Maximum Octane

Most shop owners who invest in shop management software are using maybe a third of what they're paying for. They swap the old manual process for a digital one, call it an upgrade, and move on. But that's not an upgrade; it's just a translation.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Jason Patel sits down with Brett Kinsfather and Zack Buffum from Shopmonkey, a shop management software platform that's been in the space since 2017 and now runs a team of over 220 people. Brett comes from a deep background in automotive and focuses on industry partnerships and education. Zack is the director of training and operations and was there almost from the beginning. Together, they bring both the shop-floor perspective and the software side of the equation.

The conversation covers a lot of ground: why shops keep bolting new software onto broken processes and then wonder why nothing changes, what Shopmonkey sees as the most underutilized features across the industry (DVIs and canned services top the list), and how fewer than 15 percent of auto repair shops have a functioning DVI in place despite the technology being available for nearly a decade. They also get into the customer experience conversation, what it really means to map the full customer journey, why a shop's competition for experience is not the shop down the street but every great experience that customer has ever had, and how to make vendor relationships actually work in both directions.

Tune in to episode 145 of Maximum Octane if you have shop management software and a nagging feeling you're not getting everything out of it, or if you're thinking about switching platforms and want a clearer sense of what to look for and how to implement it right.

Episode Takeaways:

• 04:15 The Shopmonkey Foundation and "Maintenance for Moms": why the company built a nonprofit from day one and what it says about how they run the business
• 09:24 The real mistake shops make with new software
• 12:15 Tools cannot replace processes
• 17:47 Why DVIs and canned jobs are the two most underutilized features in shop management software
• 19:44 Less than half of shops use DVIs at all, and less than 15 percent have one properly implemented
• 21:00 Why Brett recommends auditing your DVI usage every six months, not just at implementation
• 26:21 A shop's real competition for customer experience is not the dealership down the road
• 30:27 How to actually get more out of your software vendor
• 36:39 How Shopmonkey rebuilt its support structure after realizing customers couldn't reach a real person

Connect with Zack Buffum:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Brett Kinsfather:

• LinkedIn
• Visit Shopmonkey’s website

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most shop owners say they want a great team. What they actually build, without realizing it, is a team of people they're too afraid to hold accountable. This episode is a candid, unscripted conversation with two veteran owners who both hit that wall, blew up their teams, and rebuilt them the right way.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Jason Patel sits down with Woody Howard of Simpsonville Automotive in Kentucky and Fred Gestwicki out of Canton, Ohio, both with nearly 30 years in the industry. Neither of them came in with a list of talking points. They just talked shop, which is exactly what makes this one worth your time.

The conversation covers the failure philosophy both owners live by and why letting your people fail on purpose is one of the most important things you can do for their development. They trade stories about teams that quit on the same day, techs that plateaued and couldn't grow, and the hard calls that turned out to be the right ones. They get into hiring for initiative over intelligence, why you should always be interviewing even when you're fully staffed, how to handle extended warranties as a payment method without losing margin, and a simple productivity hack Fred uses every few months that costs nothing and reveals everything.

Tune in to episode 144 of Maximum Octane if you've ever held onto someone longer than you should have, struggled to get your team to perform without you standing over them, or wondered why your shop never seems to produce as much as it should. Woody and Fred have both been there, and they are not shy about what it actually took to get out.

Episode Takeaways:

• 01:49 The three-legged stool moment: what a wheel balancer taught Woody about building a stable business
• 03:12 Why giving your team clear lanes of failure, not just job descriptions, is what actually builds accountability
• 05:35 The bolt-breaking exercise: how Fred teaches young techs what failure feels like before it costs a customer
• 08:17 How Woody's four-day work week experiment wiped out almost his entire team, and what he found on the other side
• 10:23 Fred's hard lesson about hiring for potential instead of who someone actually is right now
• 14:49 The 24-year-old service advisor who turned out to be the real secret sauce, not the $200K tech
• 21:50 When Fred fired a tech over a near-accident, his team asked for the tech back, and why he rehired him under a 90-day restart
• 30:27 Fred's productivity hack: bring a laptop, sit in the shop, say nothing, and just watch for a full day
• 36:48 How to frame extended warranties as a method of payment, not a fight, and why copying the customer on every communication changes everything
• 39:37 Fred's closing thought: every day, start with your vision and make sure who you have is actually getting you there

Connect with Fred Gestwicki:

• LinkedIn
• Fix It with Fred website
• Fix It with Fred Instagram
• Fix It with Fred Facebook
• Fix It with Fred X

Connect with Woodrow Howard:

• Simpsonville Automotive website
• Simpsonville Automotive Facebook
• Phone: (502) 385-4735

