owner burnout

[carbtech72]

Anyone ever get the feeling of being burned out from your shop. Ive been open for a little over 4 years and its just worn me out. Between the long hours, lack of quality technicians,dealing with taxes insurance bills...ect, excess of unreasonable/cheap customers and the general "all work, no play, little reward" has just broken me. How do you all deal with the "burned out" feeling

 

[mspecperformance]

Hey man we have all been there!

 

I can't speak for the rest of the guys but I am by nature rather pessimistic. I have moments of great optimism however being a business owner you get curve balls thrown at you left and right and i have moments of despair, depression, burnout, bad attitude etc. Just this week the city decided to cut up the street to get it ready to pave so I am basically out 3 days of this week and probably 1-2 days next week. Practically killed my month.

 

I wish I was blessed with a consistent positive optimistic attitude but unfortunately I am not and I don't think many people are. What I do believe is for those of us who take the leap to be in business for themselves have an inner passion and drive to succeed through our own results. That drive may manifest itself in different ways and some may show it more than others but the one constant all of us should have is to push through it, work smart and work hard, meet and exceed our goals and brighter days will be on the horizon.

 

In regards to what you are experiencing other than your feelings and mindset, having a consultant or joining a 20 group may help you alleviate your troubles by helping you work smarter and more efficiently. It has made a world of difference for me. To be honest I probably have just as much anxiety but at least we are making 2-3x more than last year, bills are getting paid, and I can hire good help so the day to day grind doesn't fall solely on my shoulders.

[carbtech72]

Thanks mspec. I go in every day with a positive attitude and there are days when it seems all the planets are in a line and everything flows absolutely perfect. And then theres the days where you just want to lock the doors and say screw it. Ive been looking to join a small business owns type of group. Just hard to find the time. But its nice to know there are people who know what its like

[andresauto]

Anyone ever get the feeling of being burned out from your shop. Ive been open for a little over 4 years and its just worn me out. Between the long hours, lack of quality technicians,dealing with taxes insurance bills...ect, excess of unreasonable/cheap customers and the general "all work, no play, little reward" has just broken me. How do you all deal with the "burned out" feeling

 

Your solution for feeling burned out:

 

By winning! As long as your losing in life or in business you will always feel burned out.

 

Pardon me for stating the obvious but YOU SUCK as a business owner. You blamed the long hours, the bills, the taxes, the customers, the employees, you might as well say your god damned as well. Basically all the components of business are your problem. The common denominator is you!

 

"All work, no play, little reward" Who's decision is that?

 

Who's decision was it to go into business for themselves?

 

So let's start there!

 

It's ok everyone sucks at somethings. Especially when they are untrained.

 

But first step is realizing it and taking responsibility for your condition. You are lacking successful business owner qualities.

 

If you are not making money you suck at sales and marketing.

 

If you are dealing with unreasonable cheap customers than you suck at handling communication.

 

If your employees suck than you suck at hiring and training!

 

If your taxes, bills and insurance are a problem than you suck at administrative know-how.

 

If long hours suck for you than you suck at setting a schedule and prioritizing.

 

Luckily no one has to suck forever. It's a personal decision to recognize problems and not do something about them. The above things that you suck at is a list of your homework of things to study, learn, apply and improve.

 

I will empathize with you but you get no sympathy.

 

Let's see how many of these things you can improve in a month. If you can fix a carburetor, you can fix your business.

 

With Confidence In You,

Andre

[cdhowell]

I had to make it a point to distance myself from the shop. And it's hard to do. Friends and family start asking questions about their car and the next thing you know, your right back at work. Even when you are somewhere else. Visit your other passions Golf, Fishing, get a Harley. It will remind why you do what you do.

Edited October 24, 2015 by cdhowell

[ncautoshop]

I also had to make sure to have some family and me time. Doesn't matter the who what or why, come 5pm we leave (at latest 5:30). We don't work weekends, we don't start until 9. If I feel like having a slower paced day...we have a slower paced day! Determine the things that are truly important to you, and make sure you set time aside for those things! My parents have run the family business for 47 years, they open at 8 am, and close at 8pm daily. Their open 7 days a week and closed Christmas. I remember 2 family vacations, and they spent the vacation worrying about the business. I promised myself I wouldn't become that. If you not giving 100% of yourself to the business causes it to fail....well it was going to fail anyway.

