The Institute’s Leading Edge Podcast

161 - Standing at the Crossroads featuring Mike Simard, Simard Automotive

161 - Standing at the Crossroads featuring Mike Simard, Simard Automotive
October 22, 2025 - 01:28:45
 
Show Summary:
Standing at the Crossroads with Mike Simard, owner of Simard Automotive in Alaska, follows his journey from small-town beginnings in Vermont to leading a successful seven-location auto repair business in one of the most challenging environments in America. Mike shares powerful insights on leadership, perseverance, and business growth, revealing how faith, resilience, and a people-first mindset helped him build a thriving automotive team and company culture. From lessons learned on the shop floor to wisdom drawn from his sled dog team, this inspiring conversation explores what it truly means to lead with heart, purpose, and integrity in today’s automotive industry. Want help defining your legacy and growing a people-first business? Meet with Michael Smith to start your leadership and legacy strategy: https://theinstitute.zohobookings.com/#/Executive-Owner-Strategy-Session 
 
Host(s):
Kent Bullard, COO of The Institute
Michael Smith, Chief Strategy Officer at The Institute
 
Guest(s):
Mike Simard, Owner of Simard Automotive
 
Show Highlights:
[00:04:08] - Mike describes how curiosity and a drive to serve others led him into the automotive industry.[00:07:28] - A painful layoff at 19 fuels Mike’s determination to move to Alaska and build his future.[00:13:10] - Arriving in Fairbanks with little money, Mike’s relentless work ethic helps him open his first shop.[00:23:40] - The birth of his son with a heart condition reshapes his purpose and leadership focus.[00:28:23] - Joining a 20 group changes Mike’s perspective on business, money, and the value of community.[00:37:30] - The growing pains of leadership and building consistent processes across multiple shops.[00:49:08] - How dog mushing taught Mike about trust, motivation, and leading through care, not fear.[01:05:42] - On balancing compassion with accountability when developing team members.[01:10:59] - Building a leadership pipeline and measuring success through internal promotions.[01:19:33] - Giving back through community partnerships, apprenticeships, and technical training programs.
 
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?
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Kent Bullard: Hello, and welcome to the Institute's Leading Edge Crossroads podcast, where we're looking at examining the crucial decisions that professionals make that can steer careers, that shape industries that inspire thought leadership and ultimately build lasting legacies. I'm Ken Bullard. I'm joined by my esteemed colleague Michael Smith, and today we have the privilege of speaking with Mike Simard of ARD Automotive out of Alaska.
Kent Bullard: Mike, thank you so much for being here today.
Mike Simard: Hello. Thank you, Kent. And hello, Michael. Michael.
Michael Smith: Hello, Mike. How are you man?
Mike Simard: I'm great. Great. It's really balmy here. It's about 25 above in Alaska, so we're having heatwave winter shorts today.
Kent Bullard: So, tell us a little bit about yourself. Introduce yourself to the audience who's listening at home right now.
Mike Simard: Sure. My name is Mike Ard. Originally grew up in upstate Vermont where I think there's more cows than people up there. And you know, I worked various jobs on a farm and worked in a shop since I was 13 years old. So I've been at this business for over 39 years, if you want to count since I was 13, 'cause that's what I did.
Mike Simard: I even I learned to work before I learned to party, so I was that kind of guy that I would you know, work ethic if you're you know, looking at that. So, what I love to do is take things apart. Now, when I was young, I couldn't figure out how to put it back together. So, you know, I met some people in my life that liked to tinker on things and farmers always had to fix things in the middle of the field.
Mike Simard: So, they just kind of hung around people that had to make things happen, grow food just get people to work and hung around people like that. So, 13 years old, worked in a shop after school, weekends, nights. During the summer, you know, time. And I learned how to split wood, you know, almost as tall as myself by hand.
Mike Simard: And so I, I didn't have any you know, I had the old school, I had the old school training back then. So when I was about 19, I decided to pursue my goals. And I moved to Alaska and my future wife wanted to get outta state, just beautiful state up there but pretty isolated and moved to Alaska.
Mike Simard: And so we have three beautiful children. I'm blessed to say that two of them are pursuing medical careers and one's wants to be an attorney. So I never thought I'd see that coming. And we have 40 sled dogs and a couple of boats and that we saved up for 20 years. And we just love to go hunting and fishing and raise our children on organic natural.
Mike Simard: Food, if you will. And we have seven locations, one tire shop. And I just love pursuing the things that are hard and hopefully giving other people an opportunity to grow and pursue their purpose and their God-given talents in life, and use those to help humanity. That's the goal. So I hope that's the.
Mike Simard: 39 years, like really fast.
Kent Bullard: I'm just gonna say that's, I, I am very excited to dive into the wealth of knowledge and experience that you've had over your 39 years in automotive and beyond today. Those of you who are listening at home, this is a dialogue, this is a conversation and it is designed this way so that you can participate in that.
Kent Bullard: If you have questions, if you have comments, if you have thoughts about the content we discussed today, let us know in the comments below. We wanna invite you into explore this content with us. If you're looking for more information about what we do, you can also find that at we are the institute.com and obviously if you enjoy the content today, like and share, so the algorithm likes us and we can get this content to as many people who need it as possible.
Kent Bullard: So with that, I want to talk, you know, you, you gave a brief introduction. Of how you kind of came into this industry. I'd love to dive in to what originally drew you to this industry, but more importantly, what inspired you to commit to it?
Mike Simard: Well, that's a great question. Again, I think the, there was always an internal drive to figure out how things work.
Mike Simard: And so for me it was almost, you know, it was almost like a spiritual sense, but I didn't necessarily know that it's just like, how are things work? How does the world put together what makes things tick? And so I was always the guy that I'm a di for anybody that knows discs, so I'm like, I'm gonna take it apart before I read the manual.
Mike Simard: Right. So I just love taking things apart. Got a little frustrating. I couldn't get my remote control cars to work again, and my buddies were already put it together. I take my bike apart. It's like, what are you doing? It's like, I'm gonna go faster, right? I'm gonna go better. I'm gonna figure it out. And I liked, I think I also liked helping people.
Mike Simard: So it's the old lady, the old neighbor, you know, I mow the lawn for 10 bucks a week. The lawnmower back then, you know, those things weighed more than I did. I wasn't a big guy. So, but you know, it had a self-driving wheels on it. Old school, I had to figure out, it's like, I wanna make my job easier.
Mike Simard: So I figured out how to fix the wheel. So I just loved trying to fix things and I realized people appreciate that 'cause not everybody's mechanically inclined. And it's like, oh, I love fixing things. Figure out how they work. And I like making people happy. By serving them and giving something they need.
Mike Simard: So, that's really, you know, I'll tell you what I was blessed with is that I went into it because I'm excited to do it and I found my purpose. Not everybody has that today. It's sad. And that's one of the things I want to help the industry. It's like we have a purpose, we have potential regardless of what society says.
Mike Simard: And so, I found my purpose not because it was a paycheck, and I think back, I mean, there was times, you know, my paycheck was in the drawer and, you know, 'cause I gave payroll to my people, but I didn't go into the industry for money. And I was just blessed since I was 13 years old. I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Mike Simard: And not everybody has that. And I realized what a gift that was in my life. And so, now how did I learn? I kept learning. I kept making mistakes. Resilience and grit's. A huge factor to get back on the horse. When you're kicked down. And so I think I wanna make sure I answer your question, but that really motivated me and also my first boss.
Mike Simard: I've told Michael Smith this before I worked for most of my leaders were poor leaders. I didn't know that. It just didn't my job. And they didn't know how to appreciate or recognize. My first boss I found out later was it was that mood disorder bipolar. It's like, oh man, that explains a lot.
Mike Simard: And I wonder how that's affected me. You know, 13 to 19 years old, I had a bipolar boss could barely read. So I was writing repair orders at 15 driving cars. I wasn't old enough to drive learned to fix tractors, dump trucks. And I also learned my customer service skills and I really like seeing the repair go out the door.
Mike Simard: And in a way that the customer felt good about and that they were empowered to choose what they needed to do. It felt safe. And that just gave me a good feeling. So hopefully answered your question there, Kent.
Kent Bullard: It did do you, was there anything, like one event or instance that got you to say, this is where I'm gonna live the rest of my life, this is the path I'm gonna take?
Mike Simard: Yep. Absolutely. I will tell you what I've also learned is I work a sacrifice, right? Discipline, you know, was really sacrificed in the now for the future self, right? So back that person I worked for in my life you know, he had a business to run and things weren't going good financially.
Mike Simard: And he said, I gotta let you go. And this person was the guy in one of my, my, you know, mentors in my life, one of the men in my life to help build me and make me who I am. And you know, he, that was hard because he didn't know how to let his brother-in-law go, didn't tell you that part. And he didn't know how to say that.
Mike Simard: And I felt. I felt bad, you know, and I talked to Michael about this a little bit, but it really affected me and it drove me and it drove me because I wanted to, and this isn't necessarily a positive thing, but that hurt, that wound drove me to say, I, I need to be the best person I could be. You know, there was early days wanted to, to figure out and show them who I could be and prove who I was.
Mike Simard: You know, all young men really need that challenge to grow up and mature. And it's really awesome because that was a wound and it drove me. And then I matured. I talked to guys like Michael or just leadership people and, you know, some counselors as needed, whatever we gotta do to be good fathers and good leaders to work on ourself.
Mike Simard: But you know, this August I had an awesome thing happen. My dad had passed away and that was a beautiful thing. It was a beautiful thing. And but that man was there and I got to thank him. For that. So what seemed like, and that was healing for me and him and what seemed like a huge, like, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do?
Mike Simard: I'm 19. You know, you think you know everything, but later on you're like, you didn't know anything. And that hurt drove me to Alaska. 'cause me and my buddy, so there's this, me and my buddy were on the back of a tractor with a six pack beer at 10 o'clock at night. 'cause the Hay's gotta get in. And I'm like, hurry up so we can go to the party.
Mike Simard: You know, I did my 12 hours. You do your 14. We did the math. He was making a dollar 20 an hour working for his dad on the farm. You wanna talk about hard workers? Okay. I was making like seven. So I thought it was, I was in heaven. This is back in the nineties. And so we had convinced each other, we're gonna Alaska for the pipe dreams.
Mike Simard: Well then we met our soon to be wives, changed our whole perspective. I got laid off and I'm like, now's the time. You're ready buddy? And he is like, no, she wants to stay. So I. I opened a map and like my dad's like, where do you wanna go? Because he drove up with me. He was great. I was like, well, Anchorage looks too big.
Mike Simard: Everybody else looks too small. Fairbanks looks about right. And I drove to Fairbanks and I've been here ever since. So that difficulty in my life and that pain and that hurt drove me to go to Alaska, and I know now it was providential. I didn't know that. It felt like pain. It felt like running away.
Mike Simard: It felt like proving myself. But this is where I'm supposed to be.
Kent Bullard: Well, you could have just as easily, I mean, I can't imagine the rejection of a mentor that you look up to and they're kind of saying, you know what? Nevermind, I'm done. I'm kind of done with this relationship. That's gotta be exceptionally painful.
Kent Bullard: And you could have taken it completely sideways. You could have let that destroy you. You could have let that eat at you. But you pointed it in a productive way, if not, you know, fully a healing way at that point. You know, and it might have taken time, but I mean, you put, you pointed it in a very productive way.
Kent Bullard: And that takes a lot of grit, as you would say.
Mike Simard: Yep. Absolutely. You can let the pain either transform you or you can spread it out. Puke it out all over everybody else, you know, I mean, we have to choose and so, didn't always do it right, didn't always make the right choices. Right. But you know, it's trying to live your highest potential.
Mike Simard: It's gonna fall down and scrape your knees. You gotta get back up and I just, I love doing that. I love helping others do the
Michael Smith: same. So how long ago that you showed up in Fairbanks? How many years? I moved
Mike Simard: here in 1995. It was May 13th at 11:00 AM and my dad and I drove a 1984 Chevy with a straight six from the salvage yard with some bearings are rolled in with some 400 grit emery cloth.
Mike Simard: And made it all the way here. And the engine blew five days later with a 1979 banner, double actual travel trailer that weighed more than the truck. I cannot believe the Canadians let us through. It was awesome. And
Michael Smith: yeah. And when did your wife come.
Mike Simard: So she was back there finishing up school that year, and she showed up that summer.
Mike Simard: And I worked for the dealership for the first eight months of my time here. So, and we didn't know it at the time. We stayed in a terrible part of town. It was bad, but that's all we could afford. Right? So, did what we, the adventure
Kent Bullard: begins the adventure. So there by providence. What did the first bit of your life there look like?
Kent Bullard: You know, leading up to when you know you're there, you're in a new place to when you actually decided to have your first shop?
Mike Simard: Well, I always had that dream right. I always knew what I wanted to do. Again, I'm blessed with that. I always knew I wanted to run a shop. Now I, you know, sometimes you can't always perceive what's in store for you, but you kind of get see through the fog and I just always hung onto that and it kept driving me to get outta bed in the morning when nobody else wanted to.
Mike Simard: And so, I remember when my dad went home that night, it was a lonely time. I had no money. I think I owed like five grand on my credit card. My engine blew up five days later. I just landed the job. I had to get to the job. I was living 30 miles outta town 'cause it was $200 a month and that's all I could afford.
Mike Simard: And so I went and bought a 1979 Chrysler Cordova two door. And they needed a radiator from the local used car place for like 500 bucks and two debit transactions. I mean, I was right at the bottom right, but I was gonna make it happen. And so, I went ahead and figured out to get a place in town closer so my wife, my future wife would come up and I just met, you know, it was a cool thing how things work out.
Mike Simard: I met two good old boys that lived. Up two, two of my redneck people that I knew from other people they were they were there, they lived the town over and we had known each other and who each other was, but we didn't know each other. And the best thing I ever had not much of a beer drinker, but that was the best cold beer I ever had 'cause I couldn't afford it.
Mike Simard: And they're like, here's a beer out in a gravel pit. And that just, those little things helped keep me going. I landed the job at the dealership and got a place that my wife would would appreciate Stan. And that got me started. What was the rest of your question, Kent?
Kent Bullard: So, so this is kind of about the major decisions that, that, you know, shape you and your career and the industry.
Kent Bullard: So you're there, you're working for the dealership. What was the pivotal moment where you've always wanted ownership, but how did you make the decision? How'd you move forward with that?
Michael Smith: What was that day
Kent Bullard: like? Yeah. What was that like?
Michael Smith: Yeah.
Mike Simard: Yeah, so what I remember is working at that dealership, what I did is I met some good people, made some friends and then we ended up renting a shop.
Mike Simard: My wife had come and upgraded the Chrysler right to a two-wheel drive Toyota. And what I did was rented a little shop outside of town and with a friend. We went in on it and we just started fixing cars at night. I mean, it was crazy. We were heating it with a torpedo heater and getting sick in the fumes.
Mike Simard: We didn't know what we were doing. And it was just really to, I love fixing cars. And I wanted to make a life for my wife and I, and start a family, and I knew I needed a good support structure for them. And in Fairbanks, Alaska, you know, there's a lot, it's a harsh climate, so there's always something to fix up here.
Mike Simard: And so I would say it was more of a undetermined, relentless drive that I couldn't. I couldn't turn away from that. That really led me to, to the goal. And so, you know, things come up all the time. I can tell you about a hundred of 'em come up, some serious life things that came up that, but I never ever questioned what was in my heart.
Mike Simard: So I always knew where to go, and I just kept reaching and reaching for it. So fixing a few cars having some side money was helpful, but I just loved when people were like, thank you so much. Nobody could figure it out. Of course, they didn't know. It took me 20 hours because I didn't know what I was doing all the way.
Mike Simard: But I just wouldn't give up and I would do the work to the point where I'd be proud for anybody to look at it under the hood. And so in 1997 we bought a duplex and I built from scratch a 24 by 32 square foot garage behind the house. We're about to have our first kit. I guess one customer at a time.
Mike Simard: So I actually quit my job and my first job, you won't believe this, but it was a D nine bulldozer that I did an in-frame and I didn't know what I was doing, but there's a manual. I actually had to read that manual, right? And I put it together and the only problem I had was one valve was ticking. He called me up, I got this weird ticking, and I was like, oh my God, please, I can't afford any screw ups.
Mike Simard: And it was just a valve adjustment. And that was my first job. It was like $2,500 labor. And that fed my wife and I for two weeks. And so it was one customer at a time. It was the grind, it was a slug, but I remember those times as a challenge, but I wouldn't change it for the world because of the lessons I learned to begin that operation.
Mike Simard: I learned all about customer service again. You're on your own. If you mess it up, they're not happy, right? They're not gonna pay you. And I really just got in with some good people that just kept telling others that I did good work. So that's kind of the beginning and the birth of of the company.
Michael Smith: Were there weeks that went by at the beginning after you quit your job, that you didn't have the flow, and you guys are sitting over the milk cartons looking at each other going, gee, I hope there's food next week. Did it ever go that low for you guys?
Mike Simard: I would say there was a lot of ramen noodles and hamburger helper.
Michael Smith: Yeah. There you go.
Mike Simard: Absolutely. But, you know, my wife probably has a different perspective. But I would say that you know, if you do good work, then they tell someone else. It, it grew pretty fast in my mindset. My goal was to be at a bigger shop for 18 months, and I remember one of the hardest things I did was I wanted to grow down the street.
Mike Simard: Michael, you've been to that, that other, that first shop? Not the first shop, but the second shop in 1999. We grew, it was about six months late. And I remember going into banks I needed like 180,000. Right. And you know, I got two, no. And, you know, I was just a young kid that thought I knew everything, but I went into third bank and I said, look sir, I know exactly what I need to do.
Mike Simard: I know I'm gonna, I'm gonna make it successful. I have a plan, you know, and I really, you know, I'd like to borrow all the money from you. And it's, I just gave it all I got. And I don't know what I said exactly that day 'cause I had been rejected. And that guy gave me the, yes. So it's really about people in your life.
Mike Simard: I think that, you know, the right time, the right conditions, and I can kind of look back. It's always easier to see that that if you keep trying for the goal and it's the right goal and your heart's orientated in the right direction for the right reasons, then the right people will come along to help you get there.
Mike Simard: And that banker, I'll still remember who that guy is, name's Gary. And he took a chance on me and that's what I needed in the moment. To go forward and build that next shop that I built.
Michael Smith: Knowing you that's really all you needed, just gimme one leg up and I'll be fine. Right. Just lemme get that one leg and I'll do what I say,
Mike Simard: like, I won't sleep until I do what I say is extremely important to me as well.
Mike Simard: That I do what I say and I did it. Yep.
Michael Smith: Great story.
Kent Bullard: What was the, was there a turning point in that single location? Because this is a garage on your property, right? Yeah. This first place. Are you still
Mike Simard: there? No. So that, that we sold that property when we, in 99, built the bigger shop. We ended up living upstairs in a bigger shop, sold that whole duplex off to fund the new program.
Mike Simard: And then grew that one location. That's really where I actually joined the institute, two thou late 2007. So there's a lot of cooking time there. It's like what, 8, 8, 9 years? After saying no. Several times I could see now how much that's cost me money. When I didn't join the 20 group that GPT three used to be called Bottom Line Impact Group I said No.
Mike Simard: And finally, you know, guys just did a good job back then. Are you sure? Are you sure? Sure. 'cause there was trainings. And finally I like, I gotta really learn how to run a business and I gotta learn how to manage people. And so, what was your question again,
Kent Bullard: Kent? If you could repeat it, just kind of looking to see where you were at when you've, when you had the single location and things started running smooth, you were kind of in that area of, Hey, this is working.
Kent Bullard: I'm feeling that this is successful. I am starting to step away. You know, 'cause at some point it's not a, it's not the same type of grind. Right? Yeah. This grind is, I'm working on these vehicles I'm working on directly with these customers. At some point you made kind of a transition to leadership and management and weren't in the trenches, so to speak.
Mike Simard: Yep. Yeah, I can speak to that. So I do remember those days as I was learning to be a better technician and I loved working on cars. Then I discovered that I love teaching people. I brought a lot of people up from the ground up. And a lot of, some of these people are still in this town and appreciate that.
Mike Simard: And so I also, I needed to learn how to sell work in the front. And I remember I'd been doing that since I was 13. I didn't necessarily know how to make money. I mean, the p and l, what's that, right? Do I have enough money to pay bills today? I mean, that's what it was.
Michael Smith: Book Living, right?
Mike Simard: I had a really good person for my bookkeeper.
Mike Simard: She was like my grandmother. She was like my guide kind of like Tara is now, but I had somebody else there, so that helped me manage that part of it so I could focus on the front and the back. So eventually I felt a good enough to hire some people that knew what they were doing. And I was already really good tech, had a really good reputation.
Mike Simard: The brand was really strong, no marketing. And I started moving towards the front to manage. And sometime around there, you know, GPG came, you know, Ling Impact Group came. And what I realized, I think what happened or a couple things happened, if I can take a pause for me in my life it's fairly significant.
Mike Simard: So again, more of those, that adversity that you got two choices. You can let it beat you down or you can use it to, you know, realize there's a lesson there and you go, so when I first opened my, my, when I first opened a shop, actually, when I first moved into the new location. So you got a new mortgage now, right?
Mike Simard: And a kid on the way. I felt, I started feeling successful, so I had a little bit more money. Instead of just ramen noodles, I could buy a steak. And then I started, I don't know what's weird, but even though the company was growing, I felt a little bit of a a hole somewhere. Right? It's like, what's missing?
Mike Simard: So I started seeking a little bit back to my spiritual roots and going to that. But at that time, and I didn't realize what was going on. I can reflect on it, you know? I was really looking what's the meaning of life? You know, you go through, you can go through why am I here? And and that time I had my first kit and super excited.
Mike Simard: I was a boy, you know, I'm a dad and you know, so that was hugely significant and this was a pivotal moment for me. I think that made me who I am. So my son was born with half a heart and he had heart surgery within three days. And it was a, it was the craziest thing 'cause it's the only time I got to, if you will play God.
Mike Simard: And back then they said you got three choices. You know, you can wait for baby to die and take heart lung transplant. You can do this radical surgery that sometimes works or you can you can let 'em go. And so that was a pretty tough one at whatever I was 23 and to say you could just let your baby die.
Mike Simard: And I'm like, well, if there's a chance, okay then I have hope. So that changed my whole life. My son's doing great now. He's the one in medical school. It was three open heart surgeries and a lot. So I was running a business that was successful. It was awesome 'cause my friends came when we were down there.
Mike Simard: I'd never left his side and mama's side during those open heart surgeries. And my friends came outta the woodwork and ran the shop for me. They had no idea what they were doing. The techs knew what they were doing. The team came together. And I think what I learned about that time was that running the shop and where this business can go wasn't about me anymore.
Mike Simard: It was about, I needed to learn about how to help others and serve others. And I think I needed that. I was searching for something. I didn't know what it was. And again, another large piece of adversity, another huge challenge that I don't wish upon my worst enemy came up and, I had to kind of contend with life again and what it meant and where should I go and how am I gonna choose to navigate?
Mike Simard: And I choose to look at this as as this are my cards, and this is, you know, we're the parents for this young man that needed us in the situation that he was in is William. You've met William, I think Michael. And that I'm gonna keep going, like my dream's still alive. And there's a couple detours and I never give up.
Mike Simard: And it also changed me as a person to where that whole if you will, that I had of like, what's the meaning of life? All of a sudden? Like, ah, serve others, help others grow this business to do that, Mike, that's why you're actually doing it. Sometimes you just see, I'm gonna fix cars and make all this money.
Mike Simard: It's like, if that's what your goal and dream is, then eventually that might dry up and that may not be enough to carry you through hard stuff, making money's fine. That's what we do. But what are you gonna leave when you're gone? What kind of legacy are you gonna leave? Earth and are you gonna leave it better than you found it?
Mike Simard: So that's what I did is I used those moments to take and say, you know, this business is about helping others. And so eventually I think you guys end up calling me Dan Gilley's crew and and said, Hey, are you sure you wanna join 'em? Finally, I'm like, yeah, I need to learn around a business.
Mike Simard: 'cause I gotta take care of my people. I love that. So a personal about that, I don't know if Michael's heard all that, but that's really what I went through and I think what drove me made me who I am. Yeah.
Kent Bullard: You know, I just to commiserate here I feel a lot of familiarity here with myself.
Kent Bullard: You know, I've made some choices in my life and I've often felt that, you know, a lot of, often oftentimes people go, oh, there's these things that inspire me. There's these, you know, nice, beautiful, positive things. But for me personally, and it, you know, it sounds a lot like with you it's the times in my life where I've had to face adversity that I really was able to use that as fuel to grow and develop and make those changes.
Kent Bullard: And sometimes it's not gonna be a beautiful, inspiring thing that gets us to move. Sometimes it's the ugly, painful stuff that, that goes, you know what? I gotta be tougher than this thing in front of me. 'cause I know I can be, you know? And
Kent Bullard: so. You're dealing with a lot of this you've got a lot of people that came outta the woodwork to help support you and help you grow this. And you realized, you know, this is, I'm really building this for others to serve others. And you've got a single location and you're starting to figure things out.
Kent Bullard: What's the transition look like between the single location and deciding I'm going to, you know, grow, I'm gonna expand, I'm gonna make this as big as possible to help as many people as I can?
Mike Simard: You know, I think it's what we told our kids too, in, in you know, I think if I would've stayed in that little town of Vermont, if you stay hidden in your room, if you put your head down and don't look up and see what's out there in the world and what the possibilities are you're never gonna even know how to dream.
Mike Simard: You're never know how to pray. You're never gonna know how to seek. Like, what should I be doing? And you're limited in your thinking 'cause you just don't see. And so I think what happened was I was ner a little nervous to join a 20 group 'cause there's a stigma. I was like, everybody's out to make money.
Mike Simard: I came from, look at man, I came from upstate Vermont where the farmers were always complaining that the rich bankers and lawyers are the ones that dockers are screwing it all up. Right? All these corporate people, right? And so that was my narrative and I was nervous to join a 20 group. 'cause probably a bunch of crooks, right?
Mike Simard: They're just making all this money. And of course I was doing better. But you know, if it's 3% net with no debt, I mean that's better than from zero right now. Now 3% net doesn't cut the mustard, right? So, I think what changed is that I realized I needed some help. I needed to grow. I needed something, you know, high school taught me a lot.
Mike Simard: The real world taught me a lot. I needed to get my education. So I joined the 20 group. The cool part about that is you know, still friends with a lot of these guys. I just saw five of 'em. My good buddies in Denver here last week with Michael. Had a good dinner. You know, I met these people and we formed a new bond with people.
Mike Simard: I was like, wow, you're just like, I am. And then I was like, oh, you started wrenching too. And and we all really, I felt their hearts were good and they had skills. I didn't, and I had skills. They didn't. And we shared ideas in the 20 group. Again, this is institute and Dan Gilly and RLO and that whole transition of what you guys are carrying forward.
Mike Simard: That, and then seeing other shops and the group process that, you guys aren't paying me a dime. You didn't tell me. I had to mention at all the institute. I just wanna say that right now. Nobody told me to do this. But that's what opened my vision and my horizons. 'cause like, wow. These are good people in this industry and wow, there's a lot of things we can do for the industry and I can learn and I can contribute.
Mike Simard: And then to answer your question, I think it was, I think it was Jeff that came in the group and he's like, got five stores and just kind of comes in do. And and then someone else bought a store and then I'm like, dude, I mean, I'm still struggling to, to run my store. It's actually starting to get better.
Mike Simard: I'm learning how to run a p and l and how to market and take care of people better. You know, you get a little bored. I was like, well shoot, I'm not gonna let you beat me. So how did you do that? And then they share, then they tell you what not to do. And then then I bought a second store and 2000 what the heck was that?
Mike Simard: A few years later, I'll say. And I think it was just 2016, but then a another store, and then I had a bunch of friends that now it's like, Hey man, where, when are you gonna buy a store? And so next thing you know, group three is, you know, that's the infamous beginning of the story of group three of how we went multi-store
Kent Bullard: operators.
Kent Bullard: So I want to get into that, you know, from one to two and talk a little bit about that. But before we do that, I'm curious to know how you addressed that stigma you had about these guys are. Crooks because they're trying to make money. And it's something that we hear often, you know, when we're out and about and people are asking us, well, you know, obviously they're really greedy and they're, you know, what about that Got you to shift your perspective to, you know, these guys actually are full of love and full of care and they're doing this because, you know, I mean, they wanna invest in people.
Kent Bullard: What, what got you
Michael Smith: to kind of, they're multiplying their impact, right? It's a shift in mindset. So how'd that happen for you? Well, I think it's
Mike Simard: because we all I would say everybody, you know, again, it's the circumstances that you're put in and the people that come at the right time. I mean, it's all these different things that happen that are outta your control that you can choose how to use that, right?
Mike Simard: And so I just happened to be in a group with a bunch of people that got along well that challenged each other to grow. So when I realized of like, oh, goodness rest of the world, there's a bigger world out there. And the reality that I grew up in and was taught isn't the reality that I'm seeing.
Mike Simard: So that's where my 10 pegs got wider, right? It's like, oh there's a larger world out there. And I started understanding different ways to operate the shop. And I had friends that could call. And I think at that point I realized, you know, there's a narrative going on in society that I don't agree with.
Mike Simard: And COVID was a great example. Who was the essential workers? All of a sudden we became essential. Before, I don't know if you guys ever remember this. Not everybody remembers this. In the high school guidance counselor's office, there was a picture of a college graduate. And a grease monkey mechanic.
Mike Simard: Has anybody ever seen that? Ever? 'cause if not, I'll send it to you later. And it was like, I wanna see it. You don't wanna be this guy, you wanna be that guy. Has anybody seen that? YouTube? I didn't. I wanna see it.
Kent Bullard: But when I was in high school at that time, at that age, they were actually rolling back a lot of those what I would deter, you know, say now are really essential jobs like shop and, you know, automotive.
Kent Bullard: And they were pulling those programs outta my school and they were investing in things like the football team, which by the way, we never won a game. Okay. During my whole time at that high school. But they were pulling back these really crucial. Programs at that time. And that's, you know, I look back, I'm like, that's such a, it's such a travesty.
Kent Bullard: Right? That's my experience with that. You know? Send
Michael Smith: us the picture.
Kent Bullard: Yeah. Send you a
Mike Simard: picture. But that was the, you know, the backdrop of Yeah. Of the narrative that was working against me and the narrative that I had in that, that upstate Vermont farm town, which I'm so grateful that our dad brought us there.
Mike Simard: I mean, that was a great place to live. And so what I realized is that the world wasn't that way and that, look, I mean, I've got three kids going to school, okay? But the thing is that we raised them in a way to show them different perspectives of the world. And we never once told them what they should do.
Mike Simard: It's like, you gonna pick, well, everybody in the world says, I gotta go to college and get this degree. I said just look at, man, if you're gonna do brain surgery, you better go to stinking college. Okay? Like, you're not working on someone's brain without it. But there's a lot of good jobs in the trade and that's why I'm like, there, there's a undercurrent, I don't call it a lie, I'm not a conspiracy theorist guy, but it's like they're undervalued the people that make America go, that build houses, that fix cars and make stuff work.
Mike Simard: And that's been undervalued and it really irritates the crap outta me. 'cause there's really good people back to those people. A lot of the guys in that group and guys and gals started their own shop, either wrenching or working on the front end. And they were good, honest people. And then I realized it's okay to make money.
Mike Simard: You're, you know, I think Waffle told me years ago, it's like, you know, every business should be ready for sale at any time and you're building it to sell. And it's like stinking little things like that I never thought of. I ran it 'cause I loved it and then it was like, I should run it in case something happens to me.
Mike Simard: I need also it to carry on. You know, I want something to last. And I also want to take people that have been marginalized in society. I bought tire shops. If you wanna talk about going back 10 years in technology from the comprehensive model. There, there's this like, oh my gosh, I didn't realize that a lot of people in the tire industry have been there forever and haven't moved.
Mike Simard: And it's like, geez, you guys need to see what's out there in the world. Maybe you want I'd make me laugh all the time. Maybe you wanna be an astronaut. They look at me, wait, well hold on. I said, well, you could start with like being a mechanic or being an a tech or being a service advisor or run a store, but maybe you wanna be an astronaut.
Mike Simard: And like where are you? Where are they limited? And how can we show them what's available and how do we help people get outta poverty? And so that's what really drove me to wanna multiply and influence in a larger scale. I hope I answered your question to
Kent Bullard: that. You did.
Kent Bullard: And I, you know, I wanna follow this up 'cause now I want to talk about, you know, exploring that, that. You know, step from one to two. And my question that I have written here is like, what were your greatest concerns or fears? You don't seem like a person who has fears. It's almost like you're just ready to take it on head first, so you know more.
Kent Bullard: So what were the, what were some of the obstacles that you got to destroy as you conquered, stepping from one location to the second location?
Mike Simard: Well, the, some of the hardest things to do is to figure out and there's multiple layers that you run into, right? And so you have to figure out, first of all, how do you keep what what the good processes are and the things that keep your company back.
Mike Simard: How do you keep the experience the same? So it was really important to me. So, so we wanna fix cars here in this brand and want the same brand and the same out outcome. We want the phone answered the same. We want the quality to be the same at both locations. So, you know, when you have to, when you run two, maybe three stores, you can pretty much control everything and it's still you doing everything and you don't really, you know, yet have to really up your leadership skills.
Mike Simard: I mean, I was reading and I was learning and I was growing, of course, I was learning to be a better leader. But you can pretty much like bounce between all the stores and keep things going. Then you start getting, you know, past two to three and above. You've really gotta learn how to empower leaders.
Mike Simard: You've gotta learn to, or you gotta learn to put processes in place. So, one of the things actually the team's asked me to go back to doing this. I'm actually doing this now. Put a few things back because we went to two, to four to seven, like in 18 months. It was pretty rapid. Lots of growth and maturity and, you know, we doubled our net profit every year in a row.
Mike Simard: That's not easy. It's not easy. And so, and we kept reinvesting the money. That's another thing. You gotta keep reinvesting in your teams and the company and make people successful to wanna stay with you. So in early years, I did a lot of lunch meetings and we just hammered things out. We collaborated what's, what went right today, what went wrong?
Mike Simard: What can we do different? What did we learn? So we constantly use every hurdle is learning curve. What do we do when someone takes vacation? You know, how can we fix the cars better? What do we do when a comeback happens? You know, it's an opportunity to learn and it's an opportunity to serve the customer and show our integrity.
Mike Simard: And so back then we didn't have our values quite set. We were living our values. But, and people might be able to articulate 'em, but we didn't go write 'em on a wall. We didn't know how to do that. And we kind of learned how to do that later. So we wrote down processes and then we learned from our peers, like, here's a process we didn't know how to do.
Mike Simard: And we adapted it. And then I would take it back. And those lunch meetings, I'd continually coach my team and we would do that for both shops. So I'm actually going back in now, like we have two groups a point s tire lube model, and the comprehensive model. And so what we're trying to do is not mess up the models.
Mike Simard: 'cause there's two different types of customers looking for two different types of things, but kinda cross pollinate some of the leadership principles and meetings and communications and processes. And it was really enjoyable because I tell people, even to this day, you know, I was just upstairs at the airport shop of the day saying, this is the very table and the very place that we built this company and you're part of that today.
Mike Simard: And we're gonna teach you what we know and. We're gonna grow and we're gonna laugh and cry together. I said, but know that you're part of the company and this company's about you, and you guys make the company and you guys can keep contributing and you're an important contributors to this company.
Mike Simard: We keep growing these things out to make things better. So that was extremely important that we included the team in building building things and they really appreciate that.
Michael Smith: How did you come on the wisdom of collaboration? Just intuitive, historic
Mike Simard: well, I am an I, so there's the part about, Hey, let's get together and have some fun and have some lunch.
Mike Simard: It feels good to be together. Sure. It feels good. I don't know. You know, it's one of those things that I hear it from a friend at the group process. But I think because I enjoy people and I like seeing the customers happy, I'm like, I just I gotta get everybody together.
Mike Simard: 'cause you know, here's the thing, man. You come back from a meeting or a conference, you're all fired up. You wanna do all a hundred things. Everybody knows this. You know, if you get 10% of 'em in place and you get back, you're doing pretty good. So I probably tried that a couple times, Michael. I was like this isn't working.
Mike Simard: So I had to slow down and we had to say, okay, I have a few different things here to fix the problem we've had. And so what do you guys wanna try? So once the ideas, once you kind of get them involved with helping you make the decisions and having them own it then everything became alive. And once I started learning how to do more of that, then it was able to continue to grow.
Mike Simard: And that's where it was really the launch point. So it's really back to I'm here to serve people, not just to do my will. I mean, it's I'm a d I'm a directive, right? So come follow me. You know, as a good friend of ours will say, you know, come follow me. We'll storm the gates of hell with a water pistol.
Mike Simard: I mean, I'm right there, right? I'm gonna have water and you got a team there need, but I need you to carry the backup water 'cause I forgot. Exactly.
Michael Smith: Exactly. And you're there with a team. You, your old team's right there with pistols. You got it. Yes,
Kent Bullard: sir. So did you have, in your strategy, were there some assets you knew you could really invest in that, that you felt would make a di a big difference as you were scaling
Mike Simard: assets?
Mike Simard: Like, trainings, learnings? Is that what you mean? You mean people tools?
Kent Bullard: It could be, it could even be a network, right? Are there connections you have, you can leverage it. Just assets that helped you build and grow. And what were they and what did you invest in?
Mike Simard: I think learning that
Kent Bullard: you felt made the biggest difference.
Mike Simard: Yeah. So I think a few things that I kind of skipped over a few things. So of course the group process was huge. Coaching was huge. I mean, until you, again, how do you expand your horizons? Now I realize I come from upstate Vermont and I come from Alaska. So you wanna talk about Alaska is the largest, smallest city.
Mike Simard: I mean, it's largest, it's tiny city in North America. If you kept driving through Canada into Alaska, there's nothing else for 500 miles except the pipeline. Okay. So it's pretty remote, but I'm used to four seasons. It's just a little bit more extreme. So a lot of the things that happen in the states they get experienced to see those things.
Mike Simard: So I really had to get out and see things. And so talking to people with my coaches if I, for example, I told my wife, I said, I've got, I've had a lot of coaches. She said, yeah, but Mike, you're willing to try and seek out the information you need to learn and grow. So it's okay. I have some good coaches that I've stuck with a long time, but sometimes there's like a specific learning I need.
Mike Simard: So I'll read a book. I'll find an expert on it. I'll ask my friends. You know, I really then I'll usually, what I love to do is try it out on the people. It's like, Hey, I've learned this concept. Let's talk about this. Let's share, what do you think? And then what I find out is there's a enrichment to me and them back and forth in, in, in learning and growing.
Mike Simard: So another thing was Napa Autocare. So the Napa Autocare was a big program for us. Because it got me off first time to Las Vegas. I mean, I, for me, I'm not a big Las Vegas guy. I mean, I know some shows go on people excited. It's like, okay. But I got to see a larger world. I got to see a new support structure.
Mike Simard: So it's really nice to have support. If I fix ball joints in Alaska and the car drives to Florida, I may want my customer taken care of. So I would say coaches, group process reading John Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni. Good leaders like that. Remember I didn't have those when I was a young man, so it's like I tried something and it didn't work, so I had to go kind of figure out what it was.
Mike Simard: So seeking and learning and trying to always understand, again, back how the world works now, how people work. And I'm still working on that one by the way. That's the biggest hurdle is how do I help people and 'cause it. Everybody's not the same man. It's not a car, it's not a Ford. You know, it's, people are complex and it's one of
Kent Bullard: the hardest challenges.
Kent Bullard: I love. I'm talking about leveraging assets and all he can talk about is gaining knowledge. Essentially. It's just give me as much information that I can use as possible. I love that.
Kent Bullard: I don't think he meant tire machines, right.
Kent Bullard: As you were expanding, what were some of the big developmental hurdles you had to face?
Mike Simard: Well I would say that probably the biggest one again, is back to people. So how do we how do we find good leaders? How do we identify good leaders? How do we grow good leaders? You know, I would love to continue if we could focus most for energy on, and we are, we actually hired a chief people officer this year, so I'm gonna fast forward a little bit.
Mike Simard: One of the things the difficulties in any area, and especially in Alaska, it's probably five to 10, 15 times harder finding talent. And there's some there's some cutthroat with good tight knit group of shops that won't do this to each other. But there's some larger brands will just say that they don't care.
Mike Simard: It's just about the dollar. And they'll see how high they can go to pay to get your people. So you really have to have a strong culture. You have to have values that are lived, not just spoken. You've gotta talk about what that is. You gotta provide opportunities. This is the challenge.
Mike Simard: You gotta provide opportunities for people to grow, especially in today's environment. Growing shops today, when people, you know, before COVID, I think it was three years, people would roll their box technicians, I believe. I don't know what it is now. I don't think it's improved. And I think people are encouraged to go look around right, all the time.
Mike Simard: So, it's how do we provide the training and the resources? For people to grow. One of the things that we try to do now in our executive leadership team is everybody has access to a coach. Everybody has access to somebody to learn and grow and bounce their ideas off of. So I'm trying to do that.
Mike Simard: We've pretty much accomplished that as well. So the other thing too is and Michael and I have talked a little about this, is, you know, again, you can run a few stores yourself and then bring up those leaders to run those stores, but after that, it gets a little tougher. And you really need area managers and you need good leaders to take care of your leaders.
Mike Simard: So the biggest challenge, and that's really still my current challenge, is to be a little vulnerable, is that, how do I don't know how to articulate this, but running a few shops, being intimate with the car, fixing and doing that is hard enough. Okay, now when you've gotta grow. 10 to 11 leaders that grow, other leaders, that grow other leaders I don't know what you call that.
Mike Simard: Maybe Michael has a word for that. That is a different skillset. And if I would go back now, I would spend more time on learning how to do that better. And because that's, to, to me, that's 100% one of the most important things. You don't seem, you need money to grow, but if you don't have good people, if you don't have people that care, if you don't have people that are serving your customers, I mean, you're not gonna have money.
Mike Simard: So focus on the people. Focus on what you need to learn, find the people to help you learn what to do so you don't have to reinvent everything. And then figure out how to grow other people and contribute to their lives in a meaningful way. And I think the sky's the limit from that point on.
Kent Bullard: I I'm drawn back to something you said in the beginning. You have a, a. Sled dog team. I do. What are some of the correlations you see between, you know, taking care of your team at in your business and taking care of your team at in the snow?
Mike Simard: It's funny you asked. So, I actually have a little bit of a leadership story.
Mike Simard: I tell some of the team I learned a lot. So first of all, one of the things I love to do is help people achieve their goals and dreams. And so my wife about 10 years in, up here in Alaska, she's like, and all our family's back there and our business is going right. I mean, it's, we're invested in the community.
Mike Simard: And she's like, I don't know, I'm getting a little bored. She'd been staying home with the kids. Her kid has kids, had medical issues. She's involved with a college degree. She was searching out what, what's going on in her life and what her purpose was. And she so she was, I was like, oh man. Like I gotta, what are we gonna do here?
Mike Simard: Like, I gotta. Stay with my wife forever. I committed forever, right? But gosh, I don't wanna move back and what am I gonna do back there? And so I I was floating down a Yukon River one day. And, we had just shot a moose as their first moose hunt up there, and we were successful and we were flown down 120 miles.
Mike Simard: It was just beautiful. It's like, it's never gonna happen quite like this again. We got our moose early, we had all this time to relax. And so I had a friend of mine from church who was a, happened to be a vet which contributed a lot to my kids being doctors. He cost me a lot of money, but gave my kids a lot of a perspective of what their purpose was.
Mike Simard: And so we're floating down there. I just remember, I remember almost exactly where we were the day, the temperature and everything. And he said something we had a guy named Lance Mackey, so he run the Iditarod, he won I think four back to back. Don't quote me exactly four, back to back Iditarod Yukon quests.
Mike Simard: And just did stuff that no one's done. These are a thousand mile races. Okay? So you got 16 dogs and you're hanging on for dear life. There's no motors, no gasoline. Okay? And so. He said you know, 'cause Lance Mia might have been saying, oh, he owes me some money and these guys are like farmers. I had no money.
Mike Simard: He said, you know, the way dogs mushers pay bills is by dogs. I don't want no dogs. Right? I got enough dogs and they get hair everywhere and all. I was complaining and my wife's a dog person. So, so here's the deal. I was like, I know how to keep my wife in Alaska. I got five champion sled dogs from a guy that's done amazing things.
Mike Simard: Guinness Book, a real world record stuff. I said, hi honey. Here you go. Five beautiful sled dogs. You always had a dream to be a dog musher. Now I have 40, right? And so what it did was, I'm like I got really, she got really happy. I was happy that could contribute to her dream. And and so I'm trying to remember your question here.
Mike Simard: 'cause I got oh, back to dogs. So what ended up happening was what I learned about leadership in dogs. I'm gonna tell you that. So I actually realized that going to hang out with my wife is cheaper than marital therapy. I mean, just spend some time with what they're interested in. Okay, that's super obvious, but that's my advice for anybody.
Mike Simard: So I went out and I realized I actually enjoyed going out in the woods in the middle of the night, even if it's 20 below, with my wife learning how to mush dogs. And the beginning, the dogs taught us, 'cause we got a couple leaders knew what they're doing. So what I end up learning over those years is that in leadership especially, and with dogs, here's the thing, man, they know a few commands, but they do not know the English language.
Mike Simard: Right? They don't even know kindergarten level. So in with dogs, you can, it's either the carrot or the stick. And so what I had to learn was the stick doesn't always work, okay? Because if you have dogs that are scared of you. Apply this to human relationships and leadership. If you have people that follow you for fear, you know, positional authority, positional leadership doesn't work.
Mike Simard: So what I learned with dogs is that with dogs, they have to know you care if they know you care, you're gonna take care of them and protect them, right? It's your you're the dog musher, you're part of them, but you're also the leader of them. You're here to protect them. That, that you have to encourage them.
Mike Simard: You get a dog that's nervous and he is chewing the line and used to get mad. He chews the lines, they chew 'em up and then they try to go everywhere. And you need 14 dogs all pulling the same direction. And on a dog team, you're only as fast as your slow as dog. So, I dunno if you knew all this, but if you apply this to people, you have production environment in the shop and a guy that says he wants to make his hours, but he is sabotaging the team, you're not gonna hit your numbers so you can go out and yell at him.
Mike Simard: There's a stick. Well with dogs, same thing. I'm 35 miles out in the woods. It's 20 below dropping to 40. Okay? I'm warm, I'm okay. I gotta take care of my team. And I can't tell 'em, just go faster. 'cause they're like, dude, I've been running for 40 miles. I'm cold, I'm tired. So you have to know how to encourage your team.
Mike Simard: And what it taught me is it's beyond English language. It's your body language, it's your encouragement. So do you have the right things? Are you removing the obstacles to your dog? You know, you got two dogs that are fighting. Why are they fighting? Well, there's personalities with dogs, but you can't just sit 'em and say, sit down and tell me about your problems.
Mike Simard: So what I learned and my beautiful wife taught me in leadership and teams with the dogs is that it's the carrot of the stick principle. It's trying to understand why, you know, Jed doesn't get along with the other dog and how you can kind of move them around a little bit and all of a sudden the team is pulling hard.
Mike Simard: It's 'cause they didn't like that guy or that gal behind them. And so that, that was enriching in my life to realize that, there's another level of leadership to continue to climb. And that even the dog teams, if I wanted to get home and not walk I had to learn how to encourage them and care for their needs, attend to their needs.
Mike Simard: Like you would any other shop team as well? Excuse me. The noise there. Any other shop team. And that the carrots always better than the stick, or in this case, dog treats
Kent Bullard: because you're kind of encouraging either your people or the dog in their respective areas of excellence, like to pursue their best self there, which has only upwards potential.
Kent Bullard: Whereas if it's the stick, it's really, the limit is, well, I just don't want to get hit again, or I don't want to get yelled again, or I don't want to get punished in some sense. And so that's really the only, that's the limit. That's the, I hit the bottom at that point. There's nowhere else to go from there.
Kent Bullard: Right. But there's, on the opposite end of it is nothing but upwards potential.
Mike Simard: Absolutely. So it applies in a shop. So, you know, it's like we have personalities that lend to to they build rapport really fast. Those are usually your service advisors, right? And you have technicians that, that look at the world as black and white because it's either 12 and a half volts or it's not.
Mike Simard: And so, you know, and looking at where the best fit and strengths of each individual is, it's just like that dog team. It's crazy, man. Not every dog is a leader. There's dogs in the back that steer the team that steer the dog sled. I mean, so you don't hit trees. And then you've got dogs behind the leaders that help the leaders pull the entire team in a direction.
Mike Simard: So I remember asking some smart old mushers, and it's the same thing with our people. It's like, how do you sense, how do you know a leader in a dog world? And it's like, well, they have propensity to go forward no matter what, through adversity. Okay? They wanna please you. They wanna do what's right.
Mike Simard: And if you say, gee, I mean you're coming on open water and you gotta go left. Gotta go right to your ha you gotta go left or right. Someone's drowning. So you gotta have dogs that you have a bond with. You gotta have people that you can, you gotta understand them, like they gotta know you care. Okay, well this translate, gotta figure out where they belong.
Mike Simard: This,
Michael Smith: and this translates back to the shop too, right? If you push people stand there and push back, right? We talk about the tugboat model doesn't work very well. And if you want 'em to go, we you're the sailboat. You put the wind in their sails and they move into it. And then they bring the best of what they have to it and they go farther faster.
Michael Smith: And it's a model. And I love the fact that you learned that from the dogs. I think that's fantastic. There's a side story I want you to tell. It's a total rabbit trail, but I want you to go there. What was the gift that you gave your wife that was so special to her? For her, I think it was her birthday.
Mike Simard: Oh, geez,
Michael Smith: Michael. Really? You gotta tell the story. It's beautiful. Yeah.
Mike Simard: Come on now it's, I gotta do this appropriately for PG audience.
Kent Bullard: There
Michael Smith: you go.
Mike Simard: I cannot believe you asked me that.
Michael Smith: You have to because it's all part of the picture of Alaska. It's beautiful, right?
Mike Simard: Yeah. I don't know how this relates at all to shops, but,
Michael Smith: it doesn't, but it's a great rabbit trail.
Mike Simard: Well, there's actually a really good story behind it because it's serving a community and I don't know if you got this part or not, but, so again, my wife has a lot of champion sled dogs from Mitch Seay and now Joe May and Lance Mackey's, dad, Dick, these are the people that actually.
Mike Simard: There with Redington, it started the Iditarod race. So if you know the Iditarod race, a thousand doll, a thousand mile race, it's the biggest race in the world. It's televised. There was a dog that Lance had and we sponsored Lance for a long time. Lance had cancer. And I mean, talk about adversity.
Mike Simard: This guy had a lot of mental and physical ailments. He had cancer. His hands would get cold. He didn't, couldn't make saliva. I mean, this guy was out doing stuff that most people just wanna curl up on the couches to stay. And, but he was brilliant and he understood a team. He understood how to bring a team together.
Mike Simard: This does translate. And so we worked a lot with Lance Mackey and he got really ill. I mean, at the end of his life his new wife died. He had two kids. I mean, it was just sad. I was like, gosh, this guy can not get a break. But he did amazing things through adversity 'cause he decided how to use those things to be better.
Mike Simard: And really serve humanity by showing what's possible through his God-given talents, including living with his blemishes, right? With his things that he struggled with. And so he ended up passing unfortunately. And his widow needed help and have some friends that in, in, in the community and customers, and they needed to get cars fixed and generators running.
Mike Simard: And I don't fix things anymore, but I still have the knack. And I went up there and I did that. I helped them get it running and for their kids, right? He's got two beautiful kids still. And it ended up being where a friend of mine had been asking for years, you know, you know Lance.
Mike Simard: And there's a lot of competition by the way. Not only shop owners, but dog mushers and a 40-year-old dog mushers. You know, Lance, you know, Lance, I wanna get a hold of very important sperm. Okay? So this one dog, yeah. Now can't know where this is going. This one dog, Lance built his entire team.
Mike Simard: So think about an AEC that if you could make babies and have 'em, you know, dogs can run in two to three years. Technicians take a lot of years to make. Okay. Just saying. So he had this frozen specimen of sperm, but a champion sled dog. It's in all the books, man. It's like, this is what all of these leaders of worldwide want to have a dog like this and breeding, like breeding stock.
Mike Simard: Like this one dog called Zoro. You can look it up, look up Zoro, Lance Mackey. And it's expensive. Very expensive. And there was three, three breedings frozen. And I'd asked about it and tried for my friend. He wanted to see if he could get it. 'cause they don't really talk and it's like they're competitive.
Mike Simard: And finally out of the blue I forgot about it. She's like, you've helped us so much. We gotta pay the taxes here. We agreed to sell you two vials, but we wanna save one vial for Lance's kits. So for a pretty penny I won't mention here. For her birthday. Yeah, Kent. I bought my wife champion.
Mike Simard: Anybody would want this dog farm so we could breed with our current stock.
Michael Smith: Just proof positive. Proof positive. You two ended up in the right place. I gotta say that. Right. That's a great story.
Kent Bullard: You have a way of going and finding exactly what you need to invest in the opportunity for the people you care about.
Kent Bullard: And I see that in that story and also in your approach with, you know, your team and what you're doing there. As you know, this whole series is really about looking at the decisions that shape industries, right? You are doing something that is gonna be massively impactful and not just in your community, but this is going to change kind of how our industry works.
Kent Bullard: That's what happens, right? And I see a lot of correlation with this. Like, we've got adversity, but I'm investing in people. A lot of these interviews we've done over the past couple days are, it's all people focused.
Michael Smith: The people. The people at the top of the game that get it, understand the power of the human factor and the interest in tapping into it.
Michael Smith: And Michael, your history, your intuition, the practices that you developed and the leading edge that you all are on now. All this is just proof positive, watching you be able to grow and take territory and dream big and actually see how you're gonna get there from here. This is extraordinary.
Kent Bullard: So, so going back let's go back to the shop, back to the business.
Kent Bullard: As you're growing, what has been the impact on your team having pursued this growth about saying, Hey, we're gonna see that mountain over there, we're gonna go climate. What's been the impact on your team?
Mike Simard: Well, first of all, I think, I think one of the things that I constantly astonishes me is that now this assumes you have vision, okay?
Mike Simard: So with, without vision, the people shall perish, right? So it's important that you have vision and you cast a vision. And so if you don't know what that vision is, there's people that can help you find it, you know, they'll show up at the right time. So what happens though is that when you have people that believe in the vision, and it should be bigger than you, right?
Mike Simard: The purpose has to be bigger than you. It has to be more to serve just you. If you're not right with that, start there and find out what are your operating principles and what your values are. But it's amazing what people will do when there's adversity, when they believe in what you're doing and they're doing it not just to serve themself because they believe that it actually is impactful to.
Mike Simard: Humans to people and they care. You gotta get people around you that care about people. You gotta pay the bills. But we have a saying, you know, if you take care of the people, the money should come. If you do the right thing, the money should come. If you fi, if you take care of a customer, the money should come.
Mike Simard: And so you can charge more for that. If you need to pay your people more for that, like get 'em out of poverty, whatever it's gonna take, get 'em health insurance when it's a struggle to get health insurance. Like, don't stop fighting. And so, but you've gotta figure out what gets you outta bed. And the thing is that you've gotta have people, and this is the hard part, I think this isn't easy, right?
Mike Simard: So it's like being a best basketball player, dog musher. I mean, nobody, dude, I did, we did a hundred miles in two days. Once. I'm like, this sucks a hundred miles on a bag of a dog. So 50 miles each way. You don't sleep as much as the dogs 'cause they get to go sleep. After you feed 'em, you gotta go take care of yourself.
Mike Simard: So. You've gotta be able to take care of others. First. Leaders eat last, right? And so, having good vision and then really with the people, you'll see them step up. When, especially if you're willing to go first, fight for them. I think that's the most important to surround yourself with good people.
Mike Simard: And then really supplement. You know, if you're not strong in an area, find someone that is
Michael Smith: so, so Michael, not everybody steps up. I'm not telling you something you don't know. How long do you wait? What process do you go through? How much redemption until remedial? What's your model that you operate?
Mike Simard: So I'll tell you how I handle it because I have superpowers and I have kryptonites, and
Kent Bullard: I think Michael leads me into these questions. I'm be Superman without being alert. You know, you gotta have weak to kryptonite. So
Mike Simard: Michael knows what he's doing with these questions. One thing, it's a gift and a curse.
Mike Simard: I don't like to give up on people. I don't like to give up on anybody. And so the gift side of it, you kinda know your gifts and your weaknesses. And so with people I have been told I have a knack to help people find hope. I'm good at that. I can help you find hope that you didn't know you had about something.
Mike Simard: But you still have to do the work. So how long, you know, I haven't figured it out, but I tell you I have people that know that around me. So I've surrounded myself with a good team that I will always say, have we done everything we could to make this person successful? Have we coached them? Have we given 'em the tools?
Mike Simard: And sometimes the answer's no, which is, that's what keeps me up at night, you know, people and paying the bills. But it's like, if someone leaves us, did we do the right thing? You know, what could we learn? Is it us or them? You know, it's usually a mix, right? Could we have led them better? You know, the best kind of departures I'd say if, you know, not knowing, but if you could do it in a way that makes them better, if you left some something in their life that, or gave them something in their life that, that they can improve on, or I should say that they can carry forward that I would say that's a win.
Mike Simard: But to answer you, Michael the people around me see it before me and I'll push back for a while and then I've learned to trust them. I'm like, okay
Michael Smith: finally, surrender. Yeah. Yeah. But I also want to hear you reflect on this when you determine they're toxic, you have no tolerance for that.
Michael Smith: It's like you, you fully understand the power of the high performance culture. And I've watched you guys, when you finally determine that person is toxic, there, there's no space for, I mean, that's done at that point. Yep. It's time. It's time to put an end to this thing. You don't let the cancer stay and
Mike Simard: grow.
Mike Simard: Nope. Nope. And so, you know, a lot of times what the problem is, I think is if, look, if someone steals from a customer, it's obvious. We have a core value of integrity, do the right thing, even when it's looking, if you can't trust them and it's obvious, that's an easy one. But a lot of times though, it's the self-sabotage that they're doing or the the little things they're doing to the team that are more subtle.
Mike Simard: It's like, did you just see something over there? Like, I don't know. I thought I did. I thought I heard something. Then if you start digging and looking, so getting the team to stay vi vigilant to making sure that they're getting to know their people. Because we're all people, right? We're all broken in some way, right?
Mike Simard: So, but we can't help everybody. And that's the other challenge I had to learn. But that's the harder, more subtle part of the leadership aspect and building teams that, that we gotta continue to look for and we talk about it. I mean, we talk about our values every day and what I ask the teams a lot of times I said, do you just talk about it?
Mike Simard: Do you just read it or do you engage? Do you ask them, you know, tell me about someone that showed integrity yesterday. So really it's trying to help people think teach them to think and really unified in in who we are. So, l Lou Holtz said a great thing, you know, I'm a better leader, but better players.
Mike Simard: So the stronger people you can get, the people that believe in your mission, your vision, your purpose are gonna, the people that are gonna be there when tough times come. And, you know, at the end of the day too, when tough times come you're gonna know who friends are. And so, that's really, I think something that helps build character is going through hard times together, also builds trust.
Mike Simard: So I think it's super important that you show them as a leader. It's like, you know what? This sucks. We're gonna make it through. And let's go.
Michael Smith: And when you do your recruiting, you know when you buy somebody, when you go out and find somebody who's a senior person in the industry from somewhere else, you get all their wonder, but you also get all their problems too.
Michael Smith: And all the other bad training they have and all the other bad cultural tenants and all that stuff comes along with 'em. You're gaining scale. That's seven plus stores on your way up to a very large number. You can begin to train internally and you can begin to have a pipeline for the younger. Guys, gals that come that are super talented, that you can then grow up into your culture and teach these tenants along the way.
Michael Smith: And it's very powerful to watch that happen, especially in Alaska where the talent's hard to come by, you know, and also hard to import, right? You live a long way away from the lower 48. Not everybody wants to make that jump to minus 25 in the wintertime, right? So it's very powerful with the strength of your culture that you have and the way you roll, being able to grow from within.
Michael Smith: It's a very strong model that you guys have.
Mike Simard: They were actually started down and we're actually measuring now a number of internal promotions. So we're trying to get some other things solidified, like training programs and some development conversations with some performance metrics. So we can recognize who's really contributing and in an impactful way make sure the tools are happening.
Mike Simard: And so one of the things that we decided to measure. As an output of our effort is number of promotions in the company. So it's exactly right. We have I think six apprentices now. And I was just thinking about this last night. I said, we gotta come up with the math of how many apprentices we want to build a year for our growth plans.
Mike Simard: And yes, like you said, Michael it's really easier I think, in a way to home grow people. And so we wanna accelerate that pathway of homegrown good quality people that like to come to work, like to work as a team, like to have a challenge, like to live our purpose and values. And I just really enjoy like giving my wife those dogs and helping other leaders grow.
Mike Simard: I mean, that's why I get outta bed in the morning. It's not because of, you know, the problems. I mean, problems come as leaders. That's our job to help our people solve them and teach them. But I just really give the joy when someone can make a career outta this. And you know, my kids just two of them graduated four year business degree.
Mike Simard: Okay. We can take a technician. They can make quite a bit more money, depends on their capacity, right? Than a BA in school, I can tell you. Without a hundred thousand dollars stinking low. And so that just gives me great joy to be able to do that. And that's what's gonna, that's really gonna set us apart, I think, as we grow, is that we're investing in our people.
Kent Bullard: Not only that, but I think you're setting an example for not only, well, I mean yeah, the industry, but excuse me. You're not only setting an example for the industry, but you're setting an example for society in a sense, because now you're, you are able to show that there's a pathway other than, and not to disparage college, right.
Kent Bullard: Or the higher education. But you're gonna show mothers and parents that their kids can actually have a very successful career in our industry. 'cause you're pro, you're proving that and that's gonna speak volumes into, you know. I mean that, that is far reaching consequences in the best way.
Kent Bullard: You know, I'm not antico
Mike Simard: at all. I wasn't exposed to it and you know, I'll be honest with you, if I probably if I probably had gone to college, I'd probably be like an er, emergency surgeon guy. Like, I want to be the guy right there at the point of death to see if I can save you. Yeah. Yeah.
Mike Simard: That would be, because I think the adrenaline and would remind me of running a shop. Okay, there's a hundred things.
Kent Bullard: It's
Michael Smith: like, it's one of two ways to get that adrenaline excitement there er doctor, and owning a shop, right?
Mike Simard: Yeah. And so, that's what, how do we do that better? To me it's, yeah, growing, but it all is through how do we serve our people better?
Mike Simard: How do we train them better? How do we have people that really are excited to go on the journey with us? And how do we apprentice people? We were just talking last night, Michael, about the model, leadership intensive about you take a store manager into running five shops. Tara and I were talking about it.
Mike Simard: Now they're apprentice again. And then we're like, you know, she's like, wonder what we should do to apprentice them because sure, they got a pay raise, but new skillset, and we might actually talk to you about that, Michael, but it's like, we want to help people go through the promotions.
Mike Simard: A tech from the back to the front, that's another example. Like, that's a huge chasm. So we're working on how do we build programs to help get them there and give them some success and 'cause that's really the name of the game. So we're gonna, we're gonna count this next year how many promotions we could do internally.
Mike Simard: And we have a ratio of how many internal hires versus external hires. And that way we know, I think that we're, our training programs are not just in, in a playbook or that we're actually as leaders growing our people. And so we're trying to find ways to measure what that looks like so we can have a sense of achievement.
Mike Simard: Recognition as well.
Michael Smith: Well, and you, we'll get to this later, but you have a high store count ownership count in your future and, well, you said something earlier, I just didn't wanna lose. You're trying to figure out now how many apprentices do we have to start with now based on the growth strategy that we have to be able to fill the pipeline with the family at all these different levels as we grow?
Michael Smith: I mean, that, that is strategic planning like many of us don't have the opportunity to do. Right. And so I just didn't want that to go by. That's very interesting.
Kent Bullard: I mean, as of today, you're. Seven locations. Right. But what does the end look like?
Michael Smith: Yeah. Okay. Now's the time. What's the end look like?
Michael Smith: What do you thinking? End
Mike Simard: of what? Life. Hopefully a nice, beautiful light. Someone named Jesus, whatever you deem as me.
Michael Smith: Yeah. End of this
Kent Bullard: chapter. You know, like what, what does that look like? End
Michael Smith: of the growth run? Yeah.
Kent Bullard: Employees. Oh, that in you the best
Michael Smith: of friend? Yeah. We're bringing it in from Jesus.
Michael Smith: We're bringing it a little closer. Okay. So
Mike Simard: the end. Well that's a great question. I tell you what the first of all is how do we expand our influence in the state? This is a tough state. We have a lot of local knowledge and there's a lot of need out there now. There's a lot of need out. Believe it or not.
Mike Simard: There's places that you can't drive to in the, we call it the bush, that there's a lot of need out there. And there's companies like Napa and there's oil pipelines and there's a lot of natural resource places that they need a lot of tires. They need a lot of service and they'll pay whatever it takes 'cause they don't have it there.
Mike Simard: So we could. We gotta mature. Okay. But we could possibly expand. You know, I've got a shop, I guess I won't say too much, but I have shops all over the state. It's huge. It's like from Minnesota to stinking tip of Florida all the way to the panhandle of Texas. And so, we have a lot of opportunity to serve in those remote areas.
Mike Simard: That's, that comes with a lot of logistics. Just having shops in Anchorage and Fairbanks is like, it might as well be Seattle. I mean, it's the same, it takes six hours to drive there. So we're trying to figure that out. And we are figuring out, we have hired some leaders in Anchorage as well to grow continue to grow.
Mike Simard: And we're not doing it just to swallow up other shops. Like it's not gonna just like, we're gonna take 'em out and be the lowest bidder. It's like, how do we help other shops? So what does it look like? How do we help other shops? How do we, how do we have a mutual relationship, you know, like a Napa, BDG group.
Mike Simard: We wanna make some connections, hopefully in Anchorage and get to know people there. And anything that we can help contribute, we think's gonna help the community and the society. And you know, and here's why I think it's like, well, why would you teach them some of your secrets? I'm not gonna teach 'em all our secrets and all our strategic plans, but we can help them find text, for example.
Mike Simard: Because, you know, most people, I wrote this down earlier, most people won't pay the price. So there's a sacrifice to wanna do something meaningful in your life. And doing things meaningful requires going through difficult times and doing hard things and getting up before someone else wants to. So, you know, they have to be able to do the work.
Mike Simard: And so where are we gonna go? I'd like to be able to share whatever success I have with the leaders that I have. That's one most important thing. If I. If I was to die tomorrow, I wanna make sure that everybody here is taken care of, all 75 employees and their family. So that's the immediate monetary stuff.
Mike Simard: I want to grow a company that scales to a point where you know, someday I'm gonna retire. And you know, how's that gonna look? I tell you how it's gonna look. And it may be dollars and lots of zeros and that's great. That's fine. But the most important thing is that whatever happens to the people and the teams that we built the culture of anybody was to buy us or invest in us or take it over internally, whatever that looks like when my time is done they have to take care of the people with the same values that we did.
Mike Simard: Or else it's not worth selling. I don't care how many zeros because I can't take the zeros and the millions of dollars to the coffin. I guess you could. But that's where the other end comes in hopefully. Sure.
Michael Smith: Let's, let me add this question to it too. Michael. You all are very busy in your communities.
Michael Smith: It's, you're taking care of your team, you're growing them. You love your customers, and you work hard at that. You're also active at the community because you believe fully in what you're talking about. You walked this talk. Can you tell us a little bit about some of the things that you've done in the past and some of the projects that you've gotten involved in to touch the folks even outside of the customer group, right.
Michael Smith: You're stretching beyond that to make a difference.
Mike Simard: Yeah. A few things recently and one of the more impactful things that we wanna do more of is like I just had Jay and my brother Rob and one of our technicians go to a local high school. And they got pretty excited 'cause they showed up how to run a lap scope.
Mike Simard: That's something that we're getting a lot of ATECs that, you know, they still don't, they don't know how to use those technologies. And so we get to show 'em a little bit of advanced technologies and show 'em, you know, not because we wanna hire 'em. I mean, that'd be great, but it's like, we just wanna, we wanna show you again.
Mike Simard: We wanna show you what's out there in the world, so they get to go see them the other day. We also belong to a, the community technical college. I highly recommend that people look at seeing what you could do to support your technical college. You know, they're there to support industry. I think last night there was most people in that room from all shops are getting together and saying, how do we help?
Mike Simard: You know, there's a major crisis for good top talent. We know that as crisis, I don't know if I like that word, there's a problem. It's always been there, but it's just it varies and it's difficult. And how do we grow more top talent? So what I'm excited about is finally is we have an apprenticeship with NAPA program.
Mike Simard: It's a good program and we actually expand it and multiply 10 times the money they recommend you give to technicians. We spend 10,000 on tax for tools, for example. But the community technical colleges now finally talking about apprenticeship and the cool part is what I'm really excited about. You have military as a feeder.
Mike Simard: There's this I think skill path maybe that's the wrong word, the program to get 'em into programs like this. The community technical college is a great program. And I believe my vision of coupled with apprenticeship, okay. OJT on the JOBB training, which isn't always formalized in all communities.
Mike Simard: Some communities I heard have this, okay. If your community doesn't have it, I'd recommend that you go out and look and see how do I really get people in the shop that get their education component? Right. Figure out how to help with that and really keep 'em in the stores working for you and growing them.
Mike Simard: Michael, like you were talking about, and that excites me. Now, there's also other components of the high school wants to see the people that don't wanna go to school, get further education and can, you know, have a good career. And there's actually the labor board, so all these people aren't necessarily talking together in some communities, the labor board's, like we got a lot of money in grants that we want to give to people to help them have a great career.
Mike Simard: I'm like, can we just get all you in a room and do apprenticeship? 'cause apprenticeship is like, apprenticeship is better than the college and the college's like college is better than the apprenticeship, the labor board's. Like, we got all this money and we don't know how to give it away. I'm like, how would we get together and figure that all out and help people get started in industry that you know, you gotta have a bunch of tools start fixing cars.
Mike Simard: Your wages aren't that high. You can go to McDonald's and Walmart and get x. That's what you hear today, right? And so how do we do that? I think it's getting together with community one more thing that's super impactful. We actually kinda, I didn't expect this to work so well, but we did a kinda a fundraiser thing where our rewards points you could donate your rewards points to a community.
Mike Simard: Cause, so we picked the stone soup kitchen. So we picked these people because, and we've done some work at the food bank and volunteer packing boxes. Really good team exercise. I loved that. But they're like, let's do something like right where the people that have no jackets are no food tonight. And so we went in there and said, I got another dog musher, you know, I just found someone, Hey, people know who you are.
Mike Simard: Would you just get on TV and let's go together and see if we can call people to action. And so we donated some money to them, but the impactful thing, I didn't realize what happened is, they get on there and said what the stone soup kitchen's doing? And, you know, come on down and help them.
Mike Simard: This is where their needs are. So we didn't focus on us. And we served a couple times with them, which was great. Talking to real people on the street, man, like literally don't have a jack and don't have food. And that really helps change your perspective too, by the way. When you're, you know, sitting in your nice warm house and you think you've got problems and you're like, you don't even have a house.
Mike Simard: It's
Michael Smith: good. It's good for the team to be involved in that too, because it really keeps us all connected with what all of society around us looks like. So, yeah. That's great. Great. If
Kent Bullard: if there's any technicians out there listening to this. Podcast, for some reason they stumbled upon, I've never heard of a better sales pitch for a company to go work for.
Kent Bullard: I mean, somebody who's gonna invest in you and believe in you and basically put everything that they can into your future. I mean, that's, there you go from the heart just to hop and to skip up to Alaska. And it's from the heart.
Michael Smith: It's the real deal. It's not just a program. Right.
Michael Smith: So, I want to, thanks for sharing. Michael.
Kent Bullard: I wanna pivot 'cause we're about, at that time. I'd love to do kind of a lightning round, Mike, if you'll humor me. Okay. I'm gonna ask you some we're three questions,
Mike Simard: firm birthday, present questions warn me.
Kent Bullard: No. Okay. So we're gonna do a lightning round here.
Kent Bullard: How has your growth, what's the biggest way that your growth has affected your leadership?
Mike Simard: The growth of the company and my leadership in the company. Again, the biggest thing is I have to help leaders at the top stay connected with the leaders at the bottom, if you will. And so how do we stay connected and still know each other?
Mike Simard: This isn't a corporate company. We have certify employees. I mean, it's corporation, but it's like the biggest thing is how do we stay connected with our people and what they need. And so, that's constant conversation that I'll ask every single day. And we keep seeking out information great coaches to make sure that we're doing that.
Mike Simard: How do you measure success? Well, one of the ways simple's walking the shop and seeing smiley faces, customers are happy. Like, are we taking care of our people? Period. Now, can we pay the bills? I mean, look it's equally important, but you can't do one without the other. So if you put the money first, people see through that.
Mike Simard: So success to me is doing something meaningful in life affecting the people in a positive way around you? And if you can do that and make money, I mean, that's awesome. There's my way.
Kent Bullard: And last question over your career or even your lifetime, what is the best decision that you have made?
Kent Bullard: The best
Mike Simard: decision I have made, honestly, there's a couple things from personal love. I married my wife. Marriage is not easy. It's work. But I tell you what, she has changed me. Look man, she made me eat like lettuce and lentils and like she kept, she's keeping me alive and she keeps me centered and she compliments me.
Mike Simard: And also another relationship of commitment through adversity. You know, and the other thing too is really meeting, look man. If I hadn't, if I hadn't listened to Dan Gilly and LER and then Michael Smith come in my life and all my friends in the merger and acquisition groups I don't know if I'd have a business today.
Mike Simard: So the personal side and learning how to do business and that business isn't just about money. It's about people and treating people well. And if you're doing your pa, if doing what you're passionate about and trying your best to finally live your purpose, the money should just come. And honestly, you should have a little bit of fun more days than not.
Mike Simard: So, I think meeting guys like you guys and all that you guys have done to contribute to our life and how it's trickling down through other communities across the country in Burbanks, Alaska is is hugely impactful.
Michael Smith: There's nothing we'd rather do either than what we're doing together. This is great stuff.
Michael Smith: So. Thank you Mike.
Mike Simard: Appreciate
Michael Smith: you guys.
Kent Bullard: Thank you, Mike. Mike, thank you so much. I understand how busy you are and everything that you're doing. I just wanna express my appreciation for the time that you've devoted to this and coming and talking with myself and with Michael today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this.
Kent Bullard: This has been fantastic.
Michael Smith: Now go buy some more shops, you guys, right? And then go buy some more shops. Now go buy some more shops.
Mike Simard: I'm gonna work on that. Yes, sir, definitely fine. Thanks Kent. Thanks Michael.
Michael Smith: Thanks buddy. It's good to see you. Those who are
Kent Bullard: listening, if you enjoyed the content that we discussed today, if you wanna be a part of this conversation with us and see about how we can maybe help you get pointed in the right direction, or if you have something to offer those who are seeking this guidance.
Kent Bullard: Please, we invite you to join this conversation in the comments below by liking and sharing this content so others can benefit from this opportunity and this valuable insight. Please help us out and again, if you want more information about what we do at the institute, you can visit us at We are the institute.com.
Kent Bullard: Mike, again, thank you so much for being here today.
Mike Simard: Take care, friend. Thanks guys. Have a wonderful day.
Michael Smith: You too. See you soon.

