It’s been a couple of weeks since my third post in this series and shockingly, not much has changed in Pennsylvania. Last time, I highlighted the devastating effects of coronavirus and how it’s been handled by the governor of Pennsylvania and his administration. Unfortunately, it’s been more of the same for small businesses near me and their owners. Every day another small business shutters its doors permanently, like this small gym, and this hair salon that is less than five miles from my house. This trend will only continue with more than 60% of small business owners surveyed in Pennsylvania saying they’re at risk of closing permanently in the next five months.
As I said in my last post, small businesses in Pennsylvania, as well as the rest of the country, are the backbone of this economy, and it’s crumbling before our eyes. There’s a real difference between dining at Chili’s and our favorite local bar and restaurant, Flinchy’s. We’ve known the owners for years and are greeted by the manager with a hug. We’ve sat many nights at the bar with the two generations of owners. Our favorite bartender hands us a drink without us even ordering them. From the servers to the bartenders, from the managers to the owners, and even for us patrons, there’s a sense of “family.” It’s the kind of place where everybody knows your name.
This is how we’ve run our family-owned car dealership for years. Some of you might be thinking, “But Kelly, you don’t work in the store.” True – but just like Rob when he was a little boy, I grew up with it. I was only 22 when I met Rob. I knew nothing about the automotive industry, but over the last 20 years, our store and the amazing people who work there have become part of my life, including the way it runs.
Being a family-run car business, your life is your dealership and your dealership is your life. Our employees feel the same way. We celebrate birthdays, babies and weddings. We go out to celebrate record-breaking months and the holiday season together. All of our lives are intertwined by the very nature of operating a small business; we are so grateful for our employees, and our employees value us as their employers.
One of our managers started out working in the Recon Department (washing/cleaning cars and getting them ready for sale) and is now making six figures. Rob’s head executive secretary has worked at the store so long that she used to babysit Rob when he was a little boy. Now our oldest daughter Alexis, who graduated from college this past May, is the Digital Marketing Manager.
Small, family-run businesses are like an extension of your family. There’s corporate culture and then there’s small-business culture. That’s not to say one is better than the other but there is a real difference.
This is how all small-business owners feel. Your business is woven into your life, it is part of you. I can only begin to imagine the devastation felt by those business owners who have been forced to close.
To say the last eight weeks have been emotional, exhausting and life changing is an understatement. Eight weeks ago, we employed 140 people and were on pace to sell 400 cars in the month of March. Rob and I had just gotten back from the 10X Growth Conference in Las Vegas, NV. We came back excited, fired up with new ideas, new thoughts and new skills. We had big plans for the future, our employees and the store.
A few weeks later we were left bewildered and uncertain about where the coronavirus pandemic would take our business. After a week of no information about when or how we’d get to operate again, we were forced to lay off about two-thirds of our staff. I’ve never seen Rob so torn and guilt-ridden. We had to let go of people who helped us grow this company. People who counted on us to help them take care of their families. People who trusted my husband to lead them to a better life.
We couldn’t survive paying 140 employees’ salaries while having zero sales income. It was impossible. The survival of the company had to come first. If it didn’t survive then no one would have a job.
Every single thing Rob and I own, and every dollar we have, is invested in Bob Ruth Ford. A lot of times when small businesses make money they reinvest it into new equipment, building upgrades, the rising costs of health insurance, new technology or raises and bonuses for their employees. Cash flow is so unique depending on the type of business. When the shutdown occurred our cash was tied up in cars – almost 500 to be exact.
Many people might not know this, but Rob and I just purchased 51% of the store from his father’s estate a little over a year ago. Dealerships are not cheap and not many exist as a single, family-owned business anymore. Most are part of larger car groups to eliminate personal risk.
We fought for years to make this store ours. We’re in debt up to our eyeballs. Business debt is not “bad”. It’s debt we know we can pay when the store is operational, but if you take that away and add the ridiculous monthly overhead, we couldn’t last indefinitely. We would stand to lose everything we’ve worked our entire marriage for, including the only home our kids have known growing up. Survival of the store had to come first. Successful family businesses last when you’re able to adapt.
