Marlinda Phillips

I would say consistency, resilience, and people. I've never been afraid to work hard and learn every part of the business, and I've stepped into challenges that others avoided - that's really how I got so far along in my career. I believe that success comes from earning trust, leading by example, and really helping others grow along the way. You can't be successful without a team, a great team. What I'm most proud of is the mentorship I'm able to do - I've had these women come through, and because Derek has entrusted me to find the right people and bring them up, I've had such a great experience seeing people who started off like I did become managers. We're very fortunate that we have people here who have been here for a long time, not just 6 months before they leave, but 10 plus years. We're a mom-and-pop dealership that believes in investing in our people first - we grow our women and empower them, and we also start technicians off as oil changers and they become master techs. That's what I have learned with this company through the years.

I think the best career advice I ever received is pretty simple - just learn every part of the business. That really shaped my entire career. I didn't want to just understand one department or have a title. I asked questions, I stayed curious, and I learned all the operations from the ground up. One of the things I always tell everybody is that your title might earn attention, but your character earns respect. It's really about consistency, accountability, and how you treat people when nobody's watching. I was also fortunate to have mentors who believed in me along the way. Don Jackson, when I was hired on, really believed in me and took me in. He always said, 'I need someone to do this, I know you can do it,' and gave me the resources and let me take off with it. He never said no, you can't do this. He was always like, yes, let's keep this momentum going. When his son Derek took over, he was the same way - he loves smart women and says they make the best workers.

The best advice I would give them is to be curious. Ask questions. Be humble. Don't think you know everything, and don't limit yourself. Don't make coffee if you don't want to. I actually wrote a speech for Women at the Wheel called 'I Don't Make Coffee,' and it's how I attribute my success. On my very first day in 1997 as a cashier, I had a salesman come up to me and ask me to make coffee, and I said, oh no, no, I don't make coffee - that's not what I'm going to do. By doing that, I actually set boundaries. That created my motto around here - I tell them, I don't make coffee, I build careers. That's what I'm here for.

I think it is attracting and retaining great people, especially for the next generation of leaders and technicians. Our industry is evolving with technology, EVs, and digital retailing, and the customer's expectations are at the heart of our business. If we don't invest in training and mentorship and culture, then we will lose the talent that we have and lose what you can see the potential in people. The automotive business is not just about selling or servicing vehicles - it really is about innovation and the customer experience. It's about finding those people to invest in, getting them in here, keeping them, and keeping them going constantly as things change all the time. Like, we want them in here - you started off as a service advisor, but you want to be a service manager, we will invest that in you.

Professionally and personally, I would have to say it's integrity, loyalty, compassion, and just genuinely caring about people. We really believe in investing in our people first at our dealership. Through the years, I feel like that's what I have learned with this company - that people come first. We're a mom-and-pop dealership that grows our people, whether it's women we empower or technicians who start off as oil changers and become master techs, or salesmen who become finance managers and general sales managers. Success comes from earning trust, leading by example, and really helping others grow along the way.