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Mike Burke has always been an ambitious visionary. After graduating with a Marketing Degree from Western Carolina University in 1994, he went to work for Scott Clark Toyota, where his ability to connect with people from all walks of life quickly earned him the position as their #1 salesman.
However, despite this early success, Mike had always wanted to create something of his own. He left Scott Clark to open his first tint shop, Innovations, in Myrtle Beach, but soon became homesick. Mike returned to Charlotte in 1997 and started a mobile tinting company, The Tint Man. Within two years, The Tint Man had become the primary window tint provider for most of the stereo and car accessory shops within a 50-mile radius.
To keep up with demand, Mike created another new company, Lightning Mike’s, a brick-and-mortar store offering various aftermarket automotive services – inspections, A/V, car accessories, wheels and tires – in addition to window tinting. Over the next 6 years, Lightning Mike’s grew to 6 locations, dominating the Charlotte market.
Mike drew on everything he’d learned, building and running his first several companies to fine-tune his vision for Sun Stoppers. Rather than trying to do everything, he chose to narrow his focus to film products only, doing one thing extremely well. This led him to create a boutique-type model, unusual in the aftermarket auto industry. He focused on quality rather than quantity and emphasized providing a superior product and excellent customer service.
In addition to narrowing his focus, Mike realized that he also needed to empower his people. He has structured his business so that employees have a great deal of leeway to run their stores the way they see fit. Today, Mike is available to help and lend support when needed but prefers to act as a mentor, encouraging his workers to step up and fulfill their individual potential.
Mike has also begun expanding his partnership program as he finds increasing fulfillment in acting as a mentor to others, sharing his wealth of accumulated knowledge and experience. He has added Sun Stoppers locations across the Southeast, from North and South Carolina, to Georgia, Virginia and even Massachusetts, with plans to expand into all 50 states.
LISTEN TO MIKE’S PODCAST ON ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PLATFORMS:
Mike has mastered the skills needed to excel in the window tint and paint protection industry through decades of experience. He now creates video content regularly to teach fellow technicians his methods and educate the public about the benefits of protective films.
After decades of hard work, Mike has become a global leader in the window film and car paint protection industry. His pioneering work in paint protection led to a partnership with XPEL after they started manufacturing their own protective films. After building Sun Stoppers into one of the largest window film and paint protection companies in America, XPEL’s Asian Distribution Hub invited Mike to deliver a keynote address at their flagship Asian Dealer Conference in April of 2019.
The conference took place in Sanya, China, where Mike spoke for 2 hours to an audience of 500 XPEL dealers. After his keynote address, Mike toured multiple facilities and shared some of his signature techniques for window tinting and paint protection. His entrepreneurial mindset, Guinness World Record for window tinting and high-energy made him the perfect spokesman to inspire his fellow car enthusiasts.
Many of the dealers were encouraged by Mike’s story about how he increased profitability by switching from Eastman Suntex to XPEL. Without a doubt, Mike made a positive impact on these Asian XPEL Dealers and left them with tools they could use to grow their own window tinting and paint protection business.
This humbling experience led Mike to get more involved on the global stage for window tint and car paint protection. He has since served as a judge in the International Window Film Tint-Off Competition and presented courses in marketing and sales strategies at the International Window Film Conference.
Mike has made it his mission to share his successful strategies with other business owners in the window tint and paint protection industry. With over 20+ years of experience, Mike has the knowledge to help your business maximize efficiency and increase revenue. See below how Mike can improve your business.
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