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most shop owners don't know what their business is worth until someone makes an offer, and by then it's too late to be strategic. Whether that unsolicited call catches you off guard or your retirement plan is quietly resting on a number you made up, this episode is a reality check that every shop owner needs to hear sooner rather than later.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey sits down with Rich Portelance, founder of Pierce Ridge Capital, an M&A firm that specializes in helping independent shop owners buy, sell, and grow. Rich came into the tire and auto space and quickly noticed the same thing everywhere: owners had no real sense of what their shops were worth. Pierce Ridge now partners with ATI to bring professional valuation services to shops that should have been doing this all along, at a price point that makes the old "$200,000 valuation" myth pretty hard to hold onto.

The conversation is packed with practical, eye-opening information: how valuations actually work and what they cost, why owning your building doesn't change your business value the way you might think, how personal expenses run through the business affect your sale price, and when you can and can't add your own salary back into the numbers. Rich also tackles some of the biggest misconceptions head-on, including goodwill, blue skies, and the "just multiply my revenue" formula, and walks through a cautionary story about an incredible shop that nearly sold for three times expectations and then fell apart at the finish line because the owner was the business.

Tune in to episode 143 of Maximum Octane if you've ever gotten a call from someone wanting to buy your shop and had no idea what to say, or if you're planning on selling someday and haven't actually validated whether the number in your head is real.

Episode Takeaways:

• 01:39 Why most shop owners have no idea what their business is worth, and why that's a dangerous position to be in
• 03:52 What a valuation actually costs: the $200K myth debunked, with real pricing between $2K and $10K
• 05:39 How the 2.5x to 5x multiple works and what moves your shop up or down in that range
• 07:13 Why owning your real estate doesn't change your business valuation, but good lease terms do
• 09:58 The retirement math problem: why "I'll sell for a million" is rarely based on anything real
• 12:13 How to handle personal expenses run through the business, and why tracking them actually helps your sale price
• 14:23 When you can't add your salary back into the numbers, and why working in your business instead of on it quietly kills your valuation
• 20:44 The shop that almost sold for three times its expected value, and why the deal collapsed the day before closing
• 25:45 Owner-carried notes: why Rich advises taking the lower all-cash offer almost every time
• 28:24 Why an M&A advisor is not the same as a real estate agent or a broker, and why that distinction matters when it's time to close

Connect with Rich Portelance:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Pierce Ridge Capital

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most shop owners think about relationships as a soft skill; something you're either naturally good at or you're not. David Nour thinks that's exactly the kind of thinking that keeps small businesses stuck. Relationships are a system, and like any system in your shop, they can be built, measured, and optimized. This episode makes that case convincingly.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with David Nour, founder and CEO of Avenir and author of a dozen books on relationship economics. His clients include Disney, Siemens, and KPMG, but a big part of his work is with small and medium-sized businesses that often have the relationship instincts but lack the systems to back them up.

The discussion covers a lot of ground: why internal relationships have to come before external ones, why small businesses default to hiring "projects" instead of peers and what that costs them, and his Human Capital Value Pyramid; a framework to figure out who’s pushing your business to the next level and who AI will turn redundant. They dig into how Avnir's AI platform works, including the "while you were sleeping" dashboard that surfaces relationship opportunities overnight, and a story about a $20 coffee mug that turned into a $150,000 project.

Tune in to episode 142 of Maximum Octane if you've ever felt like you're too busy to think about the bigger picture, or you're wondering why the best people seem to work everywhere except your shop. David gives shop owners a practical, no-fluff lens for thinking about people — internal and external — as the actual engine of a profitable business.

Episode Takeaways:

• 02:12 Why internal relationships have to come before external ones; and what happens when that's backwards
• 05:07 The mindset gap between small and large businesses, and why "I can't afford that" is the most expensive thing you can say
• 06:06 Why hiring "projects" instead of peers keeps owners trapped in the day-to-day
• 08:09 The Human Capital Value Pyramid: how to categorize your team from liabilities to superstars, and what AI is about to do to each tier
• 12:30 What Disney's trash test reveals about initiative, and why you can train skills but you can't train that
• 13:00 The CFO vs. CEO debate on training: what if we invest in people and they leave vs. what if we don't and they stay
• 17:44 How Avenir's AI platform works: scanning contacts across every platform and surfacing what matters while you sleep
• 22:10 The $20 coffee mug story: how a small relationship gesture turned into a $150,000 project
• 28:51 "Remember information for people, not about them.” The mindset shift that separates useful customer data from spam
• 31:00 The mobile service opportunity most shops haven't tested yet — and why your most valuable customers would pay a premium for it

Connect with David Nour:

• LinkedIn
• Avnir

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plenty of shop owners walk in with a big heart and walk out with a struggling business, convinced that charging fairly and taking care of people are opposites. This episode breaks that myth down piece by piece, showing what it actually looks like to run a generous shop that's also a profitable one.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with David Wostarek, owner of Northwest Imports in Austin, Texas. Before opening his own shop, David spent years as a foreman at a Porsche/Audi dealership, caught between frustrated customers and a service department more focused on hitting numbers than fixing the actual problem. That frustration is exactly what pushed him to go out on his own and build something different.

