# "I Was Hungry!" From Bronx Projects to Launching a Dealership Empire & What It Takes to Build It | Frank Pena, President at Dare to Dream Automotive

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/car-dealership-guy-podcast-6241497/i-was-hungry-from-bronx-projects-to-launching-a-dealership-empire-what-it-takes-to-build-it-frank-pena-president-at-dare-to-dream-automotive
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/car-dealership-guy-podcast-6241497/i-was-hungry-from-bronx-projects-to-launching-a-dealership-empire-what-it-takes-to-build-it-frank-pena-president-at-dare-to-dream-automotive.md
Podcast: [Car Dealership Guy Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/car-dealership-guy-podcast-6241497)
Published: 2026-09-15T09:05:00+00:00
Episode link: https://chrt.fm/track/C6AG88/traffic.megaphone.fm/CREUR8793419528.mp3
Audio file: https://chrt.fm/track/C6AG88/traffic.megaphone.fm/CREUR8793419528.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/car-dealership-guy-podcast-6241497/episodes/i-was-hungry-from-bronx-projects-to-launching-a-dealership-empire-what-it-takes-to-build-it-frank-pena-president-at-dare-to-dream-automotive
Duration seconds: 2365

## Resource

Frank Peña grew up sleeping on a relative's floor in Washington Heights after his family immigrated to the United States when he was two years old, and by the time he left the company that gave him his start, he had spent twenty years working his way from used car salesman to company president. He walks through how he took over three dealerships without losing a single employee, and argues that most owners lose their people not because of pay, but because they disappear the moment things get hard. Topics: 06:35 The Organization That Built A Dealer 08:35 The Knowledge Gap For New Dealers 16:35 Why F&I Is A Puzzle 19:15 Why Frank Kept Every Employee 20:55 Surviving A Dealership War Zone 29:30 Successful Operators Have To Be Crazy 38:20 Why Frank's Son Won't Get A Free Ride This episode is brought to you by: 1. TARGIT - TARGIT is an end-to-end business intelligence platform that gives dealers complete visibility and control over their data. Download your copy and learn more about TARGIT @ here. Headed to the 2026 Digital Dealer Conference? Come meet TARGIT at Booth #737. Visit @ here for more info. 2. OPENLANE - The world’s best online dealer marketplace for used cars, bringing you exclusive inventory, simple transactions, and better outcomes. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cdgcircles.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Industry job board ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://jobs.dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dealership recruiting ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgrecr…

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