Ratchet+Wrench Radio
Ratchet+Wrench
Updated 4 days agoRatchet+Wrench Radio offers four tracks each month that explore the industry's biggest trends, most pressing topics, and the leadership and business management tips and strategies you need to thrive.
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Episodes (473)
Lead: Following the Cash Flow
As Aaron Stokes says, cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. Properly managing the cash in your shop and building a reserve is key to giving your operations some room for error. When managing your cash flow, Stokes says that discipline and emotional management is key, especially if you’re a newer shop owner. He goes over the keys for a shop owner to manage his or her back office operations, and get the rest of the team on board with the plan. 0:56: The importance of cash flow 2:15: Difference between cash flow and a profit and loss statement 8:40: How to keep track of cash flow and accrual 13:08: Getting your team on board with the system 15:58 The importance of being disciplined with your cash
Grow: Mentorship and Motivation
Jason Smith, owner of M&M Car Care Center, joins Rissy Sutherland to discuss his personal journey, and the struggles of being an owner of multiple independent shops. Part of this journey involved leaving his business for eight months to become a service advisor at a dealership, and deciding whether or not to sell his business after a significant downturn. He shares how mentorship and a newfound approach and attitude allowed him to resurrect his passion and successfully rebuild his shop. Aaron Stokes, owner of six shops throughout Tennessee and founder of Shop Fix Academy, shares how mentorship helped him grow his own career as a shop owner. From what he’s learned in nearly two decades in the industry, Stokes details how he helped Smith grow his business, and turn things around with positive reinforcement and feedback.
Innovate: Perfect Your Verbal Business Card
If your shop is dependent on word-of-mouth advertising, then you need to understand how to talk about your shop with customers and area businesses. Eric Twiggs, a coach with the Automotive Training Institute, discusses a few simple steps you can take to perfect your verbal business card and effectively market your shop to networking groups, which should result in a plethora of referrals.
Innovate: Transforming Your Company’s Culture
Owner Bud Wildman shares how a simple meeting with ATI convinced him to heavily invest in improving the company culture at his shop, Precision Auto in Germantown, Maryland. For Wildman, this process involved changing or removing negative energy in his shop, while infusing it with new employees who have a consistent positive attitude. Once you’ve had the opportunity to create this positive culture, Wildman says, you’ll do anything to protect it. He covers some of the 24 fundamentals he created for a strong atmosphere in his shop, and the conception of his shop's “Golden Wrench Award,” which he gives to his top employees of the month.
Lead: The Power of Influence
As a shop owner, your employees will consistently be influenced by your actions, whether you like it or not. In this week’s Lead Podcast, Aaron Stokes discusses the power of influence, and how being a disciplined leader can bring out the best in your employees. To get your employees to do what you need them to, Stokes says, it’s important to be the best version of yourself every day to draw respect from the rest of your team.
Grow: Setting Up a Training Program
As your shop grows, it’s vital to implement a structured training program for your entire staff. On this month’s Grow podcast, Rissy Sutherland discusses how to effectively set this program up with Chris Chesney, senior director of training at Carquest Technical Institute, and Brad Pellman, owner of Pellman’s automotive in Boulder, Colorado. Brad lays out what you can do at the shop level, as far as training technicians, putting a pathway together and letting technicians control their own destiny. Chris details how everyone in the industry can make a difference and get involved with better training efforts.
Inside VISION’s Hi-Tech Training & Expo
We recorded this week’s Ratchet+Wrench Radio podcast from VISION in Kansas City, and guests include four different management training course instructors. Each presenter also discusses why they keep coming back to VISION, and what their favorite parts of the conference are. Amy Mattinat, owner of Vt.-based Auto Craftsmen, discusses effective in-house marketing strategies, and why a blog should be an important component of your shop’s website (0:30). Danny Sanchez, CEO of Autoshop Solutions goes over the first steps to creating a strong company culture, and how he keeps things fun at his own business (6:13). Industry veteran Bill Haas discusses the difference between a challenging and difficult customer, and some common mistakes shops make when an especially difficult customer comes through the door (10:54). Jeremy O’Neal, founder of AdvisorFix, explains how a digital sales process works, and why it could be beneficial for your shop (16:05).
Innovate: Growing Your Own Technicians
Frank Leutz, president of Desert Car Care in Chandler, Ariz., joins Ratchet+Wrench Radio to discuss the importance of growing your own talent through an apprenticeship program, and how you can successfully attract young talent to your shop.
