From Harsh Truths In Mentorship To Reaching A $14M Operation | EP11 | Shop Fix Academy Podcast

0:00If you're looking for somebody to agree with everything that you already believe, you're not ready to grow. All you're doing is affirming your own beliefs and you're living in a vacuum. You told me, don't worry about it. It's done. It's fine. You're gonna be fine. I wanted to reach through that phone and punch you in the face. Guy, I love what you told me.

0:14Wisdom comes from 2 places. Yeah, my mentor told me that. Could we also say then a great mentor is somebody who's failed a lot? Hey everyone, welcome to the ShopFix Academy podcast. My name is Guy Roberts, and this is the Berg, Michael Rosenberger. Hey everybody, so glad that you guys joined us for another exciting podcast. Today we have a very special guest, my personal mentor and friend, Adam Preiser.

0:42Hi everybody, how y'all doing? Good, good. Glad you're on here today. Glad to be here. This will be fun. Should be. Let's do this. Should be. You look nervous. You look like we're gonna We're gonna dissect you and we're gonna, we're gonna go deep into your brain. That's what I'm afraid of. Good. It's good because his nickname— did you all know his nickname?

1:02Oh yes, it is the Wise Owl. Just look at his face. I mean, he looks like an owl. He does. He's super smart. Well, super smart. A lot of wisdom. He does a lot of knowledge. He hates this right now. He hates that we're talking to him like this. It's, it's okay. I'm, I'm getting better with it. Okay, he's getting better. Working at it.

1:21So Adam, tell us a little bit about yourself. How long you've been in the automotive industry? Where did you start as a service advisor, porter, all that stuff? Where you're from, how many shops you got? So many questions. Tell us about you. So many questions. I bought my first shop when I was 22. Woo. So I've owned repair shops for 22 years now.

1:40Wow. Now we have 8 locations in Minnesota stretching from Blaine to Bemidji. Okay. Yeah, it's been a great journey. I have a business partner, Jason Koth, and we have done really well together. So it's awesome. Um, how many shops you got right now? 8 shops currently. Nice. When you started out, was life, you know, unicorns and rainbows? I don't think I saw a unicorn or a rainbow along the way.

2:04Maybe some glitter once in a while. That's about it. Yeah. From our conversations that we've had, just there's some people that really poured into you and, and, and it kind of helped you grow. But what I love is when you turned that back around and started pouring back into them sometimes and other people, you grew another level. And so I think there's 2 sides to mentoring, and so I'd love to talk about both of those sides today.

2:32Yeah, that sounds great. Probably one of the hardest conversations that we've had. My manager and foreman walked out of my store and took a million-dollar fleet account from me, and I'm like bawling in a corner beside myself because it's $80,000 a month. Like, I've got to replace that cash flow somewhere. Yep. And it's going to affect me next month. And I have this whole shop, I got to pay for all this stuff.

3:00And I remember calling you up and you told me, don't worry about it, it's done, it's fine, you're gonna be fine. And I remember I wanted to punch you over through the phone. I wanted to reach through that phone and punch you in the face. That's your two notes. But I I probably— I don't know. You just told me like, hey, there's a reason that you got put in this place.

3:24There's a reason that you're going through this, and you're gonna be just fine. This is temporary pain. Buckle up, pull your bootstraps up. In the next 2 weeks, you'll be out of this mess. But you gotta focus, and you gotta put in the work, and stop crying, and no emotions. Get back out there. You gotta rally your team. Yep. Can you talk about— yeah, sometimes mentors have to have those hard conversations.

3:49Like, I didn't want to hear all that. I'll be honest. I would say that we all get stuck in those moments of like we're paralyzed by something that's happened. And I'll be honest, I've been stuck in those same positions and almost every one of them I say would— I can say every one of them was my own fault. Sure. You know, I mean, I'm going to pick on you right now.

