Meet Tony Hernandez | Business Owner & Specialized Vehicle Transporter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony Hernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I worked in the photography industry right out of high school, which led me to a job producing photo shoots at The Walt Disney Company. One day a dot com reached out with interest in setting up their own photo studio shooting cars. This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up between my love of cars, photography, and my passion for building productions. This is the job that sparked the entrepreneur in me – I was tasked with building out a studio, a process, a staff, all from scratch. One aspect of this job was sourcing vehicles and ensuring they were safely transported to the studio. Hiring third-party transporters showed me there was a need for experienced, safe, high-end auto transport. It always sat in my mind that this would be an interesting business to build. In the 2008 recession, I was laid off. I started a restaurant, which was always a dream of mine, but was shut down when Covid hit. But the entrepreneur bug was still in me, and I went back to the vehicle transport idea. I wanted to build a business from the perspective of a customer looking to transport a vehicle that is more than just a car – it’s a valued treasure. Thus Auto Shepherds was born – we are focused on white glove auto transport, and we care about the customer’s cars as much as they do. With specialized equipment in our enclosed trailers, we are among the safest options to transport vehicles. We offer clear communication and our clients quickly become friends.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My first job out of high school was working in a high-end photo lab in Hollywood. We had clients from world-class advertising photographers to film directors to the big studios. From there, I went to The Walt Disney Company where I produced photo shoots for one of their television divisions. After about 7 years, I was approached by a major automobile dot com. They needed help building out a photo studio and as a car guy, I could not pass up the opportunity to work with both cars and photography AND the chance to be a part of building something new. I took the leap and it was here that I really learned how to build a business model from scratch. We built and staffed an entire photo studio, developed a workflow to source press vehicles and had to constantly transport cars to and from the studio. I saw the good, the bad and the ugly in auto transport. And that always sat in the back of my mind. It was great and exciting, and then the Recession hit. I was laid off in 2010. It was a reset, and I took the opportunity and the tools this job gave me to dive into another passion. In 2013, I opened up a Cuban restaurant. It was an incredibly difficult labor of love, that ultimately ended when COVID shut us down. With no end to COVID in sight, I turned my attention back to the auto-transporting portion of the old job. I saw opportunity and a need for a service level that wasn’t readily available. I started researching auto transport equipment from the perspective of what the client would need – clear communication, extreme care, and safe, reliable transport. I wanted to start from a place of offering the best service. I started with one enclosed trailer, equipped with the Rail Ryder system – which is a way to get a car onto an enclosed trailer without driving it on – eliminating the user error that creates so much risk in standard transports. As I developed the brand, we started with the name – Auto Shepherds – we are more than transporters – we are shepherding valued possessions to their destination with the utmost care. As we continue to grow, we scale with the same care. It’s so important to us to be able to maintain a high level of service and communication. It’s our mission to transport cars as if they are our own.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I was born and raised in Hollywood. You’ve got to go classic Los Angeles. The original Tommy’s on Rampart. Take a nice drive up to the Observatory in Griffith Park where you get a great view of the Hollywood sign. Drive by east Hollywood to one of my favorite Guatemalan restaurants on Beverly and Normandy, Amalia’s Restaurant. Take a drive out to Manhattan/Hermosa Beach-area, hit The Original Farmer’s Market on Third. Drive up PCH and come through Las Virgenes. Head to Petit Trois le Valley in Sherman Oaks for dinner. Go to The Apple Pan on Pico which I think is the original Johnny Rockets. And of course a drive through historic West Adams.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I read Michael Gerber’s “The E-Myth” early on in my career and I have gone back to it several times over the years – it has always been a strong reset and reminder of best practices. Every time I have read it, I was at a different place in my journey and it has spoken to me differently over the years. I think it’s a book everyone should read prior to starting a business.

Website: https://autoshepherds.com

Instagram: @auto_shepherds

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/auto-shepherds

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083194728813

Image Credits
Orion Alvarado