Lead: The First Steps to Improving Your Shop
In Aaron Stokes’ inaugural Lead episode as part of the Ratchet+Wrench Radio Network, he discusses the best starting points to position your shop for maximum growth and future success. To take your business to the next level he says, you’ll have to change up your daily patterns and surround yourself with people more experienced than yourself.
Grow: Inside the Indy Shop’s Path to Success
The independent shop's path to success can be rugged—if you're not willing to adapt. In Rissy Sutherland's inaugural Grow episode as part of the Ratchet+Wrench Radio network, she delves into the best practices two shop owners used to prosper in their markets.
The Importance of 20 Groups
Craig Noel, owner of Springfield, Ore.-based Sun Automotive, and member of Elite Pro Service for almost 8 years, discusses the importance of 20 Groups, and how they helped him become a stronger owner and leader.
Valuing Your Employees Can Grow Your Business
Dennis Houska, owner of Houska Automotive in Fort Collins, Colorado, talks about the ways how he, as an owner, taps into his employees for ideas and ways to grow and improve his business.
A Systemized Process for Tracking KPIs
For this episode, we decided to feature a shop owner who participated in the 2017 Shop Performance KPI Survey. Thorp’s single-shop operation boasts an overall gross profit margin over 60%, a net profit margin over 20%, and an annual revenue of 1.4 million. In our interview, he outlines what KPIs he’s made a priority to track in his shop and how they’ve helped improve his operation.
The Next Wave of Shop Owners
Owner of Casey's Automotive in Virginia, Bryan Jewett, discusses the challenges that young shop owners face and how he overcame them.
Keys to Being an Effective Marketing Director
Taylor Pickering, Ratchet+Wrench All-Star Award winner, marketing director and fleet manager at Pickering's Auto Service, outlines the importance of having a structured marketing strategy, budget and reporting system.
Why You Should Raise Your Labor Rates
Cecil Bullard, CEO of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, discusses why many shop owners are afraid to raise their labor rates and how that fear could be holding them back.
Setting Up a Successful Apprenticeship Program
Mike Davidson, owner of Parkway Automotive in Little Rock, Ark., is looking to bridge the gap between the automotive repair industry and the education system with his non-profit organization, the American Skilled Labor Association. And a huge part of that, he says, is building an apprenticeship program that not only attracts students into technical schools, but also sets them up to become the best technicians possible as they head full-time into the profession. He provides the key steps to structuring a successful apprenticeship program for both mentees and mentors.
Inside Industry Technology
Industry tech guru Donny Seyfer, co-owner of Seyfer Automotive in Wheat Ridge, Colo., sits down with Ratchet+Wrench editor Bryce Evans to discuss the 2017 Shop Technology Survey, industry technology trends, and how your shop can benefit from an era of rapid technology advancement.
Making Telematics Part of Your Business Model
A scholar of telematics for years, Derek Kaufman has written on and discussed the subject ad nauseum. Today, as the managing partner for Schwartz Advisors, he’s pushing to make the technology a crucial, everyday component of automotive repair shops. Kaufman joins Ratchet+Wrench to discuss the progression of connected car technology, the necessary equipment for shops, and why we must educate drivers on how it offers improved shop-to-customer communication.
Giving Back to the Community
Charlie Marcotte, owner of Pride Automotive and founder of Family Service Day, discusses the importance of giving back to the community and how it's impacted him as a shop owner.
Taking a Shop Digital
Ron Haugen, owner of Westside Auto Pros in Des Moines, Iowa, discusses his shop's transition to paperless processes, and how any shop can reap the benefits of going digital.
Achieving a Double-Digit Net Profit
Adam Liu, Ratchet+Wrench's March cover subject and the owner of M-Spec Performance in Middle Village, N.Y., discusses his top tips to achieving a 22 percent net profit.
Mitch Schneider Reflects on 50 Years in Auto Care
Industry legend Mitch Schneider, owner of Schneider’s Auto Repair in Simi Valley, California, joins Ratchet+Wrench for its debut of Ratchet+Wrench Radio. After 50 years as a shop owner, Schneider is in the process of selling his business and moving into a new role in the automotive repair world. He discusses the importance of succession planning, the process he's undergone transitioning the business to new hands, and how he plans to continue to help the industry.