Jeremy James
Owner | Tires to Your Spot | Age: 37
What was your first job in the industry?
Owner of Tires to Your Spot.
What attracted you to the industry?
Every vehicle needs tires through its lifetime.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?
Creating a new business with a new approach to tires. My tire business is the mobile business which is a new type of tire service.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
My two sons are the reason I started the business. I was a single parent and had to get my tires changed about seven years ago. Two-and-a-half hours with young children in a tire service center is brutal. I said there has to be someone who will do this at my location. Never changed a tire before starting this business.
What’s your biggest accomplishment in the industry?
Starting a new market for tire business. Mobile service doesn’t exist in most areas in the U.S. but I believe it is the future of the business. Convenience is king in today’s busy world.
How do you spend your work day?
My day consists of everything from quoting jobs, ordering tires, ordering tire supplies, getting new customers, changing tires, and pretty much all things related to running a business. I am the sole owner and operator of my mobile tire business.
What keeps you up at night?
Thinking about upcoming tire jobs and business needs keeps me up at night.
Early bird or night owl?
Early bird for sure. I am not a night owl at all.
Messy or neat freak?
Messy for sure. There is nothing clean or neat about changing tires.
Growing up, what was your dream job?
Growing up I wanted to be a train engineer. No idea where that came from but that’s what I wanted to be.
Tell us about your family.
My family is my beautiful wife, Nicole, and two amazing boys, Peyton and Bodie. My family is the most important part of my life.
Describe your first car and what you loved most about it.
1989 Honda Accord LXI I bought with my own money when I was 15 and it had 212,000 miles on it. My favorite part was it was stick shift.
What advice would you give your high school self?
If I could give myself advice, it would be to make as many friends as possible and do as many different after school activities I could.
If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Lee Iacocca, because he was a person who I admired for his accomplishments.
Best way to spend a Saturday night: out on the town or home alone binge watching shows? (or something else)
Depends on the day. I enjoy going out and staying in. If the weather is nice I enjoy going out. When the weather is bad I enjoy staying in.
What song do you crank up loud and always sing along to?
I am a horrible singer so I generally don’t sing out loud.
What habit do you wish you could break?
I wish I could stop worrying about work so much.
What’s your secret superpower?
I have no super power. I am a very humble guy. But if I had to claim I had one it would be raising my children as a single parent for a few years. Parenting is tough, single parenting is 10 times as hard.
What game show would you most likely win?
Wheel of Fortune. I am a very good problem solver.
If we gave you $1,000 and one hour, how would you spend the money?
I would probably buy my wife a new purse and get my kids something they wanted.
How should the tire industry attract and retain more young talent?
The best way to get and retain young people would be to get involved with high school students and show them how many opportunities there are in the tire industry — from manufacturing to sales to installation.
What do you expect to be doing 20 years from now?
I expect to be working. I will never retire. As weird as it sounds I love to work. Always have.
What’s the biggest issue facing the tire industry?
I can’t speak for the industry but what I can speak for is my business. Biggest struggle for me is to create a new philosophy for tire installations.
If you could spend a day supporting a charity, what would you do?
I am in the process of discussing a charity organization that would support disabled children and adults in the outdoors. From nature walks, sightseeing, fishing, hunting and anything else related to the outdoors.
If you could start a new career tomorrow, what would it be?
I wouldn’t want to change my job. I love what I do. I would possibly expand into other mobile ventures not related to tires.
