By Paulina Matel & Brad Stanek Contributing writers
When the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill made headlines, much of the industry conversation centered on its implications for dealership entities. Those are important discussions, but they leave a critical piece of the puzzle underexplored: the personal financial planning moves every dealership owner should be considering right now. In this article, we will shift the focus from the showroom floor to your own personal net worth statement — highlighting practical strategies that can help you protect your wealth and align your personal and family goals with this new legislative landscape.
Family considerations
529 Expanded provision: Qualified distributions now cover a broader range of expenses. The bill expanded qualified distributions for K-12 expenses to include curriculum materials, tutoring, standardized testing fees and some homeschooling expenses. In addition, 529 accounts can now be used for post-secondary licenses and credentials, as well as educational therapies for students with disabilities.
The bill makes permanent the ability to roll over unused 529 funds into an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account for the same beneficiary (or a family member). For those unfamiliar with an ABLE account, it is a tax-advantaged savings account designated for individuals with disabilities, allowing them (and their families) to save for disability-related expenses without jeopardizing eligibility for federal benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid.
Trump accounts (starting 1/1/26): For babies born between 2025-2028, these accounts will be available for beneficiaries under the age of 18. The U.S. government will make an initial $1,000 deposit, and families will be able to contribute up to $5,000/year (indexed for inflation), allowing the funds to grow tax deferred until withdrawals take place. Qualified withdrawals, which include education expenses, first-time home purchase, and even small business start-up, will be taxed at capital gain rates.
Retirement, succession and estate
Additional deduction: Individuals ages 65 and older, regardless of whether or not they are receiving Social Security benefits, will receive an additional senior deduction of $6,000 per individual for tax years 2025-2028. The senior deduction begins to phase out when taxpayers’ modified adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a joint return).
Estate and gift taxes: The Lifetime Estate and Gift Tax Exemption amounts have been made permanent, providing additional clarity for estate and gift planning. Starting in 2026, the Gift and Estate Tax exemption increases to $15 million for individuals and $30 million for those married and filing jointly, indexed to inflation, going forward. In addition, the generation-skipping tax (GST) exemption matches the new estate exemption to $15 million per person.
Additional consideration
State and local tax (SALT) Deductions: OBBBA raises the cap on deductibility from $10,000 to $40,000, with a phaseout starting at $500,000 in income for joint filers, and it phases out completely above $600,000. SALT reform mainly impacts residents of high tax states, such as California, New York, and New Jersey.
The SALT cap increases the percentage of households that take the standard deduction versus itemizing their deductions, so charitable giving strategies such as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) should be revisited with your tax advisor.
As these changes unfold, powersports dealers are encouraged to engage in comprehensive financial planning discussions to fully leverage the opportunities presented by OBBBA.
The bottom line is simple — One Big Beautiful Bill brings more than tax changes for your powersports dealership — it reshapes the personal financial landscape for owners and their families. Now is the time to review your planning strategies to ensure these new provisions work in your favor. We recommend scheduling a Q3/Q4 meeting with both your tax planner and financial planner for a year-end meeting, so that you can position yourself to capture every available opportunity before year-end. Proactive planning today can translate into meaningful savings and greater flexibility tomorrow.
Brad Stanek, CFP, is an executive director with the Stanek-Haack Group at Morgan Stanley, brad.stanek@ms.com; Paulina Matel, CFP, is a vice president with the Stanek-Haack Group at Morgan Stanley, paulina.matel@ms.com.
Episode 3: Month 1 — Reflections, roadmaps & results
I walked into day two with one big question weighing on me: How would I cover the service desk now that my only service adviser had given notice? My first thought was to pull my one sales guy — who had previously worked in service — into that role temporarily until I could find a replacement.
But when I went looking for him, he wasn’t even in the store. He was on his way to deliver a bike an hour and a half away, for free.
Before I could process that, the hits kept coming: my second tech had injured his hand and wouldn’t be in. A trash hauler was waiting for payment. The company credit card bounced at a gas station. And, as if on cue, a letter from one of our brands arrived announcing a change in our territory.
It wasn’t even 10 a.m. and I could feel it — that familiar cocktail of dread, anxiety, and regret. The suffocating blanket I remembered all too well from my first 17 years running this store.
