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Last Update: Thursday July 29, 2021

Key Idea: Keep Growing

Pamela Rodgers could have easily retired but instead she sets even bigger goals to keep herself learning and growing.   More...

Key Question:


Pamela says she never wants to be comfortable because she has seen comfortable people and they don't get much done. Comfortable people can make good employees but they will not be the ones who are creative and who take initiative. They are the ones who just do what they are told to do. To run a business, you have to be stretching and growing because there is a competitor with an eye on your customers. You can't relax and that is good.

Thank you, Pamela! In our mission statement, we say, "If you are not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."

Think about it

What do you need to learn? What do you need to try? What should be thinking about now so that your business is bigger tomorrow than it is today?

Clip from: Rodgers Chevrolet - Meet Pamela Rodgers!

Woodhaven, Michigan:  In a quiet suburb just south of Detroit, we go inside an American icon -- the car dealership -- to witness a "can-do" attitude in action. We meet a woman whose love affair with the car is as real and palpable as any romance going. And at this place where GM is sold, driving people to act upon that passion is her business.



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Rodgers Chevrolet

Pamela Rodgers, CEO

23755 Allen Road
Woodhaven, MI 48183

Visit our web site:

Business Classification:

Year Founded: 1991

Keep Growing

HATTIE: Are you comfortable yet? I mean -- do you wake up in the middle of the night going, "Oh my -- how am I going to pay for everything?"

PAMELA: If I am comfortable, shoot me – I never want to be comfortable. I don't want to become complacent. They want to squash you out, they want to make it difficult for you. So what does it take to bounce back and get up the next day and face it again. You have to realize I chose this profession, this was my decision to do this. So, I chose this road – nobody put a gun to my head and said "Pam, become a dealer." I chose this path, so I have to bear those consequences. But, the rewards are great.

HATTIE: You can name the makers of automobiles because they are mostly big companies with hundreds of thousands of employees. However, all of the car-makers depend upon their dealer network, mostly small privately-held companies like Rodgers Chevrolet, to sell and service their products. We don't mind reminding you, the little guys are really the big guys. So, how is Pamela building her business? She has the discipline and knowledge to completely understand her financials and then to focus time and money on the part of the business that will deliver customers over and over and over again. Her philosophy is that service is not the back-end, it is the backbone. We'll see you next time.

