How I Did It

June 4, 2019
Whether it be a shift in leadership structures, business knowledge or industry involvement—these three shop owners are now more successful in what they do because of the strategies they have implemented into their shops.

When Bruce Howes, owner of Atlantic Motorcar Center in Wiscasset, Maine, initially started his first business, he ran the shop the way he saw his dad run the family business—like a solar system.

“The sun is the owner, Mercury is the employees, and everything orbits around the owner,” explains Howes, “The problem is, if something happens to the owner—if they become ill, or injured or go on vacation—the business ceases operation.”

Howes has been in the industry for a while—he’s opened shops in two different states at two different points of his life, and has made each one successful. But throughout his time as an owner, he has shifted and changed along with the changing industry—including how he leads his business.

Evolving ownership strategies are vital to success. Howes’ service side of his shop pulls in $1.8 million per year, and he attributes this to the structural change he has put in place.  

Shifts can be made throughout all facets of shop ownership.

Ken Gamble, owner of North Hills Automotive, went through a process of altering how he runs the business side of his shop after he expanded to too many locations too quickly. He now owns two extremely successful shop locations in Greenville S.C.

And Nannette Griffin, owner of Griffin Muffler & Brake Center in Fort Madison, Iowa, changed her involvement in the industry to gain a network and access to strategies aiding in the growth of her shop.

Whether it be a shift in leadership structures, business knowledge or industry involvement—these three shop owners are now more successful in what they do because of it.         

Here’s how they did it.

How I Did It: Leading the Operation

Bruce Howes quickly realized that as his shop grew, his “solar system” management mentality was not tenable. He grew up in family businesses, first watching his grandfather and then his father, use that strategy—with all functions of the business circling them as the owners. And Howes followed in their footsteps, initially, serving as the focal point for his shop in New York.

But with a move to Maine, a fresh start, and a rapidly growing business, Howes overhauled his approach with Atlantic Motorcar Center in Wiscasset.

“We’ve built our business very laterally. I’m definitely the owner but I have managers for each department and they are all empowered to make decisions,” Howes says.

He wanted a different philosophy, and says the operational change was a “lifestyle decision.”

“At the end of the day, you really need to design your business so you can work five days per week to have a healthy life balance,” Howes says. “If you can’t do that, you need to change your paradigm—how you operate. You need to get people in there and get people to delegate.”

Make maps that anyone can follow.

One of the large operational changes Howes has made in running his businesses over the years, was a strategy that he took from large corporations. His inspiration came from the franchise business model of operations manuals. Howes says the idea of these manuals is to be able to take them anywhere within the regional area and be able to replicate the business, which he says is his goal.  

“You don't build a business around people—people are your most valuable asset—but you build a business around processes,” Howes says.     

 Atlantic Motorcar Center uses process maps, which he says are similar to SOPs, but follow more of a recipe structure.

“An SOP would say, ‘Don't turn off the lights until it’s dark outside,’ but that doesn't give a lot of information,” Howes says. “A process map is like a recipe, and tells you the initial purpose of the map.”

Howes gives the example of a process map on how employees should call customers for a follow-up. The map includes the reason why the call should be made, the people responsible for making the call, the supplies needed, an overview of the process and then the exact steps.

This allows for Howes—or any of his staff members—to be out and still have someone step in and follow the process maps to complete their tasks.

“We even have a process map of how to make a process map,” Howes says.

This is because each team member is responsible for his or her own maps. The documents are shared on Google Drive, and accessible to those who need it. The maps are dynamic and not static, explains Howes, so as processes change, the maps can be easily changed and updated along with it.  

Encourage the right team.

Having a strong team is critical to Howes’ success, and he says the best way to do that is by properly motivating, training and encouraging employees.

“I don't think we [as an industry] pay enough attention to valuing our employees, training our employees, and investing in our employees,” he says. “Our most valuable capital is human capital.”

If you fix the employees, you fix the customers, Howes says.   

He makes sure to walk out and say “hello” to every employee each morning to make sure they feel valued. He also has each staff member sign a code of conduct about how they will behave to one another, as well as customers.

