01/26/2025
Heya, hope everyone is doing well out there.
My name is Jose and I run and own Thunderbolt Auto Care. I like to write articles from time-to-time on interesting car care questions and repairs.
Hopping right in to talk about something extremely close to my heart and not mechanical in nature.
The last election and the current political climate. This is something that I will not do often, but given the current situation, I feel is right to do.
Much like way too many of my posts, this is going to be a little bit long. Sorry in advance. If you do not want to read a somewhat political post, I advise skipping this one.
~ The Subject ~
When I decided to start my own business 6 and 1/2 years ago I could in no way imagine that we would be where we are today.
The amount of support that we've received from both our friends in Garfield Heights when we started at The Boulevard Garage as well as Cleveland Heights when we took over for Hollis Automotive has been absolutely unreal.
It's not an exaggeration to say that it's nothing short of a miracle that we're still alive in this day and age. Owning a small business is tough on a good day, and there's been several times where we thought we may have to hang it up.
These days, things feel a lot more stable, and from a business perspective, I am optimistic about our future.
In short, I owe my success to the community and the amazing people that have had faith in us along the way.
That leads me to another point.
This industry has a bad but sometimes deserved reputation when it comes to women and the LGBTQ community. The reality is that this is a very tough industry for anyone outside of the most “macho” of men. Far too many assumptions about people and what they know based off of the way they look or act. It's unfortunate, but it's the reality that I live in and energetically reject. It's one of the few benefits of being an owner, I can set the tone of my shop and my interactions with my clients.
To be fair, I've noticed a trend over the last 15 years or so where shops are becoming more open-minded. But, unfortunately, the mindset is still there in far too many places.
*Deep breath*
As a general rule, and as a business owner, I normally would not engage in two subjects. Religion and politics. There's too much risk in irritating the ones that support us. And there's no major benefit honestly.
We are here to service vehicles in a timely manner and at an affordable price. And those who choose to spend money with us, hopefully do so knowing that you're supporting a local small business that is knowledgeable and cares. That should be our focus.
Here's the thing though. There are so many people that I care about that fall under the LGBTQ umbrella. Family, friends, romantic partners, and even myself.
I am a firm believer that those who can not speak should be able to depend on those who can. There are so many businesses that skew right these days and there are not nearly enough businesses that take a stance for the oppressed. And it feels like I'm honestly walking on eggshells here. I don't want to irritate my more conservative clients who have been good to us. But I can't look in the room without seeing more that we can do.
So I say with pride and resilience: Thunderbolt Auto Care will always support the LGBTQ community in whatever way we realistically can. Without shame, with grace, and enthusiastically so.
And in case I'm not entirely clear here, N***s are still evil last I checked and a huge F**k You to Elon.
For those who don't have a voice, keep your chin up. You've been through hell to get where you are, we're just not done yet, that's all. Keep stepping forward, don't let those guys win.