Meet Lauralee Schmidt | VP of OPERATIONS

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauralee Schmidt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauralee, why did you pursue a creative career?
Art is all around us. And while there are some that look at art, and move on, I feel the art. I have always had almost a physical reaction to art, and I knew it had to be in my life. When people talk about the layers of artwork and music, I can totally relate to that. That is exactly how it breaks down in my brain. I was writing from a young age, I was playing piano, singing, and drawing. But it all boiled down to creative writing and then makeup. I loved to paint, but not on canvas. I prefered skin to paint on, and I loved bringing natural beauty forward, so the path of a makeup artist is the one I took.
Over time the music, the writing, and the artistry all intertwined from job to job. I had opportunities to always incorporate all my skills in any industry I went to, and that was one reason I never had an issue going to work, or finding work. I was a creative asset to really any place I went. Once I added business skills into the mix, I knew that I was either going to go into corporate training or stay on my own and launch a business.
I kicked off my makeup business, while still working with Estee Lauder Corp. I was working the training job I dreamed of the same time I was building a solid portfolio for artistry. I was offered to relocate with the ELC, and took that opportunity. When I moved to Cincinnati, I met my future husband, and he asked me to join his company in the capacity of Admin and HR. And he gave me full reign to build the brand. So I dug into every artistic avenue I could tap into, and went to creating content to build our families establishment. And that has been a thrilling reward.
I need to stay creative, or I get stagnate and moody. I know when I need to create. It’s just inherent in my DNA.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My husband and I own an auto shop in Springboro Ohio, Schmidt Auto Care. He opened the shop in 2009, but I was asked to come on board in 2015, and I came in to work on the brand building and creative content. Erich has a vision to make positive change inside an industry that doesn’t have the best name. Auto shops of the past were known to rip people off and do unethical work. We don’t stand for the kind of business practice. Our only goal is to give ethical and excellent service to our community, and grow opportunities for technicians to thrive inside of. This task has proved to be both challenging and rewarding. We have an amazing community we are a part of, and they have supported us fully, but we haven’t always had the best team. We’ve had some weak links that cost a lot of financial downfall, and created other team members to leave. We built a new facility that brought endless headaches, and then we had a whole pandemic come and knock us off track. Then as we rallied back, we found out our manager was creating a major storm inside the business and we had to remove basically the whole team to start over. So to say this business has come easily, is not true. It’s been a lesson in grit and persistence. And a huge lesson in hiring the right people.
I am extremely proud of where we stand end of 2023. We have won several awards this year, we have been in several publication, I’ve spoken at an automotive conference, our team is insanely talented and work as a united force, and we are growing like we should have been initially. I didn’t even know if we would be in business by the end of the year because so much damage was done top of 2023, but we are THRIVING!!!!

The best lessons I learned were
**If it feels wrong, it probably is. Investigate
**Your team matters greatly. Listen to them. Bring in people who align with your vision.
**If someone isn’t interested in growing, they are not your people.

Those were all very powerful lessons.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live in the BEST community. There are fascinating little spots all around us. If my bestie came to visit, here is what we would do.
Take a morning hike in Caesars Creek. For me, nature’s the best place to start the day.
We will go have a breakfast at Blueberry Cafe in Waynesville, and then head to their downtown for some light shopping. They have the best antiques and artisans on that street.
After we finish up there, we would head to Springboro to hit Main Street for afternoon fun.
I would visit Chasing Light Art Studio & Gallery to see beautiful art and maybe catch a class.
We would shop at Magnolia’s and Suburban Hippie for clothes and hit up Barefoot Hippie for textiles and yummy smelling, locally made, body products. There are several great shops on Main St, so we’d take time to visit them all.
We would hit up Heathers Cafe for an outdoor lunch on the patio and head on to Massie Produce to show off this local gem of a garden. And maybe cap that off with some coffee at Muddy Goose.
As the evening comes on, I would definitely move over to Latin Arepas for some tapas before heading to Mr. Boro for live music.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband gets all the recognition for the success I’ve found. He let me spread my wings in auto care,, which is not known for its creative outlets. I was able to bring so many exciting and creative facets to our shop that helped establish us as a leading auto care facility. He taught me about the basic business of auto care, and then let me use my corporate and creative mind to run with it. He lets me shine and never tries to dim it. He has been instrumental in the success I’ve found in our community and inside the auto industry. I could not do life or business without that man. Erich Schmidt deserves all the praise for this last 7 years of my career.

Website: www.schmidtautocare.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schmidt.auto.care/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraleedavis/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauralee.davis.7/

Image Credits
Kelly Settle took all headshots