How to Stand in Your Presence in a Male-Dominated Industry with CEO and Race Car Driver, Molly Saleen
Today, I am blessed to be joined by Molly Saleen.
My guest today is Molly Saleen, race car driver, and CEO of Saleen Performance Parts, Champion Automotive, Xenon, and 3D Carbon.
Determined to learn the family business from the ground up, Molly joined her father in 2007 with his SMS Supercars concept. SMS Supercars is the next phase in the Saleen legacy which allowed for diversification across multiple American muscle platforms. The launch of the SMS Challenger in 2008, the SMS 302 Mustang in 2010, and the SMS Camaro in 2012 provided the market with a fresh take on the new muscle car era. With Molly at the helm of retail marketing, SMS Supercars has successfully implemented production on all new models and received industry recognition with the release of its’ patented ultra-efficient SMS 296 Supercharger system.
When she’s not running her multiple businesses, Molly can be found at her local track where she is creating her own legacy on the oval. As one of the few known female drivers.
“There's a lot of things that I want to do but you have to just stay focused & keep dreaming and they'll happen” – Molly Saleen
Listen on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube https://www.daniellecobo.com/dreamjobwithdaniellecobopodcast
Highlights
💫 2:26 Meet Molly Saleen
💫 6:48 What is it like to work for a family member?
💫 11:38 How Molly balances being a CEO and a mother
💫 16:25 Some advice on how to pursue your dreams
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Acquainting Myself with Life’s Own Track
My dad is a successful racecar driver, whose love for cars spilled over to founding his own automotive brand named Saleen. Growing up, I traveled around the world with him, watching as he raced. I kind of grew my racing spirit because of this at a very young age. So I've always been really passionate about the sport. I went to school in USC and double majored in Psychology and pre-Law and was going to try to go down that path. I wanted to maybe become an attorney, but at that time, my father had opened up Saleen retail stores, and that kind of drew my passion in. I really want to grow the Saleen brand, and so when I graduated from college, I started working for my father full-time, while also moonlighting for a law firm part-time just to kind of put my feelers out to see kind of what route I wanted to go. As I was working, I happened to open up a Saleen retail store in Irvine, California, and my passion just grew tremendously. From that, I saw the vision that my dad had for the company, and I just saw that I should be able to help him take the company to the next level. So I quit practicing Law and focused solely on the selling side of business, doing multiple jobs within the corporation. I actually started off as a Marketing PR, then I opened up the retail store, and went into Operations and Purchasing. Being exposed to sales, I found an opportunity to focus on selling aftermarket parts as I thought there was a huge demand for it. The Saleen vehicles that we make is made from the ground up, using third-party parts from our suppliers. Eventually, it got me thinking that “Surely, there should be a next step after this, right?” I thought about manufacturing the parts that we were selling. So I started acquiring businesses that was our suppliers, and so I was able to kind of grow the business that way, but also have a different tangent and just service the automotive industry in general. That's kind of what I've been doing in the industry, which ultimately allowed me to acquire a couple of other businesses for the corporation and looking to acquire other lifeline businesses and also try to get into our supply chain, so you can say we're in control of our own destiny.
The Peculiarity of Doing Business with Family
It's very hard to work with family, there might be assumptions of nepotism with people thinking like “Oh, she just worked here because her dad gave her the job.” I had to work twice as hard to prove myself because everybody thinks it's handed out to you, so you have to work. You have to work much harder to make people to respect you and recognize that you’re adding value and understanding what you do. So for me, I'm going to show you what I can do. I had to go out there and prove that I deserve to be there and that you want to grow the brand.