4:11You hired the manager and you hired the foreman. Sure did. And the fleet account. And the fleet account. You got that. So, I mean, I mean, you put all those people in place. When they walked out, it's your fault. It's also gonna be your fault for getting it fixed or not. So, I think I was giving you advice that I had to take my own medicine before on.

4:32And it's like, okay, well, if you're gonna fix this, you're gonna do it right now. Otherwise, you're never gonna do it at all and you're gonna fail. So, just go do it. You probably got that fleet account back. It probably didn't take very long and you hired a new manager and got a great foreman and you were able to grow after that.

4:49So in the moment it felt like the end of the world. Yeah. And a few months after it, it was like that was a bump in the road. Yeah. And it was the greatest thing ever because that manager wasn't the right person to work with and you were able to put somebody in there that was the right person to work with. 100%.

5:04So you got to have your head right, ready to take on this guy because you're saying hard conversations for sure. Uh, are you willing to accept, accept those hard conversations? And oftentimes it's, it's not just those hard conversations, it's also just uncomfortable questions. Like, I'm, I'm referring to my own mentor, and it has nothing to do with business, but you keep going back to that mentor because you know I get value, but you kind of dread it because you're like, he's gonna ask me these questions and God, I hate it when he asks those questions, but they're so uncomfortable.

5:40But there is growth after these questions, and there's growth after these confrontations where it's like, I'm gonna put a microscope on you and show you, you were the guy that hired this. You know, let's look back at what happened that led up to this and uncover those things. So would you say in order to jump into this, you've got to have your mind ready for those situations?

6:02I would say you definitely need to be willing you know, to be in that position in life. If you're not willing to learn from somebody, if you're not willing to admit that you don't know everything, that somebody else has it figured out and they'll just tell you if you ask them— you're looking for someone to affirm what— if you're shopping for votes, looking for shopping for votes, looking for a yes man, if you're, if you're looking for somebody to agree with everything that you already believe, you're not ready to grow.

6:28There's, there's no reason to try talking to other people. All you're doing is affirming your own beliefs. And you're living in a vacuum. That's gold. You know, you should have people that challenge your views. You should have people that challenge your knowledge base. You should have people in, in the best way possible, right? Because they want what's better for you. Yeah. And in turn for themselves too.

6:46It's a big deal to be willing to accept that type of relationship. Yeah. Yes. You know, and if you're not, why are you putting yourself in those positions? Sure. I can honestly say, like, if you're not ready to learn, you're not willing to accept criticism and something that's going to challenge your belief system, there's no reason to pay for any coaching whatsoever through any company.

7:04Oh yeah, because it's all you're doing is going there to argue with somebody, not learn, and not be mentored. That's Aaron Stokes 101. He always said, we don't need your money. Yeah, if you don't want to be a part of this community and, and, and go to work, do the hard thing, we don't need your money. It's okay. Yeah, you're not ready for this yet.

7:23So yeah, this was never about the money. It was always about helping people. Yes. That's the, the one big thing that I've taken away from this entire group of people is like, no matter what, we're going to do the right thing. Yes. That's why I'm still here. So let's get into like, who mentored you? Like, who are some of your mentors? And if you don't want to name them, that's okay.

7:39But if you want to, you can. Well, in the automotive world, Mike Brewster was one of the first mentors that I really— I love Mike. Mike, shout out to Mike. So I met Mike at a 20 Group conference. Aaron Stokes got me to join this 20 Group. There was a bunch of those heavy hitters from that era in that 20 Group already.

7:56Mike had a store. Up in upstate New York, and he was doing, I think, just under $5 million a year in sales out of a single location. And huge, huge. I mean, it's still huge for a single store, right? Running 24 hours a day. I mean, this crazy model, but loving life. Like, everything about Mike was like happy. He had a team that would follow him to the ends of the earth.

8:16His family was amazing. Just tons and tons of like, yeah, yeah. Mike's hard to not like. Oh yeah. If you don't, if you don't like Mike, I don't I don't like you. We don't need to be the same. If you don't like Mike, I don't like you. I'll say it. Mike's just a good, good dude. I'd gotten bits and pieces from information from people and stuff like that, but somebody that you actually wanted to learn from, you know, kind of submitted yourself, you know, under— when they said something, you actually took it to heart.

