Linda Parker became a part of the Parker family when she married her husband, Doug. She became a part of the family business, Parker Engineering, from its inception in 1984. “Our company was started by Doug’s father and mother, Don and Gayla,” she said. “I started working with them — a few years before the business officially began — when my father-in-law was inventing coin acceptors for the gambling industry. That’s how it all got started.”

In 1994, 10 years after the business began, Linda joined the business full time.

“I had worked in and out of the business part time until Don had a major health issue,” she said. “At that time, the business needed to move, and the pressure on Don needed to be lifted.” Since that time, Parker has done nearly everything, from front office to assembly to trade shows and distribution to troubleshooting. “Being the owner, you wear many hats,” she said. “Most of the time, all of the hats!”

Balancing many hats

Parker enjoys all the hats because she’s most energized when she’s solving someone’s problem.

“My favorite thing is to take an issue that has been causing someone lots of problems and frustration, and then solve it,” she said. “I will work on a technical issue until we reach a solution.”

And Parker admitted that’s not always easy to come by.

“There are so many challenges in the car wash industry,” she said. “It is a tough environment for the owners and products. They work very hard in their businesses in a harsh climate. They have to deal with lots of regulations, employee issues, and theft and vandalism.”

Her respect for those in the car wash industry is obvious. “Car washers are savvy business people,” she said. “That often goes unnoticed!”

Simple words for success

Parker’s appreciation for those who work hard is part of her nature. Some of the best career advice she’s ever received — and quickly put into practice — is to always treat each individual you come in contact with as you wish to be treated, she said. “Simple words that we have based our business on since the beginning,” Parker said. “There is no perfect product or solution. If we treat each other with respect, some kind of solution can be found, always!”

A family dominated industry

Parker doesn’t think of the car wash industry as a male-dominated industry, but rather a family-dominated industry. “There’s a lot of teamwork by families in the car wash industry,” she said. “Walk the aisles of a tradeshow and you see just as many women and children that are looking at products and asking really great, knowledge-based questions.”

Parker said industry events often feel like family reunions for her. “I love when trade show season rolls around,” she said. “I get to see new and old friends and call it work. How much better does it get?”