When bringing on a new employee, Howes gets his team involved by having key members join in to help make decisions. On the third step of the Atlantic Motorcar Center interview process, select employees will meet with the potential candidate to speak with them or grab lunch. Howes says he included this in his interview process because it makes his employees feel more invested in the decision, and valued. Candidates also tend to let their guards down more around people they view as peers, and share things they normally wouldn't to Howes or the shop’s general manager.

Set a training plan.

Employees need to be trained properly in order for a shop to be operational during the leave of an owner. To make the training process as in-depth as possible, and to add to retention, Howes has created a 30-, 60- and 90-day training plan.

Each of the steps of the training process includes a goal sheet with what the employee needs to accomplish during the set timeframe.

For example, Howes includes some simple operational checkboxes for the 30-day goal sheet, like learning the email system, how to use Google Drive, how to do a vehicle inspection, where the forms are in the shop and how to use some of the diagnostic tools. The employee then sits down with Howes to discuss progress. Anything the individual didn’t complete in the 30-day goal sheet gets rolled onto the 60-day sheet.

“By the time they get to 90 days, they should be fully spun up and operational,” Howes says.

Howes adjusts the employee’s payment to where they are in their training process. The first 30 days the employee is on an hourly rate. After that and up to 60 days, he or she is on hourly plus performance, and after 90 days, he or she is reliant on straight performance.

You want to invest in these people, you want to train them up and you want to help them to succeed, Howes says.

“I worked hard because I grew up in a family business, and I saw my father and my grandfather working 24/7, missing ball games and things like that, so I worked hard to try to build a business that didn't run like a solar system,” he says.

How I Did It: Becoming Business Savvy

After Ken Gamble left his job at a dealership, he decided to open up his own repair shop in 1986. But there was one problem: Gamble didn’t know anything about business.

“When I opened my shop, I had passion for repairing vehicles. I was a pretty good technician and knew how to treat customers, but I had zero business experience,” he says.

He jokes that he didn't even know what a financial statement looked like.  

By 1991, Gamble ended up with four locations—he may not have been business savvy, but, clearly, he knew how to attract customers.

In order to help with the financial side of Gamble’s business, he found a partner with an MBA and business experience. At first, the partnership was going well, but once his partner’s children grew up and joined the business, problems began to arise. Gamble was forced to make the decision to “divorce” his business partner and learn how to run North Hills Automotive, in Greenville S.C., partnerless.       

Learn when to expand.

Currently, North Hills Automotive has two locations: one on Butler Road and another on Augusta Street.

But, at one point, Gamble owned a total of seven.

After Gamble’s son, Jacob, pushed him to make the difficult but important decision to divorce his business partner, Gamble bought out the business and subsequently took on loads of debt. By 2012, he had high overhead and could hardly make enough money to support the business, so he began systematically closing locations and consolidating. Some of his locations were doing well, and others weren’t. Gamble now says he expanded too early.

Soon, he was able to get North Hills Automotive down to two locations, and he then began bringing in decent money, he says.

“When it comes to expansion, locating your shop is like buying a house. The building has to look like you are somebody,” Gamble says. “Like Chick-fil-A, you know what you’re gonna get when you walk in. So, if you can't afford to do it, then don't.”

Beyond expanding to physical locations, Gamble stresses to also beware of expanding and diversifying your services. He had also been in the used car business since 1991, but Gamble said it started to take his eyes off the service business and was not making any money.

“Do what you do, and do it well,” he says.

Let go of the wrong people.

Venturing forward without a partner was a tough decision for Gamble, but it ended up being vital to the shop’s growth. Gamble stresses the importance of being careful when choosing a partner.

“You’ve got to know if you want to be married to this person forever, because getting out is just like a divorce,” he says.

This sentiment of letting go of the people holding back his business has bled over into both the employees and customers of his shop. At the beginning of owning his own shop, Gamble says he held on to poor employees for too long. He has since learned that it is best to get rid of the people holding your business back.

“Listen to the people around you,” he says.

Firing people is no fun, Gamble says, but sometimes it has to be done when the individual isn’t right for the shop.

Increase your business knowledge.

