Why Busy Doesn’t Mean Profitable in Auto Repair | Mike Allen and Jim Cokonis - Ep 12
Now playing — Downshift with Tonnika
About this episode
Consistency is key - heard that! But, consistency is HARD. That's why I gave up on trying and let the experts handle it. Detect Auto.…
Key takeaways
- —Shop owners should prioritize working in their business rather than solely focusing on social media and external distractions.
- —Effective leadership involves empowering employees and allowing them to contribute ideas for improvement.
- —Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should not overshadow the importance of personal relationships and team culture.
- —Consistency in processes and communication is crucial for a shop's success and customer satisfaction.
- —Building a strong team requires ongoing training and support to ensure everyone can perform at their best.
Frequently asked
- What should shop owners focus on to improve their business?
- Shop owners should focus on working in their business, engaging with their team, and ensuring that they are not overly distracted by social media or external pressures.
- How can leaders empower their employees?
- Leaders can empower their employees by encouraging them to share their ideas for process improvements and by providing the necessary training and support.
- What is the role of KPIs in shop management?
- While KPIs are important for measuring performance, they should not take precedence over building personal relationships and fostering a positive team culture.
▸Full transcript
You're doing $100,000 a month. You don't need to be a stay-at-home business owner. No, it's over. You need to be at the shop working. Get your ass off of social media. Go to work. Like, you're complaining about not getting— Holy crap. There are some people that are on social media all the time. How do they get any work done? Like, go to work.
Welcome to Downshift with my sis Taneka Haynes. We all know as shop owners, sometimes you got to slow down in order to speed up. And that's what this podcast is all about. It's time to downshift. So there's nothing that I like more when I'm trying to have a casual conversation to like kind of break the ice than making sure that I'm playing with balls.
So we don't do that here, Mike. You don't, maybe, but you're on my podcast. We're gonna behave. No promises, no problems. It's not gonna happen. So we're at the Bursas. And, uh, you're my second live recording, and I walked outside and you two were going back and forth. What are we talking about today? Uh, attack, set, go! Well, it was the two of us and, uh, Mr.
Perkins were just talking shit about everybody and everything. I mean, so the usual. It was standard, standard operating procedure, little SOPs. Let's just say it's just perspective of the difference between people's motivations on different things. And we were having a conversation about that. Like, he will deny this a million times, so don't even try to track him down on this. But I think you can back me up.
He was saying that he understands and thinks that is not out of the realm of reasonableness to do free diag as a new customer acquisition tool. Bullshit. Excuse me. Was that right? Keith Perkins agrees with Free Diag. Yeah. Oh, go ahead and smolder at the camera a little bit more. No, there's one piece of information he's leaving out. At Mike's shop and anybody else that wants to do it because they'll get exactly the results they paid for.
And eventually I'll have to call someone like Keith to come and, you know, unfuck the situation. It's a little bait and switch. No, it's not bait and switch. It's only bait and switch if I don't do what I told the customer I was going to do. I got nothing. You have nothing. Look, if Keith— if Keith comes and unfucks a situation that I got myself into and I don't charge the customer for it, it doesn't change the customer, you know, expectation.
But it messes with your numbers. Like, why would you even put yourself in that situation? I'm already losing money hand over fist. I might as well just give some of it to Keith, you know. Well, give me some. I find this an interesting conversation. At an event that Benji's hosting, though, because what's— what was the event that we're here for? We're here for leadership.
For leadership. And there's different styles of leadership, existent and nonexistent, right? I don't think we covered— maybe we'll cover that tomorrow. That's true. Oh, Mike is sitting in the back of the room. I'm a back row Baptist. I sit in the back of every class I go to. I just— I've always been that way, man. I sit in the very back row if at all possible.
Why? Uh, I have, I have attention issues and I have, uh, I fidget. I have to, I have to fidget and this can be a distraction. And I also can't sit still for long, so it allows me to stand up and, and lean up against the wall or walk around to the back of the room without being a distraction to everybody else in front of me.
How does that play out in your business? Because you're like a numbers guy. You— I think you're a good shop owner. Maybe you're just doing it for, for likes, but you're probably like really good at what you do. I think, I think that I would be an actually a pretty good teacher. I don't want to say coach because I think, I don't know, I think I understand the numbers really well and I think I understand what you should do and I think I have the capacity to give really good advice.
But I don't take my own fucking advice. Why? I'm conflict averse. I'm a people pleaser. I don't like having accountability conversations. I care too much about whether or not people like me. I got all sorts of personality flaws that feed into— I really enjoy your coaching calls with, um, with Matt. He calls you out on that shit too. Matt, Matt is an awesome coach.
Um, who's Matt? For those of us— Matt Lofton. Okay, Matt Lofton. Just for those of us who aren't in the, in the call, you know. Yeah, you should. So you're saying you don't watch my fucking podcast? Yeah, you know what, if you don't, you know, you should definitely watch those episodes when he's being coached by Matt because you'd see a different Mike.
Okay, you see a different one. You'll see the real Mike that I know and respect. I mean, it's like all of you are real. There's way less dick jokes and shenanigans, and there's way more talking about the actual business. In the coaching calls. Because what I mean, what did you think of my comment today? Which one? Yeah, that's me. Yeah, that's me.
All right. I'll admit it. In a classroom, in a class setting, I have been known from time to time, I have been known from time to time to ask questions and to— what is it Tanika says? Say the weird thing, Jim. Just say the weird thing. Just say the weird way. Get it over with. Get out. You engage. I engage because I'm curious.
And I want to— I want perspectives and my brain is constantly linking topics. And Josh is talking about leadership and his coaching is not about the numbers and the business. He's about people and engagement. Mm-hmm. Right. So it's all about how you interact with your staff as a leader and how you create other leaders on the team. It's about empowerment. That's the message I'm taking out of Josh's training.
And so he doesn't focus on the KPIs, right? That's the big deal. The KPIs, the numbers. And I said, so you're saying don't let the key performance indicators kill personal— how did I put it? Kill personal incentive or something along those lines. Like kill culture, effectively. Yeah, basically. So you can't let a number get in the way in the way of developing this person's individuality.
We already know what to do. We've been to the trainings, paid for the coaching, learned the right way to inspect cars, build estimates, and talk to our customers. That's not the problem. The problem is consistency, because some days it only works when the right person is working, and when they're not, it's a whole different shop. So now you're stuck in that cycle.
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Now that's not just based on memory or mood. That's how shop runs. And let me tell you, I've been using it for over a year now. My ARO is up 63%. That's not new knowledge. That's just consistency. If you're tired of your shop depending on who showed up today, go check out Detect Auto. Book a demo. Right? Because if you develop the person right, the message is the byproduct of that is performance increases.
So the performance indicators are a result of the coaching and the culture. And I'm liking the message because, you know, and it's not new, um, Zig Ziglar, you can get anything you want if you help enough other people get what they want, right? And if you want to have to do it all yourself, dictate. If you want to create other leaders, you delegate, right?
And so we've all worked for micromanagers who are the type that You got to do it this way. You got to do it that way. You have to put it in a format that I can look at, that I'm comfortable with. And there's no opportunity to create, maybe it's better, right? So I guess the message that I'm starting to take out of this, you want a hot mic moment?
I'll give you one. Uh-oh. I'll give you one. Let me make sure everything's working. We wrote the policies and procedures and we have an employee manual. You know how to do it. And what you're forgetting is, If you've got a good empowered employee, they may actually come up with an improvement, but you're not allowing it to happen because you're so driven by your KPIs.
That is true. I found it, you know, drinking the Kool-Aid the last couple of months, that leadership, top-down leadership, it works. It trickles down. Like, I just allow them to make the decisions. You know how I want this Kool-Aid to taste at the end of the day, like, but I'm not going to tell you exactly how to make it. I gave you an idea.
You got a recipe on the back of the box or whatever. Aren't you supposed to cut open the bag of sugar and dump it in? That's how you make it. Yeah. And what flavor? Red? Red? But no, grape is the only way to go. Come on now, you're a Black person, it's grape. It's red. Oh, come on now. Oh boy, maybe I'm the wrong lady.
I just— red, red Kool-Aid. Do not bring no grape Kool-Aid in my daggone house. No, but no, I think it's working. And John was asking me, how long have you been not micromanaging? For me, it's been like a solid 6 months. Go in there, this is the game plan, this is what we need to hit, this is the reason why we need to hit this number.
Ready, set, go. Find a problem in the processes and say, okay, this is not working. You know, the way we're taking these appointments, that's not working. What do you guys think? Instead of just barking out orders, because heck, they have ideas that I don't have. And if I don't like their idea, I'm not going to knock it. I was like, okay, I can see where you thought this might work, but that's not going to work.
Let's try it a different way. So like that micromanaging, my dad did that. I mean, older shop owners do that because that's the way it was said. But I think it's working for me. I think you got to be careful because there's a lot of benefit to be gained from learning to not micromanage and to back away to a degree. But don't let it go too far.
Keep your finger on the pulse of the shop. Yes. Because, I mean, you're driving down the road. When you're driving down the road, there's constant adjustments and there's constant course corrections, even though you're driving on a straight road. Yeah. And if you just take your hand off the wheel, you're driving a vehicle prior to 2020, probably it's eventually going to hit the guardrail or go in the ditch, right?
But even if made in 2026, if it's not calibrated right, it's going to hit the guardrail. So yes, it's good to not micromanage. Yes, it's good to just set the goals and the vision and then equip your people to be able to execute effectively and get out of the way and let them do it. And sometimes they might do it in a way that is different than the way that you would have done it.
But as long as they are doing it ethically, treating their people and treating the community right, and they hit the goal. Fucking great, right? The problem comes all too often, and I'm speaking from experience, when you get things going good enough that you can step away and do that and you step too far away, right? And you get too engaged in other things.
Maybe comfortable. Maybe you start a podcast. Maybe that's a lot of fun. Stop paying attention to your business. Right. Start traveling to all kinds of conferences and you start believing all the shit that people tell you about how awesome you are, you know? So are you talking to me or you? I'm talking to you. Obviously, I would never do something like that.
So just a word of caution. The idea is that you build a team that you can step back and give them the goals and equip them for success and then not micromanage. But that doesn't mean not manage. That doesn't mean not manage. But can you equate this to automotive technology, though, Mike? What's automotive technology? We'll let you do that. You're the techie dude.
So I was listening to you and here's what I heard. If you look at every current driver assist system, right? Toyota has Lane Keep Assist, but you're required to keep your hand on the wheel. Yeah, to show what— actually, if you get a half full water bottle and wedge it in the wheel. Yeah, I know all about that. Mine is different from yours.
Then you end up with some of the exact dynamics that you're talking about because you're trying to be an absentee driver. You know, and, and I don't want to knock anything about— yeah, it's, it's my— I never intend to call out this whole thing about, you know, you got to work on your business, not in your business. And I come from a training that says, you know, the Gemba walk, manage by walking around, right?
And you go see and you talk to the people that are doing the things. Because you can't set policy from an office somewhere. You've got to have an understanding of what's going on, or you have to have people that you have delegated the responsibility to who can give you the data that you use to coach them in a direction to come up with the updated policy.
But if you just try and do it from a distance, you may be completely out of touch of what the reality is. And so there's some businesses and some management styles that say, You want a solution, you go to the people who do the process and you ask them, what would you change? And a lot of times, guess what? They've got the perfect answer because they know what the mission is.
And so when you look at a, quote, kaizen event, right? I know I'm talking Toyota Way, I'm talking Edwards Deming, I'm talking a lot of this type of stuff, but a kaizen event would have everybody from the CEO to people from parts to people from repair to people from sales, and they would come in and they do an event focused on coming up with an improvement to a process.
And all stakeholders were involved in that. It's not top-down because you're empowering a team and you're coaching them. And so when you walk up and you see something that's not being done according to the process, You don't go, you're doing that wrong. Why are you doing it? You say, help me understand why you are doing something different. Because if you don't do that, you are eliminating the chance that they may have actually come up with an improvement that would make you more money.
Exactly. Wait a minute. We're not allowed to say that money is good. Oh, no, don't say that. We're not allowed to say that we do this for profit. Profit is evil. If you— if you're driven by profit, then you're clearly the problem in this industry. Oh, there's— Is this sarcasm again, Mike? Is this— yeah, is this— yeah, he's got both eyebrows up.
So yes, yes, that's what that means. I'm just— so like, I said, there was a point today we did, um, we did an exercise today about, um, creating a mission statement for your business or core values or, uh, company promise or whatever else it might be. And like, I get it. At a certain level, there is a value to doing things like that, creating that, you know, as Braxton will say, a North Star to make sure that we're always— make sure we don't lose direction, right?
Something that we filter our choices through to make sure that they pass the sniff test. Right. But part of me is a little bit jaded, and I think that going to classes or conventions or events to learn how to do a, like, kumbaya around the drum circle event with my team, to learn how to do a fucking mission statement, was created by corporate consultants to justify their corporate consultancy.
