Gear change

A leap of faith. That's how Dallas Council describes his 2008 purchase of the AAMCO Transmissions shop on U.S. 41 in Venice.

He'd been working for AAMCO since 2002 as a customer service manager, overseeing shops in the Tampa and Sarasota areas. The owner of the Bradenton location where he worked at the time recently sold the Venice shop, and the new owner was struggling with the business. Council's boss didn't want to buy it back, but he thought Council should consider purchasing it.

“Ownership had always been on my radar and been a goal of mine,” Council says. “But the opportunity presented itself a little earlier than I expected it to.”