The conversation moves through real, practical territory: why owners need to get away from the front counter so they stop discounting out of guilt, how to onboard even a 20-year tech without sounding insulting, and why skipping that step quietly sets everyone up to fail. They also dig into AI-powered DVIs and estimating tools already saving advisors real time, the growing electronics risk hiding in "cheap" cars, and a smart pitch for consignment sales as an overlooked revenue stream for well-maintained vehicles.

Tune in to episode 141 of Maximum Octane if you've ever felt like the bad guy for charging what the job's worth, or you're struggling to get a veteran tech to buy into how your shop actually does things. David proves you can run a profitable shop and still be the generous owner you set out to be; you just need the systems to back it up.

Episode Takeaways:

• 01:30 Why David used to treat profit like a dirty word, and what changed his mind
• 02:25 The real reason owners need to get away from the front counter
• 05:16 What happens when you open a shop with no end goal beyond "do it better"
• 08:05 Why onboarding a 20-year tech matters just as much as onboarding a rookie
• 11:06 How treating your team as "internal customers" shapes how they treat real ones
• 13:58 The oxygen-mask problem: taking care of everyone except yourself
• 17:04 Vehicle health reports vs. courtesy inspections, and why the difference matters
• 19:09 What AI tools like AutoVitals and Auto Tech IQ are actually saving advisors time on
• 25:00 Why a $20K Hyundai can hide a $1,400 repair bill waiting to happen
• 29:48 The consignment sales idea most shops haven't thought of yet

Connect with David Wostarek:

• LinkedIn
• Northwest Imports

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most shop owners complain about finding technicians but do nothing to fix it. They ask, "Do you have ten fingers?" Get a yes, and hire them tomorrow. No interview, no vetting, no onboarding. Just panic. Lisa Coyle heard this enough times to build a solution. She created Promotive to bring a professional recruiting process to shops too busy fighting fires to build one themselves.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with Lisa Coyle, founder of Promotive, and Sam Freeman to discuss why shop hiring is broken and how AI is fixing it. Lisa walks through her background building 360 Payments into a successful business and why she noticed that recruiting was always the hardest part. She explains the philosophy behind Promotive: hire people you'd trust to work on your own family's cars. Sam talks about why most shops lack a real recruiting process and how that costs them talent. They dive into how Promotive uses an AI agent to conduct interviews, screen candidates, and provide detailed summaries and ratings so shop owners can make smarter hiring decisions.

The conversation reveals how the AI agent is surprisingly human-like, with candidates opening up to it and even thanking it for the conversation. Jason goes through a live interview demonstration with the AI agent, showing how natural and effective the process is. Lisa and Sam discuss the data insights shops can gather from properly structured interviews, future possibilities for building technician databases, and how they're already handling 300 to 400 dials per week. They emphasize that technicians are essential workers who keep families safe, and the vetting process matters. Both Lisa and Sam offer free consultation to any shop owner ready to take recruiting seriously.

Tune in to episode 140 of Maximum Octane if you're still hiring on desperation or wondering if there's a better way to find quality technicians. Lisa and Sam prove that the problem isn't the labor pool. The problem is the process.

Episode Takeaways:

• 02:08 How Parkinson's Law applies to recruiting: shops complain more than they actually try to solve it
• 03:11 Why fantasy hiring doesn't work: waiting for a great tech to just walk through the door
• 04:16 The reality of most shop hiring: basic questions and hiring on the spot with zero structure
• 05:20 Why shop owners don't recruit: the urgent always outweighs priorities in business
• 06:09 What led Lisa Coyle to create Promotive after success with 360 Automotive
• 20:34 How Promotive's AI agent conducts interviews and gathers data
• 30:30 The interview process breakdown: realistic questions that actually matter for the role
• 47:45 Why the AI bot approach works better than paper forms or text applications
• 50:27 Why candidates open up to the AI agent like she's human

Connect with Lisa Coyle:

