Jessie Hernandez took over her father’s North Valley auto shop. Then she took on the industry’s worst stereotypes.

While shuttling customers to and from her dad’s auto repair shop, Jessie Hernandez came up with a mission statement: “I want to change how people think about auto care.”

Female customers in particular, she says, would complain about how other shops would take advantage of them.

“They weren’t happy, and I was thinking, ‘Well, I’m a woman. I can do something about this,’” she says.

Hernandez now owns her dad’s North Valley business — AA Auto & Air Conditioning & Lube Too — and she continues to pursue the same goal.

“Our industry has a terrible reputation selling things you don’t need; they’re dirty, all those kinds of things,” says Hernandez. “I wanted to make a really comfortable place for people to come that’s clean, that’s friendly, where you feel like part of the family.

“I’ve been focused on changing the way people think about auto repair pretty much my entire life.”

Hernandez started at her dad’s shop when she was 14, with tasks that included data entry and other office work. It was not a slam dunk, just because it was a family business.

“It was, ‘Hey, dad, (I’m) too lazy to go get a real job. You want to give me one?’ His comment to me was, ‘Sure, but I fired your sister, and I’ll fire you, too.’ He fired my sister after three days.”

Hernandez’s tenure lasted much longer: She went on to fix cars, market the business and take care of whatever needed to be done. She took over the 34-year-old business this year.

Despite the added duties, she is still taking on some of the same tasks she has always loved. For example, she continues to mail out a monthly newsletter, “Fuel for Thought,’’ that includes a coupon or two, but also “a whole bunch of articles with recipes or funky holidays for the month.”

“The thing that makes it so great is that it really has absolutely nothing to do with auto repair,” says Hernandez, who spends her free time playing saxophone in a local band. “It’s just a good relationship-building thing.”

What is it about AA Auto that makes you proud?

It’s giving that extra care. We have several clients who have been with us 20, 30 years. We have a lot of elderly women that are single. They know they can call me at any time, and a lot of them live right around this area. If something happens, I’ll go to them. I’ll make sure to try to get them jump-started, try to save them a tow. Or just say, “Oh, no. You don’t need to worry about that. That’s nothing.” I can’t do it for everybody, if you’re way across town. But there’s a lot of our old-time clients I’ll bend over backwards for. There’s not a thing I won’t do for them.

Were you always into cars?

No. I did want to be a paramedic. I still joke that I missed my calling in the medical field because I’m really good at gore and that kind of stuff. All the stepkids and step-grandkids I have — one’s bleeding, one’s doing this, whatever. I have no problems doing what needs to be done. But this industry (car repair) just caught me. I could still help people is what the main thing was. I really wanted to help people.

What’s a mistake you have made?

Where do I start? We all make so many of them, right? I think my big one was there was a point in time where I wasn’t a good leader. I made a lot of mistakes by being too lenient. I actually ended up losing one of my service managers, and it was just because I wasn’t a good leader. I wanted to be everybody’s friend.

What are you doing differently?

I’m in a coaching group. It’s a whole lot of auto repair shops around the country. They focus on running your business and a lot of leadership stuff. I also read a lot of books. Now we have systems and procedures, and we have expectations. Everybody knows what the goals are. The team is all on the same page, and we’re all actively climbing the hill, but together. The culture has changed.

What do you drive?

Oh, boy. I drive three different ones because I like cars. My main driver, I drive a Ford Edge. And then when I was 18, my graduation gift to myself was an F-150, brand new, so I still have that. And then my grandpa gave me his 1965 Pontiac Catalina. I love that car. It sat and rotted in his driveway for 10, 15 years. It’s been a project to bring her back.

What do you do in your free time?

The biggest thing these days is I got into a new band this year. It’s called 5 O’Clock Revolution. The best way I can describe it is like Southern California alternative meets Latin. I also like to take care of the yard. I’m perpetually fixing my sprinklers. Playing with the dogs. And my partner and I like to go out and have dinner, catch live music around town.

Do you have a secret to success?

I think the true key to success is just treat everybody like you would treat your mom. You don’t want to tick off mama. Everybody’s human. They’re coming to us because they have a problem. It’s our job to solve the problem in a fair and timely fashion. If you stick to your values, I think success is inevitable. The client always has to come first. The money is second.

What’s the best part of your job?

Connecting with people. One of my current jobs is I’m the shuttle driver. I can sit there and learn about people. They’ll tell me about their cars, they’ll tell me about their cat, they’ll tell me about their uncle from Montana or whatever it is. You really get the opportunity to build that relationship and say, “Hey, you’re not just a car. You are just like me.”