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Kevin Syed, Owner of Integrity 1st Automotive, 8 Locations, Dallas Fort Worth TX, grew up with an entrepreneurial father and was always encouraged to lead. Having successfully earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from University at Buffalo, Kevin went on to become a franchisee with Getty Petroleum / British Petroleum service centers for the better part of a decade in New York City. After gaining the knowledge, experience, and funding required to produce his own operation, Kevin went on to operate his own independent shops in New York. Kevin sought to find a new place to call home with his wife and twin girls; he longed for the community values and environment of the South and so his family made the decision to move to Texas. Integrity 1st Automotive was then born in Texas and Kevin has scaled his business to multiple locations across the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys local car rallies (e.g. Lamborghini Club Dallas), traveling, and hunting. Listen to Kevin’s other Episodes HERE

Carl Hutchinson, Owner, Complete Automotive, 2 locations, Springfield, MO has been in the car industry since 1982, but has worked on vehicles long before that time. He has a passion for engineering, for understanding how vehicles operate, and how to repair a customer’s concern. Earlier in his career, Carl started working at a GM Dealership, then went to work at independent repair facilities as a technician and eventually became a service advisor. Carl’s experience in the automotive industry led him to his current position as co-owner with Maureen Hutchinson of Complete Automotive in Springfield MO., where he works every day to provide high-quality, valuable service to all customers. Carl is an Alumni with Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield MO Campus. He currently sits on the Automotive Advisory Board with Ozark Technical Community College, a member of South East Rotary, and a member of the Springfield Midwest Auto Care Alliance chapter. Carl has his Master ASE Certification, L1 and Service Advisor certification and is an AMI Graduate. Listen to Carl’s previous episodes HERE

Kenny Wedow, Owner, Fine Tuned Auto, 2 Locations, Broomfield and Erie CO  knows cars. A natural talent even at the young age of 17, he pursued it auto repair in shop classes in school then slipped right into the work field. Working for dealerships such as Saturn, and Nissan, as well as other independent shops, has afforded Wedow with extensive and well-rounded education. More importantly, before Wedow branched off to open the doors of Fine Tuned Auto in 2013, he already learned the importance of patient diligence. Many dealerships and independent auto shops can default to make generalizations about the problems with your car, sometimes not always seeing the things that really might put you in danger on the road. The patience Wedow has to pull everything apart if need be to find the root answers makes him unique in his field. It is a quality that got him promoted to foreman at a Nissan dealership when he was only twenty-three. It wasn’t that the six technicians under him weren’t experienced, in fact, some of them had worked considerably longer than Wedow. However, his attention to detail and follow-through put him above and beyond. Listen to Kenny’s other episodes HERE

Key Talking Points

• Building Trust- Focus on relationships, not transactions. Reviews, book of business, referrals etc. People always like to try something new, wow them. Make customers feel better- don’t fake it.
• Location Location Location- be selective. Walk-ins at an easy location will increase with oil changes etc. First chance to gain customers for life. 
• First impression marketing- Kenny uses poker chips with his information to attract new customers. Signage, uniforms, customer waiting area etc elevate the professionalism. The image plays a huge role in sales, female-friendly bathroom/lobby, cleanliness, smell in the waiting lobby, convenience etc. Be mindful of female customers, educate and simplify. 
• Direct mail, google ads, geofencing- who is your clientele? What advertisement is right for your area? Once you have multiple growing businesses- what is your year after year retention? 
• Why do people choose certain careers/trades? What is the reason? Look at different industries and see what they provide. 
• Focus on the relationship, not the transaction  
• Be involved in the community

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Important Books

Check out today’s partners:

This episode is brought to you by Shop-Ware Shop Management. It’s time to run your business at its fullest potential with the industry’s leading technology. Shop-Ware Shop Management will increase your efficiency with lightning-fast workflows, help your staff capture more sales every day, and create very happy customers who promote your business. Shops running Shop-Ware have More Time and generate More Profit—join them! Schedule a free live demonstration and find out how 30 minutes can transform your shop at getshopware.com

Are you seeing auto shops in your area get hundreds of 5-star Google reviews and are you feeling left behind because your shop only has a few?

Hey look, Broadly is your answer to getting more online reviews. With more reviews, your business will rank higher in search results — and that means more customers coming into your shop every day.
Broadly helps you automatically request reviews so that your customers can promote your business with just one click. When you immediately ask for a review after service, when the experience is still fresh in their mind, you’re more likely to get a 5-star positive review. Plus, asking for feedback makes your customer feel valued and more connected to your business. Isn’t that what you want a connected customer? See how Broadly can help grow your auto shop.  Visit www.getbroadly.com/chat to learn more.

Your weekly broadcast production with the wisdom shared by our guest host and a virtual shop tour. There is a trivia challenge and a special fortune cookie wisdom shared. 