But this time, I caught myself. Week one’s plan was to make a plan. And that plan had to start with understanding the people responsible for the numbers.
The Adviser
The outgoing adviser was sharp, knowledgeable, and had been holding the department together with no real support. When I asked why he was leaving, the truth came out quickly — he never wanted to be an adviser. He wanted to be a tech. He told every manager that, but no one ever put together a path to make it happen. They kept him where they needed him, not where he needed to be.
If you don’t evolve with your people, you’ll lose them.
It was too late to keep him — he’d already accepted a tech position elsewhere. But in a rare break, he gave me a lead: someone who’d stopped in the week before asking about a job. He had enough experience to do the work, but not so much that he was set in his ways. I interviewed him the next day, hired him that night, and by some miracle, I had one week of overlap for a clean handoff.
The Tech & Sales Manager
Next came the tech meetings. The lead tech was highly skilled, certified across the board, and honest about the challenges — problems that couldn’t be fixed overnight. His truth was hard to hear but necessary. The second tech was creative and capable, but underperforming in terms of efficiency, likely due to being poorly set up for success.
Then there was the sales manager — the only person left from when I owned the store. Loyal, adaptable, and a rider through and through. He wanted to fight for this place as badly as I did.
For the first time that week, I felt a flicker of optimism.
And then… the next bombshell
That weekend, I got news I didn’t expect. Two key staff members were “doing frowned upon things” — on the clock. The only salesperson and the second tech.
Now, in total, half the staff we started with — gone.
The Roadmap
From the beginning, the goal wasn’t just to patch holes — it was to build something sustainable. Something that could stand on its own. But before we could do that, we had to understand exactly what we were working with.
We spent the first weeks studying everything we could of each department — the people, the processes, the numbers, and the culture underneath it all. Once we had a clear picture of how the parts were functioning (or not), we stepped back to see how they all connected.
What we saw wasn’t just dysfunction — it was opportunity. Areas where focus could drive real returns. Leverage points that had gone ignored. Waste that could be turned into wins.
Only then — with the full picture in view — did we put the plan to paper. Using Ownex’s DELV framework, we laid out a six-step plan:
Fix service contribution – Move from negative to a healthy 45-cent contribution per $1 in labor sales.
Cut monthly expenses – Payroll, rent, and interest have to be brought back in line.
Drive service proficiency – Turn service into the cash flow engine it’s meant to be.
Increase customer engagement – Strategic lifecycle touchpoints, targeted marketing, in-store experiences, community support and engagement.
Improve sales contribution – Marry timeless sales psychology with how customers actually buy today.
Build the GM role – Create a seamless leadership handoff when we step away.
The First Month’s Results
The truth is, turning a dealership around doesn’t happen in clean lines or tidy chapters. It’s more like CPR — a lot of pressure, a few cracks, and the hope that something starts beating again.
Month one was triage. We cut deep where we had to. We stitched up what we could. And we started transfusing fresh life back into the parts of the business that were barely hanging on. The team was smaller, leaner, but more aligned. Systems were taking shape. The numbers weren’t where we wanted them — not yet — but you could feel the shift in momentum. Like a pulse just beginning to come back.
By the end of July, service contribution had jumped from -5.4% to 38.1%, and service proficiency rose from an overstated 67.4% to a verified 105.2%. We replaced the outgoing adviser and hired a support role to help stabilize both service and parts. We restructured our tech stack, removing the C-tech and bringing our A-tech to full utilization. At the same time, we renegotiated key expenses: adjusting payroll, securing better terms from the landlord, and reviewing our OEM agreements. On the customer side, we launched new marketing efforts — combining the shotgun-style visibility of IgnitionXD with lifecycle-targeted campaigns built through Chester River Consulting and our own Ownex tools. And behind the scenes, we began building the foundation for the next general manager role: clear responsibilities, defined expectations, shared tools, and a transition strategy that can outlast our involvement.
Yes — July’s P&L still showed a $65,329 loss, and we sold only eight units. That part stings. But this month wasn’t about profits — it was about proving we could stop the bleeding and find a pulse again. Next month isn’t about more bandages — it’s about stability. Defining what “normal” should feel like. Building rhythms the team can rely on. Rebuilding culture. And continuing to course-correct while keeping our eye on the horizon.