I like that. So you don't, you don't believe that there's any reason to have a why. You heard that here first. Mike doesn't believe it's important for a business to know why it does something. Well, so every time we have— every second Tuesday night of the month, we have an open invite meeting for everybody in my company from all the locations to combine at one location.
We have a second floor lounge at one of the shops that used to be a second floor machine shop, and I don't do machine work, so we've turned it into like a lounge, right? And we just talk about process, procedure, what's working, what's not working, uh, what are some new things that we should do, you know, stop, start, change, that kind of stuff.
Um, and that's going away, it doesn't matter. We, we start the meeting with our, our mission statement and our core values, right? And our core values are be nice, tell the truth, have fun, and be thankful, right? Love it. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be nice, tell the truth, you know, absolute integrity, have fun. You know, we should laugh every day with each other, not at each other.
Or maybe both. Or both. Yeah, maybe a little bit of both. Be thankful. Understand that you didn't get to where you are today by yourself. Someone helped you, so you should help someone. Right, right. I believe those things. Yeah. And so I'm happy to— a little kumbaya. Yeah, that is kumbaya. Yeah. But also, I can get in touch with my inner Dutch and be like, bro, You got a fucking job.
You should want to be excellent at your job, because why wouldn't you want to be really good at what you have chosen to do for a living? So give your best fucking effort every day and expect to be compensated appropriately and well every day, because you should take pride in what you do. And I don't need fucking kumbaya to make me want to do good.
It makes it easier to do good. Does it? Yeah. Why are you going to be at work and just be an asshole the whole day when you focus on not talking to the guy that's right next to you? You got to be an asshole every day, no matter what, girl. You know that about me. You're not. But so I say that, and at the same time, I realize the hypocrisy because when you ask your question and I made my silly joke about, okay, boomer, right?
And then, and then I said that we have to understand that what worked in the '80s and '90s and what the workforce's communication style and methodology and motivations were then versus today's workforce are different. It didn't work in the '80s and '90s. I disagree with you. Well, I mean, it was more accepted because there was less communication. It never really worked. And the social construct was different because a lot of those jobs from that point in time and the older employees that were there, many of them were working toward pensions and retirements and guaranteed things.
And so they stuck with it. Because they had a long-term view. That's all gone now. I think there was absolutely a cultural difference in the way we thought about our job and working as an identity. Then how did Sun Tzu— how did the Chinese philosophers come up with these concepts thousands of years ago that, you know, find something you love and you'll never work a day in your life?
So do you not think if we're talking about cyclical patterns of behavior and motivation, it's possible that that cycle existed thousands of years ago and it has come back in? Right, or it never really left. So you think people haven't changed at all? No, I think there aren't cycles of motivation and thought processes. I think the advent of the corporate structure where score is strictly kept on money, and then the fact that so many of the people who teach business in this country come from a certain group of schools and they're all taught the same thing and they hopscotch around to different organizations, and that becomes normative than some of the other things, like the
Deming school of thought from the '40s, which was prior to the '80s. Wait, wait, wait, the '40s were before the '80s? Yeah. Which '40s? Which '80s? Within, within our— if we're going to be fucking obtuse, let's go full obtuse. If, if we're, if we're 19 in front of it, we're gonna— if we're gonna talk in our realm of knowledge and current history, right?
We weren't alive in the '40s. I don't know about you, dog. I wasn't alive in the '40s, but we're child of people who went through that. Okay. And when, when, when these concepts were put out about creating a business to produce long-term ethical profit, and that was counter to the, the job of a corporation is to generate profit for the shareholders, and that was number one.
And this, we need short-term profit versus long-term profit, there was a split. And so what happens? That mindset got taken overseas, matched with another culture, and we've seen a track record of some companies that went 50 years and never had a layoff because they treated their employees differently and they coached differently. Okay, and so this, this is just an ongoing dichotomy in philosophy of how you run a business and what works.
And if you're looking for short-term profit and, oh, I'm going to be an absentee owner in X period of time because that's the set expectation, and then you struggle to get there because you don't lay the foundation that's required for you to walk off and do that. Right. And so it takes work to get there. And if your goal is to get there, but you can't put in the work because you don't have the skills and the methodology to get there, then it all comes falling apart.
Now, whose fault is it? I like that, Jim, because I see that a lot in the shop. I think because I think people are tripping. You sit there and you got the coach telling you work on the business, not in the business. And they take it literal because they don't have enough business sense and they haven't been doing the business long enough.
And they sit there and they were like, well, why can't I be like Mike? Because they think that you have like $5 billion in the bank. I don't fucking know. Yeah, but think about it. When you're sitting there telling somebody that's had a shop for 6 months or a year, like, how long have you had your shop? 21 years. 21 years. All right.
So rookie. You got these people looking at you thinking they can do the same thing that you're doing in year number 2, and they're taking their posts off to the shop and they're working on the business all the time, and then they're forgetting about working in the business. And then they never get to where that's one of Brian Pollock's big things right now is like, motherfucker, well, he doesn't curse like me, but bro, you need to go work in your damn business.
Go to work. Do the work. Yeah. You're doing $100,000 a month. You don't need to be a stay-at-home business owner. No, you need to be at the shop working. Get your ass off of social media. Go to work. Like you're complaining about not getting— Holy crap. There are some people that are on social media all the time. How do they get any work done?
Like, go to work. I don't understand it. I don't understand it. But no, because they're listening to what they want to hear. They listen to what they want to hear. They are. Well, so we all seek out our own echo chamber that reinforces our pre— pre-human tendency. Yeah, right. Yeah. And, and I will seek out ways to validate it. Yeah. And that's what I was saying earlier today.
Like, maybe tell me what I want to hear. Tell me what I want to hear. Tell me, tell me what I want to hear and help me feel self-entitled rage towards the people I disagree with. Right. I mean, that's, that's MSNBC and Fox News, man. All shop owners and service advisors suck, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The dealerships are stealing from you and the independents are hacks and service advisors are useless.
It's one extreme or the other. The stereotypes. Yeah. Well, then if you don't worry, people don't worry about themselves. What did I tell you? Tell me what I eat does not make you fat. I love that. You worried about what I'm doing at Brown's Automotive? That does not apply to you. My labor rate doesn't apply to you. My hours don't apply to you.
Why are you only open 4 days a week? Because that's all I need. But I used to be open 5 days and I used to work 7 days a week. But you don't know about that, Tanika. But you're seeing Tanika now. But you ain't worried about your own shop. Sweep your floor. Sweep your floor. Fucking A. Put that, print that out and frame that shit and put it on her wall.
Like Becky Whit says, use some soap, some light. And a broom. Like, really, take care of yourself. Do the coaching, listen to the podcast, take what you need from that, and work on yourself first. Like I said today, if you figure out for like, okay, I'm gonna give it 6 months that I am the problem, I am the drama in my shop, and you really look in the mirror, you're like, dang, that is jacked up.
That's jacked up. But no, like you said, everybody wants to be right and everybody wants to feel fuzzy inside. No, do the hard stuff and look at yourself and like, dang, I am the problem. Yeah, I did tell him I was going to do that. I never did that. And that's why that technician doesn't respect me, because he still hasn't got that piece of equipment yet.
Technicians questioning shop owners and they've never owned a business or never been. Well, they just don't understand. If they don't, they get mad at their paycheck. They don't understand which side of the paycheck are you being on? Yeah. Okay. So, yes, your paycheck said $1,000 and the government gave you $750. I didn't take the $250. Do you not know how much more money I had to pay to pay you?
You didn't make $1,000. You paid $1,150 and they gave you $750. Yeah. Like shop owner technicians not understanding the business side. That's unloaded because you haven't even put in any benefits, vacation time. We're not thinking about, you know, unemployment insurance and all of that stuff. And yet here's one. Why has so much profit been moved over to the parts side of the business?
Can you explain that to me? I think the parts matrix— parts profit is going away right now because the downward pressure, the market forces are pressing part profit down more than they ever have. I think more and more of the profit strain in the industry is being moved to labor every day. You believe that? Yeah, totally. I think, I think there is a model coming in the future for here's what I paid for the parts, here's the copy of the invoice where I bought your parts, and all of your GPH comes from, comes from labor.
Is there— I've wanted to ask this. I'm on, I'm on a podcast with two people I respect. Thank you. One more than the other. Did I just say that? Which one? No, I didn't say one more than the other. He said that. That's Rage Boy over here. Okay, get straight. Have you ever heard a number talked about as an overall look at your shop?
Not currently a shop owner, right? Have you ever heard a number talked about as an overall view on the dashboard that says number of hours you're open and how many gross profit dollars per hour does the shop generate? Have you ever heard anybody give that overall number as a benchmark target? Yeah, if they do, they're full of shit because it's a factor of your expense structure.
What your target should be and what my target should be are totally different. No, gross profit per hour is what the shop generates. So that's gross labor dollars, gross parts profit, and any fees you have on top of whatever your expenses are. That's gross profit. All of that's gross, not net, not anything else, not loaded, whatever. I'm talking about just pure gross.
If a shop is healthy, you're getting some from labor, some from parts, and maybe some from a couple other smaller revenue sources that are all going to be used to pay your expenses. And I realize the number a shop needs to be viable may be higher or you may need more hours by having more people, more bays. But what would a healthy target number be?
So if I'm— let's say I'm $180 an hour for labor. Okay, let's throw that number out there. It's fair. And if I am targeting a dollar of parts sales for a dollar of labor sales. 1-to-1 parts-to-labor ratio, pretty standard. Because I've heard this a lot. Okay, then all I have to do is take my dollars per hour for labor and take my whatever my gross profit is on parts and add those two together.
And that's putting me a long way toward what my gross profit per hour is. Efficiency would be how many of those hour units do you generate versus how many you're open. I think you got to put together your effective labor rate and your parts-to-labor ratio. What is an effective labor rate? Okay, so your labor rate is $180, but you've got different things like you— everything is not charged.
You give away diag and all that. Cabin air filter, you're not charging $180 an hour to do a cabin air filter. So that's your effective labor rate is how close you can stay to your door labor rate. So your effective labor rate is labor dollars collected divided by billed or billable hours paid out to your staff. So like my labor rate is $210 right now.
My effective labor rate is probably like $158. And was it 10%? Yeah, you want to be like 90% of your door rate. Yeah, but I'm— I've never been anywhere close to that. And I also— I'm an oil change whore. I do free tire rotation, I do free flat repairs, I do free diag for the first hour. So I got all these things that eat into my effective labor rate.
Or let's say We sell a $2,000 job and manifold bolt breaks off and my service advisor is a pussy and he doesn't call back and sell additional labor. That eats into your effective labor rate because we pay the technician the extra half hour to drill it out, but we don't charge for it. So those are the things that erode your effective labor rate.
So your effective labor rate is the dollars of labor, labor dollars and parts dollars collected per hour, sales per hour, right? And then your margin is going to give you your gross profit per hour. That's how I would go about that. Because if you just say that it's purely your labor rate, you're not taking into account all of those things that erode labor.
Payroll erodes labor dollars. Oh, sweet Jesus. Okay. Whatever. Yeah. But no, you see where I'm saying? That seems like a term that's made up to become a KPI. Your labor rate's your labor rate. If you decide to give away hours or pay tax extra, or things like that, that didn't change your gross labor dollars per hour. You just chose to give some money away, and that's an expense.
Okay, so now you're not— now you're right, now you're not gross. I'm trying to understand it because I'm not stupid with numbers, right? You're not— that's not gross. You're getting closer to, um, unloaded net or some other term you want to throw in there. So he's making up terms. Let's back up. All right, let's— so when I'm talking to a team member or a new team member and we're talking, I'm trying to be more transparent than ever with my team about like how we build a business plan and how we run the numbers and everything.
So everybody knows revenue is revenue, that's what— that's sales, right? So revenue minus cost of goods equals gross profit. Cost of goods is how much we pay for parts and how much we pay for technicians unloaded, not counting benefits, holidays, vacations, that kind of stuff. And that gives you gross profit. Gross profit minus overhead, which is expenses, which is rent, which is utilities, which is how much we pay for the best software in the country.
This is really going off the rails, which is fun. You can edit it all out. So that— so gross profit minus overhead is net profit. Right? Net profit minus debt service— how much I pay for the mortgage or the credit card bill or the car loans or whatever else— equals cash flow. So we got to have cash flow. So in a month, let's say that my expenses, my average expenses per month are $50,000, and I want to net $20,000.
So I need $70,000 a month of gross profit to cover expenses and make $20,000 $70,000. Does that track? Yeah, that's fine. So what's— I actually had a point, but it's getting lost. But go ahead. What's our target gross profit? Mhm. 20%? No, gross profit. What do you want for gross? Just call it 60 points. Call it 50 points for ease of math because I don't have a calculator with me.
So $70,000 divided by 50 points is $140,000. I need $140,000 in revenue. To hit my nut, right? Divided by the number of hours of labor I have available. How many hours can my guys turn? 20, 20 days a month. I need $7,000 of sales and I need $3,500 of gross profit per day to make $20,000 a month. Can my team do that?
