It's annual dealer meeting season, and next to get accolades for 2023 is team Eastman.
The company held its 2024 Elite Dealer Conference last week in Amelia Island, Florida, and named Jason Yancer, owner of Sunbusters Window Tinting in Austin, Texas as its 2023 National Dealer of the Year.
The gathering was made up of LLumar SelectPro dealers from the United States and Canada, who receive "annual recognition based on growth achieved by establishing the highest level of trust in the market while delivering exceptional experiences for their customers," according to Eastman.
Yancer, who won the night's highest honor, has been in business for 30 years.
"With expansions to three locations and a remarkable team of 11 skilled installers, Sunbusters has triumphed over the challenges of 2023, achieving outstanding results," a company statement reads. "Their commitment to promoting excitement and collaboration within the group, along with their willingness to share knowledge and best practices, exemplifies the spirit of a LLumar Select Pro Dealer."
"We've grown the business very organically," Yancer says. "We hardly do any marketing and do a decent amount of wholesale work like car dealerships."
He started in 1994 when Austin was nowhere near the city it is now. The metro area has doubled since then.
"There are a lot more car dealerships and cars here. We've grown with that," he says.
"Six or seven years I got into flat glass. We were riding the Austin tech wave of new offices and decorative film," he says, which brought a lot more competition. "I had the opportunity to sell off that side of the business in 2015-that was about $750,000 of our revenue at the time. We've been able to focus on the automotive business since then and our PPF division has grown significantly with the market."
He mostly thanks his staff.
"I didn't have a bunch of money when I started so I had to work myself out of each job." He says. "Most of our staff has been with us five to 20 years. We've been well-supported by Eastman and it's really cool to win with them."
His secret to retention? Stay busy, stick to the process and treat them with respect.
