Perseverance:

The above word means a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties.

Well that about sums up lots of thing for all of us. For myself, the last two years have caused me to be nostalgic as I reflect on my many years in this industry, could be my age to. Our family company, Dent Fix Corporation, was started by my father Max in 1979. Well, needless to say my brother Brian and I were drafted into the ranks in Junior High. We started filling boxes with stud pins for sale and typing serial numbers on warranty cards. Not the first work we did for a family business, that distinction is held from when we would clean our Dad’s shop floor at G&M Motors on the weekends. Borax, brooms and a hose, who knew there is a right way and a wrong way to sweep.

I remember working my first trade show as a teenager. The California Auto Body Association would hold a show at the Disneyland Hotel, We would run a 10x10 booth on the cheap. Dad designed and built the booth, my brother I would help carry in the carpet and tools through the back door. Then came some NACE shows, that was big time, but we still carried in the carpet. You know how heavy carpet is? It is HEAVY, and through a major convention center no less. Oh by the way, this was sometimes done through the side door.

Trade shows throughout the country got easier over time. Carpet was rented, pop up booths purchased we brought it up a notch. I also started to notice I was seeing and talking with the same customers and fellow exhibitors. This is where the nostalgia comes in as the industry has turned over several times. The people you meet and work with are what make this all fun and get you through the tough times.

We have good crew to help us now. Things have gotten somewhat easier than those first years, but each day brings a new challenge. We have been through a lot and we are still here, so bring it on. We will persevere!

PS: My Dad is finally getting around to restoring his 58 Speedster. He got it when he was still a mechanic. So it has only been 45 years. Well, that is perseverance too.

All the best,

Erik Spitznagel