8:44Mike was one of those people that really just stood out right away. Mike, he never pushes anything on anybody. I would, I would say that's what makes the best mentors. They don't even know they're a mentor. Exactly. Like, you— did you ask him to be a mentor to you? Absolutely not. He just did it. He just— yeah, he just would talk to you and you would actually get great information.

9:04Yeah. And he would challenge the way you think. Or if you said something that he didn't believe in, he would ask why or why he didn't believe in that. And it just made you think. And that's probably the— I think one of the best qualities as a mentor is they don't even realize what they're doing. They're just trying to do the best thing for you.

9:22Yeah, they have no dog in the fight. True. As soon as they have like some vested interest in you, I don't think the information is received the same. So talk to us about Aaron Stokes. When did you meet him and what, what was special about him as a mentor? Uh, he was a really friendly person also. So we met at a conference in 2005 in California.

9:43Aaron introduced himself. I wouldn't introduce myself. I'm too shy like that, I guess, especially back then. Very, very shy. We start talking, you know, he was doing, I think, right around $30,000 a month in revenue. And I had just broke $80,000 that month we were out there. Okay. He was really interested. He's like, how'd you get the 80 grand? And I was pretty proud of it too, because it was— I mean, back in 2005, 80 grand was a good month.

10:05Like, that was good numbers. So we talked a little bit about that and he said he was, you know, from Nashville, from Minnesota. And he goes, well, let's exchange phone numbers. You remember like those old flip phones you had, you know, the Nextel? Oh yeah, yeah, StarTAC. Yeah, still the best phone. Yep. And, uh, your T9 texting, you know, so yeah, if you want to enter a phone number, it's, you know, it takes forever to put somebody's name in.

10:26Yep. So we're sitting there going back and forth or whatever, you know, spelling each other's names. And, um, Stokes, pretty easy. Pryor, then, you know, it takes a little bit longer. Yeah. So we get done doing that and we exchange phone numbers, and I figure like, that was a waste of time, we're never going to talk ever again. I'm flying back home, you're flying back home.

10:41And it was like 2 weeks later I get this call from Aaron. He's like, hey, how you doing? And he just started a relationship, you know, over the phone. So we talked and we were, you know, comparing some business notes and stuff. We went back and forth like that off and on for, you know, every month or two we would talk, every couple weeks maybe if we were really on a hot topic or something.

11:00We both fell away from the training group that we were attending there. Um, Aaron found a different one. He calls me up, he goes, hey, I found this new group, you got to come out, you know, to this new group I found. They're Really good guys. And I'm like, okay, yeah, sounds great. I'll be there, whatever. When you gotta be there, who do I call?

11:14So I called and got signed up, paid my dues, and that's where I met Mike Brewster and all those other guys. So that was the second interaction I had had with a coaching group was to meet those guys. And it changed my worldview on that you could be a really good person, a good business owner, have a family. Like things really started to open my eyes to what the world could be.

11:36What I would recommend that, you know, anybody you pick for a mentor in life, that you, you know, do a little research on that person before you just accept them. Sure. And whether it's subconscious or not, you should really be like, you know, is this person that I want to be like? Because if I start taking advice from them, you're probably going to turn out more like them than you realize.

11:52Yeah. Funny story about that. So Adam and I first met in 2018. I think it was the summer of 2018. And, uh, he didn't like me. At all. It wasn't that I didn't like you at all. I just was very cautious. Very cautious. That relationship. He looks like a weasel, Derek. I mean, look at those eyes. You can't trust him. Michael was just over-friendly, and I— You know what?

