Arnaldo Bomnin came to the US by himself from Cuba at the age of 25 in 1996. In just 25 years, he has fulfilled the American dream. Through ambition, intelligence and hard work he is now a very successful auto magnate, owner of five car dealerships employing 525 associates.
And this weekend, Bomnin will be holding the official grand opening of their newest dealership here in Homestead. Bomnin Chevrolet Homestead will cut the ribbon at the store located at 1075 SE 6th Ave, Homestead (the former Keith Pierson Chevrolet).
Bomnin came to the states as a medical doctor, but was not licensed in the US. His first job was in an avocado warehouse here in Homestead. With a small loan from his uncle, he bought landscaping equipment. But then he needed transportation. He was convinced to buy a van from an acquaintance, but it came with a seafood business. The first week they drove together to Key West, purchasing 500 lbs. of lobster which they brought back to Perrine and sold immediately to area restaurants for a $1 per lb. profit. The next week, on his own, he purchased 300 lbs of lobsters. Expecting to sell them right away, he realized it was a scam and none of the restaurants would buy from him. He had to do something, so he started to sell them along US1 and to many of the auto dealerships in the area. That was his first experience with the auto industry.
After the van broke down, he asked for a job at South Motors Nissan, as a porter. But no, they put him in sales, even though he had no conversational English. He had everything translated on paper and would read it to his new customers.
He sold cars by day and attended Miami Dade College at night so that he could learn English.
When the dealership was sold in 1999, he thought he would use his savings and go back to school for his US medical credentials. But the new owners, Auto Nation, wanted him to come back. It was then that he decided to make the car business his career. He was able to use his savings to bring his family to the US from Cuba.
He worked his way up from sales to sales manager, general sales manager, and then in 2006 as general manager of Auto Nation Chevrolet Doral. His younger brother, Isidro, was also seeing success working in the car industry.
But with the recession in 2009, profits in the car industry took a big hit. Bomnin had always wanted to own his own dealership, but he had a one-year non-compete clause in his contract. He and his wife thought this downturn in the economy would be the perfect time to walk away for a year and prepare to follow their dream.
After the non-compete clause expired, they were able to buy the Dadeland dealership. At the time it was very old. They cleaned it up and refurbished it as a green facility, completed in May 2013. As a company, Bomnin is committed to a green workplace. All purchases are completed on computers with large touch screens for the customers. Sign on the screen, leave with a USB, no papers wasted.
On May 1, 2015 Bomnin's wife Yani and his brother Isidro, joined with him as partners. Following this new partnership, the company has grown from 69 associates to 525; from one franchise to five; from 300 cars sold a week to their best week so far of 1700 cars.
Bomnin says, "We changed the culture and applied a vision. We let God lead us by his hand, pray every morning for his guidance."
At Bomnin, he hopes to stress that every associate (employee) is empowered to do what is right for others including their customers. And in that vein, six associates from Bomnin dealerships were empowered with leadership positions at the new Homestead store.
Bomnin is enthusiastic about the new Homestead location. "I grew up in a farming community similiar to Homestead. I love it here. Our plan is to grow our support of the community, as we have through Craig Pearce who is our community ambassador. Pearce, a volunteer in many Homestead service organizations, brought Bomnin's presence to Homestead last year as the lead sponsor for the Rotary Club of Homestead's Seafood Festival, which raises thousands of scholarship dollars for South Dade students.
"We have been the largest Chevy dealer to the Homestead area, and we can now better serve that community" by being conveniently close by for sales and service.
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