Last Saturday, I cleaned out my car…after putting it off for over two weeks! What is it about the smallest of tasks that we just cannot drag ourselves to do?
I mean, isn’t it crazy that we’d let something we’re putting off, sit in the back of our minds and eat away at our enjoyment of everything we’re doing until we get it done…just because it’s less fun than watching TV, reading your HOA rules and regulations, or cleaning the cat’s litter box?
What a nice feeling to have it done, though
Whether you've heard about WebTools or not, I thought I'd drop a quick line here and let you know that something even bigger is coming...
The WebTools are becoming the RPM ToolKit -- Rapid Profit Management for your shop. It's not just a measurement, training and accountability tool anymore...
It's going to be one of the biggest things your shop has ever seen.
I'm leaking it here first because there's no better dedicated group of shop owners anywhere. Keep your eyes and ears open b
WARNING
NO MANAGERS OR SERVICE WRITERS ALLOWED.
NO CONSULTANTS, NO FRIENDS, NO BUDDIES.
IF WE FIND OUT ANYONE BUT YOU ATTENDED THIS CLASS,
WE'LL BAN YOU FOR LIFE!
WHO: Only shop owners like you! Or ELSE!
DATE: Thursday, July 29, 2010
TIME: 3pm ET | 2pm CT | 1pm MT | 12pm PT | 11am AT
COST: $99 for Public | Free for APM Consulting and WebTools™ Clients
Click here to join us on Thursday!
Why am I being so harsh?
If anyone found out the info I'm teaching on the phone this Thu
One of the oddest things I run into as a consultant and advisor to business owners, is the fact that so many just show up at work each morning like a security guard, and wait for the week to “happen.”
No wonder so many businesses are struggling! I mean there are major brands out there disappearing! Wouldn’t you think that by now, people would start to realize that the old ways of doing things are not working for them?
It’s not enough to just come in on Monday and HOPE that things are goi
Whenever I am hiring a technician, I’ve found that it’s critical to ask a few questions before I even identify my business. It’s important to make sure that “the word doesn’t get out on the street” every time I need to upgrade or replace a staff member. No one wants to work for a shop that they have “heard” is suffering from a turnover of people. When they hear from the tool guys, the parts salesmen, and others that the shop is having “personnel problems,” or “can’t keep their techs,” your shop
This past April 25th, 2010 marks the first full year since opening our new facility. As many of you may know, we built an additional 4-bay shop which offers while you wait service and welcome walk-ins. This new shop features basic services, maintenance work, tires, brakes, accessories, oil changes, state inspections and other minor services and repairs. It also serves as a feeder for more complicated work and diagnostic work, which is sent to our existing 6–bay repair facility. This business mod
The other day one of my techs was replacing front brake pads and rotors on an older Subaru. The caliper bracket bolts were seized and one of them snapped off. This is a common problem and we are well aware of it. We try our best with rust busters and heat, but sometimes nothing works. The tech drilled out the broken bolt and finished the brake job. No problem, right?
Here’s the problem, who pays for it? Me,or the customer? I asked the tech if he informed the service writer. He said he did. I
Since our opening on April 25, 2009 we have increase business by a whopping 29%. We now have to insure that this becomes the norm and not just a grand opening bounce. Just about all our plans are falling into place. The added four bays and increased parking have allowed us to take on more work and become more efficient. We handle just about all walk-ins and refuse no one who calls for an appointment. We are determined to take care of our customers on their schedule, not ours.
There is, howev
Our grand opening was held on Saturday, April 25th. The weather was perfect. Hundreds of people came out to visit our new facility. The affair lasted all-day and ended about 7:30 that evening. All the money spent on prompting the affair was well worth it.
A special thanks to CARQUEST Auto Parts, who provided their barbecue wagon, blow-up racecar, tent, banners and other items.
It was great to see many customers share in the festivities and we had the chance to meet many new people from
With one month to go, we are working hard making all the final preparations for the grand opening. The building is complete and most of the equipment has been installed. Each day starts with a review of our plan list to insure every task will be accomplished before opening day. Ten months of construction and years of planning are nearing the end.
We had a team meeting last week, after hours, to review the workflow process and the elements of the expansion. Adding four bays and another bui
With two months to go before the grand opening, I reflect back to 7 years ago when I first had the vision to expand. It took a few years to actually begin the process. There were things I needed to learn and a tremendous amount of fear to overcome. I can tell you honestly that the fear never goes away nor does it get any easier to handle. It’s there and I accept it. The hardest part was to pull the trigger. Once you make the decision, only look forward. It makes no sense to look back and second-
Now that we are close enough to pick a date for the grand opening, we need to start the promotion process and make plans for the day of the grand opening. We need to jump start this business with a big splash in the community. Having momentum right out of the gate will be important to the success of the project.