160 - How Mindset and Innovation Drove the Growth of Quality Auto Repair with David Marks

160 - How Mindset and Innovation Drove the Growth of Quality Auto Repair with David Marks
October 15, 2025 - 00:48:47
 
Show Summary:
David Marks of Quality Auto Repair joins Jimmy Lea to talk about his journey from working out of his backyard to running a successful three-bay shop in Overland, Missouri. He shares how learning the language of business through SCORE mentorship helped him secure funding and build his shop from the ground up. David opens up about mindset, the law of attraction, and how believing in himself pushed him from vision to reality. He discusses innovation through virtual assistants, reinsurance programs, and car sales that create new revenue streams for his business. The conversation also explores financial honesty, leadership, and the value of trust and transparency with employees. David closes with a call for greater camaraderie among shop owners and a reminder that success begins with mindset and accountability.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
David Marks, Owner of Quality Auto Repair
 
Show Highlights:
[00:00:54] - David explains how his stepfather inspired his hands-on work ethic and love for fixing things.[00:04:55] - Time spent working in a parts warehouse became one of his biggest business advantages later on.[00:07:09] - How a SCORE mentor helped him understand business finance and secure his first bank loan.[00:10:22] - The law of attraction that took him from a backyard garage to a full shop.[00:13:57] - Discussing financial honesty, team involvement, and long-term planning.[00:15:05] - Core values of accountability, trust, transparency, and innovation displayed on his shop banner.[00:16:41] - Using a virtual assistant to handle marketing, social media, and customer follow-ups.[00:25:07] - Building a reinsurance company to cover comebacks and reinvest tax-free profits.[00:28:13] - Expanding with car sales and rentals to diversify income and strengthen customer relationships.[00:43:21] - Advocating for more camaraderie among shop owners and less negativity in online industry groups.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello, friend, Jimmy Lee here with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and you are listening to the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is David Marks, and he's joining from Quality Auto Repair. Now you live in Overland Park, but where's your shop? No, I'm in Overland Missouri. Overland Missouri.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh, dude, I was thinking you were in Kansas. I was like, Uhhuh. Wait a second, isn't it shop in like St. Louis, Missouri?
David Marks: Yeah, I'm west of St. Louis. Oh, okay. I'm in St. Louis County.
Jimmy Lea: Missouri. David, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. So glad to be able to connect with you as talk man. We've known each other for oh, more than a minute.
Jimmy Lea: I, I remember when you were do, man. I wanna say you were just starting out, but I don't think you were starting out. I think you were still wrenching in the shop for a lot of it.
David Marks: Yeah, it wa was, that was me. You know, we got connected at Vision. I started to go into vision and it's a progression.
David Marks: Jimmy, you know, I think it's mindset. It's that entrepreneurial mindset. It's growth authority, mindset. How do I get, you know, the goal is to get, the intention is to wake up every day. And be 1% better than I was the day before. You know, do I always, oh, I love that. You know, do I always accomplish that?
David Marks: Hell no. You know, but that's the intention and that's, you know, you know, it's, you know, I was with Kakuy and then going to vision and being affiliated with the, you know, industry trade groups. That's that growth oriented, you know, mindset. Yeah, and I still remember the stuff that you talked about in those classes.
David Marks: I've what's really cool about what you talked Jimmy, is it applies to business in general. It wasn't specific to the industry. 'cause a lot of the stuff you talked about. You know, I've taught all their business owners that like, Hey, Jimmy said this. My buddy said this. I said this. Yeah. Because it's so true.
David Marks: You know, I think, you know, 80% of business is pretty, is in industry specific. Yeah. There's that 20% that is industry specific, and there's a lot of stuff that you taught can be applied to. I don't care what business you're in, we're all in the people business at the, you know, big picture. So how do we apply this to people?
Jimmy Lea: I totally agree, man. Thanks for saying that, David. Yeah, I really appreciate that. It's been years and years that we've been doing these dish trainings and you're right. It's business applicable regardless of what program you're in or what stage you're in or whatever. So thank you for saying that.
Jimmy Lea: Um, I wanna dig that's a bit about, you're an I pass, but what about your pass? Where did you start? How did you start in the automotive aftermarket? Were you turning a wrench? Were you at high school? Did you have a tech program? How did you get started in automotive?
David Marks: My mom's second husband really influenced me.
David Marks: I'm sure I'm like, I'm sure a lot of people were late outta high school. I didn't not want to go to college. I was done with school and I didn't want like a dead end job. So my mom's second husband, he had a handyman business.
Jimmy Lea: And I started commercial. Like commercial and residential. Yeah.
David Marks: He was a carpenter.
David Marks: He would just, he just kind of a, he could kind of fix almost whatever was in front of him. So I started working with him and found out that I really like working with my hands. So I got into, so I got into automotive because a lot of days working with him, if we had outside work and it rained, we couldn't work, but.
David Marks: Automotive, we're kind of, we're not dependent on weather. You know, we can work, we
Jimmy Lea: have a roof,
David Marks: we got a roof over our head, you know, and I saw as a way to, you know, have a skill, have a trade, you know, make a good income and not do the traditional college route. So I went through, um, rank in tech here in St.
David Marks: Louis in the late nineties. Yeah. Then like I, you know, I bounced around like I think a lot of people do. I've got experience working in franchise dealers at the, all the franchise dealers here in St. Louis. They're all unionized. So I've got that experience. Worked at big box stores, worked at Independence.
David Marks: I tell you what, the biggest thing that I did that I had no clue at the time I was doing that benefited me is I worked at an independent parts store. I worked at an auto value bumper to bumper parts warehouse, you know, before I got my business started. That experience. Okay. Pay dividends that you can't put on a balance sheet.
David Marks: Okay. It's an asset because I know parts, I speak parts and I know exactly how to play the game with the parts stores and get away with it.
Jimmy Lea: Interesting.
David Marks: You know, it's, that is
Jimmy Lea: interesting. I've never had anybody say that before. So you could, if anybody, you could get that part and you could look at the part and you'd be like wrong one.
Jimmy Lea: Use news.
Jimmy Lea: It's
David Marks: understanding. It's understanding how to look 'em up. How to look up parts and know what's really in that box and it's play the game with the parts houses. Oh yeah, totally. You know, like I, you guys eat this part and here's why and not cross the line. Dang. You know? And it's about building relationships because being on that side of the fence, and now that I'm on this side of the fence, I've got a lot of good relationships on that, being on that side that have paid dividends and it's just for sure have to look stuff up.
David Marks: I can look stuff up very quickly and it's so that way too. When I call the parts stores, I speak their language. Yeah. Everything has its own language. You know, auto repair has its own language. Auto parts has its own language and it taught me a lot. Like it taught me the metric system. It taught me how to speak, how to, you know, here's what hex size is like if I'm ordering nuts and bolts, I speak that language.
David Marks: When you speak the language of the business you're doing business with, you get really good service and that's what it taught me.
Jimmy Lea: And I don't care. You get put a lot faster too. That's good. You get down the road a lot faster because you're speaking the same language. Your communication is flawless there.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. So, so you went from shop to shop. Then you went to the parts store and then what year is this now that you step out and say, okay, that entrepreneurial bug has bit and I am going to take the leap.
David Marks: So I bought a garage with the house in the front yard is how I guess. Whoa. I got started my back.
David Marks: I bought my gr If you look up on Zillow, my garage has more square footage than my house. I bought every single guy's dream house. I literally, you know, so I was working at the parts store at the time. Okay. And they knew I used to work for one of their customers, so they had me working on their delivery trucks, evenings and weekends.
David Marks: I was making really good money, Jimmy, doing it. I got really good at working on Ford Rangers and S tens. So about a year or so goes, they pulled that away from me for what reason? I don't know. And I got used to making that extra money. So somebody told me that, Hey, people advertise auto repair or car work on Craigslist.
David Marks: So I started advertising on Craigslist and I started getting work. I got an LLC, I worked my ass off every evening and night, and then I wean myself off the parts store. Because I wanted, I went all in on my backyard gig, okay? And then some time went by and I wanted to, I got nine. I got three tickets in nine years from the municipality working on my backyard garage.
David Marks: But I didn't care what I was doing. I didn't care. So, you know, eventually, you know, I wanted to get a storefront, a brick and mortar. I didn't wanna work on my backyard, so I went to some banks to try to get a loan and they all looked at my stuff like it was Egypts and hieroglyphics, you know, the profit statement of the balance sheet.
David Marks: I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't know that I didn't know what I didn't know. So I'm a huge advocate for score. It's a free mentorship program from the SBA Society, um, society score. Society. Society of course, of retired executives. That's beautiful. And I got hooked up. I got hooked up with a gentleman named Gary Deacon.
David Marks: He owned multiple bus dealerships. Okay. So he taught me business. He taught me, this is how you put together a p and l. This is how you put together a balance sheet. And we worked on that. And then I went back to the bank. And he helped me write a business plan, and I got approved for a loan.
David Marks: You know, so nice. We took, I took warehouse space and turned it into a shop. I built a shop.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, dude, that's awesome. It didn't,
David Marks: It wasn't moving ready. We built it.
David Marks: And bought the lifts. I rent from an HVAC company, my landlord's HVAC company, so he is another guy like me, super real. He bought a building with the intent of doing what he's doing.
David Marks: So we split it and we built the shop. Whoa. It wasn't, yeah. So I'm super proud of what I was able to do there, and I opened, oh my gosh. With just me.
Jimmy Lea: And key point here. Communication using their language. You had to learn the language of business and finance. Yes. Yes. And once you did with that score, with this gentleman with the bus stations?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Or bus he owned bus
David Marks: dealerships. He owned three bus dealerships.
Jimmy Lea: Dude, bro, once you speak their language, you were in you probably the same bankers, and they were just impressed with the turnaround of you in a short amount of time for you. You got approved for a loan, you converted a warehouse.
Jimmy Lea: By the way, that's a heavy lift. I'm, that's.
David Marks: Yeah, my building where at did not look like what it is. You know, we had to put up a demising wall. We had to lay a floor, you know, do a bunch of electrical work, buy lifts, paint, build a bathroom, build a front office. Oh yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Wow. So, and is that the location that you are still in today?
David Marks: I'm still there today and I opened it up by myself. It was just me. I was a one man band.
Jimmy Lea: How many lifts, how many bays you,
David Marks: We got three. Three bays, two tacks.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. So that's the current layout, three basic. That's the
David Marks: current layout. Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: So when you were doing it and you got the space, it was three lifts and one tech you?
David Marks: It was me. It was me, myself, and I.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. How long were you solopreneur this before you finally hired another tech?
David Marks: So I hired my real tech, I'm gonna say November. I opened this up in April, 2019, and I hired my real tech during COVID. It was November, 2020. And you know, that took time. You know, I had to learn, you know, Jimmy, I had to learn, you know, and I hired some, I'm gonna call 'em some car lot technicians.
David Marks: You know, and it just, and Jimmy I had to, I think. We gotta bet on us. The reason.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. Totally agree.
David Marks: The reason it took me, what it took to even move from backyard to brick and mortar, it's just having faith in myself. I'm a huge believer in the law of attraction. The law of attraction and manifestation is what put me from backyard to brick and mortar.
David Marks: 'cause Jimmy, I love it. This, so I'm at my house right now 'cause so right behind you, I would literally sit out here for 10 minutes a day. While I was working in my backyard gig working with Gary, I believe I'll have a three bay brick and mortar repair business in Maryland Heights. I did that every day for 10 minutes, and it happened when I went to the how, when I, how I got my money from the bank is I went to the bank for something completely unrelated to, to, um, A loan business loan.
David Marks: A business loan. No. Me and Gary were working on a business plan to borrow the money, right? Yes. This is exactly how the law of attraction works. You gotta know what you want. You gotta be committed to the process and have faith. Oh my gosh, no. You gotta be of clarity, commitment, and certainty.
David Marks: Okay. You know what you want and certainly you're gonna get it. And the clarity part is, and the commitment part is do the work. Do the work. Jimmy is I questioned Gary. I would ask Gary questions, but I never questioned Gary.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. And there's a difference. And I understand the difference.
David Marks: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. You are asking questions to understand, not asking questions, to challenge.
David Marks: No, I never questioned him when he, you know, he owned a $300 million business and sold it for $60 million. So that means you know what you're doing.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
David Marks: Okay. Okay. And he was just a really good guy. And we clicked. So Jimmy was a, it was, you know, I knew what I wanted. I was committed doing the work, and I was certain it was gonna happen.
David Marks: I just didn't know when, because I walked into the bank for something completely different. Me and Gary worked on this business plan. Next thing you know, I'm approved for $198,000 score and I used one 60 of that is what I did. I used one 60 of the 1 98 is what it took. And I've already paid that all back.
Jimmy Lea: So it took one 60 to convert the warehouse Yeah. To what you've got today. Yep. And this is probably like a 10 year note or a 15 year note. No, it was a
David Marks: five year note.
Jimmy Lea: It's a five year note. How quickly did you get this five year note paid?
David Marks: I got it. So, when I got my EDIL loan from COVID is what I used to pay off most of it.
David Marks: So I had it technically, I had it paid off from US Bank in three years. Um, good. That's righteous. But you know, indirectly I stole the SBAI think like 90 grand or 89,000 or something like that. I'd have to look at my statements. I don't know that number off the top of my head. Right. When I got an EDIL loan for COVID, I took that and I paid off three of the loans.
Jimmy Lea: Bingo. There you go. There, it reduces that monthly nut. You've got a crack. Yeah, it helps tremendously. So today you've got the three bays, the two text, you have an advisor.
David Marks: No, not yet. That's been the toughest position to fail. So are you? Yeah, that's been the toughest position for me to fail.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh.
Jimmy Lea: So are you the advisor, like
David Marks: Yeah, I'm doing it right now. So I've got a guy lined up, so I'm gonna get, I'm gonna get real, you know, Jimmy, I've made a lot of mistakes, mismanaging money. Okay. I have, and I've got bad debt on my balance sheet, on short term liabilities. Okay. Okay. And what's really cool is that I can, you know, the best way to be honest with ourselves is to be honest with somebody else.
David Marks: So I'm gonna, being honest, you know, it's the best way. Yeah. So I've learned from that and I've learned, I've had six advisors myself. My lead tech did it for about eight months. He killed it. He absolutely killed it. He just doesn't want to do it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
David Marks: Yeah. Um, he just doesn't wanna do it, but he did really good.
David Marks: And then I've had four others, so I've learned a lot. So I've got a gentleman, I've got a friend of mine that's working at a place that got bought by private equity. He doesn't wanna work there anymore. But I've, but we've talked and I've gotta, we put together a timeline on when I can bring him on board, but it's, I need to pay off my short-term liabilities.
David Marks: I need to pay off my bad debt.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. Yep.
David Marks: And I'm working progress and I'm working at it. I got a plan and this all goes towards, I think this very spiritual, the law of attraction. Okay. You gotta know what you want. And it's betting on me. It's believing that, Hey, I can really do all this and I can make this happen.
David Marks: When you have that, dude, you can do anything you want. Totally agree. And I'm there because we're making good progress on it, and I agree. My lead tech, he keeps keep, he keeps hounding me for an advisor. 'cause I'm not the best at it. I'm not. Am I good? Yes. Am I best? Hell no. You know, but I've been open and honest with these guys about the financials.
David Marks: This is where the company's sitting financially. And when we do this, we can get this, and this. Because the job of a business owner is to provide a better experience for the vendors, the employees, and the customers. Okay. That's what we do. I'm in the business of offering an experience, so I told them, if we can do this, then I can provide a better experience, a real advisor.
David Marks: Okay, now they understand why.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I love that that transparency, that trust, that clarity. Yeah. The accountability that you're placing. Those are my core
David Marks: values. What you just said are the core values I have hanging on a banner in the shop.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, nice. And what are they?
David Marks: Enough said three of 'em.
David Marks: Except I said except innovation. Accountability, trust, transparency, and innovation.
Jimmy Lea: Innovation. Oh, I love
David Marks: innovation.
Jimmy Lea: That's beautiful.
David Marks: Yep. Innovation. You gotta innovate, you know, otherwise you won't get look what happened to Kodak. Look what happened. Blockbuster had the ability to buy Netflix, and they said no.
David Marks: Look what happened to them in the early two thousands.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah.
David Marks: They had the opportunity to buy Netflix. Netflix went to them to, to offer it, and they said, no. Look where they're at now. They're gone. Look at Kodak.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
David Marks: Yeah. AK Kodak's
Jimmy Lea: still around. But they're not the powerhouse that
David Marks: used to be.
David Marks: They're, yeah, they're not what we remember them being.
Jimmy Lea: No, you're exactly right. And you know that final blockbuster location, that final one that was up in Oregon or Washington? They're finally gone. They're done. They're, now, it's an experience. It's like an Airbnb or something like that.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. That you can rent to go in there. It still has the same smells and all that jazz. Yeah. If you're not innovating then you are, you're dying.
David Marks: Yeah. That's having that growth, that's people that have, that don't have that growth to rented mindset, you know? Yeah. I never really, how do we innovate?
David Marks: I like experimenting with new things I've told, so we're working with, we use Tech Metric with Shop Genie. I said, man, I'll be the Guinea pig all day long. I told Kakuy that I'll be the Guinea pig. You want the Guinea pig? Dude, I raised my hand. Come again, put whatever you put in front of me and give you feedback.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. That's just how I am. I love it. That's great. So, to your, um, experiences, to your innovation, what are you doing today that is innovative at your shop? What are you doing to move the needle?
David Marks: I've hired a virtual assistant. Okay. And to do what? Con the three Cs of marketing content. Content
Jimmy Lea: and
David Marks: putting content on social media.
David Marks: You know, and it's, we just clicked, you know, I've had a, I've had somebody that's been doing, you know, stuff for me. 'cause Jimmy, you know this, instead of having a billboard on the highway, this is the billboard. Yeah, the cell phone. Your smartphone is the billboard? Yeah, it's the billboard. So my va, she's helping me with, you know, some of my personal branding and then, you know, it's getting one full-time to do everything because there's a lot of things she's gonna do.
David Marks: She can send appointment reminders if I want to. She can send those follow up text messages on deferred work. She can send emails. She's gonna help me manage my email. She's gonna do all kinds of stuff.
Jimmy Lea: That is awesome. Um, to make sure you're not duplicating something you already have. You may discover that Shop Genie and Tech Metric have the ability of a 30, 60, 90 day reminder that goes automatically.
David Marks: No, they have it. But this way when my thought process is we can make it more, how do we make it more personalized? I love that. How do we make it more personalized? Yeah. You know, can I train her to do follow up phone calls? You know, was with something
Jimmy Lea: Ooh,
David Marks: interesting. Right. You know, what is her capability?
David Marks: What can we do? We're gonna figure it out. But I'm the type of, I'm, I don't know any other shop owners that have a virtual, I'm gonna have one 40 hours a week.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. That's amazing. So with your virtual assistant right now, they are. You are, you're sending to you're sending to this person all of your video content, all of your videos your information.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. And they're just taking it and then crunching it and giving out social media,
David Marks: Adding it. So we used last pass. Okay. Because what she could do is then she can use that. To post on my personal Facebook account, my personal Instagram account without giving up the password. 'cause a lot of the content you see, it's not me posting it.
David Marks: She edits it. You know, we meet once a week and talk about it, but then I have somebody that can manage my social media. I love it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. You're meeting with her once a week and saying, Hey, go.
David Marks: Yeah, we're collaborating. You've
Jimmy Lea: got creative license.
David Marks: Go
Jimmy Lea: Make it pretty, make it work. Don't embarrass me.
David Marks: Yeah. Because what you gotta, you know, employees don't wanna be micromanaged. Right. You know, they want autonomy and they want freedom. You know, they want a collaborative approach. So I've always, you know, it, it's having that collaborative mindset and that collaborative, like, and it's setting expectations and boundaries from the get go.
David Marks: You know? And Jimmy, I just go with my intuition. Me and her just really clicked.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I love it. I love it. That's awesome. Alright, so I haven't heard the whole thing. I tried to watch it and list, 'cause usually when I'm watching the videos I'm just reading the text. Yeah. So thanks for putting the text on there.
Jimmy Lea: I don't wanna be rude and have my reels playing for everybody else to read it. Yeah. What is your favorite analogy you use with customers? I want to hear what this is.
David Marks: Oh, customers. So there's a couple different analogies I use is I, to me the service advisor's position is my job. So the customer's pissed off at the car, not me.
David Marks: That's the role of the service advisor. Because if they're pissed off at the car, they'll come back. If they're pissed off at the shop, they're not coming back. And I tell people, I've literally told people this, like, my job is so you're pissed off at your car. And I've even used some um, those seven words that George Carlin said on tv.
David Marks: I've even thrown that in there because then that means when I see that Jimmy, the customer knows, I mean business. Like, whoa, he's not screwing around. Right. He's taking this very seriously. Yes. The customer, in my opinion, has changed a lot where we have to, I have more lengthy conversations with people about their cards are, you know, I need to, we need, I need to educate them.
David Marks: We can't diagnose all the AC leaks at once. It's one leak at a time till they're all fixed while it's in our possession. Once it's in our shop, we can control it. Once you pick it up and leave. On a 10-year-old car with one 20, it's out of our hands. I can't help that. You know? And then I've had to educate customers.
David Marks: The roads that we test drive your car on are not the same roads you drive on.
Jimmy Lea: It's true.
David Marks: You know, and they're not. And unless you wanna pay me a bottle and
Jimmy Lea: the way I drive is different than the way you drive, you may have a lead foot, but I drive like, grandpa on Sunday,
David Marks: oh, we gotta do a lot of test drives with people when they drop the car off.
David Marks: The biggest one is brake que brake squeak. I want a test drive when they bring it in because that way when it doesn't do it, when we're with them, you know, then it's easier to get permission to put it on the lift, perform the inspection, charge 'em, hold off, and then when we find the broken CV boot and the brakes are fine, they say yes when we do the DVI.
David Marks: Right.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
David Marks: No, I love
Jimmy Lea: that. So are using tech metric for your DVI? Yeah.
David Marks: We use, yeah. The whole key to the inspection thing. The 300 roll is get permission. Yeah. Is get permission. When you get permission and you know, we do, you know, we, I'll say, Hey, would you want us to give it a once over, 'cause that's a common term that customer uses when they say yes.
David Marks: Now I got that door open. And then I explain to 'em, here's our process for the once over. Okay. You know, let's say they say no. We don't want that. In the event our techs sees something that's a safety concern. Would you like us to let you know? Nobody's told me no.
Jimmy Lea: Right. But who's gonna, anybody who's gonna say no is gonna be in trouble.
Jimmy Lea: That's Yeah. Yeah. But at the same
David Marks: time though, you know, I don't want the techs looking the whole car over. If they don't, that's what the customer's not there for, and I don't like. And I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to customers would that, a lot of shops would say that disqualifies 'em right away.
David Marks: That's fine. That's not me. I'm still going to do what they presented the car for. I'm in business because maybe they've been screwed over by 10 other places. Yeah. You know, sometimes what I've learned, and this is what I do, is. This is gonna go against what a lot of auto repair coaching says, but that first visit do exactly what they want you to do, and then you earn their trust the next time we can do it our way and they trust us.
David Marks: You'd be surprised how that works. I love it because other places they've been burned, so we gotta earn their trust. Yeah. To really, I think to do that 300% rule, you gotta earn their trust. And that might not be doing it on the first one. That might not even be doing on the second one, but the third one, once you've earned it, then you can do that.
David Marks: Because I, I get that. I get the whole process. Then you can do that and apply and it works. Yeah. 'cause I love that people are tired of shops shoving stuff down their throat. All this when you talk to 'em about it and you, the key is to get permission.
Jimmy Lea: And you've done it, you've done it all along the way.
Jimmy Lea: You've gotten the permission, you educated them. You did your DVI. Yeah. Hey, here's the second time, here's the third time we've been watching this Mr. Customer. Mrs. Customer. Right. And it does need to be fixed. Now, here we are, the third time it's been, what, maybe six months or eight months down the road.
Jimmy Lea: Right. This is really something you can't put off anymore. It's not gonna fix itself.
David Marks: Yeah. And I think that's a much
Jimmy Lea: different conversation.
David Marks: That's a much different conversation, right? 'cause when you earn, if sometimes that's just what I've learned is when you kind of go along, kind of let them dictate it the first time.
David Marks: Yeah. That's how you earn their trust. 'cause then not then. Then they don't think you're just like everybody else, you know?
Jimmy Lea: And and what you're also providing them is not a laundry list of blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yes. $2,500. You've got picture of this circled that. Arrows to this.
Jimmy Lea: Arrows to that, right? Yeah. This is what a new one looks like. This is what yours looks like. Here's what we need to do, and here's why this is important. It, an educated customer makes better decisions.
David Marks: Absolutely. A thousand percent. So, yeah, I've got something else come cooking up my sleeve too that I think is I would've never thought of,
Jimmy Lea: okay, what do you got?
Jimmy Lea: What are you doing?
David Marks: So I also sell cars. I got my dealer license and I got my rental car license. I got some other irons in the fire. Um, and we're not gonna go down that rabbit hole, but I went to. Um, a conference on car sales. 'cause we, all of us independent repair shops hate the aftermarket warranties.
David Marks: Okay. I know exactly how they make money that is very lucrative. They make money through what's called reinsurance companies. Okay. Okay. What it is it's, you set up a separate company, there's a company to plug a for a company called Buckeye. They set this up because I'm gonna do this here. I got some things I gotta make before I get there.
David Marks: Okay. But I take $15 per repair order. Okay? Okay. Now, this is an expense on my p and l. Love it. Keep, gotta understand taxes. So this goes into, and I use Che GBT and I talked to a lot of people about this and I have the Che GBT account. I'm a huge advocate for it. Okay. Love it. And I do use it.
David Marks: So I take this, I put this into this reinsurance company. Okay? Now, as that builds up, right when I have a comeback, 'cause we're a Napa Autocare center. Okay? Okay. So let's say here's a perfectly good example. Let's say I put Altor on somebody's car, right? We charge 'em a thousand bucks. Simple numbers, right?
David Marks: Yeah. Easy numbers. That's 700,
Jimmy Lea: what the numbers are, but that's easy. Yeah. Simple numbers.
David Marks: So, seven hundred's, labor, three hundred's parts.
Jimmy Lea: Sure.
David Marks: Okay. Right. So Napa's obviously gonna gimme the warranty, the parts, but we're not make our parts. Profit on that job is gone. Gone. Yep. Not making any money.
David Marks: Right. And then we still pay the technician. Right. And Napa's not gonna gimme the 700 bucks. So what I do is I use money from that reinsurance company that's in there that's tax free to pay myself for that repair. Love it. Perfect. Right. Now once these, once this gets built up high enough. Yes. 'cause you gotta keep, let's say I have.
David Marks: $10,000 in there after a year, we gotta keep 30% in reserves. Okay. That's per bylaw. But that other 7,000, I can take that, reinvest it into the stock market.
Jimmy Lea: Love it. Yeah. There are devices, there are programs, there are, um, accounts at the bank and you'll need to talk to a banker.
Jimmy Lea: I'll tell you who's really good at that is Wayne Marshall, our, the CEO of the institute, he is setting us up. So we've got a sweeper account. And the bank is paying us to hold our money with them.
David Marks: Yeah, so essentially too, here's the other thing. I do this and I'm not
Jimmy Lea: talking about a savings account. Pay you.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. This is a much bigger piece of the pie.
David Marks: Listen to this. I can use this reinsurance company. Let's say I need a skiing tool and I've got two grants in this account. The reinsurance company pays the pays for the scan tool, quality auto repair, pays it back with interest. Oh, I love
Jimmy Lea: it. Sure. Become
David Marks: bank.
David Marks: So how can I. Right. For essentially for assets. I love
Jimmy Lea: it.
David Marks: So, and then it, this is, now I don't, I know enough about taxes to be dangerous. We have to talk to a cp 'cause everybody's situation's different. But this is the way to avoid a lot of taxes and generate, this is how these car dealers make money.
David Marks: This is how these reinsurance companies make, this is how these warranty companies make money. Guys that do their own service contracts in-house, this is how they're doing it and this is how they're making money on it.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. Just their
David Marks: reinsurance programs.
Jimmy Lea: So, continuing on down, down the path of the innovation you've talked about the virtual assistant.
Jimmy Lea: This is someone helping you out with your social media. Yeah. Content. You talk about innovation with the banking and the reinsuring. What else are you doing that is innovative? You feel like this is different and nobody else in the auto aftermarket is doing it? So I, so one thing I do is I got my dealer
David Marks: license.
David Marks: Okay. And I do that because I avoid a lot of state taxes in the state of Missouri. And I think the two just go hand in hand. What's made that very profitable is having a good, reputable auto repair business 'cause the money without us buying and selling with the customers. Okay. It really is. So,
Jimmy Lea: so are you next door to each other or, yeah.
Jimmy Lea: This is all in
David Marks: one space. This is all in one space. One space. Okay. And then, so what, so when individuals say, I'm gonna trade it in. I tell 'em I can take it to the dealer auction 'cause I got Manheim nine miles from me and I can put this in your pocket. In four years. I've had one person tell me no. Wow. And I've hit some massive home runs.
David Marks: That right there. What I make off, that literally pays for me to have the license. Oh, that's awesome. The state fees it that much. It's the in, it's the insurance that gets, can get kind of pricey with it.
Jimmy Lea: How many cars do you have on your used lot?
David Marks: I usually do about 40 a year.
Jimmy Lea: You have 40 cars there or you sell cars?
Jimmy Lea: I used
David Marks: no. I usually sell about 40 a year. I usually keep two to five on, on there. Two to five is what I have.
Jimmy Lea: Two to five. Okay. My uncle had a dealership in Vegas, and I think he had anywhere from 15 to 20. 20 was when they had a lot, and he would turn like 10 to 15 a month. I mean, it wasn't a lot.
Jimmy Lea: But it was, when I get the right advisor, that's
David Marks: going to a whole nother level. That's challenge. Say again? When I gets to an advisor, that's going to a whole nother level.
Jimmy Lea: Agreed. Are you gonna do the buy here, pay here?
David Marks: I don't know. See, I have, so in the state of Missouri, I have what's called a lease rental license.
David Marks: I can either do daily rentals or leasing. You can actually lease use cars. Okay. I think buy here, pay here makes sense for the consumer when they can pay that. Because I've got people on buy here, pay here when they can pay for the buy here Payer. Buy here, pay your payment and auto repair on top of it.
David Marks: We've all seen too many people that got the buy here, pay here, note of the old thousands on the car. It's a POS and these thousands of dollars in repair. It's like, how do I avoid that? Yeah. You know, and I don't want that buy here. Pay your stigma either. I've done some when they've made sense. Um, I actually.
David Marks: I actually like the daily rental cars, Jimmy. Now I know. So Enterprise rental car here is based in St. Louis. The Taylor family, they're family owned based here in St. Louis. They do 25 billion a year on revenue. B. B billion. B billion. Yeah. I had one Ford Escape on the road for 30 days. I got 1600 bucks in 30 days on that as a daily rental.
David Marks: I'm like, you can't do that on a car note. Now I know why. Enterprise is a billion dollar business. Yeah. Yeah. So because of the my, because of the repair business I have, I think I, this is gonna go against everything we're taught. I think I can play race to the Bottom, Monte Touro with this and make money.
Jimmy Lea: Interesting. I get calls for parts of
David Marks: labor.
Jimmy Lea: You don't need to race to the bottom, but you can be a shoe man. You could be a solution. I can undercut silver
David Marks: car out there too. I can undercut. I can undercut because I, no, you could.
Jimmy Lea: You don't need to.
David Marks: I mean, when I say race at the bottom, it's because, you know, I pay everything at a discount, you know, you know, I, what's my real cost for a skilled tech?
David Marks: What's my real cost for parts? And I buy cars at a discount because of the license. So, and if guys would be surprised, Jimmy, what I've bought and sold stuff for with customers, what I've bought stuff for and what I've, I literally had a guy, he paid four grand over Kelley Blue Book retail on a car yesterday, about last month.
David Marks: Yeah. And he was happy. I said I said, I'll sell this to you. It was one of my daily rentals. I said, I'll sell it to you, but dude I need to get this. He said, okay, Dave. And paid it
Jimmy Lea: because he was in love with the car.
David Marks: Because it's trust.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh yeah. Trust too. It's trust. He knows that it's gonna be taken care of.
Jimmy Lea: So when you sell a car, do you have a in-house warranty that if you keep coming back to me, we'll keep doing yada.
David Marks: No, I was attempting that with the leasing program. I was trying to build a model that, that the customer could afford. Yeah. And was profitable and I haven't cracked it yet.
David Marks: Um, you know, I'm experimenting Jimmy, I'm experimenting with a lot of things and. If you're gonna do what I'm doing, you know, you can't be afraid to lose money, dude, because I've lost it. I'll be the first one to tell you. I, but yeah, it's, that's pay to play. And that's the price. That's the cost of, I don't care what you're doing, I don't care what you're doing.
David Marks: If you're not willing to lose money, dude don't do it. 'cause that's, no, that's right. That's what happens when you know, and I think that goes back to believing in yourself. Having faith. I can do it. You know, and trust in the process. You know how I do things, Jimmy is with the car sales thing is I play in the kitty pool with not knowing what the hell I'm doing, and then I find people that got way bigger operations than I am.
David Marks: Here's what I'm doing. What do you think? Because I have no clue what I'm doing. And they're told me. I've got people that, that have, you know, leasing programs and I've got a guy, he's got 4 4600 people making car payments to him. Oh my word. He owns four D. He's got four. What was cool is we were at a conference, he's wanting to get into retail auto repair, and he's picking my brain on this.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my word. Yeah. So you guys are going back and forth?
David Marks: Yeah, because he's got shops, he's got techs, but he's never done retail work. It's all for stuff that either in-house getting or stuff that, because they do work for people that are making payments, but he was gonna go out to the general public, so.
David Marks: It's really cool. It's a different,
Jimmy Lea: it's a different horse man.
David Marks: A whole different animal. And then, yeah, but it was really cool to experience that. But that's how, I think, that's how you do it, is you gotta play in the kiddie pool, not knowing what the hell you're doing. And then I have something I can take to somebody, and I don't care what this is.
David Marks: It doesn't matter what you're doing, it's falling blank. That's got a way bigger operation, then it's easier for me to understand what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong instead of prior. And I don't ask permission. I didn't ask anybody, Hey, should I buy and sell cars? Hey, should I do this? I can just go out and do it.
David Marks: Let me see if I like it, and then let me find somebody that's doing it at a high level and ask for help.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, there you
David Marks: go. There you
Jimmy Lea: go. That's your school of hard knocks right there.
David Marks: Yeah, it is. It's the school. I think it's the best education because when dude, I tell my MB is when I lose four grand, three grand, two grands.
David Marks: You don't forget it. Hey,
Jimmy Lea: it's the cost of your education, bro. Yeah, exactly. That's all it is.
David Marks: Exactly. If you wanna grow and scale,
Jimmy Lea: scale, that could be a line item on your p and l as well. Executive education.
David Marks: Yeah,
Jimmy Lea: that'd be four grand.
David Marks: That'd be the, that'd have the most dollar amount on it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, it sure would.
Jimmy Lea: It's on
David Marks: there. It's on, it's, if you look at the net income, that's where it comes out. Of course.
Jimmy Lea: So with what you're doing you, I understand the school of hard knocks and what that like, like that have you ever had any coaching or training or teaching with any.
David Marks: Yeah, I have I've had coaching uhhuh I had that, I got a business coach that I work with, you know, currently, you know, is he industry specific?
David Marks: No. I think to me Jimmy, it's more mindset. It's more mindset and it's more beliefs. That's the coach that I work with really helps me with. 'cause the tactical stuff that's easy. The tactical stuff is easy. Okay. We all know GP and you know, independent repair shop. You know the 60, 40, 20. Okay, we can all get there, but does the mind believe that's possible?
David Marks: What does the mind believe? Yes. If the mind believe it, it's possible. The tactical stuff is easy. I can get on AOG and find that out. I, the tactical stuff is easy. It's everywhere, you know, but I literally have a guy, he works on my mindset. We work, he's a mindset coach. That's what I have.
Jimmy Lea: Nice.
Jimmy Lea: Congratulations. That's good. Yeah. And he helps '
David Marks: cause and he is, and we're working together on personal and professional. It's not just, it's not always about business. How's your home life Dave? How you taking, you know, I did that program 75 hard last year. Look, go look it up. 75 hard. And now I understand how fitness and business go together.
David Marks: I get that. 'cause I've always heard that. You know, because, you know Jimmy, the skill doesn't lie when I see my. Weight go down, or when I see I could push more weight at the gym or I could ride my bike. It's I, last week I did 10 miles and it took me an hour. This week I could do 10 miles. It took me 50 minutes.
David Marks: That you can't deny that. That's tangible proof. Okay. I'm getting stronger, I'm getting healthier. You know, what else can I do with my life? You know, that's what fitness and business is all about. I tell people the fitness, because I go to the gym every, I'm up at four o'clock, at the gym at four 30, you know, and I work out 5, 6, 7 days a week.
David Marks: And I do that because that puts me in the right mindset. Love it. You know, and it's, I, you know, the byproduct is as I'm physically fit, but the intention is that's helping me build confidence.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Confidence and mental clarity then,
David Marks: and then I can, then I, then the tactical stuff that is, I think, easy to get, then it all makes sense.
David Marks: Then it's applicable. 'cause if this mind ain't right, you could be the best tactical coach in the world. It's gonna be useless information because I don't believe I can do it. I don't believe that's possible.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Mindset goes, yeah. It's a big thing. I totally agree with you, brother.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. So what does the future look like for you, David? Are you going to continue with the single location? Are you gonna branch out? Are you gonna add to the Kingdom? Um, I would
David Marks: wanna, I mean, I like the single thing, you know, I don't know, Jimmy, you know, I don't know. You know, I think, you know, I want to grow the, I mean, the next step for me is to, you know, where the business owns the property.
David Marks: It operates on, you know, let me get that. I, here's my answer to that is. It's not right, wrong, good or bad, it just is. And being okay with what I have, you know, and
Jimmy Lea: And that goes into define success. What is success for you? Success is what you have to define and you're a hundred percent good and okay with.
David Marks: Yeah, I think success is being okay with what I have now. Right. And it's fine that you, it's good to have goals, vision and that's great. It's, I think success is not comparing other people's outsides to my insides
Jimmy Lea: bingo.
David Marks: You know, and understanding that. Everybody has a place in this world.
David Marks: You know, if somebody wants to be a one man band, awesome. There's nothing wrong with that. If somebody wants to own 14 locations, cool. There's nothing wrong with that. Success to me is being okay with where I'm at right now in the present moment. Yeah and having a vision for the future. Setting goals.
David Marks: Right. That's I, yeah. I have two vision boards. I have two in my office, my home office. I have two, four by six dry eraser boards. I got a personal vision and a professional vision. You know, I love it. Meditate in front of those 10 minutes. In one, 10 minutes in front of the other one. Okay. Right now, yeah, I have three locations on there.
David Marks: Is what? I have three locations is what I have on there. I got three. Okay. You know, will I get there? I don't know. You know, I don't know. We don't know what the future's gonna hold. But it's out there. Yeah. My vision's to have three locations,
Jimmy Lea: you know, and be okay. It's out there and your subconscious is now aware of it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And so your subconscious is gonna be on the hunt constantly for second location and third location. Yeah. So, yeah, you're gonna get there. Before you do that, David, before you do that, make sure that your first location is able to operate without you. And how do you figure that out? You go on a two week vacation and you do not check in.
Jimmy Lea: You let the, everybody at the shop take care of the shop. You are out.
David Marks: Oh, I do that now. I've already, I've left for two. I've been gone for two weeks this week already. Nice. You know, I call 'em workcation. Yeah. They're part work part pleasure. Yeah. And, but no, I've done that before and I agree.
David Marks: When I leave, you know, when I leave right now. Yeah. Does a place do what it does when I'm there? No, but it does, it is it, does it self-sustainable sufficient? Yes. And I'm just not a micromanager. Last time I went to San Diego, first week of September, I think I talked to Nick once. Oh, that's great. Once, and I don't hop on Tech metric and get, see what the numbers are.
David Marks: I don't look at numbers until we get back. I don't So you unplug,
Jimmy Lea: you
David Marks: completely unplugged. Yep. I do not look at nothing because I know what's gonna happen. I, we, you know that scarcity mindset or they're not doing this? They're not doing this. Nope. Just let it be. Let it go. And I think I talked to Nick once when I was gone that week, and that's it.
David Marks: And that's just, I've always done that.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. Congrats, bro. That's very cool. Was there anything that we haven't addressed or haven't talked about that you'd like to bring up as we land this plane?
David Marks: Land this plane? You know, Jimmy, I follow you guys, you know the institute I follow, you know, Cecil and I can't remember his son's name, and you guys.
David Marks: What now, Kent? Yeah, Kent. You know, I love what you guys are doing. You know, I really do. I see that, you know, what's, I tell you what's odd? So I'm on LinkedIn a ton.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
David Marks: And what's can scare, what really kind of concerns me about the auto repair business is, you know, Lucas Underwood, you know, I think he's an influencer.
David Marks: I see him on there now, the sales side of the, and if you take automotive and you've got sales and repair. Yeah, there's two sections. All the influencers, they're on LinkedIn on the sales side, and it's a great way to follow to see what GM Ford, Mary Bear is on there. Jim Foley's on there, bill Ford, Lanis, they're all talking about what's coming down the pipeline and a lot of sales influencers are on there.
David Marks: I don't see any, I'm gonna say independent rep auto repair influencers on LinkedIn, and that's concerning to me.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah,
David Marks: that's concerning to me.
Jimmy Lea: Have you? Not on LinkedIn. I haven't seen 'em, but royalty Royal Auto Service,
David Marks: royalty Auto Service. Yeah. They're not on LinkedIn. They're crickets.
Jimmy Lea: No they're they're on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook. They're
David Marks: on Facebook. Yeah. I, you know, I follow their stuff. I like what they're doing. Actually. I wanna do a lot of a lot of their stuff. But it just kinda odd, that kinda strikes me odd that. You know, the AKA influencers, whatever you want to, however you wanna label that they're not on, on LinkedIn.
David Marks: So here's something cool I've done. BG corporate BG follows me on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, okay. Okay. '
David Marks: cause of the content that I put out talking about how I'd enjoy their products. Nice. That's awesome. So, you know, I think, you know LinkedIn, I, LinkedIn is its own different animal. There's social media, is LinkedIn.
Jimmy Lea: It is a different animal and there's different rules. It's not the same algorithm as what Facebook is or even Instagram. Yeah. It's probably the most antisocial social platform.
David Marks: Oh I'm on it. I've I'm on there almost as much as I'm on Facebook. Oh, wow. It's a great way to stay educated.
David Marks: It's a great way to stay. 'cause I wanna know what's coming down the pipeline. Yeah. The next five, six years, what are we gonna be working on five, six years down the road, you know? Yeah. Gas card v eights are coming back.
Jimmy Lea: Yep.
David Marks: You know, a lot of, there's been a lot of deregulation with the current administration, so.
David Marks: I mean, I mean there's, you could look at that, see what happens. We'll see what happens. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see what happens.
Jimmy Lea: And Mark David, if I had a magic wand that I could hand to you and you can't wish for more wishes, but you can wish to change something in the industry, what would you change in the industry?
Jimmy Lea: It could be customers, it could be process, procedures, technicians, shop awareness, marketplace training, education. Where does your heart lie?
David Marks: I mean, I mean, it would be more comradery. More comradery amongst us. Amongst us. 'cause I'm not gonna name the Facebook group, but there's a couple that I'm in and I see a lot of derogatory comments flying back and forth in some of these Facebook groups.
David Marks: And I'm in some groups for auto sales and I don't see that happening. If it happens, I don't see it. Right. Be more comradery and I think a lot of. And I've put comments into Facebook groups and then it's like, really guys, you guys gotta make these comments. I think too many people in some of these auto repair Facebook groups look at what other people are doing is right, wrong, good or bad?
David Marks: Yeah. Instead of just, instead of, why do you care what I do? It doesn't affect you. That's what I'd like to see change is more camaraderie amongst us. I see too many bickering. On these online groups that we're all in instead of camaraderie. Is there a lot of camaraderie on there? Yes. Yes there is. And I see a lot of bickering 'cause I don't partake in it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, no. And you know, do you know how, here's an old fisherman's analogy for you. Do you know how to keep a crab from climbing out of the basket?
David Marks: Put other crabs in there.
Jimmy Lea: And they just keep pulling each other down.
David Marks: Yep.
Jimmy Lea: That's not the business we wanna be in. Wanna elevate?
David Marks: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: We wanna elevate the industry.
Jimmy Lea: We wanna be about a better life, a better business, a better industry. That's the way it's gonna roll down is the more you can work on your business and have that be better, it's gonna result in a better life for you. Your employees, your Yeah. If and their families.
David Marks: If somebody wants to do what I'm doing, you know, do auto repair the sales, who cares?
David Marks: Why do you care? Do it or what can I learn from that instead of condoning it? That's what I see. Yeah. You know, or somebody just wants to be one man. Man. Cool. Awesome. Who cares?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. What gives you the right to tell them how to rule their kingdom. Yeah. I see. Let them rule their own
David Marks: kingdom. I see too much of that going on, and I don't have time to sit on social media all day either.
David Marks: I don't. Oh, yeah. I don't, I can't, I don't do it. I can't do it. But that would be one thing is more comradery I'd like. I'd love to see that. I don't think there's enough of that going around.
Jimmy Lea: David we definitely have some other things to talk about. Brother, thank you so much. Oh
David Marks: man.
David Marks: Mean you could go on and on all day. Dude,
Jimmy Lea: we could go on all day.
David Marks: Thank you for having me, Jimmy. I really appreciate this dude. It means a ton to me, dude. It really does, man. I, as best as possible when I see the in, even though I know I'm not part of it, but when I see the post, I like it. Or comment on it Or shared or your stuff because just because I'm not directly involved doesn't mean I still don't support it Or can't support it.
David Marks: 'cause that just helps the algorithm when we like and comment stuff. So. Yeah. Oh, amen. When I saw you were signing up, I just signed up for your class. I've signed up for some of your classes. I don't even know what the topic is. I just saw instructor Jim Lee. Yes. I'm dead. I just needed to know you are teaching it.
David Marks: I'm signing up. I don't care what it is because I'm gonna learn something and it's gonna be badass.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's awesome. Thank you, brother. I appreciate that.
David Marks: Of course.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, absolutely. As thank you. Your words are so kind and it's an honor for me as well to be able to interview you, David and to hear about your history and your
David Marks: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Your passion and your foresight and your projection, your laws of attraction, what your goals are and your future.
David Marks: Yeah,
Jimmy Lea: those three locations.
David Marks: Yeah,
Jimmy Lea: that's a thing, bro. And we can make that happen.
David Marks: I got a vision board in it. I wrote, I got it written down, you know, and all right. I'm a big believer in the, you know, it's just that you gotta, we gotta work on our mind and mind.
David Marks: My, my purpose every day is to wake up enthusiastic and inspired to be me. It has nothing to do with my business. Oh, amen. But up like that, good things happen to everybody I come in contact with.
Jimmy Lea: And if you can surround yourself with those people that are like-minded, that are growth minded, that are expansion and innovation minded, it's gonna elevate you and your business as well.
Jimmy Lea: And especially if those people are able to hold you accountable to a higher level. Hey David, you said you were gonna do this, you're. I gotta get that done. They hold you accountable. That and that trust that you build there is just so paramount. It's awesome.
David Marks: Yeah. That's why I did that program.
David Marks: 75 Heart I talked about look it up. That taught me self accountability.
Jimmy Lea: Oh good.
David Marks: It taught me what that taught me. This is what it is. So I did this for 75 days. Yeah. Do 2 45 minute workouts. One must be outdoors. Okay. Um, follow a diet, no cheese meals. Okay, no alcohol. Drink a gallon of water and read 10 pages of like a self-help book or personal development book.
David Marks: You do that for 75 days, dude, you're a different person.
Jimmy Lea: Amen, brother. That
David Marks: really taught me is that I have the ability to make a promise to myself and follow through.
Jimmy Lea: Love it. Love it. No, I, 'cause there's so many people that do make a promise to themselves, but then they give them all the leadway and all the Yep.
Jimmy Lea: And I'm not,
David Marks: dude, I'm not perfect at this. I'm not perfect at this by any stretch of imagination. There's plenty of days where I make promise to myself and I don't follow through. Yeah. I know. I have the ability to when I put effort in initiative into it.
Jimmy Lea: Bingo. Yep. I love that And I'm not perfect at it either.
David Marks: None of us are
Jimmy Lea: that Take the fun out
David Marks: of it.
Jimmy Lea: I'm working at it. I'm working at it.
David Marks: Yeah. We're all works in progress. Absolutely. Yeah, that's right.
Jimmy Lea: David, thank you so much brother. Appreciate you being here.
David Marks: Absolutely. Thanks Jimmy.

