"Life throws you lemons," says Marilyn Sheftel, "and you know what you have to make out of that."

Few know that mantra better than Sheftel, who owns the lemonade stand lock, stock and barrel.

Tragedy struck Sheftel and her family 14 years ago when her husband, Calgary entrepreneur Harvey Sheftel, suddenly passed away. Marilyn Sheftel was left to raise her three daughters with an enormous debt, a cranky bank manager and a fledgling auto dealership.

With odds stacked against her, Sheftel, dealer principal of Silverhill Acura in Calgary, has persevered and flourished to become one of Canada's most accomplished women entrepreneurs.

Dave Olecko, Business Edge
Silverhill Acura president Marilyn Sheftel has used teamwork to turn her automobile business into one of Canada's highest-volume dealers.

Today, that one-time fledgling auto dealership is on cruise control as it hums along as one of Canada's most successful Acura dealerships, and the business - dedicated to Harvey Sheftel - has become a family affair with all three of Sheftel's daughters working with her.

As for that cranky bank manager, he hasn't been heard from in years.

1. What was your childhood dream?

"You know, I'm five-foot-two and I really wanted to be a basketball player. I did play basketball through junior high and high school. I love watching all kinds of sports. I'm an avid - well, when we did have the Flames - fan."

2. Are you from an entrepreneurial family?

"My dad (Abe Yuffe) has always been in the car business. He has worked at primarily Ford dealerships all his life. He's 78 and still works at Woodridge Ford (as a sales rep). He's pretty entrenched as a Ford guy, to be honest with you, so he wouldn't work for us. Cars were the thing in our household. They were part of our lives and provided a living. I remember when I was seven or eight years old when I could stand on any street corner in Winnipeg in the 1950s and name every model of vehicle on the road. Now, I couldn't do that. But then there were probably only about 50 models."

3. Why did your family move to Calgary?

"My dad visited the Calgary Stampede once with my brother. I think it was 1966. When he came home, he tried to convince my mother (Bea) and I that Calgary was the place to be. My mom said 'no way.' But then she came home from work one day and said to my dad at the dinner table, 'You know, for two cents, I'd move to Calgary.' My dad took two pennies out of his pocket, put them on the table and said, 'Let's go.' I had just graduated from high school at that time and I stayed in Winnipeg to go to university because, from the description my dad and brother brought back from Calgary, I thought cowboys roamed the streets. I thought Macleod Trail was a trail for horses. So, I thought, no way I'm moving to this hick town. But then I took a train to Calgary to visit my parents and then I understood how wonderful the city was. I decided to move and I've never left."

4. What are your memories of your early years in Calgary?

"I met my husband in April of '68 and we were married in December of '69. He was in the hotel business with his father (Harry Sheftel) and uncle (Leo Sheftel). My education was in early childhood services and I was a nursery school teacher, so having my own children was just like having a job and also getting a personal reward for it. I was fortunate that I was able to stay home and raise the (three) girls for 14 years. I was enjoying my life, playing tennis, seeing my friends and doing a lot of volunteer work. Then, one day in 1986 (he) came home and said, 'On Monday you're going to work to help me with advertising and marketing.' He then had two dealerships, a Hyundai dealership and a Jeep Eagle dealership. Silverhill was being constructed at that time and Harvey wanted me to get some training in customer relations and marketing. Silverhill opened in February of '87 and Harvey passed away in July of '91 (of an aneurysm)."

5. Did Honda want you to become the dealer principal?

"Because Harvey had so many other companies and dealings to do during the day, fortunately I was Silverhill's liaison to Honda's head office so they were very familiar with me. They took me aside on the afternoon of the funeral and said, 'We're hoping you'll assume the position as dealer principal.' Of course, I said yes. I thought they must have thought I knew what I was doing. I didn't. But by the time they figured out that I didn't know what I was doing, I would."

6. How did you get through that difficult period when you lost your husband and had to take over the business?

"It was shocking, just devastating, to cope with the fact that your future plans are just gone in an instant. We had a wonderful life, a beautiful home in the country, a barn where my daughter showed Arabian horses, and all of that came to an abrupt halt. I was also quite naive about financial matters so probably what was even more shocking than my husband's death was that we were in an enormous amount of debt. Actually, it was over $11 million. A demand note from a bank became quite nasty about their belief in me being able to repay the debt. It took 10 years less one month to pay off the debt, and for half of that period there were double-digit interest rates. I was fortunate we had some assets we could sell. We had to sell our home and our horses. I won't say the name of the bank because I don't want to burn any bridges for my children, but I will mention the name of a bank that I love because they did believe in me. That's the Bank of Montreal, which has been amazing to us. My children, who had been born with a silver spoon in their mouths and knew nothing other than a lifestyle that was enviable, just cut back and gave up everything but their education without complaining."

