The New Year dawns in 10 days, delivering a fresh calendar full of potential. With 2021 winding down, industry members are reminiscing on past accomplishments and reciting resolutions for the future. 23-year veteran Nipsy Mitch Goldman, owner of Tegridy Tint in Marrero, La., is focused on family for 2022.
“I’ve been bringing my son to work the past few months,” Goldman says. “I’m trying to teach him because he just graduated high school. All the time I’ve spent in shops—I’ve never spent enough time with him to push him. That’s one thing that hurts me because I spent most of his life working. I don’t want him to be like that with his children whenever he has children.” Goldman says passing on industry knowledge and teaching his son how to tint would be his “biggest accomplishment.”
40-year veteran Mel Villalon of Paradise Tinting in Long Beach, Calif., will hone in on a new segment of business in 2022.
“Anti-vandalism film is going to blow up,” Villalon says. “I’m going to do more elevator work and restrooms. There’s miles and miles of stainless steel that needs to be protected or finished.”
John Little owns All Pro Window Tinting in Decatur, Texas, with his brother Jason and has been in the industry since 1990. He plans to lean on the shoulders of others during the next 12 months.
“At my age, and my body breaking down, especially with getting COVID, a good goal that I would like to [pursue] is to step back, run the business, deal with customers, answer the phone and have somebody else do the physical work,” John Little says. “For many years, we’ve [had] a mindset where we want all the money. Now we’re realizing we wish we had trained people and brought people up under our wings to work for us.”
Melody Champagne, owner of Champagne Window Tinting in Roswell, Ga., is new to the industry, but she’s still shooting for the stars as January approaches. She plans to “work with the champagne theme and give it a modern, classy look where you can tell how much work I put into the place.”
Many strive for more in the New Year, but it’s essential to step back, take a deep breath and reflect on accomplishments in the previous one.
“Hand-cutting was hard for me at first,” Champagne says. “When I started working at a dealership, I didn’t have anybody to teach me. I had to be self-taught, and I had to be able to talk to other people who have done it, too.”
For some, growth was found within.
“I haven’t been a confident person for a long time in my life,” says Jordan ‘Shady Jay’ Jernigan, main installer and shop manager at Luxury Window Tinting in Greenbrier, Ark. “This past year, for personal growth, has been a huge milestone. I’ve grown to appreciate myself more and have more confidence in myself than I’ve ever had. It’s let me be more of myself than I’ve ever been.”
