I joined the team at Ratchet+Wrench in February 2012. And between that time and when the first-ever copies of the magazine actually landed on your desks that July, I had the assignment to write nearly all the content for our first issues. Another way to put it: My job was to cold call many of you in an attempt to get you to share the most intimate details about your businesses … with me, an industry outsider none of you had met (yet) ... for a magazine that didn’t even exist (yet).
No problem, right? Well, actually, it wasn’t.
I learned very quickly that, even though I had zero experience in the automotive aftermarket at the time, you and I came from very similar places—professions (auto repair and journalism) that struggle with negative stereotypes. We write every month about how you work to change that in your shops (this month’s issue is no different). And in our writing, reporting and interactions with you, our hope is that we not only provide the information, strategies and inspiration you need to help improve your businesses, but also that we continue to earn your trust.
It’s been five years since we first started working on Ratchet+Wrench. Sure, there have been some changes (including my picture now appearing in this space), but one thing that hasn’t wavered is our commitment to serving you, our readers. And we look forward to proving ourselves to you every day moving forward.