7. How did you get your auto dealership on track after your husband passed away?

"We were just a fledgling company then and the car business in the early 1990s was generally not good. I had to get rid of the bad people that I had working for me and hire people who believed we could be successful here. Fortunately, the auto industry started to turn around in about 1995 or 1996. During those years, it was important to me to set an example for my daughters and provide them with a good role model. I don't mean to sound sexist but, particularly because I was a woman and they were girls, I really felt the need to overachieve. What I really learned is who I am. Every cloud has its silver lining and you just have to appreciate that your life may change. Yet that doesn't mean that it isn't going to be as good or better than it might have been under normal circumstances."

8. Has your gender been an obstacle in your business career?

"No, not with anyone who is auto-related. I remember the first meeting of the Calgary Motor Dealers Association that I walked into as dealer principal. There were 50 suits and me.

"And from that first moment I was accepted as their peer and as their colleague. And I have never once ever felt that I was anything but equal to any one of those dealers. They are an unbelievable group of men. In such a male-dominated industry, one would think that gender would be important to them, but it was never an issue. I did have a problem with an account manager from the bank. There was a meeting with him where my accountant was in the room and at one point he blurted out, 'Isn't there a man I could talk to about this?' My accountant Vivian (Saffel) and I just rolled our eyes at each other. I stood up and said, 'This meeting is now over, good-bye.' " 9. Silverhill is one of Canada's highest-volume Acura dealers (ranked No. 4 among Acura dealerships in Canada in 2004). To what do you attribute your success?

"I don't know. It was just the commitment to make sure my kids had a future, and this was it. I care about my customers and I care about my employees. Honesty and integrity are absolutely the hallmarks here. I think the word of mouth about those things has ensured our success. We've done an expansion here and this building is a tribute to my husband and it's the one thing that the children, for as long as we are able, will never allow to be out of our hands. And we also don't want to move the bricks and mortar off of Macleod Trail. This was a dream of Harvey's, so we want to maintain it in this same location. We have gone underground now with 50 parking stalls and we've built an upper deck with about 40 more parking stalls on top. We're staying on Macleod Trail as long as we can."

10. What did Harvey teach you about business?

"He was a character and he was charming. And he ran this business and anything else he was involved in because of his charm. I wasn't blessed with that charm but I hope that my style is more one of caring than having that charisma. You know, charisma is a really tough, tough thing to live up to. Harvey was charismatic or at least verging on it. Running a business where people look up to you is something that can't be transferred. But what I've learned is to be honest, to be fair and to treat people as you would expect them to treat you."

11. What do you enjoy most about running your business?

"It's the people part. I think I'm just naturally a nurturing kind of person. My management and staff are my extended family and I believe they feel the same way. They enjoy getting up in the morning and coming to work."

12. What's the key to maintaining an edge in such a competitive industry?

"The people and the (staff) turnover here is so minimal. The only new people we get are people that we need because of our growth. I think that the continuity of keeping the same people who are excellent with the customers has been our edge. We have the best people and people who are committed to the product and the way we do business."

13. If I were to apply for a job as a sales rep with Silverhill, what do you want to see on my resume?

"The resume is not as important as what I see in your eyes. The resume can say a lot of things but what's more important is looking someone in the eye. It's the character of a person and I think that's easy to read in about 10 minutes."

14. What do you think is the auto industry's most difficult challenge over the next few years?

"I think that just keeping up with the environmental aspects of what the consumers want really has to be addressed.

We have people coming in daily asking for hybrid (fuel-efficient) cars and I'm a little disappointed that we don't have one yet. Honda's not lagging behind. They have an Accord with a hybrid engine. I just asked a question on a conference call the other day with our manufacturer: 'Is there a hybrid in our future?' They said, 'No, there's no talk of it.' We have two new models of cars, one expected in November and one next spring, and neither one of them are hybrids. That's personally disappointing, but the challenge for the industry is that we do the research and design on alternative engines.

I don't want to leave that legacy (cars that contribute to the gas emissions problem) for my grandchildren. Our vehicles have come a long way. The emissions are minimal. Nevertheless, there are engines out there that I'd like to be able to offer my customers - and I can't."

15. What do you think about when you hear Goldman Sachs forecasting a $105 oil price?

"That is one good reason why we need to find alternatives for our vehicles. In some ways, it's wonderful news for Alberta (if oil prices spike) because more consumers will have a disposable income in Alberta to purchase my vehicles."

16. What are you driving these days?

"I am driving an '05 TL.

