I learned the game of chess years ago but never got into it, but rekindled my knowledge about chess from the limited series ‘The Queens Gambit’ on Netflix. I never appreciated the strategies the chess masters need to know to be at the top of their craft. Watching the docuseries I started to recall the…

We presented a Town Hall Academy on ‘Charging What You Are Worth’. It is amazing how many listens we get from podcasts that discuss this topic. The problem is real and too many of us don’t understand the math behind running a profitable business; business math. Sales minus parts cost equal gross profit. Gross profit…

I will not order pancakes at a restaurant that doesn’t serve real maple syrup. I always wanted to understand how maple syrup is produced and I’m a junkie for learning new things. Over the weekend we stopped by a ‘sugar shack’ just a few miles from our home. There is a lot of work that…

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t comment in my blog about an episode recently released. I’ve got no choice but to move you to listen to ‘Shop Fire’, episode 617 with Matthew Fanslow. Instead of saying it is a ‘must listen’, I know now that this is a ‘REQUIRED listen.’ The day after the…

I get emails and messages regarding the awesomeness of the work we do in building a learning library of business acumen. Almost 900 episodes covering, well, you name it. Trending topics and guests sharing their wisdom personally or on discussion panels. My friend Andy Bizub calls the podcast a 40-minute Twenty Group. I recently got…

Early in 2021, I interviewed the recipients of the first annual AAPEX 2020 Awards; Shop Owner of the Year, Service Advisor of the Year, and Technician of the Year. I’m so grateful that AAPEX for the first time created these award categories to start this important recognition. I also had the honors to present the…

Have you walked one of your regional malls lately? I recently spent time at our one big regional 1.6 million sq’ mall. It had been a while since I’d been there and I saw and felt the impact Covid-19 and e-commerce has had on our world. At the minimum, I counted 15 closed stores. I’m…

Feet ache? Can’t see well? Back hurt? Does your knee hurt? You may need a specialist in each of these areas. Is your business aching, hurting? (in the sense that it is struggling with sales and profits) There are specialists in the automotive service aftermarket that can fix a struggling business. They are called coaches…

Of late there has been a lot of dialogue around my circles about being paid for the value you give and bring to your customer. I recently saw a survey of shops whose sales averaged $750,000 yet their net operating profit was only 2%. That is only a $15,000 average net operating income before tax.…

Have you learned and experienced the powerful adage ‘When We Teach We Learn’. Ask any trainer if it is true. How do you make this work? Have you read a good book lately, attended a virtual seminar, listened to one of my podcasts? Learn anything? I bet you did, even just one new thing. How…