Eric Raber is the owner of ER Autocare, a multi-location auto repair business with four locations in the Columbus, Ohio area. With roots in agricultural mechanics and early hands-on experience working alongside his father, Eric built his technical foundation long before opening his first shop.

Over the years, Eric has navigated shop growth, rebranding, hiring challenges, and operational scaling firsthand. His experience running multiple locations; including the lessons learned from early naming and branding decisions, gives him a practical, real-world perspective that resonates with shop owners facing similar growth stages and decisions. 

In this episode…

As auto repair shops grow, add services, or expand locations, branding decisions made early on can quietly start working against them. Auto repair shop name mistakes often don’t show up right away, they surface later as customer confusion, hiring friction, or a brand that no longer reflects what the business actually does.

In this conversation, Eric Raber walks through how those challenges showed up in his own business and why naming, clarity, and consistency matter more than most shop owners expect. This episode is especially relevant for operators who’ve evolved beyond a single-location mindset and are now thinking about long-term growth, brand alignment, and how their shop is perceived in the market today.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

[01:07] Introduction to Eric Raber and his multi-location auto repair business

[01:40] Early mechanical experience shaped by family and agricultural work

[03:57] Nontraditional education and entering the workforce at a young age

[05:39] Learning diagnostics and technical problem-solving through mentorship

[09:01] How early shop name decisions created long-term branding challenges

[11:30] Why brand clarity becomes more important as a shop grows

[15:29] Using BNI and relationship-based networking during early growth stages

[20:43] Tradeoffs and risks of consolidating multiple shop brands

[22:41] Maintaining operational consistency behind different brand identities

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Eric Raber LinkedIn
• ER Autocare Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “You have to have a hard consonant in your name somewhere, ideally beginning or end.”
• “Saying that name on the phone 100,000 times is not fun.”
• “It’s not a whole lot of fun selling auto repair on top of a tire shop name.”
• “If I have to explain it every time, that’s already a problem.”
• “Don’t just consolidate brands for the sake of consolidation.”

Action Steps:

1. Audit your shop name for clarity and fit.
2. Test how your brand sounds in real interactions.
3. Gather outside feedback before rebranding.
4. Evaluate branding impact before expanding locations.
5. Separate brand decisions from emotion and habit.