This month, the Leverage team would love to introduce you to Gina Fairbanks, co-owner of A&A Manufacturing in Spring Lake. Gina and her husband, Jim, have owned and operated A&A for the past ten years. Becoming a small business owner and learning about the auto parts and manufacturing world was no small feat. Over the years, Gina has learned how to work all of the machinery at the shop, about hundreds of different parts and sizes, and how to transform perceptions in a male-dominated industry. And she has done it all with a grace and sense of humor that is hard to beat! We absolutely loved interviewing her for our Breaking Barriers Series and hope you enjoy this interview as much as we do!
Please tell us about yourself and your background!
“Tell you about myself and my background,” well, that could be a lengthy discussion, so we will do the edited version.
I am a proud Coopersville High School graduate (GO BRONCO’s!) and attended Tech Center through high school. At age 14, I worked as a cashier at a local Kmart before receiving a position at Donnelly Corporation (Magna/Donnelly now) in Grand Haven. While there, I worked as an Administrative Assistant to the Purchasing Assistant, doing a lot of data entry, filing, and general typing. When the Newaygo Donnelly plant opened, they asked me to apply right away. I got the Purchasing Administrative position and helped open the facility. I worked there for several years, started an MRO program, and was training as a Junior Buyer until my dad got sick, and I took a leave of absence.
After I lost my dad, I went back to work through an admin temp agency. At that time, a college education/degree was a required prerequisite to many jobs, regardless of prior work experience. I had to start back at square one, doing data entry for an insurance claim company.
After about a month at the insurance claim company, I got a call from my agency recruiter, who said that she had something she wanted me to interview for. Even though I tested at the top of their skills assessments, I was concerned about being looked over again because I didn’t have a college degree. I interviewed for an administrative job at Acosta Sales & Marketing and got it! I worked at Acosta for over fifteen years; when I left, I was a BMA in the C-store division, handling a national account for business managers in thirteen states.
Along the way, I met a ton of amazing people, many of whom are still great friends today. My daughter even still calls some of them “Aunt”! It was an incredibly tough decision to leave that work family and make the leap to business ownership. However, it is one I don’t often regret!
What is it like to work in the auto parts and manufacturing world? I imagine it is a male-dominated industry!
It is exactly as you would imagine it would be! LOL! A typical scenario is:
You answer the phone, and the voice on the other line says, “Hey honey, can you get me someone in technical support who can answer a question for me?” I politely answer, “That would be me; what can I help you with?” Then, there is a pause as they consider how to tell me they don’t think I can help them.
After a moment, you hear the “alright, lets-just-let-her-have-it” exhale before he says, “Well now, honey, I’m not sure you can help me. Ya see here, I’m trying to see what material part #xyz is made out of.”
I then answer him back by saying, “Oh yes, sir, if it is under 1″, it is made out of 12L14 bar stock; if it is over 1″ long, that item is made out of DOM tubing. Is there anything else I can help you with?” as a satisfied smile settles on my face, another customer helped!
Thankfully, we have a lot of amazingly AWESOME customers who know me and know I’m “the voice on the phone” they talk to regularly. I will not pretend I know everything they ask for every time; they are okay with that. However, 80% of the time, I know what they are talking about. And if I don’t know, I am a big girl, and I will 100% admit that I do NOT know the answer to their question and will try to find Jim (my husband) to get them the answer.
Although working in a male-dominated industry is challenging, it pushes me. It makes me want to learn, it makes me want to have the answer. When I have to ask Jimmy a question, I often go into his office to hear his response so that I know it for the next time I get asked. Or I will ask him after he gets off the phone, “Why does this do that?” or “Why does that do this?” Jim pushes me, too; he is a great teacher.
I also have run most of the shop machinery at least once out of necessity. When you run a small business, a product has to get out the door even when someone is missing, so you learn to fill in where you are needed. To say Jimmy and I wear many hats is an understatement. We always go the extra mile to get our customers and team what they need. That has also helped me understand what goes into our parts and what it takes to make them.
