Alex

My opinion on this is that your management software is the key to your business, and a tool that can help you grow your business. Your customer base is invaluable and what establishes your business. If you plan on being in business for a long time, make sure you partner with a management system that is widely used, supported, and updated. Thee's nothing like establishing your business and growing attached to a peace of software to run it, to find out that it is no longer supported or updated. You also should make sure that you have other than invoicing ability, to gauge, market, and control your business. My suggestions, though more expensive are: Mitchell Manager or R.O.Writer

I use skype and oovoo on occasion.

Here is an interesting article now that it is over... http://www.examiner.com/x-12837-US-Headlin...over-whats-next

With the proposed healthcare reform, what are your thoughts on all of this? Do you agree with the current healthcare proposals?

There goes GM's ceo......

Welcome to AutoShopOwner! I think it's great what you've started there. One of teh best ways to mark up your parts is to follow some sort of cost matrix.

Here is the website: http://www.accessfleet.com/index.htm

Welcome to AutoShopOwner! Welcome to AutoShopOwner!

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We had discussed doing something similar via chat on a monthly basis here. Conducting a session on certian topics picked by members and facilitated by us.

How was Business in 2008? Please vote on the poll also. Happy New Year!

During the elections, I believed that the candidate that could offer a clear solution to drive the fuel prices down, would get elected and bounce the economy back. Well...I guess they didn't figure on the mortgage collapse. Too many things happened at the right time, to make the fall of gas prices ineffective. People holding on to their cars, fears of buying a new car, and economic factors...all make for a good scenario in the inidependent automotive industry. Like Joe said...MARKETING! This is the best time to market your business to potential customers.

I would probably try and build on the commercial end first and have the main stream automotive secondary. But, before investing in this type of business with equipment, etc...I would analylize the market and visit potential customers. There are bigger $$ in the commercial end, along with contracts, fleets, repeat business.

Want to Kill Your Business? Here’s How… Prior to the great depression of the 1930’s, Ford outsold Chevrolet. Reacting to the downturn in the economy of that era, Ford cutback back on advertising while Chevrolet continued with an aggressive marketing plan. Ford’s sales suffered and the two companies actually reversed roles in the automotive market place. It seems everyone is looking to cut costs theses days, and for good reasons. With the economy in a recession, we need to make tough decisions. Cutting advertising during these times is simply the wrong thing to do and a great way to kill your business. Shop owners need to look at their expenese made during the last few years and find ways to cut the “fat” not the “meat”. We need to understand the difference between an expense and an investment. Investments will eventually add to your business, unnecessary expenses will hurt business. Want another way to kill your business? Offer deep price discounts. We are all concerned about our customer’s wallets and hear the complaints about prices everyday. If you think that deep discounting is a way to sell work and bring in customers, think again. In past recessions, it hasn’t been the companies providing the cheapest goods and services that have done well. Consumers become very picky about how they spend their money during tough economic times. Concentrate on value, not price. If consumers only cared about price, the Yugo would have outsold Toyota or Honda. Yugo was about price, not value. The end result: You don’t see a lot of Yugos around, do you? Being competitive in your market is one thing, giving away much-needed profits can be disastrous. It’s better to offer a Winter Maintenance Package (which includes an oil change) for $49.95, then trying to sell $14.95 oil changes. Selling a Winter Maintenance Package has value and will give your techs the opportunity to look for other profitable service work. Work on increasing car counts, this will increase your opportunity. Don’t try to hit a home run on every car. The little things add up at the end of the day. Adding a few cabin filters, air filters, wipers and batteries will add much-needed dollars to your bottom line. Here’s another way to kill your business: Worrying about all the bad things that might happen. When your thoughts are focused on all the things that can go wrong, a lot of the things you worry about actually occur. It’s like the kid in little league that walks up the plate and says to himself over and over again; “I’m going to strike out. I hope I don’t strike out. I always strike out”. And guess what happens…he strikes out! Be positive. You are the leader of your company. You need to be strong and show confidence. This is equally important when talking with customers. Don’t complain about the economy, this makes things worse. People want to be associated with winners. And here’s the last way to really kill a business: Ignore your two most important assets: your employees and your customers. Your loyal customers and your faithful staff were with you building your business during the good times. When things seem bleak, it’s easy to forget the good times. But good times will come again. Things go in cycles. Don’t take my word for it, just look at history and listen to people like Warren Buffet. So, take care of the people that made your business a success: your employees and your customers. Treat them with respect, show them you care about their well-being and they will be there when things turn around.