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Edited October 19, 2016 by ncautoshop

[CARMandP]

Hey the state shows up for me this week and made me pay money I didn't have so I layed off my employees and possibly more. It could be worse...

[xrac]

Hey the state shows up for me this week and made me pay money I didn't have so I layed off my employees and possibly more. It could be worse...

 

Hang in there. You area survivor and a winner.

[HarrytheCarGeek]

Your solution for feeling burned out:

 

By winning! As long as your losing in life or in business you will always feel burned out.

 

Pardon me for stating the obvious but YOU SUCK as a business owner. You blamed the long hours, the bills, the taxes, the customers, the employees, you might as well say your god damned as well. Basically all the components of business are your problem. The common denominator is you!

 

"All work, no play, little reward" Who's decision is that?

 

Who's decision was it to go into business for themselves?

 

So let's start there!

 

It's ok everyone sucks at somethings. Especially when they are untrained.

 

But first step is realizing it and taking responsibility for your condition. You are lacking successful business owner qualities.

 

If you are not making money you suck at sales and marketing.

 

If you are dealing with unreasonable cheap customers than you suck at handling communication.

 

If your employees suck than you suck at hiring and training!

 

If your taxes, bills and insurance are a problem than you suck at administrative know-how.

 

If long hours suck for you than you suck at setting a schedule and prioritizing.

 

Luckily no one has to suck forever. It's a personal decision to recognize problems and not do something about them. The above things that you suck at is a list of your homework of things to study, learn, apply and improve.

 

I will empathize with you but you get no sympathy.

 

Let's see how many of these things you can improve in a month. If you can fix a carburetor, you can fix your business.

 

With Confidence In You,

Andre

 

Carbtech27, this is a priceless post for you.

 

I'll be honest, I am too selfish to go out on a limb and advise anyone other than my children like Andre has done here.

 

I have just a wee bit quible with it, he pointed out the obvious to you for those of us that have been through it, he didn't really tell you how to come out of it.

 

Like he pointed out, first you must accept responsibility for your own condition, and the culprit for that condition you find yourself in is your mind set. You need the proper training to have the knowledge to prosper.

 

First step, stop acting like a victim. Second, understand even the best people that love you and have the best intentions toward you will present obstacles in your life. You must overcome that. Only you know what you want for you, and if you don't, you will always end up lost and burned out. ( I know this by my own experience, even when extremely financially successful you can feel lost and burned out.)

 

Third, charge the proper amount for your goods and services that will allow you to live a comfortable life. Do your numbers, know your numbers, if you do quality work at a cheap price you will not enjoy your work, you will end up feeling cheated. And if a customer comes back for warranty work, you will not want to deal with that customer. On the other hand, if you charge a premium, you will gladly take care of your customer because he is a source of value.

 

Fourth, give and be charitable only with things you can afford to give and be charitable with. Take care of youself first, then your family, then others as you have in excess; this includes your precious time and knowledge.

 

Fiifth, be strong enough to ask for help, study, seek knowledge, pray or meditate and ask for guidence, strength and wisdom to overcome all obstacles. Learn to give thanks and praise, learn to receive graciously and gladly.

 

Six, learn to communicate, learn to listen and detach your emotions as you hear constructive criticism.

 

There is more, but I have to run a conference call with my people for now.

[dfrisby]

The wisdom and advice coming from this thread is great. I needed this. In my shop, our last three weeks have been the best so far for gross revenue, but there have been a few glitches each week eating most of the profits up. Last night I came home feeling burnt out and exhausted. The advice in this thread has me excited to make changes and push forward. Thank you to my fellow shop owners for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[alfredauto]

Carbtech, I was feeling the same way a few years back. Long hours, not so much money, too many problems. I think Andres summed it up, I was good at fixing cars and good at running a business but sucked at taking care of myself. I came up with a solution; I went on vacation and left my cell phone home. Try it, it might work.

