About Me
I have a strong back ground in both Management & Internet Marketing. I graduated from St. Petersburg College with an A.S. in Business Administration after which I enrolled into their Automotive Technology program and received a 2nd A.S. Degree. After graduation I took on a position with Tire Kingdom in Gainesville, Florida as Assistant Manager this was my first real world experience related to the automotive industry.
In Gainesville I found my true love when I met my beautiful wife Lisa. After about 2 years we decided that we were going to go back to my hometown of St. Petersburg. I took a position as Human Resources Manager for National Business Communications in Clearwater, FL. This job had a very energetic work environment and I learned a great deal about employee relations and retention factors. I spent 2 and a half years with this company. Sept of 2001 they announced they were relocating their facility to Arizona in May of the following year. I was offered a relocation package which I declined.
I now faced a career dilemma, I had a vast knowledge of the Internet and had began tinkering with the marketing aspect by this time, so I decided at that point I was going to launch an Internet marketing company. I knew I had 8 months to get this thing going before my position was going to be eliminated. The birth of Web Werks Inc. was on September 19,2001. By the following May I had several contracts and a thriving Internet Marketing Company. I overseen every aspect of this company from inception to the time I sold the remaining contracts which was in December 2006. I had a very successful run from 2002 to 2005, but by 2006 the competition had become fierce and profits were not as sustained as previous years. During this time we relocated back to Gainesville due to my Mother-in-laws declining health. I once again was facing a career dilemma, I could try to branch into different sectors of the online arena or I could bow out gracefully. After almost 5 years of working from a home office I was longing for social interaction, so I decided I was going to give the retail automotive industry a try. I have several friends who hold varied positions in the automotive retail industry and I felt it would be an excellent fit me.
I love cars and I love interacting with people. In 2006 I took a sales consultant position at Palm Chrysler Subaru. I found my 2nd Love! When I came on board here at Palm, I was promised I would be able to over take part of the Internet Management duties. Well the dept. was essentially nonexistent, so it was more of a creation than overtaking and revamping. However, I was able to apply my knowledge of business practice with Internet marking ability and create a successful Internet Sales Department.
Knowing I had found my niche in life and I was going to be a car guy for many years to come I decided I was going to learn every aspect of this business. In 2007 the F&I Manager position came available and I requested the job and was given the opportunity. I went to Deerfield Beach for training via JM&A where I was commended for how well I did in class. I have held the Business Manager position since 2007.
My day to day functions here however and far from limited to the F&I department. I wear multiple hats and have a part in almost every decision made pertaining to the front-end operations. I am desk manager as well as F&I 3 days per week.
Update: 8/17/2009
Alot of things of have transpired since I last updated this page. I progressed from F&I/ASM to General Sales Manager. Here I was responsible for everything outside of Fixed-Ops including overall dealership P&L. We eliminated the GM position and I reported directly to the CEO of our Dealer Group. Within the first 90 days I was able to eliminate the brackets from our bottom line and take the store to a profitable position. Unfortunately, we received our termination letter from Chrysler Corp. and lost our franchise on 6/9/2009. I came to the agreement with our group I would leave shortly thereafter. The dealership is unfortunately completely closed. I took a position at Palm Chevrolet (different dealer group), that was very short lived. The General Manager and I had very different opinions on business practice, personnel function & customer relations. Leading me to my current position: ISM at Wade Raulerson BPG. I have only been here a short amount of time, but feel I may have found the dealer group I will spend the rest of my automotive career with, as long as my growth is not limited I will be here indefinitely!
Sam G.
