If you had known then what you know now, would you have opened your own shop? Every day new shops open in North America. Many of them from technicians who have a dream and desire of opening up their own. For many, it is a life long dream to own their own business. For the…

Customers want a great experience. They have preconceived expectations on how their experience with you is going to happen. Will it be as good as in the past. Will it be better than the dealer or the shop they patronized who is now closed?  Every time we set out to do business, even a trip…

Are change forces blowing harder and faster than we realize? And are we creating them? A restaurant in my town decided to rent some space in an office tower next to our AAA Ball Park. It just happens that the Toronto Blue Jays are playing there because of the pandemic (Canadian/US border lockdown). All US…

Flour, water, salt, and yeast makes bread. Just about every recipe has these ingredients. That’s pretty basic and most ingredients are most likely in your kitchen. It is known that baking is science while cooking can be more art than science. Yet both require the knowledge of what the ingredients do to the final taste…

Traveling on the New York State Thruway I came upon a semi with a massive ad, on its back door, that spoke to me. It said, ‘Become A John Deere Technician.’ I’ll let that sink in for a moment. Did it hit you as it did me? So many thoughts scurried through my mind. Let…

Visiting a Tim Hortons Coffee shop I experienced what is the new normal as it comes to cleanliness at fast food or for that matter any type of restaurant. You may ask who is Tim Horton? Why not Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? Plain and simple I like the coffee. If you are Canadian you know…

Mastering I recently saw a Lexus commercial that was themed ‘Mastering’. If you are like me and look outside the box to become inspired and insightful, what could you do with the word Mastering? How could you bring that to your culture? How could you make it part of your customer experience or messaging? If…

I did it my way. Remember the song? If I would ask any successful business person if they flew solo through their career, the high majority would say they had help. Many executives in major companies hire coaches to help them with skills they need to grow and lead. I know a few great life…

For many of us, there is some extra time in our schedule. Imagine the times we used to think about things to do if we had some extra time on our hands. I know your business is essential and open. Kids are home. But still, there is extra time on your hands. I’ve made a…

We may have some downtime on our hands as we deal with COVID-19 It is time to schedule training sessions in light of having extra time available. There are many things that can be done from equipment maintenance, painting, repairs, fix-up, clean up and training. Dig out the seminar books from the last year and…

Training is a top-five strategy in the automotive service business. Shop owner CEO’s must focus on culture, marketing, financial results, processes and creating a learning culture in their business among others. Owners must lead the way by attending business management/CEO training. Training is a retention tool; keep that in mind. Shop owners must create a…

Ready to Sell Or Succeed Your Business? Is Your Business Attractive to a Potential Buyer? Do You Have an Internal Candidate To Buy Your Business? Statistically, 88% of current family business owners believe the same family or families will control their business in five years. However, succession statistics undermine this belief. According to The Family…

I will never forget putting a call out to shop owners who wanted to tour of Frank European in Las Vegas in November 2018. I was doing a live broadcast for Town Hall Academy from Franks highlighting the value of shop tours. Thirty shop owners showed up to not only give their input live, but…

I am one of the luckiest people in the industry, I get a chance to pull together smart people who have a passion for sharing and helping others. In the Town Hall Academy podcast panel discussions we cover the context of the automotive aftermarket. One ongoing conversation in the podcast is consolidation. Now and even…

I keep hearing about that greatest challenge in the aftermarket, a technician shortage. Recently instead of listening to the ‘woe is me’ story, I asked, ‘How are we going to fix it?’ and no surprise, there were great answers to this question. The top solutions to the tech shortage are not new, but they will…

In an April 2018 Town Hall Academy with three shop owners, we discussed comeback prevention. They all agreed that prevention starts at the front door.  There were some very common themes that resonated with this discussion and I want to share four of them with you. It is all About Communication. When you provide enough…

How impatient are you? When you are in a coffee shop looking for a cup of black coffee, a typical 46-second transaction, however it takes 10 minutes to get your cup of Joe, are you as impatient as me? All I want is a cup of black coffee. Long lines in the morning are normal,…

That time of the year is upon us when we reflect on the current year regarding family, self, work and future. All too often we look at the balance that we’ve maintained and find the scale tipped one way or the other. If you want a stronger or better work/life balance you must believe it…