Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Morosan.
Hi Sara, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in our family business and went off-roading on the weekend, going to the river, vacations that revolved around the outdoors and just always being around the off-road and outdoor communities. It became a part of me and who I am today.
Although when you grow up in a family business you are a part of it since the beginning, I consider my journey with the family business when I was 15 (1995) and started to work for the company. I started to sell aftermarket off-road parts and fell in love even more with the community. The off-road and accessory side of our business expanded, and I continued to grow it. Years later, we are still selling off-road and overlanding parts to help people build their perfect rig to get them safely through their off-road adventures.
Through the years, I started to get more involved with our industry and started to volunteer with SEMA Association. I raised my hand to be on the Select Committee LTAA (now TORA (Truck and off-road alliance) I loved serving on this committee and helping the truck and off-road community where I could. I continue to serve with SEMA, I am now the Chair of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) and Chair of SEMA Cares.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think anything is ever a smooth road. Lol. If it was then it would be boring….(no, I am just kidding). But honestly, like all businesses, we have our ups and downs and daily challenges. Our world is constantly changing whether it is politics and the economy, weather, or trends.
As a business owner you have to learn to adjust to these changes, look at what is going on and adjust accordingly, but at the same time do not allow them to bring you fear and not move forward. I think that was the hardest part in the beginning for me, knowing the difference between how to adjust, but through the years you will grow confident in your choices and learn from all the good and bad decisions you make. The biggest mistake is to not learn from your mistakes and your progress. What works and what does not? Plus, being a family business, we have our share of growing pains and differences between the generations.
Working with family is not easy, but I always loved working so hard for the people that I love. It wasn’t till COVID that I think that we all faced our biggest challenges. When you get so used to being able to look at trends, know your months that will be good and months that will be down. Watching the patterns that we get used to and all of a sudden everything was unclear, and we had no idea what lay ahead. For the off-road industry, it was a huge increase in sales and a spike for all of us, sometimes people don’t think that this would be a struggle but expect the worst and pull back, then the opposite happens, and you’re not prepared for the overload, can also be a huge challenge.
But I have learned that you just have to trust yourself. I am always listening to podcasts, YouTube videos and reading books to continue to grow and learn. This has been the best way for me to continue to get my mindset right and to surround myself with like-minded people that I can trust and lean on for support.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about LGE-CTS Motorsports?
We love to build vehicles…Period. We specialize in building a vehicle from mild to extreme. If someone just wants to jump on our website and buy a product that we sell, no problem…They don’t know what they want and need help, we have a team that can help you figure out the perfect setup for you…. Or we can build it for you! Install simple parts or corporate builds for manufacturers and OE’s, we just love to build the next adventure that awaits.
From building a truck to jumping in it and hitting the trails… we want to share our passion for exploring the great outdoors in a way that takes you to an all-new adventure! If you’re looking to set up your rig for your next exploration, or your business wants to showcase its product to the world…
We’re ready to make it happen! We want to help you design your vision with our style. So take a look and see the beauty we have helped others bring to life. Build it yourself online, or contact us to dream up your custom build for your business at www.lge-cts.com | 909-599-2228.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting.
Look at other shops or companies that you admire. Make a list of reasons why you admire them, and what they do that makes them stand out from the rest. Write down what you like and make a list of what is important to you.
Look at who is going to be your competition, what do you like about them or don’t like. How are you going to be different, why/what do you offer they don’t?
Also, when you start find out what companies/brands can help you start, that can be from bringing in products to your showroom, helping with systems you will need, etc. Some companies offer different things at no cost to you. My dad always taught me to keep my cost low and not get overwhelmed with debt. When times were tough, we didn’t feel it as bad because we didn’t own anything and that was a HUGE help.
Find out if there are other ways for your company or organization that can help you give free advice. In my area, there is Inland Empire Women’s Business Center. You can sign up to talk with experts in different areas that can help give you advice and some even helped us with grants that I would never have known about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lge-cts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lge_ctsmotorsports/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lgectsmotorsports/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-morosan-b2740a61/
