Fish, just like potential employees, will bite at different times, with different bait and for different reasons. According to Dan Taylor, a senior business advisor with Transformers Institute, you have to actively work at attracting employees, just like you have to work at attracting the right fish.
Patrick McHugh, owner of Richmond, Va.-based Bimmer Rescue, found another creative way to offer his time to get young people into his shop and teach them about the industry.
When you're ready to expand to a second facility, finding that second location can be a trying, draining task. Here's some advice from two shop owners about how they pulled it off.
Shop owner Brian Orsborn says you don't always have to acquire a competing business and move into its facility—sometimes all you need is its customers.
For a business to truly set itself apart from the pack, Jim Murphy, pro service coach at Elite, says to take a clear look at your unique competitive advantages and what you offer that other shops don’t.
Recently at a California Automotive Wholesalers' Association meeting, Rick Schwartz gave an overview of mergers and acquisition activity currently shaping the aftermarket and the steps you should take if looking to sell or acquire another business. View the presentation here.
Working on a giant repair ticket was one thing—but as a new shop owner, Jon Iverson soon found out that selling it to a customer base was a major obstacle. Here's how he overcame his original hesitation.
You've implemented a social media strategy—but is it effective? MDG Advertising did some research to find out, and produced an infographic that details the findings
According to IMR Inc., the majority of shops it surveyed are making investments in their businesses to improve or maintain their competitiveness, especially larger shops and older technicians.
Mario Andretti was on hand at Burt Brothers Tires and Automotive Services's new facility opening, signing autographs for customers and helping the shop cut its grand opening ribbon with the town’s mayor in Highland Park.
Brandon and Taylor Pickering of Pickering's Auto Service believe a marketing budget shouldn’t always be fixed, and should match a shop’s size and overall goals.
As Rose Quasney, co-owner of Auto Sense Auto Repair and Tire Center can attest, effectively rewarding a referring customer can involve a simple gesture, like sending out a thank you card complete with a gift card to a local restaurant.
Just over a decade ago, shop owner Dave McClung’s staff robbed him blind while he was injured. He’s since rebuilt his operations to a $1 million shop with a fully talented, trustworthy staff.
The most successful organizations utilize true win-win situations to be sustainable, Ryan Clo says. As a shop owner, this requires setting clear goals for both you and your staff.
As industry superstar Bogi Lateiner said in her WORLDPAC class, “Recruiting and Training Technicians,” there is no magic bullet or one secret way to find technicians. Just like marketing for customers, you want to utilize multiple different methods for finding quality technicians.
During one of his recent classes, “Increasing Market Share the Right Way,” Cecil Bullard said you must choose to either be the cheapest brand or the brand with the best quality and service. Any brand attempting to fit somewhere in the middle will not succeed.
In our June issue, we take a look at Katee Moore, service advisor at Williamsburg, Va.-based American Pride Automotive, and how she has been able to implement friendly, effective customer service along with an improved CSI score. But as Charlie Marcotte, owner of American Pride, can attest, her story goes far beyond simply raising the company’s CSI score.
As part of a weekly series, Ratchet+Wrench will take a look at 2018’s ASE World Class Technician recipients, including a brief bio of their career, and their thoughts on the industry. Today, we talk to Johathan Couch.
Between recruiting and interviewing and onboarding and training, there's a ton of work to be done in finding and retaining employees. Here are the absolute essential ones to keep in mind, according to the Automotive Training Institute.
After 60 years of operation, Zimmerman’s Automotive is celebrating its history in the Mechanicsburg, Pa. area, complete with a celebratory event in August.
Automotive Training Institute coaches Don Wafler and Mike Warren presented on better understanding your market at the 2018 ATI SuperConference. During their lengthy presentation, they touched on four simple—yet essential—steps for becoming in tune with your neighborhood.
In our June issue, we’ll take a look at four truly inspiring leadership books. As a bit of a preview, here’s a look at two strong, leftover books that didn’t make it into the article.
Readers can expect updates from associate editor Travis Bean over three days. He’ll be tweeting out tips and takeaways from the various classes, roundtables and presentations he’ll be attending.
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