 

I mean take a real vacation. Don't stay home and fix your house or work on paperwork, get on a plane and go somewhere far away from the daily grind. I can cash in some credit card points and be in Croatia in 14 hours. Sunshine, The sparkling Adriatic sea, hot girls everywhere, cheap beer, cevapi. I hone my foreign language skills. That's what I do. I dont even rent a car, I ride the trains or hire a driver. My thoughts are so far away from the shop I completely forget about it. The guys run the shop when I'm gone, and because its impossible to contact me they figure out what to do.

 

When I'm burned out I'm not running the shop effectively anyway. Its much better for everyone if I'm relaxed and happy. I've seen too many grumpy old shop owners who chased away their clientele because they got tired and discouraged and turned into miserable shells of what they once were.

 

Once you get yourself fixed, fix the business. Stop running discount coupons. Lay off the slackers. Spend some quality time focusing on what type of work is profitable and what type of customer brings you the most happiness. Focus on that, leave the losers for someone else. I started out with a low price strategy - it brought in garbage cars, miserable customers, and endless work for little pay. I cleaned up my act fast, and all those people I gave a deal to are at the next low price shop. It didn't buy me any loyalty. If you can take a step back and analyze what's going on and what direction you want to go I think you'll have a paradym shift.

 

Its better to feel burned out because there's too much money in the parking lot waiting to get fixed and not enough hours in the day than too many cars and too little money.

Edited October 24, 2015 by alfredauto

[HarrytheCarGeek]

Ok, I am back.

 

Like I was saying, Do not expect anyone to help your vision if they don't understand it, or if you don't communicate it.

 

Set realistic expectations, there are only 24 hours in a day, don't overextend yourself or your resources beyond their capabilities.

 

Comprehend that there are bad people out there, bad as in malicious, predatory, evil, don't put up with them, avoid them if you can. There are also toxic people, just like you would not let a thief into your home, do not let toxic people's ideas and attitures pollute your mind, or steal your dreams and ambitions.

 

Do not spend time on idle thoughts, grudges, or ill desires, they will harm you.

 

Commit to your cause, and do not look back. You are a leader, you must lead, those that will follow you - need you to lead.

 

Know that knowledge is potential, it needs action, to make things happen. On the other hand, action without knowledge is dangerous action.

 

In sum, choose to be successful, think successful, act successful. Your attitude is the engine that powers the outcome of your actions, knowlege is the potential, action is the consequence of your thoughs.

 

I hope these words help to alleviate your burn-out.

 

-Harry

[HarrytheCarGeek]

oh, I forgot, LEARN TO SAY "NO."

[ajnealey]

Great thread!!!

[andresauto]

Ok, I am back.

 

Like I was saying, Do not expect anyone to help your vision if they don't understand it, or if you don't communicate it.

 

Set realistic expectations, there are only 24 hours in a day, don't overextend yourself or your resources beyond their capabilities.

 

Comprehend that there are bad people out there, bad as in malicious, predatory, evil, don't put up with them, avoid them if you can. There are also toxic people, just like you would not let a thief into your home, do not let toxic people's ideas and attitures pollute your mind, or steal your dreams and ambitions.

 

Do not spend time on idle thoughts, grudges, or ill desires, they will harm you.

 

Commit to your cause, and do not look back. You are a leader, you must lead, those that will follow you - need you to lead.

 

Know that knowledge is potential, it needs action, to make things happen. On the other hand, action without knowledge is dangerous action.

 

In sum, choose to be successful, think successful, act successful. Your attitude is the engine that powers the outcome of your actions, knowlege is the potential, action is the consequence of your thoughs.

 

I hope these words help to alleviate your burn-out.

 

-Harry

Amen, great write-up, priceless!