159 - Breaking the 7-Figure Ceiling: People, Process, and a Single Mega-Shop with Ryan Snow

159 - Breaking the 7-Figure Ceiling: People, Process, and a Single Mega-Shop with Ryan Snow
October 16, 2025 - 01:05:20
 
Show Summary:
From pumping gas at a local Texaco to managing a multimillion-dollar operation, Ryan Snow of St. George Transmission and Automotive Repair shares his remarkable path through the industry. In this conversation with Jimmy Lea, Ryan talks about building his shop during the recession, expanding into a two-building “garage mahal,” and developing technicians from the ground up. He dives into the evolution of marketing in an AI-driven world, the real impact of digital inspections, and what it takes to recruit and retain top talent. The discussion wraps with lessons on leadership, growth, and the importance of evolving alongside technology and people.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Ryan Snow, Owner of St George Transmission & Automotive
 
Show Highlights:
[00:02:28] - Ryan’s early beginnings at a full-service gas station and how it shaped his entry into the automotive industry.[00:05:12] - Transitioning from parts sales to shop management and stepping into ownership.[00:07:27] - Growing through the 2008 recession by shifting from transmission-only work to full general repair.[00:10:26] - Investing in technology and training to stay ahead with diagnostic tools and lab scopes.[00:17:27] - Building and training new technicians while managing liability and opportunity for growth.[00:20:07] - Partnering with Dixie Technical College to strengthen the next generation of technicians.[00:34:30] - Discussing how AI and Google’s evolving search algorithms are changing shop marketing.[00:46:11] - Turning off Google Ads and seeing higher engagement through smarter organic strategies.[00:49:17] - Leveraging phone and CRM technology for real-time tracking, customer insight, and accountability.[00:55:21] - Ryan’s take on the industry’s biggest challenge: evolving leadership to meet the needs of today’s workforce.
 
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?
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello my friend. It is Jimmy Lew here with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and you are listening to the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is my very good friend, Mr. Ryan Snow of St. George Transmission and Automotive Repair out of St. George, Utah. I have taken my vehicles there to Ryan.
Jimmy Lea: And Ryan, it is great to see you today. How are you, brother?
Ryan Snow: I'm doing well. Great to, glad to see you again. Thanks for having me.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, dude, it's so good to see you. Just a refreshening of everything. Your shop was just down the street from my old house and way back in the day I brought my Ford Explorer over there to you.
Jimmy Lea: And most recently it was my son looking at a Honda, looking at a we looked at a Maxima and Oh man, it just never worked out. Yeah.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. I think if I, if memory serves correctly, the first time that we meet or really got a chance to like sit down and talk, was at a at a Mars conference up there logged in.
Ryan Snow: I sat
Jimmy Lea: right next to you.
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: And you're like, dude, I'm from St. George. I'm from St. George. Why didn't we drive together? Yeah. Where's your shop? Oh, I drive by that every day. Yeah. Oh, that's so true, man. Yeah. That was funny. I remember that. That was my first Mars conference, or might've been the second Mars conference in 2021.
Jimmy Lea: Something like that.
Ryan Snow: That sounds about right.
Jimmy Lea: 2019 Maybe. It might've been the second conference in 2021. Yeah. That marketing conference. We're still doing it. Still going strong. Having a fun time. Get back up to the
Ryan Snow: next one. Yeah. And then we would usually only run into each other at different parts of the country at different events.
Ryan Snow: We never saw each other in St. George.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh man. And my son is still driving that. The last vehicle you looked at with us, the Toyota Venza.
Ryan Snow: Oh, good.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. He's still kicking. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It's, and it's kicking really well all wheel drive, which is important in northern Utah. Now we've got snow coming on the road.
Ryan Snow: Hopefully we'll get lots.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully we get lots of snow. That would be awesome. Well, Ryan I'm excited to talk to you today about the automotive industry and some of the challenges that we face as an industry. But before we jump into that, I'd love to know how did you get into the automotive aftermarket?
Ryan Snow: My entry point was basically like a tire buster level. I did tires and brakes for a few summers in high school. You know, I did auto tech in high school, did the skills, USA competition, and then I started working for a little a little service station. You know, I just had a couple of bays.
Ryan Snow: We still would go up and pump gas and check oil, you know, all the way up into the two thousands. That kind of lasted for a while. What? That was part of the shtick?
Jimmy Lea: Well, there was a full service gas station in St. George, Utah.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. East end of the Boulevard was a Texaco, and then it was a shell,
Jimmy Lea: the shell, the one with the propane tank out front.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I know exactly what you're talking about.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. It had the only natural gas fill up, you know, port that the public could access. So we had all kinds of weird natural gas cars coming through. Yep. So I was there for a few years and started to actually ranch more, get a little bit deeper into cars.
Ryan Snow: But I kind of was working as a hybrid service advisor. I just didn't know it yet. So I left that to go sell parts. And so I spent a couple years selling parts and became a wholesale parts manager for the area. And one day I was delivering parts to this shop and just kind of venting about the parts sales part of the industry and, you know, crying and moaning about work.
Ryan Snow: And the owner of the shop at the time was like, well, hey, if you want something different, I got a spot for you. And so I stopped selling parts and I figured if I was gonna sell parts, I would also sell labor as well. So. I came into the shop environment and I was selling nearly the same volume of parts.
Ryan Snow: Oh my gosh. But with, you know, all the technician labor on top of that. And I came to this shop because after selling parts, you start to get to know like what shops are ran well, what technicians are actually good technicians. And this shop was one of the only shops that I would've like ever thought about taking my personal vehicle to.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Wow. So it's like,
Ryan Snow: I like, oh, okay. Okay. The transmission guys are sharp. I wanna, if I'm gonna work in a shop, I wanna work with the smart guys, so.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's cool. So at what point did you step into ownership with the shop?
Ryan Snow: I started with the shop in 2008 and I think I took over the manager spot.
Ryan Snow: Probably sometime around 2013 or 14. And after that went away from the shop a little bit. I spent a few years doing photography and video work full-time and then got asked to come back and kind of take a shot back over. So at that point I came back in as a partner.
Jimmy Lea: Nice.
Ryan Snow: And been rolling since then.
Ryan Snow: So I guess I've been in an ownership capacity since roughly 2017. 2018.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, congrats bro. That's so awesome. And I know you've got the two, two buildings now. 'cause when I first started coming over, it was just the one with the what is it, 12 bays inside, and you've got nine master certified techs that are working transmissions.
Jimmy Lea: Is that still the scenario?
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Yeah. More or less. So the the lore was the previous owner originally built the shop that I'm sitting in right now, which is the new shop. Which is the old shop.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So he
Ryan Snow: or he originally had built this and and 2008 right when I came on he built the new building.
Ryan Snow: It's about double the square footage. Yeah. To take all the transmission stuff over there. And 2008 was a hell of a time to enter the industry and have a brand new building and a whole new debt load to service.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Oh 8, 0 9 and oh 10. Oh my gosh. That was tough.
Ryan Snow: And so my first few years, the shop had previously done almost no general auto repair to now we do everything.
Ryan Snow: We got, you know, we got guys that we need to keep busy and so. We were actually able to grow through the whole recession. Like we went through a rough patch and then we progressed another level or two, you know, kind of by the time we got through the end of the recession.
Ryan Snow: And a lot of that came from being able to finally service repeat customers.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh, dude, that's awesome
Ryan Snow: because transmission shops almost never have anybody as a repeat customer unless the job didn't go well or it's another vehicle, or it's their friend or their family. But this expansion came about last year when the tenant that had been in it for a long time was moving out.
Ryan Snow: And so we took the opportunity to basically add some more base space and give us a secondary marketing arm and hopefully fill that, that demand of, you know, more minor repair or maintenance and service work. Aside from, you know, the deep, heavy line surgery that, that we are primarily doing in the big shop now.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Right. Oh my gosh, that's awesome. So the in between, wasn't that the granite slab company that was there for a minute?
Ryan Snow: Yeah. It was a granite warehouse and sho room for a long time. Before that, it was two or three different collision shops. It was a couple of different diesel shops.
Ryan Snow: There was somebody that was making cabinets for like six months.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. That's amazing. So I get a,
Ryan Snow: I get a lot of people's random junk mail steel.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, really?
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's crazy. That is crazy.
Ryan Snow: There's companies, I get mail for the, with this address that I don't even remember being here and I was.
Ryan Snow: The whole time.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh, that's crazy. So maybe they were running multiple companies out of the one location. Yeah.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. I think this was the LLC address for some multiple enterprises.
Jimmy Lea: Right. So when you came in and you were so, and high school, you were at the gas, the Shell station did a little bit of wrenching, but it sounds like it was more oil and brakes.
Jimmy Lea: Not so much. Yeah. So heavy,
Ryan Snow: A lot of people that move into an ownership position I'm a little jealous of because most of 'em are former technicians that became owners. Yeah. I am not I would call myself barely a c tech. Yeah. But
Jimmy Lea: you are GS qualified.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, I'm, I am GS qualified and I can talk a lot about everything on a vehicle.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, knowledge is
Ryan Snow: dangerous. But I always went to, you know, I always went to every bit of training that came in. If technicians were going training, I was going training. I've always been really curious about how does it work, why does it work? And so over the years I spent a lot more time, you know, being more involved with like the diagnostic side, not necessarily taking over diagnostics, but if a technician gets stuck on something, then you gotta put heads together to get unstuck, find a new test, stay fresh on what kind of new tools are coming out.
Ryan Snow: So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah. Yeah, sometimes that different perspective is all you need to be able to crack the code.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, like I've always been kind of the early adopter tech nerd, so, you know, as soon as I learned what you could do with the lab scope, I was like, oh, weird. We're buying multiple lab scopes, everybody in the software.
Ryan Snow: And you get a lab scope
Jimmy Lea: and you
Ryan Snow: get a lab scope. Yeah. Every, everybody's gonna go to a lab scope class and we're gonna all learn about waveform analyzation. 'cause that's super interesting to go over on a lunch break.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. I mean, that's when you start nerding out, for sure. Yeah. Oh, that's cool.
Jimmy Lea: So from there, you are where you are now, you've got the one building with the nine techs and it and the new old, the old new building. It's the new building, St. George Transmission auto Repair. Isn't there four, four lifts in there, or is there six?
Ryan Snow: There's six and some flat bays. So in total we've got, you know, 18 bays right next door to each other.
Ryan Snow: We can hold approximately a hundred vehicles plus employee vehicles on, on the property and in, in the bays. Whoa. So if we, you know, if our work in progress gets above a hundred vehicles, then we are busting people in basically.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Yeah. You would be that would be crazy. So what's the car look like for you guys right now?
Jimmy Lea: I mean, that's, you're like a garage mahal, man. That's ginormous.
Ryan Snow: So what's that car
Jimmy Lea: count? Yeah. What are you looking at on a monthly or weekly? Daily, monthly, weekly.
Ryan Snow: We're usually, depending on how many oil changes we're doing, which is not a lot we might be running only three to three 50 for a monthly car count.
Ryan Snow: But we tend to run a much higher average ro.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: What's your average ro. These days
Ryan Snow: it can be between 12 and $1,500 depending on the spread of transmission work versus general repair work.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, no, that's solid. That's
Ryan Snow: solid. How heavy are we marketing things like
Jimmy Lea: that? Yeah. Well, on every vehicle that's on the road today, there's anywhere from 2000 to $3,000 worth of safety repairs that need to be done.
Jimmy Lea: They just haven't done 'em yet. They bring 'em to your shop, you do a digital vehicle inspection, you identify the things that need to repair, and it's up to them to make sure that they get it repaired, whether they do it with you or somebody else. So, yeah. And we,
Ryan Snow: we primarily still have a reputation as a breakdown shop.
Ryan Snow: You know, most things are coming in inoperable on a tow truck.
Jimmy Lea: Wow. And so
Ryan Snow: By the time we get to the bottom of that concern, and we also look at the rest of the vehicle so that we can give the customer an educated estimate on. You're gonna fix the major problem. You're also gonna need these other issues if you want your car to be reliable, safe, and operable, even in the near term.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Now you need to make a holistic decision, not just, yeah, we need to buy the transmission. Like, are you gonna, are you ready to do everything? 'cause if not, maybe I don't want to take your money for this one problem.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh no, it's so true. And maybe you're deciding, well, is it time to get that new used vehicle or that new vehicle, or, Hey, you know what,
Jimmy Lea: yeah.
Jimmy Lea: New
Jimmy Lea: vehicles are so expensive. 60, 70, $80,000 for 20,000. We get you back on the road. You're safe and you're good to go for another a hundred, 200,000 miles.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. O obviously I'm incentivized to wanna repair everything. Sure. And I would love to repair everything but. I also got into this business and stay in this business because I wanna serve my community, which means I need to help everybody make the best decision that we can make.
Ryan Snow: A
Jimmy Lea: hundred percent. And if you lay that out for them so that they can see it and understand it. You're doing digital vehicle inspections? I'm assuming?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: So every single customer gets a digital vehicle inspection so they can see what needs repair.
Ryan Snow: Yep. Yeah. Some car comes in for an oil change, gets the same inspection, car comes in for a transmission overhaul, gets the same inspection.
Ryan Snow: Wow.
Jimmy Lea: That's pretty good. So it must be a pretty good in-depth inspection for everybody that they're getting.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Yeah. I know we would all like to, we would all like it to be a little bit quicker, but as a group we kind of decided that we want these things noted. We want these things tracked,
Jimmy Lea: you know, and there's some CCYA.
Jimmy Lea: Doing a thorough digital inspection. And speaking from experience, 'cause I've gotten your digital vehicle inspections. You guys do a really thorough good job and I appreciate that as a consumer.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. There, there is a time investment into it and there is a monetary investment to it.
Ryan Snow: You know, I pay my technicians to do a DVI, I know a lot of places don't how much you pay. I know. 0.25.
Jimmy Lea: Point two five. Nice. That's solid.
Ryan Snow: And we aim at, you know, getting it done in a true 15 minutes. But you know, that at least covers the time. It's not a big thing. But I'll sit in a round table and argue with people until we're all red in the face on whether that's a good thing to do or a bad thing to do.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. The only thing I'd say is you, we should pay three tenths and give the tech more time to do it. 'cause the more time, the more thorough, you know, I, but there's the, there's a long argument there too.
Ryan Snow: I think that there ought to be a flat rate inspection fee for every vehicle that comes in to ensure safety.
Ryan Snow: But you know, most states are going away from safety inspections. And so it's on us as an industry to at least point it out and say, Hey, this is already unsafe or rapidly gonna be unsafe.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, for sure. When was it that Utah stopped doing their state inspections? How long ago was that?
Ryan Snow: I wanna say it's been four or five years now.
Jimmy Lea: So it's probably 2019 ish.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Somewhere 20 19, 20 21. Somewhere in there.
Jimmy Lea: My word seems like it was just yesterday. Time flies. Yeah. Unreal. Well, congrats on where you're at and where you've come up through the ranks. It sounds like you took a little hiatus for some videography, photography.
Jimmy Lea: But yeah,
Ryan Snow: The automotive industry is one of those sticky industries where you can try to walk away, but you might not make it very far.
Jimmy Lea: Nope. You usually don't because that 10 30 oil weight is just running through your veins and, you know, you gotta get back to it. So that's awesome.
Jimmy Lea: What does the future look like for you, Ryan? Where are you gonna go? What is the three year, the five year, the 10 year plan for Ryan Snow, the family, your partners? What does that look like?
Ryan Snow: For us as a company a big motivation has kind of been, you know, we've always grown our own technicians.
Ryan Snow: We've brought a lot of guys up from fresh to being super legit Pepsi challenge full stack technicians, and it takes a long time and there's a lot of. There's a lot of pain and suffering that goes into that development. And so we've always been trying to figure out how do we do that better?
Ryan Snow: How do we insulate the company from the liability of a new technician?
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Ryan Snow: Especially if we're doing any heavy line work, complex work, late model European cars, like the liability can get expensive very quickly. And so if we're only limited to saying, you know, like, you can only come work in my shop if you're an a technician and have a bunch of years of experience, I would love to have an entire company full of those people.
Ryan Snow: And I get that mentality, but somebody in the industry has to be able to create the environment to cycle, you know, technicians through that initial learning curve. That means giving people room to make mistakes and mistakes cost money. And they cost time and they cost goodwill with customers.
Ryan Snow: So we're always trying to figure out how to balance that and increase our ability to, you know, find people that really wanna work, really want to get into the industry and be able to actually do it. 'cause I'm not gonna say we've ever been good at doing that.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: So that was another big motivation for, you know, expanding the shop is to get more, you know, c tech work and d tech work floating around so that we can have more of that stuff to do.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. Are you participating in the community at all or the high schools? Dixie Dixie High School comes to my mind. I know they've got an auto program as does desert Hills High School. Do you get involved with them at all with their program?
Ryan Snow: I I'm more directly involved with the technical college.
Ryan Snow: You know, Dixie Technical College has a sub one year automotive program.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Ryan Snow: And so I think they're running multiple cohorts at a time now. So they graduate two to three tranches of students a year. Whoa. So I sit on that it's called the Occupational Advisory Council Board. And you know, there's a meeting, I think once a quarter for that, and that gets pretty involved.
Ryan Snow: I've always found it really interesting that I'm usually the only independent shop that's there every, it's all dealerships. Every dealership has got people there and every dealership is stinking money and cars and scan tools and free training into, you know, into the trade school.
Ryan Snow: And I'm the only independent guy there. So. I also sit on the board for the Automatic Transmission Rebuilds Association. And so I, I was able to help facilitate a relationship with the A TRA organization and the college by being a sponsor. So all the students have access to all of the virtual training system training modules that are inside of the ATRA membership platform.
Jimmy Lea: Dude, that's awesome.
Ryan Snow: And so, so now the, when they go through transmission training on that, it's like two or three weeks and maybe one week, then the shop in two weeks or classroom time. And so if anybody's brain is tickled when their hands are actually inside of it, like I need them to be able to like go explore that more.
Ryan Snow: Go learn more about that. 'cause if you like that there's, we got there's still people that do that at a, you know, for a living. So maybe, oh yeah, maybe we need to talk.
Jimmy Lea: Well, congrats man. That, that is awesome. Is Dixie Technical College? Is that's not the same as Utah Tech.
Jimmy Lea: Those are two. Yeah.
Ryan Snow: Ut u Yeah. Utah Tech is the main university Dixon Technical College is up on the old airport hill. And they're just a, they're just a grade school, so they do automotive, diesel, welding, auto body, culinary drafting bunch of stuff. It's a really cool set up there.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's awesome. I have not been to that one. I know of it. I know where it is, but I've never been into it. The Dixie. Yeah. Next
Ryan Snow: time you're in town. We'll they'll stick your head in there.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Well, dang it. The problem is I'm there on a weekend now. It's gonna be the weekend. So we're coming, the beginning of November, we're gonna celebrate the grandbaby's birthdays.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, cool. Passing through town. Yeah. Yeah. That's
Ryan Snow: all fun.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Aside from that the future of the company is a lot of new technology coming out. There's a lot new, a lot of new transmissions. You know, they keep adding more gears to more automatic transmissions, and every time that happens, we get to completely relearn a whole bunch of new mechanisms, a whole assembly and disassembly process, all new program strategy or control strategies.
Ryan Snow: So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah.
Ryan Snow: What do you think of
Jimmy Lea: these CVTs?
Ryan Snow: I think they're getting better, but, oh, that's
Jimmy Lea: good. That's good to hear.
Ryan Snow: I think that the, like the Nissan, the, you know, the Nissan CVT debacle has probably done more damage to the brand than any other one thing that they could have done.
Jimmy Lea: Oh no. So
Ryan Snow: many people that had a Nissan CVT failure will probably never buy a Nissan product again.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So for my mother who's listening, and she wants to know what is a CVT, it's a continuously variable transmission.
Jimmy Lea: Is that right? Is that the acronym? Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: And so, Nissan is famous for having them. Honda had them for a minute. Are they still doing cbts in the Hondas?
Ryan Snow: It seems like they've got some new ones. There's always a big push for everybody to go back to cbts because they're really advantageous for fuel economy.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And a lot of 'em, if you keep the fluid fresh and keep the fluid from getting hot, then they're not nearly as bad. But they are severely under maintained by the time they get to us.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Usually. And that's a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle with no pitcher.
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: And that sucker starts falling apart.
Jimmy Lea: Forget about it. That's tough.
Ryan Snow: But yeah, the the transmission games always evolving, always getting more interesting. So we're gonna, you know, that's kind of our DNA, so we're always gonna stay on the front line of what's going on there.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. It's, so your plan is you're bringing up some apprentice.
Jimmy Lea: You've got some Gs, you've got some Ctec, some bts and quite a few ATECs are your ATECs of that teaching mindset where they're able to work with these guys and help bring them along?
Ryan Snow: Some guys are if everybody's trying to stay productive that it's hard to have a bunch of new personalities that need assistance going on at once.
Ryan Snow: Right. And so, well, we, we try to really just promote a communal knowledge mindset. So we get together, like if somebody learns something really weird about a vehicle or about a particular job, a lot of times. You know, the next time we're in a huddle or something like that, we're gonna talk about it and make sure everybody, you know, knows about that.
Jimmy Lea: Like the, like a lunch and learn. Everybody gets together for a lunch and
Ryan Snow: learn. Yeah. You know, like, like the first time somebody figured out like, oh, if you wiggle your arm, just this way you can get to the oil pressure sender on the backside of an LS motor without taking the intake off.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh.
Ryan Snow: Everybody gather around. I'm gonna show you the angle that you gotta get to, and then you can get to it, and that's gonna just save everybody a whole lot of heartache. And I was like, excellent. Okay. Great.
Jimmy Lea: Wow. Yeah. That is, and that's cool. That's cool that you have that because that reinforces the learning when the person that learns the most is the teacher.
Jimmy Lea: So once a student has learned it and now they go to teach it, they learn even more by teaching it to everybody else.
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: And it sticks longer.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. We've talked a lot about,
Ryan Snow: you start coming up through business and you start delegating more things. You start adding more staff. You start adding, you know, additional layers of leadership inside of a company.
Ryan Snow: Yep. And then you gotta watch somebody that you trained. Go train somebody else. And I'll be damned if they do not always train at a rate that is about double what they were doing really? And so I'm always, you know, it's always like, Hey, like you just, you know, you just trained Sally this process perfectly, but you do it this way.
Ryan Snow: That means you knew the whole time
Jimmy Lea: you called how to
Ryan Snow: actually do it. So you didn't give that discretionary effort. Now you're a manager and you're trying to get that discretionary effort outta somebody and it just, and keeps getting kicked down the road. See how that works?
Jimmy Lea: Oh wow.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. You gotta hold 'em accountable. This is the process of procedure. You're not doing it this way. Gotta hold 'em accountable. Wow. It does happen. It does happen. So the option, the the plan is that you're growing your own, you got the apprentices coming up. You're really looking at optimizing a single location to be a mega, mega multimillion dollar per year performance.
Jimmy Lea: Out of we'll call it two buildings. But isn't it really just, is it really just one business or are you still running them separate?
Ryan Snow: It's two brands, but it is one business. Okay. It's basically two different departments,
Jimmy Lea: correct? Correct. So you man, you must be up. Can I guess, are you up in the 3.6, 4.2 million per year range?
Ryan Snow: Yeah. We should be in, in that kind of a range for this year and that that should be a stepping stone for us. Like we've got a, we've got a big period of refinement to go through.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Ryan Snow: But you know, the total building capacity is almost just sickening. The delta between where we're at and what the total building capacity is.
Ryan Snow: So
Jimmy Lea: that's what I was gonna ask. What is the full potential? I'm figuring it's gotta be six to 8 million.
Ryan Snow: It's like full potential. Like if you had a tech in every bay and everything was running slick and you had half a dozen really solid leaders running around, keeping all the cats herded.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. Yes. Cat herd included.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: Then yeah, the campus is probably six to $8 million a year at full Monty. I don't know if it's, I don't know if I am a good enough leader to get it to that point.
Jimmy Lea: Well, and that's where you have to surround yourself with the team and the team. Yeah. They lock arms together. You can't do it yourself.
Jimmy Lea: There's no way. Yeah. There's no way no individual could lift that. But as a team working together, you go from me to we, that becomes the we attitude together. We can do this, let's do this. And that gets the buy-in from everybody. They're all firing on all eight cylinders. They're all putting in a hundred percent.
Jimmy Lea: You, you're efficiency, proficiency, output productivity is a hundred percent, 105%, 110%, 120%. When you get up into that range of production, dude, sky's the limit. No, the sky's not.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, that's, it gets massive. I know some guys around the country that, you know, I've always been reaching out, trying to talk to people that are just running really big single locations because it's just a different animal.
Ryan Snow: It's a different animal than running three or four, you know, three or four or five bay locations.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, yeah. Oh, totally.
Ryan Snow: And do you know who's
Jimmy Lea: should talk to? Do you know Tracy Holt? Precision Performance Place? Yeah. Tracy Performance Place. I'll give you his number afterwards. Lemme write that down.
Jimmy Lea: Down 20 bays, 20 lifts up in South Jordan, west Jordan. Something like that.
Ryan Snow: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I've I think I tripped over him online one time and that was on my list of somebody I needed to talk to. But you know, we've gone from you know, for years and years, we always had, you know, between nine and 11 employees and now we're probably gonna be, you know, knocking on 20 by the end of the year.
Ryan Snow: And it's been hard to get the headcount up to where we need to be for the space that we have and for the amount of cars that are here, you know, which is just one of the challenges, the industry. But the. The management requirement, the leadership requirement, the HR expense, the benefit expense of having a crew that big is just a different problem that I'm only going through for the first time.
Ryan Snow: So I, I lean on a lot of people that I know that are, you know, that run 16, 18 bay shops. And I know a guy that he, I know a guy that's got two different 12 or 14 bay shops. I don't exactly know but I do know that he is able to legitimately run about a 36% net every single month because he can outrun that overhead with half of his, you know, half of his production space.
Ryan Snow: He cannot out run overhead. And so everything that happens on top of that is just gravy.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's awesome. Denny, so Denny's might be a good one to talk to as well. I don't know how many bays he has. Mitch. Mitch and Darren Montour. Do you know them?
Ryan Snow: Where are they out of?
Jimmy Lea: Ooh. The South Jordan area as well.
Jimmy Lea: I think
Ryan Snow: Northern. I don't think so. I know a lot more people from around the country than I do like in northern Utah. It's kind of funny. Yeah, I gotta get up and I gotta get up and shake more hands up there.
Jimmy Lea: Come on up, man. I got a place for you.
Ryan Snow: Let's do it. Come
Jimmy Lea: on up. You're welcome. Yeah. Get running a garage, Mahal, as you are, is a different beast than running multiple locations, multiple operations of a three bays or four bays, or even six bays.
Jimmy Lea: If you got multiples to equal what you have at a single location, it's a different beast. So you're tackling quite the beast there, and congratulations to you. That's super awesome that you're able to do. Oh, thank
Ryan Snow: you. I don't recommend anybody. Go for it.
Ryan Snow: That's not true. There, there's obviously scenarios and every business is different, but I think that if I had to, if I had to do it all over again, I'd, I would probably try to maximize a six base shop and then go maximize a six base shop and then go maximize a six bay shop.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh yeah.
Jimmy Lea: No that's sound advice. Tom Lambert might be another one for you to talk to. Shade Trudo.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, I have talked to him a couple times. Oh
Jimmy Lea: yeah, he's a rad dude. He just bought, well, just his relative, I think a few years ago he bought a second location or third location actually. AB Hadley up there in Ogden.
Ryan Snow: Oh, good for them.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. It's the old Studebaker building.
Ryan Snow: Oh, cool. It is. That's a cool legacy to have.
Jimmy Lea: It is a cool, and when you get up there to see the building, dude, because next time you come to Mars, it is just down the street from the institute's headquarters.
Ryan Snow: When is the next Mars?
Jimmy Lea: We just had the last one, so it's gonna be another year before we have it Next year. I'll get it for you. I'll email you and let you know when that date is.
Ryan Snow: Is it usually like September-ish though?
Jimmy Lea: It's usually, yeah. August, September, October. Somewhere in that range. So I'll let you know. I'll have to get you up.
Jimmy Lea: Awesome. So, something that, because you've been in the photography industry something I would love to talk to you about is marketing for the modern shops. What do you think are some of those challenges that shops are really facing when it comes to marketing?
Ryan Snow: Ooh. This is one of those things that, oh the painter's house is always painted last.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. The copper's children never have good shoes and the landscapers. Yeah. I, yeah I don't,
Ryan Snow: I don't take, I don't take care of my stuff as, as well as I should or as well as I'm capable of. I think that a lot of things are changing. I've been doing a lot of interesting reading about the AI influence on Google search, just in relation to auto repair.
Ryan Snow: Okay.
Jimmy Lea: What do you mean? And seeing,
Ryan Snow: What I'm seeing. And I was lucky enough to have a couple of conversations with some people that, that are contractors for Google. And they, you know, they used to work for ad you know, the AdWords department or whatever AdWords section of Google.
Ryan Snow: They're doing this other thing but what they've been, you know, talking to me and what I've been, you know, what I've been reading on is a lot of the, a lot of the keyword based searching that converted most for an auto repair shop was things like auto repair near me, oil change repair near me water pump repair or AC repair, and, you know, coupled with a geographic location and then authority based ranking based on your reviews the amount of hitch your website gets, if people click around on your website.
Ryan Snow: All those things kind of coming together. And there, there is a beginning of a potential trend of people asking way more direct questions about their car. Ai, AI to Google search but Google search, but even if you don't, even if you don't search, you know, through the AI portal in Google, they are using, you know, they are using their whole AI platform to, to start to rearrange how results are served.
Ryan Snow: And so people are asking really specific questions like, I drive a 2013 Nissan Sentra with a CVT, that shutters, where should I go? Wow.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Ryan Snow: And now, you know, the, all of the content that's on your website, everybody who's been talking about you on Facebook or Reddit or Twitter. All of that stuff is getting looked at in a way that it wasn't before your blog pages.
Ryan Snow: Like for a long time, blogs have been such trash because they're just generic. SEO
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: There's nothing interesting in 'em. It doesn't sound like a human wrote 'em, it, it sounds like an SEO bot wrote them.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And that is starting to d your authority level at some level in the modern search results, I feel, because you're not really providing good information or good con content, and you're not communicating in your blog the way that you would communicate to a customer that was sitting across from you at the counter.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So you gotta write it like you're talking to a customer, not like you're talking. Yeah. You gotta write it like you're
Ryan Snow: interacting with a human, because now the computer is really good at knowing what a human wants to hear.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, and that's that large language.
Ryan Snow: Predictive text.
Ryan Snow: Like it's just guessing what's gonna come next based off of what it already has covered.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So all those blogs are valuable if it's written in your language, if it's not a copy and paste from some
Ryan Snow: Yeah, I, you know what? I don't know. Yeah. I don't know what the, I can't, I, I don't know what the right answer is, but everything that we're doing with our online presence has to be demonstrating expertise, authority, and integrity.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. Or
Ryan Snow: else it is not gonna weigh as well against what you're currently doing. So if you're spending a bunch of money on Google AdWords, you gotta start looking at that really close. 'cause if you're reading a lot about what's going on right now, you're gonna end up being more familiar with it than whoever your vendor is.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Quite potentially. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. The local ads. They cost you twice as much, but it's much more qualified than a normal Google ad.
Jimmy Lea: And have you gotten your shops Google certified?
Ryan Snow: I started to get the local service certification, and I got hung up on my LLC and my DBA and my second DBA and my insurance certificate of off, or my certificate of insurance.
Ryan Snow: Not all jiving and Right. So I'm in the middle of trying to get it all undone. Okay. And then I've talked to a handful of people in the country that the local service ads are just killing it for 'em, and some of 'em are just kind of not working that well. So it's interesting to see and I don't know how much they're changing, but I also was told recently that they're changing up some of the.
Ryan Snow: Requirements for the local services ads and Yes. And maybe how they actually serve it up to the the users.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, after Google got sued a few times for Google's old certification process, they had to change it up. That's why it's such a heavy lift for you these days. You've gotta get it all dialed in.
Jimmy Lea: Right. And once you do, it'll be really good for you.
Ryan Snow: Got my distracting shop dog now.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, you, that's a gorgeous,
Ryan Snow: he is a good dog.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. What's the name? Rocco. What's up, Rocco? Oh, he's gone. Yeah. So the the process here is much more of a heavy lift for you because to be Google certified now you do have to certify.
Jimmy Lea: It's more than just a picture and a location and a web address.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Yeah. There, there's a. A higher level of establishing bonafides before you can get that badge.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, that's right. Which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing. No, it is a, it's a good thing. It keeps the riffraff away. That hopefully is what brought it down originally.
Jimmy Lea: And it allows you to operate more professionally. And just like in any market, what works Well, some markets, yeah. Rural Yelp is not a thing. Some markets heavy heavily populated East Coast, west Coast, Yelp is very strong in those markets. Each market is different. What pops, what hits some markets, it's Facebook.
Jimmy Lea: Some markets, it's all about Yelp. Some markets it's about Google search.
Ryan Snow: I used to swear that mailers were just an absolute waste of time.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Are you doing postcards now?
Ryan Snow: Yeah. And then I figured, and then I figured out how they work, and then I figured out how to actually track data and how to be patient and how to do some aid and testing.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Excellent.
Ryan Snow: And you know, oh look you can't just do it once and get an amazing result and then be done. Like, this is constant evolvement. It's constant monitoring. It's constant tracking.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. How do you track it? How do you track your postcards?
Ryan Snow: We mark 'em in the shop management system as a source, and then we clip all the coupons throughout the ro number on 'em and put 'em in the till.
Jimmy Lea: Yep.
Ryan Snow: So some poor individual, A lot of times me sits down and plugs, you know, just starts a, we have a big spreadsheet, so start with the RO number and then we can divide and conquer and go, you know, pull the RO number and let's grab what did we recommend? What did we close? Has the customer been here before?
Ryan Snow: Now I'm starting to be, now I'm starting to, you know, be able to tie my database back and say like, okay, they came in for a mailer, oil change. And then they came in again. And then they came in again and now their A RO is back up to being a normal A RO because they got to try us a few times and now they like us.
Ryan Snow: Now they trust us. Now we can roll.
Jimmy Lea: There you go. I think you just hit on it right there. When they trust you, then you're able to. Make those additional recommendations. And then, which is a,
Ryan Snow: which is a trip for me. Yeah. Because I come from a transmission and a heavy line breakdown world. So my first time visit a RO is traditionally three times higher Yeah.
Ryan Snow: Than my repeat customer, a RO. And then, you know, I jump into the other side of the world where most of my friends operate, and now it's the complete opposite.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And this is where you're learning that patient first
Ryan Snow: time. Yeah. You know, launch a new location or a new brand or something like that.
Ryan Snow: And you know, even if every, even if everybody tells you to get ready for your first time, visit a RO to be sub hundred dollars for a bunch of visits. Like, it can happen. It can happen.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Especially if it's, especially if it's brand new. So those first time visit coupon clippers, postcards.
Jimmy Lea: First time visit for an oil service that are coming in for just the oil service. Are they getting the same DVI as everybody else? Yep. Nice. So you're pointing out to them, Hey, these are the things that, this is red, yellow, green. I'm assuming this some similar process to the red, yellow, green, red says, these are safety things, whether you do 'em here with us or not, it's up to you.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. You can't can watch it. You can't
Ryan Snow: scare, yeah. You can't scare everybody away. If somebody comes in with, you know, if somebody comes in with a $75 oil change coupon on an Audi and you hit 'em with a $3,500 quote, even if it's super legit and every, you know, every bit of that thing is needed, they're most likely not gonna buy it from you or they're gonna buy it from you and you're never gonna see 'em again.
Jimmy Lea: And we're looking for longevity. We want the relationship.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Yeah. Obviously it's not every time, it's just if we zoom way back out and look at math.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. A hundred percent.
Ryan Snow: You know, you gotta be able to say, Hey, we looked at everything. Here are the facts. Would you like to come out and look, we have photos, we have videos.
Ryan Snow: I can walk you out and I can show you. You can touch it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. This is what your car's telling us. It's not us. This is what the car is saying. So if you're upset at anybody, look at the car. Yeah. Be upset at the car, not at me.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. We're, we are here to slay that dragon with you, you know, and then the next time it comes in, okay, look, this problem is getting worse, or this leak is getting bigger.
Ryan Snow: We can put off doing this, but you're need to start thinking about doing this. And then, you know, it might take a trip or two, you might kill it the first time and just lock a customer in for life. Or it might go completely sideways and you have to come back from total calamity and then that's your best customer for a decade.
Ryan Snow: Oh yeah. A, a lot of the game has given people the room to try you out and see if you like each other. Sure. We can continue to do this together.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Kind of that dating system, that dating game where you're finding Yeah. If you guys are gonna get along or not. Yeah. So true. So postcards, that's something new that you're trying out.
Jimmy Lea: Google certification, that's a process definitely worth it. I
Ryan Snow: would, yeah. Google Certification's process. A buddy of mine earlier this year, we made a bet that we wouldn't have the balls to just cancel our Google ads. Ooh. So I did. Oh yeah. Wow. Okay. And we, we leaned into some geographic based you know, retargeting and banner ads and stronger search engine marketing and you know, optimizing some stuff on the website and.
Ryan Snow: I'll be jammed if I don't have like 40% more Google business profile interactions this year over last year, and probably close to double website clicks.
Jimmy Lea: Interesting. So a lot of that organic and Yeah, this is new. Like I,
Ryan Snow: I, I learned that earlier this week when we finally started to sit down and go through stuff.
Ryan Snow: So,
Jimmy Lea: congratulations. That's all. I didn't
Ryan Snow: expect it. You know, we're tracking call count, you know, the inbound phone calls all the way through that and everything, so,
Jimmy Lea: yeah. Oh, that's good. Hey, and with your inbound phone calls, do you have the technology to be able to track was an opportunity missed, lost made?
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, we can see all phone calls that are inbound. If it's the first time the number has called or not. We get really nice transcription so we get like an AI transcription and then we can see. Did somebody call to schedule? Did somebody call, was it just a price shopper?
Jimmy Lea: Love it.
Jimmy Lea: Love it.
Ryan Snow: If I can just get a tag of all the price shoppers so I can go through and look at those calls and see, yeah how did we handle the price shoppers?
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. So, couple questions for you. One is about your phone system first. But first is about your point of sale system that you're marking it as a postcard.
Jimmy Lea: What point of sale system are you using?
Ryan Snow: We're using shop wear.
Jimmy Lea: Shop wear, phenomenal software. Phenomenal. Okay, good. And then second is your phone system. How is it that you're able to see if it's a first time caller, the ai, the transcript, that sounds like quite the system you've got. What are you using for your phone system?
Ryan Snow: It's pretty impressive. It's called Digital Concierge. They, I don't know what they were doing before, but there's a company called Octo Rocket that is like a data analytics platform that integrates with Tech metric and. Shop ware, maybe a handful of others. And they acquired, or were acquired by a voiceover IP company called Digital Concierge.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Ryan Snow: That they've got a, they've got a lot of really solid CRM tools and they have a really robust voiceover IP setup. And with that all tied in and integrated with the point of sale system, now I can do things like if I see a decline, you know, if I see a ticket that was just declined, I can go say, all right, what were all of the communications.
Ryan Snow: Involved with that Ro, you know, where did that source, like where did that source come from? Who talks to 'em? How did we present it? Where did we drop the ball? And then it's a lot easier to be able to train somebody through that scenario because you can say, look like the rest of your team teed you up.
Ryan Snow: And then it went here and dropped. Dropped.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, wow. That's powerful. And especially because you can do it in real time. This was yesterday. This was earlier this week. It's not like, oh, this is a call from a month ago. It took us a month to find it, to research it, to tie all this phone calls together.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Or I had to wait for a customer to be mad enough for long enough that they decided to reach out to me to let me know that there was a problem.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And
Ryan Snow: now I gotta go try to, you know, chase it back
Jimmy Lea: and you can chase it much faster now.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, you can get, you can run to the problem a lot quicker when it's,
Jimmy Lea: oh, yeah. Oh, and you know what? You're teeing up a perfect scenario. What if a client approves the work, approves the job? They're arguing with you at the counter that says, they're saying, no, I did not approve it.
Jimmy Lea: You click play and it could be the husband or the wife is in front of you. Here's the approval play.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. There's, we're in a, we are in a litigious industry and having all the tools to protect yourself. It's important. All those all those tools can do more than one thing. So even if all you had it for was to protect, you know, to protect yourself.
Jimmy Lea: DYA huh? It would
Ryan Snow: be, it would be worth it. But there's so many more things that you get out of it that it's worth having. Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, it so is it, so is having a great phone system is paramount. That communication, being able to speak to people. It, we are in a relationship business and really part of relationship is communication, so.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. That's phenomenal. What other marketing ideas, what other marketing concepts or philosophies, theologies, what are you doing?
Ryan Snow: We've intermittently tried to, you know, stay up on Instagram and Facebook. You know, we. We've done some work with a few people on YouTube and like been featured on their channel for a second.
Ryan Snow: And so we'll get the itch like, oh, we, we get some views and we get some, we get to write on some coattails of being mentioned. Yeah. And we gotta put some content together, but it all falls apart as soon as we get busy. At least it does for me.
Jimmy Lea: It's true. That's a hard one. That's a hard one to stay on top of that YouTube channel.
Jimmy Lea: There, there's a couple of shops that do it extremely well, I think of days automotive and, the sherwoods, they do a great job of that.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Yeah. They just kill it. And I don't think I have the attention span to, to dedicate myself to that much, to it, to have that level of success.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: You know, I'd say in the last 18 months I've really tried to. Get in on what we can track data on. So, everything that happens online we can track really good data too. I used to hate tracking numbers. I remember when the phone book ad people used to come in and want to sell us a tracking number so they could tell us how many phone calls they generated.
Ryan Snow: And I thought that was the dumbest idea ever. Now I have like 24 different tracking numbers.
Jimmy Lea: Right. I know. I used to be, I used to be one of those guys. I was selling tracking numbers, not that I was with the phone book, I was with conversa or log my calls back in the day. Oh yeah. Long my calls.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. But you know, everything we do online, we can track really well. I have been doing some radio and. We, you know, we get people come in and mention it, but you can't really, that's a hard track it as a hard source.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. It's top of mind. That's that top of mind marketing.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. But it's fun.
Ryan Snow: You get out there, make some noise. We try to sponsor some community events. I don't go crazy with it, but, you know, you know, rodeos there's a new men's baseball league that started up in southern Utah this year. So we're the Hall of Fame sponsor and the inaugural, you know, big sponsor.
Jimmy Lea: Nice.
Ryan Snow: For that men's baseball league. So that was fun. I got to go out and butcher throwing a first pitch for the first time in my life
Jimmy Lea: then. Yeah. And did you throw it over his head or did you throw it in the dirt?
Ryan Snow: I like bounced it at the plate and they were like, Hey, yeah. At least you made it to the plate.
Ryan Snow: And I'm like, that's a for showing.
Jimmy Lea: That's a win. We'll take it.
Ryan Snow: Well, that was cool. You know, went out to the game and you know, shot some photos for him and, you know, took the big camera out and rattled off a bunch of frames and got him a bunch of shots the next day.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Nice.
Ryan Snow: Got see, you know, see logo on all the baseball jerseys. And I was like, ah, it feels pretty, that feels pretty wholesome.
Ryan Snow: I like that.
Jimmy Lea: Gotta love that. Congrats man. Way to sponsor the baseball team. Maybe I can get my son out on that baseball team.
Ryan Snow: Yeah they had a, I can't remember how many teams they ended up with, but it was like nine or 10 different teams. Wow. So way more players at the games than spectators, but
Jimmy Lea: Oh, for sure.
Jimmy Lea: For sure. That's awesome stuff. Like,
Ryan Snow: that's fun. We'll have to, we'll have to see. See what it turns into.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah, for sure. For sure. It'll be a fun thing. Was there anything else that you would want to discuss marketing wise, shop wise, personnel wise, people wise that we haven't talked about already?
Ryan Snow: I think what I think what I'd like to end on is you and I have had some conversations over the years in the past about like, like, what is, what does the industry need?
Ryan Snow: You know, what can we even do as low humans to help service the industry? But, you know, maybe it's just because I've been on a big recruitment push for the last year and a half, and I've had to hire and start to develop and let some guys go, or have some guys leave me. That, that I think one of the in, in the top three issues of scaling a business are our ability to, you know, recruit and retain talented people.
Jimmy Lea: Amen. Amen.
Ryan Snow: And when you bring somebody who is talented, that still has a lot of potential to grow. You know, can our company even move fast enough to hold onto people like that?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Okay. So what do you think? And tho
Ryan Snow: and tho and those are the winners, like those are the people that you want to hang onto for a really long time.
Jimmy Lea: Totally agree. I love it. I love where you're going. Keep going.
Ryan Snow: And so, as you know, so as a business owner and as a leader, that's what keeps me up at night is I don't believe it. When people say nobody wants to work. I don't believe it. When people say that there's no technicians to hire, I don't believe it when people say that this is a declining industry.
Ryan Snow: What I do know is that the way we come up through the industry, the way we have come up through the industry is definitely not the way that we're gonna be moving forward. And you know, just because it had to go a certain way for me doesn't mean that it needs to go that certain way for somebody that's just jumping into the industry now.
Ryan Snow: And so when I try to dream about my company, I'm always dreaming about a company that, that has enough lateral mobility for people to, if they get on a bus and they find out in the wrong seat, like, how do we have another seat for that person? That's why I'm drawn to a larger scale, single location, because there's a lot more kind of micro positions that start to establish as you divvy up tasks there there's a couple of different places where you could sit to where you might be able to employ more of your strengths and have somebody else be able to cover your weaknesses.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: I haven't figured it out yet. I can probably be completely wrong. This is not legal or financial advice. You should be doing something more productive with your time and not listening to me.
Jimmy Lea: The school of hard knocks gives your qualifications and you are qualified, sir.
Ryan Snow: But that's what I think the biggest issue of the industry is we have to evolve and we have to be able to move fast through a rapidly changing set of technology, a rapidly changing economic system, a rapidly changing political system.
Ryan Snow: And people say that doesn't influence anything about cars, but it absolutely does. And we're gonna have to do it with the bulk of the knowledge base that exists in the industry on the retirement end of scale, moving the way out. And luckily. So much of that knowledge and that wisdom is, it's not that, it's not that it's outdated or antiquated, it's just not current anymore.
Ryan Snow: And so everybody in the industry has already had to kind of move on and get onto this leading edge instead of the trailing edge. And if we hadn't already gone through that, we would already be screwed.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. That's the beauty of this industry. It's an ever evolving, ever learning experience.
Jimmy Lea: And we can make mistakes and we can learn from our mistakes. We learn more from our failure than we do our success. Hopefully we don't fail too much on the road to success
Ryan Snow: that we get to deal with 100% variables with 100%, you know, gumption.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: You know, ev every scenario starts off a little differently and every place that scenario happens at is a little bit different.
Jimmy Lea: We live in a world of multitude of correct answers.
Ryan Snow: And that's a problem. Yeah. I've had to start going through, I'm not real big on Facebook, but I've had to start going through and just leaving a bunch of Facebook groups because every, there's a lot of noise out there. You just get one, one group of people that are like, no, this Kool-Aid is the right Kool-Aid, and everybody else is a freaking idiot.
Jimmy Lea: No, that's your Kool-Aid.
Ryan Snow: And that's your Kool-Aid? No, this one over here is me. Yeah. So like I don't buy all, yeah. I don't buy all this drama that's getting stirred up about different coaching groups or different angles of business or
Jimmy Lea: Yeah,
Ryan Snow: whatever. Whatever these kids are squabbling about these days.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, you know how to keep a lobster inside of a basket, don't you? How's that? You put in another lobster. Or a crab. You put in a crab. If you only have one, yes, you climb right out. But if you put two crabs in there, they'll keep pulling each other down. Can give somebody
Ryan Snow: something to fight.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So, so, yeah, I agree with you.
Jimmy Lea: Pull out of those ones that are just noise.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. There, there is so much business for everybody that's in this business.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: There's no reason we need to be trying to race to the bottom or cut each other's throats.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: The better the aftermarket works as an industry, the better it's gonna be for everybody in the industry.
Ryan Snow: So,
Jimmy Lea: that's right. Let's lock arms because there's and to coaching and training. I do believe that every shop needs a coach and a trainer. Just as every professional athlete needs a coach and a trainer and they have multiple, yeah. It helps you to be better. It holds you accountable. If you're left to your own devices, you'll accept your own excuses.
Ryan Snow: You can only go so far without knowing what you don't know.
Jimmy Lea: Exactly.
Ryan Snow: Hundred
Jimmy Lea: percent. And
Ryan Snow: you don't want to, you don't want to be the once, once you're the smartest person in the room where, what are you supposed to do? You gotta find a different room. You gotta find a different room. So
Jimmy Lea: yeah,
Ryan Snow: that, that's been a massive benefit for me.
Ryan Snow: You know, I stepped into coaching. I already have a decent understanding of how to run a business, but I had a very poor understanding of how to be a good leader or how to be, how to actually be a good manager. And, you know, I got massive amounts of help through the, you know, the direction and the support and the network of people that you developed.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. You
Ryan Snow: know, doesn't have to be even through a coaching group. Like, like there's a thousand ways to meet people in the industry. Just go meet 'em and talk to 'em.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. And there's plenty, a plethora of personal self-help books.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: In a way it read one of Read Reader Leaders are readers, and it is so true.
Jimmy Lea: If you're not reading, you're not learning, you're not growing, you're becoming stagnant. Is there a book that you're reading right now, Ryan?
Ryan Snow: I just restarted reading a book that I probably read like 15 years ago that I really like called so Good that they Can't Ignore You. Oh, I love that. It's by Cal Newport.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, nice.
Ryan Snow: And it talks about how, you know, the concept of if you do a thing that you love, you're never working,
Jimmy Lea: doesn't quite
Ryan Snow: hold, doesn't quite hold water.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Because you're working even harder.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Like, what if you take a really honest account of what your strengths are, Uhhuh and what you're not good at.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. And found something that, that employed your strengths. How much more powerful could that be?
Jimmy Lea: Oh, it is absolutely more powerful. So the most recent book that I've been reading is the how to make offers So Good. People Feel, let's see the full title. How to Make Offers So Good.
Jimmy Lea: People Feel Stupid saying No.
Ryan Snow: Interesting.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And there's a whole series of books here that I'm gonna be reading. Alex Hermo or Mozy.
Ryan Snow: Oh, I feel like I've read something else by that guy.
Jimmy Lea: He has a hundred million dollar offers, a hundred million dollar leads, a hundred million dollar sales.
Jimmy Lea: He's got a whole series of stuff and he started in the Gym Gymnasium world. And I
Ryan Snow: I just heard of a book that I'm gonna look up while I'm on here so I don't forget, called How how to Make a Few Billion Dollars.
Jimmy Lea: A few million. Okay.
Ryan Snow: A few billion dollars. Oh, a
Jimmy Lea: few B billion. Okay.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. By Brad Jacobs.
Ryan Snow: I heard this, I heard a clip of this guy talking about you know, making business acquisitions and thought it sounded really interesting and that caught my eye. So I'm gonna download that right now so I can check it out.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, I just wrote it down as well, Brad, Jake. Nice. I'll check it out. For sure.
Jimmy Lea: Well, Brian, it's been a pleasure talking with you. I, we could talk for hours and Dave Yeah. I
Ryan Snow: was just thinking we've got a little long-winded, but that's what they get for putting the two of us together.
Jimmy Lea: That's exactly right. We'll have to circle back again and do this again. Ryan, it's just been a, an awesome privilege and a pleasure to be able to speak with you today.
Jimmy Lea: Thank you.
Ryan Snow: Hey, anytime. Glad to be of assistance and it's good to see you. Good to see you, brother.

