Katie Pocras and Teri Ernst worked together at Nebraska Home Sales, a Lincoln real estate firm where Pocras was a co-founder and Ernst was an agent and partner.
Both women also are entrepreneurs who have founded other businesses.
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But they will readily admit they had a serious learning curve when it came to their new startup, online car sales company MotorTango.
“We’re two middle-aged women who don’t know a lot about cars, don’t know a lot about technology, but we do know how to solve problems,” said Ernst, who now lives in Arizona.
The problem, as they saw it, was that there was not a safe and hassle-free way for those wanting to sell an automobile online.
People looking to sell usually have two options, Ernst said. Either they deal directly with one dealer and get one offer or they enter their name and information into a website, which goes to tons of dealers, who immediately hound them with phone calls, texts and emails.
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Another issue is safety, Pocras said. If you advertise your car on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, you might wind up meeting a stranger in an unfamiliar place and exchanging large amounts of money.
“I don’t feel comfortable with that,” she said.
So the two partners have come up with what they believe is a better solution.
MotorTango allows sellers to list their vehicles for sale to verified dealers and remain anonymous until the sale is made. Car dealers have the option to make an offer for the vehicle, also anonymously. The only time personal information becomes available and is exchanged is when a sale is agreed to.
Ernst and Pocras believe they have brought their idea to market at the right time, with lots of people looking to buy used cars because of a shortage of new cars and used-car dealers searching for inventory to fill that demand.
Used-car sales soared in 2021 as pandemic-related supply and manufacturing issues led to a dearth of new automobiles. Those sales numbers declined slightly last year, but they still are at a historically high level.
Pocras said MotorTango pulls together “all the positive points that individually you can’t get selling your car through other methods, and (ties) it all into one.”
Katie Pocras
Teri Ernst
She also touted it as a good way for women or anyone else who has felt taken advantage of when buying or selling a car.
“We just don’t have the bias built into our system, which I think is kind of cool,” Pocras said.
The name came from the fact that “the tango is sort of a delicate dance,” Ernst said. She also said they used the word “motor” rather than “auto” because they envision expanding beyond selling cars and trucks to include motocycles, boats, RVs and other vehicles.
The company is currently running a pilot program with dealers in Nebraska and Iowa. Dealers are able to use the website for free right now, but they eventually will pay fees ranging from $100-$450 per vehicle, depending on the sale price. The plan is for the service to always be free for sellers.
Ernst and Pocras said they have several dealers signed on, although they declined to provide any names.
As of Thursday, they had yet to have a completed sale on the site, but they said they have had a fair amount of interest so far.
“We’ve had lots of offers,” Ernst said.
The hope is that the pilot program will be successful and MotorTango will expand to other states.
Pocras said they have done a “friends and family round” of investing and the company also has received a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, but it is actively looking for more investors.
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Best Occupations for Being Self-Employed
Best Occupations for Being Self-Employed
Photo Credit: Dragon Images / Shutterstock
While recent data indicates that tightness in the U.S. labor market may be easing, workers today continue to have remarkably high levels of power and choice in the labor market.
The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally reshaped many workers’ relationships to their jobs. Lockdowns early in the pandemic sparked massive layoffs, and ongoing issues like concerns about health and safety or availability of child care made it difficult for many to return to work. Desires for improved working conditions, better pay and benefits, or roles more aligned with peoples’ lifestyles or professional interests eventually set off unprecedented mobility in the labor market, now commonly known as the Great Resignation.
Today, labor force participation rates continue to trail pre-pandemic levels. Job quits remain historically high after reaching a record of three million per month late in 2021. The number of job openings in the U.S. has topped 10 million per month for more than a year. These figures suggest that workers feel they can be selective about what jobs and working conditions they will accept. People today are more willing to take time off to wait for good jobs, or to move on from their current positions for better opportunities.
Under these circumstances, self-employment has proven to be an increasingly popular choice for many workers. Self-employment often offers more of the qualities that workers want, like more flexibility in schedule or location, and less of the ones they don’t, like feelings of disrespect or lack of opportunity for advancement. As a result, the ranks of the self-employed have grown over the last two and a half years.
Self employment grew faster than total employment during COVID
In the wake of early COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020, self-employed workers lost jobs at just half the rate of all workers. While total employment did not recover to pre-pandemic levels until March 2022, self-employment briefly bounced back to pre-pandemic levels as soon as August 2020 and has remained above that threshold since May 2021. Today, total employment is just 0.6% greater than it was before COVID-19 hit, while self-employment is up by 5.0%.
