I’d always been what many people would call a ‘country bumpkin’ for a significant chunk of my life. I wouldn’t say it’s an accurate label, but it’s one I’ve received fairly often.
Born and raised in the little village of Bugbrooke, I’ve spent a significant chunk of my life out in the countryside, surrounded by nature and animals. Bugbrooke is a lovely traditional village with a close-knit community and beautiful landscapes.
With my family running one of the local farms, I’ve always been a rather active member of the local community and have formed close relationships with many of the village residents over the years.
As a country lad through and through, I’ve always been ready to put my hands to work with a constant skip in my step. This is the story of how a country bumpkin from a little village found his passion and made it into a career.
Table of Contents
My Years in the Countryside
Life in Bugbrooke is a calm and simple one. Every day, I’d wake up, have breakfast with my family, tend to the animals around our family farm, go out for a stroll, and before I knew it, it would be time for dinner.
From ducks to cows, chickens and sheep, our family farm had a variety of creatures that kept life rather interesting. However, the horses were the true pride and joy of our farm.
Each of our horses was a magnificent sight to behold. With their majestic manes, athletic prowess and stunning coats, our horses always won a ribbon in local show jumping competitions.
From horse trimmers to clippers, shampoos and bridles, we always purchased the best equipment to ensure our horses were happy and healthy. I particularly enjoyed caring for the horses myself. They always had a calm but intellectual energy about them that helped me organise my thoughts.
Many people may find life in the country to be rather monotonous, but I found comfort in the routine of things. I always knew what to expect every day and there were little to no surprises. Or so I thought.
A Taste of the City Life
It was during the summer later that year that my dad took me and my brother, Jim somewhere new. Apparently, with the MOT certificate on our car about to expire, the time had come to retake the test.
Jim had been wanting to explore what lay beyond our little village for as long as I could remember. With my dad normally taking the MOT in Northampton, this test was the perfect opportunity to see what a real city looked like and he happened to drag me along with him.
(It was only years later that I found out that Northampton wasn’t officially a city, but a town. Tough luck, Jim.)
Our journey was a relatively smooth and uneventful one. My brother spent the entire car ride with our faces smushed up against the car windows, peering outside at all that we could see.
When we arrived at the testing centre, I still remember the look of absolute awe on my face as I stared at all the cars and garage equipment. I was only twelve, but I believe that this was the moment that sparked my fascination with cars.
After that trip, I soon developed a new routine. I’d wake up, have breakfast with my family, tend to the animals, read almost every book or movie about cars that I could get my hands on and then rave about everything I’d learnt to anyone who’d listen. The horses became my closest confidants.
A Crisis and a Calling
Fast forward a bit, I was now twenty-two years old, working as a farmhand with a part-time job at John’s Automotive, a car garage on the outskirts of Northampton. It was at this time that I was hit by an unexpected crisis.
When I was leaving for work one day, my car broke down. With my job at the garage, I immediately asked my boss if he could make the journey down to the farm to have a look at it. With some convincing, he agreed and upon further inspection informed me that the car would need some major repairs, much more than I could afford at the moment.
That was when my brother brought up the idea of low credit loans. He’d only recently learnt about them from a friend but he believed they could help me. After hearing him out, I did more research on them myself and decided that they seemed to be a decent solution to my problem.
After comparing lenders online and looking at ratings and reviews, I finally sent in my application and to my good fortune, it was approved.
I wasn’t too happy about taking a loan of any kind in the grand scheme of things. Although I’d solved my primary issue, I now had a debt to repay. However, I strived to get it done as soon as possible, even taking on more shifts at the garage and saving as much as I could.
It was during this time that I discovered I really enjoyed working on cars. It wasn’t just about the money, I genuinely went to and came back from work with a smile on my face and a feeling of satisfaction. This was when I decided that I wanted to open a garage of my own someday.
Getting My Hands Dirty
Now that I had found my dream, I wanted to put in all the effort I could to transform it into a reality. I worked hard at my job every day and spent my nights learning all that I could regarding garages and how they operated.
After months of working at John’s garage, I finally gathered up the courage to tell him that I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I’ll never forget the look of pride on his face as he patted me on the back and offered me an apprenticeship at his garage.
From the moment John took me under his wing, he spent any spare time he could afford showing me the ins and outs of the business. From revealing the workshop software he used to how he handled different types of customers, John was everything I could’ve hoped to have in a mentor.
After four years of hard work, I finally completed my apprenticeship and saved just enough money to open my garage. This was when the farm came to my aid in the most unexpected of ways.
As a congratulatory present, my parents offered to let me set up my business in one of our barns. Granted, I would have to make some renovations, but I was over the moon at having the support of my family and a location to get started.
For two months, I put all the knowledge and training I had acquired from John’s to good use, purchasing all the equipment and tools I needed to get started. Soon enough, my garage was open for business.
Growing and Learning
The initial months were a bit rocky, and I had very few customers, but the good thing about the countryside is that everyone knows everyone. My dad got me my first client and I was able to kickstart my career running a garage.
Before I knew it, word had spread that I offer great service at affordable prices, and I had more business than I could’ve ever dreamt of. In fact, business was doing so well that within six months, I found myself almost overwhelmed with the number of customers.
It was at this point that I decided to look for more employees. Having only been an employee in the previous years of my life, I had no experience managing others, but I was eager to try. It was trial and error at first, but I soon formed my dream team. We were a close-knit group who all shared a passion for cars and automotive maintenance.
As their manager, I gradually taught them everything I knew. It was extremely strange the first few months, I imagine that John must’ve experienced quite a similar feeling back when he first started taking on apprentices. However, it was also so rewarding in many ways.
While I shared my expertise and mechanical know-how, I was also learning about new technologies from my students and unknowingly becoming an effective leader. At times, they’d even suggest I become a paid mentor. I did initially dismiss the idea, but with more encouragement, I took their advice to heart and began offering mentorship online.
There was even a time when John called on me to give his current apprentices a quick masterclass. These are some moments I look back on fondly whenever I think of my initial years in garage management.
In a Nutshell
It’s been ten years since I opened my garage in Bugbrooke, my business is still going strong and I still love what I do.
There are some days I just think to myself, “Imagine if my ten-year-old self, who’d only just found his passion for cars, could see me today.” I wager he’d be surprised for sure, but he’d definitely be happy to see that I’m living a happy and fulfilled life.
I’ve since hired more employees and even opened a second garage location in a neighbouring town. No matter how many more garages I open, I still believe the one on my family farm will forever hold a special place in my heart.
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