12:20I agree with that. There, there, it was just an odd first introduction. No one's that friendly. Yeah, nobody's that friendly right off the bat. Except for him. Yeah, except for Michael, and Michael's a great guy, and our relationship has gotten much, much closer over the years. But yeah, he just wanted to be my friend right away. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

12:38Where did you come from? Yep. Who are you? Do you even know who I am? Yeah. Why are you being so nice? Yeah. You know, I appreciate you saying that for, you know, make sure their character is good, their integrity is good, because back to the first point, you wanna make sure that it's somebody you can emulate and you want to be down the road.

12:56Like one day I wanna be this person. And so taking your time with that, a lot of times people rush into, you know, a relationship And they, they should watch and learn for a hot minute. I agree. I emulate that, that statement. Yeah. Um, so usually for me to become a friend or, you know, close to somebody, I, I'm slow to warm up to people naturally.

13:20I prefer quality over quantity of friends. Yeah. Um, even like acquaintances and stuff like that are usually held at arm's length until you kind of get into my inner circle. But once you're in, like, you're like, I— you're in. Like, I trust you. It's helped me and hurt me along the way. Sure. You know, it's probably, you know, kept some relationships out there not available to me, um, because I didn't trust right away.

13:42I wasn't as friendly as, you know, Michael is. Nobody is. Nobody. Yeah, he's got a skill there. You're in the circle. Um, good job. And I think everybody's different in that aspect. I mean, some people are instantly trusting and some people, you know, never trust. You know, they're always keeping people at arm's length. Sure. I'm somewhere in the middle of that. So I just like anybody that I do let in.

14:04I don't have to have a guard up. Sure. I, I can say anything around you. We can talk conversations about business, family, friendships, vacations, you know, ups and downs. Like, I don't want to have to hide that stuff. Sure. Yeah. I don't live 2 lives, essentially. What qualities do you look for in a mentor? Well, somebody I aspire to be, I guess.

14:23And then subconsciously, I didn't realize that at first, but subconsciously, that's what I was looking for. You know, so I was looking for people that were successful, you know, were living a very good, honest life. There were some people along the way that were successful, but they— I didn't, I didn't match up with them more, you know, their moral code, so to speak, or where they were, you know, bringing their business to or how they were running things.

14:46And that, you know, that really wasn't a mentor at that point in time. You know, that person was maybe, you know, useful in, you know, trading information or building a relationship with, Friendships, possibly acquaintances. But the mentor side of things, I think, always came from a point of I really respect you. You've done well in your life. All the things that, you know, I would want to emulate in the future.

15:09That's what I was looking for in a mentor. True role model. Somebody that you want to become. Yeah. Yeah. Somebody that you're proud to say is your friend and somebody you learn from. We kind of talked about the role model, somebody you aspire to be someday. What is another top quality would you say of a mentor? I think there's like several things that people are probably going to pick out in top qualities in a mentor, and it probably depends on the part of your life that you're in and what you're trying to accomplish.

15:33Seasons. Yeah, there are seasons to it. So there's like the business success part where you're trying to find mentors that are very successful in business but maybe lacking in something else. I've seen a lot of really successful business guys that are business people in general that maybe have a rough family life. They poured all themselves into business. They didn't pour anything into their family and it's struggling there.

15:53And then you have vice versa. You have guys that have amazing family lives, and they didn't really take care of the business that well, you know, and then you have the mix, you know, you find somebody like Mike where both were really good and really get drawn to that type of personality really quick. But yeah, I mean, there's several qualities that probably make a good mentor depending on the season of life that you're in.

16:13Sure. And what you're trying to glean from that relationship or that person. Yeah, I think it's a good point to find that balance because, I mean, if you're only searching for a business mentor, and you're just getting business and you're neglecting everything else, it's going to make your business suffer, right? As far as finding like a mentor, was he like your only mentor at the time or was there any other mentors that you had?

16:36No. I mean, there's several people that are probably mentors to everybody at one moment in time. Sure. You know, personally, like my dad, my grandpa were mentors, you know, to me. Yeah. You know, my grandpa was a big one. We had a lot of really good conversations. It just was a really good relationship to bounce ideas off of him. And he was, you know, he obviously had the best— my best interest at heart too, you know, being his grandson.