What it’s Like to be a Woman in a Male-dominated Industry
When someone calls to ask for support or is wanting to purchase a part, and then they hear a woman's voice on the other end of the line, they would kind of set me down and be like, “Can I get transferred to a tech?” I'd be like, “Yeah, I can assist you with that, what's your issue?” So you have to prove to them that you understand the vehicle and you're able to walk them through with it. Some guys just straight up, will not listen to a woman's voice, and so not only do you have to know everything and be really strong with your delivery of whatever you're talking about, but you have to know more, and that's what I kind of feel like. It's been my whole life. I have to work twice as hard just because it is so male-dominated - whenever they'll ask a question, they want to hear an answer from a male’s voice for it to be valid, and so you just literally have knowledgeable of the matter to let them realize that you are equally just as capable. I get that with business. I get that with racing - especially with racing. It's a whole different deal. Some flirt on you on the pitlane, some pushes you against the wall when you're on the track and be very aggressive. But there are some gentlemen racers too that are nice and treat you just as a driver and not as a woman. But a lot of people just don't assume that a woman would know anything regarding that, and so they are impressed when you are able to deliver and tell them exactly what they need to know about it.
Skills Do Not Recognize Gender
Obviously, I was inspired to go racing because of my father but ultimately, it's something that you have to be passionate about, that you want to do, and I want to prove myself. I want to prove myself as myself, not my father’s daughter, and that comes with a lot of expectations, too, because when you show up at the race track, they expect something out of you because you come from a racing heritage, and so I want to be able to live up to that. The same can be said running the business, and generally, in life.
A Racecar Driver, a CEO, a Mother
It’s hard when you’re CEO of the companies you are working for 24/7, and then as your hobby and what you like to do is racing on the weekend. Obviously, I practice quite a bit because I want to be the best in anything that I try to do, and I feel like that kind of cushions on my daughter. I have an amazing three year old daughter. Her name is Daisy. I get excited for her to be able to tell different people her mommy is a race car driver - which she does already - and that you can do anything that you want. It's funny, too, because you get a lot of people that will be like, when your parent is a racecar driver, they would automatically assume it would be her father. So, you're like, “Oh, no, that would be me, her mom.” She gets really excited to tell people about it, and I love that.
I have a partner that totally supports me and everything that I want to do. I have really crazy dreams, and he completely supports them and will help to figure out how to make them come true. I really think that's the most important thing you could possibly have is to be able to grow and dream. You have to just keep going after them and have somebody that really supports, just throw out at all whenever you have a little bit of success, it's so much more sweeter. You have somebody there that completely helped you get there, and we're a great team. I think Daisy sees that in us, and so whatever we dream of, we can make it true, and that's what I want her to see.
Stay focused on what you want to do, regardless if it's a male-dominated field, or whatever challenges there are, just stay focused on it, dedicate a portion of every single day towards achieving that, and stay passionate.
Stay True to Your Calling
Sometimes It’s okay to make detours. Anytime an opportunity knocks, my answer will always be “yes”. I just want to get involved and kind of get familiar with it and see if it's something that I want to do, and if it is then you definitely make a u-turn and go towards that something. There's always something else that I want to do, and so for me, I would always try to go after it. I am still learning, listening, and answering to many more knocks on my door in the future.
Transcript
Danielle Cobo
Hey, beautiful. Welcome to Dream Job with Danielle Cobo podcast. I am Danielle Cobo, an elite career coach, and I believe every woman has the power to step into their dream jobs, earn the salary they are worth, and live the life they desire. Each week you join me, you're going to hear from the inspiring women who have overcome adversity and levels up their career. You're going to learn how to eliminate that inner credit that is holding you back from pursuing your dreams, how to build confidence, create healthy boundaries to transition, burn-out to reenergize and gain clarity on how to accelerate your career. It's never too late to pursue your dream jobs. The time is now. Are you ready? Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Dreams with Danielle Cobo. Today, I have a very special guest as always, I have. Our guest is Molly Saleen, and you've probably heard her name in the car industry in the automotive industry. She is the daughter of the automotive icon Steve Saleen. She is the CEO of three companies out of motive Companies. She is a race car driver and the GT-4. She's a mother. She's a public speaker, and she's been featured in Misfit Garage. I've had the opportunity to know this powerful woman for 20 years now, and she is such an innovative woman in a traditionally male industry, and she just has such an incredible message to share with you today. So thank you so much, Molly, for joining us.
