What is your biggest regret as a shop owner? As I ponder this question, I’m reminded of an interview I watched with basketball legend Kobe Bryant. The reporter asked him if he regretted the fact that he fell short of winning six NBA championships like his idol Michael Jordan. After all, Kobe finished his career with “only”…
After many months of struggle, “Mark” was finally turning the corner. The year was 2012 and he was the owner of a Midas in the Midwest. Making payroll wasn’t a problem, and he was no longer consumed with the concept of cost-cutting. Mark believed that time was on his side and confident of the direction…
I have a unique story as a coach here at ATI. I started out on the other side of the process as an auto repair shop owner with a “leg up” – my background included over 10 years in small business operations (customer service, marketing, accounting, etc.). With a great technician as my partner in…
Meet “Ben.” Ben is a shop owner who made several attempts to motivate his manager, “Sarah,” to complete her goal poster. He initially mentioned this during their Monday morning one-on-one meeting. First, he told her that seeing her goals would increase the likelihood of achieving her goals. Using his Les Brown voice, he said, “Sarah,…
During my days as a district manager, I had the opportunity to witness the building of several new locations. The builders would arrive on-site and we would review the drawings. I could see how many bays we would have, the layout of the customer waiting area, and total facility square footage. As I observed, I…
What’s the leading cause of consistently inconsistent results? One week your sales, car count, and ARO are above the benchmarks. Your portal data is as green as a well-manicured golf course! You don’t need more cars; you need to get the cars you have out the door. Your problems are “good problems.” You don’t know…
Imagine for a moment that your goal is to visit Hawaii. To accomplish your goal, you invest in a travel agent named “Amy” who has a track record of helping thousands of other travelers like you get to the same destination. Based on this experience, she selects a specific all-inclusive package that includes the flight,…
It was August of 2009, and I was the new guy. As a rookie coach, I was curious as to why some shop owners experience great success, while others lose money on the bottom line each week. As I would get new clients, I would ask:” What’s your biggest challenge?” The most common responses were…
Are you looking to raise the bar? One morning I came across a video from John Taffer, the host of “The Bar Rescue” reality show. I was surprised to hear that he’d been working with bar owners for over 31 years. His next statement really grabbed me. Taffer concluded that in all that time there…
Meet “Ron.” Ron had just graduated from college as a star athlete, with a short-term goal of becoming the sporting goods manager with Montgomery Wards, a major retailer at the time. (FYI to the millennials who’ve never heard of Montgomery Wards: They went under in the 90s!) Ron’s goal was to sit in “the big…