17:00He wanted you to do well in life. Yeah. You know, Mike being that like second dad type figure, you know, business guy you were learning from, that was, you know, really cool also. You know, that was a different type of mentor that you had in your life. You're learning different things from that person. Some people want to be a mentor to people.

17:19But they almost want to do it for their own selfish reasons. They want the recognition of it. And I think the best mentors are the ones that don't even know that they're doing it. Not only that, they have no incentive to do it. Yeah. Like, there's just, there's nothing in it for them. Yeah. They're just naturally there. Guy, I love what you told me, I don't know, a while back.

17:43You said wisdom comes from 2 places. Yeah. This is my mentor told me this. Your mentor told it, how about that? Yeah, he told me wisdom comes from 2 places. It comes from failures and it comes from the Book of Proverbs. Everybody's so worried about failing, right? And if everybody did everything right all the time, you know, there's no friction, there's no nothing to learn from, right?

18:07Yeah. So, and it's not reality. Reality, you can't appreciate your successes if you don't know what failure is. Correct. Absolutely. There's no like That's correct. You appreciate the failures after you've gone through it. Yeah, but it sticks with you, right? It sticks because it built a story, a story of grit, a story of just getting through it and working out of it.

18:25And that's what, that's what a real mentor is. Like, they can pull on those failures. So could we also say then a great mentor is somebody who's failed a lot? For sure. Absolutely. Yeah, definitely live life. And if you live life, you've had your ups and downs. What did those mentors— you mentioned Mike and Aaron— what, what did specifically, like, both of them, what did they unlock for you?

18:49Like, was it a perspective shift for you that happened, or was it— did they cause you to dream? Like, what did they do for you to, like, get, you know, push you and inspire you? I think it's all those things. Like, it caused you to dream, you know, perspective on life shifted, false beliefs started to fall away. You know, because I mean, that glass ceiling that you put over yourself.

19:10Sure. Yeah. I can only do this. I can only do that. Like, that was— I mean, I think we all done that to ourselves at one point in time, especially like when you're just getting into business and it seems impossible to reach, you know, some of those other heights, especially when somebody just says it, you know, and you have no proof of it.

19:27Yeah. But when you get to see it in person, you get to meet the person that's done something, just changes the way you view it. It's like, oh, like if they can do it, Maybe, sure, I can do it. Get to taste some of that experience. And yeah, it touches your senses and inspires you to go, well, I can do this. And I would say that you almost like live vicariously through their experience.

19:50You're excited for what they've accomplished. And then it's kind of like, well, maybe I can do it too. It's like watching a great movie. I guess you kind of feel like you're in it sometimes. Sure. Do you ever think that somebody is jealous of their mentor? I would say you could be. Okay. I don't know if they really be a mentor then.

20:06Unpack that. If they're really a mentor, you submit yourself to that experience and that knowledge base. Okay. Like you're, you're humbled by it. You're like, that is really something kind of to be in awe of, I guess. Okay. And to be jealous of something else is almost to judge it, in my opinion. You know, people say like, you know, when's enough enough?

20:26Sure. Or you don't, you don't need that much money. You should give some of it away or You know, you don't deserve that. If you're saying that or having those feelings about those, that person or that relationship, I don't know if you're gonna take anything away from it. Like, I don't think it's really a mentorship relationship at that time. The key definition is, I think, when you have a mentor-mentee relationship, you both want to add something to each other's lives without incentive.

20:55Therefore, jealousy cannot reside in that moment. Yeah. I mean, if, if you're a mentor and you're helping somebody for no gain other than maybe it makes you feel good and you gave back to the world, it's a great relationship. Sure. You're not, you're not expecting to be paid in any way, shape, or form. It's a free sharing of information to help another human being.

21:17Yeah. You met these mentors. How long had you been in business before you met your mentors? I've been in business for 3, 4 years. And was that going well? Would you say the first couple of years in business is— I think it's hard for almost everybody that gets in. That's why I was seeking out knowledge. Sure. Wasn't seeking out a mentor specifically.