Because once the bleeding stops, and the vitals stabilize… That’s when the real work begins.
Next: Episode 4 — Cultural Shifts: Stability or Storm?
By Mark Sheffield contributing writer
I was about eight years into my role as a dealership GM when I hit my breaking point. I walked in one day and told Mark Woods that I needed some time off and that I was going to Scotland. He asked when I wanted to take my break, and I let him know I’d be leaving the following week and wouldn’t be back for 30 days.
The trip was incredible. Seeing old-world craftsmen hand-making barrels for storing Glenfiddich whiskey. Visiting Lockerbie and standing in the spot where the major fuselage pieces of Pan Am Flight 103 came down. Visiting Alnwick Castle, where multiple scenes from Harry Potter were filmed, and getting to spend some time with my father’s twin, who passed away a few months after I saw him.
Ultimately, 30 days might have been a little too much — but when I got back to work, I was rejuvenated and ready to hit the ground running. I stepped down from my GM role in 2016 and said I’d take a little time off. It didn’t take long for me to get bored, and before I knew it, I had more projects going on than I could count. Over the last nine years, I traveled more than a half-million miles, and in most years, I spent over 100 nights in hotel rooms. I had multiple email addresses, and my inbox became a war zone — one where there never seemed to be any options for declaring a truce.
Many times over the last decade, I’d wake up in a hotel and forget what city I was in. I’d shuffle to the window, look out, and play a quick game of “guess the skyline.” Conference rooms started to blur together. Dealerships began to feel the same. But I kept pushing. Those are the traits I developed during my time in the Army, and it’s what we do in this business. We hustle, we grind, and we tell ourselves it’s all for the greater good.
However, somewhere along the way, I stopped noticing the wins. A dealer would have a record month, and I’d nod, reply with a quick “nice work,” and jump to the next fire. Another OEM would announce some bloated initiative that wouldn’t sell any more machines, but would make life harder for the dealer, and I’d shrug and say, “par for the course.” I wasn’t mad. I wasn’t bitter. I was just… tired.
That’s the thing about apathy — it doesn’t show up all at once. It creeps in. Quietly. You start accepting average. You stop questioning broken systems. You tolerate vendors that add no value. You nod through meetings that go nowhere (and man, were there a lot of meetings). And the worst part? You don’t even realize it’s happening until you catch yourself going through the motions.
Recently, I parted ways with my employer of the last few years. The day it happened, the wife and I celebrated by popping the cork on a nice bottle of champagne. And while that day was a good one, every day since has been better. I’m happier, healthier, and excited about all of the recent opportunities that have found me.
What I don’t understand is — back in 2012, I recognized when things weren’t right. It became clear that I needed to perform a personal Ctrl-Alt-Delete. That trip to Scotland saved me. Stepping away gave me perspective. However, for whatever reason, I wasn’t able to identify a similar issue the second time around. Aren’t we supposed to get wiser as we get older?
Regardless of how things played out, maybe my personal failings can help someone else. If you’ve been doing the same thing for a decade or more, maybe it’s time to take a step back. If you’re no longer waking up and looking forward to the day, it’s possible you need to reset and recalibrate.
Being honest with yourself and taking a break is not the same as giving up. It’s about recognizing that you’re human — and that from time to time, we all need a change of scenery.
Apathy is like a Trojan Horse. It slips in with a hidden payload, and it’s possible it won’t attack the next day or the next month — but it will happen at some point. And apathy is great at wearing disguises. Sometimes, it looks like just another Tuesday.
If going to work isn’t as fun as it used to be, then say something. Do something. Call a friend. Take a walk. Book a damn flight to Scotland and tell your co-workers you’re pulling a Sheffield (bagpipes are great for the soul). Just don’t sit there and let the slow leak turn into a flat tire. Because in this business, passion is our fuel. And once you’re running on empty, it’s almost impossible to pass the competition when there isn’t any fuel in the tank.
The powersports industry has weathered plenty of cycles — from boom years where inventory flew off the floor to lean seasons where every sale felt like a dogfight. We’re entering one of those more challenging stretches now.
