Repair Shop Advice

It’s getting to be the time of year where everyone is taking a look at things that went really well in 2017, and also things that didn’t go so well.  Those thoughts always seem to lead to New Year’s Resolutions.  While it’s a little cliché to make big changes in January, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to analyze your business and work to improve it.

That being said, not all resolutions are good ones. Here are three not-so-great resolutions, and how you can tweak them to make them better for your shop.

 Work Harder

Most auto repair shop owners work really hard.  It’s a full time job to run a business – but most shop owners spend many additional hours as experienced mechanics inside their shops. If this describes you, then working harder is just going to lead to less time to enjoy the personal life that your shop is supposed to be supporting.

A better resolution is to figure out how to affordably outsource as many of the annoying tasks consuming your time as you can – or to stop doing them entirely.  Reclaim your time to do the essential jobs of a shop owner or manager: business strategy, employee management and mentorship, and customer service.

Spend less

There’s nothing wrong with wasting less money in your shop, but there’s a good chance that spending less money will lead to poor profitability.  And if it doesn’t hurt you in the short term, it almost certainly will over the long term.

Instead of trying to spend less, spend the time to determine the return-on-investment for the purchases you make.  Are you ever going to make money on that new piece of equipment, or is it time to let it go?  Are you getting your money’s worth from your parts provider?  Is that pay-per-click or reputation management service really doing anything for you?  Taking all of the money that you save and spending it instead on things that you know generate more money for your shop will lead to much higher profits.

Manage Stress Better

Running a small business is really stressful.  But if you don’t have partners in that battle, it can get overwhelming – and many shop owners feel like they’re the only one holding the shop together.  In these cases, the problem isn’t that you’re not managing stress well, it’s that you aren’t delegating enough of it.

If the thought of being away from your shop for a week is terrifying, it might be time to work with a shop coach that can help your shop support you, instead of the other way around.  By training your employees to take ownership of the challenges they face and selecting vendors that don’t require micromanagement, your shop can become a workplace and not a prison.

To learn how Repair Shop Websites can help your shop succeed, call us at 866.665-1605 or email us at Team_RSW@RepairShopWebsites.com.