MAKE A DECISION TO BREAK FREE FROM OUTDATED PROCESSES

The old-school way of running your shop is easier and feels better, but it doesn’t lead to meaningful or lasting change. By David Rogers There are around 45,000 fewer service bays than there were five years ago, according to a recent report from Lang Aftermarket iReport, even though there are more cars on the road … Read more

Focused Resolutions

by David Rogers     Let’s talk resolutions. We’re faced with the same choice each January: will this brand-new year be different – better even – than the one we just left? In some ways it’s inescapable. I saw the first “New Year’s Resolution” commercials for losing weight and quitting smoking before Thanksgiving this year. … Read more

Shop Success Provides Freedom to Build Up Community

Chris Myers, Myers Automotive, is on target to grow his business by $1 million in 2021, and he’s grateful to be in a position to grow his operation, reward his team, and have additional resources and freedom to support the community he has called home since 2005.

With four locations in Andover, Wichita and Derby, Myers Automotive was one of Shop4D’s Top Shops in 2020, and is on pace to retain that title in 2021.

At 42, Myers is a young shop owner, but he has been working on cars since he was 11. Growing up on his family’s farm, Chris “tinkered” with his first car, a broken down Willy’s pick-up truck, which had been sitting on the farm for a long time. After much trial and error, he revived the dilapidated truck and was able to drive it around the farm, getting lots of driving practice even before the age of 12! Automotive service comes naturally to Chris, whose dad once owned a facility that worked on fleets.

Chris attributes the great success of Myers Automotive to the Shop4D product. He says the product has been a “game-changer” for his business and has helped him to retain more employees and staff. Says Chris, “Everyone is clear on what is expected of them and the goals to meet at each location, which is all tracked in real-time through the software.” He said the additional coaching he’s invested in with Terry Keller and David Rogers has helped build his knowledge and gain insights into his business that he didn’t have previously.

Perhaps the biggest benefit from Shop4D, Chris says, is how much quicker and easier the software makes it to provide an estimate to a customer. “Shop4D excels at checking parts inventory with all of my vendor providers and clears up the bottlenecks, streamlining our processes and increasing our efficiency.”

Once Chris had his shop operation running efficiently, he found many of the concerns and problems he had in the past were gone.  The need for additional technicians was not something that kept him up at night, once that his techs had the tools to bill more hours and get more work done each day.  After he solved his workflow and shop productivity challenges, he was able to turn to Automated Marketing Group (AMG) to help him attract high-quality customers in his market, and make the next jump in his business profitability and sales.  These marketing efforts have consistently brought Chris customers that walk in the door trusting them, looking for a relationship with his business, and return time and time again.

At the same time Chris put all of his marketing efforts into the coordinated approach with AMG, he asked David Rogers and Terry Keller at Auto Profit Masters to assess his business and entered into a business coaching relationship.  The ability to share concerns, get eyes on the business from real professionals that have been in the industry with their own shop and understand the real issues – and proven solutions – gave Chris the help he needed to continue to grow his business to new heights, and breaking records along the way!

That success in his shop has allowed Chris the time and financial freedom to do more in his community.

Chris’s community involvement began when one of his longtime customers introduced him to the local YMCA in Andover. Chris now serves on the YMCA’s Advisory Board, supporting its various community outreach programs, including its summer “Splash” program.

“Splash” teaches children how to swim and provides them with transportation to swim classes and a meal afterward. Myers loves that it reaches children with such important life skills as swimming.

To raise money for the YMCA, Myers hosts an annual block party, which is always a hit – including its popular dunking booth. It attracts children of all ages, and has community participation from community leaders, including the police chief – which makes dunking a lot of fun!

Myers also sits on the board of the Andover Chamber of Commerce. During Christmas last year, the city of Andover had to replace its Festival of Trees celebration with something else, due to COVID-19. Chris and his father-in-law were instrumental in bringing Christmas cheer through a new activity called “Christmoose.” They spent many hours cutting moose shapes (not an easy feat) out of plywood for a decorating contest sponsored by the Chamber. Chamber members purchased “Moose Kits” to decorate and display throughout the city. As the president of the Chamber wrote in her monthly newsletter after the successful event, “Who knew a herd of moose could bring such fun to our community?” Funds raised support academic scholarships for students in their community.

Whether your goals for your shop are to bring in more profits, smoother operations, staff retention or to serve your community, as Chris has shown, having a reliable partner like Shop4D can help you accomplish more than you ever thought possible!

Learn more about how Shop4D can help you grow your sales and profits and allow you more time and financial freedom in your life!

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Shop4D Shop Spotlight: “You need to be known for more than your work.” – Kenny Walters

Kenny Walters of Kenny’s Lakes Area Auto Experts in Walled Lake, Mich., loves dogs and his community. He combined those two passions into his involvement with a local agency, Detroit Dog Rescue (DDR). As a result, the shop became a year-round drop-off location for food, toys and supplies for DDR. In addition, he sponsors several … Read more

TOP PERFORMING AUTO REPAIR SHOPS INCREASE ANNUAL SALES BY MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN 2020

TOP PERFORMING AUTO REPAIR SHOPS INCREASE ANNUAL SALES BY MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN 2020 Shop4D® Awards highlight top performers in North America Littleton, Colo. – March 17, 2021 – 2020 was a remarkable year for six auto repair shops, singling them out from nearly 200,000 auto repair shops in the U.S. and Canada. The … Read more

PANDEMIC PLAYBOOK

PANDEMIC PLAYBOOK This crisis has forced shop owners to make some critical and incredibly difficult decisions about every dollar. By David Rogers on May 19, 2020 Follow these three steps for maximizing resources and providing top-notch service during COVID-19. As I write this, we’re approaching two months of our lives being upended by COVID-19. Between … Read more