Well, what's my sales per hour? That's where we get to parts and labor per hour, effective labor rate plus part sales per hour. So if I need $7,000, let's say that I'm for ease of math at— what's an easy number to divide in $7,000? $350 of parts and labor per hour. I need 20. I need 20 hours a day. So can I do 20 hours a day?
That's how you manage by the numbers as an evil shop owner. Okay. And lead by KPIs. So where I was going with this— oh, that was a tangent. I apologize for going off. No, you— Now, here's what I was trying to get to. We have a business structure that gets profit from labor and profit from parts, and there's nothing wrong with that.
You can run your business any way you want. But like little old me, who's never a big ESO, right? But I'm talking 25 years ago. How did I set my diagnostic labor rate? I'll tell you exactly how I did it. Never had a coach, never had anything, but I was charging X number of dollars an hour. And I will tell you, in, you know, 1999, 2000, I was in a shop and I was doing $80 an hour.
25 years ago. Okay. There's shops now that aren't doing $80 an hour. But anyway, 1990 was way more than 25 years ago, dog. I said 1999. Okay. Okay. You missed the 9. Okay. I said 25 years ago, which was right at the turn. 27 years. 27 years. Now, typical KPI guy, right? Math is tricky. Math is tricky. Math be mathin'. I see math.
You calculate math. So I also knew that average, I sell so many dollars worth of parts at— for each hour of labor sold, I could give you that number and I could split my business with my shop management system into business units of where the revenue is coming from. I actually had a business unit for Mobile Diag 25 years ago, so I knew exactly how much money I was making from programming and diagnostics with the factory scan tools.
And I could tell you what my ROI on those tools was just from that business unit. Right. But I would look at those parts sales and the gross profit on parts sales, and I knew— nobody ever taught me. That those dollars per hour in parts sales I added to my labor rate and that was my diagnostic rate because I was not going to make less money per hour doing diag work than I was doing normal gravy work.
This is the same time that Coachess came along and said you should double your labor rate for diag Or they said you should charge an hour and stop at 30 minutes for diag. See, I, I can't do that because that just doesn't seem— but what they were doing is saying you have to replace the lost gross profit because you're not selling parts.
And I get where they're coming from. I mean, that makes sense. Just, I mean, you could— what I advocate for obviously is just don't charge at all. And So when I hear both of you sighing and looking away at the same time, so, so, so, hey, and he bought it all the way back around to Free Day. So we're a shop and we're a shop.
And why don't we charge $300 an hour? Because the other shops won't let us. And then the customer's going to have a fit and nobody respects the industry. And because you can only charge what the market will bear, you can only charge together. If you didn't have any parts to sell, okay, if you only sold your service, could you be profitable? That's my question.
We are— I completely understand what you're saying. Well, and so if you can't do that, why not? And it's because, have we just chosen a business model and we can't see a way to do it differently? I think we're tilting at one mills because it's a free market economy, and ultimately the consumer will decide what works. So if I only charge— if I charge $300 an hour in labor but I choose to go street price on parts, and at the end of the day our tickets are the same, who says my way is wrong?
Because they're going to look at the estimate from the shop down the street and they want to know why. They're not going to see the math that you do. They're not going to see your reason. They see the bottom line. It's just going to say $300 an hour for labor. It's just going to be the bottom line. It's how much is it to put this alternator on.
They want to know What's your labor rate? What's your labor rate? You do— you, you, you combine that all on the ticket because some people think that that's legal to do in every state. I know it is. Yeah, I would work— I worked in them. Yeah, I know it's illegal. So you have to provide a— you have to provide a line number.
So I think that, um, I'm just asking, that's one of the— that's the glory of the independent aftermarket is that we are small business owners, we are entrepreneurs, we get to do it however the fuck we want to do it within certain bounds of reality and legality, right? Sometimes outside of the bounds of legality because there are a lot of people out there that are doing shit wrong, right?
Um, but ultimately the consumer will decide. And I think that's one of the reasons— not to beat the same drum all the time because that's not what I'm trying to do here— but one of the reasons that so many people get all up in their feels about me being a ragebaiter and talking about Free diag. You do it well. I mean, it's fun.
It gets reactions, right? But what it is, is it is— it represents a competitive advantage in the marketplace to consumers who don't know anything different. And they're like, fuck, I don't want to battle against that. Fuck that guy. He needs to go out of business because I don't want to justify that I charge $200 just to look at it. We know that's not what you're doing.
But the consumer who pays the bill for everything in my life doesn't. Another guy who I know very well, and so do you, had a conversation with a client and gave him an estimate higher than another shop. Right now, I'm not going to drop names. It's his story to tell, but it's a great story. And he knew what it was, what it would take to do a job right.
He knew all the extra things that weren't put into that other guy's estimate. And he said, well, are they doing this? Are they doing that? Are they doing that? And they weren't. They weren't. And he's like, why wouldn't I? I'm right here. Why wouldn't I replace this? Why wouldn't I replace that? You'd have to go back in here and spend the same money on labor.
And this will fail because we have the experience to know that. It sounds like somebody's taking a shower and putting their old underwear back on. He educated the customer. He educated a customer and he took the time to do that. It's great. And it's great. Super. And I mean, so he saw Sims where an educated consumer is his best customer. And so, and so he, he put forth the effort and he had the ability to articulate, communicate effectively for that.
So if you can't communicate, give it away. If you can do it, great. Can your employees do it? And can your employees do it when you have 2 shops or 10 shops? If you coach them right and they sing Kumbaya in the morning, they will. So how many, how many organizations with 20+ locations have a front counter full of people who can have that conversation every day?
It depends on if they took the time to grow deliberately. The answer to that question is fucking zero. Mm, I disagree because I know a couple. Name drop them because it's a huge compliment. It's a huge compliment to say you've got 20 stores that can articulate that situation effectively every day. Or that can stand up to the customer that thinks they know everything and just have the mindset to deal with that every day.
Like, I like to— because if they can, they are a true badass mofo to build an organization, to train that many people at that high level, to execute that well. Because what you just described is a very high-level conversation with a customer. It requires an incredible level of knowledge and confidence and communication skills. I had it sitting in the waiting room in your shop.
That's another story. Yeah, sorry, that's a whole nother podcast. Oh yeah, tell me about it. Tell me about that later. So I mean, I guess that's what— so because I'm an evil shop owner, it can be done, Mike, but it takes somebody who understands the role of a leader and actually doesn't just talk about extreme ownership they actually live it. And extreme ownership isn't being the ultimate authority on everything.
It's delegating it and developing people. So when you, when you look at the military, I was never in the military, but the highest orders of, of performance in the military, and I've studied this, it's fascinating because when they come back in and they do a debrief like the Blue Angels and organizations like that, Rank and insignia go in the middle of the table.
Nobody is over anybody. We're going to do a debrief. And when you have an organization that can look at, you know, the leader and say, you didn't do this, and they own it and they go, you're right, right? Those are the organizations that are developing people that can perform when the pressure is on, because you cannot be there to select every target and to make every shot.
You have to trust your people to do it. So you have to train them and empower them to feel like they can do that. And you will have their back because you own what decisions they make within reason. One of the things that takes time, that is the hard work. But if you build that, I know of a shop owner who has an amazing organization, and I, and I know about it through connections, and I've met the man once, and I know how he works with his team, and he calls them not his employees, they're his teammates.
That's what we were hearing about today. Okay, we can talk later. I, I just, I I don't want to throw— I don't want to throw people out, but I'm just trying to tell you that there are these organizations and I've worked with organizations with— one of them had 120 locations around the country. Okay. And they, they incorporated the processes and the handbooks and all those things.
But the handbook was not a replacement for proper training. And for understanding the whys and refusing to pass on a defect. And they had teams with the right leadership in place that could replicate this across the country. And their performance through the times when they were doing this on all 8 cylinders was amazing and amazing growth. Okay. When they back away from those concepts, the performance suffers.
Yeah. And you can, you can take Toyota, who will admit it. Toyota had amazing growth because what they would do when they're going to go in and open a new location, they would send in 400 people who were steeped in how the Toyota production thing works. Right. They called them black belts. They'd send in 400 people to set the culture and train the people and get the processes all stabilized.
So they were empowering the next person, and their job was to work themselves out of a job. Okay? And that's how they were able to replicate their production process. And it worked great for a long time. And then somebody got in charge and they changed their focus. They could smell being the number one auto manufacturer. And so they went for the growth and gave up their process, their coaching, and their training, and it came apart on them and they started to have quality issues.
They're still the number one, but they, you know, they slipped back at one point. I know for a fact they did slip back behind VAGS for a little while, right? But no, but, but what I'm saying is that they lost that focus on coaching and process Yeah, to build the people who could do that and replicate it. And they learned from that.
And fortunately, they had a big enough war chest to be able to handle it and they just took care of it. It's been a fascinating company to watch. It's been a fascinating process to watch. So I love it because as a mechanic, you want to perform at a high level. You've got to have a repeatable process. You want to teach somebody else to do diag.
You can't be there to do the diag for them. You have to teach them how to replicate this, and then you have to step back and let them roll. So you think you can do that with a service advisor, though, with all the different kind of personalities coming in the door? With the right service advisor. Different kind of cars and different kind of problems.
Different cars, different kind of checkbooks and personalities. It's teaching complex skills. Well, I think you're born with a lot of those skills. I like to think that I'm really good at service advising because I can read a customer. I let them continue to talk, let them talk, let them talk, and then I know how to reach them. But then we've got KPIs to meet.
You can't sit there and have a 30, 45-minute conversation with each. I've got a dude in my organization who, I mean, he just makes people happy, man. And he has a very relaxing way about him and puts everybody at ease. He's got a, I'm in a general repair shop, mostly domestic and Asian, $1,100 ARO. Right. Oh, it can definitely be done. They're outliers.
He's writing 3 cars a day. But 3 cars a day, $3,000, or you can have somebody working 10,000 cars a day. Yeah, 3 cars a day. And that's it. That's— but yeah, but you let them get by with it though. I do. And that's part of the reason why I'm part of the problem in my business, right? Is because I'm not good at accountability.
But anyway, so you do need to be at this leadership conference. How can you let— how can you coach him to provide that level of care without doing the Roy Rogers deal, slow down, partner, and still feel like he's giving them good service. That's a conversation to have with that person. Yeah, but sales is one of those things. You either have it or you don't.
I once, I once got hired at a job in a radio-controlled hobby shop. This is a funny story. I'll share it with you. Oh, I, I got to be the judge of whether or not it's actually funny. I got, I got into the hobby in the '80s right after I came out of trade school and I built my first RC airplane and I was starting to upgrade.
And so I was down in a hobby shop one day and I used to go down there on a regular basis after work because it was a short run down. It was beautiful hobby shop and I would be over looking at radio-controlled airplanes and engines and all kinds of stuff because it's just like, hey, I was a dork, right? You know me, Tanika, right?
Nerd alert. People would come in here into that store and they would say, do you fly these things? And I'd be like, yeah, tell me about them. And I would talk to them and I would talk to them about selling product for them when you did. Oh my goodness. I was walking people. So I'm talking, I'm talking late '80s. I was walking people up to the front counter in a radio-controlled hobby shop out with $400 to $600 worth of product, and they were smiling and happy.
Why? How was I doing it? I wasn't telling them what to buy. I wasn't pushing them to anything. I had no spiffs. I gave them information, judged the person for their personality type. Are you somebody that dives into things? You do want to just take a look? That's going to change which radio or which engine. But the airplane and some things, do you like to do your own?
You want to build it? You want something more You know, you get in the air, just ask them questions and let them make choices. Right. And they would choose $400 to $600 worth of stuff and go check out. And I'd say, have fun, right? And I'm in this club and come see me. So then I'm in there and I'm buying in late '80s as a young technician.
I was buying about $600 worth of stuff, right? And I brought it up to the counter and the store manager was there. And this is how we lose technicians. I'm telling the story for a reason. I walked up to the counter and I put all the stuff there. It was going to be about $600. And I said, he said, I said, "Whew, I'm going to need to get another job if I keep spending money here like this."
And the store manager looked at me and said, "When do you want to start?" He said, "Sales and communicating with people is something that can be taught, but some people just have it, and you have it." And I said, you serious? He says, you got time to go to dinner? That man took me to dinner and offered me $5,000 more to work there as an assistant store manager than I was making as a technician, doing something I enjoyed.
Uh-oh. And I was good at it. And we made $980,000 in sales out of an 1,800-square-foot store with 2 full-time people and a couple of part-timers. At a 33% gross profit margin because it was just talking with people. Some people have that. So, and I left the, I left the industry for a while. Part of that, I made good money. Part of that is that you are passionate about it.
Mm-hmm. And I'm not passionate about anything. I don't know many people that are passionate about selling ball joints. It's not about selling ball joints. It's about helping the customer. Exactly. You can get anything you want if you help enough other people get what they want. I don't disagree with that. The customer doesn't want to buy ball joints. They're buying safety. My hobby, the thing that I choose to spend my free money and time on is RC airplanes.