• Linkedin
• Promotive

Connect with Sam Freeman:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ninety percent of third-generation businesses fail. It sounds like a doom-and-gloom stat, and it should. But Dan Garlock didn't treat it that way. When his dad said second-generation businesses fail at a super high rate, Dan heard it as a challenge. Now, as he prepares his two sons, Noah and Luke, to potentially take over Silver Lake Auto and Tire Centers, he's facing those same odds again. The difference is preparation. Not forcing kids into the business, not assuming they'll magically know what to do, and not waiting until you're ready to retire to start teaching them what you know. Dan is doing something most family business owners skip: he's exposing his kids to every angle of the operation while there's still time to learn.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with Dan Garlock and his sons, Noah and Luke, to talk about multi-generational family business succession. Dan walks through his family's three-generation journey, starting with his dad, Wally, opening a Shell gas station in 1973, through the pivots and challenges, to Dan and his brother Darren buying the business in 2015. He explains the decision to let his sons choose whether they want to be part of the family business rather than forcing them into it. Noah and Luke share their experiences working different roles in the shop, what they've learned, and where they want more exposure to understand the business better.

The conversation reveals why most families fail at succession and what Dan is doing differently. He emphasizes the importance of starting early, letting kids shadow different areas, and letting them work their way up instead of handing them the keys. Kim and Jason highlight the humility and willingness to learn that Noah and Luke bring to the table, which is the opposite of entitled kids who think the business owes them something. Dan talks about surrounding yourself with mentors who have successfully navigated multi-generational transitions. 

Tune in to episode 139 of Maximum Octane if you're thinking about family business succession or you have kids who might join your company someday. Dan, Noah, and Luke show what preparation and intentionality look like when the stakes are this high and the odds are against you.

Episode Takeaways:

• 01:24 How Dan's family went from gas stations to independent auto repair
• 02:34 Why running a business "like a family" creates problems instead of solutions
• 04:55 The full story of Silver Lake's evolution from his dad's startup to second-generation ownership
• 05:30 Why Dan decided not to force his sons into the family business
• 18:20 The importance of exposing kids to different roles and departments early
• 30:36 What Noah learned from service advising and customer interaction
• 30:54 Luke's perspective on wanting more exposure to the business and management side
• 30:36 The gap in knowledge Noah identified and why that matters for succession
• 33:30 Noah's perspective on acknowledging the head start the business gives him
• 33:46 Luke's advice: start early and get deeper into different business sides
• 33:59 Dan's recommendation: surround yourself with mentors who've done this successfully

Connect with Dan Garlock:

• LinkedIn
• Silver Lake Auto & Tire Centers

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your team reads your body language before they hear your words. A bad morning, a lost deal, traffic on the way to work. It takes one thing to set the tone for the entire day, and suddenly your frustration becomes your team's problem. Sam Richter learned long ago that the moment you step on stage, none of that matters. You flip a switch. Most shop owners never figure out how to flip that switch, which means every bad day becomes a team crisis.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with Sam Richter to explore how speakers, leaders, and entrepreneurs maintain consistent excellence regardless of circumstances. Sam walks through his 30-year journey from advertising and public relations to becoming a full-time speaker and consultant on generative AI. He explains why his non-verbal communication is just as important as his message, how he uses mastermind groups for accountability, and why he still learns four hours every single day despite decades of experience. He shares the mindset that separates people who get good from people who stay sharp.

The conversation digs into why consistency is harder than excellence and how routine becomes your foundation when everything around you is chaotic. Sam reveals how successful people balance the grind with personal life, why continuous learning isn't optional in a fast-changing world, and how to coach yourself like Michael Jordan had a coach. He breaks down generative AI not as a threat but as a tool that frees you to do what only humans can do: build trust, show empathy, connect with people, and lead with wisdom. Sam explains the real transformation happening now and why anxiety about change is normal but not an excuse to stop growing.

Tune in to episode 138 of Maximum Octane if you're letting your circumstances dictate your performance or your team's morale. Let Sam show you how to hit the switch, maintain your best self every single day, and position yourself for what's coming next in your industry.

