I love this time of year. Earlier this month, I headed to San Francisco for the Paint, Body & Equipment Specialists (PBES) Conference and Auto Care Association Fall Leadership Days. Next month, I’ll be heading to SEMA and AAPEX. These gatherings are mainstays of our industry, and many of the trends, opportunities and new products are starting to reveal themselves now for 2018.

But wait, what about consolidation, labor rates, autonomous cars, crash avoidance and every other thing we can possibly worry about? Well, read my previous columns on nearly every one of those and take the advice given in them. We need to do what we can to affect each of them, and then keep doing what it is we individually do for our business. I do not mean to dismiss any one of those subjects or many others, but at the end of the day, we fix cars. They crash and break and we’re in the business of fixing them. That function is not going away any time soon or possibly ever.

Business is about change by its very nature.

The reality is, some businesses work and survive and some don’t. Many are displaced by newer technologies and others are just poorly managed. There are countless examples of businesses that started out as one thing and ended as a completely different entity. Our job as owners is to look for these opportunities to grow and change.

A leader leads. It’s way more fun to be in the front of the train than it is to follow along in the caboose. I urge you to utilize these times to map out the future. SEMA and AAPEX are excellent examples of where to go to see the future and work your way into it. There won’t be a sign on anything saying, “This is the Future!” – you’ll just need to look around and see what you can massage into your future. Opportunities don’t just come in one flavor. There is an unlimited combination of opportunities out there.

So yes, this is an exciting time. Opportunities are there for those who choose to take them. I hope that is you.

See you at the opportunity store!