Pricing across most segments is softening, inventory turns are slowing, and consumers are taking longer to pull the trigger on big-ticket purchases. At the same time, there’s a silver lining: brand loyalty in U.S. powersports has rebounded to its highest level since before the pandemic, topping 57% in early 2024. Riders are still passionate about the brands they love — they’re just being more careful with their wallets.
For dealers, that means opportunity is still there, but it requires sharper execution, a stronger value proposition, and a tighter focus on the long game. Here’s your playbook for thriving in an uncertain economy.
Shift from transactional sales to lifetime value: When money’s tight, discounting your way to volume is a fast road to eroding margins and brand perception. Instead, focus on customer lifetime value (CLV) — the total revenue you can generate from each rider over the years they’re in your ecosystem. That starts with:
Post-sale engagement: Make the first service appointment before the customer leaves the showroom.
Accessory bundling: Package helmets, riding gear, and tech upgrades with financing.
Events and community building: Group rides, track days, or demo weekends that deepen loyalty and keep customers returning.
A customer who buys one machine and nothing else is a missed opportunity. A customer who buys multiple units, outfits them with accessories, gets them serviced in-house, and brings friends to events is the one who keeps your lights on in a slow quarter.
To diversify revenue streams beyond unit sales in a slower market, your profit centers have to pull more weight. Service, parts, apparel, storage, and rentals all play a role in keeping revenue steady.
Service: Invest in tech training to keep labor hours in-house. Proactively reach out to customers for seasonal maintenance.
Parts and accessories: Use your CRM to target accessory promotions by vehicle type and purchase history.
Rentals and experiences: For some customers, trying before buying is the push they need — and rentals bring in off-season revenue.
Dealers who treat P&A and service as afterthoughts are leaving significant profit untapped. Use loyalty as a competitive weapon: The rebound in brand loyalty is a signal you can leverage — especially against non-OEM competitors and big-box disruptors.
Highlight OEM exclusivity in marketing. Make it clear why buying from an authorized dealer means better service, warranty, and resale value.
Create VIP programs: Points systems, early-access sales, or free seasonal check-ups for repeat customers.
Follow up personally: Handwritten notes, anniversary calls (“One year since your ride — ready for an upgrade?”) and targeted offers based on past purchases. Loyalty is fragile in tough times — protect it fiercely.
Strengthen financing partnerships: In 2025’s environment, finance often makes or breaks a deal. Work closely with OEM finance programs, local banks, and credit unions to offer competitive rates and flexible terms.
Pre-approve buyers before they step onto the sales floor.
Offer creative packages that combine units, accessories, and service into one payment.
Promote low-interest or deferred-payment offers heavily in your digital ads and showroom signage.
A buyer who thinks they can’t afford a new machine may say yes when you present the right finance solution.
Double down on digital targeting: In a cautious market, you can’t afford to spray-and-pray with your marketing budget. Use the data you already have to target high-value prospects.
Segment email campaigns by riding style (off-road, touring, sport, PWC, snow).
Retarget website visitors with ads that match the unit they viewed.
Use social media to showcase lifestyle and community — not just inventory photos.
Digital targeting doesn’t replace grassroots efforts — it amplifies them by making sure every dollar you spend is aimed at the right riders.
Train for the times: Your team is your frontline defense in a slow economy. Salespeople, service advisers, and managers all need to sharpen skills in the following:
Objection handling without resorting to deep discounts.
Presenting finance options confidently.
Selling accessories and service as part of the ownership experience.
Run role-plays, set measurable goals, and make training part of the culture — not a one-time event.
The Bottom Line: An uncertain economy doesn’t have to mean a shrinking dealership. The dealers who come out ahead will be the ones who focus on CLV, maximize every profit center, lean into loyalty, partner with finance to remove barriers to purchase, and get sharper and more targeted in their marketing.
We may not be in a boom cycle right now, but history shows the dealers who adapt in down markets gain market share, build stronger relationships, and set themselves up for exponential growth when the economy rebounds.
Till next time, shiny side up and checkered flags.
Melissa Coffey is a 2x PSB “Women With Spark” award winner and a powersports & motorsports industry veteran with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing leadership. She currently serves as a full-time executive recruiter with Action Recruiting and oversees her consulting firm Catch, where her team provides sales and marketing support to companies in the powersports industry.