Shannon Seavolt

The biggest thing for me is honesty, hard work, and ethics. I'm not afraid of long hours, and I'm not afraid to do extra. I think a lot of times people hold themselves back, and that's something I've never done. I find that a lot of people don't like to put in hard work, but I've never been afraid of that. Another key to my success was finding my confidence and my voice. As a woman going into a man's industry, I didn't find my voice until probably about 15 years into this business. I was afraid to speak out often, even when I knew I was right. But when I started believing that I could work just as hard and was certainly able to do the work, even if I had to do things a little differently, I made a big difference in myself. I learned not to cut myself short and to speak out when I should, staying true to my passion-driven desires to achieve.

My biggest struggle was having confidence in myself in the beginning. So being a woman going into a man's industry, I didn't find my voice until probably about 15 years into this business. I was afraid to speak out often, even when I knew I was right. I would doubt myself, which I think a lot of people do when you go into a professional field and there are other people that have had many years in the profession, and you're new and you come in with new ideas and new training. I think a lot of times we start to forget what our passion-driven desires are, what we want to do and achieve. We cut ourselves short and don't speak out when we should. My advice is to have confidence in yourself. You may have to do things a little differently, but you are certainly able to do the work. Don't let intimidation make you forget your passion or hold yourself back. When you feel very small, that's usually on the cusp of another breakthrough. Some people get discouraged and give up, but you need to push through.

There's a tough mix in my industry right now because of generational gaps. There are the old school guys that like the complete restoration back to true factory, and then you have the modern guys that like the mix of what they call a restomod, where you would add a newer engine and newer components to an older car to make it more reliable, with air conditioning and things like that. It's trying to find a balance between forging the two worlds together and still keeping the classic and antique cars true and authentic, but also breaking into the industry where a lot of the cars from the 80s and 90s are now 30 and 40 years old. It's strange to watch the car industry go from when people look at something that is a classic and think 50s, 40s, and 60s, but it's hard for people to wrap their head around thinking that an 80s and 90s vehicle can still be cool too. A lot of old guys don't like the newer cars, and a lot of the newer cars from the 80s and 90s had a lot of plastic incorporated. I think it's really trying to mesh the car culture for the custom and the original components, finding a balance with people, and showing them that there's such a range to this industry that it should be open to expression. It is art. When guys build these cars with the interior, engine, tires, paint, and everything, they're building art on wheels. When you add a custom side to it, it changes it and gives it a whole different feature, so it's trying to find that balance.

The biggest thing for me is honesty, hard work, and ethics. I'm not afraid of long hours, and I'm not afraid to do extra. I think a lot of times people hold themselves back, and that's something I've never done. In my personal life, family is very important. I spend a lot of time with family. I really enjoy giving back to the community, whether it's volunteering for veterans, helping veterans in our local community through Honor Flights or taking Christmas and Easter packages to VA hospital patients, or helping with homelessness through donations. I carry blankets and coats in the back of my car, and through the wintertime especially, if I'm driving and I see somebody with a sign, I'll offer them a coat or blanket. Something small to us and insignificant to somebody who doesn't have as much is big. I try to put the little ripple in the pond as well as I can.