“You can be a victim, or you can be a badass. The choice is yours.” – Judi Holler
Between my time spent at the Tulsa and Brainerd racetracks, I flew to Detroit for a quick couple of days with my beloved ladies at the Women in Auto Care Conference. I’ve talked about this amazing group of women who come from all sides of the automotive industry, such as shop owners, technicians, aftermarket dealers, OEM marketing, etc. and they leave their hats at the door and come together to empower one another and strategize how we can grow and improve our voice in the male-dominated industry. I always leave this event feeling motivated and inspired to make a difference and help pave the way for future females in racing and in automotive. For past conference notes, click here to read about what I’ve learned in the past and how it could apply to you and your business.
My Top 10 Takeaways:
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- The US Auto Care industry is a $405 billion industry, made up of 30% women in the automotive work force.
- 17.3 million new vehicle units were sold in 2018, and the industry is forecasting this to be 16.8 million in 2019. Women make up 50% of new vehicle sales and their body style of choice is a crossover (I have contributed to this stat!)
- Kirsten Zaremba shared with us that we do NOT own our vehicle data – our vehicle is tracking so much information about us while we’re driving, including how much weight you’ve gained/lost, your favorite locations (so they can share with advertisers), driving behaviors, and more. The car manufacturers get this data transmitted wirelessly to them, which they could share and sell to third parties without your consent. This data is NOT being shared with maintenance and repair shops, the auto manufacturers are the gatekeepers, and they are controlling this data, so they can control where you go to get your car serviced. Three in four consumers are unfamiliar with vehicle data – are you one of them?? Join the movement with us because you have a right to choose! Learn more at yourcaryourdata.org and click here to sign the petition.
- Adam Frye taught us about the empathy map to bring the humanity back into solving problems. Reevaluate how you empathize by first asking yourself who are you empathizing with, what do they need to do, what do they see, what do they say, what do they hear, and what do they think and feel?
- After developing a deep understanding of the challenge and asking lots of questions, clearly define the problem you want to solve, followed by brainstorming potential solutions. Once you select and develop a solution, test all or part of it until it is successful.
Melissa Marshall educated us about tools for clear content and dynamic delivery. First you need to master the audience you are speaking to, and keep it centered on them, not yourself. Your audience is the hero. Also, identify the transformation, based on where they are now, that you want from your audience regarding your idea after your speech.- Dahlia El Gazzar showed us the best apps for communication for you and your team: Loom, Grammarly, Evernote, IFTT, Monday, and Slack.
- The industry panel taught me that you can’t be what you can’t see, and we need to work more on social media to raise awareness of women in automotive. Shops and auto companies need to create more mentoring programs and educate parents and guidance counselors about all of the different job opportunities in the auto industry – a lot of kids want a job in technology and this industry is filled with it! A technician now-a-days will be reverse engineering what the engineers built to repair the issues.
- Judi Holler said to treat your brand name like your family name. She showed us how to develop gratitude for our fear, only if we cure SLAY-o-phobia: a fear of success that causes a person to doubt their greatness and play it safe. Results in missed opportunities and a mediocre life.
- Judi’s new book, Fear is my Homeboy(click to get it on Amazon!), she shares her story of how her improv theatre background launched her career as an author and speaker today. Her book teaches us to stop letting fear boss us around so we can start leveling up personally and professionally. It focuses on helping us shut down self-doubt so we can start taking action and become bolder, braver, and more confident. It’s a quick, easy read and I highly recommend it to everyone!
If you are in the automotive industry – racing, technician, shop owner, mechanic, shop manager, marketing, communications, product development, ANYTHING – this is the place for you! And, it’s not just for women, MEN can join as well!I would love to see more racers involved with this amazing support group. The next time we will meet up is at the AAPEX Show in Las Vegas for the scholarship giveaway and small reception, and new faces are always welcomed. This is where I first met the WiAC group and fell in love with all of the ladies there. If you would like to join us, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
But before then, we have some big goals to fill. This weekend we are racing in Brainerd with Julie, and we still have 10 races left on our schedule. I am currently second in national standings, first in regional (which we already cliched the championship, yahoo!!!) and I only have five races left to gain as many points as I can to slide into first place. This year has gone amazing for our team, and I have a really good feeling that we can seal the deal in the end. Stay tuned with us on the Randy Meyer Racing Facebook page.
Megan Meyer is the driver of the NGK Spark Plugs/Lucas Oil/WELD Racing A/Fuel Dragster in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This DRAG ILLUSTRATED Driver Blog is presented by WELD Racing. Follow WELD Racing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and visit them online at www.WELDWheels.com.
This story was originally published on August 15, 2019. 