And so if I go into a store and there's somebody else that I can share that passion with, then I'm going to be able to communicate that effectively and with energy. Right? And, and the sale just happens naturally from that. So then I had an 80% return client base, and I had people that would wait 2 weeks for me to get back from being out on the road teaching because they wanted me to work on their car.
There is a difference between selling RC airplanes, and I was selling repair and had people at 80% return client base, okay? And waiting 2 weeks for me to get back because I was the one who took care of their car. And when they bought a new car, who was the person who did the first oil change? And the majority of your listeners are going to be technicians turned shop owners who have the exact same story, booking out 2 weeks.
People love them. They key tossers and they trust them implicitly. Right. And one of the most difficult things that they will do in their growth as a business person— they don't charge correctly— extricating themselves from being the one that has to talk to all the customers. Being the one that has to work on all— getting to a place where the customers don't have your cell phone number and call you and you answer the call or the text while you're at dinner.
Because there are people that are going to listen to this episode who got a text message from a customer at dinner while they're listening to this episode and they answered it, right? You want to know why I didn't scale my shop? Because I didn't want to go through the pain of replicating myself at that time in my life. Well, and so I'm being honest.
Yeah, yeah, I'm being honest. Today's Jim would have seen that and go, this is going to take some work, but I know how to make it happen. So therein lies the, the problem is like, look at this experience that I had and look at the passion that I had and the results that I had. I didn't take the next step, but I could now, right?
And it is— it's fucking hard, man. You're right, it is. And so like, ever— like, everything that I talk about and do and view in this industry is through a filter of what my goals are for my business, because that's my— the filter I view life through, right? And everybody that's listening is listening and responding and telling me that I'm a dumbass through their filter and their view of their business right?
In my business, I want scalable because, you know, I'm fucking greedy evil shop owner, whatever you want to call it. Well, I want a big business that makes a lot of money and creates generational wealth for my family. And that's okay. Nothing wrong with that. As long as it's done ethically and I treat my people right and I treat my customers right.
Right. And so every time we have these conversations, I think about, can I make that execution at that level? Work with 250 employees across 10 stores or across 15 stores or whatever it is. So you need to train 10 Mikes. I don't know that I've ever been good at it myself. I think you should do that. We don't need to. You understand what I'm saying?
One of them needs to replicate himself to be able to build that. One of the things we talked about today, other leaders, and one of the things that Josh said was, uh, if I am training, equipping, and supporting my staff appropriately, then I think I am— what do you say? I'm— hang on, I'm just going to look at it because I took a note and I don't take a lot of notes.
That's true. I'm not in charge of anything, but I'm responsible for everything because I've delegated appropriately and I have my 3 to 5, uh, you know, next level down managers or leaders within my organization, and they have their 3 to 5 each, and they have their 3 to 5 each, right? The Fabergé principle. Yeah. And, and we talked about like the military, you know, you have the rifleman and then a squad, and then there's a squad leader, and then there's the platoon, and then there's the platoon leader, and I don't know what the next level up was, battalion after that.
I don't know, I don't know, wasn't in the military. No military people at the table. Yeah. Josh can tell us. But so I feel like that's one of the areas where you and I have— I'm not going to call it friction, but where you get on your soapbox and I hear you talking and I'm like, yeah, but— and then I get on my soapbox and you hear me talking like, yeah, but— and it's that I'm viewing everything through a filter of how do I make that scalable?
Is that sustainable? At a, at a level where I can have a boat, you know, or whatever the joke is. Second boat. Second boat. Two boat money. Two boat money. Right. And do you think you can do it without building those key players? No, because I've tried and failed multiple times in the last 5 years. So you do need the company. I've built the organization up and it has fallen out from under me and I've built the organization up and it has fallen out from under me because of a failure of leadership.
Um, leadership can be learned. Well, yeah, well, that's what we're here for this week, right? Right. Um, I have built— I believe in you. Well, I've promoted people out of their skill set. That's common, which happens all the time. First level of incompetence. But then I did not support them and train them into the new position that they've been promoted into, and then they burned out and fell apart, right?
Watched it happen in lots of organizations I've been in. You can— you climb the ladder until you're one rung higher than your competence level, right? And then you— and then you stagnate or you get fired or you quit or whatever it might be. And whose fault was it that they were in that position? Me. Mike's fucking me. Yeah. No, I get it.
I get it. I mean, you know, are we going to solve the world's problems? No. Is some of this philosophical? Sure. Are these the fierce conversations that I think everybody should not be afraid of having? Am I out of beer? Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm out of beer. You can leave flight. There you go. No longer out of beer. We can continue for another 20 minutes.
No, we can't. We got food over there. Copy that. Yeah, it's time to eat. There's food, there's barbecue, there's beers, and there's— and there's lots of people to talk to. There's a lot of people to talk to. So you guys, look at you guys. You didn't even fight. You're so sweet. I think we got a little bit of an odd couple bromance.
I think the bromance is beautiful. I'll tell you why I appreciated this conversation is because I've known both of you and worked with you somewhat closely for the past couple of years. And so it's easy to talk with you all. And then I'm sitting here in the back of my head having fears about, you know, there's a lot of people that don't know me like you guys do, and they're going to hear certain things I say and they're going to be like, do you hear Kokonas?
And I'm just going to be like, okay, Kokonas is just a revolutionary socialist who wants to eat the rich. Yeah, you heard that wrong. What? You know, give me that beer back. I'll tell you another funny thing that Zig Ziglar used to say. He used to say— people used to say, Zig, how do you justify your Christian faith with all that talk about money?
You ever hear this one? You ever hear him say it? He says, that's because He says, they'll straighten their halo and they'll ask me that question. And he says, that's because I believe that God made the diamonds for his group, not Satan's crowd. And I'm like, well, damn, that was kind of deep. I like that. But it can't be your God, right?
Because if you're only chasing the prophet, then it can, it can blow up on you. You chase the prophet to do the good things. Oh, to build generational wealth. But if you do the good thing, you got to decide on what— I mean, nobody gets to decide on what your good thing is. And if you want to do your good thing and you do it in the closet and you do it, I mean, it's between you and the Lord.
It's not— I'm not gonna do it in the closet, girl. I'm happily married. Take my beer back. Let your giving be in secret. Exactly. Don't go blowing your horn. You gotta blow the horn. I know people— I know people— you gotta go there. Yeah, you can't help yourself. He's just— yeah, he just can't. I'm two beers in, I can't be— two beers in.
Here I thought we were having a moment. We were having a good moment. And then, and then, and then here comes— and then he threw an Allen wrench in it. I am emotionally stunted. You know that my brother's first call sign as a fighter pilot was Wrench because of Allen wrench. See, there it is. And we'll end on that. And he puts a hex on it.
That was just— I don't know where it came from. That was bizarre. Allen wrench. He threw an Allen wrench in it. Yeah. Negative Ghost Rider. Negative Ghost Rider. Cody's here. It's time for shots. Sign it off. Time for shots. Signing off. Shot time. Downshift with Tanika is where we slow down long enough to have real conversations. Hosted by myself, second generation shop owner Tanika Haynes.
This goes beyond your car count, your KPIs. We want to talk about leadership, legacy, mindset, and the messy, beautiful journey of building something that lasts. You will hear stories from shop owners, technicians, and other industry leaders who are figuring it all out by themselves in real time. This is a space for growth, tough love, laughter, and leveling up.
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Running a shop is hard enough—you don't need your software making it harder. 😂 If you're ready for more clarity, better organization, and a smoother experience for both your team and your customers, check out Tekmetric HEREConsistency is key - heard that! But, consistency is HARD. That's why I gave up on trying and let the experts handle it. Detect Auto. Let them clean up your estimating process and raise your ARO - like they did for me! CLICK HERE TO BOOK A DEMOIn this episode, the conversation focused on the Amazing Women in Automotive group and its mission to recruit, retain, and engage more women in the industry. One concept discussed was the importance of mentorship and how even new members can offer fresh perspectives to the group. A key theme that emerged was the challenge—and the necessity—of giving yourself permission to evolve as a leader and embrace new roles as your business and life change.Timestamps:00:00 Belonging in Automotive: Propping Each Other Up00:40 What’s Amazing Women in Automotive REALLY About?01:15 The Origin Story: Creating Space and the Mission02:12 Men, Listen Up: Why This Matters for Everyone03:24 Safe Spaces & Real Talk—NOT a Kumbaya Circle05:07 Welcoming Newcomers and Building Confidence06:22 Mentoring & the Power of Fresh Eyes07:09 Automotive Auntie: Why Mentorship Matters08:20 There’s a Community Out Here—Don’t Miss Out09:09 Transferable Skills: You DON’T Need to Be a Tech10:10 Bringing Marketing, Accounting, and More to the Shop11:16 Events, Retreats & Partnering with Schools12:13 It’s OK to Focus on You—Permission to Refuel13:38 Balancing Motherhood & Shop Life: Permission Granted14:41 Leading at Work, Leading at Home: Raising Leaders16:00 Why Don’t We Give Ourselves Enough Credit?17:15 Permission to Say Thank You (& Mean It!)18:14 Auntie Advice: Sometimes You Just Need a Dance Party19:25 AI, SOPs & Finding Time—Give Yourself Grace21:05 Getting Women Out of Their Shell & Into Community22:33 Technician Engagement: Cultural Differences and Challenges24:21 Why You Need to Show Up—Even if You Think You Don’t25:20 Weekly Encouragement & Why Laughter Matters26:07 Tears, Tough Days & Doing Leadership the Right Way27:31 Letting Go: Empowering Your Team and Yourself30:13 Redefining Your Role—No More Mom Guilt32:12 Coaching, Leadership & Sharing the Wins34:05 Raising Leaders at Every Level of the Shop36:00 When Your Why Changes—Identity, Shifts & Legacy40:43 How to Join Amazing Women in Automotive!41:18 The Power of Community & What’s Next
Why Busy Shops Stay Broke | Josh Oberlander | Ep 25
You shouldn't have to play detective just to figure out what's happening in your own shop. 😂 If you're ready for all your shop's information in one place, check out Tekmetric HEREConsistency is key - heard that! But, consistency is HARD. That's why I gave up on trying and let the experts handle it. Detect Auto. Let them clean up your estimating process and raise your ARO - like they did for me! CLICK HERE TO BOOK A DEMOIn this episode, Tonnika Haynes and Josh Oberlander break down why slowing down and focusing on process can actually turbocharge your shop’s growth. Tonnika shares hard-won lessons about moving from high car count and burnout to prioritizing quality over quantity, showing how DVIs (with more photos!) increase both trust and repair order value. Josh jumps in with actionable advice on building team buy-in, gamifying new processes, and leading from the top. Timestamps:00:00 Leading from the top: Why technicians and advisors must buy in00:35 The untapped power of free training for shop owners01:17 Doing less for more: Getting profitable work from fewer cars02:16 Maximizing ARO by slowing down and focusing on DVIs03:07 The quick lube trap: Saying yes to everything vs. building real value03:23 Photos = trust: How transparent DVIs win more jobs03:34 Josh shares shop success with upping DVI photo counts04:04 Protecting your shop with good photos (and covering your … liability)05:01 Why busy shops are still "broke"—the cost of missing training & coaching06:10 Saying 'no for now': The hardest lesson for shop owners06:41 Why oil changes almost never build loyalty (and what to focus on instead)06:53 Coaching your team: Breaking through resistance to DVI and new processes08:04 Gamifying buy-in: Whiteboards, numbers, and making it a challenge09:20 The 60- or 90-day challenge: Real tracking for real results10:00 Why photo & video DVIs build trust—and prevent burnout11:19 Video in the shop: When and why you want to use it12:08 Technicians, not actors: Keeping DVI videos authentic12:25 The magic of just one extra hour per ticket12:36 Team buy-in starts at the top—stop relying on "because I said so"13:18 Creating a culture of “disagree and commit”14:20 How team input drives goals, ownership, and commitment15:08 Buy-in that sticks: When your team runs the shop without you15:53 Setting the next big goal (and getting your team hyped!)16:06 The never-ending work of real leadership17:01 The payoff of openness: Why your team should know the numbers
ATTENTION: Shop Owners - Buy Back Your Time | Dan Thieken - Ep 24
Consistency is key - heard that! But, consistency is HARD. That's why I gave up on trying and let the experts handle it. Detect Auto. Let them clean up your estimating process and raise your ARO - like they did for me! CLICK HERE TO BOOK A DEMOAnybody can run a shop. Building one that lasts? That's a whole different story. If you're ready to build smarter systems and a better experience for your team and customers, check out Tekmetric HEREIn this episode, Tonnika Haynes and Ash Kaplan chat with Dan Thieken, owner of Kreager Tire and Service LLC in Millersport, Ohio. Dan opens up about the journey from sweeping floors as a high school student to owning his own shop, emphasizing the importance of building the right team so that owners can eventually step away from day-to-day operations. He also shares his philosophy on why shops should offer tires—not only as a profit center, but as a window into the car's soul that keeps customers from ever needing another shop. Timestamps:00:00 Why you should ALWAYS offer tires at your shop02:11 Dan Thieken's origin story: From sweeping floors to owner04:32 The leap to management—and whistleblowing on bad leadership05:25 Not a tech? Why owning a shop is still for you07:07 People skills: Bartenders, restaurant work, and automotive service10:41 Building a team so you (finally) can step away13:31 Small town challenges: Hiring, no running water, and real culture16:14 The trust fall: Letting go of your “baby” shop18:17 Shop success = buying back your own time20:04 The slippery slope of coaching and paying it forward22:11 What’s your business mix? Service vs. tires, and how it changed24:22 Two reasons EVERY shop should offer tires25:10 How selling tires unlocks full-vehicle inspections26:20 Stop “selling”—just advise and build relationships28:00 Would Dan ever hire a coach? The answer might surprise you32:26 Advice for new shop owners: Train your replacement34:21 The personal side: Boundaries, empathy, and being “too nice”39:00 Mistakes owners make: Wanting to be absentee too soon43:12 The real trick: Let your staff learn from their mistakes46:00 Why Dan feels more at home away from the counter47:51 Upcoming events, classes, and golf trips