[Jeff]

I have the same problem to some degree and I believe we have all been there! My biggest problem is worry! What if's drive me crazy! What if the work slows down, the compressor dies, the lift takes a crap, my computer dies...! Several years ago I quit (all recorded here in the forum). Left town in search of greener pastures. And wound up right back here! It is all a learning process. No one can tell you exactly how to run your business. And when it's all done at the end of the day the only one responsible for you is you.

My first move was to stop worrying! Second I began weeding out the cheap customers. Then I slimmed down the overhead. if it dont make me money I get rid of it. And lastly I work alone and schedule accordingly. It's still tough but it is MY tough! I got my leg broke last November and was sure I was gonna loose it all. My son stepped in and took care of biz till I got back to the shop. and guess what! It was all still here! I took a vacation in August. Didn't have a thing on the schedule for the following week when I got back! Wanna take another guess..it was all still here when I got back and the phone rang of the hook for a solid week!

And for what it's worth I pray! And my GOD answers prayers! Am I where I want to be? Not by a loooong ways! But I dont wake up in the morning and get sick thinking about the business! There is a reason you started your own business, rediscover that reason, make a plan and stick to it. Make adjustments when you have to, but stick to it!

[HarrytheCarGeek]

Jeff, I am not much of a worrier. That has led me into some very stupid situations, I tend to see how I can quantify the risk and push through. The times I have been kept up at night were when I would over extend myself and the cash flow was not there and I had payments coming up due and did not have the liquidity to make it, but somehow Good Providence always has come through for me.

 

I think working as a sole operator is the hardest thing I ever did. There were not enough hours in the day for me to do everything that was required, the second hardest thing was finding a complementary parter/employee to work with and be prosperous.

 

As a sole operator I would go through feast/famine times, I would market like crazy, bring in the work, and while doing the work, marketing would suffer, slowing things down, until I would get so slow I would have to market again like crazy and the cycle would repeat. Likewise, cash flow would suffer putting me in very tough spots.

 

I was finally able to see the pattern, and then I began to budget to get the right amount of volume to break from that vicious cycle.

[Gonzo]

Excellent thread gentlemen, every aspect of running a business, being a mechanic, and of course a shop owner is well covered.

 

I for one, hate to work, hate to turn down jobs, and hate to stay late. All of which I'll do from time to time because it's the best course of action to take in that particular situation.

 

The best advice, "You run the shop. Don't let the shop run you!" One of these days, after you've put in 6 or 7 days a week, 12-15 hours a day, and countless sleepless nights you're going to turn around and find your kids grown, or worse yet your marriage has fallen apart.

 

Find something outside of the world of cars, drop the wrench once in a while.... you're in business to make money, but you're also in business to provide for your family, and the one thing the business can't provide is time with your family unless you allow for that time.

 

Once you take that "vacation" away from the shop you'll come back to it with a whole lot better attitude.

[meowpox]

This is such a great thread and something me and my partner constantly work on.

 

Our shop is only one year old, but coming from the law industry, I know all about burning out and it is NOT BENEFICIAL for anyone and any business. You might think, oh the biz wont survive if I dont pull in hours and hours and stay glued to my phone. What it really does is put you in a very negative state of mind which translates into how you treat everyone around you, how you treat your work, and just crappy situation for everyone. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Fresh mind is always needed. The quote I live by is "Work to live, not live to work" --easier said than done, I know. In my opinion, too many people think success is making millions of $$$. To me, success is being happy. If you are in this industry, like mspecperformance said, its because you have some type of passion for cars or just running a biz that contributes to the community. There must be something in there that you can reach and grab onto to see the positive...like "hey, i dont have to deal with a terrible boss everyday"

 

That said, here is what me and my partner do and it helps but we still have our days:

 

1) Closed on weekends. Although I constantly suggest to him to at least be open 1 day of the weekend and close one day of the week, he doesnt budge. However, our techs seem to be very thankful and also gives time for my partner to "reset"--he sometimes accepts dropoffs or does extra work on the weekend but other than that, he seems to be liking his weekends doing little things for the shop but not full days of work. Sometimes I come in and do extra cleaning so that its all ready by Monday.

