Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about your company and the duties of your position.
Lydia Meyer: Bill Pearce Motors was started in 1974 by my grandfather Bill Pearce. Today it's still a family business with my parents John and Sandy (Pearce) Raffealli running day-to-day operations of our Honda, BMW, Porsche, Volvo and MINI franchises. My husband Matt is the general manager of MINI, and I am working in the business office doing accounting, HR, advertising and other special projects. I do a little bit of everything with the exception of selling and servicing the cars. You wouldn't want me under the hood of your car.
NNBW: How did you get into this profession?
Meyer: My career in the automotive industry started when I was 13 and it was my job to sweep up cigarette butts off the lot! I worked many summers at the dealerships, went away for college and graduate school for about 10 years and returned 11 years ago.
NNBW: What's the most important thing you have learned in your career?
Meyer: That the grass is always greener where you water it!
NNBW: How did the recession change the way you do business?
Meyer: The biggest change for our business was being extraordinarily conscious of our costs. We trimmed out budgets back and managed to weather the recession fairly well.
NNBW: What was your first job?
Meyer: After sweeping cigarette butts, my first job that took me inside was to verify our parts department inventory as in, 'Yes! We do have 138 washers,' and 'No! We do not have 65 air filters, only 63.'
NNBW: Tell us about your dream job. Why aren't you working it?
Meyer: My dream job would be to put up home holiday decorations for people Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, you name it. But I really don't think I could make a living that way.
NNBW: Have any advice for someone who wants to enter your profession?
Meyer: Grow a thick skin! As a car dealer or someone who works at a car dealership, you will be stereotyped and you will deal with rejection of some sort or another on a daily basis. I have a deep admiration for our sales people out on the line. They deal with rejection daily and still come back for more that takes heart and skin like a rhinoceros.
NNBW: What's the most fun you have had on the job?
Meyer: The most fun I've had was behind the wheel of a Porsche Panamera driving from Marseille to Monaco (with a stopover in St. Tropez) at the European Panamera launch event. We drove fast; very fast.
NNBW: What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Meyer: I'm a worrier so the best advice I've gotten was 'Don't borrow sorrow.' Don't worry too much about the future; focus on the here and now.
NNBW: What are your favorite hobbies or pastimes? How do you spend your time away from work?
Meyer: I spend all of my free time right now with my family running all over town doing kid-related activities play dates, birthday parties, swim lessons, going to the park. It's a whirlwind; being at work is far more relaxing.
NNBW: If you could live your life over again, what one thing would you change?
Meyer: In 6th grade, I would have signed up for honors science when enrolling in middle school classes. I heard a terrible rumor that we would be required to dissect a frog in honors science, so I declined. It turned out that in regular science we had to dissect not only frogs but eyeballs, too. Ugh!
NNBW: What has been your biggest professional accomplishment?
Meyer: Successfully launching our new MINI store. MINI is a really fun brand and a really fun car to drive.
NNBW: What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?
Meyer: A marine biologist so I could study sharks and dolphins.
NNBW: What can you do that someone else can't?
Meyer: Ululate. It's really loud so as a courtesy to my family, I only do it on special occasions.
NNBW: If you had enough money to retire right now, would you?
Meyer: No, I wouldn't. I enjoy being busy and being a part of a family tradition.
NNBW: What's the last concert or sporting event you attended?
Meyer: Pops on the River last July one of the best events Reno has to offer.
NNBW: Where's your perfect vacation spot?
Meyer: Wailea, Hawaii.
NNBW: Why did you choose a career in northern Nevada? What do you like most about working/living here?
Meyer: I think what I love most about working and living in northern Nevada is that our community is very tight-knit and supportive. We're innovators and entrepreneurs, care-givers and charity warriors, and above all hard workers. I think northern Nevada has a very bright future.
The basics:
Name: Lydia Meyer, co-owner Bill Pearce Motors, finance, HR and accounting assistant
Number of years in this job? I've worked at Bill Pearce Motors for the better part of 20 years.
Education: MA in geography, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Last book read? "World War Z" by Max Brooks
Favorite flick? "Anchorman" (when I need a laugh), "The Godfather" (when I want to feel my Italian roots), "Megamind" (when I'm with the kids)
What's on your iPod? Anything I can sing along with and that the kids still tolerate! Hairspray!, Mumford and Sons, Bob Marley, Taylor Swift and an embarrassing number of Disney Princess songs (for my daughter, I swear)
Spouse, kids or pets? I've been married to the most terrific guy Matt Meyer for 10 years and we have three great kids: twins Ryan and David (7); Susanna (4); and our sweet old golden, Molly. The bugs and spiders the boys bring home don't get names.