It's a sedan. I would like to drive an RL, which is our brand-new flagship vehicle (it retails at $69,900). It is an unbelievable highly technical car. This is an amazing sedan. Unfortunately, in order to satisfy all of the customers who are waiting for this vehicle, I will have to wait for a while before I get to drive it."

17. What has it been like working alongside your three daughters (Tracey Sheftel Holland, Danielle Sheftel and Carrie Sheftel Fryer) in the dealership?

"We love working together and socializing together. We just went on a holiday together (to Hawaii) because now we are enjoying the benefits of the success of not having to pay that bank loan every month. I'm so fortunate to have healthy children and healthy grandchildren and the fact that we like spending time together is a bonus. The nice thing is that I'm able to go away for a month on vacation because I have complete confidence in our general manager (Kent Alfaro). He doesn't have a partnership here, but he runs the company as if he has a vested interest."

18. It's 2010. Are you still in the corner office or lounging on a beach somewhere?

"By then, I hope to have 10 more grandchildren (she now has two grandchildren) and I'm hoping by that time that my daughters will have taken over the business. By that time, my girls will have an opportunity to show me what they can do. I'd like to travel, but I don't think I could be far away from my grandchildren for too long. So I think I'll remain pretty well rooted in Calgary, because I love it here."

19. Which one of your daughters is the obvious successor as dealer principal?

"To me, Tracey (her oldest daughter, at 34) would be the obvious one. But it comes down to what the manufacturer (Honda) wants and it's not easy for them to become convinced that someone is entrenched well enough in the business to do it. I'm making sure she meets the right Acura people. I'm hoping that in five years the company will understand her value. Tracey is quite a shy girl and people skills are absolutely the ultimate in this business. You'd think that someone who'd graduated from law school would be able to call and order pizza (she says jokingly). I read her a book when she was two called Never Talk To Strangers, and I think I overdid it. I was trying to get her street smart and I think I put something in her head. I can teach her how to be comfortable speaking directly with customers and in some ways, I force her to do it. I see she's becoming more comfortable with that and I think I can instil that in her.

In terms of her drive, she can teach me a few things about that."

20. What are your goals beyond business?

"Right now, I'm working on a project to raise $1 million for construction of an art gallery at the Museum of the Regiments so that all of the art that we never get to see that is housed at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa will be exhibited in Calgary on a travelling basis. I also have a dream where every junior high school student in Alberta who wants to visit the Parliament buildings in Ottawa gets that opportunity. When we know where we came from, we will want to do better.The patriotism that people in the U.S. feel needs to be initiated here more. Somehow, the Americans are just born with their hand on their hearts and we aren't. I'll have to do something after I retire, or I'll drive everyone crazy."

IN PROFILE: Marilyn Sheftel

* Title: President/dealer principal/owner, Silverhill Acura (Calgary).

* Born/Raised/Age: Winnipeg/56.

* Education: University of Manitoba, diploma in early childhood education; University of Calgary, post-graduate studies.

* Career: Sheftel began her career in the automotive industry as vice-president of marketing at Silverhill Acura when the dealership was opened by her late husband, Harvey Sheftel, in 1987. She was appointed dealer principal in 1991. She was president of the Calgary Motor Dealers Association in 1994 and has been a member of the industry relations committee for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association since 2002. Sheftel is also involved in other business partnerships in real estate, property management, hotels, retail gas bars and metal recycling.

* Family affair: Sheftel's daughters are employed at Silverhill Acura. Tracey Sheftel Holland is dealership improvement manager, and Danielle Sheftel and Carrie Sheftel Fryer are accounting clerks.

* Moonlighting: Sheftel was chairman for the 1996 Calgary International Auto & Truck Show, a member of the Calgary Progressive Conservative finance committee, a major sponsor of the Discovery House (a long-term shelter for abused women and their children), a founding member of JoJo Sisterhood 2003 (a fund-raiser for the Kid's Cancer Care Foundation) and chairman of the fund-raising campaign for the War Art Gallery at the Museum of the Regiments.

* Pastimes: Grandchildren, bowling, volunteering.

THE COMPANY: Silverhill Acura

* Brass: Marilyn Sheftel, president/dealer principal; Kent Alfaro, general manager.

* Profile: Silverhill Acura, founded in 1987 by Harvey Sheftel, is a Calgary dealership that sells and services Acura vehicles, Honda's upscale auto division.

* Accolades: Silverhill won the 2002 Acura Client Excellence Award and was ranked fourth in Canada in sales among Acura dealerships in 2004.

* Website: www.silverhillacura.com

* Address: 5728 Macleod Tr. S., Calgary, T2H OJ6.

* Phone/Fax: 403-253-6060, 252-5401; toll free 800-668-1572.

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)