Whether you operate a small shop or a big shop, someone has to manage all those cars and people out in the shop – you might as well get great at it, right? Seriously, production is where you earn the money the people in the front office sold. Your job is to retain as [...]
One of the commonalities between most collision repair shops is chaos. I believe many shop owners have become complacent with chaos, chalking it up as a “normal” part of the industry. This belief, in my opinion, is insanity. Having been involved with collision repair for over 35 years now, I have witnessed an interesting [...]
As I write this, I am on a long flight home from Australia where I had the pleasure of speaking to shop owners facing many of the same challenges as those in the U.S.A. You know the usual topics – labor shortages, pressures dealing with insurance companies, speed of technology, etc… I also heard [...]
There are many commonalities between the homeless living on Skid Row, the mediocre, and the successful. Each may have received a low or high-degree of education. Each may have been born into a humble or affluent family. And the universal commonality: each has been knocked down many times in life. The homeless man has [...]
In a business such as collision repair that is notoriously difficult to manage, a successful leader must have a firm grasp on their time management. With so many distractions every day, a laser focus on completing important tasks that will move the company in the right direction is critical. In the collision repair business, [...]
I remember the days of struggling to get out of bed to keep the bills paid; the dream of entrepreneurial-freedom, a thing of the distant past. Where is that dreamy-eyed kid that started the business? He or she is still inside, hidden by the hardships, hidden by the overwhelming doubt that we can someday [...]
If you struggle getting people to do what you want them to do, it may be time to learn a few new accountability skills. Many collision shop leaders are frustrated that people seem to ignore them when asked to perform simple tasks such as picking up after themselves or living up to quality standards. [...]
