Dannie Lyman, the 110th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a mechanic-turned-entrepreneur with big dreams.
Dannie opened his business, GDL Automotive Services, a decade ago. Last year, he expanded to a second location. In the next 10 years, he plans to add another 20 sites.
In one sense, Dannie is a natural entrepreneur – a visionary leader who found clever ways to make a few bucks when he was a child. But Dannie has also worked hard to learn things that didn’t come naturally, like marketing and man-management.
Dannie has a fierce determination to succeed, which is why I know he’ll turn his bold growth dreams into reality. His only obstacle may be his oil-stained fingers – he needs to spend less time working in the business and more time working on it.
GDL Automotive has an unusual business model: staff pick up your car in the morning, fix it during the day and return it to your office or home in the afternoon.
Dannie stumbled upon the idea years ago, when he was an employee and he did private work on the side: he had to pick up and return clients’ cars outside normal hours, which is how he discovered people love this full-service model.
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