Ratchet+Wrench Radio

In this week's Innovate podcast, Chris Cloutier, shop technology expert and owner of Golden Rule Auto Care, joins the show to discuss the timeline of a shop's technology.  Cloutier created his own site to go over this topic, and he walks through the timeline's three stages, including where your shop is now, and where it can be. The further along on the timeline you are, Cloutier says, the more eff...

What do customers think of when they see your logo? In this week's episode of the Lead podcast, Aaron Stokes discusses his thoughts on branding and how you should represent yourself to your surrounding community. 

On this week’s Grow podcast, Rissy Sutherland brings in two guests to discuss a vital marketing tactic for any shop—developing a presence on social media, specifically Facebook. Tim Rodifer, owner of Milex/Mr. Transmission in Johnson City, Tenn. has built up a following of nearly 10,000 likes on Facebook. He now receives about 20-30 new customers per month, mostly done through internet advertising...

Over his 17 years as a shop owner, Greg Bunch, owner of five Aspen Auto Care locations throughout central Colorado, has mastered the art of measured business expansion. In this week's Innovate podcast, Bunch details everything a shop owner considering expansion should keep in mind. Bunch says that, from reports he’s seen, 58 percent of shop owners want to be out of the business by 2020. In the nex...

Jim Lang, industry guru and president of Lang Marketing, joins the show to discuss three major issues that will impact the independent repair industry in 2018 and beyond. 1:20: Lang discusses Tenneco purchasing Carl Icahn’s Federal Mogul in a $5.4 billion deal. What does this mean for Icahn’s empire, and where do independent shops fit in? 6:00: Several months ago, Lang put out a report dissecting...

Knowing who you want to target as a desired customer base is a vital aspect in making your shop as successful as possible. Kim Auernheimer, owner of CS Automotive in Brentwood, Tenn., learned this firsthand as she shifted her customer base from value-focused customers, to more affluent customers who were willing to pay more for quality service.  In this month’s Innovate podcast, Auernheimer goes o...

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, a...

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 ap...

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.

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,...

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 respec...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

Owner of Casey's Automotive in Virginia, Bryan Jewett, discusses the challenges that young shop owners face and how he overcame them. 

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.

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.

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...

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. 

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 driver...