Luckily, we were one of the industries that our governor allowed to operate again under strict, no-contact sales in early April. Today, on May 20, we’ve thankfully been able to bring back several of the employees we had to lay off.
Unfortunately Bob Ruth Ford needed to be restructured through this. Changes had to be made which meant some positions were no longer needed and other positions that we didn’t have before have now become essential.
It was impossible to bring back every employee.
This is not Rob or the dealership’s fault. We had no other choice but to adjust to keep our business doors open. It still pains us. Doing what needs to be done isn’t always easy and it hasn’t been for either of us, but especially not for Rob. This is one of the hardest and most difficult things to deal with emotionally as a business owner. You are forced to put your personal feelings aside and make decisions based on what’s best for the company.
I have to give huge kudos to my husband Rob and his staff at Bob Ruth Ford. They’ve worked tirelessly through these last couple of months during the coronavirus pandemic. Their drive and will to make Bob Ruth Ford not only survive but thrive long term is nothing short of amazing. They’ve all worked together as a team, done jobs that they were never trained for and have pulled it all together to keep our company alive.
I have never seen Rob so stressed yet so determined. Failure is not an option for my husband. There were many days and nights that my worry for him went well beyond COVID-19. He felt the weight of our family and others on his shoulders, and you could see it in his face. He was going to make our business work or die trying. That is the true spirit of an entrepreneur.
Rob and I remember that some local businesses haven’t even been granted their opportunity to shine yet. They’re still waiting on an answer as to when they can start commerce again. If you’re one of those businesses, our hearts, our thoughts and our actions will continue to support you until you have your right to operate restored.
If you think small businesses going bankrupt is no big deal, let me tell you a few things about what small business owners I know have done for our local community.
A few years ago, Rob and I were both involved in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year campaign. Rob was on the team of our good friend and owner of Flinchy’s, Matt, and I was on my good friend Jami’s team, owner of Fit Forward. Between the two teams, we raised over $370,000 with a good bit of that coming from small-business owners. Small-business owners are the first to step up and donate to worthy causes. Without those small businesses in PA, this simply couldn’t have happened.
Bob Ruth Ford sponsors several baseball, football, soccer and basketball teams. We’ve worked with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for years and have donated over $100,000 to the Man/Woman of the Year campaign and their Student of the Year campaign. We’ve worked closely with New Hope Ministries for those in need, and Beauty after Bruises for those suffering from complex PTSD and Dissociative Trauma disorders. The success of our family-owned car dealership has made it possible for us to support these and other organizations over the years.
Small businesses create jobs, serve the people that live in their area and they genuinely care about their community by supporting and making contributions to various organizations and nonprofits. Without small businesses these things don’t happen. You lose that everyone knows your name feeling and that, “Sure, we’d love to support your son’s baseball team!” attitude.
I want to leave you all with one final thought. I firmly believe small businesses are a huge part of the success of this country. There are very few places left on the planet where you can grow up dirt poor on the back roads of West Virginia or in the projects of Compton and rise to the top and start your own business with hard work and dedication. THAT is what makes this country so damn great. I urge you all to stand up for the American Dream and support what has made this country what it was just a few short months ago. Support your local small businesses. Support them, so they can support their employees and the community at large that you are a part of.
This is the final post in my four-part series. I know they haven’t been my typical travel, relationship, “more fun” posts. The last 10 weeks have had a huge impact on my life and those that I love. I felt a sense of being called to speak up and out about the issues beyond just the fear of COVID-19 and why me and Rob’s upbringing compelled me to feel this way.
I am moving on figuratively and literally while keeping my promises to small businesses to fight for them beyond my keyboard and my Forty Young blog.
After this post I will be returning to my more “normal” blog posts for the time being. I know for myself and many others that it’s time. It’s time to start living my life (and maybe yours) the way my heart and head are willing me to.