158 - From Tech to GM: Tyler Nichols on Building a Winning Shop

158 - From Tech to GM: Tyler Nichols on Building a Winning Shop
October 14, 2025 - 00:41:25
 
Show Summary:
Heat, reviews, and real talk from Stillwater set the stage as Tyler Nichols of X-tra Mile Auto Care breaks down culture, process, and growth. He shares how handwritten notes, follow-up calls, and thoughtful review responses power 4.7 stars on 371 Google reviews. Tyler traces his path from rainy-day helper to tech, advisor, and now GM under Aaron Woods. The episode dives into slow-and-steady expansion plans, including a new Stillwater facility and measured hiring. Inside the shop, a century-old former jail houses a five-bay operation with clear roles and Monday huddles. Training is a throughline: Leadership Intensive, local tech-school apprenticeships, and a rigorous “implement what you learned” habit. Tyler’s wish for the industry centers on ending apples-to-oranges price comparisons by leading with DVIs, goals-first conversations, and clear presentation.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Tyler Nichols, General Manager of X-tra Mile Auto Care
 
Show Highlights:
[00:01:31] - Handwritten thank-you notes, treats in cars, and real connections with customers drive authentic five-star reviews.[00:02:44] - Tyler responds to a one-star review with empathy and ownership, calling the customer personally to rebuild trust.[00:04:12] - A rainy-day favor turns into a full-time role: Tyler shares how Aaron Woods introduced him to the automotive industry.[00:06:13] - Expansion plans include a new Stillwater facility and future growth into Tulsa or Oklahoma City, backed by M&A and HPG coaching.[00:08:23] - The shop’s unique location, a former jail, adds history and character to a five-bay layout designed for efficiency.[00:10:41] - Leadership Intensive, apprenticeships, and “Beast of the Month” recognition help the team grow personally and professionally.[00:16:49] - Tyler’s three pillars for reaching $1M: hire the right people, refine processes, and implement training immediately.[00:21:56] - A layout tweak and better communication between advisors and techs cut wasted time and boosted productivity.[00:37:30] - Tyler’s wish for the industry: end the pricing stigma and focus on transparency, safety, and value through DVIs.
 
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.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello, friend. Welcome. My name is Jimmy Lea. I'm with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and you are listening to the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is Tyler Nichols, and he is from X-tra Mile Autocare out of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Tyler, how the heck are you, brother?
Tyler Nichols: I am hot for October, but I'm doing good.
Jimmy Lea: Hot for October.
Jimmy Lea: I'm in Utah. We are seeing 40 degrees in the morning. What do you mean?
Tyler Nichols: It's 86 degrees here.
Jimmy Lea: No way.
Tyler Nichols: Yes, it's next week, it's gonna cool off, but
Jimmy Lea: it's, oh yeah, we're, it's coming. We're 63. That's our high today.
Tyler Nichols: But other than that, I'm doing great.
Jimmy Lea: Oh good. Good to hear. Good to hear. Oh, I'm glad that you're here with me.
Jimmy Lea: A couple of questions for you. I see 371. Business reviews, Google reviews. You are a 4.7 star shop. Doing very well, loving what you're doing. Great responses. How did you get so many reviews? Our
Tyler Nichols: advisors I can't take any credit for that, or at least not in the time I've been away from the fund desk, but now they're so good at building relationships and really making connections with their people.
Tyler Nichols: It's more than just fixing the car and getting 'em on the road. They really take their time to get to know them. Yeah, handwritten thank you notes and, you know, treats in the car after, I mean the they go so above and beyond that. It's it just makes it easy.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, dude, that's awesome.
Jimmy Lea: That's so rad. I'm glad that your your advisors put that personalized touch with the handwritten notes that goes so far, man, that's super cool. Absolutely. That's super cool. So, are you, do you go in and do the responses to all of the Google reviews? Yes. Yes. Have you seen the most recent ones you've gotten, like in the last 21 hours?
Tyler Nichols: I still gotta get those. Okay. Five. Yes.
Jimmy Lea: So you got another five star, but then you got a one star. Did you see the one star?
Tyler Nichols: Yes, sir. Oh my gosh. Spoke, spoke with him on the phone today.
Jimmy Lea: Oh really? Oh good. So it's actually, it is a client.
Tyler Nichols: It is. And e every the one star happen. They're few and far between for us, thankfully, but they do happen.
Tyler Nichols: Whether it's our fault or not immediately, there's always something we can learn from it. So, oh, I had a great talk with him on the phone earlier. I don't ever ask him to remove a review, and we have a great talk. I, it's just, it's not why I'm calling. We just don't want anyone leaving our shop feeling that way.
Tyler Nichols: And it's really just expressing that and, you know, tell 'em we'd love to love the, a chance to earn their trust in the future. So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah, there you go. That's what you can do. And that's the exact same thing that you want to reply to on that. Review, right? So the next customer sees, oh, well these guys are human.
Jimmy Lea: They really took the time to call me up on the phone. They took the time to talk to me. They took the time on a onestar to reach out and, right, they're gonna take ownership. So that's super awesome. I applaud you. I do notice on your Yelp that it's really low, so Yelp must not be a thing there in Oklahoma.
Tyler Nichols: It's not. It's not. Go, Google's the main engine around here.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. It so is it. So is, that's really cool. So, first question is, how in the world did you get into the automotive industry?
Tyler Nichols: So, my, the owner of our shop, Aaron Woods everybody listening knows Aaron Woods.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. Aaron Woods is awesome.
Jimmy Lea: Those who don't know, he is a coach with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence. He is the facilitator of a few different of the gear groups. As well. The facilitator and head coach for the manager performance group. So, and yeah, he is deeply seated in his own business.
Jimmy Lea: Recently expanded by a second location.
Tyler Nichols: We're working on
Jimmy Lea: it, opening a second location. Yeah we're working on it. Working on it. Super. Awesome. Glad to hear that. That's super cool. Congratulations. That's Oh, thank you. But Aaron Woods, what? He came to you and
Tyler Nichols: said,
Jimmy Lea: Hey
Tyler Nichols: man, we. So I was not in this industry.
Tyler Nichols: I was working for a landscape company and Aaron and I had known each other through different avenues before all of this. And landscaping in Oklahoma, we get a lot of rain and a lot of days you don't get to work. And Aaron, I can't remember how it, it started with Aaron and I, but it just. You know, would you come pull a motor out of something for me?
Tyler Nichols: Well, you know, on the weekend or on a rainy day. And kind of started like that. And then he was having me help him deliver a vehicle up to northeast Oklahoma and kind of asked me, you ever thought about getting in this industry? And I was like, no. I hadn't really, I mean, I've worked on my own vehicles in the past, but never really thought about it and said, well, you know, I can offer you some work on the rainy days.
Tyler Nichols: And it, it was enough work he was offering me on rainy days that I ended up coming on full time. So I started as a technician. Then just really trial by fire, getting to really get thrown into it and learn. And worked as a technician for a few years and moved to an advisor role here.
Tyler Nichols: Worked as an advisor for two and a half years, and then luckily last I guess March of 24, I was able to move to the full-time general manager role that I'm currently doing today.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, congratulations. That's awesome. When you go to a landscaper and say, Hey, we got a roof over our head, and you can have air conditioning, right, and it becomes very attractive.
Tyler Nichols: And, you know, taking that job had no clue of the path that it could turn into. I just kind of thought, yeah, I could work on cars the rest of my life. It's, yeah, that'd be fun. And Aaron has provided a path that I could have never dreamed of making for myself. So I've been very blessed to, to have him and the team we have to be able to move to this position where I really just get to kind of help on the big picture stuff.
Tyler Nichols: So it's great.
Jimmy Lea: Oh man. That's awesome. Congratulations. So what does the path look like you, for you going forward? What does that look like?
Tyler Nichols: We're expanding we, we are taking it very slow. We're good. Very cal, very calculated. He's, yeah. We're both working in the m and A group with Mike Smith and the HPG group, the High Performance Group.
Tyler Nichols: Really making sure that the next step we make is the right step. It's calculated. So we are working on building a new location here in Stillwater to really work out any of the inefficiencies we have with our current location here. Building a great new facility. We've got a great lot, great location last year.
Tyler Nichols: So we're just working on working with the engineers and everything to get that finalized. But expansion is the move, whether that's here in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City. We're expanding and you know, eventually working to where I'm kinda overseeing a few different locations.
Tyler Nichols: And able to, you kind of help Aaron in that way, so. Oh, I
Jimmy Lea: love it. I love it. How far is Tulsa? How far is Oklahoma City? Logistically?
Tyler Nichols: It's about 60 miles either way. So we're kind of right in the middle, so depending on which area of the city you need to go to, could be further. But to get to city limits, it's about 60, 70 miles.
Tyler Nichols: Either, either city.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's not that far. That's great. Yeah. That's phenomenal. Very cool. So what does the current layout look like of the current shop? Because I know when Aaron started, he was like two bays at the back of the back of the back of a lot.
Tyler Nichols: I got sick working in that building.
Tyler Nichols: What I, yeah, it was a lot of standing water. Lot of black mold. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I got sick working in that shop. And that's thinking back to, I, he worked in that shop a lot more than I did. That was very early. But, you know, thinking back to those days and then where it is now is, it's not to change the subject, but it's something I love to think about and it's really great to see.
Jimmy Lea: So have you been with Aaron through all this progression, through all the different shops that he's gone through?
Tyler Nichols: Yes. Oh, I've worked at every location.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Congrats dude. Alright, so give us the layout of the current location. What does that look like for you?
Tyler Nichols: So we're right here in in downtown Stillwater.
Tyler Nichols: It's a really cool building, a hundred and something years old, Stillwater's original jail. So if I could move my computer, I'd show you. But our bathroom is actually the first jail cell in Stillwater, which is really cool. Oh, that's awesome. But it's for obvious reasons. It's not open to the public. But it's really cool.
Tyler Nichols: Nonetheless, it's the old school kind of dealership style open concept. We framed in an office that you can see here. Yeah. And we have five, two posts and a four post with alignment rack. It's the setup. We have three mainline technicians and a general service technician that, handles a lot of our oil changes tires, things like that. And then we have our other kind of, you know, general service technician that really helps with anything the guys need to help stay efficient. So
Jimmy Lea: I love it. I love it.
Tyler Nichols: Keeping everything clean, organized, keep them moving.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. And have you been able to sit down with your advisors, with your not advisors, I apologize with your GS tech.
Jimmy Lea: And even your technicians that say, all right, this is the path. This is what we want to do. This is the training we're gonna send you to. We want you to learn and to grow and to become a better technician, better human being, da.
Tyler Nichols: We have a technician that went to leadership intensive this year.
Tyler Nichols: And was great for him. We have, and he our local tech school offers a really great evening apprenticeship program where people who are full-time working can attend that and in two years earn basically their technology school degree. So a lot of people such as I, I mean, came into the industry, not through the tech school route.
Tyler Nichols: Right. Came in. So it really gives those guys a chance. Maybe that's something they always, man, I wish I would've gone that route. But he was able to do that and graduated earlier this year. And we have one of our other technicians and one of our GS techs that are also doing that program. Like, so.
Tyler Nichols: But outside of that, everyone has, we have a lot of different development discussions and making sure everyone has goals, things they're working towards, just really. Helping them as much as we can in their personal lives as well. That's very important,
Jimmy Lea: dude. I love that. So are you having I call 'em monthly meetings?
Jimmy Lea: Or monthly meetings?
Tyler Nichols: Meetings, try to weekly meetings, but monthly meetings? No. We have quick Monday morning, you know, immediate day to day. Let's go over a policy real quick. Let's audit and inspection. Let's get all, get on the same page. Love that with really me and the technicians. Then once a month we have everyone.
Tyler Nichols: Aaron comes down and hosts this meeting, and we really talk about our mission, vision. Really coming back to the context statements pulling up examples. We do our Beast of the Month. If anyone has seen our Facebook, we have a beast of the month that's pure nominated award every month.
Tyler Nichols: It's really great. It's fun. Everyone enjoys it, but. Well,
Jimmy Lea: Is that the teacher that you're nominating or is that No,
Tyler Nichols: That's a different thing. But the Beast of the Month is a peer nominated thing. We have a little trophy, really Hulk, ugly Hulk looking trophy. But just we have to give specific examples of how someone went the X-tra Mile that month.
Tyler Nichols: So, that's,
Jimmy Lea: so that's the Hulk where he's ripping his shirt and, yeah. Yep. Yeah, I gave that to my mother after she finished her chemotherapy.
Tyler Nichols: Oh, that's great.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Again, with that. And then there was a donkey that would kick and it was like a bobblehead. So you could kick the feet and the feet would, yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Super awesome. So she's cancer free. Thank heaven's, knock on wood. So are all the rest of us. I think she's like. Five and a half, five years now, five and a half years that she's been clean. So, man, it's love to hear that. Well, congrats on the beast of the month. That's really cool. Tell me about the teacher of the month.
Jimmy Lea: So I know I went onto Facebook, I saw your Facebook post, so you got a teacher of the month. Is that a normal rotating thing or is it always a teacher? What are you doing?
Tyler Nichols: We do it's monthly nominations by, from just the community. For any teachers, they think just go above and beyond really deserve that recognition.
Tyler Nichols: More than the school. Our schools around here do a great job with it anyway, but it's just an extra thing that we can offer them. So it is the community commenting on Facebook posts to nominate these teachers. And
Jimmy Lea: I love it.
Tyler Nichols: It's great. They get a free oil change with us. Just, you know, something we can offer 'em, we give 'em a coffee gift card.
Tyler Nichols: We have a really great coffee shop next door. So kind of, and then just the shout out on Facebook just to let people know who they are, what they do, and help 'em in that way.
Jimmy Lea: And if you don't know it, you need to go check out X-tra Mile Auto Care and extra, but just an X-X-T-R-A X-tra Mile auto care on Facebook.
Jimmy Lea: These guys are awesome. I love what you're doing for the teachers. And then tell me what's going on with Nate. He graduated onto a different career.
Tyler Nichols: He's leaving the industry. He, his last day was on Friday. We're happy for him. We've talked since then. I mean, it's he was with us three and a half years almost.
Tyler Nichols: I can't imagine what this company would be without his time here. Right. He was really a blessing to everything that we've done and been able to develop and the dedication he gave us. So it's really great. It super, everyone keeps asking, you know, customers keep asking. It's completely fine.
Tyler Nichols: We're happy for him. Happy for his family. Yeah. Everything's in good standing. So,
Jimmy Lea: Is he the one that went into law enforcement?
Tyler Nichols: No. No. That was
Jimmy Lea: different.
Tyler Nichols: Different advisor as well. Okay.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. It was still with you guys though, right? You had no, we had
Tyler Nichols: one go to law enforcement. It's been a couple years.
Tyler Nichols: Been
Jimmy Lea: a couple years, yeah.
Tyler Nichols: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, congrats. Congrats to Nate too. That's awesome. I love hearing a success story and a graduation and transition. Moving on to the next chapter, the next phase, right. And speaking of chapters and phases, tell me about the class of 34, your leadership, steelwater, class of 34 that you participated in.
Jimmy Lea: What did I do?
Tyler Nichols: So it's it's through the chamber here in Stillwater. It's a little organization through that leadership Stillwater. And it's a chance we have 26 people I believe, in our class, and it's a chance for us to get to know the city, get to know the chamber and things that they do get to know a lot of community members.
Tyler Nichols: And then we do a big fundraiser for a nonprofit in town. So. It's really great. There's a lot of amazing people in my group that I've had a chance to meet and and learning about the nonprofit world that I, you know, was not really exposed to before. And so through this I get to be on the board of a nonprofit in town.
Tyler Nichols: And then we're doing the fundraiser for the the other one. It's a live center here in Stillwater. If anyone local is listening. It's adult Day Services. It's a great place they have there. Adult day services. So any kind of, you know, disability or just, you know, retirees that, that need a, need, a place to, to be for the day and, you know, let their family members continue to work or anything like that.
Tyler Nichols: They do some great stuff. We fix their vans, so they do some outings get to go walk around at the lake and stuff like that. So that's, oh dude, it's a really great place.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. Congrats. That's really cool. It's really cool to participate in a leadership program, but then also a leadership program that continues that education with being on the board of a nonprofit.
Jimmy Lea: Now all of your chamber, all of the things that you're doing publicity wise and PR wise can include the adult daycare. Right. And you can help them out. I mean, that, that is, so that's just awesome, man. Congrats. That's really cool.
Tyler Nichols: It's been fun. November 1st. We're doing a big harvest festival.
Tyler Nichols: If anyone's seen parks and recreation it's based off of that, but it's gonna be fun.
Jimmy Lea: That's rad. That's awesome. That's awesome. So, to the big question, what do you think are three elements, principles, practices, that are keeping a shop back from a $1 million a year business?
Tyler Nichols: I think number one for me would be people.
Tyler Nichols: Okay. A lesson we learned, it took us a long time to learn. I think having the right people it seemed so obvious, but it's one of those things we didn't know until we had the right people and then we could kind of look back and it was kind of the hindsight at that point. But having the right people that are bought in that, that really care about what we're doing, that care about more than just.
Tyler Nichols: Showing up to get a paycheck. They're here for a reason fulfilled in, in multiple different ways. That, that's been really great for us. And just making sure that it's the trust thing of everyone has my back. You know, we really have that camaraderie, the culture, you know, all that all those buzzwords in the, in with that.
Tyler Nichols: But that's been one of the biggest things that, that we've done.
Jimmy Lea: Okay. People. Number one. Number one, and it's true, you know, people are your biggest asset, and a lot of businesses don't think that way. They think of people as a number a, as just a cog in a machine. Which it's true they are a cog in the machine, but they are a person and we need to treat 'em like people.
Jimmy Lea: So, congrats for that. Props to you. All right. What's next? What's number two
Tyler Nichols: processes? It's and, you know, processes and procedures, but how we conduct the biggest thing being technician, time management. Institute has an amazing course video course that you can watch for technician time management for anyone listening.
Tyler Nichols: But it's treating labor almost like a part, like it's all bulk oil. Jennifer Holbert uses that, that analogy all the time. Would you just open your oil container and let it all spill on the ground? And none of us would, but we let that happen with labor and a lot of times it's not the employee's fault it's.
Tyler Nichols: The system's fault. It's, they're not given the tools to be as efficient and as productive as they can be. So, that's been our commitment this year. We've tried really hard at building a really good workflow process and it's paying off. We're set to have the best year we've ever had.
Tyler Nichols: So it's, oh, congrats. It's working. So
Jimmy Lea: yeah, it was, what is it they say about the tech labor? It's a perishable, it's something that's on the shelf if you don't use it. Right. Every day, whatever's not used is thrown away. It's gone. It's gone. You cannot, and it's, you can't forward it. You can't carry it over and you lose more than you think.
Jimmy Lea: Really. How much do you think most shops are losing on a daily, oh my goodness. Two hours
Tyler Nichols: Probably. If in an eight hour workday. I mean, it's I guarantee a quarter of the day, whether it's tool trucks. Bathroom breaks, just how long it takes in between vehicles to figure out what am I working on next?
Tyler Nichols: Where are the keys? Where is it parked? It all, I spent like two full days in the shop watching and just told everyone what I was doing. I said, do everything the way you normally do it. And just sat there and it's, you see it. You start to see now having someone that can dedicate two days to just watching a shop is a little unrealistic.
Tyler Nichols: But we're unique in, in our circumstance that I was able to and it, you know, you fix the things and it ends up paying for itself. But
Jimmy Lea: it does. But
Tyler Nichols: It was very powerful.
Jimmy Lea: That is powerful. And I'm glad you took those two days. In fact, it reminded me, I was just in a conversation with.
Jimmy Lea: Seth Thorson at Bimmers, we went to dinner and he was talking about how if you want to create your vision, you need to check out, you need to go off grid. You need to find your zen place where you are relaxed, where inspiration and creativity will flow freely. From there, you'll be able to create your vision and your mission and your ideas for what you want to build your business to be.
Jimmy Lea: And to that same tune, you took the two days, you took the time to sharpen the tool so that you were much more effective as a team, as a shop, as an individual. I love that you did that, man. That's super cool.
Tyler Nichols: Yeah. Lot, a lot of good came from that. We were able to fix a lot of issues that weren't, you know, it's easy to look at the build hours and think it's the tech's fault, but my biggest takeaways from that time were it's us.
Tyler Nichols: It's, you know, shop inefficiencies. It's, you know, things we struggle with our location, with our layout, but a lot of processes that we were able to improve that just fixed a lot of those issues. So.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Now Tyler, I'm gonna put you on the spot here a little bit. As you think about those process and procedures, so you think about those two days that you were observing the flow of the shop, what is one of the biggest aha moments or one of the.
Jimmy Lea: Smallest little movements of the dial movements of the process procedure that had a big return. Not a huge, not a monumental, but it had a good, solid return. For you as a shop, what's one of those things that you observed?
Tyler Nichols: I have one, one practical answer to that, and then one that's a little bit kind of bigger thinking and maybe deeper, but, just overall layout. If, when we talk about, you know, the book Atomic Habits and you talk about habit stacking, having everything together to where it's, I do this, and then I do this versus I, I do this and then I have to walk across the shop, and then I do that, and then I walk back across the shop.
Tyler Nichols: We have a very long shotgun building here, so walking to the other end. You get grabbed, you get, you know, someone, Hey, you help me with this, or you get distracted. So really just asking what are the things we use and you know, we'll go start to finish on our process with the vehicle. What are the things we use?
Tyler Nichols: Where can we place them that it's gonna be the most efficient? And let's just put 'em there. Seat covers, formats. The key box. Let's make sure everything is where we want it to be as a team. Let them decide that. Then and that's just an easy tweak. Doesn't cost any money, it's just moving stuff around.
Tyler Nichols: So that's very easy. But the bigger picture one communication, I think probably of just if it had been communicated, man, I have to walk a lot to, to do all stuff like that. But then even just miscommunications between the advisors and the technicians, we all have it. But it creates a lot of inefficiencies that.
Tyler Nichols: Just one conversation, a text, an email however you communicate, but really could have solved a lot of our time issues without really having to do a whole lot of effort. So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah. Have you ever put a tachometer on some of these advisors or technicians to discover, dude, you're walking five to eight miles a day.
Jimmy Lea: Right. Let's cut that down to one, right? And then let's work on cutting it lower than one, because you shouldn't have to be walking a mile a day, right? Yep. Oh, that's good. That's really good. So the process, procedures moving the dial I love that. Probably one of the biggest that I saw at a shop was the placement of the oil filters right here.
Jimmy Lea: They had the the quick lube in bay number one, and the oil filters were over here beyond Bay four. So it was all the bulk oil. So that tech was just trekking all the way back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. Became very quick and very easy to say, okay, the quick lube is now Bay four, and the tech saves so much time by not having to walk all the over this, right?
Jimmy Lea: So the, and you don't see that until you see that,
Tyler Nichols: right? You gotta take the time, you dedicate the time and you know, it's, there's been times I know it's not ideal, but. We have a technician that's gonna take a week vacation and, you know, if I'll step out in the shop and help out and just to keep workflow flowing and just being out there and working.
Tyler Nichols: You you see that, you know, different mindset than when I was a technician out there. So I'm seeing things from a different angle. I work out in the shop and. I pick up on those things and kind of ask the guys like, is this, does this seem like it's taken too long? Oh, yeah, it does. You know, so it's really opening up for that communication.
Tyler Nichols: I love it to where they start to find that stuff and let me know about it.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. All right. Third
Tyler Nichols: item. Third thing related to training, I think. I think we're all guilty of it, but it's really implementing training. I think a lot, especially people listening to this podcast we're all on the onboard for training.
Tyler Nichols: We're all, you know, we all, anyone involved at the institute knows how amazing the training is. I think after the training. The implementation the reviewing your notes, the, whether it's technician training, advisor training or owner training. I think it's it's really reviewing everything after the fact to get an action plan in place into, so it's not the next time you go to a similar training and it's like, oh yeah, I learned that last time.
Tyler Nichols: I should, you know, should have done that. It's done. It's in place and that's the biggest thing. Even from my technician background, you go to division, which is, you know, anyone in the, around the central US knows about vision, but it's a lot of information crammed into three days and without coming back and reviewing, you're not gonna retain any of it.
Tyler Nichols: So,
Jimmy Lea: oh, that's so true. And what you're talking about there, Tyler, the vision, high Tech training and Expo is in Overland Park usually the first weekend in March. It's amazing. It's amazing. So that's a short trip for you guys, isn't it?
Tyler Nichols: Yeah, it's not far.
Jimmy Lea: No. How far of a drive? Three hours. Oh, that's really close.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So you guys have no excuses. Everybody has to go. Does the whole shop, do you shut down? Do you bring the whole shop? We have,
Tyler Nichols: yeah, we have it. It depends on the year, but we've had, and get an Airbnb it's sometimes more of a just team bonding thing more than it is. Anything. And there's amazing classes, amazing instructors.
Tyler Nichols: I've learned, you know, with coming back and reviewing and at least maybe that's how I learned it may not be everybody may, everyone may be able to retain better than I can. But it's a lot of information and whatever the training making sure that it's implemented. You have a plan to use that training.
Tyler Nichols: Otherwise, it, it's gone.
Jimmy Lea: And they say that and I believe this is true, that the teacher learns more than the student. So I love that you're talking about here, we've gone and done this training, now we're gonna implement the training. Now I'm going to train you on what I was trained, on, what I heard, so that it becomes more of my language and what I'm doing, and then you guys are also going to teach us what you learned.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. How many times have you had a tech go to a technical training and come back and say, oh my gosh, you know, if I had known this, I could have fixed that car and that car,
Tyler Nichols: right? Yep. Yeah, A lot of times, and usually it's, we need to buy this. If we need to buy this, then we need to buy this.
Tyler Nichols: But you, if you don't learn about those tools and how to use them, that's, you know, oscilloscopes for one for the technicians out there. But that's once, once you figure it out, it's. It's worth the time you spent learning it, you know, and it saves you so much time in the future. So it's one of the things of we're lucky here.
Tyler Nichols: We have L one diagnostics over in, around Tulsa, so very close to us. And they're a very good technical. Keith. Yes. Keith Perkins. Oh yeah.
Jimmy Lea: He's a rad dude, 80 miles down the road. Oh, speaking of one star reviews, he just barely got himself a one star review too. Oh no. He was so salty about it.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. It's kind of funny.
Tyler Nichols: That's, you know, back to the review thing, PE people don't know that how much we take that home with us. It's the advisor too. With the add that one star it. He takes it home and thinks about it and it's. It's not, you know, it's not a light thing for us.
Jimmy Lea: No, that's right.
Jimmy Lea: I mean, you try not to take it personally. It's all business. Right. Gosh, we pour so much of our heart and soul into everything that we do, that it's hard to not take it personally.
Jimmy Lea: And it seems that in the automotive industry, it's either a one star or a five star. Five star, because you did a great job.
Jimmy Lea: It's the whisper. Wow. But it's also, yeah. Yeah. These guys are great. Always great. Always number five, you know, five star and then one star. Why? Because they moved my cup holder because they Right. Took away my air freshener because there was a smudge on the hood. Okay. You know what? You're right. We should be better at our QC and making sure there's no smudges on the hood.
Jimmy Lea: Thank you very much. We'll change our policy procedure. We appreciate your feedback because now we're gonna be a better shop because of what you said. Here's our number. Bring it in. We wanna make it right.
Jimmy Lea: And everything you can do to make it right, that goes so far.
Tyler Nichols: Absolutely.
Jimmy Lea: It's really good.
Jimmy Lea: All right, so your three items for taking a shop from Zero to Hero, from mediocre to magnificent is people, process, procedures, and training. Not just training, but implementing the training. And I, that's a key differentiator there that I want to point out that you said you pro, I don't, you probably did know that you said it, implementing training and
Tyler Nichols: with the thought that.
Tyler Nichols: The listeners of this podcast, they're invested in training. They're bought into training. They know the value. So if I was talking to a buddy, it would be, you need to train your people. But we're professionals here. You know, the listeners it's, we're all doing the training.
Tyler Nichols: It's really just after the training. That is really important.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I love, love, love that you guys come back and train each other on what you learned from vision. Are there other trade shows that you guys are going to.
Tyler Nichols: Not so much a lot of institute stuff. I mean, like leadership intensive.
Tyler Nichols: We, we've had, yeah. Four employees now go to, so almost half of our staff is intended leadership intensive. So it was life changing for me if anyone's on the fence of going this's listening to this, but it's it's totally worth it. Oh, it's I love it. I, yeah, I was immediately, I'd love to do one with my wife.
Tyler Nichols: I'd love to do one with, you know, I did it with Aaron. So we got to kind of debrief and everything afterwards. And again, a lot of the talks afterwards. Having kind of an accountability partner coming out of it that, that you did with is great too.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's awesome. What do you guys, what kind of vehicles are you mostly working on in your shop?
Tyler Nichols: Everything.
Jimmy Lea: What makes all models? Do you do heavy duty?
Tyler Nichols: Some, we have the local FedEx fleet contract here. So a lot of suzu, NPRs box trucks, things like that.
Jimmy Lea: In January, there's a show in Dallas, Texas called HDAW, heavy Duty, a heavy duty all the heavy duty stuff. Okay. So it's like the vision of heavy duty.
Jimmy Lea: It's big, it's a big conference. You might wanna check it out in January, Dallas, Texas. Next year in September is Bimmers. I don't know if you do much Euro European work, some. Some boomers they have the top like Keith Perkins was there, and Gary Smith was there. And a bunch of these dudes that are just super, super amazing when it comes to that Euro vehicle.
Jimmy Lea: The BM bmw, Mercedes, Audis, Porsches, Lamborghinis they know how the, they're the whisperer and they can teach your technicians how to work on these vehicles and make sure that they're in top form and top. Top notch.
Tyler Nichols: Yeah, that's
Jimmy Lea: right. So check out Bimmers for next year as well. Bimmers, euro train for you in your area.
Jimmy Lea: That's, that would be awesome. Let's see what, I'm trying to think if there's anybody else in the summer. How far is Arizona from you guys? Probably a about
Tyler Nichols: a days drive. 24 hours. It's ways.
Jimmy Lea: Okay. Well don't go to Arizona in June, then you'll probably melt. It's in Phoenix in June. Oh we consistently see 115 at this conference, a trade show.
Jimmy Lea: The good news is we're all indoors, so it's That's good. It can be that hot. Well, cool, man. I'm excited for your coaching, your training and reaching out. I you talk about this year being a record breaking year. Every month after month is a record breaking month. What are you looking at? What's your projections for this year?
Tyler Nichols: I think we're gonna get close to 1.8. I think we can hit it. If we would've, we had, you know, our fair share of issues like everybody. So, we're gonna get close and I think next year we'll do too.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. 1.8 this year. 2 million next year. Congrats, dude. That's a significant lift.
Jimmy Lea: Very cool. Very cool. Well, we're,
Tyler Nichols: we have the best team we've ever had, so we're really blessed.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, that is good. That is good. Without
Tyler Nichols: Nate, now
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, you're down to Nate. Now. You without Nate, but are you, how quickly are you gonna be able to replace him?
Tyler Nichols: We working on it. We're working on it, but very slow.
Tyler Nichols: Just like the expansion we're finding the right person. Going back to the people thing we talked about the first time we talk is not even about sales or if it's a tech. We don't talk about working on cars. It's really what do you do outside of work? What do you do for self-improvement?
Tyler Nichols: What motivates you, you know, things like that. So we're we've talked to a lot of amazing people. We're just waiting to make sure we make the right call.
Jimmy Lea: That's cool. That's really good. That's exciting. Yeah. You don't wanna put a tech on the team just 'cause he fogs a mirror. You gotta make sure he fits the company culture.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Right. Do you guys do a working day interview?
Tyler Nichols: We have we have with both positions. That really depends on the situation. Some, you know, kind of what they have to offer before that. But some, it's a great opportunity if they're not currently working. It works out great.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I love it. I love that working interview. 'cause you're gonna pay 'em cash by the end of the day. I'm gonna pay you, I'm gonna pay you cash. Right. So this is a working interview, but I'm gonna pay you, right?
Tyler Nichols: Yeah. If you're here helping the team. You're taken care of.
Jimmy Lea: So does the team vote or do you vote?
Tyler Nichols: It's, we definitely get their opinion. But you know, it's funny you mentioned that, but we've had people in the shop where, and Michael Smith has talked about this a lot in HPG and things, but you get to a point in the culture where when someone is not a culture fit, the team kind of lets you know about it.
Tyler Nichols: And they're not coming to me saying, this guy has to go. But you can see it, you can feel it. Yeah, the team just kind of pushes the person out and it becomes very obvious. So it's, wow. It's really great without even having a conversation or a vote it's really understood that this is not fitting with the culture.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Nice. So are you standing in a circle and you give it the gladiator? Thumbs up, thumbs down situation if anybody's thumbs down. Oh, sorry, dude, didn't make the cut.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's cool. All right. Well, Kyle just Kyle Tyler, thank you for talking to me today. Is there anything else you wanted to cover before we wrap things up? Anything we didn't discuss?
Tyler Nichols: I'll mention one more thing on the people thing is another kind of phrase that's thrown around is the right person in the right seat.
Tyler Nichols: Love it. Our other advisor, Colton, we have up here, he interviewed as a technician and I, he kind of walked outta here and I called Aaron and I was like, I don't think he's a technician. Can we hire an advisor right now? Because he just, he is, and he's an amazing advisor. He caught onto it so quick.
Tyler Nichols: He's so good with his customers. So it's, that, that's another thing is just because if you're having issues or something's not working with a certain position, but you like the person, maybe there's something else. That can move into that, would, that would help everybody.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, Tyler you are one heck of a dude that, that's a great leader to be able to see the potential in somebody.
Jimmy Lea: And it just speaks to your volume of training and leadership to come back to the people. It's about the people. Props to you, bro. That's awesome. All right. Magic wand question. If you had a magic wand and you were able to wave this magic wand and you could. Grant any wish whatsoever, what would you change in the industry?
Jimmy Lea: And of course, you can't wish for more wishes.
Tyler Nichols: I think, you know, I can't think of another industry. Aaron and I were talking about this yesterday, where if your price is different than anyone else's. If you're ripping 'em off and it's no, you know, it's, there's that stigma that, I don't know what it is about the automotive industry.
Tyler Nichols: I don't think plumbers get it. You know, I don't think that concrete guys get it. It's really a thing in this industry and the pricing is its own conversation. But but I think it's probably a lot a source of, a lot of our one stars is comparison and it may not be apples to apples.
Tyler Nichols: So we, we don't know that we're comparing the same things. Everybody has their different thought of how something should be fixed. This is what we believe in, this is how we believe in doing it. So, oh yeah, that's, it's a stigma and an issue that I think all of us fight. But it'd be really helpful if we could have that resolved and that communication, you know, properly portrayed.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, for sure. Yeah. It rarely is apples to apples because if you're twice the price. Or twice the, yeah, the price of what's being quoted. Chances are you've done a much more thorough diagnostic look at the vehicle to see all the belts and hoses and brackets that are broken, worn, torn, frayed, rusting.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. You, it's not apples to apples. You know, we're gonna keep you safe on the road. They're just gonna replace a part,
Tyler Nichols: right? We can fix a problem or we can. Repair the vehicle to align with the goal that they have for their vehicle, with their family. And that's the biggest thing. If they're holding on this vehicle, they're keeping it, they drive soccer practice where wherever they're going, it's, we wanna make sure it's gonna continue to work.
Tyler Nichols: So, oh, a hundred percent. That's tough to explain and it's tough to show. I think it, you know, comes with time and good communication, but.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, and you guys are doing digital vehicle inspections?
Tyler Nichols: We do.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, so,
Tyler Nichols: and we get the goals for the vehicle up front to just know really where's your head at?
Tyler Nichols: What's your plans for the vehicle? Vehicles are not getting any cheaper, so, you know, new vehicles anyway, so, so it's very important. We know. We know what the plan is going into it before we even look at any problems.
Jimmy Lea: So That's right. That's right. So then you address what the customer brought it in for, but then you also address, here are the other items that are safety issues.
Jimmy Lea: Boom boom. Right? Policy, procedure, pictures on everything. Right. Everything you're making a recommendation for, because clients can see, they know worn, torn freight or broken, and if you show it to 'em, they make a better decision because they're more educated. Rather than a laundry list of you gotta fix this and this, and they're just thinking, dude, Tyler I drove it in.
Jimmy Lea: I'm gonna drive it out. Right? Just do the oil service. But then you show 'em, here's your shocks. They are totally blown. That's why you're bouncing down the road. And then further into the explanation, your traction is not very good either. You're gonna take a corner and it's not gonna be a good thing.
Tyler Nichols: Right. Oh, that's good. That's very important. That's back to the processes and procedures of good, a good presentation process on the 300% rule. And back to all that. But that's so important and the presentation alone of that is, can make or break, can give you a one star or a five star just on presentation.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So true. So true. With that. Tyler, thank you so much, brother. I appreciate you taking some time out and yeah, talking to me. Thanks for having me. Talking to the industry, talking to your shop, talking to your people. You're a great leader and they're lucky to have you there. I wish.
Jimmy Lea: All the best for you in your future, brother. Thank you.
Tyler Nichols: Thank you so much for talking with me.

157 - Five Real-World Challenges Every Shop Owner Is Facing (and How Billy D. Tackles Them)

157 - Five Real-World Challenges Every Shop Owner Is Facing (and How Billy D. Tackles Them)
October 16, 2025 - 00:38:22
 
Show Summary:
From sweeping shop floors at ten to running a dealership and repair operation, Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli shares how Pristine Auto Group balances retail service, used-car sales, and in-house reconditioning. He explains the technology behind his shop setup, including Autel ADAS systems and multiple scanners, and how space, tooling, and software updates shape modern repair costs. Hiring remains his toughest challenge, with big-box chains driving wage inflation, so Billy focuses on loyalty, training, and building career paths. He highlights the importance of customer education, from DVIs to explaining diagnostic time and warranty coverage. Billy also stresses networking with other shop owners to share resources and strengthen the industry. Looking ahead, he plans to develop in-house training and structured SOPs to expand into small, efficient satellite shops that maintain high standards of service and culture.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli, Owner of Pristine Service Center
 
Show Highlights:
[00:00:47] - Billy’s roots: growing up in his dad’s shop, wrenching by 13, and building a career that now blends dealership and retail service.[00:03:39] - Current footprint: three techs, four lifts, Autel alignment/ADAS, and a 6,000-sq-ft warehouse next to the dealership.[00:06:34] - Volume snapshot: ~40 vehicle sales/month and 45–50 first-service visits for dealership cars, feeding the service pipeline.[00:08:42] - Hiring reality check: market distortion from chain-store wages and the gap between “paper” skills and real problem-solving.[00:10:50] - Career ladders: moving C-techs to B level through in-house training, complex work (e.g., Range Rover engine rebuilds), and clear benchmarks.[00:13:24] - Training culture: leveraging TechNet/parts-house courses and sending techs to regional events as performance rewards.[00:16:58] - OEM access barriers: programming, parts info, and right-to-repair friction that force small shops into costly workarounds.[00:21:39] - Lease pressure: commercial rent volatility and why ownership/options matter for small operators.[00:22:51] - Customer education: pricing diagnostics time, DVIs, oil-change intervals, and explaining extended-warranty limitations up front.[00:33:14] - Vision: codify SOPs, build an in-house training bench, and expand with small, process-driven satellite shops.
 