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209 - The Real Story of Growing an Independent Auto Repair Shop with Andy Severein
209 - The Real Story of Growing an Independent Auto Repair Shop with Andy Severein June 24th, 2026 - 01:00:41 Show Summary: Andy Severein shares how Andrew's Auto grew from a single shop into a thriving multi shop operation through coaching leadership and a commitment to continuous improvement. Jennifer Hulbert explains how understanding financials improving repair order value and developing managers helped transform the business. They discuss building a strong culture creating opportunities for employees and preparing the next generation of leadership. Their story shows that long term success comes from intentional growth consistent training and serving both customers and employees well. Host(s): Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development Guest(s): Director of Programs & Owner of Service Plus Automotive Owner, Andrew’s Auto Show Highlights: [00:02:29] – Jennifer shares her journey from shop owner to Institute program director. [00:06:11] – Andy explains why he purchased a struggling repair shop. [00:09:00] – Coaching revealed the business metrics Andy never knew existed. [00:11:54] – Average repair order nearly doubled through better processes and training. [00:16:00] – Profit sharing and community support became the business mission. [00:20:10] – Learning financial statements changed every business decision. [00:27:00] – Teamwide coaching fueled one million dollars in sales growth. [00:34:00] – Intentional leadership strengthened culture and employee development. [00:38:02] – A newly acquired second shop quickly doubled its repair order. [00:48:00] – Andy encourages owners to embrace coaching before opportunities disappear. In every business journey, there are defining moments or challenges that build resilience and milestones that fuel growth. We’d love to hear about yours! What lessons, breakthroughs, or pivotal experiences have shaped your path in the automotive industry? Share your story with us at info@wearetheinstitute.com, and you might be featured in an upcoming episode. 👉 Unlock the full experience - watch the full webinar on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_3LVDHjy2G4 Don’t miss exclusive insights, expert takeaways, and real talk you won’t hear anywhere else. Hit Subscribe, drop a comment, and share it with someone who needs to hear this! Links & Resources: Want to learn more? Click Here Want a complimentary business health report? Click Here See The Institute's events list: Click Here Want access to our online classes? Click Here ________________________________________ Episode Transcript Disclaimer This transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com. Episode Transcript: The Real Story of Growing an Independent Auto Repair Shop with Andy Severin 06242026 Jimmy Lea: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or good night, depending on when and where you're joining us from today. It is a gorgeous day outside. I hope you are able to go outside and breathe in some beautiful fresh air. Hey, today is awesome. Today is going to be amazing. We've got a great conversation gonna happen with a phenomenal shop owner, with a phenomenal coach and trainer from the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence. But before we get into that, let's talk about you and where you're at, and what's going on in your life. This is going to be an interactive webinar. Interactive how? In the comments section, in the questions, in the comments, put in there where you're joining us from today. Love to give you a shout-out here as we are on the live webinar. We're streaming through many different, multiple streams. Multiple live streams are going out on Facebook, and on YouTube, and on StreamYard. So we've got all these avenues that we're reaching out to the industry to, to, for us to connect, for us to come together. So drop in the comments where you're joining us from, city, state, and your shop name. Love to give you a shout-out so we can recognize everybody who is here for this live event. And it seems that everybody is shy today. Which is awesome. That's great. You know where the comment button is. When you find it, put in there your information, and we'd love to give you a shout-out here as we're on our live event. Streaming on Facebook, and on LinkedIn, and on YouTube, and on StreamYard. Oh my gosh, this is so awesome. This is so awesome. All right, for our conversation today Jennifer Holbert is here from the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence. She is a shop owner. She is a a coach, an industry coach, an industry facilitator with the GEAR Performance Group, and most recently moved into the position of director of programs with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for being here. Good morning, good afternoon. Jennifer Hulbert: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Excited to be here. Jimmy Lea: Yes. We're gonna have an awesome conversation. I'm in the good morning part, and you're in the good afternoon part. Jennifer Hulbert: I am. Jimmy Lea: 'Cause you're in New York, right? Jennifer Hulbert: I am. Northern New York. Jimmy Lea: Northern New York, awesome. How long have you been in the industry, Jennifer? Jennifer Hulbert: Ooh 25 years? Yeah, 25 years. Jimmy Lea: So you started sweeping floors when you were, like, five, six years old then? Jennifer Hulbert: Yeah, you could say that. I started filing probably when I was in my teens, but officially joined the business in 2001 when we moved to our new building and started as service advising, accounting, marketing, and then now do it all. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No, a- and you've had a long journey with the institute as well, joining as part of the GEAR Performance groups, and then moved into being an industry coach. Jennifer Hulbert: I did. Jimmy Lea: What did that... What's that short story look like for you? Jennifer Hulbert: Yeah. I was a group member in group two for about 19 years prior to the opportunity to become a facilitator with the institute. That was four years ago, and just was recently asked and accepted the director of programs position, so I'll be overseeing all of our coaching programs with our owners coaches, our service advisors, and our managers. So just in the infancy of that position right now, and we've got lots of good work to do and lots of exciting things to bring to the industry that I'm super excited to be part of. So yeah, it's been a journey. I, and I know all the things, all the positions, so as, first time coming to a meeting to being an integral part of a group process and looking at elevating our own internal groups and the members that we were talking to, including myself. So yeah, it's been quite the journey. Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. And here comes a shout-out from Downshift with Tanika. "That's my coach, Jennifer." She is. Thank you, T- Jennifer Hulbert: But love Tanika ... Jimmy Lea: Tanika's with Brown's Automotive out of- Yeah ... North Carolina. Yeah. Chapel Hill. David Boy's also saying, "Hey. Yay, Jennifer." And David, are you joining from Minnesota today? Minneapolis? Are you joining from Florida today? Where is home? Where are your feet planted today? Jennifer Hulbert: He's all over the place. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No, that's awesome. That's awesome. Th- thank you for being a coach. Thank you for being in the industry. You are an inspiration f- to many. You have influenced many, and one of those people you have influenced is Andy Severin with Andrew's Auto. Andy, how the heck are you, brother? Andy Severein: Doing wonderful, Jimmy. Good to be here. Jimmy Lea: Good. Bro, you gotta sit up or something. You look... I got out... We Andy Severein: all these people back. Jimmy Lea: There we Jennifer Hulbert: go Jimmy Lea: I'm so excited to talk to you about this conversation a- as we talk about you and your shop and your business. How long have you been in the business, Andy? What does that look like for you? Andy Severein: I started in this business when I was in high school. I swept floors in a shop when I was 14, 15 years old, and got a job working there right out of... I went to Vo-Tech when I was a senior in high school and and their work work experience program puts you out in a shop halfway through senior year. So I started working there yeah, when I was 17, 18 years old, and was in that shop for, probably till I was about 25, I believe. Wow. Left the industry for a little bit, did some different things with trucks, and was learned a lot about life skills and running a business by owning big trucks. That teaches you a lot quickly. And when I got out of that, I got into the used car side of the business in inventory management, which I had my fingers in the repair side of our inventory. I was... I'd say I was a part of this industry at that part p- that point, that time, that 10 years of my life, but in a little different aspect. Yeah, most of my life I've had my hands getting dirty somewhere. Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. Isn't it funny we all start by sweeping floors? Yep. We got a shout-out coming in from David Boyd. Y- you need... You're sitting low for a tall guy. Reach up there, grab your camera, p- point it down just a little bit 'cause it looks like you're sitting on the floor. Andy Severein: It's down as far as it can go. I'm sorry. Jimmy Lea: Oh, really? That's funny. All right, Da- David, you just gotta get over it, man. Don't worry about it. Hey, so you got out, you went into trucking, you came back into into a shop. Did you go directly into owning another shop, or did you get back into turning a wrench first? Andy Severein: I went into the dealership world and- Yeah ... and purchasing and inventory management. The shop that we 10 years ago we started Andrew's Auto. There was a shop that had been in business for 50 years. It's I could see it from my house. We were that close, and it was a mess. Oh, I bet. I knew the owner. I had a relationship with the owner for years, and I planted that seed at one point. If you're, when you're interested in, in, in getting out that I'd be interested in talking. And I at that point, I don't know if my interest more was in cleaning the property up because I could see it from my house and it's that bad- ... or actually being in the auto repair business. But really my experience, the relationships I had had people coming to me constantly with advice, and had people- Yeah coming to me with looking at... They were looking for advice on their cars, and they were sharing experiences with me, experiences that they had at shops. A lot of them bad experiences. So it really it really it really Made me realize that there was a need in our area for a good, honest repair shop. Yeah. So that was my drive behind it, not having any idea what I was getting into at that point. I just knew how to work on cars. That w- that was really it. But thankfully through my life I've worked for some really good people, and looking back through, all the way back to when I was sweeping floors, what I learned from each one of those employers and even my years in, in being in trucking, what I've learned from each thing really prepared me for where I am today. Jimmy Lea: Oh, Jennifer Hulbert: yeah. For Jimmy Lea: sure. Jennifer Hulbert: In a previous conversation, Andy, you said you- you've always put yourself in front of the right people. Andy Severein: Yeah. Jennifer Hulbert: And I think right from an early age, that was just inherent in your personality to put you- ... in the right place at the right time, in front of the right person, to give you some of these opportunities. Andy Severein: Yep. Yep. Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love that you're learning along the way. At what point as the business grew, at what point did you realize that your role had to change from being involved in everything to truly being leading the business? Andy Severein: Definitely the institute had a, big part in that. I- Yeah. Jimmy Lea: Jennifer, why are you laughing? Jennifer Hulbert: Because we've had this conversation multiple times. Andy Severein: Yes, we have. Yes, we have. So we, I worked from, it was right in December of 2016 is when we started and things went well. We were busy from day one. We grew, we added people constantly. We did our first major addition renovation to our building in the end of 2019. The the, things were going very well, but there was just so many things I didn't know. And when I I was at the Napa Expo in 2022 in Vegas and and was in one of Cecil's classes, and it just it made me realize there was just a lot that I didn't know, and things I needed to know. And w- what he said really resonated with where we were at that point in time. I had no idea. Like I said, I knew how to fix cars. I didn't know what an average repair order was. We were using Mitchell at that point, and I really paid no attention to the reports. I didn't even know what that stuff was, right? We were just using Mitchell so we had a platform to give people invoices. So it taught me right away some of the, key indicators to, to look at, and I thought, "Whoa. We have a long way to go here." Jimmy Lea: Wow, and by that time you had already been six years in the business. Andy Severein: Yeah. Yeah. Jimmy Lea: And- Yep wow, there comes an eye-opening experience. Interesting. That's awesome. What, what- So from that point, you decided, "Oh my gosh, we've gotta change, we've gotta grow, we've gotta develop." What, at what point did you decide, "Hey, you know what? I need to really look at this coaching and training business. I really need to hire me a coach." What did that look like for you? Andy Severein: What drove that and what's still driving me today, I know I'm getting into the future there, but this business, I started it with my son on day one, and the intention of him taking this business over, I hadn't really put a timeframe on when that would happen, but it I think I realized that I need to make this a well-functioning successful business before I hand it over to him. So that, that was really what, resonated to me at that point. "Hey, we have a long way to go." So that that was, why we made some significant changes there right away and adapting to those changes is hard. I tell people that all the time. Being told, "Hey, your ARO should be this," and you think, "Oh my goodness, how are we ever gonna get from $350 to..." I believe our first goal was $550- ... if I'm not mistaken. And, we were inching- And I- ... inching to 500 and all of a sudden it was like maybe we ought to look at things a little different." Now at 600, I'm thinking, "Oh, my goodness." Jennifer Hulbert: I can remember one of those early conversations of, Jen, everyone's talking about this 850, $900 average repair order but you don't understand, my, my customers are different." Andy Severein: "My Jennifer Hulbert: customers aren't going to accept that because I live in an area of the country where we're completely different." And it wasn't until we started to break it down and Andy, you took a really a hard look at understanding the KPIs. We had a lot of discussions on what they meant, what the formulas were, how they're impacted, and that I think opened your eyes to say, "Okay we can do this with a better and a more thorough DVI, and some sales training for our advisors, and a different marketing strategy and conversations with our customers." So I, I was joking with Jimmy before we started this that's typically the first conversation that we as coaches get is, "Oh, wait a minute, you don't understand, my customers are different." And what we've found is what most people realize is no, they're not. They're, they're- ... Jennifer Hulbert: They will respond to the presentations and the information that you're going to give them. And I have some statistics in front of me. In 2022, your average repair order was $367. End of last year it's 732, and I think this year we're knocking the $800 range. So again- ... with some systems, process changes, ideology changes, training, this is exactly what's possible. Andy Severein: Yep. Jimmy Lea: Absolutely. So I have a coaching question for you, Jennifer. How often- are shops coming to you as a coach or you as a facilitator and singing the exact same song that Andy was singing? Jennifer Hulbert: Often. I would say probably 90% of the time. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Jennifer Hulbert: And it's because we're fed, there, there's a lot of noise out there. There, there's a ton of noise of what the industry should be. There, there's news articles there's all kinds of news report of what our industry's reputation is, and it's not positive. So we look at this differently. We wanna educate our customers on what's best for you and your vehicle. Nowhere in our sales process that we teach at the institute or that we coach is a hard sales process. We're gonna look at your situation, your vehicle. We're gonna be open and honest about everything that we see, and then work a plan that's gonna work for you. Andy Severein: I Jennifer Hulbert: love that. So when you address it with honesty and true humility, it, it becomes a different conversation than one of a hard press sales, and I'm gonna sell you services that you don't need. It... That, that's not what we do. That's not the integrity of the institute, that's not the integrity of the coaches, and that's not the integrity of the shops that we work with. So a lot of times it's you don't know what you don't know. True. So you don't understand the power of a DVI process. You don't understand the power of an actual structured sales process. And that's exactly what Andy started to realize, and then really took a deep dive in, is, "Okay, I see things differently now, and I can see where we're benefiting our customers from doing this." "So I'm gonna put all the effort into training staff and making sure that we're starting to work towards those different key performance indicators." Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Andy, did you feel called out, just Tanika? She's wondering if this is a setup. She feels like she's being called out right now. Did you feel like you were being called out, Andy? Andy Severein: No. I would say not. No? No Jimmy Lea: When you were first starting, you didn't feel like you were being called out, you didn't feel like you were being spotlighted. And you know what? Now let me tell c- build up a little bit more, clarify a little bit more. I enjoy the process that we have at the institute where we're here to meet you where you are as a business and as a shop owner- Yeah and we're going to start from there. What does it take to run your business? What kind of business do you want to have? 100%. Now- Okay. If that's- Yeah, I do ... the kind of business you wanna have, these are the steps we need to take to get to that business that you wanna run. As opposed to a rubber stamp that says, "Follow this process, procedure, and you'll be successful." Okay you don't understand my clients or my customers Jennifer's laughing 'cause yeah we're gonna meet you where you are. What, how do you wanna run your business? What do you, what does success look like for you? 'Cause Andy, your definition of success might be different than Jennifer's, might be different than mine Andy Severein: Sorry, I dropped out with just a moment there. It was just about a five-second window where I had s- Jimmy Lea: For just the most important Andy Severein: point ... in the meat of that, I lost you. Jennifer Hulbert: He- he was saying what success is to you is not the success to someone else. And I'll use something that's very important to you, and that is compensating your staff very well with your profit sharing plan- and your community involvement and sponsorships. So Andy and I have had the conversation of the effects of that on his, to overall net profit- ... but that's his why. He wants to give the best financial outcome to all of his staff based on their efforts towards their success with a profit sharing plan. And then be a very good leader financially in the community to, to support those organizations that are supporting him. And that's much different than my why, and that's gonna be much different than Tanika's why as well. So we've looked at what's important to you in creating that profitability level so you can carry out that why. Andy Severein: Yeah. Absolutely. That why is something that we've figured out over time. We didn't realize going into it what our true why was. I just wanted to build a race car. I thought, "Hey, I have a shop. I can deduct all these parts and, it'll be great." And it took a few years of doing this until we figured out what our true why is, why we're here, and it's awesome. I love that. I'll back up just a minute, though, Jimmy, to your question, if I felt called out, and maybe I misunderstood what you were saying, but I'd probably share with the people that are listening that are thinking about coaching no. I went in there new to everything that was happening, and I never felt called out, put on the spot "Look at this guy." The group has been awesome from the first time I was there with helping me to feel comfortable and share their, their struggles and successes. I never felt called out in a way that I was uncomfortable. And I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but hindsight, that's what I was thinking. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No. That's exactly it. You weren't called out in an embarrassment point of view, but you were- No ... enlightened into, "Oh, wow, these are some things that I can do. These are the steps I can take and need to take so I can run the business the way I want to." I love that. That's awesome. Now, question for you here about pricing and parts and parts GP and labor rates. This can be very emotional for shop owners. This is an emotional subject. What helped you move from being emotional about these topics and these subjects to becoming more logical in those areas? Jennifer Hulbert: Besides peer pressure. Jimmy Lea: Peer pressure is positive. It can be. Andy Severein: Definitely that emotional attachment that, that, as shop owners you have that. When you're working in the shop, you're, you're turning the wrenches you're hands-on with the vehicles, you're talking to the people at the customer. You're talking to the customers at the counter, and there's people you've known forever, and you know their, their families and their financial situations. There's a huge emotional attachment to that, and it's not bad. Yeah. But it definitely it, it definitely is a hindrance to the growth and success of a business, and I... It took me a while to, to learn and understand that. And it's still why I stay away from the the counter, and the, the service advisor role is so important, and I realize that. I'm so blessed to have the people we have now that are really good at what they do, and they get it. They understand. They're coaching with the APT programs, and I keep putting plugs in for you, but it's been very powerful for us. But overall the growth of the business is dependent on that, so we... I've learned to just stay away Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. Andy Severein: I, of course. Jimmy Lea: You know your strengths and your weaknesses. Go ahead, Jennifer. Andy Severein: Yeah. Jennifer Hulbert: I think you also had an understanding of the overall effect o- of what a labor rate increase will do. So that impacts labor gross profit, which impacts your total GP, which impacts your overall net profit. So- ... when we first started to talk about what is your why, and that you wanted it to input this profit sharing and your community involvement we need- those net profit dollars to be able to do that. And we get those through parts and labor GP. So no, it's not just a 10 or a 15% or 10 or $15 labor rate increase, it's going to overall impact that labor GP, which will help the net profit, which is gonna allow you to do what you want to do. Andy Severein: Absolutely. Yeah, that's so true. Absolutely. Yeah, being in the upstairs your knowledge teaching me initially how to read my P&L. I'd never looked at a P&L. When I started to enroll, I didn't even know how much money we had in the bank. I didn't care. Yeah. Bills were being paid, it was great. But now the composite reporting, which was really hard for me, and you remember that, it was super hard for me in the beginning. And now I'm I'm not gonna say I enjoy doing it, but I see the I see the... I do enjoy doing it. I enjoy the results of it. But the the understanding of how we're getting to net profit and why that net profit is so expensive is so important, Yeah that- It's critical ... that's not being downstairs, but w- my offices are upstairs staying up there and keeping an eye on that is is, it's been my the key to, to, to the growth here. Absolutely. Yeah. Jimmy Lea: And let's break this down for those that are watching that don't understand what a P&L is. They hear the word all the time. They hear P&L. This is your profit and loss, pro- P&L, profit and loss. Most shop owners will look at their P&L, they really don't understand it. They're looking for that last number. Is it red or is it black? If it's black we know we're good, we know we're making money. If it's red We're losing money, and that's what the understanding of most shop owners are. At the institute, we also have a financial intensive that helps you as a shop owner to understand how to read the entire P&L, how to get it set up properly with your accountant so that you are getting the right and correct information when you need it most. And a P&L should not take months and months for your accountant to put together and g- and- No ... deliver to you. W- what's the average? How long should it take, Jennifer? Jennifer Hulbert: To, for, to start to make changes? Jimmy Lea: Oh, no. J- In order- Hey, Mr. Accountant or Mrs. Accountant, I would like my P&L. Jennifer Hulbert: You should get that once a month. M- minimally, I would say, our require- our reporting requirement is by the 20th of the month. So you should be getting that by the 15th or the 18th from, for the previous month from your- ... accountant or your bookkeeper. Jimmy Lea: So if you're only getting a P&L once a year, you may wanna either ask for more and get a better understanding, or m- perhaps you need a different- accountant. So if you need a different accountant, we know a guy. Come talk to us. We know a guy. Jennifer Hulbert: We do. Yeah. We do. A- Yeah ... and it, knowing where you're at from a profitability standpoint tells a tenth of the story. So where do we need to put our focus? Yeah. Is it in gross profits for parts? Is it in gross profit for labor? Is it in expense control? Because, so many times- ... we have a lot of members who have really good gross profit percentages, but they're not controlling their expenses and they eat away, their profitability that way. Yeah. We break down our expenses into, what, 30 categories probably, 35 categories individually, and have benchmarks for individual expenses. So th- that's what our owner coaching and our group process does, is we- ... we focus on not only systems and processes within your shop, but the understanding of your financials, so you know- ... which specific areas to target and to make some improvements on. Andy Severein: Yeah. Jennifer Hulbert: And Andy, that's where I credit you because th- we had some, many meetings where he's "Jen, make me understand this. I really need to understand how all this works together," and we probably worked for six months- ... u- until you had that understanding and now you do, and, your profitability is, has increased ex- ... quite a Andy Severein: bit. Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. Yeah, and I think there's a lot of shop owners that are out there that are just like you, Andy, that are in that same position that says, "I don't know what I don't know, and this is definitely one area that I need to know more. Help me understand it." And you dig into it, and you dig into it, and you dig into it and the more you learn, the better you are. Our last financial intensive, I think we had 40 plus people here at, in Ogden at the financial intensive. So next April, if you're wanting to understand your income statement and your profit and loss and your balance sheet, come here to the institute. We've got a phenomenal program for you. You definitely want it. Whoa, that was cool. Now, oh, Raleigh. Props, dude. That was your dr- that was mic drop. Scan the QR code. Get in on our next financial intensive. Yes, that is going to be awesome. We'd love to have you here, y- and you will learn tremendous amount. I want to go back to another acronym you dropped out on, on everybody here. You mentioned the APG. N- our industry is full of acronyms. APG stands for the Advisor Performance Group, and that's with the institute. So Andy, you have your advisors in the program right now? Andy Severein: We do. Jimmy Lea: What have you seen with your advisors? What's the change that they've gone through? Andy Severein: Probably the biggest thing I've ... The biggest thing I appreciate that I that I'm getting directly is, their understanding of the numbers that they're achieving and ... But also, the way the program's put together, allowing them to see the big picture of what the business looks like, what it should look like, what it could look like, whatever your circumstance is. But doing that from a different perspective than myself talking to them, I think allows them to grow. And it's one thing for me, for an owner, for somebody to say something to somebody, but when they're hearing from an actual coach, it's like, "Hey, that guy's not just full of hot air. He knows what he's talking about." Now that's been powerful, but aligning all of our people, Yeah ... through those different programs has been really powerful for us. And that growth that we've really seen in the last, what, year or so I can directly attribute to, and I'll drop another acronym, the MPG program, as well as the APG program. Jimmy Lea: So what's the MPG? Andy Severein: The Manager Performance Group. Yep. We have two managers here now, Nate and Brian. My son, Nate, one of them. They just got back from Utah. We've been so busy, we haven't ... We've done some quick debriefs, but we haven't had time to really sit down and put everything together that that I brought back from the group five meeting last week, or the week before last, and then they came back from Utah with their normal plane delays. ... Oh, no. Jennifer Hulbert: Dang. Andy Severein: But they made it. Jennifer Hulbert: And let's talk about what that growth looks like. So in 2023, you ended the year at 2.1 million. 