Another place where you really see a gender gap is at trade shows. I have been attending trade shows with Jimmy for almost twenty years now. When I first started attending, there were VERY few women (besides booth models) in the booths at the shows. Now, you see more and more women working at the booths, which has been a fun transition to watch. It has also been fun to watch as more and more of our customers actually come to the booth to see me, “their voice on the phone,” instead of Jimmy. I love putting faces with names and getting to know our customers more and more throughout the years. Some guys come by every year just so we can business chat and share marketing, shipping, and parts “yays and nays” from the last year. Those are some of my favorite conversations at the shows.
What has been the biggest challenge of owning a small business? What is your favorite part of being a business owner?
One of the biggest challenges is growth – knowing when to grow and then figuring out how. For us, it has been a challenge to keep Jimmy reigned in. He is constantly trying to expand or looking at machines or new processes. Jim has a “full steam ahead” mentality, whereas I am a little more tentative/cautious. So, I typically slow him down and gradually ease into processes we have brought back in-house since buying the business. He would have 50 new machines and 20 new employees by now if he had no oversight (that is only a SLIGHT exaggeration).
It is a complex balancing act; you can’t run yourself, and your equipment ragged. You also can’t run the company into the red trying to grow too quickly. So far, I think we are walking that tightrope and have made growth in the right direction. Walking into our back shop today is amazing; it has wall-to-wall machines and materials. Just nine short years ago, that was just a hollow storage shell. Now, that is what I consider growth in the right direction!
My favorite part about being a business owner is twofold. The first “favorite” is how proud my kids are of the business. They will come to work with us, help us pack orders, and talk to walk-in customers. Our kids also help us clean, assemble parts, and know we work our butts off. They are not afraid to tell their friends what their parents do for work, and they let them know that we work in the shop.
My dad was always up before the sun at work and home to play with us, eat supper, and tuck us into bed before returning to it the next day. He was one of the hardest-working people I ever knew; I like to think I got my work ethic from him. I only pray he looks down every once in a while and is proud as heck of what he raised! We hope the kids see how we work and carry that work ethic into their generation.
And I have to tell you there is NOTHING more adorable than to hear my seven-year-old little boy tell his Daddy that he wants to “Go to the Craigs Cruisers over by MOMMY’S shop!” When Daddy says, “Well you know I own it too…”, my little guy says, “Yeah, but we all know Mommy’s the boss, Dad!” Outta the mouth of babes, no arguments here!
The second “favorite” is working with my husband. We were very nervous when we first decided to dive into small business ownership. However, it has been amazing! We keep our offices completely separate, so we have two separate spaces. And it helps that we kind of like each other anyway! Luckily, we have found that we work really well together, too.
What are your future goals and plans for A&A?
To keep pushing forward. We are a constant work-in-progress, and our catalog is constantly growing. We love working with our customers and their ideas. Jimmy also loves trying to make new things on his machines. When we stop expanding or coming up with new ideas, that is when we know it will be time to turn it over to new hands! There is always something new out there to make!
Anything else you would like to share?
Small business is hard; it will humble you. You will cry, you will wonder why you did it, you will pull your hair out in frustration…. but! If you calm down, slow down, and take it one step at a time, you can make it work! It IS worth it, and yes, even after…. wow, 10 years at the end of this month!!… I still have to remind myself that it is worth it. It is hard, but it is worth it if you want it!
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Conclusion
In an industry that demands quality and competitive pricing, A&A Manufacturing has been leading the pack for over 50 years! Their small, family-owned shop began in 1966 with a mission to manufacture and distribute a large selection of high-quality, American-made products. The A&A team works closely with fabricating partners and customers to design a wide variety of parts that exceed expectations. Their shop in Spring Lake produces 90% of our product line, and the remaining 10% is sourced from neighboring shops. A&A also offers custom work and can quote new parts depending on your needs. Always rooted in customer relationships, A&A Manufacturing proudly serves customers in Michigan, throughout the USA, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Exceptional Parts and Chassis Components Made in the USA.
Superior Customer Service.
Proudly Supporting Growth in Our Michigan Communities.
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