 

2) Phone notifications! Something that stressed my partner out is that he would come to his phone and see so many notifications. I constantly go through them all with him and ask which he really needs. Sometimes, they are just notifications from FB groups that he adds and it defaults to "notify each time a person just says something in the group"--so I clean that up for him to minimize it as much as possible. Also, your emails...if you get emails from things that you NEVER read, get into the habit of unsubscribing!

 

3) Day-vacations: if you are still unwilling to take a vacation, think of things you enjoy that wouldnt take more than a day. Like my favorite thing is to take my dogs hiking...in which I tell my partner to put his phone away and we have great conversations. Or go to your favorite restaurant. Or see a movie (great distraction because you cant look at your phone or else people will get mad lol)...the point is.....dont look at your phone and try to distract yourself with something calming and enjoyable!

 

4) Accept help. This is something I still need to work on. During our 1-year anniversary party, over 300 people came and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off...even though all my friends/family kept asking "Let me help, how can I help?" --sometimes its hard to accept help because you think, "I do it best" --well you cant do it all!

[mspecperformance]

This is such a great thread and something me and my partner constantly work on.

 

Our shop is only one year old, but coming from the law industry, I know all about burning out and it is NOT BENEFICIAL for anyone and any business. You might think, oh the biz wont survive if I dont pull in hours and hours and stay glued to my phone. What it really does is put you in a very negative state of mind which translates into how you treat everyone around you, how you treat your work, and just crappy situation for everyone. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Fresh mind is always needed. The quote I live by is "Work to live, not live to work" --easier said than done, I know. In my opinion, too many people think success is making millions of $$$. To me, success is being happy. If you are in this industry, like mspecperformance said, its because you have some type of passion for cars or just running a biz that contributes to the community. There must be something in there that you can reach and grab onto to see the positive...like "hey, i dont have to deal with a terrible boss everyday"

 

That said, here is what me and my partner do and it helps but we still have our days:

 

1) Closed on weekends. Although I constantly suggest to him to at least be open 1 day of the weekend and close one day of the week, he doesnt budge. However, our techs seem to be very thankful and also gives time for my partner to "reset"--he sometimes accepts dropoffs or does extra work on the weekend but other than that, he seems to be liking his weekends doing little things for the shop but not full days of work. Sometimes I come in and do extra cleaning so that its all ready by Monday.

 

2) Phone notifications! Something that stressed my partner out is that he would come to his phone and see so many notifications. I constantly go through them all with him and ask which he really needs. Sometimes, they are just notifications from FB groups that he adds and it defaults to "notify each time a person just says something in the group"--so I clean that up for him to minimize it as much as possible. Also, your emails...if you get emails from things that you NEVER read, get into the habit of unsubscribing!

 

3) Day-vacations: if you are still unwilling to take a vacation, think of things you enjoy that wouldnt take more than a day. Like my favorite thing is to take my dogs hiking...in which I tell my partner to put his phone away and we have great conversations. Or go to your favorite restaurant. Or see a movie (great distraction because you cant look at your phone or else people will get mad lol)...the point is.....dont look at your phone and try to distract yourself with something calming and enjoyable!

 

4) Accept help. This is something I still need to work on. During our 1-year anniversary party, over 300 people came and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off...even though all my friends/family kept asking "Let me help, how can I help?" --sometimes its hard to accept help because you think, "I do it best" --well you cant do it all!

 

 

oh my goodness. I am tethered to yelp and fb on my phone so when I get a complaint or ANYTHING from yelp my anxiety level goes through the roof. I really do need to take that off my phone and let my Service Advisors handle that. I take things way to personally and I am sure a lot of you guys do too!

Edited November 12, 2015 by mspecperformance

[andresauto]

Anyone ever get the feeling of being burned out from your shop. Ive been open for a little over 4 years and its just worn me out. Between the long hours, lack of quality technicians,dealing with taxes insurance bills...ect, excess of unreasonable/cheap customers and the general "all work, no play, little reward" has just broken me. How do you all deal with the "burned out" feeling

 

What improvements have you made? What has changed?

