For as long as she can remember, Anna Catherine (Cathy) Ellis wanted to be in the car business. As the current owner of Atlanta Classic Cars, a highly successful Mercedes-Benz dealership, Cathy has not only realized her dream, but she's also preparing to bring her only daughter into the business one day.

But how did this divorced mother and entrepreneur make it to the top of her profession and what lessons did she learn along the way?

It was no accident that Cathy was bitten by the "car dealership bug." Her father, John Ellis, Sr., was in the business for almost 50 years. But despite their close relationship, she didn't learn at her father's knee. In fact, he strongly discouraged her ambition, telling her bluntly, "This is no field for a woman."

Born in Mexico, MO, Cathy grew up in Jacksonville, IL. Her family later moved to Arizona where she graduated from high school in Scottsdale. Four years later, after graduating from the University of Arizona in Tucson, she and a sorority sister headed to San Francisco to enter the working world. There, Cathy pursued mortgage banking and real estate, and for several years, bought and sold houses for a living.

It was at that point that she again decided to start the quest for her dream career. She moved to Peoria, IL where she got a job at a Volkswagen dealership, learning everything from the ground up - what Cathy calls her "masters degree in the car business."

In 1988, Cathy left Peoria and moved to Atlanta to assume the position of General Manager of Atlanta Classic Cars, Inc., the Mercedes-Benz dealership owned by her father. Only two years later in 1990, her father passed away. While his estate would take most of the cash from the dealership, Cathy accepted the financial challenge and assumed full ownership and leadership responsibility.

"Immediately," Cathy said, "I got a hard lesson in cash management when I hired a used car manager who probably cost me a half million dollars a year. I learned the hard way that there are a lot of ways to steal in a car dealership."

But this lesson would only make her stronger and more determined to succeed. And succeed she did. Today, her business is ranked #3 in revenue generation among Atlanta's top women-owned firms, #66 among the top private companies, and #106 among the top 500 women-owned businesses in the country. She's also near the top in the country among all luxury car dealerships in used car sales.

What's the secret to her success? "Employees," Cathy says, "are the #1 issue for me. Hiring and retaining the best people is critical - including new and used car sales managers, technicians, shop foremen, parts manager, and detail shop manager." She used to do all of this herself, but not today. She's still very involved, but with 175 employees and 13 years at this location under her belt, she no longer feels she has to be there all the time or oversee everything herself. In the early years, some might even have called her a "benevolent dictator," but her leadership style today is clearly focused on helping people who work for her be the best they can be.

"I want to be known as the Ritz-Carlton of car dealerships," Cathy says, " and that means seeing that everyone here understands good manners and exceeds each customer's expectations." Recently while attending a seminar at the Ritz-Carlton conducted by Horst Schulze himself, the former CEO whose very name personifies "Five Star Customer Service," Cathy had an epiphany. She was so impressed that she has arranged to have Mr. Schulze provide a one day seminar for all of her employees. She's also working on a half day new employee orientation that will embrace "the Ritz-Carlton philosophy" for Atlanta Classic Cars.

Ms. Ellis' interests also extend beyond the 9 ½ acres of her car dealership. Besides contributing to things for which she has a personal affinity, she finds ways to give back to her community through sponsorship of the Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker event, as well as events to benefit Egleston Children's Hospital and Aids Atlanta. Cathy also serves on the Small Business Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank and the Board of Advisors for the Carter Center. She was the first woman elected to the Mercedes-Benz National Dealer Council and chaired their Pre-Owned Council.

Cathy says she currently has no women managers or technicians but does have several in sales, one in finance, and one in the service department. There's no inherent reason more women aren't in the business, according to Cathy, except that she and other dealerships typically hire experienced people and this isn't a field where women abound. (Note: Since women make more than half of all car purchase decisions, maybe this will change and more will consider this profession.)

But Ms. Ellis says there's also the "image thing" where car dealerships seem to be at the bottom of the barrel with regard to ethics and trust. On that subject, it's clear that she gets upset. She's trying to change that image at her dealership by creating "win-win" results. She thinks she's accomplished that at Atlanta Classic Cars where there's a much higher customer loyalty ratio than other dealerships she knows - possibly 40-60% repeat buyers.

Looking ahead, Ms. Ellis clearly wants her daughter, a college senior graduating in 2002, to come into the business and continue the legacy. However, she also wants her to experience the business like she did, from the bottom up, and will advise her to work somewhere else first.

In the meantime, look for Cathy Ellis to set even higher standards for the art of the deal and customer service in the car business. And if you're a mother with children waiting to drop off or pick up your car, you can expect the personnel at Atlanta Classic Cars to help you get the diaper bag and the stroller out of one car and into another--at least if Cathy Ellis has anything to do with it!

August 2001
By Susan B. Hitchcock (Creator of the Age of SHEroes)
VP Client Services, Turknett Leadership Group