Shop Fix Academy Podcast

What if you had to start over from scratch? Like one day, you have a shop, and the next day you don’t. Where would you start? What resources would you pull from? -- From buildings, to contracts, to hiring, to marketing — as anyone who’s opened a shop from scratch can tell you… it’s a massive undertaking. This is the situation that Glenn Todd of Glenn’s European Auto Repair in PA found himself in. Glenn pulled on his resources, mentors, friends, and incredible self-discipline to create an almost instantly profitable shop in just months. In this episode, Glenn will share this wild story and, in the process, share some incredible clues you can use in your shop whether you're starting out or are decades in. You don’t want to miss this one!

Every son longs to have a good relationship with his dad. Sometimes though, as many, including myself, can attest, that doesn't always happen. Now take that pain, and imagine trying to run a shop together. That's the exact situation that my guest Veille Arthur experienced. For years, Veille and his dad painfully struggled in their relationship and with their shop. Veille was diligent in his pursuit of building the shop into something great while trying to redeem the story of himself and his father.

This week our guest is Eric Rutherford of Prestige European Auto Service in Florida. This episode explores how an unlikely partnership allowed for the creation of an incredible auto repair brand in Florida. Eric started out as an owner on his own, but then met his business partner, Mike through a very interesting situation (You gotta hear this story!).  Eric was a Master Tech, and Mike was from Corporate America. in this episode, Eric drops some incredible strategies which you can use to create a powerful brand of your own! 

If you're a tech with a dream to open your own shop or an owner who is not seeing the success you dreamed of, then this episode is made especially for you. Today's guest, John Lonas of Autoworks Service and Repair in Prescott Valley, AZ, has one of the most genuine love for cars of anyone I've met. Sure he has his favorites, but John loves the freedom they create. He transformed this love into a successful career as a tech and then ventured into ownership. He struggled greatly in the beginning, even losing his first shop. On his second shop, many years in, he still found himself chained to the shop, just barely getting by and rarely able to cash his paychecks. At one point, his accountant called his shop the "Titanic." OUCH! John decided this had to change, so he started making critical decisions that dramatically changed his life. In this episode, John will explain what worked for him, who helped him do it, and what life is like now. This episode is truly inspiring. 

 Is it Service Advisor or Service Writer? Either way, it's one of the most critical roles in the shop because if the sales aren't there, the techs don't have hours to turn, and the owner sees no profit. In addition to sales, the Service Advisors or Writers ;) Must be great at multitasking, customer service, logistics, and sometimes even counseling! Great advisors can do these things, create incredible customer experiences all while keeping a smile on their faces, and even have some fun while doing it. I believe those successful in this role aren't just born that way. They bring their natural skills and are fostered by great training and the guidance of a great owner. Today, one of the most successful writers I've met is our guest. Her name is Ashley Wright. I won't mention her shop because some of you may get the idea of trying to hire her. Sorry, she is very happily employed. If you're an owner, you'll learn some inside tips to help your advisors, and if you're an advisor listening, you'll learn some powerful tips and tricks to become a happy and successful advisor too. 

Complacency is a killer. It lulls us into a false sense of security by making us believe that our status quo is good enough or even a safe and prudent place to be. The problem with this mindset is that we shortchange our futures and ignore the possibility that we could be in an even better place. Sometimes it takes being shaken and woken up to see the truth. This happened to my guest Fred Young of Young Automotive in WI. By all counts, his shop was doing fine and cruising along for 16 years, but then he was awakened to the possibility that there was MORE --- more for him, his family, and those connected to his shop. He made some hard choices to break free and become a now growing and thriving business. If you feel like you need to get unstuck, then this is the episode for you!  

Becoming a compelling leader unlocks doors to moves that others simply can’t make. Moves like successfully expanding your shop during a global pandemic or growing the revenue by nearly 50% two years in a row. This is exactly what my guest Jay Huh of Carmedix in North Carolina, accomplished. In this process, he discovered four major keys to leading a team to greatness. In our interview, Jay will tell his important story and share the keys he discovered. If you want to be a better leader, this episode is for you! 

It seems if you do just a little research, we can find that addiction is a prevalent trait in many business owners and high-performers. Left unchecked, addiction can create subtle and not-so-subtle problems with our shops and make it hard to live life on life's terms. The good news is that there are solutions and paths we can take to overcome these vices and create a life of wholeness, health, and power. Today's guest, Chris Knuth of Star Motors European Service in CA, will share his journey from being addicted and stuck to recovering and thriving.

As you'll learn in the show, part of his journey was to start an incredible non-profit called APAC ATI, which works to solve the technician shortage and change the industry. If you'd like to learn more, here's the link: https://apacati.org/

In shop ownership, sometimes we make big mistakes, experience massive failures, and are presented with incredible challenges. Some of these can hurt a little, but some can create massive pain for us and those connected to us. As leaders in our shops, these circumstances are ultimately our responsibility. This episode's guest, Joe Valind of Auto Saftey Center in WI has experienced the full weight of this concept firsthand with a bad business deal that almost closed his shop. In this episode, Joe will share the intimate details of what happened and, more importantly, how we came out on top. 

"Your note has been pulled." Those are some pretty scary words to hear for almost anyone. The thought brings up many questions: What would you do if that happened to you? How would you survive? Would you lose your shop, your house, your way of life? How do you come back from that? This scenario happened to our guest Jonathan Ortiz of Foreign Affairs Auto in Florida. Not only did he and his family fight and survive through this situation, but they are also now completely thriving. On today’s show, Jonathan will share his incredible story on how to make it through when life tosses you something you can’t control.