From the Ashes

Lee Norman would be the first to admit that building his company did not come easily. A lot of hard work, effort, and support from his loved ones went into making his dreams possible. 

Lee was an only child, who was raised by his loving mother. When he was about three years old his father died fighting in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. His mother, who is of Japanese decent had a difficult time being thrust into the American life without her husband. She became the sole breadwinner and homemaker for her family. Life was not always easy growing up during this time. Lots of people thought they were refugees from the war due to the Asian look of his mother and didn't realize that his father just died for our country.

Several years later, Lee and his mother moved to Rancho Cordova from Southern California. Once they relocated Lee attended Mills Junior High School and then continued on to Cordova High School. Lee started to get into some trouble with stupid things and got kicked out of Cordova High School and attended Kinney High School. During his time at Kinney he continue to get into trouble with drugs and other things and spent some time in juvenile hall. This was a dark time in his life. Afterwards he began working a few different jobs and at one point realized that he had hit a low point. He had decided he wanted better for his life, which is when he enlisted in the Marine Corps. "I got accepted and that was my saving grace", explained Norman. 

After the Marines Corps, Lee returned to civilian life and began work as a full time auto-mechanic. It did not take long for him to realize that this still was not his dream. "I wanted to own my own business", stated Norman. However he was unsure how to make his dreams a reality. After borrowing money from his mother, who of course would not accept any of it paid back, he was able to start his own business which has grown every day since then. Twenty five years later, Lee has a thriving business in Rancho Cordova that employs thirteen people. He has fulfilled his vision of owning his own successful company. I recently spoke with Lee to learn more about his inspiring life experiences. 

Q: How did you make the jump from full time employee to full time shop owner? 

A: When I opened Lee's Automotive Repair, it was only part time. It took about a year and a half before I was at a point where I could employ another mechanic. At that point I gave my six months notice to the company I was currently with. I knew it was time to make the move. 

Q: Did the company try to keep you?

A: Yes they did. I was a fleet mechanic for a worldwide company. I was offered a promotion and they flew me out to Delaware to see what possibilities I had. They said that if I wanted the job it was mine. 

Q: So you started your own business and have lived happily ever after, right?

A: It hasn't quite been a happily ever after, there have definitely been trying times. That's just the way it is in this business. It's not always easy, if it were, everyone would do it. We still go through our slow times, usually around Christmas and tax season. However the rest of the year is usually pretty good.  

Q: What do your customers love most about coming here? 

A: Our customers love that they can count on us to be honest when we make recommendations and that they are receiving quality work. There are two types of shops in the automotive industry. There are shops that try and sell each customer as much as possible on every invoice and then there are shops that value return customers and would rather keep their customers long term rather than see big ticket invoices. We have built a relationship with our customers where they trust us and our suggestions. We work hard every day to maintain that relationship as well. 

Q: What’s your business philosophy when your shop makes a mistake?

A: When customers come in to our facility we pride ourselves on being fair and honest. We do not believe in selling our customers things they do not need. When mistakes happen, because eventually they always do, we step up and take care of our customers. We want them to be happy and return to our shop for future repairs. As big as we are for an independent shop and for as long as we have been in business, since 1991, we can happily say that we have not had many dissatisfied customers.

Q: What do you think separates your facility from other shops? 

A: One thing that separates our shop from others is that our mechanics are not paid commission. This helps maintain the relationship with our customers I mentioned earlier. When mechanics are paid commission they don't necessarily take into considerations the longevity of the customers and the shop working together. It becomes more about the here and now versus the future of the business. We are very picky on the people that are employed here and our staff and mechanics are the ones that truly make the business what it is today.

Q: What’s been your greatest challenge in the past 25 years running this business?

A: About seven years ago my previous location caught fire. I thought my business was done for. The neighboring business where the fire started did not have insurance and it was a pretty big fire. It was all over the news; I had so many customers calling me the morning it happened asking if there was anything they could do to help. It was overwhelming in so many ways, but it brought me so much joy to see how much my customers cared about my business and myself. A customer came and took me out to lunch one day and mentioned the building across the street from Costco, our current location. I wasn't sure at the time if I would be able to get the building, but here I am. 

Q: What happened when you opened your new location here?

A: On opening day we had a line of cars outside. There were existing customers and new customers just waiting for us to open the doors. That move was a major expansion for us. There was definitely a learning curve because in the first three months our volume doubled. Recently we also purchased the building next door so that we could expand our business into the tire industry. We have not done much advertising in the past and for being such a large independent shop says something in itself. Sometimes when you have a catastrophic event or start going down the wrong path in life you just need to stop, refocus and get it on. Remember to always keep pushing forward in whatever you do. 

Editor’s notes: Lee’s Automotive Repair is located at 11273 White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova (Across from Costco). Their website is www.autorepairranchocordova.com and their phone number is (916) 852-6414.