2025, you ended a million dollars up at 3.1. And you- you've entered the managers and the advisors into the program along with working in the owners of- Yep your performance group program. But like you said, you've aligned your entire staff in the direction that you want to take it- ... with training and opportunities and information of to align to that direction. So just you talking to your staff and coming back from one of the GPG meetings, Gear Performance Group meetings- A- and it's like them trying to absorb what your understanding of the training is- Versus now I'm getting it from a coach who is aligned with that ideology, and now we're gonna move everyone in the same direction. So I think for you, Andy, that's been the biggest change. Now, has it cost you some money? Yes. Coaching is not free. Sometimes, people say, "I want cheap coaching." You get what you pay for. That's what you get. And you're gonna get the results that you pay for. A 30%, 32% increase in two years in sales is the... you could attribute that directly to the coaching. And again I know this sounds like a sales presentation for the institute. It, it's not meant to be that way. I just know that Andy and I have had these discussions over the past three years of how, what can I do to improve? And because- ... you have dedicated the time and the energy to some coaching programs, you've got some very good results. Now, you've set some of that standard. I expect X out of you, service advisor, from a gross profit and an average repair order- ... and an effective labor rate standpoint 'cause you've held those standards high- ... and communicated those expectations, which is also very important for results. But y- you've done a very good job at communicating what the expectation is, and then your team has followed up with those results. Andy Severein: Yeah. Yeah. Jimmy Lea: I love it. Y- there's, the saying is you were talking about the expense of training. Training is so expensive. What what if I train my guys and they leave? What if you don't train them and they stay? Andy Severein: Yeah. Yeah. Jimmy Lea: Andy, have you ever had a situation where you've trained someone and they left? Andy Severein: I have not. We have very little turnover So that's Jimmy Lea: the benefit of training today, is your people will stay. Andy Severein: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. No, we have very little turnover of people. In fact, I think there was only one advisor I had that was, he was here for a short period of time and he had come from managing an entire operation and had another opportunity to go back to what he had been doing. So I don't fault him at all. So he's the only person that I had in training and I hope that the things that he learned, he can take into his future. So- Jimmy Lea: Yeah ... Andy Severein: great guy. Yeah. He's a great guy. Oh, Jimmy Lea: I Jennifer Hulbert: totally agree. And let's talk about why your staff stays. What makes you different from some other shops that have some high turnover? And, and- Yeah ... we've talked about this. Andy Severein: Yeah. Jimmy Lea: Well- What are you Andy Severein: doing, Andy? Jimmy Lea: Is it pizza on Friday? Andy Severein: Wednesdays. Wednesdays. And we try not to do pizza too much. That really gets old, right? We have a big old grill here. I like to make food and do different things. But we really try to take care of our people in many different ways, not just, in their, problems that are going on in their life. We try to speak into their lives as, as much as we can and just be there for them. And, they're our family. We s- we spend more time with the people that work for us than anybody else. I'm careful who I allow into that family. And I feel we've done very well. In fact, we had somebody start here just recently, and his comments are just like every person I've heard in the past. Everybody here just gets along. Everybody helps each other. It's it's, it makes me... i'm really happy of that, and I'm really happy about that, because that's what I want. I wanna treat our guys really well. I want them to be excited about what they do, try to keep them motivated and and try to... My goal has always been to try to have a place that the word on the street is, "Hey, you wanna work for this guy, because they'll really take care of you in every way, not just pay." So it's extending a lot of grace regularly, that's that's part of it. Managing that grace can be tough. But but we... it's a blessing overall. It really is. We have a great staff of people here. Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. And what those people are talking about is the company culture, the culture that you have created in your company. They're j- it's, they're just so impressed by it, that this is a great company culture. So I... That doesn't happen by accident What are you doing today as a leader that is different than what you were doing three years ago, four years ago, five years ago? What are you doing different Andy Severein: I can't- honestly don't know if I'm really doing anything different. I hope I'm not, actually. I've always tried to connect with everybody regularly and just, listen to their needs and keep an open atmosphere that they can come to us with whatever's going on, if it's a problem at home or just, bumped into another car in the parking lot, don't be afraid to come to us with anything. And I... so to answer that, yeah, I don't feel like I'm doing anything really differently. I have the help of my wife now. She's a huge part of it. She was here in the beginning for the first five years, and she was working the front desk and it wasn't quite five years. It might've been three or four years and she just couldn't do it anymore. It was way over her head. She's a people person. And she had an opportunity to go work in a restaurant for some friends, which she took, and that opened the door for my, my, my front desk guy, Jimmy, to come in here. Jimmy's just an awesome person. He's just a light. He's always smiling. He's a lot like you, Jimmy. He- Jimmy Lea: It goes with the name. That's, Andy Severein: that's- You're both Jimmy. But yeah, Lori came back here in the beginning of '24, I believe. Nice. And she's been here a little over two years now. I convinced her that her skills, while she was much appreciated at the restaurant, the effort that she was putting in there would be would be very beneficial to us and our staff as we grow here. So she is a huge part of it. Plays Jimmy Lea: defense. Yeah. Jennifer, what are you seeing that Andy does different today? And by the way, Andy, you're constantly improving, so to say you're not doing anything different, it's not exactly true, because that constant improvement- ... is changing and you are becoming better. Andy Severein: True. Jimmy Lea: That's true. So as Coach, what are you seeing different that Andy does today that he didn't do when you first met? Jennifer Hulbert: I would agree with him. I think, hi- his heart i- is in the right place in wanting to do- Totally agree ... what's best for his staff. So that's just who, Andy, you are. I think today you're a little more intentional with that I- in some of the conversations and, interactions with the staff from discussions that we've had. I'll give you a recent example that they've just acquired their second shop months ago. Andy Severein: A couple weeks, three, four weeks ago. Yeah, beginning of May we started. Yep. Jennifer Hulbert: And the advisor there, they're looking to, w- we're gonna look to bring her to the service advisor intensive that's happening right now. She's never- Yeah ... flown before, so Lori says I'll go with you." I will join you on the plane. I will go to Utah with you. I will, get you all set up, make sure that you're completely just at peace with this. But that's who Andy and Lori are. So to say- Love it ... that they've done a lot different I would agree with you, Andy. I don't think you have. I just think you're a little more intentional- Yeah ... w- with it today than you may were three or four years ago. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Andy Severein: Yeah. More clarity. Jimmy Lea: See, Andy Severein: and Jimmy Lea: That's to the core of who you are. That's to your heart. Your heart has always been in that right place. And that constant improvement are things that you're doing, the things that happen, you don't, probably don't see that you're doing it. But a coach, someone on the outside looking in would say, "You know what, Andy? You are becoming much more intentional. You are having these great conversations. Your heart has always been there," and it's something that you don't see because it's second nature to you, Andy. But a coach is gonna go, "Hey, you know what? This is unique. This is s- this is special. This is awesome that you do this." That's pretty cool. Andy Severein: Yeah. Jimmy Lea: That's pretty good. So what is the future? You just added a second shop. Does that mean that there's a third one, or is it too soon to ask? Andy Severein: I've planted the seeds for the third one. I did that a while ago. That might have been the second one, but this one just kinda flew in there quickly. But it's in a neighboring shop. I can see it. It's just one, two- Two buildings over? ... two buildings away. So they were our closest- Wow ... competition. Jimmy Lea: Wow. Andy Severein: Interesting. So we had the opportunity to buy that. The owner was was wanting to retire, and hap- wanted to make it happen quickly, so he we were able to work a deal out there. I acquired all of his employees and and, it's been a, it's been really good so far. We- I'm really excited about where that is and I've said this to Jennifer to take a business that has not been run well for years and apply, what we've learned we- we've learned and applied it here slowly to try to apply it to a business like that is, it's a pretty exciting challenge. And, seeing that ARO, it was 200-some dollars when we started it and I think we're substantially over that. We haven't advertised it yet. The building needs a lot of work, and we- we're looking forward to doing that work over the coming weeks and months. So we're really excited of what the possibilities are there. We really just needed some overflow, honestly. We're almost at capacity here where we are, and having a little bit of of option for more base space to send some work over there, customers we can't help in our time, in their timeframe with our busy schedule to be able to capture them is high on my priority list of what to do, love it. Always kinda looking for ways to, looking ahead to, what is our next, next, way to grow. To have... If there's more shops I don't know if that's- If that happens, fine. I'm, I've no problem with that. I'm not focused on that. I wanna... I still see a tremendous amount of improvement we could do where we are, and we'll try to, we'll try to continue to focus on that. But our pattern's been about every three years we do, what's the next step? 2023 we did a pretty large addition to be able to handle heavier pickup trucks and the dually trucks, construction pickup trucks. We were doing a lot of that stuff, so we put an addition on there. So here we are three years later, buying another shop. That's our that's- this is the next step and, what's the next in three more years? That's been our pattern. We've got some ideas, Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. It- What's gonna come in 2029? That's, you Andy Severein: got to be sweating. Jimmy Lea: Exactly. Andy Severein: Exactly. Oh, that's awesome. Got some pre- got some pretty cool ideas. We'll keep focused keep focused on what could happen there and work towards that goal. Jimmy Lea: Yeah, for sure. I- is it too soon, or can I ask this? You only bought this other shop at the beginning of May, so we're looking at six, seven weeks, eight weeks now that you've- owned the s- the second shop. $200 average repair order. Where are you now? In a very short time period, has it increased significantly, or are you still hovering in that 2 to $300 range? Andy Severein: No it's climbed. I think we're in the $400 range right now. I'm sorry, I haven't looked at that lately. I just realized- Yeah ... as you're asking me that question. So we've about- Yeah ... doubled that. Jimmy Lea: Doubled it in less than six weeks. Andy Severein: Yeah. Jimmy Lea: Implementing proper process, procedures. You intro- did you introduce a DVI program to them? Andy Severein: We did. Yep, introduced that. So that's been good. That's a... W- we're trying to... We have-- There's so many customers there that were the customers that that you don't want, that, we're trying to get rid of 'em. They, you tell 'em what their car needs, they take it home and fix it, and then bring it back and get an inspection sticker. We have state inspection here in Pennsylvania, an annual inspection, so that's a huge part of what we do and so yeah, that's been... working those customers out of our system is the goal here. Make way for good customers. And we've really seen a, an upturn just in the last few weeks of busyness. So it's it's exciting. Jimmy Lea: Oh, that is exciting. That's awesome. Congratulations. So a- as we, we look in towards the future here what leadership skills are you working on today To help you strengthen yourself, strengthen the business as you continue to grow, what are you working on yourself or the business in your leadership realm? Andy Severein: Oh, goodness. I'd love to say that I read a book a week or even a book a month, but that doesn't happen. I, and I could I, probably said it to Jennifer and I'll say it again. What we're doing in the GPG groups right now is so good. What we just did in the group five meeting in Indiana the other week our two main presentations are things that are so relevant to me right now, and that's, defining where in the business, where we need to be and what those roles are, and focusing on those things. That's, it, we're... i, it's funny I still struggle with basic things sometimes it feels even what my roles need to be, but that clarity is huge to me, and we're really, as a, we as our mana- myself and the managers really, working on that stuff. But, I'm, I personally, a- and I'll radiate where I started in, in this business, my goal almost from the start was to work my way out of this and create an opportunity for my son to move into which will probably at this point looks like it'll be my son and Brian together, the two managers. And presenting opportunities for them is exciting to me. They're both going to the to Michael Smith to the leadership- Leadership intensive ... in Washington, DC. Oh, yeah. There's another plug. You'll see the thing come across the bottom of the screen right now. Yeah. But Jimmy Lea: it's not- Leadership intensive in July in Washington, DC. Is that the one? That, oh! There it is. Look at that. There Andy Severein: it is. Oh, Mike Johnson. Jimmy Lea: There it is. Yeah, Raleigh, way to go, brother. He gave me a thumbs up. Andy Severein: But I did that course two years ago, I think it was in Ogden, and I really feel like I could do it again 'cause I'm at a I'm... I've learned so much in two years, but I'm really happy to be able to give those guys the opportunity to do that, to let them grow. Because I look at this now as "Hey this is gonna be for you to run." Yeah. And I want them to outperform anything I've ever done. I just wanna set the stage for them to be able to hit the ground running. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And attending another leadership intensive, you're gonna learn even more because you've had two- Andy Severein: Yeah Jimmy Lea: years of runway under your belt that you have learned and developed and grown. Now when you attend it again, you have such a solid foundation. Now you're ready to build that building. You're ready to build upon what you've already learnt, implemented, discovered, rewrote as your truth tapes. You know what those next steps are gonna be, and y- you'll go to leadership intensive. You, your brain will still melt, we'll still have to pour it back in your head because of the learning that will happen And now the development and growth you'll have for the next year as well will be just tremendous. So Andy- ... Jimmy Lea: Get to the DC, get to the leadership intensive. You need to be there Andy Severein: I'll consider that. Jimmy Lea: That's a good idea. Yeah, take that into consideration. Anybody that's watching this as well, and you see it go back to that QR code, get into that Leadership Intensive. It really will change... thank you. It really will change the way you think about yourself, about your business, about your life- Yeah about why you think the way you think, and then you can help to discover why other people think the way that they think. Andy Severein: Absolutely. Jimmy Lea: Oh, so powerful. So powerful. Jennifer Hulbert: And one, one of the things that I really wanna point out to the listeners is, typically when we have a new client coming into our individual coaching program is they see people like Andy, and they're intimidated. But hearing Andy's story, that he started off, fixing cars in a very small shop himself, building it to now a multi-shop owner, not having to be an integral part of the day-to-day of the business because he has put people in the right seats, grown the business to a level that you can have a mid-tier manager- it's totally doable. Now, does it require blood, sweat, and tears? Absolutely. I own a shop. I was a service advisor for two years full time. You don't get to this point without going through some of those steps, but it is doable. A- and- Yeah ... sitting saying I only have 500 or $600,000 in sales this year," that, that was Andy at one Andy Severein: point. Jennifer Hulbert: And, now we're in a completely different scenario because of the changes and the improvements and the attention you've put to these improvements and your leadership style. So I, I get a lot of new members and I was actually at a group two member, or group two meeting a couple weeks ago, and then had a meeting with a member, and, she said, "Jen, you don't understand what we come back to because you have two managers in your shop." And I said, "Hold on a minute. I was you 15 years ago." So i- it does take time, and it does take attention but it is totally doable, and we can take you from opening your own shop, I have two members who had, have started to work with us prior to even purchasing their shop, to now owning their shop, to becoming a multi-shop owner. So the, all of those steps and processes we have the ability and the knowledge and the training and coaching to fill all of those steps, but it is a process. Yeah. You're not gonna go, from Andy opening your shop to $3.1 million being pretty much a hands-off owner in two years. It- ... had taken 10 or 14 to do Jimmy Lea: that. