out my whole life, wanting that hustle, and wanting to achieve and be better. I wanted to be able to open doors for my children that I didn't have open for me. I would just say that that's what pushed me. I didn't have an option not to do well.

The best career advice I've ever received is to not be so hard on myself and understanding that yes, we have standards, but it's okay to not be perfect. Just overall strive your best every day.

I would say, be a pit bull. Come prepared and definitely just know the industry. Research and learn to research are the biggest things. Never become complacent and always strive to be your best. I know for women in our industry, it is a lot harder for us to get the respect, so we always have to be a little bit more knowledgeable. I feel like we have to be stronger in our field to get that respect than a man. It's a little unfortunate, but it just makes us better. All the women managers that I've met definitely have my respect and kudos. I think that we're all great, and we hold a team that actually respects us as well. I think the guys learn that we are very tedious when it comes to details and knowing the small things and paying attention, and it makes the shop run a lot more efficient and effectively. They learn that, they see that, and then they ride with it because they enjoy it.

The challenges would be just the insurance side of things - learning what they want and expect, but also trotting that line to keep a decent relationship to continue being able to work well together. Also, the challenges with the economy right now. The cars are a lot smarter, so there are not as many accidents on the roads as there has been in the past. Also insurance companies are getting to a point where they're totaling cars, and the salvage bids are higher. The big opportunities, I think, is going OEM certs and gaining that. I think a lot of people are putting their money where they're purchasing their vehicles, and they're wanting to go to places that are certified to work on those cars. So a lot of opportunities is to gain your OEM certification, stand by that and put that respectable work out there. And then the customers talk about that - the word of mouth there. So the opportunity is there to continue to grow and just being stronger in our industry that way.

Trust is number one for my team and my guys, 100 percent. Respect across the board - I don't care if you're a detailer or a tech, you're gonna get the same respect from me. Everyone has a special place in the body shop, and they need to be treated that way. I'm big on transparency. I want you to know everything, I'm not going to hide anything from you. I'm an open book. Those would be some of the main things that I think are the most important that I think about every day.