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.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello, my friend Jimmy Lee here with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and you are listening to the Leading Edge podcast. My guest today is Billy and he is with representing the Pristine Auto Group, auto Group Y, because it's more than just auto repair. He also has a dealership, a small dealership out front as well.
Jimmy Lea: So Billy, thank you very much for joining me today.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Thank you for having me.
Jimmy Lea: Billy. I'm, I'm so excited every time I do. A podcast, I'd like to do a little bit of research to find out a little bit more about who I'm gonna be speaking with. And I was super interested to find out about your shop because it looks like you're fairly new.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. But in conversations with you, you're not that new. Tell me what, what's the history here, Billy? So I've been
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: in this business, uh, since with my dad since I was 10. I'm pretty old now. Yeah, that's sweeping the floors. Taking out the tray. Yeah. Crushing the oil filters. Okay, carry on. So, um, I've been in the automotive industry since 18.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I'm 47, so over 20 years. Um, I, we had a, a service shop. Just a service shop. Then we increased it to a dealership with the service shop, and we went more directions of servicing our dealer vehicles and dealer customers rather than, uh, retail. And in the past year, I've been attacking the retail up more and it's almost separating the two businesses.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: But we've been in this business for over 30 years. We have all the equipment, all the all top, all the scanners you could think of, top of the line, eight dos programmers, um, but obviously they're costly.
Jimmy Lea: So you're doing all makes and all models,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: all makes
Jimmy Lea: all models. So all Euro, all Asian, all. Uh, domestic.
Jimmy Lea: You're, you're working all those vehicles? 
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. We go from rebuilding engines to even Range Rover, to regular Toyotas.
Jimmy Lea:  Oh my goodness sakes. That that is one heck of a wide swath. You've probably got $300,000 in scanners on the shelf.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yes. I spend a lot of money updating them every year. Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: All that too.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh my gosh. 10 years old. You started the business. Did you start, when did you start? Did you start on the, uh, uh, sales side of automotive or on the service side of automotive service side. Okay. When did you start turning a wrench and changing oil, changing
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: pads, rotors, I wanna say by the time I was 13 I was under a car doing oil changes for, for chips for lunch.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah, you wanna coke with that, change you away. Yeah, exactly. Um, I had no summers. I was, my dad would be disciplined to take me to work every summer, every day, you know, thank dad. If I'm not doing anything, I'm sitting. But, you know, good dad
Jimmy Lea: that, that work ethic. Priceless. Thank you dad. That's the key. You can't find that these days.
Jimmy Lea: No, you really can't. Oh man, I'm so, that's just amazing. Alright, so your technical background. I'm hearing a lot of school of hard knocks. It sounds like Pops threw you in the shop and said, go. Is there any technical training?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So I went to, I went to a bunch of courses obviously that our parts was, everything does.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I went to, I got my bachelor's in business, four year Bachelor's. Uh, I did that during the process. Um, and I've, I've had a couple of shops in process in between before I settled into this. Um, but all, all based with same people, not changing companies, not changing stuff like that.
Jimmy Lea: Oh man, congrats. Yeah. That, that, awesome.
Jimmy Lea: And, and you're Service Bay now you're servicing retail and servicing the dealership? Yes. Your own dealership? Our own dealership,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: yes.
Jimmy Lea: Anybody else? Okay, so. How long have you been on the retail side of servicing?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: On the retail side, I wanna say for the past seven years I've been mainly on the retail side.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Okay. On the servicing, not really turning too much wrenches myself. Um, it's, it's hard because
Jimmy Lea: you're up front now, you're now the surgeon
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: upfront. Everyone wants to speak to me, so how am I diagnosing when I'm speaking or explaining certain tech, uh, technical stuff? You know, it's not like a dealership. We have 15 people doing one job,
Jimmy Lea: right?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No, this is a small operation. How many, so you have three techs, right? Mm-hmm. Three techs. How many bays? Uh,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I'm a warehouse that fits about 20 cars inside.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, okay. Yeah. How many lifts do you have? Any side then? I
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: have four lifts. Four lifts, uh, plenty of space. Do you have an alignment rack too? We have an alignment, alltel alignment rack that does the ADOS program and everything.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Okay. Um, so we, you know, uh, I, I was in a different location a year ago. I have like seven lifts, but I moved to right next to my dealership, back to next to my dealership, same size warehouse, which, you know, we're in the process of transition.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. Congratulations. That's awesome. Thank you.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So are you
Jimmy Lea: gonna add more lifts in the, so
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I, I think the top lifts I'll have is about five lifts.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Okay. Okay. Um, just because these days you need space for these ados programmers, all these scanners. You, and once you throw these lifts, you can't move.
Jimmy Lea: No, that's right. That's right. Once they're up, they're up. Oh, man, that, that's so exciting. Yeah. That's a bright future. And taking a warehouse, converting it into an automotive repair shop.
Jimmy Lea: That, that's some props to you, that that's a heavy lift, man. Yeah,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: and, and, and it's, and it's about 6,000 square foot and it's on a main street. That was where I was lucky, right next to my dealership. And this was my, uh, this was my second shot that I got into doing my service. Before I got into the dealership side and um, and then eventually I saw the dealership side.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So I merged it and I shrunk down my service, which was a mistake while back. 'cause I lost a couple customers because I concentrated on the dealer, but my dealer grew.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So it was a
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: give and take, you know? Right, right, right. But um, through that, through all that hard time COVID happened, all that stuff, you know, and we still survived.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: That's the, that's the plus. Oh yeah. That is, lot of places are not surviving.
Jimmy Lea: Brother. That's awesome. Congrats. Thank you. That is so cool. Uh, what, what a challenge. How many, uh, cars do you have on the lot that are for sale right now?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: For sale? I have about
Jimmy Lea: 55. Dude, you got a big lot. Mm-hmm. That's, that's awesome.
Jimmy Lea: My, uh, uncle had a lot in Vegas and he was maybe 15 to 20, 22 would tap it out. He couldn't do any more than 22, so he really wasn't turning a lot of cars, but it was one of those buy here, pay here. I type a lot, so I, yeah, we
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: do about 40. We sales wise, 40 cars a month and then we service for the dealership about 45, 50 cars.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: That's just first time service. And then obviously customers bring back their cars as well.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Do you have a program that incentivizes the buyer to bring it back to you?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Um, so. We, since we offer a lot of, uh, extended warranties with our vehicles, yeah. Local customers are not comfortable going other places because they don't know how to use a warranty.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: They feel, so they come to us naturally. Um, I, we do get free oil changes when you buy a vehicle. We have a detail shop in-house, which is attached to my service shop. Which is a good bonus that you can give someone. You do an engine, you get a free wash, you know?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, I like that. Yeah, that, that's the Pristine Auto Spa.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah, it's actually, it's called Pristine Auto Spa. Yeah,
Jimmy Lea: I know. I did
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: some research. I know who you're, yep, yep. We like to do everything in house where, you know, and we have a lot of networking, so I have a lot of friends of mine that are, uh, total precision, that does a high-end vehicles Mercedes rain draw.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Anything that if I've been a jam, they have the programs I, I'll just, we work together. That's the key. Networking,
Jimmy Lea: networking, uh, and, and locking arms with others in the industry. That, that's the mantra here at the institute is building a better business. This is you, helps you provide a better life for you, your employees, your, the technicians, the their families even, and a better life even for your customers and clients, which are in our, our final is better industry.
Jimmy Lea: So if we can help you build a better business, you have a better life at built a better industry for everybody. And we all lock arms together just like you're doing here. Right. That networking is critical. All right. Let's jump into, uh, some of the critical things that are facing shops today. What are the, the top five areas that you think a shop really needs to be aware of, whether they're long in the tooth or trying to start a shop up tomorrow, or maybe it's only been a year.
Jimmy Lea: What do you, what do you see as some of those challenges? For shops today, e
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: employment is the most challenging that everyone has because, you know, everyone knows how to turn a wrench, but I hate to say it, it's not old school. So turning a wrench doesn't cut it. But when you are interviewing someone, they know how to do everything until you hire them.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. And um, the problem that I've been seeing is, you know, you got these companies like, especially in Jersey, Mavis, pep Boys. Yes. They're paying their oil change people 25, $30 an hour. They only know how to do oil changes, so how am I gonna hire a top technician for affordable technician when they're paying so high for people just to do oil changes?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: You know? So it it, it makes it difficult for us to hire a good, affordable technician to grow with us, you know? Yeah. I, so you're getting a lot of turnovers, or they work for a mile. We need more pay because my friend works at Mavis and getting paid this, and he does half the jobs. You know, um, but they don't get the knowledge.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I've hired people from there. When the tire gets stuck, won't come off the wheel. They don't even know how to take it off. Oh my God. You know, they're, they're, we, we, we torch things. We do things to get things done. These big corporations can't do it, and these guys are losing that experience, spending time there for the next five years, you know, you're not gaining any real life experience how to solve problems.
Jimmy Lea: I heard of a technician, graduated, um, uh, had all the, the certifications that he was a, by all stretch in the imagination, a master certified technician, but uh, just outta school, he really didn't have the chops to be able to do things. And he was in one of these big boxes, still sweeping the floors and doing oil service.
Jimmy Lea: And someone like you came in and said, Hey, I've got an opportunity. Let me know what you think. Well, I'm graduating in a couple months and they've really promised me the moon here. Three months after and they hadn't delivered. He called and, uh, he has been with that shop ever since and they absolutely love him and he does a phenomenal, phenomenal work.
Jimmy Lea: You are probably gonna find somebody like that that wants to do more than just an oil change or a break job. And because you're not working weekends, which these guys were required, you're gonna be an automatic magnet for these people.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. I mean, that's the, uh, that's the goal. Um, and I do have a couple of workers that are very loyal.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. You know, they, they, they came to me, you know, they knew how to do everything, but they never worked on a Range Rover or Timing J Job. Right. But we, we taught 'em that in house, obviously, as doing it. Do you learn now they've rebuilt, they rebuilt engines on a Range Rover. That Range Rover doesn't even rebuild.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Range Rover, you have to buy the whole block. They don't, they don't sell parts for it. Well, we know how to rebuild it in house. Congrats, obviously, you know, that makes our costs go down and we could give the service to customers that buy these Range Rovers. They're stuck with it because to change an engine is $20,000.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: The car was 10,000.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No, they, the Range Rover, it's a plug and play. Mm-hmm. Engine doesn't work. Take it out and put in a new one. Mm-hmm. You're like, no, no, no. We can fix this old one. We got this. Exactly. So I agree with you, the quality of employees and, and there's a, there is a technician shortage in the industry and it might be a, a situation here, Billy, you might look at your business model and say, Hey, you know what, if I raise my door rate by 10 bucks, 15 bucks an hour.
Jimmy Lea: Maybe I take half of that and give it to the technicians. Maybe something to think
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: about. Yeah. That, that is, that is something to think about. Um, like I said, it's mainly the qualification. I don't mind paying someone if they can do what I can do.
Jimmy Lea: Yep.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: But if I still gotta hold their hands, why am I paying you that much money?
Jimmy Lea: Well, that's a ctech. C technician, not a B technician. And, and definitely an A technician is somebody who can have the car, take the car, diagnose it, replace it, fix it, and it's ready to roll you, don't you, you qc it just to CYA cover your Yeah, yeah. Right. Uh, those C techs, man, you gotta verify everything.
Jimmy Lea: And you're like, bro, I got a job up front. I gotta do you, you need to be able to take care of this business.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Lea: Exactly. Get 'em into a B. So do you provide your technicians with a, uh, path of training?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So, um, I give them all the opportunities. Like, for example, I'm part of TechNet, um, I was part of Poncho program.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I'm in, uh, I just signed up with, uh, AutoZone has their program. Uh, I forget what it is. They're sending me pamphlet. They all sell, send train your, your CLA guys to trainings and stuff. I give that all to my guys for free. They can get take, they can take, they, they can get out, get out a little early to go do it if they want, you know, or they can do it at most time.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Nice. I do give them that, you know, sometimes they don't take the advantage of it, but I do give that,
Jimmy Lea: there's a show, a trade show, it's in Philadelphia, so I know it's a little drive from you. Uh, it's called Super Saturday. Technical training.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Okay. What is it called?
Jimmy Lea: Uh, it's called Super Saturday. Super Saturday.
Jimmy Lea: It's put on by the Mid-Atlantic Auto Care Association.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I gotta, I gotta look into that.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, yeah, I do. Uh, how far is Philly? Is it a drive from you? It's about an hour from us. It's not too crazy, bro. That's so close. You gotta get, bring all your techs shut down the shop for those couple of days. It's, uh, like November 13th, 1415.
Jimmy Lea: You, you'd want to be there. Yeah. Your technicians would thank you for it.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: What I usually would do is I would take one with myself, and the next year I would see who gets to go next year. So this way we have a, you know, something to fight for.
Jimmy Lea: Bro. I love that. Yeah. Now it's a, a, uh, if you work performer comes, well, so yeah, you can do one of two things.
Jimmy Lea: You can either bring the guy that or the girl that performs the best, or you put a benchmark that says, anybody that performs over this level mm-hmm. Gets to go to super Saturn. And mine would
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: be, I mean, performing the best in their level. So you're not gonna compare ATech to a ctech, you know, if he improved from last year to this year, he gets go.
Jimmy Lea: Bingo. Ooh, there's another one too. It's called Tools, T-O-O-L-S. It's in April. April 29th to May 2nd in somewhere in pa. Also put on by the Mid-Atlantic Auto Care Association. Definitely look into that one as well. That one's a bit larger. Whereas Super Saturday is a bit more intimate, uh, uh, tools is, is a little bit bigger and it's growing.
Jimmy Lea: They're doing a really good job getting this going.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I would appreciate if you shoot me the
Jimmy Lea: email on some of this stuff. Oh, absolutely brother. I'll send it to you for sure. Alright. Quality employees. I, I agree with you. Technicians, uh, that's the bane of this, uh, existence because mm-hmm. Because their time is perishable.
Jimmy Lea: It goes on a shelf. You gotta book it today where it's gone. How efficient are your technicians? Uh, well that's a question for you, Billy. How do you, do you track your technicians? Do you know where they're performing?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Um, I, I, I do track their per job. Um, they obviously, my, my shop manager, even though I paid them, I don't pay them per job, like dealer.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: It shows what jobs they did for the week. So, you know, obviously if I built someone, uh, 800 hours this month, this week, and my workers got all of it done, that means they're performing well. They're, they're doing, you know, their time. But, uh. The fact that we do, a lot of my dealership used car dealership sides.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: It's hard to gauge it because a simple car comes with something simple and all of a sudden taking these screws down and stuff is hard because it's someone else's problem. We're fixing not a customer, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And obviously the dealer doesn't have deep pockets to do everything at any cost whatsoever.
Jimmy Lea: Right? Oh, so true. Basic, they gotta turn a
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: wrench and make a profit.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So a technician, each technician has 40 hours a week and. How are they performing? Are they, they're, uh, my tech 50.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: They, they do over 40. The jobs that they do, they do over 40, so they're off perform well.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's, that's awesome. That is a beautiful situation for any automotive repair business.
Jimmy Lea: So congrats to you, Billy. What, what would you say is the second challenge? That you think, uh, small shops or, or even shops face today?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: E every shops, I, I think what they're facing is this technology and these dealerships being in our way, like the, the franchisees being in our way. So we, we no longer could service every car.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Like I may have the tools, but a lot of small shops aren't gonna have these tools and for them to even build up to that, it costs a lot of money. Right? Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: So
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: these new dealerships, we can't even get part numbers from these new dealers anymore because they don't wanna give it out. When we do warranty jobs, they want the part number of what part we're gonna put in before they approve the claim.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So even when we're ordering, unless I'm ordering the part, I just want an estimate. They won't gimme the part numbers these days that they know I'm gonna shop around maybe for Yeah. Uh, so that puts a difficulty on small businesses, uh, businesses like us because that's what we depend on so we can do our job.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. Without getting access to dealer proprietary things like programming. We don't know what car needs, what, what programming you could be doing a RA swapping out a radio for a car and all of a sudden Chrysler says it could only be programmed by us. Yeah. So I got the job I got, so the car starts to go to, uh, Chrysler.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Now the customer's like, why don't not just go to them to do it in the first place?
Jimmy Lea: Hmm.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: You know, so, and these accesses, one, they don't allow like, access to us. And even if they do, it's expensive. So, you know, we, we have patch through tools, you know, we call them, they program for us. You have to call and find out if they can program that part in that pro module because they don't have access to it as well.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So who has access to them except the deal. Yeah, I think that's monopolizing something, you know, more than, you know, GI giving us a chance to do all these jobs that they don't wanna do. Technically, all the cover.
Jimmy Lea: No. That's right. That's right. Yeah. It is a challenge to be all makes and all models. Have you ever thought of perhaps specializing or niching into Euros or Asians or domestics?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Um,
Jimmy Lea: and it would affect your dealership side too,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: a hundred percent. So I thought of that a while back. Instead of doing that, like I told you, I partnered up with, you know, other teams that do that kind of cause that I can't have access. At least I have hand reach out for, which I recommend every. Small shops is network with their other shops around them instead of being competitors, building it together.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: 'cause there's plenty of jobs out there, you know? Yeah. Like there's no way that everyone could do everything. We don't have the tools, we don't have the pockets for it, you know, and we don't have the customers that come every day. So if I don't work on BMWs, all of 'em, what's it hurt to send it to a friend of mine that works on BMWs and we're still getting good, good reputation and you know, vice versa.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Nice. Yeah, that's good. You send it to dealers, building friends together, having locking arms together, that that's, that's paramount. I agree. Alright. What, what would you say is a third. Challenge for small business today.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Um, cost of operation with no control. And what I mean by no control is, for example, we do leases for our buildings five years at a clip because we're not a huge franchise.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Sure. After five years, my landlord technically can jack my, because he sees my businesses really well, double my hands. I either move, which I just built my business in here, right? Or I gotta take the hit. Um, where when you work a franchise deal, they're doing 20 years leases. Five years before the lease is up, they start negotiating.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: If it's not working, they have five years to make their move. You know, where us, we just settled in. We just got the business established. Now my landlord's being greedy, there should be a little cap on. You know, you can't just, just like rent, rent, rent, uh, home, home rental. You can't just increase. Yeah, same thing with commercial.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: You shouldn't be able to just increase the whatever you want. You know? You should cap, because I technically spent all this money building this business.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. You built the business, the reputation, you did all the upgrades and all the maintenance and upkeep of the property. And I gotta move because my landlord's greedy.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So do you own your property or do you Um, one of 'em is
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: under contract. The other one's leased. Okay. So hopefully soon.
Jimmy Lea: Hopefully soon. Yeah, hopefully soon. But you know,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: these days. Some, someone, some news comes down, everything changes.
Jimmy Lea: It's true. Yeah, it's true. It can change at, at a moment's notice. Oh yeah.
Jimmy Lea: A lot of the leases that I've seen shops get into would be, uh, a five year lease and two to three, uh, additional five year options to renew.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: We, we have that. Um, but these new landlords with every, but after COVID, these prices jumped up. So high landlords do not. Commercial landlords don't wanna lock themselves in because what if we get another boom?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Now they're stuck with me for another 10 years. Oh, 15 or 2015. Yeah. And I'm not a franchise company where they know that this is steady for the rest of their life.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: If I go out, what are they gonna come after when, you know, Mavis or something like that. They can't just go out and walk away from a property, they gotta walk away from the whole business.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, yeah, yeah. True, true. Interesting. Okay. Cost protection for operations. I like that. Uh, what, what would you say is a fourth area that shops should look at?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Uh, the shops having a problem with customers understanding repairs on their vehicle. Um, okay, so these cars are much more technology than it used to be.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: You know, back in the day, my dad, I remember could listen to a car and tell me, Hey, that's a valve. Now you could have an alternator issue causing a valve move. So if you. You need to diagnose this and it takes time. So, you know, time is money. So when you deliver a card to us, customer's still expecting, okay, you know what, they're gonna charge me small diagnostic and fix the problem.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: But I spent a half a day diagnosing just a wire issue. How do I charge that customer a hundred dollars to fix the wire? You
Jimmy Lea: know?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Uh, it's
Jimmy Lea: $400.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. So it is half a day. It took half a day. You gotta get it approved upfront. Yeah. 400 plus then, then you got the diagnostic, you got the parts, anything you have to get.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: And then you know, these customers. Don't understand. Well, you told me it's a code, you told me it's an oxygen sensor. Well, it could be. But you have a catalog come, you have other things that are tied. This is the first thing you have to change, right? Yeah. With us, they don't understand it. Dealerships, they give avail.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: They have no choice. They do it, you know? Yeah. And the dealers know everything. Yeah. So it's a, it's a customer's, uh, educating the customs is a problem. You have to educate your customers before you start a job. Any
Jimmy Lea: job. Ah, I like that. What are you using to help educate your customers? Are you doing digital vehicle inspections?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I have. I have digital vehicle inspection. I have a TechNet performs a i I have a loop in my waiting room that shows what importance of timing belts are. Timing jeans are importance of break jobs, importance of regular maintenance. Right. Love it. A lot of customers, you know, these days all cars want 10,000 mile oil changes.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Well, you have a lot of timing chain issues these days. Why do you think. 10,000
Jimmy Lea: miles.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yes. So what if you did your oil change? Every 5,000, you won't have as many issues. Oh yeah. So educating the customers to that is very important. And while you're doing it, five instead of 10, you know, obviously you still gotta leave it up to them.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: 'cause the, that's what the car requires every 10. But I, I explained to them, you're gonna keep this car long term. This is what you have to do to maintain it. Otherwise you'll never be able to put it back together.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh, I totally agree. My Ford F-150, I treated it like a Honda. 5,000 miles full synthetic, 225,000 miles on it.
Jimmy Lea: I sold it and I shouldn't have, I should have kept it.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I'm telling you, some of these older ones are much better than these newer ones.
Jimmy Lea: 2012 Ford F-150 V eight had the good transit. My
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: dad does nothing but put premium on any car he drives.
Jimmy Lea: Right. I
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: agree. I agree too. If you don't have a heavy foot, you're saving
Jimmy Lea: money on miles.
Jimmy Lea: Amen. Amen. Yeah. Cost repairs. Uh, so customer, it's, it's all about the customer's understanding. They need to understand. What it is that you're talking about. And, and you, you come onto their side of the conversation. So they're, they're looking at the car saying, oh, it's the car's fault. It's not your fault anymore.
Jimmy Lea: It's the car's fault.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. So, so that's what that, so I pretty much direct them into understanding, you know, you, you, you, you, you buy something, you gotta maintain something. If you wanna keep it long term, if you're leasing something, I mean, it's up to you. But what if you get stuck with the car and you don't maintain it?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: You know now, now you have the junk and the dealer still gets his money, you know? Yep. So at the end of the day, you wanna drive something. Spending a little extra now saves you a lot more at the long run. Right. Um, and these key customers get, you know, they get these extended warranty service contracts.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. Understand how they work. They come to us thinking it's bumper to bumper coverage, and then now once I give 'em a bill for additional bill, they're like, why is this? You have to educate them prior to the job because if you don't. At the end of the job, they're gonna get upset even though you did a great job because they didn't understand that they had to pay out of pocket and why they're paying out of pocket.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: And it's not your fault, it's the service contract that they bought. Yeah. And a lot of people blame the service contract, know the service contract, know how to explain their service contract to the customer, and explaining what can go wrong during the process that they might be responsible for a bill.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: And it's not your fault.
Jimmy Lea: No. No. It's not your fault. Oh. That's what I
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: mean by customers understanding repairs.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Because you didn't build it, break it or buy it. Exactly. Customers, they're the ones that gotta work with. Exactly. You know,
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: they, they buy the car, they don't maintain it. They think we're magicians.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. Like you got a magic wand, you can just fix everything. All the smog has gone out of the car.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Good luck. Alright. What, what would be a, a fifth challenge you see that's facing a lot of shops these days.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Um, like, uh, it's, it's always gonna be mainly expenses. Like everything's, equipment's getting expensive and you need these, back in the day, you didn't need as many equipments to do the same job.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Now you need five equipments to do the same job on three different cars, you know? Um, so it's not as standard as vehicles as they used to be. Yeah, so all this is hard for someone starting a new business. What tools do I buy? What's the important tools? You know, back in the day one scanner range tool, you could do almost anything.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah, almost, almost now. Almost anything. Now you need two, two tools to want to scan your car and want to scan your tire sensors and program 'em, you know? And these are regular maintenances. Yes. So what if you don't have, what if you don't have those two tools? If you do, you gotta update them. You know, spending $1,600 a a year, it's not much.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: But a small shop, it might be,
Jimmy Lea: you know, it adds up quick too, Billy. It adds up really fast. 'cause that's just one of the scanners you have. And how many scanners do you have? I have five. Scanners and I, I have it and say it's 2000 per year. It is 10 grand.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Mm-hmm. And then, and then I also have a patch through that, uh, that allows me to go through Snap-on to be able to program other vehicles.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: That alone was 10 grand for the computer. Yep. And, and I really, it's pretty much a screen that connects someone else to another for 10 grand. I mean, I could have done that with my laptop,
Jimmy Lea: right? Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: But these are expensive stuff for any shop. And an established shop might be able to build it into their, uh, portfolio slowly, you know, as, because they got customers coming already, a, a mom and pop that has a two big garage.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: He's gotta be very, like you said, pick either A, a, a a a. A model to work on, specialize in something. Mm-hmm. And, and find out what those, that those vehicles need minimum to be able to specialize in them. You know, you still need minimum computers, minimum, uh, you know, maybe not five different computers, but two, you know, you need certain and, um, sort of some space to program these.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Like if you're doing ADOS programming, forget it, you know, and I believe they charge here, each sensor's about $350 per program. So in a vehicle, there's maybe two sensors, three sensors, you know, so you're talking about just the program was like $900 and same at dealers, you know. Oh yeah. It's not even, uh, it's very expensive.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: And, and I didn't realize why until, you know, since I was able to buy the equipment, realized, oh wow, I need a lot of space. Yeah. So you dedicate a lot of space for these programming. So how can you not, how can you charge minimum when you're taking up so much space?
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah, yeah. I was just talking to, um, Matt from Long Meadow Garage.
Jimmy Lea: Uh, he is a small two bay garage, three technicians. He's doing about 1.6 million a year, and he's working in that niche market of Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley. And all those scan tools, they are not cheap, they're expensive and he has to maintain 'em all as well. He does do all makes and all models, so he'll do all the domestic and the foreign, yeah, the import.
Jimmy Lea: Uh, but he does specialize in this higher level of, of, of car, which is interesting because it's a two bay gas station. Mm-hmm.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I mean, I have a friend of, my cousin of mine actually has Zach's garage, same thing, two Bay garage. He stopped doing all big jobs. Because he, he was able to build enough that he, he's good on, you know, niche job breaks.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. Uh, tune up, stuff like that. But he has enough customers coming in. But I remember when he started, he was on the Yes. He was rebuilding engine that shouldn't be rebuilt, you know, but you, you need to, you need to start from there and then get that experience and then get the customer to follow you that then you can choose some jobs that you don't want to touch because it's not profitable in the long run, you know?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. To what you're expending.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Nice. What, uh, point of sale system are you running? Uh, I use uh, VIP shop Manager. Okay. Um, and DVI do they have a DVI that works, integrates in with it, or what do you do? Uh, I, what do you mean, sorry? Uh, digital vehicle inspection.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So, so my, my hotel does, my hotel connects to my, um.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: To my computer. Okay. Not recorded. As we do it, it, it sends it right over there and then it gets the, you can get the images of anything and goes into my invoicing through photo I shop, um, a, a photo of something. It says like, uh, okay. And it just, everything goes right to it. But they do, I like, I, I'll put a for VF shop manager 'cause I've tried 'em all.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I've had all data as shop manager, they're so difficult to use. Especially if you wanna cancel a, a, a statement of go. I had to jump through hoops like I'm an accountant. Right. So, so the vi shop manager, the person that built it was a me mechanic himself. He's a tech, uh, and he built it to what mechanics need in their invoicing, and he's been building upon that himself.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: And now he's got, it's now it's a real good system. Yeah, for sure. Not cloud based. It was actually, now it's cloud based and it's, I'm, I'm, oh,
Jimmy Lea: that's awesome. Orders for you and everything. I've heard of another shop in Sacramento that's also using VIP. Mm-hmm. So it is a newer software on the industry. It's very cost efficient.
Jimmy Lea: You've been with him a while. That probably means you were one of the
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: beta groups. I was, I, I think I was just out of the beta group. He had just started selling it out to people. Okay. Me and Mark communicate all the time and I'll give him, and he is very nice. I, I'll give him, Hey, you should add this. Put this there.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Calendar should be changed. And next month it's changed.
Jimmy Lea: Nice. Mm-hmm. It's really, that's awesome. When you have that sort of a, a relationship with you, one of your service providers mm-hmm. One of your products, your programs, one of your systems that helps you to run your business, not only are you able to pick up the phone and talk to them, they're listening and they're responsive and they're implementing.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: That's, that's the, that's another key that I think, you know, everyone should do. Like, if you're dealing with a certain company, get to know them. You know, I get to communicate with them because you might be not using their system to the best of analogy. You're thinking it's not as good quality, but it is, you know, um, I, how to use it.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: I like to build a relationship with my sales, my sales reps, my part guys, my delivery guys even, because guess what? Sometimes they do me a favor. Why they do have it, because I don't forget the little guy, you know? Yeah. You know?
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's good. Yeah. I, I've heard it said that we are in the relationship business.
Jimmy Lea: We just happen to fix cars.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Exactly. You know, and listen, you know how many times customers come to me, we've done a tire in the back, and they're telling me, well, there's noise in the phone. What did you do? You know, you have to, you have to have that relationship, be able to explain it and have the patience to do it.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Yeah. And, and the relationship sometimes solves everything. You know, sometimes mess up, sometimes customer doesn't understand. But when you have that relationship. You can, you, you're not speaking at a 10. You're always calm and you're able to solve problems and it's easier to help a customer that understands you than it is someone that's coming backwards.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, dude, I love it. I love it. So what does the future look like for you, Billy? What, what's the next 5, 10, 15 years?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So if all goes well, I was actually looking to, um, merge with, uh, prestige. Like I told, told you before about where we can actually train in-house our own workers. And start, you know, locating into maybe other smaller shops that we have.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: We, when we grow out of it, where, you know, everything's done in-house or we train our own guys, we train on the cars that we're working on and we place them into our, our little, uh, service, small service shops, nothing big in local spots, which again, two big garage can pull in a lot of money if you have the right technicians.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: If you have the right tools. So if you have a company behind you, sporting you like a big chop, but trading your guys to the service that we really see out there,
Jimmy Lea: it's true. It's true. So the future for you is expanding the kingdom. You're looking for some additional footprints
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: mm-hmm.
Jimmy Lea: In the kingdom. I, I think that's phenomenal.
Jimmy Lea: That's, and, and
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: already to do that, you need to be able to partner up with the right people. Mark. Mark is very good technician. He's a very good teacher. So he'd be great in that teaching at department, working in my shop here while he's teaching everyone instead of turning the wrenches, you know?
Jimmy Lea: I love it.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. That's very good. Yeah. And, and as you do that, as you get ready to do that, make sure your process and procedures are right and they're in order. Your handbook is up to date and in order. 'cause that's that process procedure that you want every single other location to follow. Because it's a proven method.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Exactly. So that's, that's the way that I, I built my dealership as well. And if it's wor, if something's working, just improve it. Don't change it, you know? Oh, I love it. Don't try
Jimmy Lea: stuff. Best point number six. Yes, it is. Know what your process of procedures are and document 'em. 'cause if it's not written down, it doesn't exist.
Jimmy Lea: It doesn't exist. Oh, that's awesome, man. Very cool. Well, if you were to have a, uh, a magic wand. And you were to wave this magic wand, you can't wish for more wishes, but you can change one thing in the industry. What would you change, Billy?
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Hmm. One thing would be, would be to be able to get, uh, information better, easier, like, you know, information, because that's what solves the problem.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: If I can't get my diagnostic information from the dealer of manufacturers, I'm, it's costing me more time to try to figure it out. If you look at all talent and stuff, that's how they've solved the programming problem. They do the Chinese programming in, in the system, and it overrides the original manufacturer, but it's the same.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: They decode it. Well, why are we going through all these hoops when the manufacturer can make it a little easier on us, you know, and, and allow access for more cost efficient. But we don't have to go to hotel, you know, we'll have them do stuff like this.
Jimmy Lea: It's always gonna be found, but that's
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: my magic.
Jimmy Lea: W have, have magic wand.
Jimmy Lea: Access to data, access to data information. I don't mean for free, but affordable for every. Yeah. And, and you know, when you get out to some of these trade shows that we were talking about earlier, uh, these conferences and trade shows and these associations, these are the people that you wanna surround yourself with because they are going after the Right to repair act.
Jimmy Lea: Mm-hmm. They are supporting Right to repair, they are actively going after Congress to make sure that the manufacturers do share this type of data and information. You are going to absolutely love being part of Super Saturday Tools, Mid-Atlantic Auto Care. You are gonna love this. So yeah, if you
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: send me couple, I probably would take trips myself just to see them for first.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: You see what's about,
Jimmy Lea: um, check it out yourself. I totally agree. Mm-hmm. Once you are convinced, which I think you're gonna be convinced Yeah. Then, then there are shops that shut down the whole entire shop. They make it a a, a team building experience. Yeah. They all go together, they all travel together and, and it, it might cost the shop 20 or $30,000 for everybody that's there, blah, blah, blah.
Jimmy Lea: But it is so worth it. 'cause when they all come back to the shop, production is better. It's higher. They learned how to work. This picoscope just a little bit better. Now they're fixing these cars and they're saying, you know what, if I'd have known what I know now, those other three cars that I couldn't fix last month.
Jimmy Lea: I would've been able to fix 'em. Mm-hmm.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: It, it, it does, uh, trade shows. I actually was reading a book, it's called Choose Your Enemies Wisely. And he says that in there too. You, you have to bring your workers, he's in the insurance business to these, uh, tr uh, trade shows. Close them up because when they, you might spend 50 grand, but when they get back, they make you an additional a hundred.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: But you gotta track it.
Jimmy Lea: Track
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: it. Oh yeah. It works for sure.
Jimmy Lea: What is the ROI on getting you guys out to these different mm-hmm. Conferences and trade shows? A hundred percent agree with you.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Mm-hmm. A lot of new guys might just be throwing that money around and not actually implementing what they learned.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: So now you just wasted 15 rent and you're small shop. Yeah. That's big money for you.
Jimmy Lea: Oh it is. It is. It is. Absolutely. Billy, I look forward to meeting you.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Alright, I, it was great meeting you as well.
Jimmy Lea: Thank you very much for your time today. I love your insight. I love where you're going. We've gotta do this again.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Anytime.
Jimmy Lea: Alright brother. Thank you very much.
Bulent “Billy” Demirbulakli: Thank you.

156 - Manage the Experience, Master the Shop: Bob Ward on Culture, DVIs & Tools that Win

156 - Manage the Experience, Master the Shop: Bob Ward on Culture, DVIs & Tools that Win
October 15, 2025 - 00:47:02
 
Show Summary:
From a gas station side job to franchise leader turned independent owner, Bob Ward shares how he built The Auto Guys in St. Thomas, Ontario on process, people, and pride. He unpacks the leap from technician to manager to owner, the 15-year coaching run that shaped his systems, and why culture shows up in photos, bay huddles, and a joke-filled street sign. Bob dives into apprentice pipelines, the state of Canadian tech education, and what he learned serving as Midas’ Canadian dealer rep. He explains the million-dollar shop formula: manage the customer journey, run the back-of-house with clear policies, and sell from thorough DVIs. We hear how “never say no” equipment strategy, specialty tools, and daily/weekly rhythms keep work flowing. He offers recruiting and retention nuggets (from oil-filter stickers to recognizing big diags) and maps his succession plan with his service manager, Nick. The episode closes with a call to elevate trades education and transfer veteran wisdom to the next generation.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Bob Ward, Owner of St. Thomas Auto Guys
 
Show Highlights:
[00:01:52] - Bob’s unconventional start: he aimed to be a teacher, but a gas station job and early-’80s Midas brakes era pulled him into the trade and into management.
[00:04:12] - Franchise to ownership: promoted to store manager, then part-owner in six weeks—fast lessons that pushed him to seek coaching and systems.
[00:08:22] - Building a brand beyond the franchise: “Make them come for you, not the logo”—earning Midas’ Presidential Awards before launching The Auto Guys.
[00:10:22] - Culture you can see: a cohesive crew, pro photos, and visible joy signal a place customers and techs want to be.
[00:15:15] - Fixing the pipeline: Bob details Ontario’s apprenticeship path and why high schools must rebuild hands-on tech education.
[00:26:59] - Million-dollar lever #1: Manage the customer base: scripted intake, clean protections, readable DVIs, proactive updates, and timed pickups reduce end-of-day pileups.
[00:29:30] - Million-dollar lever #2: Policies in the shop: enforce standards, invest in equipment, huddle daily, meet monthly, and publicly recognize tough diagnostics.
[00:35:04] - Million-dollar lever #3: 300% rule in action: inspect every car, estimate every need, present every finding; target 2.5+ billed hours beyond the original concern.
[00:39:59] - “Never say no”: keep programming, A/C, diagnostics, and light-duty diesel in-house so customers never need to go elsewhere.
[00:41:26] - Street-smart marketing: replace competitor oil-change stickers, keep a free-water fridge, and use community touchpoints to create memorable “wow” moments.
 
