Joe Marconi

Doing repair work with pits is a hard way to be productive. You need to have lifts to be more productive. Pits are nice for some service work, but only having pits is a hard way to make a living. We make it a point in my shop to be an organized and as clean as possible. The way I feel is that if you are going to spend 8 to 10 hours a day working, it should be a nice place to work. I don’t if it’s possible to convert your layout so lifts can be installed. You mentioned moving your location; that might be a better option. In any case, having lifts, tools and the right equipment makes all the difference in the world. Advertising is important in order to maintain and grow a business. The most important form of advertising, although, is to your existing customer base. Advertising to your own customers is cheaper and you stand a better chance of getting these customers to respond to your advertising. Most of my advertising and marketing is to my own customers. We send them service reminders, seasonal promotions, newsletters and we also collect email addresses and send people email reminders for service. We also have a web site and use google and yahoo search engines to direct people to our web site. I don’t do yellow page advertising anymore and stopped all print ads in local newspapers. For me, they don’t work anymore. We started TV advertising this past summer and it’s been very good. I also purchased local mailing lists and send these people post cards with offerings. This works good also. The best advertising is word of mouth. Provide excellent service; be polite and accommodating to all your customers. When people are treated nice and the job is done well, they will return. That’s how you build a business…. one customer at a time. Just wondering; do you share our dialogues with your father?

People are starting to drive more and that's a positive thing. Heating oil is down also. Let's hope this stays for a while so people can catch up on their bills.

I know exactly what you are talking about and it frustrates me too! I too often think I'm running a kindergarten, instead of a business. Lead techs can butt heads and make waves. They are good and they know it. We work hard at balancing the jobs among the techs. It's not easy, but I will not tolerate “attitudes” anymore. The most qualified techs will get jobs that we know they can handle and the younger techs will more of the grunt work. But, even the C techs need to move up the ladder and must be challenged. Have meetings with your people and explain your action plan. You are the leader, be fair and balanced and they will follow. Maintain morale also. You want all your people feeling like they are all being given the same respect. Hope I helped...Joe

Issa, a lot of techs and shop owners from your father's generation have bad feelings about the auto repair industry. And, being from that generation, I completely understand. When I started, work was terribly hard in horrible conditions. I worked long hours, six days a week for little pay. Even when I went into business I worked too hard for too many years. I didn’t know any better, because no one taught us how to run a business to make money. Guys like me thought that the only way to be successful was to work harder and harder. But that only gets you bitter and old. I have learned that in order to be successful and make money I need to be a businessman. I now work hard on growing my business to make money to pay my people a decent wage. I want the best people and that means I need to pay them well. Times are changing and there is money to be made. Your father has a good point about UTI and other trade schools. Like any school, you get of it what you put into it. In the end you have to do what makes you happy. Being an auto tech made me happy, that's why I stuck with it. Being in business still makes me happy, that's why I still do it. But making a profit makes me happier. I recommend working in field for a few years after high school, just to make sure you like it enough to make a career in the auto business. Then you can think about a trade school or other forms of education. Talk to father and tell him how you feel, he will warm up and help you. He's got a lot of knowledge under his belt and in his hands. Keep the questions coming! Joe

We had a smaller than avergae increase in sales, but an increase is an increase. Overall gross profit was also up. So, I am not complaining at all. The tough economy made us realize that we needed to make changes and pay more attention to our customer's needs.