Molly Saleen
Yeah, of course. I'm excited to be here. I love what you're doing.
Danielle Cobo
Well, thanks. So tell us a little bit. I mean, you are a female and you work in a predominantly male industry and especially in not only the automotive industry. You're also a race car driver. Talk about the need and the excitement and thrill of racing cars. Tell us a little bit about your journey, and how did you go into transitioning into the automotive industry? Because I know from since knowing you personally, that wasn't initially the direction that you are going to take.
Molly Saleen
Totally, yeah. So growing up, obviously, my dad's race car driver super successful with it, and he started a Saleen brand, and I traveled around the world with him, and as he raced and I kind of grew my recent spirit at a very young age, just following him around and seeing that. So I've always been really passionate about racing. Just growing up, I went to school, following my dad concept, I went to USC. I actually was a double major in psychology and pre-law and was going to try to go down that path. I wanted to maybe do the attorney route and such. But at that time, my father had opened up Saleen retail stores, and that kind of drew my passion in because obviously, I like a retail like most limit, and I really want to grow the Saleen brand, and so when I graduated from College, I started working for my father full time, and then I worked for a law firm part time just to kind of put my feelers out to see kind of what route I wanted to go, and as I was working and I opened up the in Saleen retail store in Irvine, California, and my passion just grew tremendously. From that, I saw the vision that my dad had for the company, and I just saw that I should be able to help him take the company to the next level. So I quit doing the law thing and just focus solely on the selling side of business, and through that, I kind of grant and did multiple jobs within the Corporation. So I started off marketing PR. Then I opened up the retail store. Then I went into operations purchasing, buying you name it, how you did it, and so with that, I found an opportunity where I thought maybe we could kind of divide this conquer, and so I thought if he focuses on vehicle sales and getting, like, the vehicle side of the business completely is on his domain, and he pushes that and focuses on that, and then there's a huge demand for aftermarket parts. So I was like, let me focus on that. Let me grow that business is like a separate deal, and we just literally bad data because there's a big demand for that. So made the big decision and the signed up to start in performance parts and ramp that up, and so with doing that, I was able to throw that up quite a bit, and then I was like, Well, what's the next step here? I'd like to kind of be more controlled around destiny. How about we manufacture the parts that we make because my dad a complete manufacturer. So everything that's on a sling vehicle is built from the ground up, and we make it. So I started acquiring businesses that was our providers, and so I'm able to kind of grow it that way, but also have a different tangent and just service the automotive industry in general. So that's kind of what I've been doing as far as the automotive side of it, and so with that, I was able to get a couple of other businesses under our belt and looking to acquire other lifeline businesses and also try to get into our supply chain a little bit. So we're in control of our own destiny.
Danielle Cobo
That is you obviously wear a lot of hats, and I want to really start into when you started working for your dad. There's a lot of misconceptions out there or assumptions out there as to what it's like working family, and I've seen you and been able to observe you in different roles within the organization, and I would almost say, and I'm sure a lot of people have seen you in this role. Is it's almost harder to work with family than it is to be an out better because your father had extremely high expectations when it comes to you and you showing up every single day and adding value.
Molly Saleen
Totally. Yeah, you nailed it. It's very hard to work with family, but it's also really hard to come up with a successful brand and everything, because a lot of people are like, oh, she just worked here because her dad gave her the job. No, I have to work twice as hard to prove myself because everybody thinks it's always given to you, and you have to work. You have to work so much harder, and I've been saying that from the beginning because I want people to respect me and recognize that I'm adding value and understanding what I do. So for me, it's like, let's not talk about it. I'm going to show you what I can do, and so you kind of just have to go out there and prove that you deserve to be there and that you want to grow the brand, and this is what you want to do, and so I think for that aspect of it, you literally just have to go out there and do it.
