Our industry is the most unforgiving cutthroat business to be in. People who go the extra distance to involve themselves with WMABA all seem ingrained with the same similar fundamental belief in trying to affect some kind of change.

I grew up hearing the phrase, “you cannot complain about something without offering a solution.” Though mostly, I didn’t head that advice until I was older, and it always seemed as the world was unfair. It took me time to figure out that the world is what you make it, and if you want to see change then you need to have the initiative to do it yourself.

We cannot know where we are going unless we know first where we are. The WMABA Labor Rate survey is something in which all people in our industry can give input to help with the prospect of change. Not by changing prices by virtue of their input, but by giving a face to the reality that our industry is in.

All things considered, we are in a community that spans many miles but is in actuality very small. You can go anywhere, in any modern country, and find a repairer who deals with the exact same circumstances as you. You are not alone. In that premise, you cannot possibly be the only one that questions what is being asked of them, told to them, or expected as “usual and customary.”

Operating an association comes with the realization that no one is ever the only one. If you were to monitor my phone or email, you would quickly see the fact of that statement. Sometimes it is as if there are ripples where I’ll have 3 or 4 repairers call me about the very same thing within a two-day window.

Some issues I get relate to government oversight, finding good technicians, how to purchase the right equipment or get the right education need met, and even getting an insurance question answered from the “higher up’s”. There are so many resources shared by our membership, that it – sorry to sound so cliché – never hurts to ask about your own issue. What would you lose by calling in and asking the question that nags you? What if someone else that lay in bed staring at the ceiling each night had cracked the code and we already have the answer to sound sleep for you? Wouldn’t it serve your interest to at least find out? Last question: what are you waiting for?

Participation of any kind in the efforts pushed by WMABA is a way of keeping your voice, even anonymously, included in those who want to see positive change in our industry. That could be by any means in your imagination.

We often put the call out that if you believe passionately about just one thing, whatever its significance, and see it through to resolution, you’ve effectively moved a mountain. Find out if there is already someone working on a door lock that just needs your key to get to the other side. Some things really are just a basic connection for simple conclusion.