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 the past 28 years is that productivity is the key to profit. How your technicians move through the day can be the difference between making money and losing your shirt. Our old parking lot was a nightmare. We would park 25 to 40 cars in a lot designed for a maximum of 18. We would stack cars 3 to 4 deep and found ourselves on many an occasion moving 2 to 3 cars to get to the one we needed. This killed productivity and morale. We can now park 50 or more cars which greatly improves productivity and traffic flow. Also, an inviting, organized parking area means a lot to customers. They know where to park, and find it easy to navigate in and out of the lot. Perhaps the most important is in bay design. The existing 6-bay shop will be reserved for the bigger repair and maintenance work: transmissions, engine repair, analysis, timing belts, etc. We will staff this building with 3 techs, a foreman and a service advisor. Each tech will have 2 bays. With this design, a tech can bring a car in one of his bays, diagnose the problem and have the other bay available to start on another car if he needs to wait for parts to arrive. Or, if an unexpected vehicle arrives with a problem, having an extra bay available is convenient. This eliminates having to put cars back together when waiting for parts or having to work on jacks outside the bay due to lack of room. Again, I can’t stress enough that productivity is the key to profit. Keep the techs flowing smoothly throughout the day will make you more money. The new facility will have 4 bays and will primarily be used for more express-type service: oil change service, tire rotations, state inspections, tires, alignments, batteries, etc. One of advantages of designing a building from scratch is that you design it the way you want. Everything aspect about the new 4 bay shop is tied to productivity: The location of the office, phones, computer information system, inventory, bathroom, tire machine, balancer, floor jacks, jack stands, part delivery entrance and other equipment. Each bay will have overhead access to an air line, droplights, electrical power and metered oil reels. Each tech will have a cart complete with chemicals, rags, oil drain plugs, oil drain gaskets and other hardware. You don’t want techs walking to the far side of the shop for an oil filter and then to the other side for a drain plug gasket and then across the bays for an air line. That wastes time and kills productivity. Everything a tech needs must be within reasonable reach. The new facility will have three techs and one service advisor. We will install 3 Rotary Lifts: two 10,000-pound lifts and one 12,000-pound lift. The fourth bay will be the alignment bay. A flush-mounted Hunter alignment machine will find its home in this bay. Although we will promote while-you-wait service, we will not position ourselves as a quick lube. However, contrary to what many people in our industry believe, we welcome walk-ins and actually encourage it. I do realize that smaller shops with 2 to 4 bays may find it difficult to accommodate people walking in without an appointment, but the consumer's mindset has changed the way it expects service. For small shops and larger ones, I recommend developing a system that accommodates customers on their time, not yours. People don’t always have time to make an appointment to drop their car off for service. And they certainly will not make an appointment to drop a car off for an oil change. Performing simple services like oil changes, tire rotations and state inspections will build a customer base that will eventually lead to more profitable work. To expand your business will require an increase in your customer base and a different business model. At our shop, we no longer tell people when to bring in their car; we ask them when they would like to bring it in. Building a business is about building relationships, one customer at a time. Make it easy for the customer. Don’t get bogged down with a rigid schedule. It will take time to develop and your people may resist change. Our entire workflow process is designed to maximize productivity in order to boost car counts. An increase in car counts gives us the opportunity to sell more work and prosper. Find ways to prosper, it’s a lot more fun. Stay tuned! Latest Photos:

Robert, it makes me proud to have a fellow shop owner read my blog. My goal is to help other through my experiences. I wish you the best of luck. I was 25 years old when I opened my shop. I rented 4 bays in a large building shared by two others business. And although that was 28 years ago I remember it like it was yesterday. As you may know we grew to six bays and soon will have 2 facilities with a total of 10. As far as obstacles go, I would have to say that the biggest obstacle I had was to learn how to be a businessman and not just a tech that happened to own a business, there were so many business skills that I did not have, and that actually hurt my business for a number of years. When I left the Ford dealer I was an A rated tech, performing everything from transmission overhauls to engine rebuilding. But, what I did not know is that being the best tech does guarantee success in the business world. Marking and advertising are two key elements in growing a business. In my opinion, marketing is more important because advertising may get them in the door, but how you market your business keeps them coming back. The best brake job in the world means nothing if you were rude to the customer or did not get the car back to them when promised. If a marketing strategy or advertising promotion works, stay with until it does not work. Don’t be afraid of trying things new. If something does not work, no big deal. Learn from it and move on. Don’t give too much away either. Sell value, not price. Remember, if price was the only factor people cared about, people would be driving Yugo’s not Honda’s and Toyota’s. Yugo was about price, not value. Let’s keep in touch and please ask me anything. I will be making a blog entry this weekend and will be posting photos soon. Joe Marconi

Glad to have you with us. At 16 years old, you have the entire world ahead of you. If you want to successful: work hard and learn all you can about the new technology. If your working with your father, that's great. Another tip...learn about business also. Running a shop is more than just fixing cars. Good luck and stay in touch. I will help you in any way I can. Just Ask. Joe Marconi

A word of caution. Many commercial accounts have issues with paying on time. Establish the ground rules at the start. The money is good....only when you get paid.

