Even as a kid, Kaitlyn Szczupak loved cars and learning about what made them go. She was 20 when she and her father, Scott, began discussing her taking over his Portsmouth business one day – S&S Transmissions and Auto Repairs Inc.
Her brother wasn’t interested in joining the company. Szczupak, on the other hand, couldn’t imagine doing anything else. So she set about learning about the business and soaking up as much of her father’s knowledge as she possibly could.
Juggling another part-time job, she worked at the auto shop part time and pursued a degree in business administration at Bristol Community College in Fall River. Szczupak took the multifaceted approach – though requiring a frenetic schedule – because she felt it offered both the hands-on perspective and academic base she needed to run the shop effectively.
But conversations about taking over the company were very preliminary. Szczupak’s father was only in his late 40s, after all, with retirement nowhere on the horizon.
But in what Szczupak says felt “like a strange nightmare,” the elder Szczupak died suddenly in February 2016. He was 54.
Amid the shocking loss, all that she had learned in those college classes kicked in. As Szczupak grieved, she was making sure business matters were handled as well.
“If the company’s president is suddenly not here, who signs anything? Who would have the final say, legally?” Szczupak remembers worrying. “After the funeral, I said to my mother, ‘I think we all know what I have to do next.’ ”
‘On my drive home, I’d say, “It’s me, Dad ... Can you give me a sign?” ’
KAITLYN SZCZUPAK, S&S Transmissions and Auto Repairs Inc. president
Putting the status of her father’s company and its four employees front and center, Szczupak called the business attorney to begin getting affairs in order. The business closed for a few days for funeral services and, with proper paperwork completed, was soon back in operation again, with Szczupak at the helm as president.
That isn’t to say that there haven’t been moments of doubt or uncertainty. When she needed to run something by him, her father has not been there to ask anymore. On difficult days, Szczupak would have questions and would still talk to her father.
“On my drive home, I’d say, ‘It’s me, Dad. Here I am again. Can you give me a sign?’ ”
Meanwhile, Szczupak said, her father’s old toolbox – left in its spot at the garage – had an uncanny way of producing hard-to-find tools and gadgets at just the right time for technicians working on tough repair jobs.
It was as if her father were still there, helping, guiding.
Named 2020’s Rhode Island Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Szczupak has excelled over the past four years. The 25-year-old graduated college, relocated S&S Transmissions from Portsmouth to Tiverton, found a new market base and navigated coronavirus challenges.
The shop closed for two weeks in the spring as COVID-19 numbers climbed and business lagged.
“Remember, we are physically in people’s cars, touching their steering wheels,” Szczupak noted.
Her plan to keep employees and clients safe involved instituting a no-contact car drop-off and pickup system for service, with technicians wearing gloves, masks and sanitizing interior surfaces in addition to other measures.
Finding solutions is a skill in Szczupak’s wheelhouse. With core abilities that seem more innate than learned, she enjoys collaborating with others, being in charge and being tasked with creating game plans.
Her view on business competition?
She doesn’t believe in it.
Last year, for example, Szczupak decided to expand her market to reach those customers who were hesitant to come to Aquidneck Island for their auto repair work. It involved securing an SBA 504 loan to buy a building in Tiverton and sorting out logistics of moving heavy machinery from Portsmouth to the new site.
After moving to the new location in Tiverton – where there are three other garages within walking distance – she introduced herself to the other auto-shop owners. With every garage having its area of specialty, “there are enough cars on the road for us all to make money,” said Szczupak.
Camaraderie between the shops elevates them all, she said. In this way, S&S Transmission, which provides any service except for body work, has kept its Portsmouth customers while drawing clients from its new area.
“Businessowners at the other garages have been awesome,” Szczupak said, noting that the shops refer business back and forth. “Just the other day, one brought me a cup of coffee, just because.”
In addition to enjoying a local industry network, Szczupak finds reward in educating consumers on their vehicles and necessary maintenance. She wants customers to know what they are paying for and why, working to explain it all in plain language.
Szczupak also likes delivering good news – such as when a customer fully expects that they need an entirely new transmission system, when in fact it is just something more minor. “It happens quite often,” she said.
Gaining confidence as she goes, Szczupak said the move to Tiverton was a big undertaking that boosted her perception of her own abilities.
“Business has been great,” she said.