To help promote the business I have greatly increased our advertising and marketing. Prior to this project the only advertising I did was in the local yellow books, sport sponsorshi
Everyone needs direction and everyone needs deadlines. We would never conduct business without knowing when parts are going to arrive, when jobs need to be done, how long jobs will take to complete and every other aspect of running a repair business. What’s vital to your business is to understand the amount of work needed (labor hours and parts sold) in order to reach your sales goal, which translates into profit. In other words you establish deadlines and goals on a daily basis. You probably do
We are in the final stages of construction. The exterior siding is almost complete along with the electrical work, plumbing, security system, heating and air conditioning. We expect the building to be complete within six to eight weeks, barring any unforeseen obstacles. Photos of the project will be available soon.
A great deal of time has been spent on the design and layout of the not only the building, but the parking lot layout and the workflow process, as well. One thing I have learned
In business, if your not growing you’re dieing. This may be harsh, but true. All companies need to grow to survive. Whether you have 2 bays or 30, it doesn’t matter.
For the first five in business I grew from nothing, so any growth was positive. After eight years my sales hit a plateau and hard times followed soon after. By my tenth year, I was nearly broke. It took me an additional 2 years to realize that although I could fix cars I could not fix my business. My skills were all mechanical
There’s an expression that states, “You are who you associate with”. I have learned from this expansion project that this is brutally true. In order to grow and achieve the best for yourself in life you need to associate with people who share the same dreams, goals and aspirations. It’s amazing how many business people, including other shop owners, question the rationale behind my desire to grow my business. Maybe it’s a touch of jealousy? On the flip side, it’s remarkable how many customers w
Setbacks are inevitable. Some are controllable. Others are not. Three weeks ago we planned on pouring the cement slab and finish the sidewalks, but the weather turned too cold. With temperatures in the low 20’s and a bone-chilling wind, the mason decided to wait. This past week, Mother Nature cooperated, and with temperatures in the mid 40’s; we finished the slab and sidewalks. The mason and his crew worked till midnight the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I have a deep respect for people in the
Where is your daily focus? This is a question I ask myself constantly. If your daily focus is fixing and servicing cars, then that is what you will accomplish on a daily basis. But, as the leader of your company, is this where your focus should be?
We are in the business of repairing and servicing the motoring public. But in order to grow and be successful, the leader of the company must work on insuring the success of the business. The leader of the business must work on marketing, adverti
Some people ask me why I have taken on a project of this size in this economy. With the downturn in business, why not wait until things get better? Other shop owners question my sanity. They tell me; “don’t you have enough problems running the business you have already’? Why do you want more headaches?
Well the truth is, I didn’t know the economy was headed into a downward spiral. And even if I did know, would it be reason not to expand? And is growing a business adding more headaches?
We are now in our 6th month of construction. The building is completely framed with the electrical work almost done. The windows, doors and siding should be complete by the beginning of December. This coming week will be a challenge. We need to put the binder coat of blacktop down before the blacktop plants close for the winter. This will mean loss of at least one to two workdays. And with Veterans Day on Tuesday (a usually great sales day), I do not want to loose much needed revenue. We will pr
The construction of a new building involves a coordinated effort among many people and all must pull their weight in the right direction. Without teamwork and precise harmonization, things start to fall apart. And the buck stops with ME. No one else will share the blame when things go wrong. It’s a lot like running your business; every day you make tough decision that may not be favorable to everyone.
This process of expanding the business has taught me to make those tough decisions based
After weeks of working with a graphic designer and reviewing tons of marketing information, we finally agreed upon the new signage and tag lines for the business. The new logo is redesigned from the old logo and will be more visible from the road. The tag lines are simple and to the point. The colors did not change: red, white and blue. We proudly took our new proposed signage to the Architectural Review Board for approval only to be shot down like a duck on the first day of hunting season.
We have all seen botched automotive repairs by people who were either not qualified or who tried to save money by attempting to do the repair themselves. And in the end it cost more money then it would have originally been because now the job has to be done over or completed correctly. The same holds true when building an addition or new facility.
Picking a General Contractor is perhaps one of the more crucial steps if you are going to expand your facility or build another facility from sc