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You... If you keep doing what you've always done, you're gonna keep getting what you've always got. You- Yep ... you've gotta do something to change. And so Jennifer, to this specific scenario, a shop owner that you would have worked with that they went from a bucket and a wrench and a computer to multi shop owner what did their timeline look like? So maybe others who are listening can go, "Oh you know what? In six years, I'm gonna be six years older. I'm either gonna be still with a bucket and a wrench, or I can invest in myself and improve." What's that look like? So Jennifer Hulbert: the timeframe differs be- because of this. So it's your ideology, it's your mentality, it's where do you want to go and how are you going to take the steps to get there? We can give you the information. Again, one of the reasons I've suggested Andy being on this podcast is because he's done a lot with the information to get to where he is today. So if you enact it if you take it home and you actually implement some of the things that we talk about, you're gonna move much faster than someone who is, "You don't understand, my customers are different." Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Jennifer Hulbert: Two, two totally different types of shop owners. That's true. So I would say the timeframe is different for everyone, but five, six years to go from small to large, Maybe Yeah ... if I had to put a timeframe on it. Jimmy Lea: And I think you hit on the two elements that must be implemented in every situation. You talked about the attention. You've gotta give it attention. You've gotta give it the attention it needs because it doesn't happen by accident. It needs to be it needs your attention. And the second one is that you have to be intentional- Yes ... about what you're doing. Yes. If you don't know what you're doing, you could wander in the forest and be walking in circles because you don't have that compass. Compasses were created before time, before clocks. Why? Because we needed to know where we were going. So compasses are more important. You need a coach, you need a direction, you need some help to make sure you make- Jennifer Hulbert: And some accountability. That, that's what the premise of our whole GPG program is. Is it's not only the facilitator and the coach holding you accountable, you're being held accountable by a group of your peers. Jimmy Lea: Yes. Jennifer Hulbert: Yeah. Jimmy Lea: Yes. So if you're listening to this and you are the shop that's at that 500,000 or 600,000, let's start that journey together. We can do this. We can do it together and make it happen for you that in four, three, four, five, six years you're having the same conversation with somebody else who's doing a podcast to talk about your success story, and it's gonna be similar to what Andy has. Andy, final question from me and then Jennifer, a question from you for Andy if you want to pipe in here. And in fact, I might have two. My first question is gonna say what advice would you give another shop owner who is thinking that there's gotta be a next level? Andy Severein: There absolutely is, and I can say from experience to figure out what that level or what your goal is, what do you want to achieve and how can you achieve that? It, it-- That's true to anything in life, but it's having the understanding or the understanding of what tools you can use to, to get yourself to that point. Once again, in my case, it was I wanna work my way out of a job, what does that look like? And but certainly doable, with some input, some coach. People, most shop owners that I've found are pretty close-minded, don't wanna be told what to do. You know- ... they're doing it great, don't tell me. And that's why I was at an auction earlier today for a shop that closed down because, they just choose to just do the same thing they always did, and at the end of the day, they got nothing left. No business and just a bunch of tools to sell Jimmy Lea: Wow ... Andy Severein: doesn't have to be that way. Doesn't have Jennifer Hulbert: to be Andy Severein: that way at all. No way. Nope. Jimmy Lea: No. No. Yeah. They're getting pennies on the dollars for those tools and assets. Jennifer. Jennifer Hulbert: I don't think I have a question for you, Andy. I, and you're a pretty humble guy, and I want you to really hear this, so thank you for being an industry leader, and thank you for setting the tone and the example of what success can really look like. And, I hope you're an inspiration to those who are watching and listening to this because you've done exactly my why. My why is to help elevate individual shop owners, and because of your attention and intention to the information that we've been discussing you've climbed to that level. So I want you to really hear that you are an industry leader, and I thank you for being here, and thank you for being a part of the institute. Andy Severein: Yeah. Thank you. That means a lot to me. I certainly don't see myself that way. I I still hear Parker Branch telling me maybe two years ago, "With a few changes, you'll pass me." I'm like, "Yeah, whatever" Jennifer Hulbert: You're getting close Andy Severein: You are Jimmy Lea: getting close, yeah. Andy Severein: Yep. By the end of 2027 when shop number two kicks in, watch out, Parker. Jimmy Lea: You'll join him in that million dollar net club. Yeah. Andy Severein: That's the plan. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. That's the plan. Yep. Yep. All right. One final question coming from Tanika and then a final question from me. Did you get any pushback from your technicians, the technicians you acquired implementing a DVI program, changing their process, procedure, moving their cheese? Andy Severein: Honestly, if you're asking about the shop we just bought- No? ... not a whole lot because they knew that their leadership was terrible. They knew that there was better way to do things. They're a neighboring shop. They saw our parking lot full of cars all the time and their parking lot empty, right? So- Jimmy Lea: Ouch. Yeah ... Andy Severein: that was, for them to be shown How we do it. They understood right away that it worked. They knew that. So it's, it is it's been... Certainly has its challenges, but it hasn't been hard at all. Teaching them the processes has really been the hardest thing, but the understanding, the knowledge of it the knowledge of, the why we're doing it I don't wanna say it's one of the easier parts of taking over that business, but I think it has been. Jimmy Lea: It kinda sounds like it. It sounds like they were definitely primed and ready for you to step in there and take over. Andy Severein: They were all really hungry, yeah. They knew that our leadership was bad. I don't know why they didn't all quit and walk Jimmy Lea: out. Yeah. No, congrats, man. That's awesome. All right, last and final question. Years from now, years down the road, don't know what that number is w- what do you want people to say about your shop, about your team, and about the owner who built it all? Andy Severein: Boy, I, I hope it's, I hope it's what our goal's always been, and that's that we are just awesome people, trustworthy give back to the community, the same things we've always been. I I hope that can be our legacy here. Jimmy Lea: Yeah. For sure. I hope so as well 'cause you are awesome people. Andy Severein: Yeah. Thank you. Yes, Jimmy Lea: they are. Andy Severein: You guys are too, so that means a lot. Jimmy Lea: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for everybody who's listening. If any of this has sounded interesting or information that you wanna pursue even further, get out your cellphone 'cause as soon as we go to credits, there is a QR code. Let's meet. Let's talk. Let's sit down and review your business. What can we do to help you? Our goal, our core, is to help build a better business for you to... which results in a better life for you, which our intention is to build a better industry. So we are all about building a better business, a better life, and a better industry. With that, my name is Jimmy Lea. I'm with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and thank you. Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you, Andy. Really appreciate you guys being here. Andy Severein: Yep. Thank you. Jennifer Hulbert: Thank you.
Ep 158: Stop Managing. Start Multiplying Leaders. | Shawn Gilfillan
Failing at Retirement: Building Eight Shops in Eight Years [THA 486]
Thanks to our Partners, NAPA TRACS, Today's Class, KUKUI, and Pit Crew Loyalty Watch Full Video Episode *]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:8e59eec7-a235-4fa3-a072-956fea3fe478-7" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant"> *]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:49a777bf-d263-4496-bf0b-2eb3a46ac96a-11" data-testid="conversation-turn-24" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant"> *]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:8a36a74e-94b9-45d2-82f2-3a0e09cdfefe-1" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:8a36a74e-94b9-45d2-82f2-3a0e09cdfefe-1" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant"> Carm Capriotto talks with Matt Curry and Judy Curry of Craftsman's Auto Care about building one of the automotive industry’s most respected multi-shop operations twice. After growing Curry’s Auto Service to 10 locations and retiring in 2013, the Currys returned to the industry with a new vision, launching eight Craftsman’s Auto Care locations in eight years. Matt shares his role as the visionary leader driving momentum and ideas, while Judy explains how operational discipline, marketing, and customer experience keep the business grounded and scalable. The conversation explores their “5 Ps” philosophy: People, Policies, Processes, Procedures, and Profits, along with their commitment to employee development, strong culture, customer transparency, and community involvement. The Currys also discuss how Digital Vehicle Inspections and an intentional customer experience helped them earn nearly 10,000 five-star Google reviews. What You’ll Learn How Matt and Judy Curry scaled multiple successful shop operationsWhy leadership balance and “staying in your lane” mattersThe “5 Ps” framework for building a strong shop cultureHow employee investment drives long-term successWhy transparency and DVIs build customer trustHow culture and customer experience fuel growth and retention Sustainable growth in automotive repair comes from more than technical expertise. It requires intentional leadership, strong systems, a healthy culture, and a commitment to both employees and customers. Matt and Judy Curry, Craftsman Auto Care, 8 locations, Virginia Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Thanks to our Partner, Today's Class Optimize training with Today's Class: In just 5 minutes daily, boost knowledge retention and improve team performance. Find Today's Class on the web at https://www.todaysclass.com/ Thanks to our Partner, KUKUI Stop juggling multiple marketing tools. KUKUI’s integrated platform delivers 4x better website conversions, automated follow-up, and real-time ROI tracking. Get industry-leading customer support with KUKUI at https://www.kukui.com/ Thanks to our Partner, Pit Crew Loyalty You’re probably tired of chasing new customers who never return. We understand. Pit Crew Loyalty ends the one-and-done cycle, turning first visits into lasting, reliable revenue at https://www.pitcrewloyalty.com/ Connect with the Podcast: ...
The Rise of the Specialist: Redefining Automotive Professionalism [THA 485]
Thanks to our Partners, NAPA TRACS, Today's Class, KUKUI, and Pit Crew Loyalty Watch Full Video Episode *]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:8e59eec7-a235-4fa3-a072-956fea3fe478-7" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant"> *]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:49a777bf-d263-4496-bf0b-2eb3a46ac96a-11" data-testid="conversation-turn-24" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant"> *]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:8a36a74e-94b9-45d2-82f2-3a0e09cdfefe-1" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:8a36a74e-94b9-45d2-82f2-3a0e09cdfefe-1" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant"> Host Carm Capriotto is joined by shop owners Craig Noel, Brett Beachler, and Tom Palermo for an important discussion on how “The Rise of the Specialist” is moving from idea to implementation inside automotive repair shops across the industry. Written by Carm Capriotto, “The Rise of the Specialist” is a growing movement and declaration designed to elevate the language, image, professionalism, and culture of the automotive service industry. In this episode, the panel shares how they are actively implementing “The Rise” within their own businesses, from changing terminology and redefining job titles to elevating customer communication, shop presentation, and team culture. The conversation highlights the real-world challenges and successes of shifting away from outdated labels like “mechanic,” “wrench,” and “technician” and embracing the more professional and accurate title of “specialist.” Carm explains that this movement is more than a branding exercise; it is a professional evolution aimed at helping the industry better reflect the expertise required to service today’s highly advanced vehicles. Modern automotive professionals are diagnosticians, calibration experts, technology specialists, and problem-solvers operating in one of the most sophisticated skilled professions today. Throughout the discussion, the shop owners explain how adopting the language and principles of “The Rise” has strengthened team pride, improved customer trust, and helped create a more professional identity within their organizations. The panel also explores how service advisors play a key role in communicating the value of diagnostics, testing, and specialist-level expertise to clients in a way that builds understanding and confidence. The episode draws powerful comparisons to professions like medicine and culinary arts, emphasizing that automotive specialists deserve the same respect given to highly trained experts in other industries. Just as chefs and medical specialists earn recognition through mastery and continuous education, today’s automotive professionals must also be seen as specialists whose expertise protects the safety and reliability of every vehicle entrusted to them. “The Rise of the Specialist” has already gained momentum throughout the industry. Carm’s signature keynote, The Rise of the Specialist, has been delivered to influential audiences across North America, including the ASE Board of Governors, Ford Motor Company, and hundreds of forward-thinking automotive professionals. What You’ll Learn Why “The Rise of the Specialist” was created and what it representsHow shop owners are implementing “The Rise” in their businessesWhy the industry must move beyond outdated titles like “technician” and “mechanic”How language shapes customer perception, professionalism, and team cultureThe role service advisors play in explaining specialist-level diagnostics and repairsHow hospitality, presentation, and communication strengthen customer trustWhy this movement can help attract the next generation of automotive professionals This episode demonstrates that “The Rise of the Specialist” is no longer just a concept; it is becoming a real cultural shift within the automotive industry. By adopting language that reflects expertise, elevating professionalism throughout the customer experience, and embracing the identity of the specialist, shop owners are helping reshape how the industry sees itself and how the world sees it. Download 'The Rise of the Specialist': https://remarkableresults.biz/rise Craig Noel, <a...