The Kid Who Just Kept Going

Josh Jones didn't grow up with a roadmap for becoming a business owner.

Josh lost his mom at a young age and was raised by his dad. He remembers a pretty simple childhood, free roaming, riding his bike everywhere and spending his days outside. There wasn't much fuss. He was just a kid being a kid, enjoying the simple things.

There wasn't a family business waiting for him someday or a long list of connections to open doors. But there was hard work, and somewhere along the way, Josh learned how to keep going.

His career in the auto industry started pretty simple as a delivery driver at NAPA. From there, he worked the counter, learned the business and eventually moved into management.

Each position taught him a little more. About parts, about customers and about people.

Later, Josh went to work at Lewiston Chevrolet. And that's where his story took a turn he probably couldn't have planned. The previous owner of the parts business approached Josh and offered to sell him the company.

After years of working his way up and learning the industry from the ground up, an opportunity he had spent years preparing for was suddenly right in front of him.

On October 1, 2025, at 34 years old, Josh officially became a business owner. Today, he owns and operates an ACDelco parts store, supplying both wholesale and retail customers with OEM parts.

Becoming the owner didn't mean the hard part was over. If anything, it meant learning an entirely new side of business. Bookkeeping. Managing employees. Making decisions. Carrying the responsibility of knowing other people now depend on the business, too.

There have been sacrifices. Time with family. Time with friends. Long days and six-day workweeks. The things most customers will never see when they walk through the door.

But Josh hasn't carried all of it alone. Sitting beside him as he tells his story is his wife, the person who has had a front row seat to nearly every part of it.

She talked about the hard seasons. The decisions. The long days. The setbacks. Throughout our conversation, there were moments when she filled in the details Josh didn't. Not because they weren't important to him, but because sometimes the pieces of our own stories that mean the most are also the hardest to put into words.

It was easy to see that while Josh may be the one whose name is on the business, getting here has been a team effort. He is quick to credit his wife for her support, and her dad, a fellow business owner, has also been someone Josh can turn to for advice and guidance along the way.

This wasn't simply Josh chasing a dream. It was a family believing in one, making sacrifices for it and figuring it out together. Now that he's here, Josh isn't just thinking about what the business can do for him.

He wants to help other businesses grow. He wants to build relationships with the people he serves and be part of the community that has supported him.

When asked what he's most proud of, his answer wasn't really about owning a store. It was about his growth as a person.

He didn't think he would be as far along in life as he is today. And when you think about where his story began, that means a little more. Because before the business, the long days and everything he has built, there was just a kid riding his bike.

When asked what he would tell that younger version of himself if he could show him where life eventually took him, Josh's answer was simple: "Keep going."

Growing up without his mom was hard. He didn't come from a family with business connections. He didn't graduate from high school, and there were probably plenty of reasons along the way to believe that owning a business wasn't going to be part of his story. But Josh kept working. He kept learning. And he kept moving forward.

If he could tell that younger kid anything now, it would be this:

"You'll be okay."

And maybe that's one of the most important parts of his story. There isn't one right path to building a life you're proud of.

Josh's story isn't really about an auto parts store. It's about where you can end up when you start with what you have, learn as you go, have someone beside you who believes in where you're headed and just keep going.