Adam Probasco
Part owner and manager | Conrad Tire and Auto Inc. | Conrad, Iowa | Age: 33
What was your first job in the industry?
General shop hand.
What attracted you to the industry?
My parents’ ownership in our company.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?
The many, many tire sizes. Supply chain issues, and making sure you get the right product for the customer.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
My dad. Being able to work next to him daily has been a blessing.
What is your biggest accomplishment in the industry?
Having a hand in growing our business to what it is today.
Tell us about your current job and responsibilities. How do you spend your workday?
My current job is in the shop as well as the office. It’s a wide range of responsibilities. From pricing tires and other jobs to scheduling or working out in the shop performing service jobs and tire work.
What's been the biggest surprise of your current job?
I would say the volume of work we can do and the reach of our customers. We are the only shop in the town we’re in, and customers sometimes travel 20-30 minutes or more for our service which is so appreciated.
Tell us about your family.
My Dad and Mom bought the business in 1997. They still own and operate it daily. My Mom does secretarial work at our businesses as well as manages another office. My Dad still runs the shop and does a wide range of jobs as well for our businesses. Being able to work alongside them and see them daily is amazing. Seeing their hard work and dedication to our businesses and our family is inspiring. My sister is a nurse and lives nearby with her husband and two boys.
If you could wake up tomorrow with one new skill, what would you choose?
A new skill I’d love to have would be to be able to speak another language. Learning Spanish, and being fluent in it, would be great and beneficial. Hopefully someday.
In a single word, how would your friends describe you?
Driven.
If you could switch jobs for a day, what job/who would you choose to swap with, and why?
Dana White. I love MMA and I think he’s got the coolest job of setting up fights and managing all of those personalities.
What's the biggest issue facing the tire industry?
I still think it’s supply chain issues — from materials to make the tires to distribution of products.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A baseball player. Nothing better than dreaming of being a baseball player as a kid.
What goal did you set for yourself this year? Are you on track to reach it?
I set a goal for myself to be more involved in the business in every aspect and to take on a bigger role year to year. And I am on track to reach that.
What do you expect to be doing 20 years from now?
I expect to be working with our company and getting into different avenues. Anything auto related I’d like to be involved.
