Taking Care of Family in the Family Business: Under Pressure with TJ White

What would you do if your business lost 90% of its customers almost overnight? You still have employees depending on you. You still have bills to pay. You have no idea how long it's going to last. The obvious answer is to cut expenses wherever you can, starting with people. That’s what businesses have always done. But what if you don’t?In this episode of Purpose Under Pressure, host Bryan Lefelhoc, founder of Bryan Media Strategies, talks with TJ White, President of Tire Source, a second-generation family business with six locations across Northeast Ohio.TJ tells the story of a decision his business made that didn’t make business sense. When COVID hit, people stopped driving. His family’s Tire Source business ground to a halt. Dpwn 90%, almost overnight. What his company did to take care of the employees on the team was unheard of. But the right thing to do is always the right thing to do, no matter what. Purpose Under Pressure is brought to you in partnership with Sandler by the Ruby Group, serving sales professionals and sales organizations nationwide from their locations in Akron and Columbus, Ohio, in Capital Region, New York, and in Jacksonville, Florida7 Takeaways— Sometimes the math doesn't work. Tire Source's traffic fell by roughly 90%, but the company still chose to keep its entire team at full pay.— Taking care of people has a long tail. Years later, employees still talk about how Tire Source treated them during COVID, and many of them remain with the company.— You can't prepare for every crisis. Nobody expected people to simply stop driving, but TJ says the experience taught Tire Source to prepare differently for whatever comes next.— Diversification creates options. Tire Source has expanded its work with fleets, government customers and other areas so the business isn't as dependent on one type of customer.— Growth isn't just adding locations. With six stores already operating, TJ says the company continues to grow by improving processes, adding services and finding greater efficiency.— Learn the business from the ground up. TJ started by cleaning, changing oil and working on tires before eventually moving into leadership, giving him experience throughout the organization.— People remain at the center. Whether it's employees, customers, vendors or future expansion, TJ keeps coming back to the relationships behind the business.——————-Helpful Links:TJ White, President, Tire Source: President, Tire SourceSandler by the Ruby Group: https://go.sandler.com/therubygroup/Bryan Lefelhoc, Owner, Bryan Media Strategies: https://www.bryanmediastrategies.com/