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.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello friend. This is Jimmy Lea with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence and you are listening to the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is Bob Ward, and he is joining from his shop. Are you at your shop, Bob? Yes. And your shop is in St. Thomas up in Canada, is that correct? The balmy south of Ontario.
Jimmy Lea: Yes, balmy south of Ontario. I heard that there are more Canadians living south of. Was the, there's more Canadians living south of the border of the United States because of Ontario dipping down, being so populated. I don't know if that's true or not.
Bob Ward: Well, it is. Ontario is the has the heaviest population density in Canada.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah, it certainly does. Yep. And what a beautiful country, Bob, you guys. My two favorite places in the world that I've been to, well, two of them that are on the top 10 list is Niagara Falls and Banff.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. You've been to both.
Bob Ward: I've been to one. Banff is still on my bucket list.
Jimmy Lea: Bro. You gotta go.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. It's absolutely gorgeous. And I went during the unseasonably. Pre spring season, the snow had melted, but there was no growth happening yet. Okay. So one would've said, oh, everything is still dead. Oh my gosh. It was so gorgeous. It was so beautiful.
Bob Ward: That's typical of Canada. We've got so many natural resources and wonders that we could share with the world.
Jimmy Lea: You, you really do. You really do. And there, there's no reason to travel outside of the country because there's so much country to see. Absolutely. Oh, I love it. I love it. Bob. How did you get into the automotive industry?
Bob Ward: Mine is kind of an unusual story, Jimmy, because when I went to, when I graduated from high school I decided to go to university to become a high school teacher.
Bob Ward: And I graduated with a double major. But in my final year my marks weren't enough. I had to repeat my final year to go back into and get my grades up to get into teacher's college, but I decided not to because while I was going to university, I was working at a gas station and I started learning stuff from the mechanics in there and back that this is the day I'm showing my age because I tell you, I dye my hair white.
Bob Ward: Okay. Nobody believes me.
Bob Ward: But that's when I started in the automotive trade. And what it did is it morphed from that and I started working in the bays and getting an apprenticeship and then it morphed from there. And I went, I worked in several small, independent garages. Yes. But I couldn't see myself learning anything from those places.
Bob Ward: Because I wanted to get back then propane was a big ticket item. And I went and got my licenses for that. There was three licenses and I did this on my own. Well, then I joined Midas because they were getting into breaks back then in the early eighties.
Jimmy Lea: Yes. Yes.
Bob Ward: And I worked for them for a while, but I found that, the managers in the stores weren't very reliable back then, and I found I was having to do a lot of managing my own sales and selling stuff that the managers were supposed to do. So I started learning all that stuff.
Jimmy Lea: Interesting.
Bob Ward: And then the owner of the franchise saw that in me and he upgraded me to a manager to run a store.
Bob Ward: Nice. So I ran a store for him for eight years and I really enjoyed it. Jimmy, I mean. There's a lot of diversity in the clients and dealing with the staff. You know what, in hindsight I thought, boy, maybe I should have gone to school for daycare daycare education when dealing with staff.
Jimmy Lea: Right. Early childhood development.
Bob Ward: Yeah. So then an opportunity came up where there was a franchise in St. Thomas that had. Midas had repossessed, so to speak, and I went in six weeks, I went from being a manager in a store in London to a part owner of a franchise in St. Thomas. Nice. So that was a big learning curve for me.
Bob Ward: Yeah. Because, you know, all us technicians think that, you know, 'cause you're a good tech or you're a good business owner. And I sure found out quickly that I needed help. Yes. And I found that help through automotive Training Institute. Nice. And we were in one of the first groups that Chubby took in.
Bob Ward: Nice. And we were with them for 15 years, Jimmy.
Jimmy Lea: Wow. Wow. A lot
Bob Ward: of, a lot of good relationships and a lot of good friends from that.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
Bob Ward: And that's the training that I needed to help me along and get me where I am today.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. That is a band of brothers that, a TI is able to put together and with chubby and
Bob Ward: he
Jimmy Lea: has since moved on, retired and sold the business and, you know, all honor to his day. It's still going on, Jimmy. Well, it is. And it's wonderful. And I'm just pleased that I was able to meet Chubby and get to know him. I was right at the very end of his career, if you will.
Jimmy Lea: Right. Like, I think I was at one of the LA my first was one of his last conferences. Super conference. Right. And then Richard and the Karens took over.
Bob Ward: Yes. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. No, I know quite well.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. They are awesome people. We love them. So you went from managing the franchise to owning in a franchise.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. And from owning in the franchise. 'cause you and you talk about a different skillset. I talk about a lot is technicians have the ability to turn the wrenches and cars talk to them. Then you've gotta learn a new skill set of talking to people and you have to speak human. And then you've got a third skillset of running the business, and that's a totally different skillset.
Jimmy Lea: Did you find it easy to transition and learn each level along the way? Or was that challenging?
Bob Ward: It was challenging on two fronts. One is. I'm not the easiest guy to knock outta my comfort zone. Okay. And I think that's characteristic of a lot of people. And I went through several coaches at where I was before, and they were all great, but they all had their strengths.
Bob Ward: Okay. Yes. And they taught me to be a little more open-minded and try something different. And that's what got me, I think. Where I am today. There's still some things that I do resist, but I think that prepared me without that I wouldn't be where I am today because, you know, I was with a Midas franchisee for 20 years, and I got involved in the franchise industry.
Bob Ward: I was the International Midas dealer representative for all of Canada. Nice. And I was down in corporate meetings with Midas at the executive level. Quarterly and that's where I really flourished. I really enjoyed doing that, but had I not had the training that I received, I couldn't be able to leave my business and be away for several days.
Bob Ward: Right,
Jimmy Lea: right. Yeah.
Bob Ward: So, and then, but again, I kind of got away from the Midas, so they were great. Yes, and they still are. They're a very good organization, but I couldn't see myself going where they were going. Right, because I'm more of an independent shop owner, and even when we were a Midas franchise owner, I was operating outside the franchise agreement by doing tuneups and oil changes and things like that, that Midas was not doing.
Jimmy Lea: Right. No, that's interesting. Okay. Keep going. Well,
Bob Ward: yeah, and it is because the guys at a TI, they told me if you wanna be a successful franchisee. You have to make the people come to see you, not the brand.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, bingo. Totally agree. If you do that, you're gonna
Bob Ward: succeed. Okay. And I succeeded doing that.
Bob Ward: And we were one of only, well back then there was about 1600 Midas franchisees franchises in North America. We were one of only 10. They had the presidential award. That was given out. You had to tick off a lot of boxes with business operation, customer satisfaction, purchasing, warranty ratios, all kinds of things.
Bob Ward: We were only one of a 10 that won all three. Okay. Oh, I still got that on my wall here, and I look at it every day. Right, because that was a big thing in my mind to get that accomplished. But. I let my, at the end of my franchise, I bowed out and we started the Auto Guys. I love it.
Bob Ward: And I learned all of the stuff I learned from a TI and I learned from Midas. I transitioned when I made Auto Guys because people come here and they think we're a franchise, and when we set the company up, we made it set up so that it could be a franchise. All of that was done at the start. Right. And I had I not had that training and had a good corporate lawyer, we wouldn't have done all that stuff.
Bob Ward: Right.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, and I'm looking at your website by the way, your shop looks. Phenomenal, your team. Thank you. Looks amazing. Everyone looks like they just got finished telling a really good joke 'cause they're all laughing. They're all having a great time. What a wonderful culture you must have set up here in your shop that everybody enjoys working at your shop
Bob Ward: currently, Jimmy, it's this crew that I've got.
Bob Ward: All of the people that I've had that's come through the shop have been great people.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Bob Ward: And each one of them has had their own strengths and they've moved on, whether it's my choice or their choice. Right.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Bob Ward: And I don't begrudge any of them, but without a doubt, the current crew that I have here is absolutely the most cohesive group and best working group I've ever had.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. Yeah. Tell me who is, I'm gonna call him hair. Who is that guy? Who is, who's the hair dude's got like a mop on his head. I mean, it's, that's some glorious locks that boy's got going there. Who is that?
Bob Ward: Well,
Jimmy Lea: that could
Bob Ward: be I'm not on my website.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, let me show you.
Bob Ward: Okay,
Jimmy Lea: here we go.
Jimmy Lea: Whose hair?
Bob Ward: Oh, that's the guy on the right. That's Vish. Yeah. He's the most photogenic guy I've ever seen. 'cause you never see him not smiling? Yeah. Okay. So he got headhunted by another company and he's doing well with his other company. Oh, congratulations. So, Vish, Vish was an awesome character, right?
Jimmy Lea: Bi, his name was Bish,
Bob Ward: V-V-I-S-H, VIIs. Yep. Oh wow. He is actually, believe it or not, Jimmy, he has a degree in mechanical engineering in India. Oh my word. And when he came with me, yeah. He was an apprentice and I had him do the a SE tests for both brakes and electrical. And he passed them both.
Jimmy Lea: And he'd never worked on brakes or electrical.
Bob Ward: No, he's that smart. Right? Good
Jimmy Lea: for him
Bob Ward: that Wow. But he's moved on.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that. Congratulations. Yeah, I can, you can just, you can, in some shops, you can look and you can see, and you can feel that culture of happy and enjoyment. And we like each other and we like working together. And I can definitely see it from your website that you've set up a really great website and a really great shop.
Jimmy Lea: It looks, and I see three bay doors. Are they double deep?
Bob Ward: There's actually four bay doors and one of them is double deep. Ah, very good. I must be missing the one then. Yeah, there's the one at the front of the building and then the side of the building, there's three more. And the center bay is a double deep bay.
Bob Ward: That's the one for a long term, like for engine jobs and stuff.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, very good. Very good. So the current setup for your shop is the three bays and one that's a long term. How many technicians do you have? What's the makeup there? Service advisors. What does that look like for you?
Bob Ward: Well, I have one service manager slash advisor, Nick.
Bob Ward: I work with him out front. I'm licensed myself. Yeah. But I don't work on cars unless it's an old car that comes in or it's, the guys need a hand with something.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah,
Bob Ward: I have so there's Nick and I up front and I have four guys in the back, two ap, two apprentices, and two licensed technicians.
Bob Ward: I gotta say Jimmy, both my licensed techs were with me before and they came back to me again and they're two of the best teachers ever. The two of my apprentices are in a really good spot from learning 'cause both these other tech techs will share any of their information and guide them into doing jobs and that's, and they don't even bat an eye, they just do it.
Jimmy Lea: Brother. I love that. That is awesome. Is that Chris and Steve? Are they your texts that came back? Well, Chris is no longer with me.
Bob Ward: Okay. We're updating our website there. So it's Steve and Rob. Oh. Which is in the process of uploading their pictures and their bios.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. I love it. I love it.
Jimmy Lea: You, you, those are some of the photos you have to do professionally. Because it's on your website. It's there forever. Every other photo that you take with your cell phone, yeah. It's appropriate for social media and we can share it and all that jazz. Yeah. But I love your professional shots. It speaks volumes to what you're doing in the shop.
Jimmy Lea: That's very cool. Thank you. Yes. And thank you for building our apprentices, for those that are coming into the industry as well. Do, does, is there a path for them to follow? Have you laid out a path for them?
Bob Ward: It's all pretty much orchestrated. It's the apprentices in Canada are governed by each province.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
Bob Ward: And currently it's the Ministry of Skills and Development. Excellent. But before that, it was the Ontario College of Trades. And I got involved, I sat on the Board of Governors for the College of Trades, representing the Mode of Power division. I sat on that for two and a half years.
Jimmy Lea: Oh wow.
Bob Ward: Right. So, yes, there's a good path for them to follow. And of course, it's all digital now. Yes. But it's, well, currently I'm working with the ministry of Skills and Development because we've got an education system problem here in Canada. Okay.
Jimmy Lea: The
Bob Ward: young, the young kids that are coming through now, there's, they're starting to push or promote the trades again.
Bob Ward: And for the longest time, all of the technology courses were being dropped and it was all academics. Well, now it's swinging back to this, but the education system is not geared up. The kids now are not taking the courses they need to be in the trades. In North America and I'll speak for Canada.
Bob Ward: I can't speak for the US Jimmy, but Sure. The trades skilled trades in Europe are handled totally differently. So when these young people decide they go into high school or whatever it is over there, and they decide they want to trade, they're automatically funneled into predetermined courses.
Bob Ward: They have to take over there. They're not optional, they're mandatory.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
Bob Ward: And during their time over there, they are sent out to co-op in different locations. Now, in Canada, we have co-op here as well. Okay. What I'm finding is because the education is lacking, it's fallen right back that some of the kids that the co, the high schools are trying to send to me, I can't take them.
Bob Ward: Because they, they have had no experience working around equipment or they haven't got the training to work on the cars. And it's sad. So we're working with them to get that back up and running and get these kids geared more for, technical training. 'cause I mean, you know, when I graduated from high school and I started my apprenticeship, I had no automotive experience whatsoever.
Bob Ward: I didn't take any technical courses. I graduated from Western, I had two degrees from Western. Okay. And when I got into trade school, I was like a fish outta water. Okay. The hardest ones for me were machine shop. I knew electrical and I knew carburetors. I knew all of that stuff. And the guys that I met in trade school, I helped teach them the electrical and the carburetors, and they taught me how to do the machine shop stuff.
Bob Ward: So we got each other through the class. Right. Oh, that's good. I still have good friendships with some of those guys that I've kept in touch with over the years.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's beautiful. But it's a
Bob Ward: close knit group, Jimmy.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, it is.
Bob Ward: It's just, it's the same thing with the shop owners. We belong to several chat groups with shop owners and one of them we meet every once a Thursday a month.
Bob Ward: And it's, you can call it a bitch session if you want, but we talk about things and we, you never know where you're gonna get a nugget from.
Jimmy Lea: Right.
Bob Ward: And they come from all over the place. And it's these chat groups. These memberships that I belong to, that's where you really flourish.
Bob Ward: Yeah. Okay. And I can't say enough about shop owners. You get drawn into your shop and it takes all your time and you can't you build walls all around yourself and you've gotta stop and break down those walls and get out, and then you can educate yourself. 'cause that's the big thing with shops now, shop owners.
Bob Ward: Is all of the red tape that you've gotta go through with the government and with the local bylaws and everything and learning and keeping up, up, abreast on everything. Yeah. If you don't keep up abreast and you stop, the other shops that are doing it are gonna just storm right by you and you're just gonna be left.
Bob Ward: I call 'em lud eggs. Right. So the shops, oh, lu eggs, Lud eggs. Oh, I get you. Yes. Oh yeah. The shops that don't do anything and they just keep doing the same thing and don't progress. You're just, you're gonna find yourself in a hole and you're never gonna get out of it.
Jimmy Lea: That's so true. It's so true. And the education problem that you're talking about, Bob, that is rampant all across North America even here in the lower 48,
Bob Ward: right?
Jimmy Lea: It is just as bad as it is there in Canada. And we've gotta work to correct the ship to, right the ship. Yep. There's an available 70 to a hundred thousand positions for technicians to step into. Yeah. But this year in North America, we're only gonna have 30,000 graduate from technical schools.
Jimmy Lea: And after the first year, half of those aren't gonna still be in the business. Not to mention the 50 to 60,000 that are retiring every year too. 'cause the body just can't take it.
Bob Ward: And that in itself is a tremendous loss of knowledge and wisdom that is not being transferred over to these young kids.
Bob Ward: Truth,
Jimmy Lea: right? Truth.
Bob Ward: And the other thing that we're finding too, Jimmy, is when we do interviews. By the way, I hate doing interviews, right. I'm not good at it, but I've got a system down. But you've gotta look at the individual deeper than what their schooling is. Everything you've gotta see if they have a good mindset, if they're gonna fit into your team.
Bob Ward: Right. And they're gonna be there for the long haul. Because what I'm finding too, with some of these kids, they want the big bucks and they want the jobs right away and they can't have it. No.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, they're not qualified
Bob Ward: yet. Well, they're not qualified and they can't see it because up here, the education system, they don't fail kids or hold kids back anymore.
Bob Ward: They keep promoting them. Right? So all of a sudden the kids are coming out into the real world where they're getting into hitting a brick wall because, so those of us that are shop owners, we've built our business up and we've got certain criteria that you must meet. And if you don't meet it. Right.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, that's, and I
Bob Ward: hate to throw people to the curb.
Bob Ward: Yeah. We always try and help them and get them, and some of them have really flourished because it's amazing when you spend some time with these young kids and teach them of what they can be and how they can get there by themselves and utilizing friendships and stuff how some kids flourish and those are the keepers.
Jimmy Lea: Totally.
Bob Ward: But it's unfortunate because there's places in my town where they're constantly headhunting my techs.
Jimmy Lea: Oh
Bob Ward: yeah. Yeah, they are. Yep.
Jimmy Lea: And in fact I was talking to Tyler Nichols yesterday from extra Mile Auto Care out of where's he out of? Steelwater, Oklahoma.
Bob Ward: Okay.
Jimmy Lea: He had an interview with a technician and he's the general manager.
Jimmy Lea: Tyler's the general manager. He called Aaron the owner and said, Hey, I just interviewed a guy to be one of our techs. However, he's really gonna be a great service advisor. Can we hire him to be a service advisor? Yep. To your exact point, when you see the potential inside of people, you're hiring for that potential.
Jimmy Lea: Not just the tick on the box that says they have an education from this place. You know, what are their pastimes, what are their hobbies? What do they like to do outside of work? Is that gonna be fitting into your company and your culture?
Bob Ward: And you're absolutely right, Jimmy, because like my service manager, he was with me a while ago and he clashed with my then manager.
Bob Ward: I'll be honest I didn't know how to deal with this manager. He shouldn't have been where he was, but I was coping with him. And then when he left my service manager, Nick came back. Now Nick I got him from one of my parts suppliers. He was a Counterman. Oh, nice. And he was really good. And he's an awesome guy, but he also races super stock stock cars.
Bob Ward: Oh yeah. You have no idea the number of people that know him from that.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, yeah. And
Bob Ward: how the people from the stock car side of things,
Jimmy Lea: the community, they actually
Bob Ward: come in and talk to him. And people recognize, you know, they say, well, well, I saw you on TV and on watching you racing.
Bob Ward: Yep, that's him. Well, it's a instant bond.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. This
Bob Ward: kid knows cars.
Jimmy Lea: Right.
Bob Ward: And he can answer questions that people, nothing impresses people more than going into a place and asking car questions and getting an answer from him rather than saying, well, just a minute I'll go get somebody that knows what they're doing.
Bob Ward: Yeah. Which is what happens in dealerships.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Yeah.
Bob Ward: Okay. And I love dealerships, Jimmy, because we get more business from them. Yeah, they're your MVP, right? That's right. So, it's amazing. What people pick up too. When people come in, like my wife, she keeps on me about changing the signs out front.
Bob Ward: We, we got our a street side sign. I put jokes up every week.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Bob Ward: The number of people that comment on, oh, I see your signs. Signs all the time and everything. It's little things like that don't realize when we do put a serious sign up, it gets noticed.
Jimmy Lea: Right. Yeah. So
Bob Ward: she makes sure the shop is clean and people notice that we got a Tim Horton's franchise beside us.
Bob Ward: And it's a compliment when people come in and they say, I went over there to get a donut. I've got a Tim's card that I give 'em. I said, you're going over there. Here. I give 'em the Tim's card, buy yourself a coffee and a donut. And some of them, a lot of them come back and they say, your place is cleaner than that.
Bob Ward: Tim's next door. Okay. That's pretty good. I know. So when people notice this and they also notice what we were talking about before, how well the guys joke and kid act amongst themselves. People notice that. Right. I love
Jimmy Lea: it. Yeah.
Bob Ward: And that's the thing that's gonna set you apart from other places, is what people notice.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, for sure. Okay, so I just did a little bit of searching here to discover your sign. Is this the old school? Put the letters up. On the sign kind of sign. Yep. I hope my ship comes in before my dock rots.
Bob Ward: Well, that's a story I'll tell you about that because the, I put that up and a customer came by. She brought me a little silicone boat.
Bob Ward: Okay. Did you see that picture? Yeah. The little blue boat right next to it. Yep. Yep. So I put on the sign today, right? My ship finally came in along with donuts. Okay. And I put that out on the sign because only that person will see that and know what it means. Yes. I love it. And we get customers that come in all the time and they say, here's, this is what I found.
Bob Ward: Right. And I put their stuff up there too.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. I love the company, the culture, the look, the feel. I love what you're doing, Bob. Congratulations. Thank you, Jim. That does not happen by accident. That takes a lot of work to make it look effortless.
Bob Ward: And that's right. And we've all heard it.
Bob Ward: I mean, it's a hard thing to get something in place, but it's even harder to keep it in place. Oh, amen. It's very easy to let it slide. Right?
Jimmy Lea: Yep. Well, let's talk about what do you think are the three things holding shops back today? From being a million dollar shop?
Bob Ward: The number one thing is managing your customer base.
Bob Ward: Okay. Okay. You have to have policies and perche procedures in place for everything, but how the customer is handled when they come in, how the communication, the ongoing how they're checked in how the car's prepared. We put slip covers and seat covers and floors in all the cars before they come in and people notice that, right?
Bob Ward: So it's our attention to detail. So it's the intake process with customers. The we even design and put in our own digital inspections and they get inspections that they can actually read that the shop, the texts, fill 'em all out. Yeah, there's no tech handwriting. A hundred percent.
Bob Ward: There's no dirty finger marks on 'em or oil on 'em or anything. I love it. And the customers expect that now. So, it's the procedures that we follow when we call 'em and let them know what's wrong with their card and how much it'll cost and how that whole transaction transpires. And then the same thing when the cars come in.
Bob Ward: They come in and pick up their car. Yeah, right. Because we give them a time of completion. We call 'em and tell 'em when their car's ready so that everybody, you know, in the old days everybody used to come in at five or five 30 and you'd get slammed. Well, we don't do that anymore.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. People
Bob Ward: come out through the day and they'll pick up their car.
Bob Ward: So at the end of the day, it's quiet. We can get all our paperwork done and everything done. So how you handle the customers and the fact that you exceed your customer's expectations every time they come in, you have to do that. And it can be a wow factor from a Timmy's card. Or we give car wash coupons out from around the corner to everybody that comes in.
Bob Ward: It's little things like that they like. Or here's the thing that I put in, 'cause we're, our temperatures can be in the eighties and nineties, in the summertime, and it's very humid here. I got this old beat up fridge that I had in my upstairs lunch room for the guys. It was becoming too small, so I bought another fridge.
Bob Ward: I took that fridge downstairs and put it in the showroom, put an auto guy's label on it, and I put free cold water on it. There you go. And people come in and they just go right to the fridge. Right? Is little things like that separate you. So there's your customer management.
Jimmy Lea: I love
Bob Ward: it. Okay, so the other thing there, there were three things, right?
Bob Ward: Yes. The other thing is policies and procedures in dealing with your technicians out back, okay? You have to have rules and regulations that are followed. They have to be monitored and they have to be enforced. So I've got a very good lady that's an HR person that helps us and she keeps me on update on all the new laws and regulations and helps me keep my guys in line.
Bob Ward: And the guys actually appreciate that. They know that if there's, I mean, nobody's perfect, Jimmy, even I've done things where I've gotten in trouble with my wife or whoever, or my HR lady who gives me hell every once in a while, but it's there for a reason. It's to keep us going in the right direction.
Bob Ward: That's right. Right. So we've got, not only do we have technician and bay management, right. The other thing is equipment. If you wanna play in today's market, you've gotta take the word no outta your vocabulary,
Jimmy Lea: okay?
Bob Ward: Okay. So if you bring your car into me, Jimmy and I do everything. I do air conditioning, we do diagnostics, we do programming, everything.
Bob Ward: There's nothing we don't do. I will not give you a reason to take your car somewhere else.
Jimmy Lea: Love it. Love it. I love, there's no
Bob Ward: way, okay? Because if you do that, you can lose a customer.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
Bob Ward: And I don't wanna take that chance. So that's what we do here is you're you've got all the top end equipment.
Bob Ward: We have daily huddles with the techs before, so they know what's up for the day. And we have a monthly staff meeting where I buy the guys lunch and it's a, like a down and dirty thing. We give agendas out. The guys know what's gonna be talked on. And sometimes we ask the guys to give a little speech and talk about something like we've got a bulletin board up there where sometimes the technicians go above and beyond.
Bob Ward: They've had a very difficult dag job and we recognize it on the bulletin board and we recognize it on our monthly meeting that say, Hey, Steve had this really nasty. Diag and we leave them alone. I'm not a guy that harps these guys. If they're head deep into a diag, I leave them alone.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, yeah.
Bob Ward: I don't bug 'em.
Bob Ward: I don't tell 'em You've got 15 minutes or whatever to finish this. And those guys love it when you do that.
Jimmy Lea: That's right. You can't interrupt their thought flow and process. Nope. Let 'em have at it.
Bob Ward: Yep. But again, you keep up with the customer. You say, look, this is where Steve is in your diag. This is where he is.
Bob Ward: He's finally got an area that he's go, he knows he is gonna go in this direction. It's costing you this much so far, and this is what we're projecting. And if you keep the customer in the loop with that they're more aware of it. So you're not giving him a heart attack at the end.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
Jimmy Lea: And the
Bob Ward: technician's happy. Ultimately, the customer's happy because their car's fixed. Okay. It may not be cheap, but I'm not the cheapest shop in town and I don't wanna entertain that.
Jimmy Lea: No, that's right. We're here to fix it.
Bob Ward: Right. We know this is one thing that a shop owner has to know. You've gotta know your breakeven point, your minimum sales target to make Your expenses.
Bob Ward: Yeah. If you know that,
Jimmy Lea: then you can build from that. Amen. If you know what it takes to break that nut. And the challenge is, can I break it by the 20th of the month? The 15th of the month? The 12th of the month. How is it? The 18th of the month? Is it the 31st of the month? Yep. That's a challenge. We got things to talk about.
Jimmy Lea: The sooner you can break that number to know that you've got everything covered, the better it is for your shop. I love that. Thank you, Ben. And,
Bob Ward: And you know, I've been to some. Some places where the shop owners haven't got a clue Yes. What's going on? You know, and I feel sorry for them, but there again, you can't, you can tee a horse knows how to drink, right?
Bob Ward: You gotta lead them to where they drink, what trough to drink from, right? That's the part that you can't do. And some of us have found troughs to drink in multiple troughs. 'cause you can't just stick with one. You've gotta go in through a bunch. Right. But it's the shops that find those and can get pulled themselves out because in, in town here in it is Heyday.
Bob Ward: There were probably, we're in a town of about 40,000 now. There were 35 shops in, in our town Independence and franchises and stuff, which was crazy. Now there's 20.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Bob Ward: It doesn't take long for these shops to fall off and go bankrupt because they can't keep up.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, and so to your third point, your first point is manage your customer base.
Jimmy Lea: Manage your customer's experience. I love that. Number two is your policies, procedures, working with your technicians and making sure that they're on top of their game. What is your third element that says if shop owners can do this, they'll. Break that $1 million per year sales.
Bob Ward: Okay there's two answers to that one.
Bob Ward: Okay. One is doing thorough vehicle inspections and the, that then it's passed on to the service manager. The service advisor, how to sell that stuff, how to sell it right away or project it into the future. For your next visit, Jimmy, we're gonna be servicing your transmission and your breaks. The visit after that.
Bob Ward: We're gonna be, we're gonna be doing something else, right? So, you know, ahead of time, everybody works on budgets. So if you can tell people your next visit's gonna cost this much, right? They can strive to that and it's an easier sell. So that's the first thing is doing thorough inspections. Now, the caveat from that is you can do an inspection, but you've also gotta sell that work.
Bob Ward: So what I'm looking for on invoices is I'm looking for. At least two and a half hours of build time on each invoice. Minimum for other categories Yes. Than what it came in for. Agreed. A hundred percent. Okay. Love
Jimmy Lea: it.
Bob Ward: Keep
Jimmy Lea: going.
Bob Ward: Then you know that you're working towards your goal of seeing the people more often, right?
Bob Ward: That's the thing where customers are our customer. They're not a number. That's right. And when, and here's something else I keep thinking about. If customers come in, if you go to a, we've all got our favorite restaurants, Jimmy. Yep. If you go into that restaurant and you see the same servers all the time, that says a lot about that restaurant.
Bob Ward: Same thing in our business. If you see the same guys out back and you see the same service advisor, right? That says a lot.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. I love it. We have a favorite restaurant that we go to. It's called the High Red. It's a sushi bar. And when we walk in, they know Playboy role, executive role. It's on the way.
Jimmy Lea: There you go.
Bob Ward: Yep. And that says a lot. So, yeah. And the other thing is you've gotta give your techs the equipment to do their job. Yes. I do not expect my techs to buy these specialty tools. We buy them all the time. Nice. And that they bring it up at the meeting or they bring it up at a huddle and say, look, you know, we got a particular job we're doing on a, we have a lot of German cars that come in here now.
Jimmy Lea: Yes.
Bob Ward: And you know the timing belt jobs, you need those special kits for the timing chains and timing belts. Yes. We got them. We get them ahead of time so that when the car comes in, the techs know they've got everything at their disposal to do the job properly.
Jimmy Lea: Good. Right.
Bob Ward: And that's where you've gotta, if you wanna play now you gotta pay.
Bob Ward: That's my model. Right. So if you give the techs what they need to do their job, they're gonna be happy.
Jimmy Lea: Totally agree. Totally agree. So I love your third point here is not only are you doing, and we would call this the 300% rule on your inspections, right? Every car gets inspected, every need, every red or yellow has a picture, and it goes to the service advisor.
Jimmy Lea: Estimates every needed repair. So number one you document every needed repair. Number two you estimate every repair. And number three, you show the full inspection, the full estimate to the customer. Right. And very easily you'll have two to three, to four to five to six hours over what they brought it in for.
Jimmy Lea: Because there are safety issues on every vehicle that is not being taken care of. Until a shop like yours, Bob steps in and says, these are the things we need to do to keep you safe on the road. So thank you and props to you for doing that. So thorough, DVI. And then the final is tools, scanners, probes.
Jimmy Lea: You've got all of them. Everything. You've got everything. So are you, do you focus, are you all makes and all models or do you focus on European or domestic or Asian, or are you truly open to all.
Bob Ward: All models,
Jimmy Lea: Jimmy. Woohoo.
Bob Ward: Yep. Even light duty diesels we work on, there's a lot more of them now. Yeah, that's true.
Bob Ward: Yep. But there's not a lot that we don't actually, you'll see one time we were goofing around in the shop and I had a lawnmower shop lawnmower. I put it up on the hoist and I had two guys, one with a scanner and one working underneath it. On a creeper say, we work on everything here. Oh, that's hilarious.
Bob Ward: And that got a whack of likes on Facebook when I posted that. Right. Oh, that's awesome. But and every shop has we have a huge following of mini people. Yes. Many. Yep. Yep. And they love to hear that you've got texts that work on minis or a particular car. 'cause everybody's got their favorite cars, but sure, sure.
Bob Ward: You know, if we can work on them all and we have the proper lubricants. To work on them all and maintain the warranties for people's cars, right? Yes. Yes. And that is credibility for the shop.
Jimmy Lea: I love that. And I'll say this too, Bob, not only do I want to know as a consumer, not only do I want to know that you can work on my mini, I want to know that your technician likes working on minis and they enjoy it and they're good at it, and they excel at it.
Jimmy Lea: Because if I bring my mini into you, I don't want to be the first guy that you're fixing. I want to be the 12th in line or the 13th in line because you fixed it 12 times already this year. This is just another day on the week. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, I love it. That is very cool
Bob Ward: because you know, in, in dealerships, and they still do this, they still tell the people, when you buy a car, you've gotta get it serviced with us, and they don't.
Bob Ward: Right. Once you talk to people about that, I look at the oil change stickers that are in there. Now, here's a little nugget I'm gonna give you. Okay. I'm taking notes. Go ahead. When I see a carve with a competitor's oil change sticker on the windshield, I take it off, I go into my label printer and I print one up with the exact mileage that was on that one and the due date, and I put my sticker on the windshield.
Bob Ward: When your car's next for service, you look up there and go Auto guys. Okay. I'll phone them. 'cause my number's on Love it. You can steal a lot of people away just by doing that. Oh, interesting. Okay. But again, if you see the oil chain search I absolutely detest fast lube places.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah,
Bob Ward: the quick
Jimmy Lea: lubes.
Bob Ward: Fast lube. Yes. And we'll tell people that we can, we do it cheaper. We've got licensed techs, we sell ourselves and I can take a lot of people away from these quick lube places simply by looking at the oil change sticker that's there. You've gotta look at all your resources and say, where can I get new business from?
Bob Ward: If an oil change sticker's one of them, and you get one customer from that, your job's done.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. Can I tit for tap for you on that as well? Yeah. So right along with your lube oil sticker. What if you put a sticker on the oil filter? If you're a technician looking for a really great place to work, gimme a call.
Jimmy Lea: Awesome. They're gonna call, I'm writing that down. Right on. I love exchanging really good ideas and marketing concepts. Yeah. We know technicians are. Difficult to find these days, and if you can find a good one by putting a sticker on an oil filter and it goes into another bay and another shop and another dealership somewhere down the road.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. It would be great for them to come back and talk to you. I love it. I love it. I love it. You gave me a nugget. There you go. There's the nugget. So Bob, if you were to have a magic wand and you could change anything in this industry, now of course you can't wish for more wishes, but if you could change anything in the industry, what would you alter?
Bob Ward: I would alter the education system for upcoming. Youth. That's the big thing that I would change to not make it shameful to be in a trade. I love it. That's the one thing I would change. Love it. And we're in the process of working on this.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. Yeah, that's a big wand. And you are in the trenches, you are working on that big time.
Jimmy Lea: Have you ever watched Mike Rowe and his sweat pledge? Oh yeah. Here in the United States? Yeah.
Bob Ward: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh man. He is all over the trades and the trades industry and specifically in the automotive world, he has very specific automotive things that he does for. Technicians and technician training and schooling to really help this industry move forward.
Jimmy Lea: So I applaud you. And I applied Mike Rowe as well. I think that you guys are phenomenal human beings. Thank you. You're welcome. Yeah. Thank you for your wand as well. So what does the what does the future hold for you, Bob? What's next?
Bob Ward: Well, I'm at the point where I'm still gonna start to take some, a little bit more time off here and there.
Bob Ward: Right. Okay. And enjoy things because I built a very good working relationship with my service manager, Nick. Right. And actually we're having a an after hours meeting tomorrow night, and we're gonna make a bunch of policy changes in the shop.
Jimmy Lea: Okay.
Bob Ward: And it's through these meetings that you can keep him A, his input, right, and B, his ideas.
Bob Ward: Where we, you never know where we're gonna go, right? It's more than just raising prices or whatever. It's changing policies and things. And that's the thing that I think we need to focus on is your relationship with your key staff. Okay.
Jimmy Lea: Love it. I love public on that and 'cause
Bob Ward: ideally I can't be in this forever and with all of the online stuff, like I'd be kinda lost without Nick.
Bob Ward: Nick knows the online stuff, but he doesn't know the stuff that I've got up in my head. That's right. And it's my job to share with him that stuff and then he shares the other stuff with me. Right. And helps me along. 'cause I wouldn't be as far along computer wise had it not be for people like Nick.
Jimmy Lea: I love it.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. The two halves make a whole for sure. That's right. That's beautiful. So is Nick on the list? Is he possibly one of your succession plan? Do you Absolutely. You're looking at a key employee situation here. Have you started that process or is it in the beta?
Bob Ward: Well, no, we've started the process.
Bob Ward: It's in the beta, but it's in the late beta stages. And that's one of the things that we're gonna talk about tomorrow night in my meeting with him. Right.
Jimmy Lea: Beautiful. Congratulations. That's awesome. That's awesome that you've got a succession plan and then it becomes the onus comes onto Nick.
Jimmy Lea: Now, Nick, what do you wanna do? Yep. Do you want to optimize a single location? Do you want to really reach out because you've set him up with a beautiful floor plan that he could become a multiple shop operator and have that look and feel of a. Mega shop. You bet. Yeah. That's beautiful. Well, congratulations, Bob.
Jimmy Lea: Thank you very much for your time today. I really appreciate it.
Bob Ward: My pleasure, Jimmy. Anytime.
Jimmy Lea: All right, brother. Thank you. Well, you're welcome.

155 - Lawn Mowers to Leadership: 40 Years of Lessons at R&N Motor Company

155 - Lawn Mowers to Leadership: 40 Years of Lessons at R&N Motor Company
October 10, 2025 - 00:46:45
 
Show Summary:
This episode dives into the story of Robert Crawford, owner of R & N Motor Company in Sanford, North Carolina, who’s been turning wrenches and building relationships since 1984. Robert shares how he went from rebuilding lawnmowers as a kid to running a thriving eight-bay shop with his son at the counter and his wife managing the books. He and host Jimmy Lea discuss what it means to grow from technician to owner, how to measure success beyond sales, and the importance of creating a culture where people want to stay. From lessons learned through failed ventures to his philosophy on mentorship, training, and preparing for retirement, Robert’s story is a blueprint for longevity in the automotive business.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Robert Crawford, Shop Manager of R&N Motor Company
 
Show Highlights:
[00:05:12] - Jimmy and Robert laugh about shop locations, customer parking, and the realities of Google Street View.[00:09:18] - Robert’s early start: rebuilding lawnmowers in middle school and landing his first shop job in 1984.[00:10:44] - How Robert bought the business through sweat equity and kept his mentor’s legacy alive.[00:13:16] - The slow, guided transition from tech to owner—and “What would Mr. Peewee do?” leadership.[00:18:13] - Tracking gross profit per hour as the shop’s key performance indicator.[00:21:05] - Why Robert switched to Tekmetric and added Detect Auto to improve maintenance opportunities.[00:28:05] - Future plans: retiring with his wife, passing the business to his son, and avoiding rental pitfalls.[00:34:54] - The costly exhaust franchise mistake that taught him to always research before investing.[00:38:04] - His wish for the industry: faster growth in trades education and more hands-on apprenticeships.
 
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.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
JImmy Lea: Hello friend, this is Jimmy Lee with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence and this you are listening to is the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is Robert, and Robert is the owner of R and N Auto out of North Carolina. Is that right? Robert r and n Motor Company? Yes, sir. R and m Motor Company.
JImmy Lea: That's awesome. And we were just in North Carolina at the Asta Trade Show. Were you at Asta? Yes, sir. We brought our whole crew. Oh, that's awesome. I can't believe I missed you there.
Robert Crawford: Yeah.
JImmy Lea: How was that? Oh, the whole crew. The whole crew. That's awesome. What did they think of the conference? The training?
Robert Crawford: They always enjoy it. Sometimes the training can get a little bit below you when you're there participating in the class, but, you know, I understand the training has to be a broad range for different people, so it's gonna be that way. Yep. Well, and you know, if.
JImmy Lea: If you're a tech and you're sitting in a basic breaks class, but you're a master tech, go find another class.
Robert Crawford: Well, I can give an example. Yeah, gimme an example. They did that actually. They were in an ADOS class and we have a brand new ados mobile unit. I think it's the IW 700, and the instructor brings out a plumb bob and a string. We don't use that. We've got the lasers on the machine and all that. So we, they were like, really?
Robert Crawford: So, and that was the things that they mentioned to me. But overall, you're always gonna glean something out of a class no matter what it is.
JImmy Lea: I agree. Especially if you're looking for that nugget. If you're looking for that one bit of information that makes all the difference. And you know, even though we have the lasers and that sort of thing.
JImmy Lea: Understanding the origins of, Hey, look guys, if your lasers get messed up for a minute, you can use this plumb bob to really dial it in. Make sure you're right.
Robert Crawford: Right. But you know, all the techs got, they all want the bells and whistles. They don't really want the down to earth back in the day stuff, you know?
Robert Crawford: Yeah. Right.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Well, and it's true. I mean, so for those texts that, that are on the cutting edge. They want all the bells and whistles. They want the latest, greatest, the new color scheme. You know that's all great and everything, but if you understand where it's come from, it's gonna help you that much better to be a better technician.
Robert Crawford: Right. One of our new, this is his first time going with us and he really liked it. He took a lot of the basic classes and he enjoyed himself.
JImmy Lea: Good. Good. So he signed up to go next year? Yes, sir. Good Lord. Willing. Yeah. Good Lord will. Hey. And you know, we're in the same location next year. Yeah. That, what'd you think of that conference center?
Robert Crawford: I'm gonna tell you, at first I was a little the drive there was a little stressful, but once I got in the parking deck after the lady up there drove me crazy, I thought the facility was fantastic. We were right across the street in a hotel. We walked, never got in the car until I had to leave. And the facility the Civic center was great.
Robert Crawford: I spent about a hundred, yeah. Coffee shop. But yeah,
JImmy Lea: it was a good facility. Yeah, that was a good facility. I loved that. I thought the convention center itself was big and it provided us a room for everything we wanted to do. The thing that got me was, yeah, there was a bit of walking involved.
JImmy Lea: There was a lot of up and down and escalators and I'm sure we were on three different floor. Three, four. Yeah. We had four floors. Wow, I missed out on that top floor. So the top floor was the ballrooms. That's where all the meals was.
Robert Crawford: Right.
JImmy Lea: The main floor registration had four or six classrooms around the corner.
JImmy Lea: The set, the third floor down had six classrooms down that hallway, and then the basement was where the vendors were, where the trade show was. I call it the basement. It's probably the first floor.
Robert Crawford: Yeah, well it was neat 'cause I came down the escalator with my co with my phone, was taking a video going down the escalator overlooking the show.
Robert Crawford: It was pretty impressive.
JImmy Lea: Yes I did, I thoroughly enjoyed that location and we have the ability of expanding out through two more spaces the exact same size as that, so we can grow this conference quite a bit. I'm super excited for it. I
Robert Crawford: don't know. I kind of like having the tattoo people next door.
Robert Crawford: 'cause that was very
JImmy Lea: interesting. Well, it was, did you notice on the first day we were all intermingled and then by the second day it was like, all right, you guys use these doors and you guys use these doors. I was like wait.
Robert Crawford: And
JImmy Lea: so mingled, these are our people.
Robert Crawford: Yeah. They did a good job of like keeping the two trades apart, so that was good.
JImmy Lea: Not bad. A little bit better than the experience I had in Minneapolis, Minnesota when we showed up and it was at the exact same time we had the Ratchet and Wrench conference and it was the furry migration.
Robert Crawford: Oh yeah.
JImmy Lea: Oh yeah, that's right. Enough said about that. That's different podcast for a different time, and we haven't had enough adult beverages to talk about that one yet.
JImmy Lea: So let's talk about Robert. You own a phenomenal shop. You 299, 5 star reviews on Carfax 648 reviews on Google. You've got a 4.9 rating. You're just really killing it. You're doing really well. How in the world does your shop being that close to the freeway, how do people get in that front door?
JImmy Lea: And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to search it online because this boy's front door, he must have barely a shoulder for people to walk down. At least that's what it looks like. Robert, tell me about it.
Robert Crawford: It's actually not as bad as it sounds on from you. It's if you go to 4 21 through downtown Sanford, it is a four lane highway, but it's 35 miles an hour there.
Robert Crawford: We're on a turnoff off that, the second building off of that, and it's really a two lane road. It just has wide lanes and it's slow traffic through there. So we're just a rock throw from the main high, which is actually a good thing.
JImmy Lea: Yeah, that is a good thing, being so close to the freeway, that's nice.
JImmy Lea: That's really nice. Do you have a lot of people that pull in the gates and park and then walk on the inside gates? 'cause I noticed there's a door on the inside of the gate as well as the outside.
Robert Crawford: We try to keep, we have yellow signs of, you know, signs for people who wanna obey signs. I don't really want people pulling in the gate because we're backing out of the building parts.
Robert Crawford: People are there. And we've had a couple of almost collisions there before. We actually had one customer hit another car while they pulled their car in. So we tell people, please park in front of the building. So between us and our building, between our front door and the street, there's enough room for two rows of cars and there's a sidewalk there.
Robert Crawford: So we want them to go there. Park
JImmy Lea: in front. Oh dude. Okay. Then I'm totally misled by the pictures I saw. It looks like your front door is. It's right on the shoulder of the freeway. Google Me man. Google me. I did. That's the way I was looking. I was looking at your Facebook page. That's what I was looking at.
JImmy Lea: So yeah, I'll have to go on Google Street so I can see. So you two cars, two rows, and then you got a sidewalk and then the freeway. So you, yeah, you got plenty of room. You wanna see somebody who is right on the freeway, go to Performance place in South Jordan, Utah. Tracy Holt owns that shop. He is.
JImmy Lea: Quite literally on the freeway. On the freeway I think there's, there is a sidewalk and there's a little strip of grass, but it's only like a two foot wide strip of grass. You're your one sneezed away from getting hit if you're standing on that sidewalk. It used to be that they had a bunch of room, went back when they built it, but then eminent domain, they could just kept taking land.
JImmy Lea: Now it's almost to the front door, like it, it wouldn't even pass code today. That's another story. I love your shop. I love what you're doing. I love that you're in North Carolina. I'm glad you were at Asta. That is a heck of a show. Can't wait to see you again there next year. And you're right.
JImmy Lea: Having the motel or the hotel Marriott down the street or across the street and the, there were like six different hotels that were super close, made it super easy and convenient for everything.
Robert Crawford: And last year when we went, we had to drive. And when you've gone to the party room and you've gone to the go-karts and you're a little bit.
Robert Crawford: You've had your extra limit of two beers, you don't really need to be driving around. So that just makes it nice. I don't have to worry about my guys.
JImmy Lea: Bingo. Yeah. How far is home to the show in Raleigh?
Robert Crawford: If you are in Raleigh and you take number one south, we're about 45, 50 miles, right off number one.
Robert Crawford: That freeway you keep talking about intersects with number one, two miles down the road. So we're, it's a, oh, I love it For us and honestly we yeah. For the show and come home at night. It was a late night. Sure. We come home and get up the next morning.
JImmy Lea: Right. But thank you for getting the hotel rooms that makes everybody this decisions are cleaner, easier.
JImmy Lea: We can all stay right there. That's awesome. So Robert, let's go back in time. How did you get involved in the automotive repair?
Robert Crawford: I've always been kind of mechanically inclined. I even in middle school, I would actually rebuild lawnmower engines for my neighbors and I asked mom, did you really to come and finish this engine?
Robert Crawford: She says, as long as you get good grades, that'd be fine. So I'd skip school and finish rebuilding the engines on lawnmowers for friends and neighbors and people like that. I've always done that. I had bicycles and riding mowers and when my stepfather had a garage, you know, in school they ask you, what do you wanna be when you grow up?
Robert Crawford: I wanted the gas pumps outside in a two bay garage since I was in the eighth grade. You know, that was my dream. So it worked out great. I've been very blessed. But to go back to what you're asking me. The boss of RNA Motors, John p Rosser, his son and me went to school from the fourth grade on. So when he was in high school, he was asking him, do you know anybody who can bring in and train?
Robert Crawford: So in 11th and 12th grade, I took automotive tech one and two and he brought me in. So right outta high school June of 1984, that's been a long time ago. We sat on his back porch and he interviewed me next to his pool and he wanted someone that can come in and he could train. So I've been there ever since.
Robert Crawford: Now. Me and my wife had been running the business for them up until 2014 where he passed away. Loved him like a daddy, but we all know things are gonna happen, and we literally bought the business with sweat equity. We didn't buy the business. We ran it for a long time While they were there, we paid them a check to stay home and travel around in their motor home.
Robert Crawford: Ran it like it was ours. I tell people it was like living with a woman for 10 years and then you get married, you put the marriage certificate in the file cabinet, and you're still the same way. That's what it was to me in 2014 when the paperwork was signed. Me and my wife had been running it for 15 years anyway, so it was just a, an official deal and now we're going there.
JImmy Lea: So I've been Robert, congratulations. Thank you. 1984. Brother. That's a long time. 40 plus years you've been running this show. Most people can pay
Robert Crawford: for their house with their W twos, but I've only had one.
JImmy Lea: Oh, that's hilarious, Robert. Oh, that's so true. That's so true. And what about your friend that you went to high school with whose daddy did own the shop? Where's he at? What's he doing?
Robert Crawford: He's actually had some health issues and he's at home now because he really can't work well. And his mother, who was like, I think she's like 96, he kind of helps take care of her.
Robert Crawford: Whoa. Yeah, she's still got a great mind. She's still sharp as attack. Of course, Mr. Officer passed away in 2014. Yes, and I love like a mom and I call her mama.
JImmy Lea: Oh, that's great. That's great. I've been there for so long.
Robert Crawford: She's like, like family to me,
JImmy Lea: you know? Oh yeah, of course. Well, there's the family you're born to and there's a family you choose and these family, that becomes part of your choice.
JImmy Lea: Isn't that nice? Oh, it really is. It really is. That's what like the shops say, oh, we treat you like family. All right, hold on. Time out. Is that the family you like or the family you tolerate?
Robert Crawford: It's like talking to a technician. What would you do if it was your car? We know what the technician would do.
Robert Crawford: Bubble gum
JImmy Lea: and bailing. Wire. I just get yeah. That's right. Oh, that's funny. So, so did your buddy, did you and your buddy work together in the shop for a while or did he go a different route?
Robert Crawford: We did. In 1984, when I started there, me and him worked there for like six, eight years. But then he wanted to do something different, so he became a volunteer fireman and then a truck driver.
Robert Crawford: It was never really in his makeup to run the business, and it was pretty evident. And now we're still friends. Matter of fact, he brought his mom by the shop the other day, so everything's cool there. But it's, he, it wasn't, that's great. Not everybody can do this.
JImmy Lea: Oh, Robert. No, that's so true. So what was one of the biggest challenges you faced going from turning a wrench to being a manager, going from a manager to being an owner?
JImmy Lea: What does that transition look like for you, Robert?
Robert Crawford: I would say that it really was beneficial for the man I worked for, because he led me through that process. I was rebuilding transmissions next to him and when customers would come in. There was people that wanted to talk to Peewee, and there was people that would come in and I'd go talk to them.
Robert Crawford: So as he phased outta working there and riding around in the motor home, I gently took over the everyday operations. In 20 2002, his wife said, Peewee, I'm going to the house. She was retiring, so that was when my wife came in and started running the office, and then we started doing computers and all that stuff.
Robert Crawford: So it was a slow transition, but it was a good transition. I always had my backup plan. You know, some people have that. What would Jesus do? Bracelet I had, what would Mr. Peewee do? What would boss my Rosser do if he was here? And I just kind of went through problems like that. What would Rosser do in this situation?
Robert Crawford: Because I'd been with him at that time, 20 years. So I just kind of did what I thought he would do. And eventually I didn't ask that anymore. I just did it.
JImmy Lea: And then it became what would Robert do?
Robert Crawford: Yeah. And now I'm hoping my son Ryan says, what would dad do?
JImmy Lea: Is your boy in the business?
Robert Crawford: Yeah. You saw him at the A STA con the con the conference there.
JImmy Lea: Oh, that's awesome.
Robert Crawford: My son Ryan runs the counter for us. He's the service advisor, so he's the primary and I'm kind of the floating back and forth. Sometimes I get a part, sometimes I'm helping outside. Sometimes I do some shop stuff. Had a 67 Torino gt and honestly, the new technicians don't know the old stuff, so they call me the old guy and I work on some of the old stuff, so I bu that motor, that was kind of fun.
JImmy Lea: Oh, I'll bet that was fun. Especially a Grand Torino. Holy smokes. That's a beautiful car. So much fun. Well, I'm glad your son's in the business. Now the legacy lives on right back to Mr. Peewee is r and n. So I thought RNN was Robert and your wife.
Robert Crawford: I tease people and say, it's Robert and no other than Cher, but it was r and n and it, and if you look on our website, we've got a little bio there.
Robert Crawford: It was John Rosser. And Caldwell Norris, they worked back in the fifties at the Ford dealership, so that when they left the dealership and started their own, Ross also liked working on cars. Norris liked work, liked selling cars, and it was a used car dealer way back in the day. And eventually he bought his partner out and we just got to working on cars only.
Robert Crawford: So I don't want sell used cars. God bless everybody who does.
JImmy Lea: Oh yeah, my uncle did it in Vegas. I think he turned 19, 20 cars a month. He had a very small lot buy here, pay here type of deal.
Robert Crawford: Yeah,
JImmy Lea: I think he repossessed 80% of the cars that he sold.
Robert Crawford: Yeah. That's a whole nother business in my opinion.
Robert Crawford: It's hard to mix those
JImmy Lea: two. Oh, it's, it is very hard to mix those two. I totally agree. And the repair business that you've been in is phenomenal. It's awesome. I applaud you for going from a master tech into the management, from management into ownership. How, what do, what is what, how, what do you do to pull yourself out of the mix of working in the business?
JImmy Lea: Now you are working on the Grand Torino and so you're the old guy. You're the only one that could work on these cars. Some of 'em. Some of 'em, yeah. What do you do to be able to pull yourself out to work on the business? Not in the business.
Robert Crawford: I just wish hats right. We all wear a lot of hats. It's really just an easy transmission for me.
Robert Crawford: For me to walk out the service counter and go out there and advise someone on how to fix something, it just, you know, you do what you do. Yeah, just like, it's like my wife being at the shop and working in the office and then coming home and cooking supper. It is just what we do. It's really not right.
Robert Crawford: It's not a challenge for me. Matter of fact, it's probably more of a challenge for me to be the owner because I don't like numbers. I didn't like doing school math and I don't like doing it now. It's kinda like in our church group when they have you do a small group and they give you homework.
Robert Crawford: I don't wanna do homework anymore, but there is a lot of that, you know? So you have to deal with that. She's great with the books. She does the office and I do the work in the shop and deal with that stuff, and she pays the bills at work and I pay the bills at home. So we split it up that way. But it's just, oh, there you go.
Robert Crawford: That's all occurrence. To go from one job to the other.
JImmy Lea: I love it. I love it. And you know, Robert when those numbers become dollars and dollars become ability to buy and it gives you those freedom and those choices, the numbers become a little bit more fun than right. One plus one equals two.
JImmy Lea: Yeah I completely agree. Algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonomic it's all. Relative once that number now is a dollar and a dollar in your bank and a soldier working for you, it becomes much more fun to work them numbers.
Robert Crawford: Right.
JImmy Lea: So do you say your wife does all the books, she does the numbers for the shop.
JImmy Lea: Do you keep your pulse on that? You know what's happening?
Robert Crawford: Yeah. We, me and my son both do a lot of the legwork, like she does QuickBooks, so you know, everything. Nowadays we use tech metric, it all goes through the software. It's all love it, it all gets popped into QuickBooks, so she handles that part of it.
Robert Crawford: But there's a lot that we do at the service desk, making sure our GP per hour is right, making sure our gross profits right. You know, all those numbers are important and although I don't like them it's part of it. It's what you've gotta do.
JImmy Lea: Yeah.
Robert Crawford: We had Rick White as a coach for quite a while, and he gave us a lot of good tools, good Excel spreadsheets.
Robert Crawford: Oh, that's a spooky word. Excel spreadsheets. But it's a tool. It helps us do what we gotta do. You can work all day long, but if you don't make a dollar, well good. Is it? So you've gotta have those numbers in place.
JImmy Lea: Yeah, so true. So what's one of those key performance indicators for you in your mind that really dials in, that you are profitable, functioning, efficient?
JImmy Lea: What is one of those KPIs for you, Robert, that you look at as that indicator?
Robert Crawford: To me, gross profit hours is the important one. That's the one that I look at the most because if you look at, you can have your atec doing an oil change. If you're not making any money of that, your gross profit hours is like 60, 60, $70 there.
Robert Crawford: If you have your ctech who's doing the sweeping up a little bit, doing some things here, you're teaching him the business you're doing, walking 'em through some brake jobs. He does oil change. You're making some money on your oil changes, and the way we buy our oil in bulk, we have a pro program with Valvoline where we're buying product at a really good price so we can afford to mark it up and actually make some money.
Robert Crawford: We're making money off oil changes, but. Again, it's all about the gross profit per hour to me.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Gross profit dollars per hour. That's phenomenal. That's what we keep
Robert Crawford: our, that's the pulse we keep our finger on. There's a lot of other numbers out there. Car counts and an average ro, but you know, you take average ro, that means nothing.
Robert Crawford: If you do 20 oil changes and then you do five engines, it means nothing. You got tickets that are seven, six grand. You got tickets that are. $90. It's all about the mix of things. At the end of the day, you wanna make sure you're making a net profit, right? That's what, that's everybody's favorite number of the net.
JImmy Lea: Yes, that's exactly it. So after your gross do gross dollars per hour, how much do we take home? And I understand why you're looking at the gross profit per hour, on the daily, on the hourly, the net. You gotta control the expenses. You gotta control, and that's not something you need to look at hourly.
JImmy Lea: That's something that you look at and say, wait a second, why are we spending so much here? Why are we spending so much here? We can cut back. We can, we don't need this software, we don't need this power tool. We don't need this subscription.
Robert Crawford: And that's a good plug for tech metric because we switched over from the other program we had vein program and three other sister programs.
Robert Crawford: And although Tetric might not be the most beautiful DBI out there, it's a DBI, it gets the job done. And. To me, when you give customers paperwork, it's kinda like the church bulletin. Nobody reads that thing. They're all asking the preacher, when are we gonna do this? Did you read the church bulletin? Well, you give, it's all the bullet.
Robert Crawford: Your customers, you give them all these dvs and all these beautiful colors, they don't even look at the thing. They still come back and say, you know, what do we need to do next? So, yeah, you gotta have something to hand out, something to back up what you're showing them. But it's all about, you know. The Tech Metric program does everything we needed to do.
Robert Crawford: Now, we did add another program just this week, it's called Detect Auto. The maintenance work that people let go is astronomical, and that's what I really want to do away with. I want at least give the customer the opportunity to say, your transition hasn't been servicing 150,000 miles. If you want it to live, we really need to do something with that.
Robert Crawford: The Detect auto program that we just implemented is taking care of that part. Now we can at least offer it. It's all about,
JImmy Lea: yes,
Robert Crawford: about you don't wanna do 750 oil units in the week. You want to have car count, but you wanna maximize what's going on with those cars. You have, not just staying busy, but staying productive.
Robert Crawford: GP per hour equals net profit.
JImmy Lea: Yes. Yes. And in fact, that's one of the. The key award ceremony that we do with the institute is we put out the awards based on the net profit. It's not about how much you sold, it's about how much did you take home, how much did you put in the bank. So we have a hundred thousand dollars club, a $200,000, $300,000 club.
JImmy Lea: We even have one person in our $1 million net profit club. God
Robert Crawford: bless
JImmy Lea: him.
Robert Crawford: Right. It this hard to blue. That's hard to do. Yeah. You could have the most efficient work structure in the shop, and then when it goes to QuickBooks, we're paying our employee a hundred percent of the Blue Cross Blue Shield. That's a big wp, not a lot of places to do that.
Robert Crawford: Then we're doing 401k and then we're doing vacation times, so we're supplying uniforms. There's a lot of overhead and you really gotta trim that fat to keep those numbers down so you can have something. And then when you do have the net profit, what are you doing with that? Are you taking it home and buying a beach house and everybody hates you for it?
Robert Crawford: Or are you investing the back of the business? There are certain things that happen at the shop that are cash things and you know, you try to take care of your employees, so you always wanna share the wealth with them because they're how you got it. You can't do it without them. Yeah.
JImmy Lea: Oh, it's so true.
JImmy Lea: So, and that goes to the training that you're doing, taking everybody to asta, the hotels, the food, the travel, the. The training that's there and paying for all the expenses that go along with it, it's gotta be worked into your business model. And so ultimately, who's paying for it? The client, the customer and why are they paying for it?
JImmy Lea: Why are they happy to pay for it? Because they know that by them bringing their car to you, they're getting the best. They're getting the best service. They're getting the best knowledge. They're getting the best repairs because they know that you are the one that's out there getting trained. You're not just sitting back only fixing The Grand Torino's.
Robert Crawford: Right.
JImmy Lea: Oh, that's good. Congrats. So you've been at this one location since 84. How many bays, how many techs, what's the footprint look like today?
Robert Crawford: We have eight bays that have lifts. One of those is a 16,000 pound scissor lift for the alignment rack. We have another one of those eight bays that has an 18,000 pound bend pack.
Robert Crawford: So we get box trucks coming in from our airer guys. We can raise line up to take care of 'em. We have another two bays that we can pull cars in that can be on the ground. There's not a lift there. Technician wise, we have two ATECs. We have a new guy that's bringing on board, I'm gonna call him a c and a half really great guy.
Robert Crawford: Has a good attitude, good worth ethic. He just hasn't got the experience. He's actually right out of the Marine Corps, which is great. He's a good guy and he has structure. Yeah. And he really is, he's gonna go somewhere in this business. So that's what it looks like. And of course we've got the waiting area and bathrooms and all that stuff, but we've got enough parking lot to fit 25 cars.
Robert Crawford: So. What's really unique about our place is when the wreckers come in, we have them back, the cars up the hill, and then one nick mechanic gets in, it pops in a neutral and rolls it right in the vein. I don't have to push anything, so that's always, that's worked out really well for us.
JImmy Lea: Oh, Robert, that's great that's such a great way of doing it.
JImmy Lea: That's perfect, man. I'm too old to be pushing cars, man. Oh, amen, brother. Oh, so three techs, eight, nine Bays. Eight bays with lifts. Yes. Eight bays with lifts. Oh man, that's great. And 25 cars. So that's just in the parking lot. 25 cars. That doesn't mean what you can fit inside the building too. Right.
Robert Crawford: Well, we can park, we have 25 parking spaces out in the parking lot.
Robert Crawford: And I know that, 'cause Elia told me that's what I could do out there. So that's what we did. Inside of course, you know, it's like nowadays you gotta be careful of the neighborhood. You know, people will break into stuff and tear things up. So when we have cars in our building and we're going off of the weekend or like the long train, the training seminar.
Robert Crawford: We pull everything in. We have put cars on the rack and pulled another one under it if we have to. So we get the nice cars in. Anything that will run, we bring in every night just to keep everything safe, you know? But yeah, we can pack 'em in there pretty good.
JImmy Lea: Oh, that's pretty good, Robert. That's awesome.
JImmy Lea: Yeah, because that allows you to have a little bit more flexibility. Where performance place, he's got like three and a half acres, so there's plenty of room to put cars that, that they're surrounded with moth balls. You know, this car's been here for four years. Anyways. Well, you gotta keep, well that,
Robert Crawford: you gotta keep the junk outta the way though.
Robert Crawford: You know, you don't want stuff sitting there for three years.
JImmy Lea: Yeah, no, that's true. He had to come to his dad, so he was 40 years. It took him 40 years to be able to buy the shop from his dad. 'cause you know, they just never could get anything down on paper. Couldn't agree, blah, da. Dad, really, this is your business.
JImmy Lea: What do you want to do? And dad would never make a decision. Finally did. So he bought it after 40 plus years. And dad in the back four bays. So they had 16 bays up front. 'cause it just expand. The last four bays, they finally said, Hey dad, take all your cars and take all your dead bodies. The rv, the boat, right?
JImmy Lea: We're gonna put it out in the yard. You can come see it anytime you want, but this is now production. Right. So that's what he is doing. Well, and congrats to you for what you've got the 25, the technicians, the lifts. What does the future look like for you? What is the future of RNN Otto, you've got your son there working with you now as well.
JImmy Lea: What does the next five years, 10 years look like? If we were to chop that up?
Robert Crawford: Well, if I listen to my wife, she wants to retire at 62, so she's got another two years to do the office, and then I'm probably gonna have to find someone to take care of that part of it. I'm 59 and I really don't wanna work till I'm 80 years old.
Robert Crawford: I like the work, but I don't like it enough to be there that long. So I'd like to retire at 65. I really don't know what the future holds for retirement. Do I sell it? Do I keep it and let my son run it? Gives my guys my mechanics. A place to stay. It's always spooky when you sell something 'cause you don't know how your workers are gonna be treated and how that's gonna be.
Robert Crawford: And honestly, they are my friends. I was at one guy's house this weekend moving some split wood with the tractor for, you know, so we do things with each other. We're friends and workers. I honestly don't know. I'm leaving it to him to decide how all that works out. I'll do what I can.
Robert Crawford: Yeah. Business running and keep it profitable. And if Christian brothers wants to come down and buy me out, or if, you know, if my son decides he wants to take it over or like we did with my boss, he rode around in the motor home. We paid him a paycheck. Yeah. Rent check. I'm not sure what the future holds.
Robert Crawford: I'm open.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Well, and if your son is open for the opportunity, if he looks at it and says, Hey, you know what? There's a great opportunity here for me to buy dad out and put dad and mom out on a motor home and they can go fishing, they can sit on the beach, they can go to the mountains whatever you want to go, and he pays you the rent.
JImmy Lea: Right. That's a great opportunity. So depending on where you're going, what you're doing, yeah, there's lots of opportunities. There's lots of advice out there. Just make sure you're getting the right advice. Right. And maybe the right advice is to sell it to Christian brothers. We'll see. You never know.
JImmy Lea: We'll see. That's
Robert Crawford: right.
JImmy Lea: That I don't ever,
Robert Crawford: I try not to make promises and I try not to make big decisions that you really can't control a lot of things. You know, some things are gonna happen and you gotta go with the flow. You wanna be prepared, do what you can do the legwork. But we'll see how it works out.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Yep. I've heard it said that if you if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. So if you've got a plan and God comes in and says, wait a second, Robert, we're gonna do a little bit this way. We're gonna do a little bit this way. I know that you had a plan, but there's just a little deviation from it.
Robert Crawford: Right.
JImmy Lea: Better to have a plan than to have no plan whatsoever. So, yeah, if you're, I tell you what
Robert Crawford: I
JImmy Lea: don't
Robert Crawford: wanna do, I don't wanna rent the building up to somebody. Someone comes in and they rent up your equipment, they wear it out, they dump all in the parking lot, then they walk away, and now you're responsible for all that mess, digging up the parking lot, EPA fines.
Robert Crawford: So I, I would close it down and sell it for a warehouse before I would do a rental situation like that. I've seen that happen too many times.
JImmy Lea: Oh, Robert, you are so right. You're right on the ball. I've seen many shop owners sell their business and three years later, four years later, they're back in the shop running the business again and basically having to fix everything that had been broken over the last three years.
JImmy Lea: So, yeah I agree with you. Once you find your spot, once you find your ability. Have an agreement that there's a buyout on the property as well. 'cause you're not gonna retain ownership for rent.
Robert Crawford: Yeah. The whole shebang or nothing.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. That's right. That's right. So would you ever expand, Robert, would you ever expand and own a second, a third of fourth location, or just optimize the one.
Robert Crawford: I kind of tease my wife a lot when we're driving around. I'll say, Hey, that looks like going to number three. She, and she disagrees with me, like, you know, with a few declaratives. I really think for me personally, running the one is enough. We don't have a grandiose of lifestyle. We're our, everything we have is paid for.
Robert Crawford: The business is paid for, the land is paid for, the billing's paid for, and we don't really require a lot to be happy. We don't really go into the MEChA, into the material things. I got a new truck. I got some guns, and you know, things that I play with she's happy to read a book when we go to the beach.
Robert Crawford: She wants to sit in the swing and read a book, and I sure don't wanna lay out on the sand and become a lobster. So, you know, to us, you know, running one business is enough, we don't require the additional income. You know what I'm saying? Oh yeah. And then the challenge is with just one business, low along the strain of two you gotta have some really good people in place to run two businesses and you not be there.
Robert Crawford: It's, you know, when I can go off for a week and my son run the place and make decisions that I'm not there. I would never complain if he made a decision. He has to have that freedom. But to have somebody running your business 24 7 and you are not there to, to you come back in when it's on fire, you know, you come back to fix the problems, that would be hard for me to deal with.
Robert Crawford: I'm good with just running one, doing well with it. You know, it's paying us, it's paying our salaries, it's paying our guys salaries. We're good where we're at. You know, no desires for a second
JImmy Lea: building. Oh, amen. Amen. So in the definition of success, you have a very successful shop. It provides for all your wants and all your needs, and everything's paid for.
JImmy Lea: You're good to go. You could leave for a week. Your son's in charge. He makes the decisions. You come back, Hey, this was good. Perhaps in the future with this decision, we wanna consider this, and this as well. Maybe we wanna go around a bump instead of straight up and over.
JImmy Lea: You never know, but I applaud your reigning in and giving freedom to your son in those situations and letting him make those decisions. That's pretty awesome. A lot of people can't do that. You know?
Robert Crawford: It's a hard thing to walk away from. It's a hard thing to step back and let people do.
Robert Crawford: But you have to, otherwise you have to be there 24 7. And you gotta, if you wanna freedom, you gotta give a little freedom to them too, to make those decisions. And to make those mistakes and learn from 'em. Because that's how we all are, isn't it?
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Oh, it is how we learn. We learn more from our mistakes than we do our successes.
JImmy Lea: And you know, with that in mind, Robert, I'm gonna ask you a question. What has been one of your biggest failures that you personally. Witnessed or were involved in, and it turned around to be one of your greatest successes. You learn the most from this lesson. What's one of those things that you've learned the most from a failure that is now a guidepost or a lamp or a lighthouse in your life that really helps to guide you?
Robert Crawford: Well. Back. I don't remember when it was or how many years ago it was, but we bought like an exhaust franchise, and I won't mention the name of it. We got some good equipment and we got a lot of inventory, but it never really blossomed into anything custom exhaust nowadays. This has been years, like 15, 20 years ago.
Robert Crawford: And we got this exhaust franchise and it never did anything. Now we still have the exhaust pipe bender. Matter of fact, my, one of my technicians is using it when I left today to come home for this podcast, so we still have the equipment, but that was $30,000. And back then, ouch, 30,000 was 50,000 now, you know, and it never was profitable.
Robert Crawford: So if I had to glean anything from that mistake, I would be. Check the market, find out what the market will stand, find out what the opportunities are before you go plopping that much cash down. Because the problem with that is, is it's kind of like some of the coaching people that you have out there.
Robert Crawford: You give them a chunk of money and you're paying Wells Fargo for the lease on that chunk of money and you can't back off because you've already paid the money at. Now you gotta buy the lease. It was the same thing with this. I couldn't exactly send the muffler machine back. I had to pay what I had to pay.
Robert Crawford: It was done, right? So you learn these lessons and you next time you're a little bit more apprehensive for you throw a chunk of money at something. You really just learn how to do the homework, check out the numbers, feel the market. And nowadays things are so much better because you've got so many sources.
Robert Crawford: You've got all these groups. Auto owners groups. You've got the Facebook people, you've got business coaches. There's really not a whole lot of reasons to make a lot of stupid mistakes nowadays because there's so many people you can ask and say, what do y'all think about this? I was on a a Thursday night round table meeting with Rick White from 180 Biz, and there was about 20 people there, and there was one guy talking about how he was gonna.
Robert Crawford: Make this particular business move and do something else and we're all like, no, that's not what you want to do, man. You're making a mistake doing this. Yeah. And I thought it was great that he had, although he may not have liked what he was hearing, right. At least he was hearing it. He had people in his corner that really didn't know him from Adam's House Cap, but were willing to give you them.
Robert Crawford: The benefit of their experience is try to guide somebody they didn't even know to do better. Don't make the mistake that I made. So I thought that was great.
JImmy Lea: Man, that is sound advice, especially when you're not necessarily saying, Hey, don't do that. You're saying have you considered this?
JImmy Lea: Have you considered this Once upon a time when I did this is the mistakes I made.
Robert Crawford: Yeah.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. And that's my $17,000 lesson I learned was, get it in writing. Get it in writing. Get it in writing. No matter how many verbal conversations you have, if it's not in writing, they will forget. Yep. Yep. So true.
JImmy Lea: Well, so Robert, if you were to have a magic wand and change anything in this industry, the automotive aftermarket, what's one of those things that you would like to change in this market?
Robert Crawford: I would probably say that the wand is actually being waived as we speak, because I'll tell you what, I've seen a lot of. It's like Mike Rowe with the blue collar worker move. We're seeing now where a lot of families are realizing you don't have to be a doctor, you don't have to be a lawyer, you don't have to be a dental hygienist.
Robert Crawford: Nothing wrong with those, but we need people that will use their hands to do things. We need people to build houses. We need someone to flip a hamburger for now and then, and we definitely need mechanics and I'm seeing a lot of the trades. Coming back to life, for lack of a better term. They're getting more attention.
Robert Crawford: A lot of the tr a lot of the high schools are going back to a a hands-on approach. You've got some of the local colleges, wake Tech has got a great program. Hendricks, I think has opened a whole wing out there, and they're training apprentices. I really think instead of sitting in the classroom atmosphere, they've gotta get those kids out there and get 'em in shops so they can, this is just my opinion.
Robert Crawford: You can learn more in a shop in a month than you're gonna learn in a classroom in two years. I've seen the trade schools and what comes out of them when they, alls they did was the trade school class and they have a little book sense, but they don't really have a lot of common usable knowledge. So I think it's a mixture of trade school and also being in a shop environment and learning.
Robert Crawford: Just be in there, just learning and hearing what's going on. I think that's the magic wand that I'd wave. Let's speed that process up. Get these things moving along a little faster. 'cause everybody knows we need mechanics, we need technicians. Yeah. Things are getting automated. These cars are gonna drive themselves, but they're not gonna fix themselves.
JImmy Lea: Oh, they don't. They don't. And we got 70,000 technicians a year leaving the business. Only 30,000 a year coming into the business. And those 30,000 that come in after the first year, half of 'em are gone. Just like you're saying, Mike Rowe with his sweat pledge, you're gonna work, you're gonna work hard, you're gonna sweat, you're gonna do what's right.
JImmy Lea: You're gonna do what's right. The first time I love his sweat pledge. I love what he's doing and really shining a light on the trade industry. My daughter, when she went into hair school, within that first week of school, they had them hands on cutting hair. That's what we need in the automotive industry as well, not just the theoretical.
JImmy Lea: 'cause there's schools out there. You don't get to touch hair for six months and it's a one year program. They come out, they still are afraid of touching anybody. But my daughter was in a class and they were boom, they were right into it. So we have a granddaughter, it does make difference.
Robert Crawford: Afraid, same thing.
Robert Crawford: She was too scared to cut hair, but you gotta make the move. And, you know, a lot of shop owners have to get above that fear too. You know, back a couple years ago, I'm gonna say about three years ago, maybe four years ago, we had the apprentice program in North Carolina come alive. It had been there forever, but the IGO at the time brought it to life and we had a technician that was going to a local community college here and had certain days he came and worked with us.
Robert Crawford: Now we were paying him that time, 12, $13 an hour to sweep the floor and shadow our mechanics. And unfortunately, after three years, he actually left us and went to a dealership. So you didn't have that risk, but at least there's people going into the field. That we can have. Yeah, you might get somebody that you train up and they may go somewhere else, but they're in the pool and now you can, they might bump someone out of the dealership, and the dealership guy might come to you.
Robert Crawford: I don't know how that's gonna work. We'll find out. But you know, it's like when you said you're guys to training, you're scared they might get poached, you know? Well, Rick White has this thing, he calls golden handcuffs. You gotta treat your people good. So they wanna stay. It's all about making the work environment, like I said about our guys.
Robert Crawford: We're buddies, we're pals, we're friends. You know, we eat subs together, we bowl together. Sometimes we have a good time at the convention. You know, you gotta make it where they want to be there. 'cause if yeah, if you don't wanna be there and they don't wanna be there, someone's gonna leave.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. No, it's so true.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Rick does a great job in coaching and training with the shop owners. Yeah, he's phenomenal. We love working together and the golden handcuffs, you're right. If you're not treating your people well, they're gonna go and listen. You know, dial it back to your marine. He may be one that wants to own a business.
JImmy Lea: So some would say, are you gonna train your competition? Sure. Today, he's not your competition. Today. He is your employee and he has a desire to own a business. You enroll him in every business, every free business thing that you possibly can. The community college has business classes, the Chamber of Commerce does.
JImmy Lea: YouTube has them. The institute has a library full of different business videos that can really help anybody that wants to start an automotive repair business. You help him to be the best business owner he can be. 'cause there's two outcomes that comes from this. One. He loves it. He embraces it, and he runs with it.
JImmy Lea: And in 3, 4, 5 years, whatever the scenario is. He went, goes out and starts his own business, and you've got a friend in the business, somebody that you can lock arms with and really work together. Or two, he comes back to you and says, Hey Robert, thank you so much. I appreciate you investing all this into me for the business side of it.
JImmy Lea: But what I really discovered is I like working on cars. I wanna work on cars. I'm gonna be your best employee. I'm gonna work on cars, and you're never gonna have any comebacks for me, and I'm gonna dig in
Robert Crawford: win-win. Yep.
JImmy Lea: It's a win-win. It's a win-win. You've invested in your employee, you discovered where they really want it to be in helping them to discover their own path, their own trail.
JImmy Lea: So Robert, I applaud you for that, brother.
Robert Crawford: I, competition to me is a kind of a strange word because, just because as a garage where you talk about where we're at on the freeway, you know? Right. There's a probably, I'm gonna say probably 10 shops within a four mile radius around me. There's a garage door there.
Robert Crawford: They're selling used tires. They're doing the monkey business, they're doing alignments and they're doing oil changes. But when you set yourself apart and do the quality work and you do it businesslike, there's gonna be some people that want that bottom dollar price. But there's also gonna be some people that want to deal with the professional business that's gonna have paperwork and warranties have insurance to take care of the stuff.
Robert Crawford: So they're really not your competition. They're really not.
JImmy Lea: Yeah. No, they're really not. I had a friend in Santa Cruz, California, he would send people down the street to Bob's garage, Dave's Auto that's the same address. Three different businesses were in that same address, and he would send people down to them.
JImmy Lea: 'cause they were looking for the deals. They, it was all are driven. And those businesses put themselves out of business because they were catering to that type of business. His was a business that really. Involve the the client. It's a client that wants to know their vehicles fixed right and done right.
JImmy Lea: And has a warranty and a guarantee. And you're gonna pay more for that than if you just want
Robert Crawford: price only. Yeah. We had a call just today that a customer called and wanted us to break a bolt loose, then they're gonna drive off with the car, but the mold were loose.
JImmy Lea: There's those people out there, you know?
JImmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. No, that is interesting. Interesting that was the request.
Robert Crawford: Yeah.
JImmy Lea: Well, Robert, it is been a pleasure talking with you today. Thank you very much. I appreciate your insights into the business, the industry, where it's come from, and yeah, our future is bright. I love that we have an apprentice program.
JImmy Lea: Do you have any apprentice at your shop right
Robert Crawford: now? At the present time? We don't. The guy that we just started out of the Marines, I would probably consider him an apprentice just because he's really at the bottom of the knowledge base. He has such a good drive and such a good work ethic, he's gonna do great.
Robert Crawford: And really, that's what you wanna see in the apprentices. You don't wanna just have a body that's going to school, that's coming there just to milk the clock. If you don't see that spark, that interest, you're just wasting your time in theirs. And there's a lot of people that go to the community colleges just because mommy and dad would make them go to school.
Robert Crawford: You know, you're gonna go to college if you're in here, but if they're not doing anything with that and you're not doing anything with that person. You're just spinning your wheels, wasting time, so just find the next one.
JImmy Lea: Yep. Amen, brother. Thank you so much, Robert. I really appreciate it, man.
Robert Crawford: Yes sir.
JImmy Lea: Yep.
JImmy Lea: We'll talk to you guys soon.
Robert Crawford: Have a good one

