Why Gathering With Other Dealers Became the Most Transformational Part of My Career
Anyone who has ever owned or operated a dealership knows the tension. The moment you leave the store, you are convinced something will go off the rails.
For years, that was me.
Whenever I traveled to a dealer show, a training event, or a meeting, I felt a knot in my stomach. If there waswere a phobia for dealers who are afraid to step outside their own walls, I had it. I jokingly called it:
A highly specific, completely unofficial fear that your dealership will ignite, implode, or otherwise fall apart the moment you are not physically inside it.
It sounds funny, but it was real. And it held me back, because I didn’t yet understand that the moments I was avoiding were the very moments I needed most.
As the business grew, as we added more employees, expanded facilities, and carried more responsibility, I hit a point where I knew something had to change. I couldn’t grow this thing alone. I needed other minds, other experiences, and other ways of seeing the work.
So I joined a 20 Group.
It was a big investment. It was inconvenient. And it definitely triggered my lingering case of DSS.
But it became one of the most meaningful shifts in my career.
One of our first meetings was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, at Sloan’s Motorcycles, owned and operated by Curtis Sloan, a southern Christian gentleman and a sage financial wizard. Walking his store and watching his systems operate in real time opened my eyes instantly. I saw things done differently. I saw things done better. I saw possibilities I had never considered.
Then came the meeting itself, where the real transformation happened. We gathered as a group of owners and operators and began talking honestly about the work. We shared struggles, gaps, ideas, processes, and solutions with a level of transparency that only happens in a circle of trusted peers.
Employee frustrations.
Inventory strategies.
Culture challenges.
Customer experience improvements.
Operational blind spots.
In that room, the conversations were raw, energizing, and incredibly real. Looking back, I realize that those three days became a defining moment—not because of a tactic or a number, but because of the connection, the clarity, and the shared experience created when I stepped away from my dealership long enough to see it more clearly.
When I reflect on what changed me, it comes down to four powerful elements.
When dealers get in the same room, the walls come down. You hear the truth, not the filtered version. You learn what is actually working in real stores. You feel understood, because everyone else carries the same weight you do. Gathering creates space for growth that simply cannot happen inside your own building.
There is something irreplaceable about talking with operators who live the same battles. You don’t have to explain the pressure or the responsibility. It’s already understood. That connection builds trust. Trust creates openness. Openness leads to real change.
Daily urgency can blind you to what’s right in front of you. When you step away, even briefly, the fog lifts. You begin to see patterns, opportunities, and solutions that were buried under the noise.
Some moments rise above the rest. A breakthrough conversation. A store tour that reframes your thinking. A process someone shares that fixes a problem you’ve wrestled with for years. A late-night discussion where someone says exactly what you needed to hear. These moments happen when dealers gather, learn, share, and support one another.
This month’s DealerHero Book of the Month, The Power of Moments, puts language around exactly what I experienced in Murfreesboro and in every meaningful dealer gathering since then. The book explains why certain experiences stand out, why they shape us, and why they often change our trajectory more than years of routine work.
It teaches that defining moments are not accidents. They happen when there is elevation, insight, pride, and connection. In DealerHero 20 Groups, Herohub’s virtual-first performance groups, those four elements are everywhere. You see them in the conversations, in the shared wins and challenges, and in the clarity that comes from connecting with operators who understand your world.
When I was a dealer, these kinds of moments only happened when I traveled. There was no virtual option. If you wanted the perspective and connection of a 20 Group, you had to leave your dealership and be in the room. And for many of us, that wasn’t easy. Stepping away felt risky, and the worry that something might fall apart back home was always in the background.
That is exactly why DealerHero 20 Groups are so valuable today. They are perfect for dealers who still feel that tension, because you can connect, learn, and grow without the pressure of leaving your store for days at a time. The insight, encouragement, and perspective you get from other operators become a powerful first step toward creating defining moments in your leadership.
But for those who are ready for even more, the truly transformational moments still happen when you step outside your daily environment and immerse yourself more deeply.
This is where Herohub20 comes in.
Herohub20 is built for dealers who want to experience the deeper, high-impact moments that can only happen in person. Store tours that spark new ideas. Conversations that challenge assumptions. Breakthroughs that happen when you see how another operator runs their business up close. Genuine connection that forms when you sit across the table from people who understand the weight you carry.
These are the moments that elevate your thinking, reveal new possibilities, strengthen your confidence, and ignite real change back home.
The Power of Moments reminds us that growth is often triggered by a handful of experiences that rise above the rest. DealerHero 20 Groups create the conditions for those moments to begin. Herohub20 deepens them.
Both exist for one purpose: to help you experience the elevation, insight, pride, and connection that move you, your team, and your dealership forward.
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