His Dad Sold the Store Out From Under Him. He Built an Empire Instead.

Joining host Matthew Haiken today is Michael Brown. Michael was running his father's Jaguar and Porsche store on Long Island when his dad sold it out from under him in 1998, a move that left him devastated and turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. He walks through learning the business under Roger Penske and John Staluppi, the handshake deal where he signed over his house and every asset he had for a piece of the stores, and the $350,000 health insurance bill that nearly put him out of business two weeks into COVID. He argues that a dealer's real competitor isn't the store down the road, it's the one in the mirror. Michael Brown is the Owner of Empire Automotive Group, a 1,300-person dealer group he built after leaving with six stores. He started out washing cars and working in the parts department at his dad's store, ran four Penske stores in Connecticut and a 14-store auto mall in Rhode Island, then helped grow the Staluppi organization from 10 stores to 26 while working his way up to owning 30% of it. He speaks candidly about the divorce that pushed him to go out on his own at 49, why he bought every struggling dealership he could find with no money in the bank, and how his second-in-command went from janitor to running the whole company. He explains: ◼ Why Roger Penske checked the dumpsters, sketched an entire auto mall in 20 minutes, and called Wendy's a nice dinner ◼ How a cost-cutting plan during the 2008 crash turned into a record year in 2009 ◼ How John Staluppi guaranteed a loan so his managers could buy into his own stores, and why it worked for both sides ◼ Why he went from six stores to 17 by buying every deal in trouble during COVID ◼ Why he runs a monthly review with every manager and studies the losses instead of celebrating the wins Topics: 01:55 Turned It Around, Dad Sold It. 03:10 Bell To Bell Wasn't Ingrained. 05:05 Marubeni Bought Up Dealerships. 06:20 Met Penske At Teterboro Airport. 09:50 Penske Judged Stores By Dumpsters. 12:30 Penske Took Him To Wendy's. 13:45 Never Stop Worrying About Receivables. 15:10 Staluppi Loaned Him The Money. 16:50 Record Year In 2009. 17:45 Went From 10 To 26 Stores. 24:20 Everyone Said COVID Was Crazy. 25:50 Janitor Now Runs The Company. 27:35 Study Losses, Not Just Wins. 32:45 Chinese Vehicles Scare Him Most. 40:40 It's The People Business. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Lotagent – Stop stacking software. Agents are the way out. One problem, One Agent, only $99. Try it free now @ https://lotagent.com/ 2. @Podiumsoftware – the AI platform trusted by one in three dealerships. Podium helps dealers consolidate sales, service, messaging, and voice into one connected system that actually runs the work. If your AI isn’t driving real outcomes, it’s time to take a closer look @ https://www.podium.com/car-dealership-guy Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ https://www.x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ https://www.dealershipguy.com

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