Jim Ellis Auto Dealerships Revenue and Competitors

Struggling to make something out of limited resources is not foreign to Mr. Ellis. When he was 10 years old, he and his family moved to Atlanta Prison Farm property. His father was the foreman of the prison farm and his grandfather was the superintendent. Growing up, Mr. Ellis worked on a farm, had a milk and paper route, did construction, ran a concessions business at Grant Park, and ran a laundry route. By the time he completed West Georgia College and Georgia State University in 1957 with a BBA in general management, he had worked also as a prison guard and foreman, sold insurance, IBM Machines and real estate, and held various other jobs to work his way through college. After returning from serving two years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Ellis held a variety of jobs until he found his place in the automobile business with General Motors in 1960. In 1970, Jim Ellis and his wife Billie took the biggest financial plunge of their lives to establish their own automobile dealership. They sold all of their assets, used all of their savings, cashed in Billie's retirement fund from over 15 years at Georgia Tech, and borrowed the balance to begin Jim Ellis Volkswagen in 1971. In total, the plunge amounted to $35,000 in assets, and $165,000 in loans.