Danielle Cobo
There's so many areas that you've shown up and that you've had to really overcome the assumptions and the myths, and it's not only the way that you showed up and work for your dad, I was able to observe over the years, just the hard work, the sweat, the tears, the long hours that you put in. You work harder than anybody else in that organization, and in addition to that, you really had to overcome adversity and assumptions working as a female in a predominantly male industry and tell us a little bit about, when people would call when it comes to purchasing automotive parts, and they would get you on the line, what would that conversation look like?
Molly Saleen
Really funny. So we have so many different types of characters, but a lot of them were pretty funny with the aspect of when someone call to ask for tech support or wanting to purchase a part, and then they hear a woman's voice on the other end of the line. They would kind of set me down and be like, Can I get transferred to a tech? I'd be like, yeah, I can assist you with that. What's your issue? They're like, no attack, and so you have to prove to them that you understand the vehicle and you're able to walk come through it in. Some guys just straight up, will not listen to a woman's voice, and so not only do you have to know everything and be really strong with your delivery of whatever you're talking about, but you have to know more, and that's what I kind of feel like. It's been my whole life. I have to work twice as hard just because it is so male dominated, and a lot of people have reputations, and whenever they'll ask a question, they want to hear it of a male voice, and so you just literally have to be very knowledgeable of what you're trying to sell and prove to them to get past that, and I get that with business. I get that with racing, especially with racing. It's a whole different deal. But a lot of guys, yeah, like I always tell people they flirt on you on pit Lane, but then they always try to push you in the wall when you're on the track because it's very aggressive. But there are some gentlemen races out there that are nice and treat you just as a driver and not as a woman. But a lot of people just don't assume that a woman would know anything regarding that, and so they are impressed when you are able to deliver and tell them exactly what they need to know about it.
Molly Saleen
But a lot of people don't assume that a woman would know anything regarding that. So they are impressed when you are able to deliver and tell them exactly what they need to know about it.
Danielle Cobo
You’ve had to do this in so many different areas in life. I feel like you're constantly having to prove yourself and show up, and it's whether people have the assumptions that you just worked for Daddy or you just went to USC. You graduated top honors with a dual major, and then on top of that you weren't just handed the job with your father. You had to work your way in every single division within the organization, and then you had to overcome what answering the phone and being able to show that you not only know your part, you are the expert in it, and then you have to view it as a race car driver and show people that you're not just racing because your father was a race car driver. You really have the skill set to be a race car driver and be successful.
Molly Saleen
Yeah, and that's a huge part of it too. Obviously, I was inspired to go racing because of my father but ultimately, it's something that you have to be passionate about, that you want to do, and I want to prove myself. I want to prove myself as Molly Saleen, not Steve Saleen’s daughter, and that comes with a lot of expectations, too, because when you show up at the race track, they expect something out of you because you come from a racing heritage, and so I want to be able to live up to that.
Danielle Cobo
So let's talk a little bit, too. You're not only the CEO of three different automotive parts and a race car driver, you are also a mother and talk a little bit about that dynamic between being a CEO and a mother and creating balance in your life. Let's talk about that just creating balance in your life and being a CEO, and as a mother.