Episode Takeaways

• 2:40 How to flip the switch between your personal state and your professional performance
• 3:30 Why giving your best to every person is a leader's most important job
• 3:50 How non-verbal communication shapes perception more than your words
• 6:30 How 30 years of experience become irrelevant if you stop learning
• 7:10 The routine that keeps you sharp even while traveling constantly
• 8:10 How mastermind groups hold you accountable to what actually matters
• 18:20 Why generative AI isn't about replacement, it's about efficiency
• 32:20 Why your mindset shift determines whether you lead or get left behind
• 38:50 The exponential acceleration of innovation in your lifetime
• 42:00 AI as a tool for efficiency, so you can do what only humans can do

Connect with Sam Richter:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
• X
• YouTube

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shop owners know Q1 is slow. So they wait until December to panic and throw money at ads, which is the exact opposite of what works. While most shops treat marketing like an emergency room visit, the ones pulling ahead are treating it like preventive care. They market 365 days a year, plan quarterly trends a year in advance, and understand that your customers' decision-making happens months before their wallet opens. The gap between shops that thrive and shops that scramble isn't opportunity. It's calendar management.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with Doug Robinson from Optimize Digital Marketing to break down why marketing is a full-year responsibility, not a seasonal reaction. Doug walks through how to identify your slow seasons before they hit, why your tax return campaign in April is already too late, and how to speak to customers with planning and urgency in mind. He reveals why 66% of small businesses are increasing their marketing budgets right now, which means your competition is moving whether you are or not.

The conversation covers local service ads as the closest thing to an acquisition magic button, why algorithm training time matters, and how shop owners sabotage themselves by waiting until they're desperate. Doug explains the real difference between being busy and being profitable, why you can't just turn up, spend one week, and expect results, and how to track trends that forecast your needs before your customers do. He shares the framework for smart planning, the tools that work year-round, and what to do if you haven't locked in your strategy yet.

Tune in to episode 137 of Maximum Octane if you've been waiting for the right time to market or thinking you can catch up when business slows. Let Doug help you flip your calendar from reactive to proactive and understand why your neighbor's marketing plan is already locked in for next year.

Episode Takeaways:

• 2:50 Why you need to market 24/7, not just when business drops
• 5:10 How unexpected expenses work and why budgeting matters to your message
• 7:20 Why your staple marketing tactics should never change but always improve
• 8:30 What local service ads actually do and why they're different from regular Google ads
• 10:10 Why planning a full calendar in October for the next year beats quarterly planning
• 12:30 How to speak to customers who owe taxes versus those getting refunds
• 14:00 Why tax return campaigns in April are completely off timing
• 17:10 How to help customers understand and plan for their vehicle maintenance
• 23:10 How to know if a campaign actually moved the needle on your business
• 27:40 The stat that should concern you: 66% of businesses are increasing marketing spend
• 28:30 How to actually respond to negative reviews without taking them personally
• 31:40 The truth about word of mouth in the digital age

Connect with Doug Robison:

• LinkedIn
• Optimize Digital Marketing

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are four core aspects of business development in auto repair: in-person, email, phone, and social selling. In-person relationships will always matter most, but they only scale so far. Harris Fanaroff, founder and CEO of Linked Revenue, explains that shops lean on email because it is easy, avoid cold calls because they are uncomfortable, and dismiss LinkedIn because it feels difficult to master. That blind spot is costing shops real opportunities to build trust and grow.

In this episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with Harris Fanaroff to break down what he calls the fourth route to market. Harris explains why LinkedIn works differently from other platforms, why executives and ideal customers already live there, and why most shops completely ignore it. He shares a practical blueprint for using LinkedIn to stay top of mind, attract higher-quality customers, recruit better talent, and build genuine relationships without sending generic messages or relying on automation.

The conversation delves into founder-led content, why authenticity matters more than volume, and how consistent thought leadership distinguishes shops that blend in from those that stand out. Harris also explains how to track real ROI from LinkedIn activity, why AI should support your voice instead of replacing it, and how a shop owner can dominate a local market simply by showing up where competitors refuse to spend time.

Tune in to episode 136 of Maximum Octane if you are tired of crowded marketing channels and want a smarter way to reach the right customers. Let us help you change how you think about LinkedIn and your role as a shop owner.

04:50 The four routes to business development and why LinkedIn is the most underused

06:30 Why most sales teams over-rely on email and avoid harder but better channels

07:20 How consistent LinkedIn content creates long-term separation from competitors

08:15 Why your ideal auto repair customers already spend time on LinkedIn

10:00 How LinkedIn supports both customer acquisition and technician recruiting

11:05 A simple local LinkedIn strategy shop owners can implement immediately

12:10 Why connecting with local executives beats mass marketing every time

14:30 How LinkedIn replaces old school networking groups at scale

17:05 Why founder-led content outperforms generic shop marketing

19:10 How Harris creates content without ghostwriting or losing authenticity

20:30 The three parts of a LinkedIn system that actually produce ROI

22:30 Why tracking real people matters more than vanity metrics

25:00 The right way to use AI without sounding fake

27:15 Why most shops quit too early and never see results

32:15 Why holiday posts do nothing and executive visibility changes everything

Connect with Harris Fanaroff:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• X

Let's connect:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.