Self employed workers in incorporated businesses earn significantly more than their private industry counterparts
Autonomy and flexibility have been significant drivers for self-employment, but self-employment also has the potential to boost workers’ earnings. The median earnings for workers who are self-employed in their own incorporated business over the last 12 months exceed earnings for every other category of workers except federal government employees. Self-employed workers in incorporated businesses earn nearly 30% more than their private industry counterparts, with median earnings of $66,864 and $52,137, respectively.
Computer and mathematical occupations expect large employment growth and have high wages
Job outlooks and earning potential vary by industry, however, so some workers will find conditions for self-employment more favorable than others. One industry that could offer good opportunities is computer and mathematical occupations. These jobs are projected to grow by 15.4% over the next decade and offer median wages of $97,540, figures that each respectively rank second among occupational groupings. Healthcare support offers the greatest projected job growth over the next decade at 17.8%, while management occupations have the highest median wages at $102,450.
A combination of strong wages, high job growth, and low unemployment rates can all signal strong potential for self-employment. By these indicators, people who want to work for themselves have good options in a variety of industries and education levels. But one job that combines the fast-growing health field with the high pay of management work—medical and health services managers—tops the list of promising occupations for the self-employed.
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. To determine the best occupations for being self-employed, researchers at HireAHelper calculated a composite score based on median annual wage in 2021, projected employment growth from 2021 to 2031, and the average unemployment rate from 2020 and 2021. In the event of a tie, the occupation with the higher median annual wage was ranked higher.
Here are the best occupations for being self-employed.
15. Meeting, convention, and event planners
Photo Credit: Dragon Images / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 62.2
- Median annual wage: $49,470
- Projected employment growth: +17.8%
- Unemployment rate: 9.7%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
14. Electricians
Photo Credit: Virrage Images / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 62.8
- Median annual wage: $60,040
- Projected employment growth: +7.1%
- Unemployment rate: 6.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
13. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
Photo Credit: Tong stocker / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 63.1
- Median annual wage: $72,010
- Projected employment growth: +4.1%
- Unemployment rate: 3.7%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
12. Private detectives and investigators
Photo Credit: New Africa / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 64.0
- Median annual wage: $59,380
- Projected employment growth: +5.6%
- Unemployment rate: 4.0%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
11. Insurance sales agents
Photo Credit: Zivica Kerkez / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 64.3
- Median annual wage: $49,840
- Projected employment growth: +6.3%
- Unemployment rate: 3.2%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
10. Travel agents
Photo Credit: Dragana Gordic / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 64.9
- Median annual wage: $43,810
- Projected employment growth: +19.7%
- Unemployment rate: 4.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
9. Food service managers
Photo Credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 66.8
- Median annual wage: $59,440
- Projected employment growth: +9.8%
- Unemployment rate: 5.9%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
8. Producers and directors
Photo Credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 69.9
- Median annual wage: $79,000
- Projected employment growth: +7.7%
- Unemployment rate: 5.0%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
7. Lodging managers
Photo Credit: Ljupco Smokovski / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 70.2
- Median annual wage: $59,430
- Projected employment growth: +18.0%
- Unemployment rate: 8.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
6. Interpreters and translators
Photo Credit: maroke / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 74.2
- Median annual wage: $49,110
- Projected employment growth: +20.2%
- Unemployment rate: 4.8%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
5. Construction managers
Photo Credit: sirtravelalot / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 77.6
- Median annual wage: $98,890
- Projected employment growth: +7.6%
- Unemployment rate: 3.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
4. Marketing managers
Photo Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 78.2
- Median annual wage: $135,030
- Projected employment growth: +9.9%
- Unemployment rate: 5.0%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
3. Management analysts
Photo Credit: Jirapong Manustrong / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 81.5
- Median annual wage: $93,000
- Projected employment growth: +11.4%
- Unemployment rate: 3.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
2. Personal financial advisors
Photo Credit: wutzkohphoto / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 85.5
- Median annual wage: $94,170
- Projected employment growth: +15.4%
- Unemployment rate: 3.2%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
1. Medical and health services managers
Photo Credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
- Composite score: 97.2
- Median annual wage: $101,340
- Projected employment growth: +28.3%
- Unemployment rate: 1.8%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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