While growing up, Lindsay Phillips thought working on cars was mainly a hobby for friends and family – not a career. She didn’t grow up in a garage like many of us, but still, today, she finds herself in the automotive industry and loves it!
Lindsay is a builder at Charlie’s Transmission and Gear in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. If you’ve been following the other AWiA Women’s Profile pieces, female builders might not seem as rare as we once thought. However, what is interesting about Lindsay is how she got here. She blows away many stereotypical ideas and hypothetical “what ifs” that prevent many people from hiring females in their shops.
After reading this, I hope you consider bringing in the next female that applies if you are one of the people described above. Or even better, rush out and find one! If you don’t believe me or feel I am somewhat biased, just ask Charlie Zothner, Lindsay’s boss. He’s the one who wrote into GEARS Magazine, bragging about how proud he was of his builder and that he appreciated the women’s profiles because Lindsay and these ladies deserve a lot of credit.
At age 14, Lindsay’s first job was in landscaping. Okay, so we generally think of flowers and roses. Lots of ladies would be into that; right? Except, it can be very physically strenuous work, planting large trees or laying sod, for example. Her second job was roofing for her friend’s uncle’s company. She continued working in construction for a little longer, doing new home renovations with a larger company. She grew tired of all the travel in construction, with constantly moving job sites, and she wanted something with a more permanent location. It was time for a new industry.
At 23 years old, Lindsay began working at a local salvage yard, which she had been previously introduced to, while getting parts to work on a car with a friend. She pulled parts there for about a year. Lindsay loved organizing the used parts and finding ways to be more productive, but the pay wasn’t enough anymore. You see, Lindsay had just found out that she was expecting.
She left the salvage yard to work for AAMCO as an R & R technician, removing and replacing transmissions only months after her daughter was born.
While at AAMCO, she enrolled in online business classes at the University of Phoenix, which she attended after work. She wanted her own business someday, so she felt the degree was necessary. She also did side work for friends and family with whatever free time she had. Incredibly, she was achieving all this as a young mother with a baby. She graduated in 2022 with her business degree.
During her tenure at AAMCO, Lindsay found herself wanting to learn to build. However, they were busy, and she was one of, if not the most, productive R & R tech they had, and they could not afford to pull her off that work to teach her. She had a few opportunities to do some tear-down when the builders got behind, and she really enjoyed it but never got to reassemble.
Charlie Zothner, her current boss, occasionally visited this AAMCO to borrow parts. Lindsay got to know him, and he offered to give her some more side work to help her make extra money. Lindsay was amazed by Charlie’s knowledge of transmissions, and she loved that his facility was unique in the fact he did a lot of hot rods and high-performance work. From there, the rest is history. She left AAMCO for Charlie’s, where she still does R & R but also gets to live her dream of building transmissions.
I asked Lindsay what pushed her to keep going and not give up. She said she’s always desired knowledge. She always needed to know more and never wanted to be complacent. I would also be willing to bet that her now 6-year-old daughter, Paislee, was also a pretty good motivator.
What’s next for Lindsay? She still wants her own shop, so I guess we will have to wait for Charlie to retire. Until then, Paislee and Lindsay’s dog, Duke, hang out at Charlie’s while mom works. Congratulations, Lindsay; Paislee couldn’t have a better role model than you to look up to.
If you are a woman who would like to participate in AWiA or you have an amazing woman builder or transmission technician at your shop who has an interesting story, please feel free to contact me at Tiffany@AmazingWiA.com.