21:38I was paying to be part of a group that I thought I was going to go there and just learn. Sure. The mentorships kind of like came organically along the way. And I would say that it wasn't just the mentorship that changed my life. It was a combination of several things. Okay. It was a combination of knowledge. You know, mentorship, which was like the encouragement and some knowledge from that person.

22:03And then just experience. I mean, you got to try a few things before you realize what you like, don't like, how you want to run your life essentially. It's like the trifecta. You just mentioned those 3 things. So experience, mentorship, and knowledge. And when you can put those into a program, you accelerate everything. So Adam, you, you were one of the founding members, and, and you and Aaron, you essentially built this, this vehicle or this, this element, this, this thing called ShopFix, which is basically a safe place for community to transform lives.

22:44So talk to me about that. Well, thanks for saying that. I helped build it, but it was probably like 20 of us, that first group that started the initial culture. You're leading it, obviously. When I'm looking at like what ShopFix is now, yeah, how it started and where I think has made it so successful is from the beginning it was always about mentors, peers, and heroes, right?

23:06So those peers are just like, you know, you and me sitting here and we're kind of equals and we've done the same thing and we can, we can reminisce about a lot of stuff. Sure. And commiserate, you know. Yes. Um, and that mentorship part was, you know, somebody else who had you know, you were aspiring to be or learn from, or, you know, you were looking up to that person and wanting to get some information out of them, you know, in the best way possible.

23:27And they would probably want to give it to you. And then you had these heroes and they were almost like unattainable, like they were, you know, it was such a far reach out there. You— the mentorship wasn't even— you couldn't have the conversation yet. Yeah. Because it was like they're intimidating. They're intimidating. Yeah. Yeah. How do you have a conversation with that person?

23:43You're so far away from me. But just seeing that made everything so much easier in ShopFix to like kind of reach, I think, because I could have a conversation with you about what we're doing today. Sure. And we could kind of like support each other and be like, I'm going through the same thing. We're going to figure it out together. Let's go like get it.

24:01Sure. And then you talk to a mentor and they would, you know, be like, you know, pouring information into you, propping you up, being like, you can do it. I've done it. And like, you know, it was like the next step up. And then you had this, you know, this hero that you saw way out in the distance and you're like, Maybe someday, or that's pretty cool.

24:17Yeah. You know, it's amazing somebody can even do something like that. And I think just having that, you know, environment where it was good to have all 3 of those people always involved really changed like the landscape of how ShopFix attracted people. The growth rate was incredible because you had all those relationships within that ecosystem. It wasn't limited, you know, to 20 people.

24:40It just kept growing and growing. And more and more relationships just kept building. And that's precious in today's age because mentors are few and far in the automotive industry. There's just— there's not a lot. But when you concentrate them, what's the results that we're seeing out of ShopFix now of this concentration of mentors? Well, it's crazy because, I mean, there's people coming into, you know, ShopFix doing, you know, $30,000, $40,000 a month and they're in it for a short period of time.

25:06They double to $60,000 or they triple to $90,000. Pretty soon, you know, they get a couple more locations after, you know, they really dial in a store. And they've 9 times what they, you know, have done when they started. Wow. Um, it's just crazy to see that kind of growth, you know, like our Light program that we got. It's so easy for them to get in a room where it's a bunch of their peers learning, and then we have some coaches in there teaching.

25:29Um, you know, they start to— not a heavy lift. Yep. And it's just a, you know, a taste of everything with all, you know, some good information. Wow. And some encouragement there. Yeah. And then they, they're like, oh, it would be cool. Yeah, a community. And, you know, it's, you know, a great place to like feel like you're safe to learn and people are pouring into you with the best of intentions.

25:47Like, we want you to grow. Like, this is, you know, yeah, this is what this is here for. Yeah. You know, and then they get into pro and then it's even a bigger relationship they can develop, you know, among members and build friendships. You said 9 times is the average growth. Is that what— is that what you just said? Yeah. When late members start to where they can reach, 9 times is the average growth right now.