Although the business partnership didn’t end up working out, Gamble did become more invested in business strategies over the years. Now, to continue to make the two North Hills Automotive locations successful, Gamble puts large focus on production and pricing.

The North Hills Automotive team pays attention to daily numbers and average ticket goals. They also have 15 KPIs they watch every day, and keep track of on a spreadsheet.

When Gamble first started his business, he regularly gave work away for free. He would extend credit to those who couldn't afford the work they needed on their cars. Gamble had to learn the fine line between being a “good guy” and being an enabler.  He now stresses the importance of charging what you’re worth.

“Don’t be afraid to change your labor rate. Be right there with dealerships,” Gamble says.  “You’ve got more to offer customers, and a warranty they can't provide.”

Gamble follows his son’s philosophy when it comes to parts: Once you touch it, it’s worth more—and most customers rarely question prices.

How I Did It: Joining the Network

Nannette Griffin has been in the automotive repair business since 1984. She has always had a fascination with how vehicles run and how they break down. After meeting her husband, she took her passion and opened up shop—he did the exhaust and she did the brakes.

After a tragic fire burnt down Nannette’s first shop, Griffin Muffler & Brake Center was rebuilt four times larger, and the first employee was hired. But as the shop began to expand, Griffin says she still worked in her own little bubble.

That’s when she received an email titled, “How to Fall in Love with Your Business Again.”

This email brought Griffin to her first shop owner conference. There, she was introduced to trainings, tools, and technologies that she said she never knew existed.

This opened up a whole new word for Griffin and her shop.    

“I don't operate in my own little bubble anymore,” she says.

Get Involved in the Industry.

That first conference introduced Griffin to the realm of networking, and has helped expand her management and technical knowledge, as well as form community.  

Griffin has joined the Midwest Auto Care Alliance (MWACA), and encourages other shops to join similar associations near them. She now has a goal of starting her own chapter of the organization in her part of the state so she doesn't have to drive three hours north to attend the meetings. In the process of doing so, Griffin goes to other shops in her area and introduces them to the organization to get them involved in the community as well. This year, she saw two of the shops in her area that signed up at VISION Hi-Tech Training and Expo (MWACA’s annual conference).

“Part of my goal is to bring our industry to a higher standard,” Griffin says.

The organizations, conferences and networking groups have helped Griffin learn what other shops do: What they use for their vehicle inspections, what kind of warranties they offer, and how they conduct their follow-ups. She then implements those techniques and processes into her own shop. Griffin’s husband once said that the conferences allow him to “learn more in three hours, that he did in 30 years.”  

Utilize a Consultant.

Griffin met industry consultant Bill Haas at the first conference she attended. She has since hired him—and now talks to him weekly.

“I really can’t say enough about having a coach,” Griffin says.

She says that Haas has helped her bring new mindsets and strategies on how she runs her business. As an example, Griffin Muffler & Brake Center used to take everybody that walked through the door as a shop customer. But Griffin has since learned that it’s OK to fire a customer, and Haas helped her learn why—you are then able to give your energy to good customers, she says.

The shop has since lost a few customers, Griffin says, but says it was best for the shop that they now don’t serve everyone that comes in.  

Find Connection.

Running a repair shop is hard, Griffin says, and there are some days you’re going to hate it. But reaching out and having a network of people to go to for support and help is important to running a business.

“You don’t have to do it alone, people have been in your shoes,” Griffin says. “Reach out [to other shop owners], and don't worry about thinking they are competition. The top shops are looking to help.”

Sponsored Recommendations

Free Resources for Shops Like Yours

View insights, research and solutions curated specifically for shops like yours.

Restore & Protect: The Powerful Revenue and Profit Accelerator for Your Business

Restore & Protect is a major business opportunity for Valvoline installers with positive impact on profit growth as well as customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Deliver a First-Class Guest Experience

Our dedicated Valvoline Trusted Advisor Sales and Support Team provides hands-on classroom and targeted in-store coaching to help your employees become more skilled at selling...

Promote Growth on Two Fronts: Existing and New Customers

Increase Sales and Customer Traffic To Your Store(s).