154 - Process, People, and Profit: Inside JB Import Auto with Ryan von Steinen

154 - Process, People, and Profit: Inside JB Import Auto with Ryan von Steinen
October 6, 2025 - 00:37:41
 
Show Summary:
What happens when a motorsport kid with a rebuilt BMW and a shattered leg trades the wrench for the front counter and still can’t shake the need for speed? Jimmy Lea sits down with Ryan von Steinen of JB Import Auto in St. Petersburg to trace a career detour that became a superpower: pairing deep technical fluency with world-class customer care. Ryan opens the hood on a shop that balances everyday Euro work with a thriving Rolls-Royce/Bentley program, powered by a clear org chart and an estimator-driven workflow. He shares how a living SOP “Bible,” weekly reviews, and photo-rich DVIs protect margins and build trust. Recruiting is a sport of its own: Trello benches, school partnerships, and “grow-your-own” apprentices. With a five-year plan to stretch a quirky legacy facility to $6.7M, Ryan argues the industry needs real certification, likely nudged by insurers, as ADAS and EV complexity spikes. He closes with blunt succession advice: don’t DIY the deal, get experts, and if it isn’t written, it didn’t happen.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Ryan von Steinen, Chief Operating Officer of JB Import Automotive Repair
 
Show Highlights:
[00:03:34] - Ryan’s love for cars and motorsport started young—autocross at 14—and he pursued high-performance training at the University of Northwestern Ohio.
[00:05:47] - A serious accident two weeks into his dealership job ended wrenching for a season and nudged him toward advising/management where his tech knowledge still shines.
[00:11:24] - After Porsche-heavy experience and a tough management stint, Ryan lands at JB Import, where he’s spent nearly 12 years, holds a small ownership stake, and is executing a five-year growth plan.
[00:13:35] - The shop’s SOP “Bible” is a living document—reviewed weekly and refined with team feedback—so processes evolve instead of collecting dust.
[00:15:23] - Clear org chart: six techs plus a coach/CEO, service manager, two advisors, and an estimator who also handles parts, inventory, and estimate building.
[00:16:41] - RO checklist discipline and an estimator bridge reduce misses between techs and advisors and keep customer communication consistent.
[00:33:03] - DVI standards: minimum photo counts (even on new cars), include positives—not just problems—and always capture four corners and the instrument cluster to prevent disputes.
[00:24:33] - Capacity and mix matter: maximizing one facility first; exotic ROs can be 3–4x Euro “daily” work, but big hurricane projects can skew monthly optics.
[00:20:52] - Recruiting is proactive: Trello follow-ups, open-door visits, and active involvement in local high schools and tech programs to “grow your own.”
[00:26:49] - Industry wish list: real certification/standards (perhaps insurer-driven) as ADAS/EV complexity rises, and solid succession planning with expert guidance and thorough documentation.
 
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.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello friend. My name is Jimmy Lee. I am with the Institute and this is the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is my very good friend, Ryan von Stein, with JB Import Auto Outta St. Petersburg, Florida. Ryan, thank you so much for joining. How are you this morning?
Ryan von Steinen: Excellent, Jimmy. Happy to be here. So thanks for having me.
Jimmy Lea: Oh man, this is awesome. So, St. Pete is probably the one of the only places that my luggage ever got lost. Here I was flying from Vegas to St. Pete and right about mid states. It hangs a hard left. The plane does. Everybody feels it hard left. We were flying into Dallas and then from Dallas we were going into St.
Jimmy Lea: Pete with Tampa. Yeah. And, and as we're coming in towards Dallas Hard Bank left. They said, Dallas is having an ice storm. We can't land there. We're going to Denver. And I was like, oh, okay, great. We're going to Denver. Never fear your flights have already been rescheduled. When you get on the ground, it's all set.
Jimmy Lea: Everybody's good to go. Your luggage will go wherever it is your final destination is. I was like, oh, sweet. Great. So I land in town. I have 45 minutes. From land, get off the plane, not really four, five minutes. It was more like 15 minutes and I walked right onto my next plane. So I really went from gate to gate and I was right on the next plane, which was wonderful.
Jimmy Lea: So I get to Tampa, Hey, can you scan and my codes and see where my luggage is? 'cause it hasn't come out on the conveyor yet. It's not in the oversized, and I'm looking for my booth. It's not there. And she says, yeah, I figured with you. Oh, I'm so sorry that somewhere over Denver, your luggage broke hands.
Jimmy Lea: They were holding hands up to Denver, but then they weren't holding hands anymore. Half of it went to Dallas. The other half is in Chicago. I wasn't even going to Chicago, but it's in Chicago. It's like, all right. All right. So what's the plan? Well, half of it'll be here by midnight. The other half will come about, four 30 in the morning.
Jimmy Lea: I said, great. I'll come back for that one half that comes at midnight, because I need that. That's very important. It was the whole booth. Here I am at a trade show. I have to have the booth. Right. You gotta Yeah. Half show off who you are.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. I figured if you're traveling, that's it.
Jimmy Lea: Right. So I had a car, I came back, I got the booth, put it in the truck. I took it over to the, trade show, and the next morning my second package showed up in a clear plastic bag. It had gone full blown yard sale. Oh, everything was strewn out all over the place. Oh, so hilarious.
Ryan von Steinen: Dang, man. I'm sorry. Not a good Tampa reception.
Jimmy Lea: Hey. No. Tampa was phenomenal. They brought it all over there. It wasn't Tampa's fault. I got mad props for Southwest as I showed up to pick up my booth at midnight. She hands me a voucher for like $150 off your next flight. Okay. Yeah. Oh, sweet. There's loyalty for life. And I do. I fly Southwest everywhere I go, so it's a good thing.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah, I get it, man. That makes sense.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Loyalty. It goes a long way.
Ryan von Steinen: It does, man does. I'm stuck there too. So,
Jimmy Lea: hey, so Ryan, how did you get into the automotive industry? What does that look like when you started? Are you a baby sweeping the floors or you in high school? What's the catalyst here that gets you involved?
Ryan von Steinen: I liked cars from really young age, but I had, my mom's side of the family was into the Indianapolis 500, and I grew up in Michigan. And it was like a grandfather that grew up listening to it on the radio, so that was always a big event every year and somewhere around when I was maybe about eight, my dad autocross to used BMW and that really just started it where I was obsessed with motorsport, most especially, but cars and motorsports, you know?
Jimmy Lea: I love it. How old were you when you learned to drive?
Ryan von Steinen: I learned to dry when I was about 12 in the woods up on some dirt roads. Yeah. And I taught across when I was 14, so yeah,
Jimmy Lea: dude. I love it. I love it. Yeah. I was nine and we went to Canna, Utah. We drove from the house to the barn and back. If you went another halfway that was a mile and one summer we put 10,000 miles on this little 73 Toyota Corolla.
Jimmy Lea: Holy cow. Go into the barn and back, dude. I mean, holy cow. At nine years old, you thought we, we had freedom. That was freedom. Driving was freedom.
Ryan von Steinen: 10,000 miles of freedom. That's amazing.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Well, we stayed there for a month, so it, yeah, it was dawn until dusk that we were just driving that and grandma and grandpa loved it.
Jimmy Lea: It was, oh man, it was such great, it was cool. Didn't. So you started, with BMW Motocross.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. Yeah, like my dad was like lightly into autocross. We always had used BMWs. And then I went to a high school in Michigan that had a pretty great autobody program. So I did that and I had an awesome instructor and I redid a old E 21, the first three series BMW, my senior year with that program.
Ryan von Steinen: But I was more interested in mechanical work. Okay. And all those autobody schools have. You know, UTI and WTI at the time, all these training institutes that come around. So I signed up and went to the University of Northwestern Ohio. They had a degree you could get with it, so I was interested in that.
Ryan von Steinen: So I haven't applied science degree with them, in high performance automotive. 'cause they have a high performance segment there too. Which was really my interest, you know? So,
Jimmy Lea: so, so you get out of school, are you specializing in euros? Are you specializing in the BMW or what.
Ryan von Steinen: I thought I was, but no, you know, I don't think I was really that kind of person.
Ryan von Steinen: And I got a job quickly at a dealership that was a Ford Lincoln and BMW dealer, kind of an odd combo. And I wanted to be at the BMW dealer, but they hired me in the Ford. But about two weeks. And then I got in a really bad accident and I was not a technician again for over a year. Like I, I got hit in a crosswalk, so, I spent a lot of time on crutches.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, wow. Oh, so it wasn't a, an it wasn't a thing in the shop that you got hurt. You were walking across the street and got hit?
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. Oh. So two weeks into my career out of tech school. Right. Yeah, I got hit in a crosswalk. I six plates on the left side of my head and a rod in my right leg from my knee, my ankle.
Ryan von Steinen: So I did a lot of crutches the next year and
Jimmy Lea: whoa, you know, were, you
Ryan von Steinen: did different stuff.
Jimmy Lea: Was it a year of therapy to get you back into the shop?
Ryan von Steinen: It, you know, the head was really pretty straightforward. The leg, it's things like, they told me six months in I could start walking on it and I went back a week later.
Ryan von Steinen: I'm like, something's really wrong. And what had happened is the bone had broken in like a pi seat pie piece, you know, like a piece of pizza. Yes. And the front edge healed and an x-ray is one dimensional. And it saw that, so they said he could walk on it, but it broke again. And I bent the rod I was walking on, all the weight was on this rod.
Ryan von Steinen: So they had to take that out and put a 12 millimeter rod in and yeah. So it was some stuff like that and
Jimmy Lea: Dang.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Took a while, dude. That's rough. Yeah. Alright, so, so let's get past the, yeah. Crutches. The era of the season of crutches. Yes. You're now back in the shop, you're turning a wrench again.
Jimmy Lea: Life is good. And then what, where, what's next?
Ryan von Steinen: Well, I mean, I'll continue on where I was at there. It's like I started a Napa parts job and I really wanted to move out of Michigan. Michigan in 2007 was not a great place to be with everything that was going on, in the country, but most especially that, that state.
Ryan von Steinen: And I had an uncle in Reno, Nevada, so I moved out there and I started bunching part-time. And it never, the business kind of fell apart. I never pre progressed in a full-time gig, so I got a service advising gig there. At a place that did tons of Porsche because Porsche, north America used to be in Reno before it was in Atlanta.
Ryan von Steinen: So this is a huge old Porsche town. So yeah, I got into Porsches there being a service advisor and moved into management and chased a girl to Florida. And then, ended up down here and I've been down here 13 years, so,
Jimmy Lea: well, congratulations. Yeah. And how did it work out with the girl?
Ryan von Steinen: Good. We're married.
Ryan von Steinen: We have a 7-year-old. It's great, man. You know, we grew up three miles apart, but we never knew each other until I was 26. So, she went to a different school, you know, she was just like right on that line. Went to a different school, so.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, isn't that wild? It is. That's wild. Well, congratulations.
Jimmy Lea: Good job. Congrats on winning the race, catching the girl.
Ryan von Steinen: It was fun.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Getting married, having a child, boy, or girl.
Ryan von Steinen: I have a 7-year-old boy.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, boy, congrats. That's always awesome, man. It's, does he have the same passion for cars that you did growing up? He
Ryan von Steinen: doesn't, but there's an oppositional kind of thing going on right now, you know?
Ryan von Steinen: Okay. So there's lots of things he does that are racing or mechanical, but he's like, no, I don't like race cars. You know, that's what he tells me. But
Jimmy Lea: that's fine. Yeah. That's okay. You like what you like I, I learned that with my son, baseball. Yeah. It's like watching paint dry. Unless my boy is playing with my boy.
Jimmy Lea: Sure. If my son's playing, I am in, I'm front row, I'm cheering. I am the baseball dad Outside of that man, it's tough.
Ryan von Steinen: For me that's riding rollercoasters. 'cause my son's obsessed with rollercoasters. He wants to be a rollercoaster engineer. And so I don't like riding really, but I've put up with some to Yes.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah, you do it for him and that's exactly
Jimmy Lea: why you do it. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And I'm good for about one rollercoaster every other hour.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah, that'd be about my rate too. It's tough. My stomach. So we're right by Bush Gardens and he's, I mean he's met like the president there and you know, he's really like, been there a lot and experienced a lot.
Ryan von Steinen: And Bush Gardens has been really. Awesome. So,
Jimmy Lea: dude, that's rad. That's so cool. Yeah. Congrats man. Alright, so now you move, you get into the advisor role. Yeah. Do you like the advisor role? Do you wish you were still wrenching? What's your take on? No,
Ryan von Steinen: I mean, I think that's kind of what I discovered after school and breaking my leg and having kind of some time is like, I really liked working on race cars, right?
Ryan von Steinen: Like, Jimmy comes into the pits, he's like, man, it's loose all the time on these corners, and I make an adjustment. You're like, oh, it drives so much better. I love that. I don't love working on your Ford Explorer and putting front shocks on it. So I had a customer service background before automotive in this indoor sports facility that I worked at.
Ryan von Steinen: And it kind of fell to me where I was like, excuse me, fell together really easily for me. 'cause I was like, all right, this is customer service. And I know the car slash mechanical technician element enough, right? So it really felt like powerful. Like, all right, I had this training to be a tech, I'm not gonna be a tech it seems like, but I can still use this.
Ryan von Steinen: And I've used it consistently for 20 years.
Jimmy Lea: Good for you. Good for you. That's cool. That's really good. That's really good. Well, congrats on being able to stay in the business, stay in the industry. So you move to Florida, you start working, as service advising for. Yeah, the
Ryan von Steinen: shop. Well, yeah, actually I saw in Reno we did a lot of Porsche engines there.
Ryan von Steinen: Worked for a very reputable builder and we had a customer in Sarasota that ran a shop. And he, I came down here and interviewed before I moved. We were friendly with each other and he gave me a job as their service manager. So I ran a shop in Sarasota for a while. That was really, I thought, gonna be like the deal.
Ryan von Steinen: It was the best group I've ever had at technicians. But, the owner. Wasn't into it, you know, maybe how we see some other people that are passionate, you know? And so it really spoiled it for three of us, and we all quit in a three month span. Oh wow. So, yeah, it was really tough. But that moved me to JB Import and that's where I've been for almost 12 years now.
Ryan von Steinen: And so I'm happy, you know, things happened for a reason, but at the time it was like, man, what a crew to separate, you know?
Jimmy Lea: Well, for sure. And did you get any of that, crews, any of that crew with you at JB?
Ryan von Steinen: No, bummer. Really like three important people from there did gather up together in Sarasota, but that's about an hour south of me and I liked this area, so I was like, I'm gonna stay up here.
Ryan von Steinen: But I'm happy that three of them, they were able to form another company. And good, I've really done well, so, yeah. Congrats. That's nice.
Jimmy Lea: So you interview with, JB Imports and this is where you've been for, did you say 12 years?
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. December would be 12 years.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, dude, congrats.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And what does that look like for you now?
Ryan von Steinen: I have a small bit of ownership here. I'm looking towards the future. Yeah. I have a, you know, a pretty aggressive growth plan for where I want to be in five years. Okay. I'd love to make it to be a multi shop owner, but I think being. Efficient with one shop is more important to me than having multiple, right?
Ryan von Steinen: Like, I wanna produce the max I can here before I look outside. So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah, you know, that's very admirable. 'cause if you, hone in the process, if you perfect that process for the single location becomes easier for you to now expand it out and do it at other locations as well.
Ryan von Steinen: Totally. And I have a procedure guide I put a lot of work into, and that's like why I keep coming back to it, to like change something, update.
Ryan von Steinen: I'm like, this is gonna, it's like the Bible, right? Like for the business. It is, we're gonna need this a bunch. Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: It's a living document. It's something that you go to an update. Anytime you have a company meeting, you have a company, gathering. Everybody says, Hey, you know what? I come from this shop over here.
Jimmy Lea: And we did things like. This. Alright, well let's analyze it. Is it better than, what we currently do? Or is it maybe take a little bit longer?
Ryan von Steinen: We've totally done that. We hired a tech about 18 months ago and he had a process that he told us about from another shop about how they prepared vehicles for maintenance before they came into the shop, and we totally adopted our own version of that.
Ryan von Steinen: So yeah, it's this huge document I take a lot of pride in, but it's open to anybody to interpret and hey Jimmy, this is what I think would work better, and that's really what I want. Right. Is that kind of feedback from people.
Jimmy Lea: And how well do the technicians adopt this living document? Do they go in and make suggestions or edits to make, to improve it or do they come to you with those edits?
Ryan von Steinen: They typically come to me, so we do a weekly team meeting and we review one procedure a week, and it's, there's ones that are more repetitive than others, but, and then I do a one-on-one meeting with each person monthly. So like things will come up in there, you know, where they're like, Hey, I thought about this, right?
Ryan von Steinen: This is how we're doing X and I really think it could be better.
Jimmy Lea: Dude, I love it.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. And I'm just trying to make that culture where it's open. Right. But I want it to be open where you can come with something constructive, right. Not just this thing is crap or whatever. Yeah, some good feedback about how we can improve it.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. That's awesome. Congrats, man. So what does this shop look like today? What does JB Imports look like today? Now, bays, techs, advisors.
Ryan von Steinen: So we have six technicians and my partner Mike, is, he's CEO, but we call it coach every opportunity. And I say that 'cause we do a good amount of old Bentley and Rolls Royce work, and Mike has worked in that field since the late seventies.
Ryan von Steinen: And we have, maybe not young and age, but experience with those vintage cars. So Mike's really working with them frequently about. Those systems, on those older vehicles. So there's six techs and Mike, there are, there's a service manager, two advisors and an estimator. And the estimator handles all the parts duties too.
Ryan von Steinen: But he writes a lot of estimates for it. He's a technician. That really wanted to be an advisor. And after he was an advisor, he was like, man, it's really hard for me to deal with the people. And I was like, man, you've got all this knowledge though about how to deal with situations. So he is really great at working with the technicians.
Ryan von Steinen: Nice one-on-one. Yeah. And then building estimates and helping the advisors build estimates. So
Jimmy Lea: yeah, dude, that's awesome. Congrats. Yeah. People don't realize, they think it's all, song and games. They think it's so easy there at the front desk. Yeah, and the front desk thinks, oh, these technicians, it's so easy for them.
Jimmy Lea: But until you've walked a mile in those shoes and gone the extra mile to make it two.
Ryan von Steinen: You don't know. No. And that is really apparent with this gentleman that I'm talking about, the estimator is he thought that when he was a technician, he went up there he is like, I thought they were just always like reading online or something, and he's like, I'm busier than I ever was as a tech.
Ryan von Steinen: And we have a RO check sheet. It's a whole page of things like, did I talk to Jimmy? If you're my customer about this, did I explain our warranty? Did I do our referral program? So there's. There's a lot of little pieces there.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. And that can become overwhelming for a technician who really doesn't wanna talk.
Ryan von Steinen: Right.
Jimmy Lea: To have to talk and talk to all these people that are coming in the shop. Yep. And not only are they talking to every single person, but there's this checklist, so it's repetitive. It's the exact same conversation over and over.
Jimmy Lea: The answers are different, but it's the same questions.
Ryan von Steinen: Yep. Totally.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I can see where a tech would be like, oh my gosh, stick my eyes with a fork. I don't wanna do this anymore.
Ryan von Steinen: No. Just trying to place him where he is happy. 'cause he is a important person, you know, for us. Yes.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Well, he is important.
Jimmy Lea: He has value and congratulations for finding a really good position for him. Yeah. One as a, an estimator. Does that also mean he receives all the parts and disseminates it?
Ryan von Steinen: Yep. So he receives parts, returns parts, does our inventory, and then we have like, labeled shelves for the technicians where we try to put, like, they got control arms that'll say the ro number, the vehicle.
Ryan von Steinen: So it's very easy for a tech. So he does almost all of that. Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, dude, that's rad. Yeah. How many bays, how many, lifts?
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah, so I always get a little, let me think about this. 5, 9, 10, 14. And we have another bay we're trying to build out. We'll have two, two more. So it's a little bit of an odd setup for an auto repair shop.
Ryan von Steinen: It was built in the fifties. It was an auto body shop first. So yes, we make the best of it, but yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Yes, and that reminds me of, Tracy Holt performance place in Utah. I think he's South Jordan or West Jordan. His shop. Dad. Dad, grandpa. Did grandpa do it first? It might've been grandpa and then dad took it and now he's in it.
Jimmy Lea: It took him 40 years to buy it from his dad. So if you got a succession plan that's shortened 40 years. Yeah, we want to hear about that. So here he is. And they are working on ag only They're working on tractors. Yeah. Right. For just years and years. They are now the oldest. Incorporated business in South Jordan or West Jordan.
Jimmy Lea: Geez. In the whole town. Like, there's no other businesses that have been around as long as these guys have. Wow. I think they started in 1950, or maybe it's even before that. So, yeah. Tracy grew up in the shop, Broman pushing a broom. And everything is tied. That whole family, the success of the family is tied to the success of the shop.
Jimmy Lea: And he has done a phenomenal job. He and his sister, Patricia. Yes, I think her name's Patricia, a phenomenal job. And they run the whole show and they have 16 bays and you can see how they added on. And dad had four bays at the very back, so it would've been 20, had four bays at the back with all these dead bodies of old race cars and stuff like that.
Jimmy Lea: And I was like, Tracy, you need to like get this all outta here 'cause this is production. You could do another. How much? Get amount money a month? Yeah. Maybe 120,000 a month. Just cleaning it up. This, so he is like, oh my gosh, yes. So he got a couple detainers, put 'em out. He had three and a half acres.
Jimmy Lea: He put 'em out in the yard, loaded everything in the tainer. Dad, your stuff's here. Come play with it whenever you want. Right. But it's not in the shop. Took out the rv, took out the boat, took out all these old race cars and put it all in there. Dad hadn't been there for like 15 years and when he does come down he just tinkers with a few things and he is done.
Jimmy Lea: Sure. So opening, I love hearing the success. Opening this up, they, I think they hired another two or three technicians. It's so rad. It is so cool when you see stuff like that happening, and I'm seeing it here with your shop as well. Congrats.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. And that's been a big piece is focusing on how to have a bench.
Ryan von Steinen: And that's something that, it's hard, you know what I mean? It's really taken big investment in follow up, you know? Yes. Can't, yes. If you want someone on a bench, you gotta keep in touch with them, right? Oh, absolutely. You can't just let 'em sit there for nine months.
Jimmy Lea: So, so, so what's your follow up?
Jimmy Lea: How often are you touching base with these technicians that you really want to have come work at your shop?
Ryan von Steinen: I just use Trello and I organize all the candidates in there. And you can put a one month, you know, you just put one month there and put one month out. And so then I try to follow up with people that I'm interested in and people that live locally.
Ryan von Steinen: I just invite 'em, like, anytime you're by the shop, just come in right? And like I'll even, unless I'm in this kind of deal with you or something, Jimmy, I'll give and time and say, Hey, let's talk for a few. So, yeah. And you know, another big piece that I've worked a lot on and I, I enjoy is at the schools.
Ryan von Steinen: So there's two technical schools here in our county. And volunteering there and kind of getting to the point where I've learned from some senior shop owners like of growing my own right. And that's an important piece of business to me is to like be able to have a good apprentice mentor program.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. Yeah. So you do have an apprentice program.
Ryan von Steinen: So we do have an apprentice program. I do not have an apprentice in it right now. I have a guy who just graduated from tech school, but he graduated with all ASEs, and you could maybe call him apprentice, but he is really the highest level I've ever had at that position, you know, so I would say he's a tech, you know?
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. Just, yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, congrats. That's awesome. Yeah. Do you, so I, and I applaud you for being in the tech schools, the UTIs, the wts. Do you also go into the colleges, the junior colleges, the. Community colleges, high school, middle school, elementary school. You're doing stuff like that too.
Ryan von Steinen: I mean, there's a little bit, I can't say all that.
Ryan von Steinen: So the high school near me, I met a gentleman at the last board meeting at the technical school. They have 120 kids in this program three miles away. So I'm really trying to get involved there. There is another high school local that I sit on the board for, and they have a really awesome instructor, and then my kid's in elementary school, so I they do this, I can't remember what it, career day. Career day. Yeah. So I go in and talk to classes about being a technician, so, yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's so cool's. Bringing that air drill.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. And just anything like, just showing the kids images and like, what is this car, is kind of their favorite thing, you know, if it's an Audi with a black grill, you can't really tell something like that.
Ryan von Steinen: They love, that stuff. So yeah, it's been really fun.
Jimmy Lea: That's super cool. And you guys are working on some pretty crazy cars there. If you got. Bentleys, rolls Royce and Lamborghini.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. I mean, most of the exotic car stuff is Rolls Royce and Bentley. I feel like there's been a dealer here, so don't quote me exactly, but the late fifties, early sixties, there's been a dealer here.
Ryan von Steinen: So there's a lot of old cars. Yeah, and a lot of new cars too. And Mike, my partners, like our specialist with Real Rolls Royce and Bentleys, let's say before 1998. And then the gentleman that runs the exotic car department is our, really our best technician too. He is our manager. But he is the most knowledgeable person I've ever met on modern Rolls-Royces.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah,
Jimmy Lea: dude, that's rad. Yeah, he's the
Ryan von Steinen: Rolls-Royce owner, club technical, manager for that division of cars. I mean, he's really an incredible individual, so
Jimmy Lea: Congrats. Yeah. That's awesome.
Ryan von Steinen: It's a cool team.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, very cool team. And congrats on having a bench, building a bench, keeping in touch with people once a month.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, that's solid. That is solid. Trying man. Yeah, that's cool. So what does the future look like for Ryan? What does the future look like for JB Import?
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah, I mean, like I said, I'd really like to maximize what I can do with this facility, and it's a little bit odd layout compared to like Optimal, but I feel like it's about a four and a half, $5 million facility.
Ryan von Steinen: We're under 3 million, but you know, maybe about 2.7. We're on track for this year, so we have some growth to do, but I, you know, I have a five year plan from now for 6.7 million, and so I think at some point that'll mean another shop here, but you just kind of have to see how things go. Sure. And how much of our business is exotic versus just normal BMWs, Audis and stuff, because.
Ryan von Steinen: A RO over there is three x of what it is, you know, here on BMWs and Porsches and stuff. So it's, it where, how many you do of each matters, right? How the income,
Jimmy Lea: so you're probably, let's call it, 1200, 1500 per vehicle. And over on the exotic, the Bentley, the rent, about Range Rover. Oh, rolls Royce and Rolls Ry, thank you.
Jimmy Lea: And stuff. Yeah. You're in the 3,600 to $4,500 range or something. Yeah. Right. Yeah. It's
Ryan von Steinen: four to five. It's like a pretty normal monthly one, you know, and it ebbs and flows. 'cause sometimes we have a humongous project from the. Hurricanes last fall. Oh yeah. And that'll make a month look like Incredible.
Ryan von Steinen: 'cause you have a hundred thousand dollars ticket on this huge project, but it's deceiving, you know, so.
Jimmy Lea: Right. That's the anomaly. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah. And it is just awesome what people will do and pay for to maintain or save their vehicles, you know.
Ryan von Steinen: We've seen it through the hurricanes.
Ryan von Steinen: Last year was hard 'cause we totaled 25 ish cars and mean like really nice BMWs and really nice Bentley and all sorts of stuff. But if it got saltwater it was pretty much instantly totaled
Jimmy Lea: toast. It was toast. Yeah. That's tough man. It was. That's tough. Well, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you've got a plan.
Jimmy Lea: You're gonna get to 6.7 million. Yeah. Yeah, baby. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. What, so that's the future. Let's see. So if you were to change anything in the automotive industry, what would you change? I'm giving you a magic wand moment. You'll have one wish. You can't wish for more wishes. What's your wish?
Ryan von Steinen: So I always say it like this.
Ryan von Steinen: My wife is a speech and language pathologist, and one of the smartest people I know too. She means so much to me, but, I can't go open a speech and language. Practice down the street, you have to have a certification. Right? But my wife, who's never changed oil can go get a garage license and open a garage, right?
Ryan von Steinen: So for me, I think some type of CER certification would really make it better for the good people. The people that are listening to a podcast that are investing in training for themselves, it would make things better for those people. And I think this is only gonna become more evident as we get, you know, ADOS and electric cars and all this stuff.
Ryan von Steinen: Like we really need like a. Some type of certificate at a state level. I'm not really sure the con, the construction of it, but I really think that would be a good deal.
Jimmy Lea: So do you think that this, program, can we self run, self-fund this as a, as an industry or do you think there's some governmental, oversight that needs to step in and take control of it?
Ryan von Steinen: You know, I don't know. The thing that I feel like there in its opinion is it's hard to get government involved in stuff like this that might feel really small to them. So what it feels like to me is we've got ADOS and electric car and stuff. Once we get, and this is terrible to say, but enough accidents that come from poor repair, then the insurance company will say, you can only go to a shop that's X and X insured or certified or whatever.
Ryan von Steinen: It's, so I really think it's probably gonna be insurance companies that make the move, not. You know, the government. And that's just a guess, right? It's just something I hope for because I like the thing I said about my wife. I just, yeah. Want some kind of buried across that. Yeah. You are a respected individual in this field.
Ryan von Steinen: You can repair things correctly. 'Cause there's a lot of shops that are pretty, pretty rough, you know?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh, for sure. And you find that almost in any industry. Yeah, maybe we need to go look at the, electricians or the plumbers. What's their journeyman? I had an uncle that was a lineman and he had to come up through the ranks, so there were years of hazing by other electricians Sure.
Jimmy Lea: For him to take his position as a lineman. But, yeah. What's their process? What's their procedure? Do they have oversight or is it all self-funded? Self maintained, self-controlled. By themselves. I don't know.
Ryan von Steinen: It's gotta be like who, who's at the top, whether it's insurance or the person of a big company.
Ryan von Steinen: 'cause my brother works in the elevator repair industry and he's in a union and they do lots of repair and building around here, but there's still non-union repair places that can go and repair it, and they do it for less money, you know? Sure. So, I don't know the solution I guess. Right? I just think about, man, this could really help.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, I agree. And what is it? What's the answer? We don't know, but we know there's a problem and if we keep asking the questions, we'll come up with an answer that helps us because Yeah, you're right. I mean, we can hire an electrician off of Facebook. We can hire an electrician, from an independent guy that, used to be a lineman but now has his own company.
Jimmy Lea: We can go to the union and hire somebody. What level of skill training. Experience, what are we looking for? And,
Ryan von Steinen: we're, and we're seeing like a little bit with the Google certified, right? Like it's a process to go through that. I did it for our company. And so that's a little bit, right, like you get that badge.
Ryan von Steinen: So maybe it's someone like that's. Talking about they are more qualified for X and x repair these difficulties, this electrical diag. Maybe that's something that can come from that side too.
Jimmy Lea: I love it. I love it. Yeah. You know, Google got in trouble 'cause they had that Google certified before where it was, Hey, are you, can you fog a mirror?
Jimmy Lea: Okay, you're Google certified. Well then Google got sued too many times and now they've come back and revamped the program. So that's why it was such, so many hoops for you to jump through on that. For sure. Yeah. To what it used to be. So congrats on getting that. That's, there's a feather in your cap right there.
Ryan von Steinen: Well, and I like those little things. Right. Because I feel like it's a little advantage versus the guy down the street, so I'm gonna do everything I can like that. That helps. So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah. Yep. That's awesome. Congrats for doing that. That's very cool, man. Yes. There, bits of advice or topics or subjects to discuss in our Leading Edge podcast.
Ryan von Steinen: You know, I think I, I don't know what the average listener is, right? But I think I, excuse me. I know I speak to a lot of shop owners who don't have any SOPs, you know, standard operating procedures. And when I talk to these people that are trying to start it, I'm like, just go write how to open the shop.
Ryan von Steinen: And it's gonna seem silly to you, but like walk in, go to the light switch at the back of the room, go to the compressor room. Like, just write that. And then you'll get this flow about how it's gonna happen and you'll just get better and better as you do him. And I really, you know, this is from a friend Neil at Oceanside Motor Sport.
Ryan von Steinen: Hes really, Neil's a rad
Jimmy Lea: dude, man. He's so, he's awesome. Awesome. He's
Ryan von Steinen: so awesome. And so I get a lot of good stuff from him or bouncing stuff off of him. Google Docs, you know, and just using everything in Google 'cause it makes it so simple to share with team members to edit and it rein indexes your, you know, your little glossary where you can find stuff.
Ryan von Steinen: So, yeah, make it Google Docs and just start writing procedures. 'cause it's really, it's pretty awesome when it works out for you, for an owner. And like, one that happens to me a lot is if it's not written, it's not true, right? So someone when they come up to me like, Hey, this person said this, or whatever, I'm like, okay, where did you write it down?
Ryan von Steinen: Like, ah, didn't, like, okay. Like, I'm so sorry. Like I care about your feelings. Right. But we've made this a rule for a reason, in things like this. Like every shop owner wants to get the most money he can, right? So we have a rule, like if a technician sees it, he's gotta note it, gotta have a photo, he is gotta have a note about it.
Ryan von Steinen: If an advisor gets that from a technician, they have to estimate it, right? And so love it. Doing those things, putting procedures in place and holding people accountable has really made a big difference.
Jimmy Lea: So, what point of sale system are you using? Tech metric. Tech metric. So in tech metric, are you using their DVI as well?
Jimmy Lea: When a technician is working on a car and he marks that something needs immediate attention, is it part of your policy procedure that they have to take a picture of whatever it is that they're recommending?
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. And even like sometimes you'll get the car with 8,000 miles. I'm like, you gotta put up four photos, minimum.
Ryan von Steinen: Take a photo of the tires or the engine, say how clean it is or how awesome this car is. Like, and another thing is like, don't just put all bad. Right? Yeah. You get somebody and you're writing 'em $12,000 estimates, you gotta tell 'em something good too. Right? You know, this thing looks great.
Ryan von Steinen: Or front suspension I can tell is head work, good job, whatever it may be. But include some good, oh yeah.
Jimmy Lea: No, there, there's a standard number of photos that you should have on every car, and this will help save you and save your clients and your customers. Specifically taking four corners. Yeah. You take pictures at the four corners.
Ryan von Steinen: Yep.
Jimmy Lea: It documents the condition of the vehicle, so it helps you to not pay for those dent lists. Ding removal. It had a ding when it came in. It had a ding now and it's gonna leave with a ding. There was one, that the customer was adamant that the shop had broken off the passenger mirror.
Jimmy Lea: And, they went back to the DVI and the picture showed that it was broken off. And he's like, well, you broke off before you moved it into the shop. So they went back to the video. They have video that video the whole yard. And as sure enough as he's driving in, it was broken off and, he had to apologize.
Jimmy Lea: And to his credit, he did, he talked to his wife and sure she had accidentally broken it off, backing out of the garage or something like that. So. And just not gotten around and forgotten. You know, life gets busy. Just forget to say, Hey, oh, this happened. Right? So it, it was on him and he owned it.
Jimmy Lea: So still a good client of that shop, I'm sure.
Ryan von Steinen: It's been many times that's happened, you know? Yeah. And there was a Rolls-Royce that got delivered here a couple years ago and had a cracked windshield and a Rolls-Royce windshield, big money. And the owner was all about, it wasn't cracked rent, left my house, and it was cracked when it arrived.
Ryan von Steinen: So we figured it out, but it's just because of that four corner check in. And we always do the, instrument cluster with their seatbelt on too. So
Jimmy Lea: I love the instrument cluster. I also take a picture of the Dr, the license plate.
Ryan von Steinen: Yeah. Okay.
Jimmy Lea: Because you got your tags on there. If it's expired or coming up for due, or it's due for expire soon.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. It helps you in tech metric. You put in there the renewal date and now you know, hey, you gotta bring your car in. We need, we can do this. Well, Florida doesn't have state protection anymore. No. And that would be a
Ryan von Steinen: great thing. That's another thing I would love, but, yeah, but no, I get what you're saying and I like just having it to be able to tell him, Hey, Jimmy, like, you know, your tag's running out next month, right?
Ryan von Steinen: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, hey, it expired last month. Oh, shoot. Thanks. You know?
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I don't want you getting a ticket. No. I've been a recipient of one of those, one of those fix it tickets.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. Totally. Oh man. I just totally forgot. And you take care of it and everything's fine. Yeah. No, that's good.
Jimmy Lea: That's good. Well, conga, congratulations Ryan. Congratulations on the future. I hope it goes extremely well for you. Do you have a succession plan here with your partner? That you're gonna buy him out, or does he want to be bought out? Yeah,
Ryan von Steinen: he, he does it. But it's truthfully been hard and messy and the property and the business are two separate things, you know?
Ryan von Steinen: So, I see the light. I'm not giving up. I'm very positive about it, but it's not easy. So I think that's something maybe I could say to another shop owners too, is. A lot of shop owners are DIYers, right? They're good at fixing things, doing stuff themselves. This is not something you really should DIY you, you need some help, right?
Ryan von Steinen: So you do. That'd be my advice. And
Jimmy Lea: especially with people that have been there, done that, they've gone through the succession plans, there's 99 different ways of documenting or planning out your succession plan, whether it is the properties included or not, or leased back or, first right of refusal, whatever that situation is.
Jimmy Lea: Document, document. My $17,000 lesson that I learned that you guys have implemented is it has to be written down. Yeah. It's not written down. It didn't happen. Doesn't exist in your SOL. Yeah. Yep. Cool. Well congratulations Ryan. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time today. Thanks for Yeah, it was great talking about Talking Shop.
Ryan von Steinen: Thanks so much Jimmy. Appreciate the time.
Jimmy Lea: Alright man. Talk to you soon. Take care. Bye.

