WORKING ‘ON’ YOUR BUSINESS, NOT JUST ‘IN’ IT
Before I dig into an article about how to work on your business instead of in it, I’d like to share a story with you. Once upon a time, …
TWO TOOLS FOR RESOLVING EMPLOYEE CONFLICT AND IMPROVING MORALE
Is your shop a hotbed of employee conflict? Even if we look only at generational differences, it’s not hard to see why employees can butt heads and morale can suffer. …
TEAM INCENTIVES: HOW TO KEEP EMPLOYEES ENGAGED, OPTIMISTIC
Over the last 15 years, since we started helping shop owners in 1999, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every pay plan known to man. I’m also pretty sure that I’ve …
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TEAM
As the manager or shop owner, you are responsible for the success of your team and of the shop. You need authority and respect in order to effectively manage employees. …
OFFER THE RIGHT MOTIVATION TO YOUR STAFF
Learn what to do to motivate your staff to perform exactly how you want them to perform. By David Rogers “How do I motivate my employees to do what I …
THE VALUE OF TRAINING YOUR ENTIRE TEAM (INCLUDING THE OWNER)
When I came to work for Terry Keller at Keller Bros. Auto Repair, he was doing 65 cars a day with an average repair order of around $80. Customers were …
THE MOST IMPORTANT MEETING YOU SHOULD HAVE
Holding daily meetings will allow you to keep your finger on the pulse of the shop and to work on the business, not in it. By David Rogers Imagine a …
ENTREPRENEURIAL OWNERS EXPAND BUSINESS PROSPECTS THROUGH THEIR COLORADO SHOP
At age 21 Terry Keller hit the ground running. Hired in 1972 as an apprentice mechanic, two years later he was one of the first and youngest technicians in the …
WORKING SMARTER TO INCREASE SHOP EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY
How many hours have service writers everywhere lost because of a missing wheel lock? How many frustrating hours have been wasted on getting the wrong parts because of incorrect VIN …
BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH COLLABORATION
There was a time when I would have said, “No, absolutely not” to that question. I used to hate meetings. If you’re nodding in agreement right now, you’re not alone. …
KELLER BROS. INC.: WORKING SMARTER, NOT HARDER
It takes a lot of technical know-how to service modern vehicles. But there would be a lot more shop owners and technicians walking around with fat wallets nowadays if running …
GROW OR DIE NOW!
This is my 6th recession as a business owner. The first 5 were relatively short and simple. This one isn’t — for most businesses. Now I admit in the early part of my career I was lucky to make it through those tough times. But as I applied lessons learned I began to focus on what I could control and not allow paralyzing fear to set in.
HOW TO HIRE AND MANAGE A BOOKKEEPER
It was only after 30 years of miscommunication, pain, suffering, embezzlement, and all-around general bamboozling that I finally figured out how to hire and manage a bookkeeper for my shop.
COULD YOU DO THIS IN 15 DAYS?
Check out what a shop owner in Idaho did to their Average Repair Order in their first 15 days on the RPM ToolKit. In 15 days – just three weeks …
OUR SHOP WILL EXCEED OUR GOALS: TESTIMONY FROM RPM AUTOMOTIVE
Auto Profit Masters was founded with the mission of helping other shop owners learn from our mistakes running a shop so that they can skip directly to writing their own success …
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF, YOUR SHOP, AND YOUR CUSTOMERS
By now, you’ve probably already seen this headline: Technician Arrested for Manslaughter After Lacking Inspection A technician in Vermont inspected a car, failed to test the brakes (among other mistakes), …
ARE YOU A GENERAL PATTON OR A GHANDI? YOU NEED TO BE BOTH!
Have you seen the movie Patton? If you have, you’ve seen what it means to wear one of the two masks of leadership. After General Patton has done something outrageous to …
HELP THE DACHSHUNDS!
Have I told you about my dogs? If you’ve ever seen me carrying around my two small Dachshund pups, you know that they mean the world to me. This is …
PHONE CALLS CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SHOP
Earlier this week, I was on the phone with my dentist trying to schedule an appointment for my next cleaning. The receptionist was polite, friendly even, but seemed distracted – …
SEO IS DEAD FOR AUTO SHOPS! THE BIRTH OF MOBILE MARKETING
Search Engine Optimization — We’ve all heard of it, and as auto shop owners competing with other local small businesses online, we all know the importance of that coveted top spot of the search …