Garage Owners Network (UK)

Do you focus on the positive or the negative aspects of your business? Are you providing excuses or looking for clues? Because success leaves clues, and the successful are better at spotting the patterns the rest of us step over. The greats defined these patterns: Bruce Lee: mindset — be like water. Ford: method — build the production line. Hormozi: multiplier — more, better, before additional. Th...

Most garage owners work hard for money, but they are building only one kind of money: earnings. They turn up, do the work, solve the problems, and keep the wheels turning. But if the business stops earning when they stop working, they have not built freedom. They have created themselves a job. In this topic, Andy breaks down the three types of money in a garage business: earnings, equity, and pass...

Time is the great leveller; everyone has the same amount every day, it's how you use it that makes the difference. This training topic examines the 3 ways you can use your time. Are you using yours wisely? Join me to find out.

Most garage marketing fails because it talks about you, not your customers. "Quality service at competitive prices" doesn't connect with the customer lying awake at 11 PM, worried about breaking down on the motorway. This episode introduces the Problem-Solution-Outcome framework —a structure that makes marketing material work. But here's the critical part: it applies differently...

This training topic shows garage owners why they should stop relying on gut feelings and start measuring key metrics. Past performance leaves clues in the form of repeatable patterns; spotting these patterns in timing, overruns, and margin allows owners to build systems to improve future performance. Study the evidence, not emotions, to reduce surprises, improve communication, and turn repetition...

"Taking the Business Pulse” is a simple, repeatable habit to transform visibility into profitability. Most garages suffer from poor visibility because they don’t track the right numbers. Start with one daily metric to build a measurement habit. Review it weekly to reveal the patterns that enable you to take prompt action. Join me this week to discover the 3 most important profit driver in any...

Garage owners either ignore the competition or compare themselves unfairly. One says,  “I just focus on my own business.” The other sees bigger workshops, better websites, newer kit, and feels inferior. Neither helps. Your customer is comparing you, whether you do or not. This training topic shows you how to study the competition without copying, criticising, or crushing your confidence. Learn fro...

This training topic explains how to design hooks that connect your services to the customer’s world. Their pain, their problems, your solutions. Using a simple framework, Andy shows how to create better hooks so that your customers understand what's in it for them. The big takeaway: the headline gets attention, but the hook creates relevance. If you want your marketing to attract more of the r...

Why don’t people do the things they know they should? Most people assume the problem is motivation. But behaviour science tells us something different. In this training Topic, Andy explains the MAP Behaviour Model. The model shows that behaviour only happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt occur at the same time. You’ll learn why motivation is the hardest thing to change, why making tasks e...

After suggesting garages increase labour rates in line with inflation, the response was immediate: “If you raise prices, you must add value.” But are we confusing two completely different words — price and value? In this Training Topic, Andy breaks down why they are not the same thing. Using practical examples, he explains three types of value every garage owner should understand: utility value (u...

Most garage owners manage their business like they manage their weight — they step on the scales, don’t like the number, and hope it improves next month. If you are only measuring lagging metrics, they can only tell you what has already happened. In this episode, Andy explains why you need both leading and lagging data. Leading metrics are the controllable inputs, your daily behaviours. Just like...

You’ve seen the ads: “Add an MOT bay from only £15 per day.” In this episode, I explain why that number is simply a marketing trick— and why you should include opportunity cost in your ROI calculations. Using a realistic 3-bay garage example, we will reveal the number of MOT’s you may need to do every day just to stand still. Then I will tackle the “failures will pay for it” argument—breaking down...

Most garages aren’t stuck because they don’t know what to do. They’re stuck because they won’t do what it takes. You are not being held back by the market, money, methods, or models. You’re being held back by you. And if you want to grow, you need to learn to do one thing: Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Because growth lives on the other side of discomfort

Most micro-businesses have a sales level need. They need more cash flowing through their business. There are only two ways to make this happen: More sales or Higher Sales Values Attracting more of the right customers means more sales and potentially higher sales values. That’s why marketing matters; the problem most small businesses face is that they don’t know how to create content that converts...

This training Topic is all about sustainability... but not in the “save the planet” way, but in the energizer bunny kind of way. I mean a business that can keep going, on and on. A garage that can still make money, still serve customers, still find staff, still fix cars... for years and years. A business that can continue in perpetuity.

High-performing industries don’t fear failure — they study it. In this Training Topic, we apply Black Box Thinking to the independent garage sector, revealing why common metrics like NPS and online reviews often tell only part of the story. You’ll learn why: The customers who don’t complain matter most Silence is often a stronger signal than criticism Real progress comes from studying failure with...

For decades, independent garages have built their businesses on two profit centres: the work and the shop. Labour and parts. But this mindset traps garages in low-value thinking, price comparison, and discount-driven decisions that undermine profitability. In this training topic, we break the myth wide open. You’ll discover how labour and parts become commodities in today’s market — and why neithe...

You know you’re going to sell—what you haven’t asked is who will actually buy it. The headline dream is staff ownership , but with only ~1 in 8 workers self-employed nationwide, that's statistically unlikely. The next fantasy is private equity —but PE backs platforms and roll-ups, not single-site micro-garages. Meanwhile, your sales agent claims the “asking price” is hot… yet real offers never...

In this Training Topic, we show how seasonal marketing turns chaos into cadence. Using predictable patterns (weather, school terms, registration/MOT waves), you’ll build a proactive plan — not last-minute ads. You’ll learn how to build a seasonal marketing plan to fill quiet weeks, prioritise best customers when you’re busy, and position your garage as the local expert — right when drivers need yo...

Lean and Six Sigma promise smoother systems and higher profits — but do they actually work in a workshop where every job is different? Everyone loves the idea of running lean — fewer wasted hours, faster flow, cleaner bays. But in the real world of independent garages, does Lean and Six Sigma make you too thin? In this week’s Training Topic, Andy unpacks what Lean really means for small garage tea...

This Training Topic from 2022 explains how to carry out a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis can be used on: Your Own Business A competitor Staff Equipment It provides a framework for fair, honest evaluations.

This short replay topic from 2022 asks the question What if I put my prices up? It aims to answer the following: Three reasons to raise prices The real reason for not raising prices Consequences of not raising prices

This short Training Topic explains the First 3 stages of business. Infancy-Adolescence-Maturity Knowing which stage you are currently at helps the owner work on the things that are most important at that level. The DANGER zone is between infancy and adolescence; this is where most businesses are stuck in a loop of doom.

In this Training Topic, we rethink onboarding using Mike Michalowicz’s All In principles — Purpose, Safety, and Belonging. Discover how to turn new starters into loyal members of your gang who think, act, and care like owners. Join me and learn how to bring your next hire “All In” from day one.

This training topic investigates Profit Optimisation. And before you switch off and think, “ that sounds like accountant talk ,” let me stop you right there. According to the office for national statistics The average net profit for private non-financial corporations (UK) was 8.8 % in 2024 For micro businesses (1-9 staff & less than 1 million in turnover), it's worse; here the average is e...