Just wanted to wish everyone here in this community a very Happy Holiday Season!

So gas prices are down, really down. Why have we not bounced back economically? Well, it's bigger than gas prices at this point. Bailouts, government interventions, and what else? Where do you think this is all going and how will it affect your bussiness?

Has anyone purchased this yet?

Gas prices have come down so much now.

Another factor will be if the government includes a package for the auto makers to re-tool, as they are saying now. They're going to try and stimulate new car sales.

Bad Economy is Good Business for Auto Repair Industry October 7th, 2008 @ 10:04pm By Sarah Dallof The shaky economy is prompting many to cut back on spending, but one industry is reporting a spike in business. Auto-repair shops across the country say business is up. You may not be able to afford a new car right now, but you can't afford not to keep it running. Dennis Roennebeck At Master Tech Automotive, the repair jobs are coming in faster than they're going out. "The last couple weeks have been very busy," owner Dennis Roennebeck said. It's a big change from just a few months ago when gas prices spiked and travel declined. Now business in great, and not just in Utah. "Basically the exact same thing all the way across the country," Roennebeck said. Technicians say the majority of the repairs aren't minor. They require several days of work and can cost thousands of dollars. "We're seeing a lot of cooling problems, overheating problems, major engine damage," Roennebeck explained. The repairs fall into two categories: problems people didn't want to pay to fix months ago that have now gotten huge, and maintenance -- people who don't want to buy new right now and are taking all precautions to keep their older cars running. "A lot of people aren't sure about their jobs, what the market's doing right now," Roennebeck said. College student Mason Nichols said, "Stuff always happens with cars, especially when they get old like mine." Nichols was scouting out a good price for new tires at the auto-repair shop. With a full schedule of school and work, keeping his car going for a few more years is critical. "It's cheaper just to keep it going; little repairs every year instead of buying a new car," he said. Roennebeck estimates if you take care of your car -- everything from changing the oil to replacing major systems when needed -- you'll actually save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4468240

Jeep belt misalignment resulting in noise The 4.0L engines found in the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee have an inherent failure of the harmonic balancer usually at higher mileage and/or vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions; due to leaking transmission cooler line. This “failure” is the result of a separation between the inner and outer sections of the balancer assembly resulting in a clearly visible misalignment and belt noise issue.

No Problem! Makes for a great discussion.

5%, 10%, 15% or even more of the income in many automotive shops wanders off every year. How much money evaporates in your shop? How well do you manage your money? Do you look for the best deal, negotiate and ask for discounts? Do you regularly compare your expenses with other shops? Do you have a budget? We'll explore these issues and many more! View the full article

One of the toughest challenges faced by a collision shop owner/manager today is the ability to attract and retain high quality employees in key positions. More often than not, an employee leaves an employer for reasons other than more money. In fact, the most common cause for employee turnover is poor management. One of the most important, and often overlooked, management skills is the ability to coach. All employees need to be coached. The poor performers need to be coached to become good performers and the good performers need coaching to maintain performance and/or become star performers.. View the full article

Educating the customer as to their repair needs is a never-ending task, requiring a great deal of skill and patience. This workshop brings to light the difficulties service advisors face each day, with simple practical ways to deal with the pressure, confusion and trials of the position, and still be willing to show-up and face another day tomorrow. View the full article