Women auto shop owners aren’t rare anymore, but the story of Gina Paschall, owner of Triangle Tires in North Carolina, is definitely unique. According to The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC, Paschall, now 51, became a ward of the state at 5 years old, bounced around to 25 different foster homes until she was 16, worked for awhile in advertising in Chicago, graduated from South Florida with degrees in psychology and education, got married and had a son.
Her family then moved to Durham, NC, and shortly thereafter her husband left. Needing a way to support her family, as fate would have it, she met Clayton Brewer, owner of Brewer Scrap Tire Hauling and Recycling, and picked up a part-time job.
She became the manager in 1995 and never looked back. From The News & Observer:
After changing the name of the business and moving it to Hillsborough in 1999, she added new and used tire sales to its services. She opened a complete auto repair shop in Chapel Hill in November.
As a licensed tire hauler, Paschall contracts with dealers to remove old tires from their premises and transports them to facilities for recycling.
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She initially grew the tire-hauling business from about 30 clients to 65, and she used the earnings to add used tire sales to the business model. She eventually added new tire sales and continued to grow organically until she was ready to expand again – this time as a full-service auto center in a Chapel Hill garage formerly occupied by Big Al’s Used Tires.
Paschall will begin operating as an official North Carolina Inspection Station as soon as she receives her license.
It’s a great story. Definitely head to The News & Observer and read the whole thing.