26:09That's crazy. And I think I read a stat. We were looking at this the other day. Our average ShopFix shop after 2 years is at $2.5 million. Yes, that's our average revenue across all ShopFix shops, all. And we have over 1,300. Yes, out there in, in all of our programs. That's just— that's astounding. But 9 times— here's what amazes me the most.

26:33We're talking about that jealousy factor. Do you think that there's jealousy in— within ShopFix? Well, I know there's always some jealousy. Sure. In any group of people, probably. Sure. But I would say that's probably the least of emotions that I see in shop. Yes. Yes. You know, most of it is very positive, encouraging. People are celebrating wins with each other. Yeah. You know, and trying to bring their friend up with them.

26:57You know, everybody wants to do better because we all want another friend that can do the same thing we're doing. Yes. It started with that culture that was built. Yeah. Initially. And it was a slow grow. Yeah. And that culture was protected, and now it's, it's just like it draws people that want that. Um, and so, I mean, if that's something that you want— yeah, yeah.

27:19The— all those mentors, you think about it like a garden. They're tilling that soil, and they're, and they're adding fertilizer, or adding— they keep adding nutrients and keep adding nutrients, and they keep— it gets richer and richer and richer. And now you've got a pool of this awesome inspiration. Through all that. So if you're thinking about taking your shop to the next level, I mean, Light might be something that they can consider.

27:40Absolutely. I mean, what's the lift to get into Light? It's, it's very simple. It's $397 a month. Cheap. And we, on, on average, like within the first 3 months, we're going to give you 3 times your investment. So, you know, it's absolutely— it's pretty, uh, it's pretty light. It's a light lift. It is. It is a light lift. We had somebody the other day that tripled their business in 2 months in the Light Program.

28:05Okay. I was blown away. They came to the boot camp, in-person boot camp, which you get with Light Program. And he said, yeah, when I went to the boot camp last time— What's the boot camp? I think it's like 10 hours that we pour into you all these modules, financials, operations, marketing, hiring, mindset, leadership, all these lessons stacked with with coaches who own auto repair shops.

28:31That's what you guys are doing in that room. Real things. That's what we're doing. While I'm working. Yes. Okay, got it. That's correct. We're out here having fun. You're having fun. Yes. Yeah. No, I seriously, I do hear shop owners that, I mean, these people in light, they're just like, I love, isn't there somebody that came to boot camp like a second time?

28:453 times. Somebody snuck in the third time. Didn't register, just like, hey, I'm gonna show up. I'm just gonna show up. Which is fine. He needed it. He did. He needed it. That's good, that's good. Yeah, it's good stuff. But yeah, Light is for you. Uh, it's a great, great product. Over 100 videos in there. You get weekly group coaching calls, uh, you get attendance to a boot camp, and we just got done with a hackers conference, but you get a free ticket to the hackers conference.

29:13So that'll be for next year. I promise you it'll change your life. So Adam, all, all these years you've got mentored, then you started mentoring other people, and I would say that I saw you grow faster when you started mentoring other people. So talk about what you were doing before and what revenue are you doing now? So when I started out at a single location, I was— the first few months that I was in business, I was about $20,000, $25,000 in revenue.

29:39Okay. Um, we average about $165,000, I think, right now per location revenue across all the stores. Okay. So we have some higher producers and we have some that are, you know, $120 million range, probably. Sure, on the lower end. But overall, uh, we're doing about $14 million this year. Wow. Mentors. The power of mentors. Adam, thanks so much for being on the podcast today.

30:02Thank you. Thank you also for all your, your mentoring, all the hard conversations, uh, all the laughter, all, all the emotions that we've been through over the years. Like, you've been a huge mentor to me, and you've poured into me more than what you know. And I, I wouldn't be sitting here today if it wasn't for mentors like Adam and Guy sitting here.

30:22So this is cool. Appreciate it. Appreciate you guys. Thanks for having me on. Thank you.