How often do you look up your shop online? As a former shop owner, I rarely took the time to review how my shop appeared on the internet. When I first opened my doors, the top referral source was word-of-mouth. But within two years, that dramatically shifted. First-time customers would tell me they found me…
What is really stopping you? As I reflect on this question, I’m reminded of a story that was written in the book Go For No, by Richard Fenton. Fenton tells the story of a Chicago Insurance Company struggling to sell policies. The typical agent was only selling two policies per month and the executive board…
I was recently thinking about what makes a baseball player great. I remembered sportscasters talking about the difference between a player with a .250 batting average compared to one batting .300. The typical major leaguer gets 12 at-bats per week. A .250 hitter gets a hit in 3 out of the 12 plate appearances (3…
As I reflect on the lyrics from the song “Already Gone,” I’m reminded of a retired dentist I read about named Jack who started a consulting business in the midwest. His clients blamed their declining sales on external factors like the area’s high unemployment rate and low median income. Jack had a unique business model…
The NCAA College Basketball tournament is known as “March Madness.” In this win or go home playoff, the dream of every player is to win the national championship game. Young “ballers” grow up watching the tournament with the dream of hitting the game-winning shot that propels their team to victory. Coaches dream of being carried off the…
I’m always amazed at how two shop owners can look at the same opportunity, but see something different. This reminds me of a movie I recently watched titled The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, which tells the story of how Ray Kroc started the McDonald’s franchise. Early in the film, The McDonald’s brothers are visited by Kroc,…
What if my health fails? What if the economy gets worse? What if this pandemic lasts longer than they say it will? Have you been asking these questions? As I ponder these inquiries, I’m reminded of a recent study known as The Legacy Project, conducted by Dr. Karl Pillemer at Cornell University. He surveyed over…
Feeling like the world has gone a little crazy? As an automotive repair shop owner, your #1 priority is keeping your team safe and busy. Your #2 priority is reassuring your customers that you are here to serve them. How you fulfill both of these is going to help determine whether you thrive in the…
I have an embarrassing confession to make. It all started after reading a Mayo Clinic study which concluded that sitting is the new smoking. I was motivated to get moving, so I set a goal to get in 10,000 steps per day. I purchased a fitness watch to help me track this meaningful milestone. Late…
In their book Switch: How To Change things When Change is Hard, Chip & Dan Heath tell the story of Molly Howard, Principle of Jefferson County High school in Louisville Georgia. She inherited a school where 80% of the students lived in poverty, with only 15% of graduating seniors attending college. In other words, “her area…