Valuable Perks To Keep Your Shop ‘Top Of Mind’
There’s no easy button you can hit to get your best current customers into the shop more often. But with the right tool, it’s possible to bring those great customers back to your shop more frequently. I’m talking about TOMA, or Top of Mind Awareness.
Free or Cheap Websites Help Competitors Eat Your Lunch
When it comes to web-hosting and website creation, there is a lot of advertising and marketing pushing free services or services that are so inexpensive that they aren’t representative of the true marketplace. Mark Claypool explains why its best to pay for a professional website.
Think Your Business Won’t Change? Think Again
All great companies have one thing in common: They realize industries and consumers need change, so they follow their customers. Your business is no different. Over the decades, the engine building business has transformed as well. So how are you changing with it?
Taking the Mystery Out of Labor Inventory
Many colleagues in the industry seem to be confused about managing labor inventory in their shops. Much of the confusion comes from the terminology thrown around the industry and because the definitions for these terms vary. I would like to clarify, from my perspective, what I believe to be the proper terminology and formulas for managing labor inventory.
Timing Is Everything When Considering Selling Your Business
The automotive aftermarket is viewed by many, both within and outside the industry, as a healthy, vibrant, vital growth industry. Qualified serious buyers consider auto-related businesses as more recession-proof and less stressful than restaurants and other popular categories of businesses for sale. I have conversations with potential sellers of automotive businesses every day and, over the
5 Ways to Keep Your Business Out of Court
When it comes to business, there are so many things that owners need to do and think about to keep the shop running. The last thing they need is a lawsuit related to employment matters that can be easily avoided. Here are five tips to avoid employment lawsuits.
6 Tax Tips for Charitable Giving
Richard Lipton, founder of Lipton CPA & Associates, says if you make charitable donations and want to claim a tax deduction for your gifts, you must itemize your deductions. He offers the following tips for giving business gifts to charity.
Four Reasons Job Descriptions Are Essential to Small Businesses
What a job description does for a company is why they are so important to have for each role. Most companies use job descriptions as a recruiting tool, to define performance standards, and career planning. Those are all great uses, but here are four more areas that job descriptions should be used for in a company.
Team Incentives: How to Keep Employees Engaged, Optimistic
Over the last 15 years, since Terry Keller started helping shop owners in 1999, he has seen every pay plan known to man. He’s heard every possible variation of the same question: “How can I pay my team in a way that motivates them without eating all of my profits?” If that sounds familiar, you can rest assured that you’re not alone.
The Truth About Stealing Employees
There is an expression that has been around our industry for decades that says if you run a good, ethical business, the one thing you should never do is “steal” employees. If you agree with that philosophy, this is one article you may want to read.
Tips on Hiring the Superstars in Competitive Times
One of the single greatest challenges engine shop owners face today is finding and hiring superstars. Here are some tips that will help you hire the stars.
New Year, New Rules: Time to Review and Revise
Each New Year brings with it new laws, rules and regulations based on the trends of business and human resources management. Here are just a few things that are happening in 2015 that employers need to be aware of and apply to their business if it makes sense.
