SPOTLIGHT ON
I have served on the FADRA Board of Directors for the last 6 years, for which I serve as the current president until July 2018.” Then, McMillon will rotate back to be- ing a board member while also serving on the legisla- tive committee. “Since October 2017,” she adds, “I am serving as the ARA South Regional Director and as the Regional Directors (committee) chair.” As FADRA President, she says, “I did not realize how much the association works on behalf of the members legislatively, and how all that works. The revenue from memberships and convention helps cover the costs for representation in Florida’s cap- itol, Tallahassee. FADRA Hill Days are amazing. I can’t imagine passing up the opportunity to share our voice. We wear green logo-ed shirts as a group; everyone says here comes the ‘green shirts’ when they see us. This year, I am attending ARA Hill Days and am excited to see that process.” “As an industry, our biggest obstacle right now is large corporations with deep pockets that want auto recyclers to fail. We need to keep the solidarity and determination strong working with each other, indus- try leaders and liaisons to demand build sheet data and VIN specific reporting for recalls.”
What Drives Cocoa
“Before I took over the business, I used to be very black and white. With experience and maybe with age, I have accepted that there is more gray area in busi- ness,” says McMillon. “My favorite part is the people– working with other small business owners – and the re- lationships through those connections personally and professionally that’s made a big impact on me. It is a very special industry where you can call fellow recyclers and they will share information I may need. “I am also a very competitive person. When I see a
challenge, I want to see what I can do with that. I like to see what I can accomplish. It’s fun. I just enjoy it.” McMillon hopes that more people in the industry add their voices to create change.
“I understand it is inconvenient to get involved. I was that way, too. As my children got older, I had more time available to serve on the FADRA Board, and it was
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there I developed relationships that I leaned on after the death of my father and brother. I had a group of peers that encouraged me when I needed it most – they filled the void left when a family business sudden- ly turns into a one person show.
“The world, and sadly often times people close to us, tells us that we are not good enough. Most days it’s easy for me to ignore that notion – but some days are hard and that’s when you need encouragement the most. I was lucky to have that support system.
“When you share responsibilities with someone else in a business, it’s hard to measure the quality of work you are doing as an individual – are you good or not? In a family business, it is the team that succeeds or fails together. And while I certainly miss having someone to share the weight and worry of the day to day with - it’s exhilarating, frightening, inspiring and so many other emotions all rolled into one knowing that it is just me. I wish it wasn’t. But as my brother would say, ‘it is what it is.’ So, we move forward and do the best we can.”
Opportunity for Growth “Currently, online sales are less than 10 percent of
our overall business, but I see a lot of opportunity in this area and we are going to focus on growing this segment of sales in 2018,” says McMillon. “It was im- portant to have a solid foundation before pursuing this to avoid unnecessary growing pains. It used to be a question of if we wanted to sell online, it’s not any- more. To be viable, you have to have an online pres- ence. We started using eBay in March 2017, among other things, and our customers can shop via our eBay store or on our website 24/7.”
Cocoa Auto utilizes an outside sales person periodi- cally and the common advertising methods of branded pens, pads, magnets with coupons, billboards, digital billboard, Facebook and Instagram. They are working to grow social media but, like many, struggle to create consistent content and Facebook ads. They are taking advantage of the new ARA Awareness Marketing Cam- paign through local publications and billboards. They advertise in local publications and on Google ads, work with local police and fire departments by sponsoring
March-April 2018 • AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING
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