Four years ago, Nicole Jones got into the automotive industry knowing little to nothing about vehicle repair.
She still doesn’t–and she doesn’t consider that a disadvantage.
Instead, Nicole’s passion is managing the financials and supporting the team at the California auto repair shop she runs with her husband, providing a positive work environment and helping employees grow professionally and personally.
As she has gained confidence in her management role, Nicole also has become a passionate advocate for drawing more women into the industry in a variety of roles.
“I want to help inspire other women who don’t think they’re capable,” she says. “We’ve been told what we can and can’t do for a long time, but we can literally do anything. We have a lot that we can bring into this industry that can benefit both auto shops and customers.”
Paving the Way for More Women
Nicole and her husband, Nick Jones, own Anderson Automotive Inc. in Anderson, California, and in 2023 plan to add a second location in nearby Redding. They hope to recruit and hire more female employees as service advisors, auto technicians and managers at both shops.
Nicole, 30, oversees Anderson Automotive’s budget and key performance indicators, along with its human resources department. The business has 13 employees and recently hired its first-ever female automotive technician.
“A lot of our customer base are women, sometimes single women,” she notes. “Unfortunately, there is a stereotype of auto shops being sketchy and ripping people off, especially people who don’t know anything about cars. For our female customers who have that worry, my opinion is that it can really help them to see women on our team.”
Nicole also sees value in what she describes as women’s ability to check their egos at the door more easily than men, at least in general.
“To run a successful business, you need to not let your emotions get the best of you,” she says. “I believe men are more conditioned from childhood to have a strong ego and never show weakness, which can be a large issue when dealing with an upset customer or teammate.”
From Outsider tom Outstanding
Nicole’s non-technician perspective skills have been extremely beneficial to the shop, according to Nick. She has mastered QuickBooks and spreadsheets, developed a parts invoicing system to track purchases and returns, and organized parts based on what type of car they’d go to.
“I would literally attribute all of our growth to her,” he says. “Unfortunately, like most technicians-turned-shop owners, all I knew was how to fix vehicles. She brought the business into line and really concentrated on numbers and systems, allowing me to grow as an owner.”
Born in Hanford, California, Nicole has lived in the Northern California city of Redding since she was 5 years old. Her mother had the mindset that to be a good wife, a woman had to stay home and do the cooking and cleaning.
“I had no idea that I could ever be a business owner, let alone an automotive business owner,” she recalls. “I don’t know how to repair cars, so how could I run an auto repair business?”
Nicole and Nick met at age 15, as high school freshmen in a class called “Personal Growth.” After graduation, Nick became an auto technician while Nicole, an animal lover, went into the dog bathing and grooming business. She ran her own grooming company for about three years.
In 2013, when Nick was just 21, the owner of the auto shop where he worked decided he wanted to retire. “He sold us the business basically overnight,” Nicole relates. “We were so young, and we didn’t know what we were doing. We dug ourselves into a big hole.”
By 2018, Nicole had closed her business to help her husband at the shop. The transition wasn’t easy: Nicole felt as if she’d given up her own dreams, and she also felt lost and overwhelmed in an industry that was foreign to her.
Everything began to change the following year when the Joneses joined Shop Fix Academy. The Tennessee-based community of shop owners assigned them a female coach, Ashleigh Civitello, who most recently opened her own auto shop in Colorado.
During weekly group calls, Nicole’s perspective and mindset shifted. “Ashleigh showed me that I could take ownership of this business, too,” she explains. “It wasn’t just my husband’s shop; it was mine. I had poured my blood, sweat and tears into this business, and I shouldn’t just be known as–or think of myself as–the owner’s wife.”
While she wasn’t a car expert, Nicole realized she had plenty of ideas for helping her community and employees feel valued. On the customer service side, for instance, she has added a fleet of complimentary loaner cars.
“We care a lot about convenience for our customers, and we know how hard it is to be without transportation during the repair process,” she says. “We try to make it as easy as possible.”
Cultivating a Scalable Culture
One of Nicole’s in-shop goals was to avoid a toxic work culture at all costs. She and Nick have stressed open and honest communication to guard against drama, and Nicole holds goal-setting sessions with individual employees every quarter.
“We can talk about anything in their personal lives if they want to, including financials,” she notes. “We emphasize their ability to grow in our company, whether that’s moving into management positions or getting additional training.”
Drawing ideas from other Shop Fix Academy members, Nicole also has implemented perks such as quarterly employee celebrations. Recently, for example, the entire staff went to a local water park for a day.
“I think it is so important–and really underrated from the business sense–to have fun together, to bring out our inner kids,” she says. “If we are happy with each other and happy at work, that will make the hard days so much better.”
Additionally, all team members spin a giant prize wheel on their work anniversaries and birthdays to win big and small rewards, including free two-night resort stays, extra vacation days, gift cards and movie tickets.
Anderson Automotive’s current Shop Fix coach is another woman, Amanda Clements, who helps run multiple family-owned shops in Georgia. Clements has provided the Joneses with insights on business acquisitions and opening new shops as they look to expand.
The couple’s next shop will be about 10 miles from their current location, and they don’t intend to stop there. “We want to have as many shops as possible,” Nicole states. “We have a lot of confidence now.”
Sowing Seeds of Goodwill
Connecting with the community is another expansion area. As the owner of five dogs and two cats, Nicole has spearheaded fundraising initiatives for a nonprofit called “Cassie’s Dream,” which rescues dogs from kill shelters, as well as a local animal shelter.
Anderson Automotive also hosts a free oil change and meal event each Veterans Day and this year helped families in need get Christmas trees and holiday gifts.
Moving into the future, Nicole’s message to other women is that they have plenty to offer to the industry, whether or not they can work on cars.
“Not a lot of women apply to any of our jobs, which needs to change,” she says. “The minute I realized that it was not just about fixing cars, I was all in. The amount of people we can build up and grow – and the impact we can have on our community–is what drives me.”