• Guest Host Judi Haglin from Haglin Automotive talking about getting back to basics. Judi’s previous episodes HERE.
• Virtual Shop Tour by Kenny Wedow from Fine Tuned Auto in Broomfield, CO. Kenny recently built a brand new facility. Kenny’s previous episodes HERE.
• Trivia Challenge: What do Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi, Ducati, and Porsche have in common?
• Listen for the fortune cookie wisdom of the week

Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. By always innovating, Dorman has led the way in growing the aftermarket. Here you will see a few examples of a Dorman OE Fix. An OE FIX is a Dorman repair solution you can’t get from the original equipment manufacturer. It means they found a situation where they believe the OEM wasn’t giving repair professionals what they wanted, so we fixed it. Everything Dorman does is centered around providing customer value, both in the quality of products, and the creativity of solutions. Our engineers and designers go out of their way to save repair technicians time and save vehicle owners money. Want to really go under the hood? Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour

Kenny Wedow knows cars. A natural talent even at the young age of 17, he pursued it auto repair in shop classes in school then slipped right into the work field. Working for dealerships such as Saturn, and Nissan, as well as other independent shops, has afforded Wedow with an extensive and well-rounded education. More importantly, before Wedow branched off to open the doors of Fine Tuned Auto in 2013, he already learned the importance of patient diligence. Many dealerships and independent auto shops can default to make generalizations about the problems with your car, sometimes not always seeing the things that really might put you in danger on the road. The patience Wedow has to pull everything apart if need be to find the root answers makes him unique in his field. It is a quality that got him promoted to foreman at a Nissan dealership when he was only twenty-three. It wasn’t that the six technicians under him weren’t experienced, in fact, some of them had worked considerably longer than Wedow. However, his attention to detail and follow-through put him above and beyond.

Danielle Bohlman, owner with husband Brett in Highway 7 Service Center, Newell, IA Find Danielle’s other episodes HERE.

Chris Cotton utilizes the Profit First method of cash management. He is trained and certified by the Profit First Professionals organization to guide business owners and entrepreneurs in maximizing their profits.

AutoFix is the first and currently the ONLY auto repair shop specific coaching company, nationwide, that has achieved certification in Profit First.

Chris Cotton has been in the customer service industry for over 40 years and has been in the auto repair industry for over 25 years. He is a former shop owner that has dedicated his life to helping YOU to get your business where you want it to be and helping you FOCUS on the things that matter to you. Find Chris’ other episodes HERE.

This episode will change your thinking as it relates to a new profit discipline and cash management. I know you know that cash is king in any business, so start being a better manager of it.

Listen in on Danielle Bohlmann, owner with husband Brett in Highway 7 Service Center, Newell, IA, Kenny Wedow from Fine Tuned Auto, Broomfield, CO and Chris Cotton, Certified Profit First Professional from AutoFix SOS coaching company and a former shop owner.

They nailed the benefits of a strong and disciplined cash management system. Both these shop owners say they are in a better place because of implementing Profit First.

Danielle and her husband Brett always plowed all their money back in their business. Now hear what they are doing and are better for it.

Key Talking Points

• Profit First is like ‘Telling Your Money Where it is Going’ Danielle Bohlman
• My Profit & Loss Statement says we made money! Where is it?
• • Eight out of ten businesses fail from a lack of profit.
  • 50% of businesses fail within the first five years
  • In the book Profit First author, Mike Michalowicz says: “Profit is not an event, it is a habit”
• You do not need to be in financial trouble to implement

• Profit First is a budget based on your income (revenue)

• Great accountability and discipline

• Everyone in the aftermarket can benefit

• Kenny did not follow the account conventions exactly like in the book but set up according to his business. His accounts: income, profit, debt repayment, sales tax account, opex account, parts, payroll account.
• You may find some challenges with your bank until they understand why you want additional accounts

• Danielle had challenges to cutting expenses, but they made it worked.

• Too many live with a big pot of money. One account that everything gets paid from. That is how the money disappears without having a ‘budget’ for your responsibilities.
• Funding these accounts based on allocations can determine exactly where attention needs to be paid. You can get a really good check on your business by looking at your bank account. KPI management is important as you see if you have enough cash to support all areas of your business including the owner’s profit.
• Danielle and her husband Brett always plowed all their money back in their business. Profit First will allow you to allocate owner profit so they can enjoy the fruits of their hard work.
• Danielle pays bills twice a month and has freed up a lot of her time
• Fine-tuning the operating expense account allows you to allocate more to profit
• This new accountability to your cash may hold impulse purchases at bay
• Kenny thinking to add a new account called charitable contributions to use in the community. He will allocate a percent of his revenue and pull that percent from another allocation or increase his prices or labor rate to cover it
• You only have 100% of your money and you can’t spend what you don’t have unless to don’t pay your costs or debt or government
• This discipline will let you look closely at all your expenses and wonder if you need every service you purchase or spend money on, especially if you run out of money in the opex account  
• You don’t know what you don’t know until you know it

Resources:

• A special thanks to Kenny Wedow, Danielle Bohlman, and Chris Cotton for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.