Pat Wilder
As a dedicated entrepreneur with strengths in several areas, Patrick Wilder ’13 has gone above and beyond to show his passion for helping others grow professionally and become successful.
“Pat has taken his strengths in marketing, sales, entrepreneurship, and mechanic training to enrich the lives of the people around him,” says current Lewis student and girlfriend Lexi Austring.
Pat started his very first company as a young boy selling Pogs around town and at a local festival in Elmhurst. Shortly after, in 1998, he opened his second company, Wild Things Racing, and built hot rods and custom cars. Pat decided to sell this company after being promoted to district manager at Heartland Automotive where he worked until about 2007. Pat then settled down and began working as a store manager at Tire Tracks, Inc. where he took a store from making $400,000 to $1,400,000 per year within a three year period. During his time there, he opened an additional wedding paper goods based business called Creative Scrapz, Inc. which he later sold to his business partner.
In 2012, Pat opened both real estate company Wilder Enterprises, as well as All Automotive, Inc., which started as a consulting company for automotive repairs and shops. Since then, All Automotive Inc. has expanded into three locations with a corporate headquarters in Peotone. Outside of the work he does for All Automotive, Inc., Pat also recently started another company called SEO and Marketing that focuses on electronic marketing and consulting for local businesses.
Pat has held various roles in very different industries, but really enjoys the work he does for All Automotive, Inc. “All Automotive, Inc. currently employs roughly 15 individuals with an average wage 25% higher than that in my area,” says Pat. “On top of that, the company gives generous contributions to local charities such as It’s a Pittie Rescue, an organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing Pitbull breeds.”
Motivated by long term success and stability, Pat persevered when he faced several obstacles throughout his professional career path. “It took me 12 years to graduate due to my career development and goals,” Pat says. “All of my accomplishments are self-funded and self-made, and that is something I am very proud of.”
Pat graduated from Lewis with a bachelor’s degree in both Business Administration and Management Information Systems. During his time at Lewis, he worked as a Teacher Assistant for former Chair and Professor of College of Business, Dr. Laura Leli-Carmine. He was also heavily involved in the Sigma Delta fratority on campus.
Pat attributes much of his success to the individuals around him who continuously inspired him to work harder and do what he was passionate about. “Father Spies was one of the most profound faculty members I interacted with at Lewis,” Pat says. “He pushed me and challenged me, but that is exactly what I needed to be successful in my career.”
Having attended several seminars while on campus, Pat has earned professional certificates in Executive Leadership, Project Management, and Leading Change. He finds the importance of those seminars to add great value to the work he does every day.
“Outside of Lewis, I give a lot of credit to my former boss and now very close friend, Steve Hall, and my parents who also run local businesses and charitable organizations,” Pat adds.
In his spare time, Pat likes to rescue and foster dogs. In fact, he has been completing some higher level police work training with his German shepherd dog. He has also recently volunteered to help Lewis University’s Entrepreneurship and real Estate Competition and continues to volunteer at his local chamber of commerce.
On a long journey to success, Pat has helped several individuals around him grow and develop along the way. He works hard to ensure not only his personal success, but of those who cross his path as well.
January 2017
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