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[Podcast] Giving Back: His Calling to Expose the Automotive to High School Students [RR 565]


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Luke Walker started Luke's Auto in Columbus Ohio in November of 2009 after being a technician for 5 years. The rent was $350 a month for a 1 bay shop and he had zero employees. The first-year Luke's Auto did $260,000 in sales. At the end of 2014, Luke's Auto was up to $750,000 in annual revenue with 10 employees. 

Luke realized that he needed business training and since 2014, he has spent around $150,000 in business consultants and training. This business consulting and training brought his ability as a business owner to a new level and helped to secure Luke's Auto as one of the top shops in Columbus.

10 years into the business there are now 16 bays, 24 employees, and $4MM in projected revenue for 2020. Luke's Auto is the top Yelp and Google rated independent shop in all of Columbus and was voted as one of the "Three Best Car Repair Shops" in Columbus. Luke's has also been features in the Columbus Dispatch newspaper.

Key Talking Points:

  • Started with 1 bay shop, now has 16 bays, 24 employees and on track for almost 4 million  Coaching consultants (Cecil Bullard, Ryan Clo, Aaron Stokes) big key with success- profits had flatlined and more problems arose as the business grew and became bigger 
  • Credits his success to the team as well- finding talented people that fit the culture of the business
  • Inner-city skills-based non-profit program- wanted to give back to the community11-19-year-old students-focused on high school students
  • The program was established for 20 years but recently in the last 6 months it had stopped due to lead person retiring because of health reasons
  • After school program- an actual shop that has different stations, once a week for an hour and a half for 6 weeks. Identify and cultivate students that are gifted with working with their hands
  • Time trials- timing how fast they can complete tasks after teaching them, top 3 receive toolsets and invite to advanced program 
  • Helps separate the students that are gifted and interested in the industry sooner, which will help steer them into the right path for their future 
  • Run by Luke and volunteers
  • Hired student from the programStudent shadowed at the shop after excelling with program 
  • Youngest hire at the shop at 16 years old
  • Wants to go mobile with programMost of the stations they’ve created are on a workbench inside the shop, can easily transport on a trailer and bring to a high school
  • Raised 150K so far for program- first donation was from a woman from church that donated 50K, other donations were from NAPA and other dealerships
  • Is making money evil in your mind? “Love of money is the root of evil”
  • What do you want to look back on? Is it making money or making a difference and help people

Resources:

  • Thanks to Luke Walker for his contribution to the aftermarket’s premier podcast.
  • Link to the ‘BOOKS‘ page highlighting all books discussed in the podcast library HERE. Leaders are readers.
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Gold Certification recognizes top tier NAPA AutoCares with a high level of participation in the AutoCare program. The program was built by AutoCare Centers for AutoCare Centers to provide a consistent consumer experience, maximize technology leverage, and reward NAPA’s most committed partners. In other words, Gold Certified AutoCare Centers are the standard bearers for the AutoCare brand nationwide. Simply put, the Gold Certified NAPA AutoCare program, powered by your local shop brand, will separate you from the rest helping you boost your bay counts and your average repair orders.

Learn more about NAPA AutoCare, Gold Certification, and the hundreds of other benefits the NAPA family has to offer. Talk with your servicing NAPA store or visit, www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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