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Solis became a father at 18, adjusting his goals and future visions to best provide for his family. While he had dreams of college or the military, he quickly regrouped. In determining a career direction, he considered what lines of work offered services that would always be in demand and found his answer in the heating and cooling business. He learned quickly,\u00a0though, after pursuing it for himself, that the overhead left little margin for profit. Never one to give up, he moved from the self-employment business model to work for another, this time in automotive sales and service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He worked as a detailer for a Murfreesboro car dealership and soon found himself in sales and management for three lots. After attempting to invest in the company but without success, Solis recognized he could do more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said, \u201cI was not making enough money at the time. I had a salary of $350, and I was getting $25 a car [commission]. But I learned so much and educated myself again. I improved my skills and learned how to do subprime lending, website management, software management, and handle car financing. After 10 years, they wanted to lower my pay. I wanted to get out and start my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today Solis owns and operates local businesses offering car detailing, sales, automotive repair, and a body shop. After a slow start, he adapted and learned to operate more efficiently again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe reason I love the car business is that I like to help people get into that vehicle when others couldn\u2019t get them approved. I like to challenge myself to help those that say, \u2018I couldn\u2019t get approved.\u2019 A lot of these people just need a little mentoring to show them if you do this and that, you will be able to do it. A lot of the reason I\u2019m successful is because I was willing to help them, and then the next go around, they were helping me, giving me business and referrals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Giving back by offering a fair service at a reasonable price is important to Solis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do pretty much all [types of] mechanical work. We do brakes, rotors, oil changes, and alternators \u2014 anything mechanical in a car, we pretty much do. We also do detailing and collision repair, and that\u2019s what\u2019s different from other shops. I offer affordable prices to my community. We base it on what you can afford and structure scheduled payments at times because it\u2019s tough now. I\u2019ve been there,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And he\u2019s found opportunities to give back to the community in other areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the things I wanted to do is help out my community. I\u2019ve sponsored the Boys and Girls Club multiple times, and I sponsor basketball and soccer teams. I feel very fortunate to be where I\u2019m at in life. I\u2019m willing to do what I can to help because I believe in God, and I want God to know that I\u2019m doing good work for my brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solis has come a long way from the little boy in a foreign town, but he\u2019s never lost sight of the opportunities available. It\u2019s his life\u2019s work now to continue to create opportunities for others. GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE COMMUNITY had seen very few Hispanic families in Shelbyville in 1993. The schools had no translators, and our curriculum had no English as a second language (ESL) courses. Leo Solis was a six-year-old in a new country surrounded by faces that looked different from his and hearing conversations that had no meaning to him. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC_5849-1024x683.jpg\")