mspecperformance

21 minutes ago, GobblesAuto said:

I use Mitchell Manager Enterprise Pro which is the same as Protractor. Mitchell buys it from Protractor and rebrands it under their name as their multi -shop software. It is different from Mitchell SE software. Protractor is a good system. Definitely worth looking at.

 

Thanks. I am going to demo the system next week. I do know that mitchell enterprise is protractor, I am told the price points are the same.

30 minutes ago, jhamrick said:

I should have specified that we perform 5-10 alignments per day and are currently using an older Hunter Hawkeye, which is a camera system as well, and it is not giving us any problems. I am looking at the Rav and Hoffman equipment because they offer systems that are tower free and simplify camera placement by mounting the cameras on the rack itself. 

https://ravamerica.com/automotive-alignment-equipment/vistar-td3000hp-tower-free-3d-alignment-system/

If you are doing 5-10 alignments a day I don't see you being happy with the other products UNLESS you just have no idea how fast it is to set up and breakdown the new Hawkeye Elite heads. If you don't have a point of reference then you might not think there is a justification in spending the extra dough. 

When I mention "camera" system I mean where the cameras are mounted at the wheels opposed to Hunter and Hoffman/John Bean set up where targets are mounted onto the wheel. Good, Better, Best would go in the order of Rav, Hoffman/JB, Hunter. 

12 hours ago, totalautocare said:

 

What is RLO?

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
 

 

RLO is another consulting company like Elite. Most consulting companies will offer a combination of services such as 1 on 1 coaching, 20 group/peer groups, ala carte classes such as sales and management training. 

Does anyone on here use Protractor? I've heard some decent things about it

Does anyone on here use Protractor? I've heard some decent things about it

I have heard decent things about the Rav stuff BUT it is a camera system. Hunter is by far the fastest to set up and break down. If you are looking to maximize profit from alignments then go Hunter. You can quickcheck cars very fast too. If you have the proper system in place you'll sell a lot of alignments. I have experience with camera based aligners and unless are only doing a handful of alignments a week, go hunter. 

meowpox,

From my experience none of the cloud based SMS are as complete as some of the bigger players such as RO Writer and Mitchell. Sad because both RO Writer and Mitchell have gaping holes as well. I believe Omnique seemed to be the most complete out of all the ones I have looked at. None have convinced me to convert and I desperately want a cloud based SMS. 

11 minutes ago, xrac said:

If you own the property in a valuable retail area like we do it is easier. 

Correct. If you are measuring your networth which includes equity in real estate then absolutely. IMO if you are a smart business person you will make profits in your auto business and funnel them into other investments which can include other businesses, more locations, real estate, market investments, life insurance, etc. 

46 minutes ago, Wheelingauto said:

Yeah, but if you have a shop grossing 2 mil at 20% net you'll get there a lot quicker

I used 10% net as an example as that might be a more attainable number for Jay... then again 2 mil is a pretty daunting number as well haha

In the grand scheme of things a million dollars is relatively easy to obtain. Anyone who is trying to attain wealth is not going to leave cash sitting for long. They will be investing that money to allow it to work for them in various forms of investing. Networth is a better measurement of wealth vs cash sitting in the bank. 

Shop owners can probably become millionaires in 5 years without having multi locations. If you have a shop grossing 2 mil at even a 10% net you will be a millionaire in 5 years. 

Eggselent

It depends on the the personalities of your staff. Some people can get very bitter if they lose or cut corners to win. I would instill a spiff structure instead where even if you are performing less than your peer you are still getting something. Even this type of system can generate resentment. 

I think it was our own Joe Marconi that gave that presentation. If it wasn't, I know Joe talks about it a lot. 

The biggest hurdle is implementation. Making sure every vehicle is inspected. Whatever inspection process you actually have it is imperative it is done. Second part of this is making sure your Front end people are estimating ALL the work and presenting ALL the found work. At this point you become the consultant and help the customer make the best choice.  

Not to clutter his thread, but I'm struggling to stay profitable. I'm a solo operation, but I can't get above 10K gross, which is barely putting $200 a week in my pocket by the time parts and overhead are paid.

Sorry to hear that.

You might need an outsider's perspective. Sometimes it is hard to be objective when you are the one in the situation struggling and trying to make it another day. I've been there and stuck it out. I'd love to say I was as fast growing as Jay but it definitely wasn't my story. Took me a good 6-7 years to turn my business around and most of my problems came from not being able to look in the mirror and take responsibility.

Just to add to AndersonAuto's excellent post, I think you should make sure you are "ready" for a 20 group. It can get intense and if you don't have a intermediate grasp of your business especially the financials it may feel like you are drowning.

I did not know Auto Vitals was a standalone SMS?

Today I visited 6 different automotive shops. NTB, Firestone, Meineke, Discount Tire, Jiffy Lube, and Mr Tire- they were all within 2 miles of my new shop.

 

It's amazing what they are willing to share with you. Meineke was a private owner since its a franchise. Everything else was corporate.

 

There's a difference when the owner is running the shop and hired help is.

 

Doesn't matter how much you pay, owner is friendlier.

 

Discount Tire will be here for a while. Excellent people and policies. Did you guys know that they patch tires for free??? Even if you didn't buy tires from them! Same thing with rotations! I asked them why????? and HOW??? they just laughed.

 

 

Makes sense if you are 1) Planning on doing Volume and the associated systems for it (aka making low margins on tire sales OR having huge national accts with tire manufacturers) and 2) paying your techs near minimum wage.

I know #2 is a particular problem for the tire industry as a legislation pushes towards higher min wage.

Excellent growth! Love the story, hustle hustle hustle hard! Make sure you are staying profitable and make sure you have a good CPA and tax strategist!

If I could make a suggestion, get a copywriter to put together your story. It's a great one!

Admittedly I own but never read the book the e-myth but then I bought it the audio book because of the hype. What a WASTE of time and money. Also the author contradicts himself form one chapter to the next.

 

Buy the e-myth, buy into the e-myth ONLY if you want to buy into a franchise. That is ALL the guy talks about.

Its been a while since I've read the book but I don't believe he is telling the reader to buy into a franchise but rather suggesting the franchise model with its efficient systems and not having the owner apart of the daily operations is (in his opinion) the definition of a true entrepreneur / business owner.

You guys want to all get a suite and stay together? lol

No thanks! I like my privacy

I like the first one. Who did these for you?

Where will it be held??

It is held in Chicago. The exact town eludes me but its about 20 minutes from the airport if I remember correctly. It is a nice venue. www.rwconference.com is the website I think.

Their experience, references, reputation.

I already signed up as well.