[carbtech72]

thanks for all the feedback. I took a bit of advice from everyone and implemented a lot of changes, some quick fixes and some for the long haul. First thing was I took a 4 day weekend, no phone, no talk of the shop at home. Just spend 4 relaxing days with my family. That was a big relief and cleared my head and gave me insight on what to do next. Also designated 12-24 to 1-2 as vacation, closed, no work, calls get sent to my cell phone and im taking appointments for when I get back.

 

I basically hit the big "reset" button and went back to how I ran things when I first opened. Let my 2 techs go and went back to just me doing everything myself, comebacks have stopped.. Stopped taking in as many big, time consuming jobs(engine swaps/rebuilds) and focused on bringing in more "gravy" easier said than done but with less stress and aggravation its easier to sell the easy work, my mind is focused on that and not the 30 other things going on. Plus now I have a little extra time to do some marketing/advertising.

 

I keep less hours. As long as there isn't pressing things that have to be done, shop closes at 6 and 615 im gone. Saturdays are slowly being phased from 9-1 to 9-1 by appointment only. So i can take in what I want or if I want the weekend off then I just don't book anything.

 

I plan on staying a 1 man shop for at least 6months, long enough to be able to interview and screen for a new tech. I want to hire someone based on that he is perfect for the job, not just a body to get things done.

 

I feel a lot more focused and don't dread coming in. Time to have me run the business, not the business run me. Its a slow process but getting there one step at a time. Thanks again for all the advice

[mspecperformance]

Those are a lot of changes for 5-6 weeks!!!

[Jeff]

Sounds like a plan Carbtech. Doing about the same here. Good luck!

[SprinklerMagician]

thanks for all the feedback. I took a bit of advice from everyone and implemented a lot of changes, some quick fixes and some for the long haul. First thing was I took a 4 day weekend, no phone, no talk of the shop at home. Just spend 4 relaxing days with my family. That was a big relief and cleared my head and gave me insight on what to do next. Also designated 12-24 to 1-2 as vacation, closed, no work, calls get sent to my cell phone and im taking appointments for when I get back.

 

I basically hit the big "reset" button and went back to how I ran things when I first opened. Let my 2 techs go and went back to just me doing everything myself, comebacks have stopped.. Stopped taking in as many big, time consuming jobs(engine swaps/rebuilds) and focused on bringing in more "gravy" easier said than done but with less stress and aggravation its easier to sell the easy work, my mind is focused on that and not the 30 other things going on. Plus now I have a little extra time to do some marketing/advertising.

 

I keep less hours. As long as there isn't pressing things that have to be done, shop closes at 6 and 615 im gone. Saturdays are slowly being phased from 9-1 to 9-1 by appointment only. So i can take in what I want or if I want the weekend off then I just don't book anything.

 

I plan on staying a 1 man shop for at least 6months, long enough to be able to interview and screen for a new tech. I want to hire someone based on that he is perfect for the job, not just a body to get things done.

 

I feel a lot more focused and don't dread coming in. Time to have me run the business, not the business run me. Its a slow process but getting there one step at a time. Thanks again for all the advice

 

 

I'm curious how things are going now. I did almost exactly the same thing that you have outlined here and I am making more money working less. I'm not burnt out anymore. How are things now?

[JustTheBest]

There's a lot of great help and information here. It all boils down to this. Fix your sales and cashflow - then there's a lot more time to think clearly. When you're running a tread mill to make ends meet - you're never thinking clearly.

 

Hope this helps!

Matthew Lee

"The Car Count Fixer"

[Jay Huh]

This is a great post, I'm going to bookmark this one, reading through this gave me motivation myself. Feeling the same as the OP from time to time. I'm a people-pleaser by nature and stressed and anxious a lot of the time. Taxes and accounting is a PAIN. Somehow my business is doing ok lol.

I started my business as a one man business. What really helped with the stress is hiring a front counter guy that you can trust. Now I have 3 techs and a service advisor who acts as the store manager. My shop program is cloud-based and I installed security cameras all over. Now I manage the shop from my home at least 1 day a week and i can even take a whole week off if I wanted to.