Breakfast of Champions

The Ladies of the Automotive Recycling Association (LARA) annual gathering in- cluded breakfast, networking and an empow- ering speaker, Betsy Finnell, CEO, Hotlines, pictured right, who shared her journey that led to her 20-year industry business.

With deep roots in auto recycling, growing up in the family business, A & A Auto Salvage, in Topeka, KS, she shared that her mother, Betty, was her inspiration. Fin- nell remembers that Betty took on Lady Bird Johnson in the “Beautification Era” of auto recycling, insulted that Lady Bird thought salvage facilities were “filthy.” Betty wrote her a letter and included photos of their “beautiful” yard. Lady Bird was so impressed to hear from a facility like this that it earned Betty a spot on the official White House Beautification Committee.

When Betsy’s father passed, Betty sold the yard and started a parts hotline, Roll Call (a predecessor to Ho- tlines), and the duo became partners. Watching her mother overcome challenges became the norm. In starting the business, they faced a 6-month equipment back-order. Her mother said, “We will manufacture our own phones!” and then they did it. Once in business, they received a let- ter from AT&T declaring a 40 percent increase in service fees, threatening all profit margins. Betty, a master negoti- ator, called them and got it down to 4 percent.

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In an “empowering moment,” Betty

sent Betsy alone to make a critical presentation to 80 of the best North Carolina salvage yards in the industry. “Mom says, ‘You go.’ I was 24. Mom had mortgaged the house to pay for all this. I have to win this deal for Roll Call. I get up in front of these established men and gave the presentation of my life. … I am pleased to say that all but one of the yards voted to go with us.” They grew the business to be a successful enterprise that included the best quality yards in the network. Eventually, it was so successful that it was sold to a larg- er corporation. Betsy went to work for that company, but missed being an entrepreneur. She left to launch

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING • January-February 2019

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