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. I needed to learn a new set of skills: The skills of business. It took an additional 2 years to create a plan that would free me from the hole I dug for myself. By 1994, I created my first business plan. I made major changes to the business and started watching the numbers of the business. I increase the staff to take on duties that I once performed: Every position from lead tech, service advisor, janitor, office manager, shop foreman, receptionist and just about every other position. I needed to give up control of the daily operations in order to gain control of the business. Changes were made in areas of marketing, branding and advertising. We launched programs that targeted our existing customers and reached out to prospective customers. We experimented with different forms of advertising: some worked, a lot did not. But, you will never know what works until you try. Today, our marketing and advertising is focused on growth. Once we made the decision to increase the business from 6 bays to 10, we ran the numbers to see what sales we would need to generate the income needed to pay for the expansion and return a profit on the investment. We also learned how many techs will be needed, the number of service advisors and support staff. Everything is on paper in a detailed business plan. Comprehensive strategy and scenarios were also written to simulate real life conditions. In-house training will be a key component. We compare to this to a football team or baseball team where all players are working in unison toward a common goal. Growth in business is determined by you particular needs, abilities and desires. All that matters it that you grow. You don’t have to achieve the status of Disney World or Trump Enterprises to be successful. Everything starts with a plan. And a plan is written. If your goals, dreams and aspirations are all in your head, there’re in the wrong place. Stay tuned!

Sorry, we sold it last week.

Any more details on your business model?

Now is the time for all independent shops to position themselves as solvent companies in this economic downturn. Those who fight now will reap the benefits down the road. In my opinion, many shops are beginning to see positive signs that there is opportunity out there. I urge all shops to continue there marketing and advertising. It will pay off.

We always go to our local CARQUEST store first for all TPMS sensors and kits. They have good coverage.

Looking forward to it.

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 wish me the best of luck and are behind me 100 percent. Then, there are the rumors. The gossip that got back to me is actually funny and sad at the same time. People told me that they heard that a major parts company was backing me. Others told me that they heard the only way I could accomplish this expansion was by charging astronomical prices for years past and by paying my people dirt-cheap. The best story is that I am somehow tied to organized crime. While I do admit that I grew up in the Bronx and of Italian decent, this is laughable. I don’t think Tony Soprano would be interested in my auto repair shop in update New York. I guess what really hurts are the comments from shop owners I have known for years that throw digs my way. Is it that hard to believe that a shop owner, of my caliber, take on a project of this size? Is this too far fetched? Maybe they are reacting to their own inabilities. The truth is that when I stand back a look at my project, it IS hard to believe that I’m actually doing this. It’s scary and things can go really wrong in a hurry. But the thrill of doing something like this is incredible. I will end this with another saying, “It is better to have tried and fail, than to have never tried at all”.

I will be there, putting in my 2 cents, don’t worry. The business plan is the foundation of you business. It’s your game plan. Without a game plan, you cannot win. Dreams are one thing, but realistic goals and planning are always written down. This is the first step. With your education in business, you do have an edge over most of us. I started my business in 1980 as a mechanic who decided to go into business. I had no business skills, and as a result, did not do very well until I realized that running a business takes a different set of skills. It wasn’t until I dragged myself out of the bays and into the office did I start to grow a business. Amazing things happen when you think of yourself as a “businessman” and not just a “man in business”. Keep your focus on business and never loose site of the big picture. Too many shop owners spend too much time in the bays fixing cars. That’s not to say it’s wrong. It’s just that in order to grow and build wealth you need to build a business that runs on it’s own. Most shop owners today realize this and are making the change. This is why AutoShopOwner.com is needed in this day and age. Our success as shop owners will be determined by our strength in business, not necessarily in our ability to repair cars. Servicing and repairing cars is how we make money, but you must understand and secure your role as the leader of your company. So, your focus must be on the “mechanics of business”. Let’s keep this dialogue going. Maybe you can start your own blog. I’m sure that people will enjoy reading it and helping you out. There are a lot of shop owners out there with years of knowledge. If you have any questions along the way, post them. I for one would welcome the opportunity to help you, along with the future of our industry.

Don, I think you are getting into the business at a great time. There is great opportunity in the near future and when all the dust settles from this economic down turn you will be in a position to reap the harvest. My name is Joe Marconi, one of the creators of AutoShopOwner.com and a shop owner for over 28 years. I am now in the process of a major expansion. I recently purchased the building adjacent to my business and in the process of constructing another 4 bay facility. We removed the old building and erected a new building. The new 4-bay facility will focus on express service and maintenance and will accommodate customers who need while-you-wait service or repairs done in the same day. The existing 6-bay shop will focus on larger jobs, such as timing belts, engines and transmissions. This new business model is the future of auto repair and service. Please see my blog in the blog section of AutoShopOwner.com. It outlines the steps I took to start this process and outlines the current progress of the construction. I welcome your comments, questions and thoughts. Joe Marconi Osceola Garage AutoShopOwner.com