153 - Jackie Mills: Reviving a Family Legacy at Jess Lewis Transmission

153 - Jackie Mills: Reviving a Family Legacy at Jess Lewis Transmission
September 30, 2025 - 00:30:47
 
Show Summary:
Jimmy Lea talks with Jackie Mills from Jess Lewis Transmission in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about carrying forward a legacy that began in 1954. Jackie shares how her family has grown the business into a 16-bay operation with nearly 20 technicians, balancing tradition with modern innovation. She opens up about her father’s lifelong dedication, the challenges of delegation, and her mission to strengthen structure and process. From mastering CVT rebuilds to transitioning to AutoLeap for better communication and customer transparency, the shop is evolving without losing its roots. Jackie also discusses hiring challenges, industry perceptions, and how she’s preparing to take the business into its next chapter while pursuing her master’s in accounting.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Jackie Mills, owner Jess Lewis Transmission
 
Show Highlights:
[00:00:22] - Jackie shares the history of Jess Lewis Transmission, founded in 1954 with racing roots.[00:01:42] - The shop’s ownership passes through decades, now in the hands of the third family generation.[00:03:13] - Jackie works alongside her dad, focusing on building systems and delegation.[00:05:21] - A look inside the shop’s structure: 16 bays, rebuild specialists, and CVT expertise.[00:06:41] - Her husband’s role in tackling the toughest rebuilds that few shops attempt.[00:07:26] - Growing up at the shop taught Jackie the value of hard work and small business life.[00:09:28] - Corporate experience prepared her for the customer service side of the auto industry.[00:12:23] - Hiring remains the biggest challenge as the trade faces generational shifts.[00:17:46] - The switch to AutoLeap brings efficiency, transparency, and stronger customer trust.[00:20:11] - Future goals: refine processes, strengthen operations, and expand for sustainable growth.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Hello, friend. Thank you for joining me. This is Jimmy Lea. I'm with the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence and this is the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is Jackie Mills. Jackie is with the Jess Lewis transmission, a shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Is that correct, Jackie?
Jackie Mills: Yep. Yeah, that's correct.
Jimmy Lea: The one flight I've taken as a red eye was to Fort Wayne, Indiana. How about that for a memory of Fort Wayne?
Jackie Mills: We have a pretty good airport. It's very small, but like nice and friendly, and you always get a cookie and you get off of a flight.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's cool. Now I don't think I got myself a cookie.
Jackie Mills: Oh no.
Jimmy Lea: I attended and went immediately into a chapter meeting.
Jimmy Lea: I was so red. It was the one and only red eye have ever done. In the last 15 years, I've traveled quite a bit. I was a zombie for the next three days. I really couldn't even tell you where I went, what I did, who I saw. I was pretty much zombie. It was horrible. I don't ever recommend you do red eye flights.
Jimmy Lea: I just think that's cruel and unusual punishment.
Jackie Mills: I agree.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And here I thought, oh, I'm being so smart here. I'm gonna save the cost of a hotel room. No.
Jackie Mills: Not worth it.
Jimmy Lea: Not worth it. Not worth it at all. Not worth it at all. So Jackie, thank you for joining me today. Really appreciate it. And I'm excited to learn more about Jess Lewis transmission.
Jimmy Lea: In fact, that's where I wanna start. The question is, who is Jess Lewis? And what's the story here with your shop?
Jackie Mills: So Jess Lewis he founded the shop in 1954, so we've kind of got a longstanding history in Fort Wayne. I know you'll have to forgive me for not knowing the details of that I grew up like around cars and all of that.
Jackie Mills: I just don't know them as well as maybe I would like to someday, but. He like invented a specific type of transmission, like he was really into racing stuff. We've dug into a little bit about that and if anyone's curious, we have a little bit of background on our website. It's hard to find a lot because he did all of this stuff in the.
Jackie Mills: Like fifties, sixties, seventies, what have you. But it has been in my family since the nineties. I know that it went through a change of ownership between the eighties and nineties. So, Jess has not been involved for a little bit. We're technically the third owner. But he passed away in like the early two thousands, but I guess he was pretty big in the automotive world in our area.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Well, racing was very big in Indiana, that was that's a big pastime there in Indiana and may he rest in peace. That's phenomenal that he started the shop and got you involved or that your dad was able to buy it. So you guys are third time generation owners. Dad bought the business.
Jimmy Lea: Is dad still working in the shop?
Jackie Mills: Yes, very much so. He's still very active, very necessary. In the past several years we've been trying to get him to be a little less necessary because he's one of those traditional, like one man show does everything over, extends himself. Worked way too many hours for way too many years.
Jackie Mills: So we're working on the delegation thing and I mean, I've been here for like the past five years. So that's what we've been working on for five years and we still haven't gotten him to quite like, you know, step out of everything the way that we want to, but we're working on that.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, there's been quite a few succession plans that we have helped implement here in the last two years that I'm aware of at the institute.
Jimmy Lea: So if you'd looking for any advice or information about how to start the conversation, how to structure the conversation and how to finish the conversation. We could probably assist with a little bit of that conversation between you and pops.
Jackie Mills: Yeah, definitely.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's cool. Well, and congratulations to pops as well for having the insight and the foresight to be able to buy the shop and have it ready for you.
Jimmy Lea: So what's the succession plan? What are you looking to do with your dad?
Jackie Mills: So we don't really have like anything officially structured like nothing. Other than kind of like loose ideas, I imagine that he'll still be working for quite a while and in being involved in some capacity even after retirement.
Jackie Mills: He just likes to be busy. He's a very like, hard worker. Like that's just kind of what he does. That's how he, because I mean, he even grew the shop to be like. What it is today. And like it was a very small business with just a couple bays and now we have like 19 guys working for us. Well, 19 technicians I should say.
Jackie Mills: 'Cause we do have a Jackie
Jimmy Lea: 19 technicians. Oh my gosh. How many bays do you guys have? How many shops do you have?
Jackie Mills: So we do it a little bit differently. I think we have like 16 bays. Some of those guys are exclusively rebuild technicians, so they focus on the, like r the rebuilding of transmissions exclusively.
Jimmy Lea: RR,
Jackie Mills: yeah. So like the rest of them are your traditional like r and r automotive technicians. And then the other ones are just rebuilds. So they, like the r and r guys, take the transmissions out and put them in and do like the traditional automotive work, that type of thing. Whereas our rebuilds like actually do the rebuilding of the transmissions.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. And that is such a skill. I've St. George transmission in St. George, Utah, which is where I used to live. There they have the, he has nine master certified techs and these nine guys are the master certified that would take apart that jigsaw puzzle and put it back together. And they love it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And I love that they love it because that is not my jam.
Jackie Mills: Yeah. Yeah. And these, I'm some of them are a little newer, but we've got some really great like rebuild texts like. That's what my husband does right now. He does some of the management stuff, but he's focusing on rebuilding stuff and he works on a lot of the stuff that nobody else will touch, like cbts.
Jackie Mills: A lot of people, I don't know of many shops that will even touch the cbts, but we do a lot of those.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. There's such a pain in the butt. There's so many little teeth inside of there. I understand why nobody wants to do it, and kudos to your husband that he can do it.
Jackie Mills: Yeah. Yeah. He's only been doing it for five years and he's like worked out his own system.
Jackie Mills: He's pretty good at it.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. Congrats. That's very cool.
Jackie Mills: Thank you.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, those CVTs are not to be taken lightly. That's interesting. Okay, so back to pop spot. The shop. He's working in the shop. You are working in the shop. You probably grew up at the shop.
Jimmy Lea: Sweeping floors and Exactly
Jackie Mills: that.
Jackie Mills: Yeah. I
Jimmy Lea: take out the trash.
Jackie Mills: I actually so me and my brother were homeschooled till like high school, so we actually did school at the shop for a while, like in the office. I remember growing up and doing school there 'cause my mom did office work and stuff like that. So like, I literally grew up there.
Jackie Mills: Spent a lot of time at the shop.
Jimmy Lea: Yep.
Jackie Mills: And then I started cleaning floors probably around the age of eight. Like child labor, what? I don't know. Oh
Jimmy Lea: yeah, no, you definitely were child labor. Did you run the Zamboni or was it a MPP and bucket?
Jackie Mills: It was MPP and bucket. I think eventually we got some type of machine, but I was probably too small to like physically handle that at whatever point.
Jackie Mills: So it was very mopping bucket.
Jimmy Lea: Oh that's awesome. That's hilarious. That's awesome. Very cool. I love that mopping bucket. Yeah. And that's true. That, and you then you have a greater appreciation for those Zamboni machines.
Jackie Mills: Yeah, definitely. Definitely have an appreciation for that. And the, just the work and effort that goes into cleaning it in general, like the people that take the time to clean it.
Jackie Mills: Now I have the appreciation for that.
Jimmy Lea: Bingo. Very cool. Very cool. Well, that's a great background you've got within the industry and a super solid foundation. How did you, how did you get I knew you grew up in the shop, but how did you develop this passion for, and continue to work for the shop as opposed to, oh, you know, I'm gonna go off to be a hairstylist.
Jimmy Lea: I want to go be an attorney. I want to go be a different business owner. I want to sell. Whatever. What drew you to the automotive industry?
Jackie Mills: So, I mean, I didn't spend all of my time in it. I did actually like work for the shop and like, I did like payroll and stuff like that in college. I. I have a degree in business management.
Jackie Mills: So I did that for a while. I did work like after graduating, I spent a few years doing other things because while I kind of always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to come back and like work in the family business, that type of thing, my dad felt like it was important to get experience outside of that.
Jackie Mills: I mean, I agree with him because I feel like I have a better appreciation for what it's like to work for a small business. And I worked at a couple large corporations Sweetwater in Indiana, which really great company, loved working for them. And then I worked at MedPro, which is medical malpractice insurance.
Jackie Mills: I was in underwriting, so I did. Customer service based roles in both of those things, which I also feel like has helped me a lot. Like, you know, a lot of people come to automotive repair very angry. So I feel like having the customer service background has like helped prepare me for that. But eventually.
Jackie Mills: My dad got to the point where he was like, I need someone to come help, like take stuff off my plate so if you're ready to come back, I'm ready to have you come back. And it like ended up being good timing because I was very weary of underwriting work and insurance and dealing with angry doctors.
Jackie Mills: So. I just came back to that and now we're kind of working on like building in you know, like more official structures and processes so that it's not like as much workload on one person or like tied into like all being reliant on my dad. So like we've built in management for like different sections of the shop and that type of thing, but really I just like.
Jackie Mills: I do love cars. I'm a fan of cars. I don't understand how they work so much as I just like them. But it's more of a passion for like the small business side of things. And I like working with the other small businesses that we work with and I like what I do and I have a lot of flexibility in what I do.
Jackie Mills: So.
Jimmy Lea: That's very cool. That's very cool. I'm glad you enjoy it. I'm glad you're able to work with mom and dad too. Oh, did, and speaking of, does mom work at the shop too, or no?
Jackie Mills: No she like does a little bit. She comes in and decorates, makes things nice, helps keep the office tidy like she's in and like involved, but she's no longer.
Jackie Mills: Working an official role or anything like that.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, nice. So what's one of the bigger cha biggest challenges or bigger challenges for you as HR and operations for the shop? What's one of those challenges that gets you on a daily, monthly, weekly basis?
Jackie Mills: I suppose like one of our biggest challenges has been hiring.
Jackie Mills: I think that's a industry thing in general. We have a really great team. Like we really like love all of the people that work with us, like work for us, work with us, all that. We have a really great team right now.
Jackie Mills: We also have probably the space and need for more people. It's just hard to find the right people, I guess.
Jackie Mills: I think it's an industry challenge because you have a lot of the experienced people kind of aging out of doing it. And then a lot of the people in like my generation and the newer generations just aren't willing to do this type of work. So that's the struggle, just like finding people that even want to.
Jackie Mills: Do the job. So that's probably our biggest challenge, finding people.
Jimmy Lea: It is. And what's interesting that I hear in the industry is they'll say, well, I want a 20-year-old person who has you know, 15 years of experience and I want to pay a minimum wage. Yeah. It doesn't work like that. No, it worked like that.
Jimmy Lea: No, it definitely does not. You gotta really dig in and know your business and know the numbers and what does it take to run your business. And for every single shop it's different 'cause every shop has a different number of employees. There's different expenses, there's different operating expenses, there's different overhead that it has to be taken care of and accounted for.
Jimmy Lea: So what might work at your shop as a door rate? Might be way too high at my shop. So we have to know our businesses to know at what level can we operate.
Jackie Mills: Yeah, definitely.
Jimmy Lea: That's good. How often do you analyze the business on a whole To find out the the operating net Pro gross profit, net profit.
Jimmy Lea: For the business.
Jackie Mills: It's probably more of a annual thing at this point. Like kind of work with our accountant on that. I'm actually in the process of getting my master's in accounting so that I can do a little bit more of that. I wanna do a lot of the work that he does and be able to like, understand more of that and, you know, like stay more on top of what we need to stay on top of.
Jackie Mills: We do a lot of like analyzing our expenses and like what we need to make. And I do like pricing reviews more regularly than annually.
Jimmy Lea: Agreed. But
Jackie Mills: eventually I would like to be doing that, you know, like quarterly or something like that.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, that's very cool. Yeah, things changed so quickly. My uncle owned.
Jimmy Lea: 129 different rental properties. And so by the 10th of the month, he wanted to know what's our gross profit, what's our net profit? So by the 10th of the month, he wanted to know last month. So let's say September was last month, by October 10th, he wanted to know all the numbers so he would know on that monthly.
Jimmy Lea: 'cause if you're looking at it annually, it's probably, there's a lot that could have been changed along the way, to your point, quarterly, yeah. Is a really good spot to be in. And then I would say even suggest that the monthly, looking at it monthly is a beautiful way of knowing, am I on top of my numbers or not?
Jimmy Lea: Have you ever been involved in any coaching or training where you've got an accountability buddy?
Jackie Mills: No, we haven't done anything like that, and it's something that we've discussed. It's we have a lot of changes and all of that on our plate. That makes it a little difficult to like, introduce anything in, because I'd really like my dad to get in on that stuff.
Jackie Mills: Sure. But we have been part of like the institute's community for a while now. Like I'm. I'm a big podcast listener, so I have listened to your podcast and I've listened to some of the other podcasts that are like, kind of in the community. Yes. So like I'm in on all of that and like love the advice and all of that I'm seeing and we're working on kind of applying that 'cause it's been like a hit the ground running thing for my dad for a while.
Jackie Mills: We're just trying to like, catch everything else up to it.
Jimmy Lea: Right. I mean, even though he's been in the business since 1990 something, it, every day things are growing so fast and moving so quickly. There's so much to learn on a daily. Yes. It's like, oh my gosh, how, when am I gonna have time to run my business?
Jackie Mills: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. We and it was something that we got kind of from, like the community that you guys have built and all that. But we just recently switched our system, which was a huge undertaking, and it's so much more than you think it's gonna be especially just with the older guys that don't want the technology.
Jackie Mills: So we like moved from. I don't know if you, I don't know. I don't wanna like disparage their system. Okay. We moved from, no,
Jimmy Lea: there's no disparaging here whatsoever. You went from a platform to a different platform. Yeah. The one you were on is whatever, but the one you went to. What are you on now? What are you operating?
Jimmy Lea: We're on
Jackie Mills: auto leave now.
Jimmy Lea: Excellent.
Jackie Mills: Yeah. Yes, we love it. The
Jimmy Lea: rules. The rules of changing your point of sale system. Rule number one is don't do it.
Jimmy Lea: Okay. That being said, rule number two is when you do decide that it is, that the old system just isn't giving you everything you want. Or need or desire. Every system that you look at, does it give you everything you're wanting. And so moving to OT Leap it's a great program. They've got great customer service, great support.
Jimmy Lea: They're doing a great job for you. What do you like about the Auto Lead program?
Jackie Mills: So one of the primary things that we like is that it's an all-in-one, and that's what we were really searching for when we dec because it was a big decision. We spent a lot of time researching everything and trying to decide if that was worth it, because it is a big change to go from one thing to another thing.
Jackie Mills: But we love that it's an all in one. And then the other big thing is that it has a lot more transparency capabilities, like sending the inspections to customers. So we are looking to like level up our customer service with communication, but also like, hey, here's where we are at in the process. We do general automotive repair, but a lot of our work is focused in transmissions and like transmission rebuilding, that type of thing, which is longer than standard automotive work.
Jackie Mills: Like you have a lot more time wrapped up in transmissions, which is a huge frustration for customers because. I understand it 'cause like not everybody understands what goes into it, but we were kind of looking to try and provide a way, like you can know where you're at in the process, like we're waiting on parts or like that type of thing.
Jackie Mills: So like we love that Auto Leap gives us the capability to communicate all of that stuff without adding like copious amounts of work.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah, for sure. Congrats. I That's great. I'm glad you're on Ale. It's a good program. It's got a solid foundation. They're doing some great things in the industry too.
Jimmy Lea: So that's very cool. That's very cool. So what does the future look like for your transmission shop that is transforming and now doing automotive maintenance? What does it look like for you in the future?
Jackie Mills: I think we're like focusing on trying to make what we have the best that it can be.
Jackie Mills: And we do have, like we have an extra building with some more bays in it to like hopefully do some growth in you know, other areas like maybe offer more services or just hire more techs, that type of thing. Not 100% sure what that's gonna look like yet, but like we do have like growth plans in the future, but currently we're mostly focused on.
Jackie Mills: Trying to make everything work the best that it can be for us, our techs, our customers, that type of thing. So, growth, but mostly like improving our processes and kind of catching everything up to. We're at.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. You're reminding me of a really good friend, Tracy Holt. His shop is Performance Place up here in Utah, and he came to the institute and he says, Hey, look I'm a 7% net profit.
Jimmy Lea: I'm an 8% net profit shop. I just, I can't break through I what I need, process procedures. If you're not gonna help me with that, if you're gonna tell me I need to increase my average repair order or increase my car count, then, you know, thanks. But no thanks. We can part ways and still be friends.
Jimmy Lea: I was like, oh yeah, Chay, we got you. We're gonna meet you where you are and help you to improve from there. So he had 16 bays? Yes. 16 bays and. Operating and doing very well. In fact, the family is so involved in his business that the success or failure of the family is dependent on the success or failure of the shop.
Jackie Mills: Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: A lot of his, I
Jackie Mills: don't really understand that.
Jimmy Lea: A lot of his children, his nephews, nieces, his sister is his business partner, so the two of them operate the business together. And it's only recently it took like 40 years for them to buy the shop from dad. 'cause dad kept. Dragging his feet. Oh, you do what you want.
Jimmy Lea: No dad, this is your business. We respect you. We love you. This has to be your choice, your decision. So finally, after 40 years, they finally got it done. Probably the longest story that I've heard of buying a shop, but he finally got it done and the institute worked with him on process, procedures, and just this last.
Jimmy Lea: November, December, he broke 23 point something percent net profit in the November. And in December broke 24 point something percent net profit.
Jackie Mills: Wow.
Jimmy Lea: 16 base. Yeah. So what's the net result? The shop is doing extremely well. They're very happy. The air is cleaner, the sky is bluer, the grass is greener.
Jimmy Lea: Everybody's happier, and it provides different quality of life for everybody at the shop. What's the net result on car count? What's the net result? On average pair order, they all went up.
Jackie Mills: That's amazing. Yeah.
Jimmy Lea: All went up because they focused on process procedure, which allowed them to be more efficient, which allowed them more capacity.
Jimmy Lea: I think that is awesome. Yeah. Let's add to it, just like you were talking about, you have the ability to expand. He had the ability to expand. I went and visited his shop. He shows me the back. A lot. So you can see this is one of the oldest businesses in his town or wherever he is west Jordan, south Jordan, one of those two.
Jimmy Lea: You can see where dad had the original business and then he added onto it, and then he added onto it, and then he added onto it. So those 14, 16 bays were in the first three editions. There's a fourth edition, and dad had all of his old dead bodies in there. Old race cars, not human bodies. Dead bodies in there and six Bay, four bays of stuff, an rv, a travel trailer, just stuff and things.
Jimmy Lea: And I was like, bro, when's the last time pops came in here and looked at his stuff? It's been a couple years. Get some sea retainers, put 'em out in the parking lot there with. Whatever he's got out there, pops, here's your stuff. It's available for you anytime you wanna come down a rifle through it.
Jimmy Lea: Come on down. We'll set up lawn chairs and have a good old time. The RV moved out, the travel trailer moved out. All the dead bodies that are in these detainers now from their racing days and all that kind of stuff. And he opened up another four bays. At the shop. So he's now a 20 bay shop on, I think he's three point something acres.
Jimmy Lea: It's got some land to it. They're so excited. They're doing so well. I'm so very proud of Tracy Holt and the family and the team there at Performance Place.
Jackie Mills: Yeah. That's amazing.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. They're doing a great job. Similar story for what you guys have, you have an ability to expand. How many bays would that add for you?
Jackie Mills: I. Not 100%, but I think they're thinking it would add like four or five more bays.
Jimmy Lea: Love it. Love it. You should do it. You should do it as quickly as you can. 'cause you've already got how many technicians? 16 technicians?
Jackie Mills: Yeah. I believe that it's 16 or 17, somewhere in there.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. Yeah, I'd be expanding pretty dang fast.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. That is so awesome. So what is the one thing, if you could change something in the industry, something at your shop, what's one thing, if I gave you a magic wand and you were able to wave the wand, you can't wish for more wishes, but you could wave the wand, what would you wish for in the industry?
Jackie Mills: I think I think it would definitely be, and it, I know it's one of the things that you guys are kind of like seeking to change is the perception of the industry. And I know by far and large that there has been, like, there has been some guilt in the industry, but you do get. I'm sure you've experienced this, a lot of customers that come in already expecting the worst of you.
Jackie Mills: Whereas, you know, like stuff does happen. We do make mistakes. We always try to like own up to anything that we do or cause or whatever. But when you're always trying to look for the bad thing, you're going to see the bad thing. And you know, we're here, like we've been in business for a really long time, always trying to do the right thing.
Jackie Mills: Trying to do right by our customers, trying to do right by our employees. But you know. There is a lot of, like, we have amazing customers. We have a lot of loyal customers, but there's also some people that, you know, just always wanna find something wrong with what you're doing. And maybe it's because they have been burned by someone before, but I think that I would like to change that.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. And you'll do that with those digital vehicle inspections that you provide to your customers and clients. Show 'em. Show 'em. What's worn, torn, frayed, broken leaking, seeping. Cracked. Put arrows, pointed it out to them so they can see it. They will make better decisions when they're educated, they make better decisions.
Jimmy Lea: So that DVI gives them insight into, they're not just trying to take me for all the money I've got. These are safety issues. These are the things that you have to take care of. This is very, this is Paramountly important. And there's a next level that says we can do this while the car's in here, or we can keep watching it maybe in three months or six months.
Jimmy Lea: These are the items that you're probably gonna need to take care of next. And then these are all the other things that are good. So there's your red, yellow, green. Red, let's get it taken care of today. It's in the shop. You absolutely, this is safety issues. Yellow says future, but we can do it today if you want.
Jimmy Lea: And a lot of people say, yeah, let's get it all done today. You've got the car. I don't wanna have to come back. Let's get it all done.
Jackie Mills: Yeah, exactly. And we have noticed that we have had a lot more like customer satisfaction since we've kind of implemented like a higher level of communication and on our end, like a higher level of due diligence, like having the pictures and the notes and all of that too.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. I love it. It's so cool. I love the digital vehicle inspections. It provides so much more clarity into what you're doing and the service you're providing for those customers and clients because it's, it is not just a laundry list of this, you need to do this.
Jimmy Lea: $2,500. It's a breakdown that says you need to replace your brakes and brake pads and rotors, and here's the reasons why, and this is what yours looks like. It's metal on metal. It's bad.
Jackie Mills: Dangerous.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. It happens. It happens. Well, Jackie, thank you so much for joining me today and talking about your shop and your business.
Jimmy Lea: So excited for your future. You've got a very bright future there with Pops and with your husband, and congrats on going for your Master's in accounting. Super cool.
Jackie Mills: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I appreciate getting to talk with you.
Jimmy Lea: You're welcome. You're welcome. This has been very enlightening, and if Pops is open for the idea, we'd love to train you, your husband and your pops all together to train on the shop, on the business.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. It's an opportunity for us. Let's do it. If there's not, we're all good. We'll still be friends.
Jackie Mills: Definitely. Thank you so much.
Jimmy Lea: You are welcome. You're welcome. Because we here at the Institute, we're all about building a better business. Your business, better business, better life. If your business is better, it helps your life to be better.
Jimmy Lea: You'll breathe better. Not just you, your employees, not just your employees, their families, their spouses, their significant others. It helps everybody to breathe better, and when we, as the institute or as the industry, we lock arms together, that's our third mission with the institute, is we're here to build a better industry.
Jimmy Lea: So we'd love to work with you on that to build up your business, your life, and your industry as well.
Jimmy Lea: Thank you very much, Jackie. Look forward to talking to you soon.

152 - Efficiency Over Expansion: How Matt Kranz Built His Dream Team

152 - Efficiency Over Expansion: How Matt Kranz Built His Dream Team
September 30, 2025 - 00:38:59
 
Show Summary:
From broom to Bentleys, Matt Kranz maps the climb from a cramped back-office closet to leading Long Meadow Garage, a three-bay shop attached to a gas station and c-store. He unpacks hard-won lessons from a chaotic first job, showing why turnover and shortcuts kill trust, and how a dirty white shirt at the counter builds credibility. Matt explains his pivot into European and luxury work, the tools and security credentials he chooses with purpose, and how shop-to-shop collaboration expands capability without bloating costs. He shares real KPIs, a lean team structure, and the discipline behind DVIs and the 300 percent rule. Training is a constant, with on-the-job diagnostics, lunch-and-learns, and curated content keeping techs and advisors sharp. With demand three weeks out, Matt prioritizes efficiency and quality over bay count, yet still sets a stretch target for what three bays can do. He closes with straight talk on the tech pipeline and his best advice to new owners: do not take it personally, learn, systemize, and keep leading.
 
Host(s):
Jimmy Lea, VP of Business Development
 
Guest(s):
Matt Kranz, COO of Longmeadow Garage
 
Show Highlights:
[00:00:21] - Matt laughs about recording from a tiny back office and traces his start in 2000 sweeping floors while his father worked the parts side of the industry.[00:02:08] - Lessons from a badly run first shop reveal what not to do, from high turnover to dishonest practices, and why every example teaches something.[00:04:07] - As a working manager, Matt helps take a location from roughly 250k to about 690k in annual revenue and learns the power of a “dirty white shirt” at the counter.[00:05:23] - Moving to a long-standing Mobil station, Matt becomes the fourth owner and leans into European and luxury work while still serving mainstream makes.[00:07:14] - He invests in tools with intent, maintains NASTF security credentials, and builds reciprocal relationships with specialty shops to fill capability gaps.[00:09:10] - Team snapshot: two techs, one inspector, one service writer, and a culture focused on customer experience, mentorship, and generational perspective.[00:11:29] - KPIs on the table: about 1.6M total revenue, roughly 300 cars a month, near 420 ARO, and state inspections at 35 dollars that add six figures in volume.[00:15:02] - Strategy over size: optimize a single shop for quality and efficiency before chasing bay count, even while eyeing a stretch goal near 3.6M from three bays.[00:23:05] - Training in action: on-the-job diagnostics, WTI lunch-and-learns, ASE replays, and curated YouTube content to keep skills sharp across the team.[00:30:46] - Every vehicle gets a DVI and the 300 percent rule keeps inspections, estimates, and presentations consistent, with QC as the next level up.
 
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Episode Transcript DisclaimerThis transcript was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, please contact us at marketing@wearetheinstitute.com.
 
Episode Transcript:
Jimmy Lea: Good morning friends. So excited to be here with you today. My name is Jimmy Lee. I'm with the Institute and this is the Leading Edge podcast. Joining me today is Matt Krantz from Long Meadow Garage and it is a three Bay Garage at a gas station with a C store, and with Fuel. And Matt, you own all of this, correct?
Jimmy Lea: Correct. Yep. Oh my gosh, Matt, and you're joining me from those of you. You can't see this, but you can hear this. It looks like Matt is joining me from a janitor closet converted to an office. What are we looking at here, Matt?
Matt Kranz: It is, it's just a small office in the back. Originally we did all the paperwork by hand, so there wasn't a need for much.
Matt Kranz: And we never improved it. We're working on some improvements to maybe make this office open floor into the shop, so,
Jimmy Lea: oh, that, that is awesome. I think if you put your hands out, left to right, you could probably touch both walls.
Matt Kranz: It looks that small. I think I can actually, yeah,
Jimmy Lea: it's that small and front to back is probably just about the same.
Jimmy Lea: You could probably see about the same. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well that's awesome. So, your shop, you've got the three bays, but let's I wanna go back in time to when you started in the automotive industry. What did that look like for you? And then we'll come where you are today and then we'll go to where you're going in the future.
Jimmy Lea: Okay. So where did you start?
Matt Kranz: I started in about 2000 and started working at the shop, sweeping the floors down the road. My father actually owned a muffler shop back then. It was a mining gee. So it was a good beginning. And I wound up he wound up selling that and moved on and he became basically a parts rep.
Matt Kranz: So he worked for different parts companies throughout the years and, I wound up continuing to work on like weekends because I was still in high school at that point, right. I was gonna just take a year off to save some money for college or technical school, and I wound up taking that year off, making some money and never went back to school.
Matt Kranz: Taught myself, and
Jimmy Lea: here we are, school of hard knocks. So you went straight into a shop.
Matt Kranz: I went into a terrible, terribly run shop. I stuck with it, but I saw, you know, what, some of the people, the high turnover rate and the dishonesty. I got to see all that, learn from it and learn from their mistakes.
Matt Kranz: And I, I took all the experiences with, you know, basically with for gold that they. Experiences you could not get. You could only be told about,
Jimmy Lea: yes. Told about, or you have to experience it and what you experienced is that everyone is a good example. Everyone's a good,
Matt Kranz: yeah. Yeah. A good example. Do even when you're doing things wrong, you're a great example
Jimmy Lea: or a bad example of what you shouldn't do or a good example of what you shouldn't do.
Jimmy Lea: That. That is awesome that you were able to do that. How long were you at the shop then? How long were you there? Breaking knuckles, cutting your teeth.
Matt Kranz: At that shop for about six, no, seven years, I think it was seven years. And as I started, they, you know, the people who owned it, you know, with the turnover.
Matt Kranz: I think we went through 20 managers in the first two years. And I was just sweeping the floor. I was still learning how to, you know, work on things and work on 'em on the side because a lot of the stuff they did was only brake suspension. An exhaust. And that didn't excite me. I wanted to get more into engine's performance.
Matt Kranz: I did a lot with racing. So like anybody, I got myself in trouble. But, you know, it I wound up finding the right ways to do it. So today I can show the guys, you know, some of my race cars and bring 'em out and say, look, let's go to the track and we're gonna, we're gonna go to speed limit to the track.
Jimmy Lea: B limit to the track, and then on the track, now it's time to race.
Matt Kranz: Now it's time to have fun. Go break something now. Just don't hurt yourself. Yeah. But the yeah, I mean all those experiences, you know, I eventually wound up managing that, that location. So we started out, I guess the first couple years that was a 200 to $250,000 in total revenue operation.
Matt Kranz: The last year I left, which would've been oh seven, was the total, was the complete year. That year we closed out at about six 90. So big improvement, and I was the manager for the previous four years. So, I feel like I was responsible for that.
Jimmy Lea: Congratulations. Yeah, you were responsible for that.
Jimmy Lea: That's awesome. So how long were you at this shop then at turning a wrench and managing
Matt Kranz: About seven years total. Seven years
Jimmy Lea: total.
Matt Kranz: Oh, seven years total. And I was a working manager, so I was expected to be in the shop. You know, we'd run back and forth to the counter, talk to the customers. And I think that helped a lot.
Matt Kranz: 'cause they'd see it covered in grease and they'd be like, oh, this isn't just a salesman telling me what's wrong with my car.
Jimmy Lea: No, this is the guy working on my car, telling me what's going.
Matt Kranz: Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. Psychology. I was able to, you know, pull up from that. I found the dirty white shirt sold stuff to those people better than a, you know, a clean shirt.
Matt Kranz: They were, they wanted to talk to the mechanic if you had a shirt, clean shirt.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my word. That's awesome. Congrats on that. So at what point did you look at where you were in your life and you look at these seven years and you're like, okay, no, I think I wanna start my own shop.
Matt Kranz: So actually I had the opportunity to come to this mobile gas station, which had been around since 1941.
Matt Kranz: It's on, it's, I'm the fourth generation of ownership to it. It's only two of them were within a family, and the others were, we're just partners that, that came through and worked and made it happen. I always had a, you know, app for the high-end cars for, you know, really nice stuff. And this, believe it or not, this shop is only about four miles up the road.
Matt Kranz: But what a difference in clientele and in what we work on. You know, now I've moved I've always been a master tech since I was able to get the certification and. Now I'm working on, you know, your top cars that are out there between, you know, Maseratis, you know, we get you know, Bentleys range Rovers, lots of them, BMWs, Mercedes.
Matt Kranz: And then we'll work on your Honda and Chevy too. Those are easy when you work on a lot of the European stuff. I, in this area, I can't believe how many people don't want to touch it 'cause it's like too mentally tolling. But. I've always needed that stimulation. I need it if I'm not challenged and it's easy.
Matt Kranz: It's not fun.
Jimmy Lea: Well, and you're working on the Lamborghinis and the Ferraris as well, right?
Matt Kranz: No Ferrari, occasional Lamborghini, but I have the factory sports
Jimmy Lea: luxury vehicles. Yep. Nice. And I, you know, I think that's probably a lot of the scare for a lot of people is that they are worried about trying to get all of this extra equipment, scanners, tools, everything that has to go along with working on that vehicle and they just can't do it.
Matt Kranz: It is a requirement. Yeah. I mean, there is a, any, anything that I don't have, it's 'cause I don't want it. It's I've made the decision that either it's not financially feasible or it's not a brand that I want to commit in full to.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. So are you what are the flags that you have chosen to not renew?
Matt Kranz: Mercedes Century, believe it or not I've left anything for that to be remotely programmed. And there's a route that I can still work on it and do anything that's needed. I do have a locksmith id with nastf that I can purchase all the security relevant parts. So that, I mean, that's important for anybody out there, but, there's certain things that we just haven't, we haven't wanted to get, you know, fully vested into that. But I always try to have a relationship with other shops that do so a lot of times I can help them with a, you know, a tool or a scanner procedure that they don't have. And I hope that they can help me too.
Matt Kranz: Which it works out. It's a good compli.
Jimmy Lea: And that's true. So are you locking arms with a lot of these competitors? We'll call 'em competitors in the industry, but they're really not competitors. They're your band of brothers that you get together and you help each other.
Jimmy Lea: Do you find yourself working a lot of these other shops?
Matt Kranz: Yeah the competitors I've been, you know, they're not competitors, like you said. They're really, these are people we can network with and work with because they do things that I don't and vice versa.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, it's so true.
Jimmy Lea: Oh man. It's just awesome that you can work together with these people. And so, you run the fuel, the C store and the bays. You've got three bays. How many techs do you have today working with you
Matt Kranz: today? I have two techs. The third one is my inspection guy, Nick. He's really good. But he doesn't have the full technical backing, so he needs some help with some of the technical stuff. But his primary job is inspections. He keeps himself busy over there. So, it, that, it's really a good compliment. I do also have a service writer, Marcus. He does all the, you know, ordering up parts, writing up everything.
Matt Kranz: So he,
Jimmy Lea: yeah,
Matt Kranz: it, everybody worked really well together. I have, I think, the best crew I've ever had here. And I was able to get myself out. That's awesome. The shop, that was one of my goals. So I could focus, you know, on the different things in the business, you know, making the customer's experience better and actually passing some of my knowledge down to these guys.
Matt Kranz: 'cause I, as, as young as I think I am, there's so much that I find that they've never seen. We actually just had a conversation this morning about minivans. We had to fix a door on a Toyota Sienna minivan. The cable broke and. I looked at Ben and I said, well, it's weird to have two doors on a van and Marcus is about my age and agreed.
Matt Kranz: And Ben said, I've never seen a van with one door. What are you talking about?
Jimmy Lea: Ah, that's awesome. Oh, that's hilarious. That's funny. Haven't seen a van with one door. Yeah, I grew up with the one door Dodge Caravans.
Matt Kranz: That's right. Lee Koka had those down. I mean he years, he perfected several body styles of those.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, he sure did. Oh my gosh. That's hilarious. That is hilarious. Yeah the the double doors is, in my mind it's new, but gosh, it's been around for 10, 15 years now that they've had double doors.
Jimmy Lea: I just haven't, it's not been on my radar, you know?
Matt Kranz: No it's so funny 'cause it, it came up and I was like, holy crap. Like, we're not that we're only a 10 year, 11, 12 year age difference. But what a difference generationally.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. You know, it's, and it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.
Jimmy Lea: People are people and we all learn. So, to speak of people being people what is your, what do your numbers look like right now? Are you familiar with your kpi? Yeah, right.
Matt Kranz: I have a cheat sheet here, so I don't box them so anybody can check me. But our total revenue last year we did real well.
Matt Kranz: We did 1.6 million and that did include inspections. That's really three bays. It's more two bays. It was 1.5 and some change. Not counting the inspections. Yeah. So each of my techs billed out about 2000 hours. And my car counts about three, it's like three 90, or I'm sorry, 2 97, almost 300 per month.
Matt Kranz: And our RO is about four 20. Nice. So. So you're looking at about
Jimmy Lea: 300 cars per month? Is that what I heard? 300 cars? Yeah. 2, 9, 7. And then your average repair order's in the 4 54 24 20 range. Nice. Solid. And is that average repair orders, does that include your estate inspections?
Matt Kranz: It does not.
Jimmy Lea: Okay. What is your, what are you able to charge for your state inspections?
Matt Kranz: Those are $35. So that, that equates to, you know, usually a hundred to $120,000 a year. Yeah. In, in, in $35 inspections.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. That's a lot of vehicles. That is just horrendous. But I'm glad you're getting 35 in the state of Utah.
Jimmy Lea: They were getting 16. Oh, wow. And they went to the state and they're like, you know, we're losing our butts here on this state inspection stuff. We need 41. And the state said, oh, you want 41, do you? Okay, you can have 19. We need 41. Oh, okay. We're gonna cancel the program. There you go. Oh geez. Oh yeah. So the state of Utah, I'm scared now.
Jimmy Lea: There's cars broke down on the side of the road all the time. Because there's no state inspection. You can see 'em their ball joints give out their control arms, their sway bars. They're pigeon toes. They're you know, they're,
Matt Kranz: yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my gosh. It's so scary. It's like Florida
Matt Kranz: Connecticut's the same way.
Matt Kranz: But it helps that they have a higher per capita income, so people are more apt to spend some money, which is the game. But once again, there's no safety inspection. They only do emissions.
Jimmy Lea: Oh my God. Yeah.
Matt Kranz: Out by us. It's been 35 since 2011, and that came up from 29 and 29, I wanna say was in 97 or 98.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah,
Matt Kranz: so there really hasn't been, it, I mean, it hasn't followed inflation at all.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, no, it really doesn't. And the funny thing about the state of Utah is there is emissions test only if you're in the big cities. If you live in a town that's smaller than a certain population, you do not have to get emissions.
Matt Kranz: Oh, interesting. Didn't realize that. Yeah. So I think you're in, there's enough trees. There's enough trees to suck up the knots.
Jimmy Lea: No, that's the funny thing. It's all down in the desert. Trees don't touch knots. There are no trees. It's all cactus and lizards and tortoise and coyote. Oh, wow. But up here in northern Utah, they have these inversions where the smog gets so bad it just holds the cold air low.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, wow. It's due to the smog. And so they really are trying to eliminate that. So anyways, so you're working in your shop. You, I mean these are some good numbers. You got rocking there. You right in line with the national averages, which is, that's awesome. That's very cool. Where, what is the future look like for you,
Matt Kranz: Matt?
Matt Kranz: I really the biggest goal, you know, every time I look to expand, maybe buy another shop, but to expand I don't think is the right answer. 'cause you know, I can give a real nice personal service, focus on everything. I have a great crew and keep my stress low and there's no turnover. If anything, I think work on efficiency and how to make these guys the best they are.
Matt Kranz: You know.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah, totally. My, my
Matt Kranz: problem right now is I'm booking out three weeks and yeah, we have to apologize to customers for that, but it's not like we get, you know, 10 bays, 10 techs and then we have to apologize 'cause the car wasn't fixed right the first time and came back. Then we kill the quality and I've always been huge into the quality over quantity.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. I got a buddy with a three bay shop in Denver, Colorado. Fourex. They do 3.6 million.
Matt Kranz: Nice.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty good. So there's a goal for you, 3.6.
Matt Kranz: Heck yeah. It's all efficiency at that game.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And he's tucked in, he has, he owns his building. He owns a small little parking lot, and they, their efficiencies have to be super high because they cannot have vehicles parked for long amounts of time.
Jimmy Lea: So they're constantly pulling in, pulling out, pulling and pulling out vehicles. So 3.6, put that on your radar.
Matt Kranz: Yeah. Yeah. That's a big goal, but I'm down for it. Yeah. If we don't up the challenge, then there's no point in doing it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And if you're getting ready, if you're looking at this saying, okay, I either want to optimize my single location or expand the kingdom, and we can operate at a solid 80, 90, 90 5% efficiency.
Jimmy Lea: Hey man, that's solid too. Let's expand the kingdom and now you're, you have two and three and four and five, and maybe you down the road you get to 10 that have, and you can private equity and they have a legacy because in a, are you familiar with private equity in these situations that they're putting together?
Matt Kranz: Yes, ma'am.
Jimmy Lea: This legacy could live on and on. You could have. The ability to resell the business every three to five years, and you continue to be part of the operations. But at that point, when you've got 10 locations, you've got process, procedure, down, you've got a team in place, you're operating at the top of the level.
Jimmy Lea: You're sitting on a beach and drinking my ties while the shop is being run by the team. Yep. The kingdom is being run by the team, so it's a great opportunity and it's awesome to get in while you're young, to be able to have this legacy generational money now for the, for the family. And it could come from a single location optimized at a 4 million out of three bays, or it could be that you've expanded the footprint and now you're 10 locations.
Jimmy Lea: Either way, get your process procedures down, help the team get better together with you. And there you go. So I heard a quote a while ago. I wanna run this past you, Matt, and see what your thoughts are here. The quote was, just because you own a business doesn't mean you're a good leader. It's true.
Jimmy Lea: What does that say to you?
Matt Kranz: That I a hundred percent agree with that. I've seen, yeah you gotta show your guys the way, you gotta guide 'em. You can't sit on top of the trailer and let them tow you. You gotta help push the trailer with them. That's, I that it's all too common in this area.
Matt Kranz: And it, I think it just creates arrogance.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. And that's,
Matt Kranz: there's no place for that.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Do you see a lot of shops in a we'll call it a Mexican standoff where they're standing toe to toe and they think each other are enemies, but really we need to be a brotherhood.
Matt Kranz: That's, honestly, that's one of the biggest things I see whenever, and I haven't done a whole lot of networking to the point that I want to.
Matt Kranz: But whenever I have an, you know, a parts guy call me and like, Hey, Matt, how do you set this up? Can you help this guy out? He is not familiar and a lot of times it's a shop that I don't wanna point down 'em, but they're, they may be in their infancy with technology. They, they've resisted for long enough and now they have to get into it.
Matt Kranz: I've actually helped set up about 10 different guys in the area with these, you know, different secure links. And I'm like, where have you guys been? Like, Subaru's got it. Mercedes has it. Chrysler has it like Volkswagen with GRP now. Either way, the point being is whenever I talk to him and they're almost like, oh, he's from Matter Garage.
Matt Kranz: I've heard of him and I'm a problem solver. Shop. So I'll get a lot of cars that went to other shops and I charge through the nose for it. But when you come in and you preface that, oh, they put all these parts in and now you're asking for this much money, I look at 'em and say, you didn't pay me any of it.
Matt Kranz: You could have paid me this the first time, and
Jimmy Lea: oh, and I would've fixed it right the first time too, by the way. You're right.
Matt Kranz: But the reality with it is when they start that standoff I kind of look at it and I'm like, why do you think we're competitors? We're not competitors at all. I'm fixing the things you can't fix and I'm not taking your simple brake jobs or your simple work, or we work together and I can, you know, I can compliment you.
Matt Kranz: So when you compress that caliper on the back of the Audi and you can't get that light to reset 'cause your guy unplugged the motor. I got your back. You know, let's work on that. Yeah. Oh, that's so good. But usually that's what I see is it's the guys resisting the change.
Jimmy Lea: Well, thank you for being the voice of change there, Matt, in your of the woods Bond.
Jimmy Lea: Bond with them lock arms together. Let's, we can do this together. There's no way you could service every vehicle that passes your shop. There's no way that the six of you could service every vehicle that passes in front of your six shop. There's no way the 10 of you could pass and service the vehicles.
Jimmy Lea: There's so much business to go around. We are. What's a friendly competition? We're frenemies, but we're not enemies. There you go. Friendly competition. We friendly competition works like a team and we build each other.
Matt Kranz: Yeah. Sometimes we got, eh, you know this guy said this much and you're said this much.
Matt Kranz: You know what? That'll keep us honest. I'm good with that.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. It is not a bad thing. It's not a bad thing.
Matt Kranz: It's a good, I keep getting that you're gonna be cheaper than the dealer and I, whoa. Well, we're probably not gonna be cheaper than the dealer. We're gonna be about the same. 'cause the parts are the parts when we get that level of part.
Matt Kranz: But ultimately, I'm way less expensive than the dealer, even though I may charge the same amount. I have a crew and people that care about the car you're working on. Whereas at the dealer, you might get that superstar, that awesome guy, the head tech, the upcoming guy that really cares about what he's doing.
Matt Kranz: But you might get a guy they had to hire 'cause they have to get warranty work out the door and you don't really want him tearing your car apart.
Jimmy Lea: No. And the only reason he got hired is 'cause he could fog a mirror. You're right. And that's scary. That's the wrong person to put on the bus.
Matt Kranz: I mean, I'm, I guess I've been very unique with some of my hiring that if we're, in the past when we were shorthanded, I was out there and I said, you know what?
Matt Kranz: I'm gonna pick up the slack. I'm gonna help you guys out. Like, this is a team. I'm part of it, and we're doing this until we find another person. And I get that at the dealer. They can't, it's nobody that can jump in and do that. But heck yeah, we're gonna be more, we hire a better quality. We work as a better quality.
Jimmy Lea: I just have had quite a few conversations here recently about training. What do you do for training, for your technicians, for your advisors? What do you do that way?
Matt Kranz: Currently there's not as much as I'd like, but I'm always grabbing things. So I actually just the other day we ran into it with a with a, a Jeep Diesel and it came up with a PO four 20, a catalyst efficiency.
Matt Kranz: And then my, one of my head techs came over and scratched his head and said, I'm not sure what to do. And I said, me either, but let's read the service manual together. And we did. And it, you know, it was Chrysler typical test A, B, and C and go through the tree. And then I, you know, I said, well, why? I wanna know why they had us go in this order.
Matt Kranz: So I, I actually looked it up and brought in a bunch of it today. So I think that on the job training, just the interest in what he was doing is really helpful and beneficial for them. And I'll grab Carlos and, Hey man, listen to this. You know, you weren't involved, but I want you to see what we went through over this.
Matt Kranz: And then also I've been actually really happy with the the lunchtime training. We've been sitting down about every two weeks. And do either the Tuesday or Thursday launch time training with WTI, which has been really cool. A SE has an awesome program. I'm, those are at night and I can't sit the guys down at the shop.
Matt Kranz: But what I've been trying to do is I'll, I found a hack that I can sign in, take the course myself, which I just like learning it anyways. And then two days later they'll send me a link so that I can replay the course. So I make sure the guys all get a copy of that. And hey, if you're sitting around, dunno what to do.
Matt Kranz: Take a look. You know, the Snap-on actually has the really good YouTube channels that update all the time. I was, I maybe you can gimme some more that are awesome. I'm always looking for 'em. You know, be it dormant or standard or some of 'em are very focused on the sales, but there's always something you can grab from 'em.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, there always is. Yeah. The more your technicians can learn to be the best technicians they can be, the better it is for the consumer, the customer, and the experience. And let's also translate that to the service advisor. I talked to some shop owners, they're like, oh no. I'm not gonna train my advisors.
Jimmy Lea: Why not? They need training. They need training on communication, on creating estimates, best practices.
Matt Kranz: I found there is a go ahead. That training is much more difficult to find. I've been very interested, actually. I was so excited and I unexplained it to all the guys, and I told 'em, I said, I really look like a jerk, but let me explain why.
Matt Kranz: And the name of the seminar was triage diagnosis. So from triage diagnosis, I took that to mean the first step when you walk in the door. How do we start the diagnosis? So we start to talk to the customer, you know, that we form a relationship, we talk to 'em and we say, Hey, you know what? So what happened when the battery light came on?
Matt Kranz: What were you doing? How fast was the car driving? You know, were you accelerating, stopping going? Did it go out thereafter? How did you get here today? And the point is through the little explanations that I asked, maybe I can deter. It's probably a bad alternator. And then our shop efficiency is so, so important.
Matt Kranz: And just that simple, you know, flow that service writers, I find that a lot of 'em miss because they're missing. I'm obviously very fluent in it, but I have an extremely technical background. These guys don't but they can do it. They just need to be shown.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah.
Matt Kranz: Yeah,
Jimmy Lea: and sure.
Matt Kranz: I actually, I have them, you know, him and my state inspector sit on even when.
Matt Kranz: They're not gonna lose.
Jimmy Lea: No. They'll always learn something. They'll always learn something of value.
Matt Kranz: Sometimes it's as simple as the process with the case study. Like, Hey, this is the process of what they did, and guess what? They can explain that process to a customer. So that's important.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. And there's a new news relative, I think they'd been around for a year and a half, maybe even two years. Today's class technical training. Have you heard about this one?
Matt Kranz: Today's class. Today's class, I haven't.
Jimmy Lea: So it's an app that the technicians log onto and it's gamification from this app.
Jimmy Lea: They have different scenarios and they've got a multiple choice, so depending on how long it takes them to answer the question and if they get the answer right or wrong. It will guide them into some training about that subject. So it's got five different questions a day and they just answer the questions.
Jimmy Lea: The beauty of this as well is the gamification. You get points for answering these questions. Okay, so who's got the most points at the shop? Who's the highest rank at the shop? But then also. You compete, shop to shop as well.
Matt Kranz: Oh, no kidding.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, it's super cool. I
Matt Kranz: just pulled it up. This I wrote it down so I don't forget, so I was scrambling.
Matt Kranz: Yeah. In
Jimmy Lea: class. So check them out and then for your service advisors, go onto to, we are the institute.com, but go to our YouTube channel. We have a tremendous amount of free information for service advisor training. Okay, you can dive into, and if you want to dig in deeper, man, there's some stuff that we could help out there as well.
Jimmy Lea: But that's another road down the street, and we'll talk about that in a minute. So, into where you are today, you've got the four technicians, the three bays, the two
Matt Kranz: technicians,
Jimmy Lea: one inspector, one
Matt Kranz: service writer.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I was GI. So here's my four. I thought you had the two. I got four employees. State inspection and a gs.
Jimmy Lea: Okay. So this is a service advisor? Yes. The fourth person? Yes. Yes. Okay. Nice man. They're busy too, huh? They are
Matt Kranz: busy.
Jimmy Lea: They're busy. That's good. And what point of sale system are you running?
Matt Kranz: Right now we run Shocky Pro. So Mi It's a Mitchell.
Jimmy Lea: Mitchell? Yep.
Matt Kranz: Mitchell manager se
Jimmy Lea: nice. You like it Does everything you need to.
Matt Kranz: I do. I really like it. We don't use it to its full potential. But that's kind of good because we can learn and integrate things little by little. Love it. We're small enough that we can communicate really well in the shop. So, digital vehicle inspections
Jimmy Lea: are you
Matt Kranz: doing? We do. We're using both on, we're using both on, yep.
Matt Kranz: So we, we love their inspections. I'm still torn about the text messaging. I that, but, you know, give and take. I feel it loses some of that personal touch. I don't like to solely work on the text message, so
Jimmy Lea: Oh, yeah. No. Well, and there are some people that, that's how they prefer to communicate
Matt Kranz: is the younger kids like, don't even want a phone call.
Matt Kranz: They're like, oh, no, why are they calling me? They're already anxious enough about this car repair, and now they're getting a phone call on top of it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So there's times where I can't take phone calls. Okay with the text messages, zoom meetings and think of attorneys and doctors and government employees.
Jimmy Lea: They can't always get to the phone to answer the call, but if you text them, they can text you back. Yes. And that's a beautiful way of communicating. So it goes very quickly. But then, and that also is our ask from the shop side is, Hey customer, when I text you, it's not because I want to chitchat. There's stuff we gotta talk about.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. So answer your text message, answer the phone call. If we need to have a phone call let's take it to that next level so the relationship is not lost just because of texting. Yeah. Oh, that's cool. So I love You're doing dvs every vehicle, every time.
Matt Kranz: Yes. Every vehicle gets a 27 point inspection no matter what.
Matt Kranz: Love it.
Matt Kranz: The only time there's exceptions is when somebody's out sick, it happens. And I'm like, all right we gotta squash the schedule together and get it done. And, you know, we use some discretion with that. For the most part though, everybody's still going over 'em, you know, so they're still, they're pulling in, they've got the process down at this point that they're already, you know, checking the lights on the way in the bay.
Matt Kranz: And you know, they're looking at the brakes because nobody wants to sit there and watch the oil drain. Those guys don't work here.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No. Really, truly. Yeah. I love that you're doing dvs. There's one rule that you'll wanna follow. It's called a 300% Rule. Yep. You're familiar with this one?
Matt Kranz: I am familiar with it. I have brought that paper. I don't remember who wrote it through Ratchet and Wrench, and I brought it out to all of them and read it. And that's one of the staples on the wall that it gets pulled down every so often.
Jimmy Lea: Oh, I love it. That
Matt Kranz: Moline method.
Jimmy Lea: Every vehicle, every time is inspected.
Jimmy Lea: Every recommendation is estimated, and every estimate is given to the customer, given to the client. And Cecil will take this even a little bit further to say The 500% rule includes that every vehicle gets a quality control test on a specific route. You have a specific route that you follow every single time and you explain all that to the customer and the client.
Jimmy Lea: He's got another one. I forget what his other one is, but it's he takes it up to another level.
Matt Kranz: Okay.
Jimmy Lea: So the 300% rule definitely covers it. That's the one that's popular in the industry. So let's stick with that one for right now. Matt, what's the future? I know we talk about optimizing the single location, possibly expanding.
Jimmy Lea: Where do you see the industry as a whole going in the next five to 10 years?
Matt Kranz: As a whole, it's I think it's gonna, it's gonna explode as far as the. Shops that are not hiring and doing things right, are gonna fizzle out. They're gonna be out of business. And we, I watched that since 2008.
Matt Kranz: I, I can't tell you how many shops I watched fizzle out. They're not there anymore. And I'm looking back and saying, well, look at how you ran it. Of course it's out. So I guess I was fortunate enough to be able to open my eyes to that and see it. But I think unfortunately that. Repairs are gonna become slower because I, I keep reading the statistics, I don't know if it's true.
Matt Kranz: But pretty much for every four techs that retire, there's only one coming in.
Jimmy Lea: Oh yeah. And
Matt Kranz: we can only handle so many cars. There's more cars going on the road. So, you know, it's either gonna be a long time for repairs or people are gonna start to have that second car or that fun car, which I can see as a benefit because cars are supposed to be fun.
Matt Kranz: I keep showing my son that. And you know, there's a lot of people that and kids of the younger generation that are like, well, it's transportation. I don't care what it looks like.
Jimmy Lea: Well,
Matt Kranz: maybe lemme show you some, I guess. Yeah, right. Exactly. Exactly. Actually my, my, my brother-in-law he, I have a couple older cars and race cars and he's like, I don't understand what's so exciting about the loud pipes and the, you know, the fast, you know, bill, you can't go fast on these roads around here.
Matt Kranz: So, but you can get there fast.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. You can
Matt Kranz: get to the speed fast.
Jimmy Lea: Yep. You go stop, sign a stop sign fast.
Matt Kranz: That's it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. He just doesn't
Matt Kranz: have that appreciation. But nobody's ever sat him in a car and showed him, so
Jimmy Lea: there you go. Take him to an HRA event. Yeah, so, so you could see his reaction for the funny cars.
Matt Kranz: Yeah, right. I was, well, I was just trying to get my son is 13 and we me and my wife slowly discussed him joining the junior street in the NHRA, which is it'd be kind of a cool intro for me. He loves go-karts. That might, you know, you know what my disappointment is I don't see a lot of other people up there.
Matt Kranz: Not a lot of people doing it, which tells me that. People aren't shown how fun these can, these cars can be.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. Yeah. Anybody listening, if ever you have an opportunity to go to NHRA, you definitely need to go. It is an experience unlike anything you'll ever experience.
Matt Kranz: So,
Jimmy Lea: yeah, listen to the announcers, 'cause they'll go through the stock cars, they'll go through the modifieds, they'll go through the this one and they'll get to the funny cars and the top fuel.
Jimmy Lea: And you can definitely see who the virgins are in the audience when they start up that engine. You have never felt that experience ever. I guarantee it. Yep. Oh that's, yeah, because I was there. I was there. I was the virgin going, holy
Matt Kranz: coach, what the heck was that? Well, that's 12,000 horsepower, right.
Matt Kranz: It's only half though. You only feel half of it. 'cause the other half's on the other side.
Jimmy Lea: Right? Oh, it's so true, dude. Oh my gosh. The family was just in shock. It was so much fun. My son was like, oh my gosh, can you feel that? Oh, and it just rattles your heart and your chest. It just feels like, oh yeah.
Jimmy Lea: Burst outside. So awesome. So awesome. So if you were to start your shop today, Matt. What advice would you give yourself today, starting your shop today?
Matt Kranz: Man,
Matt Kranz: That's a tough one. I would I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I guess the biggest thing is just to, you know what? You're gonna get frustrated. Don't take anything personally, it took me a lot of years to not take a lot of the problems with these cars personally or.
Matt Kranz: You know, somebody's frustrated 'cause the car isn't fixed and hey, you know, it's an intermittent problem or I'm not sure what's wrong with it. And I've always been anchored to the shop because of it. And it's been recent years that I said, Hey, you know, it's not a personal thing if somebody doesn't want to have their car fixed by you or says no to the work or even, you know, if you can't fix the car.
Matt Kranz: I guess some of that, taking it personally did help me be better because I would go home and I need to find out everything I can about this system, how it works, and why can't I figure out what's wrong with it.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah. No, that, that is that, Matt. That is really good advice. Don't take it personally. It's business.
Jimmy Lea: Don't take it personally. What else? It's
Matt Kranz: just a car in the end.
Jimmy Lea: Yeah, it's a car. And what I also heard from you in our conversation is not only don't take it personally, but. Get training. Get training for your technicians. They need the training. Get training for your service advisors. They need the training.
Jimmy Lea: Get training for you as an owner. You need the training. Yep. Yeah and that's our mantra here at the Institute is we're here to help you build a better business. And the net result of building a better business is a better life. And it's not just a better life for you, it's a better life for your technicians, for your service advisors, for their spouses, for their children.
Jimmy Lea: For the entire company. It's a better life for them as well. It's a better life for your customers, your clients, your those people who trust you to take care of their vehicles. They're safer on the road. They'll be able to stop when they need to stop and go when they need to go, so you're building a better life for them.
Jimmy Lea: Build a better business, a better life, and a better industry. That's our mantra here at the Institute. We're gonna lock arms with all these shops so that we can build this industry to be the best it could possibly be.