Jay Huh

Marksas, congrats on the new shop. I'd love to be able to build my own 8 bay shop one day. I know you've put in a lot of hard work and it's paying off as successful people are not successful by luck. As an update to the original post, I heard back from the broker for the third location. I didn't hear from them in a while so I thought it was going to fall through but we came to terms and I should be signing the lease sometime next week. To recap, not much more than 2 years ago, I quit my job as a service advisor and advertised on Craigslist and worked out of my garage, HOA stopped that and I went mobile, then rented 2 bays, moved to my own 6 bay shop, and then opened my second location last month..... It almost seems like the logical thing to do is not open a third shop now but opportunities don't come too frequently in life, especially automotive spaces in this area. I have been reading A LOT of books lately and one thing that really hit me is what Henry Ford said. Something in the lines of successful people are quick to decide and slow to change their mind. Anyway I am committed and for me failure is not an option.

were you able to find someone local?

Just read Joe's column on this months R+W. First of all, if you guys don't have a subscription to this, subscribe! So many good tips on there. Anyway... I had a similar experience- friends and family have thought I was crazy every step of the way in my business and everytime I expanded. I am grateful for this forum bc I am surrounded by the right people going through similar experiences but how have you guys found the right people in your everyday life? Do you guys have someone like-minded that you share lunch/life with? I am lucky to have ONE person in the area but would like to have a group and maybe even a local mentor of some sort.

Thankless job indeed. I once had a customer bring me a bag of custom M&M's with personalized messages thanking me by name. That definitely made my day. I have also received gift cards and cash - I do have some amazing customers but all in all no one is happy to come to a repair shop

Nice, I see that you are in Kansas. A little far but definitely sounds like it was worth the cost

1. Sorry I actually don't use QB so I dont know but I see the button at the top so I know the have the integration 2. Their customer service is excellent. I had an emergency on a Sunday where site was not allowing me to look up tech hours. They fixed it within an hour. Contacted them multiple times through the years and they always answer back. I needed custom hours for appointments and they coded that too 3. Luckily I started with Shop Boss so I am not sure how you would get all your customer data- I know it worked the other way around. Mitchell was trying to get me to switch and they said they can import all data from Shopboss for $500 so it should be possible

Geez! Sorry to hear that. That's got to be a stab in the back feeling. I have 1 of my 8 cameras pointed straight at the cash register/computer monitor. Havent checked the feed in a while.... hoping I won't have too.

Who wants to make a bet? Loser has to wear this at work for a week!

Whaaaat?????? hahahhahaha 😂 I need to get one of those lol. I'm sharing this on my company instagram page lol

What kind of coach? Life coach? Automotive coach where he's owned his own shop? $2k is a bit steep but depending on how involved he is in your business he could be really cheap

Interesting that they are selling fuel pumps. Do you know what brand?

I've used them a few times. Super super cheap pricing. Half of what Napa was with radiators. They have radiators in stock where Napa and every other parts store would have to special order. We only use them once in a blue moon, too inconvenient to order and iffy on the quality. I have used their ac compressor kits for price but we are a Napa car care center and rather have Napa warranty our labor in case compressor goes out.

Drinking helps haha. After reading all your replies tonight, it's a lot of wisdom I wish I had and it's apparent that you've been in this business for a long time. I'm relatively new in this business so my advice is mute but I sincerely hope all the best for you my friend. From the quality and honesty your business exhibits through the reflections of your posts, your customers will stick with you.

Lol yes the Kleenviews. $1.99, I have sold a couple of those.

Nice! That is one thing we havne't done well at: calling customers that we havent seen. I think customers will appreciate a phone call every once in a while. Either that or be extremely annoyed lol. hopefully its the former

Thanks! Exactly what I needed to hear. My plan is to work hard, full speed ahead for the next 10 years. I need to take over the Raleigh Durham area

Yes I thought of that as well. I have a head gasket job going on at my shop and customer is in a rental. Stressful knowing that