Dan, great hearing from you. You are right on target with you advertising program. Those who invest now and maintain a strong presence during this economic climate will reap the rewards down the road. Now more than ever, shop owners must realize that marketing your business is critical for survival. Great to see that you always maintain a positive outlook. Joe Marconi, Osceola Garage

While billions of dollars are being wasted and used to bail out wall street and other miss-managed companies, people like you and me must foot the bill with our hard work, blood and tears. NO ONE will bail us out. But we keep America rolling. And most jobs are created by small buisiness, not big business. BUT, the power is not within us...it's found in the unions and the with big business. The state of this once great land has serious issues.

Some say that if we don't bail out GM, Ford and Chrysler, the economy will suffer because of all the jobs and companies that are directly tied to the auto industry. Others say to let them die. They did it to themselves. What are your thoughts? Bail Out or let them Die Out????

With consumer confidence at an all time low and the holidays upon us, I think we will be in a tough ride again. We need to be sensitive to customer concerns. I don't think heavy discounting is the solution or retreating in our advertising programs. Gas prices are down, and that's a good thing. But is it enough to hold the economy together? Or is it just a sign of the times? I would like to know what plans do you have going into the winter months?

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 trades. A major setback occurred this week and is yet not resolved. It threatens the project and may delay the opening of the new facility. This setback has to do with the Department of Transportation. (DOT). First of all, you cannot build anything in this country without intervention from government agencies. And I swear, the pyramids would probably still be in the planning stages if we had government intervention back then. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure if the word “intervention” is correct. It’s more like government “interference”. Before a shovel is put into the ground you need the approval of the Town Planning Board, Town Zoning Board and the Architectural Review Board. The Department of Transportation gets involved, along with the Environmental Protection Agency. If you survive this, there’s the bank loan process to add a few more gray hairs. This process for me took about 2 years. So, as you might have guessed by now, I have had it with regulations and government agencies. But anyway, here’s what happened… The DOT has their input with respect to the driveways and curbs out on the road. I had to get a DOT permit and issue a bond before any work was started. In the permit are certain specifications that the site engineer must conform to when he draws his plans. The excavator follows the plans, grades the property and constructs the curbs in accordance with the approved site plan. Before work is started we needed to inform the DOT and ask for a meeting, which we did. When we called the DOT, the agent assigned to our case said, “Just let me know when it’s done and I will come out and inspect the site”. That was our first mistake. Our second mistake occurred when we called the DOT agent just before we did the actual excavation work on the DOT section of the property (the driveway and curbs). The agent again told us to call him when the job was complete. And that’s exactly what we did. We completed the curbs, blacktop and driveways and called the DOT agent. After repeated calls to his office he finally came out and guess what he said? You guessed it… The work is not acceptable. There’s a problem with the driveway grades. The shoulder of the road needs to slop away from the center of the road according to the specifications stated in the permit. This was Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The same day the mason worked till midnight to finish the concrete slab. What’s more annoying is that the DOT agent was out to site on Monday and never said anything to anyone. No one knew he came out. No one saw him. I had to finally call him Wednesday afternoon, only to find out he did come and he would not approve the work. And to top things off, he is leaving early for the holiday. Early for the holiday! I guess it’s nice to have a cushy government job these days, while the mason has to put in a 16-hour day just to have off on Thanksgiving! The DOT SOB never came out when we asked for a meeting at the start of project, never came out when we asked to meet before we started the work on the DOT section of the property and we had to beg him to come out to inspect the work once competed. And he did not even identify himself when he did come out and never called me. I had to call him. What’s the lesson in all this? Cross every “T” and dot every “I”. Do your due diligence. In the DOT permit, it is advised that a meeting be set up with the contractor and site engineer. Don’t listen to a lazy DOT agent. Insist on the meetings, go over the site plans and get everything in writing. I blame myself only because I am the one who needs to overcome this obstacle. After all, the DOT agent went home to a nice early holiday weekend. I know he enjoyed his holiday bird while I ended feeling like a turkey. Stay tuned!

You make a valid point. But I think it goes beyond that. The hard working people of this country did not get us into this mess. I think we need to look at our trusted elected oficials, finacial advisors and big bussiness leaders. While we were hard at working, earning a living the old fashion way, these people made bad decesions out of greed and power and destroyed our finacial system. Glad to see you still have 2 cents, EASAUTO!!!!! I'm not sure if I still do!!!