www.autoremarketing.com/ar/news/print_story.html?id=212 -
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Published on: 12/1/2003
Last Visited: 3/14/2007
Auto Remarketing Profile Series: Mike Hockett
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Hockett: I was born in Indianapolis and my father was a car man....
AR: An independent dealer? Hockett: Yes, but he started in the gas station business and built that up to where he had a couple of stations.Probably my earliest memories are when I was about 10 years old and he had a gas station/restaurant; Dad worked in the gas station and Mom in the restaurant.
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Hockett: Um, probably in the late 40's, early '50s.My dad was the kind of car man that gave dealers in the '50s such a bad reputation ... he loved the action.He loved women ... drinking ... gambling ... he lived hard.He was right in the middle of it. (laughter) So, the home life was not much of a home life.
AR: Many of those dealers would have money one day and not the next.Was it like that for your dad? Hockett: Absolutely.He would be sitting up on a cherry tree one minute and digging a ditch the next.He went from being a used car dealer to being a new car dealer, having a small Chrysler/Plymouth store in another Indiana town.That store burned down, and we moved back to Indianapolis.Dad then had a Kaiser/Frasier/Willy's distributorship, which lasted about two years.He then got a Ford dealership in 1955, and that lasted about six years before he went belly-up in 1961.So, it was an up-and-down cycle that we went through.Dad was a great advertiser, great on promotions, but he wasn't very good on the business side.He liked the action too much.
AR: He could build name recognition for his dealership then. Hockett: (Laughter) He did an awful lot of advertising.He used to have an elephant walk up and down the sidewalk in front of his dealership.Then, he might have a man dressed as Davy Crockett chasing a man dressed as a bear.He would have a lot of those stunts done as commercials, and people would think you had a lot of money even though you didn't.
AR: It is interesting you say that because what you have and what others think you have are often two very different things. Hockett: (Laughter) That's right.I asked my mom one time why were we so poor when people thought we were so rich.She said that you are either rich in a big way or you are poor in a big way.It is interesting, when I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, I was rather small and students thought I was a little rich kid.Needless to say, I was picked on a lot and fighting was pretty common.My best friend was a black athlete named Darlan Billips.That was a little unusual especially in the 50s.One day Darlan said "Hockett, you know why I like you -- you know what it feels like to be black."Those experiences I have never forgotten.
AR: Your dad wasn't around very much was he? Hockett: He was either working, chasing or drinking.He was always right in the middle of it.
AR: How about your mother? Hockett: She spent most of her time trying to keep track of Dad.One thing my mom did do was that she got me involved in music.
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Hockett: Absolutely not.No.I saw what it did to families.I used to spend a good bit of time helping out in the new car stores ... doing things like sweeping the floors ... and in doing that you got to know some of the salesmen.At that time, salesmen were characters ... and I didn't want to be a part of that environment.
AR: What did you think you wanted to do? Hockett: I wanted to be a schoolteacher and a coach.
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Hockett: Dick Guyer, my high school coach and teacher.
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Hockett: I went to Butler University on a scholarship to play football.
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Hockett: Well, when I was a sophomore, I found out I was going to be a father, and that sure changed things.Having to support a family forced me to get involved in the car business.
AR: Did you leave school? Hockett: No.I worked 40 to 50 hours a week and still went to school.See, by 1961 my father went bust in the new car store, so he had started a buy-here, pay-here operation.
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Hockett: I just couldn't afford to teach ... not on $4,600 a year with two children.And then my father needed me after his heart attack.
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Hockett: Yes.We lived 15 years together, but there were trust issues.However, I loved my five boys.But I also became a lot like my dad, spending an awful lot of time working and gambling ... drinking ... the whole mess.
AR: In a lot of ways, you were building the same reputation your dad had. Hockett: I think so.
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Hockett: That's right, I did.Another thing I learned that when Dad was on top of his game, he had a lot of friends.But when he went upside down, and he went to an auction, they avoided him like the plague.You see how people get treated when they are on top and how they are treated when they are on the bottom.The lesson for me was to treat everyone like they should be on the top.
AR: Did it make you angry the way they treated your dad when he was in trouble? Hockett: It did.It did.Probably one of the things I did wrong was that I lived my life for my father.
AR: What do you mean? Hockett: I wanted him to have success ... again.
AR: Success or respect?Or both. Hockett: Probably both.
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Hockett: First, I needed work and my dad needed me.
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Hockett: Well, we grew and built another facility.In 1967, Dad retired because my mom got real sick.So, as a young pup, he made me the manager of it.
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Hockett: No, I was gone a lot.
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Hockett: I stayed with Manheim for eight years.
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Hockett: It is interesting.
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Hockett: It was my first experience with building a greenfield site.
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Hockett: I think there is truth to that.One of the amazing things to me about this industry, especially when I became a manager at the age of 24 and was responsible for credit, was learning about the trust factor.A dealer might only have $500 in the bank, but he was buying $10,000 worth of cars.
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Hockett: That's right.
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Hockett: That's right.In 1982, we had become the largest auction in the Midwest and I was overwhelmed.
AR: What then happened? Hockett: We had a very successful auction in '82, I thought that this was great, but is this all that there is?
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Hockett: She was and is.We were both searching for something in our lives, and then in 1982 we started going to this Baptist church and hearing the Word of God.Now, I am still drinking at that time....
AR: Before we get into that side of your life, because it is so interesting, let's get back to the business side for a moment.You had said that there was an emptiness as far as business.... Hockett: No, it was not just business.
AR: When did you begin to look beyond just ADE and think in terms of ADESA? Hockett: When I received Christ. (laughter)
AR: So, the two really are tied together. Hockett: They really are.In business, we were accomplishing what I thought you were supposed to do - we were having fun and making money.But I thought there had to be more to life.So, Judy and I went to this church and began hearing the Word of God.
AR: How did you end up going to this church? Hockett: Judy had a friend who was going, but I thought the friend was weird, to be honest.I thought they were going to a cult.Judy wanted to go, however, so I went with her.They preached the Word of God, and boy I tell you what, line-by-line I recognized I didn't really love God ... that I was God's enemy.God says that if you love me, you'll keep my Commandments ... and I didn't know of a single one I had kept.
AR: All of this happened that first visit? Hockett: No, it was a process.
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Hockett: I think everyone wants to be God's man. God puts that in you.You're his creation.
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Hockett: She was right with me.
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Hockett: It made a significant difference.If God owns your life, he owns your business as well.
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Hockett: That's right.
AR: How did your partner react to your newfound values? Hockett: For the first time in our relationship, we were not on the same page.
AR: Did that create tension between the two of you? Hockett: Definitely.
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Hockett: Chet thought we were doing the right thing.I think he understood.
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Hockett: In 1984, we bought a small auction called Stateline, which was right on the Illinois/Wisconsin state line.
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Hockett: I thought I might be called into the ministry.I was really struggling with that.Then, I'll never forget what happened.We had a missionary come to our church, and while he was there, he said he needed to buy a car.He asked if he could come to the auction, and I told him certainly.When he got
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