Molly Saleen
It’s hard when you’re CEO of companies you are working 24/7, and then as your copy and what you like to do is racing on the weekend. Obviously, I practice quite a bit because I want to be the best in anything that I tried to do, and I feel like that kind of a cushion of on my daughter. I have a three year old daughter. Her name is Daisy, and she's amazing. I just get excited for her to be able to tell different people her mammy is a race car driver, and she does already, and you can do anything that you want. It's funny, too, because you get a lot of people that will be like, when your parent is the race for river, they would automatically assume it would be her father. So, you're like, oh, no, that would be me, her mom. So that's super exciting, and she gets really excited to tell people about it, and I love that. But I think with the family side of it, just having a really strong support system. I have a partner that totally supports me and everything that I want to do. I have a really crazy big dreams, and he completely supports them and will contribute and add to figure out how to make them come true. I really think that's the most important thing you could possibly have is to be able to grow and dream. You have to just keep going after them and have somebody that really supports, just throw out at all whenever you have a little bit of success, it's so much more sweeter. You have somebody there that completely helped you get there, and we're a great team. I think Daisy sees that in us, and so whatever we dream of, we can make it true, and that's what I want her to see. I want her to do as well.
Danielle Cobo
You're modeling so much that, we talk about we want our kids. What do you want to do when you grow up? We want them to have these big aspirations in these goals, and sometimes there's this mom guilt of, oh, my gosh, I'm working, and should I be home with my kids and being compassionate with yourself and the fact that you're modeling these characteristics for your daughter, you're modeling her to be driven and to follow your passions, and to create the lifestyle that you want. You can have these big dreams and go after that. You had some big dreams you purchased companies wanted to have a TV show, you know, and you were really pursuing that. There's so many big dreams that you've gone after have never let anything stop you from pursuing what you want to do.
Molly Saleen
Exactly, and I keep dreaming that I keep chasing us, still working on that TV show. I'm still working. I want to acquire more businesses. I want to grow the Saleen brand into a household name. There's a lot of things that I want to do, and I feel like you just stay focused and keep during the minute it'll happen.
Danielle Cobo
So what are three things that you want our listeners to hear to take away from our conversation on how to pursue dreams and create the businesses that you want and having the balance? What advice would you give to working women out there?
Molly Saleen
I would say, just stay focused on what you want to do, even if it's a male-dominated field or not, or whatever challenges there are, just stay focus on it, dedicate a portion of every single day towards achieving that and stay passionate.
Danielle Cobo
Yeah. I have some great advice because you definitely had passion through the years, and I also want to recognize and acknowledge the fact that it's okay to pivot in life. So you initially started where you were going to do, and then you were also kind of putting your foot into the car is an automated business, and you explored both of them. You didn't just go follow your father's. That's what it ended up being because you have a passion for it. But you still explore other opportunities and careers.
Molly Saleen
Exactly, and I'm still doing that difference for me. Anytime an opportunity, my answer is yes. I just want to get involved and kind of get familiar with it and see if it's something that I want to do, and then you definitely pivot and go towards that is constantly changing. There's always something else that I want to do, and so for me, it's just my hole is yes and should try to go after it. I am still visiting, and I'm trying to get there's lots more in my future.
Danielle Cobo
We talk a lot on some of the other episodes about saying yes because it's easy to stay in our comfort zone, and it's easy to have these moments where we're going. Yeah, I want to do that for, like, how am I going to do that? Sometimes you don't have the how. Sometimes you say yes and you figure out the how on the way. Where can our listener find you?
Molly Saleen
So you can find me on Instagram, Molly Saleen, also on Facebook, on LinkedIn, and then shop our sites line, Saleen.com, Zena.com and 3dcarbon.com.
Danielle Cobo
Then also how about your racing?
Molly Saleen
For racing, you can follow along with the GT-4 racing series with SRO.
Danielle Cobo
Awesome, so many different areas to find you and follow you. I encourage all of you out there to follow Molly because she really does push the envelope out there. She just has built such an incredible empire, and like she says, yes to a lot of things. So I encourage you to follow her. So thank you for joining us for another episode of Dream Job with Danielle Cobo. I encourage you to and invite you to write a review, write a comment. If there's anything that you want to specifically hear on this podcast, direct message me. You'll find me on Instagram and Facebook at the Danielle Cobo. You can also find me on LinkedIn. I want to hear from you. I want to hear not only what you've taken away from today's episode, also what you want to hear in future episodes. So thank you so much for joining us.
