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…

This past weekend, Sirius XM played the top 100 Beatles songs, voted by their listener. During a busy weekend, while in the car, Ann and I had a chance to listen in segments. I love to hear the story behind the music. What inspired the song. How many sessions did it take to get it…

Flipping through channels, there it was, the beloved ‘Wizard of Oz’. I just can’t help but stop and get a fix of this very special movie. I remember as a kid being glued to the TV watching this every year. I found the movie in its first 20 minutes at the part where Dorothy starts…

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…