Podcast: What Your Numbers Are Trying to Tell You

Hunt Demarest, a leading financial expert in the auto repair industry, walks through the common traps shop owners fall into when reading their financials.
July 30, 2025

When something’s off in your shop—profit’s down, productivity’s lagging, or margins are shrinking—it’s easy to blame the numbers. But what if the real problem isn’t the numbers themselves… but how we interpret them?

Today on Ratchet+Wrench Radio, we’re joined by Hunt Demarest, a partner at Paar Melis & Associates, leading financial expert in the auto repair industry, and host of the Business by the Numbers podcast. Hunt works closely with shop owners to dig into the data behind the decisions. Today, he's here to challenge some assumptions and walk us through the common traps shop owners fall into when reading their financials.

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About the Author

Chris Jones

Group Editorial Director

Chris Jones is Group Editorial Director for the Vehicle Repair Group at Endeavor Business Media. He’s a multiple-award-winning editor and journalist and a certified project manager now providing editorial leadership and brand strategy for the auto care industry's most trusted automotive repair publications—Ratchet+Wrench, Modern Tire Dealer, National Oil & Lube News, FenderBender, ABRN, Professional Distributor, PTEN, Motor Age, and Aftermarket Business World.

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