[ HAWAII AT WORK ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Woman was
called to sell carsTrudy Koa brings her
Christian faith to her job
at Schuman CarriageI'm a single mom, divorced after 30 years of marriage, and I sell cars at Schuman Carriage. This is what I've always wanted to do. People laugh when I say that, but this really is my dream job.
I get to meet new people every day, which is wonderful. But more than that, I'm a Christian, and I truly believe the Lord placed me here. I got a deep sense of purpose when I walked through the doors at Schuman Carriage.
You'd be amazed at what I do here. I don't know if I'm supposed to being talking religion, but the biggest compliment that I get is when someone will say, "You're a Christian, aren't you?" and I'll ask how they could tell. I truly believe the Lord brings me my customers. He's showed me so many times that you always meet someone for a reason. It might be to just brighten their day with a smile or to hear their story or the trauma they've been through. And sometimes I get to sell a car in the process.
Selling cars is my side business. Giving my testimony and inviting everyone to church and just finding out if they know the Lord is my real job.
My joy is in the Lord, it's not in my circumstances. It's not all fun and games here; my life can be hard. But people always ask how I can be so positive all the time. It's because of that joy that I'm a good salesperson. Think about it: If you had a salesperson who was not enthused about their job, about the car they were selling or about anything, would you be enthused? I think my joy carries over to my customers, and they get excited.
It is a males' business still; there aren't too many females in the business. But the number of females is growing, and I think customers are getting used to the idea. There are some people who just can't get past it. I don't dress dowdy. I wear short skirts; I wear lots of makeup; but I want them to see past all that. When they can see the real Trudy who's in here, then I've got a 95 percent chance of selling them a car.
If I don't know the answer to a question -- and many times I don't know the answer -- I just tell them that. And they are so grateful. Everyone has stories about salespeople who pretend to have all the answers.
I'm not rich; I struggle; but I don't have to worry about the money. It just comes.
"Hawaii at Work" tells what people do for a living in their own words. Send submissions to business@starbulletin.com
