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Ep 16 - The Buckley Clan | Mike Has Cowboy Hat FOMO
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The more shop owners I meet, the more I learn that no matter how successful your shop is, you need a coach. Why? Because they keep you accountable and see things from a different perspective than you. For me, I'm nowhere close to where I want to be, and Elite Worldwide is helping me get there. Learn more about their coaching services HERE
Tekmetric is a customer-focused company. Because they actually listen to what their customers say and use them for updates and changes within the software. I love that. Plus, the software has helped my shop make a ton of money over the years. So that helps too. Want to learn more about Tekmetric? Click HERE
Turnkey Marketing recently helped me figure out a way to help market this podcast that I was very happy with. I couldn't have done it on my own. So, their services came in for me when I needed it the most. They can for you too. Learn how HERE
Today on the podcast, the Buckley family confess their shortcomings. Well, those are hard to find with this bunch. Unless you want to count letting Greg still around as a mistake. HA! The family does talk through challenges they find with a family-fun business, and what they've learned to do when tough times come up.
00:00 "Cowboy Hat Envy in Dallas"
08:16 Mentor Boosts People Skills
12:06 Tech Turned Foreman Insights
20:24 "Elite Program: A Positive Experience"
26:29 Covenant Stops Station Purchase
27:36 Bayfront Reunion with Don Sheldon
34:19 "Air Guns: A Mixed Reaction"
42:35 Adapting to New Community Dynamics
48:04 Finding New Rhythms in Change
52:45 "Educate to Elevate Sales"
56:28 Learning From a Bad Business Deal
59:16 IRS Compliance and Cash Concerns
01:05:32 Aspiring for Ownership Opportunities
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Transcript
Family-Owned Business Dynamics
00:00:00
Speaker
What's up, gang? Today, we're going to be talking to a lot of you may already know Greg Buckley of Buckley's Auto Center Wilmington, Delaware. But now he has two locations, and he also has a true family business.
00:00:14
Speaker
Greg, business was begun by his father in the Wayback Machine, kind of like my family did as well. and But now he's got the next generation in the family. You might hear him talk about his boys. Well, now you' get to meet the boys. His son, his son-in-law, and his nephew.
00:00:28
Speaker
This was recorded in Dallas at the Elite 2025 Ignite event. You'll notice during the conversation, I'm starting to develop some cowboy hat envy. And I've gotten home and I've been shopping for cowboy hats since I got home.
00:00:40
Speaker
And I'm starting to realize I'm far enough removed now that I know that would be ridiculous. There's never an instance for me to wear a cowboy hat other than when I go to Texas. So not buying a cowboy hat, but I am buying what the Buckleys are selling because they're strong operators.
00:00:55
Speaker
I think you'll enjoy it.
00:00:59
Speaker
The following program features a bunch of doofuses talking about the automotive aftermarket. The stuff we, or our guests may say, do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of our peers, our sponsors, or any other associations we may have.
00:01:13
Speaker
There may be some spicy language in this show, so if you get your feelings hurt easily, you should probably just move along.
Confessions of a Shop Owner: Introduction
00:01:20
Speaker
So without further ado, it's time for Confessions of a Shop Owner, with your host, Mike Gallen.
00:01:35
Speaker
Welcome to Confessions of a Shop Owner with your host, Mike Allen. All right. Why are you laughing? kind No, no, no. I'm just going to add a burp to it just to kind of like follow your lead. We got time.
00:01:45
Speaker
We got time. That's the audio marker. Yeah, there we go. It's a clap. Yeah. We got Cowboy Greg and family. Howdy, folks. Howdy, partner. ah Cowboy Steve and then a couple city slickers
Cowboy Hat Adventures
00:02:00
Speaker
yeah so why did y'all choose not to get hats were you like no I'm too cool for this shit or just not my style i no fun don' know no fun i was on a fence about I wanted one but I didn't see my I think Greg got my last.
00:02:12
Speaker
I think Greg got the last one. man. You just got bigger head than I do. I put that on. It fit me well. It did? Yeah. I respect the style. You better not let it out of your sights. So this place that y'all went, I know that you got your initials engraved. Branded gray grayside head and um Did you have the hat on when they did that?
00:02:30
Speaker
No, unfortunately, no. Did they steam it and shape it to your head? Yeah, they did. I took a video on my phone. Out of a bullhorn. Out of a bullhorn. They wanted it to be a little bit more curled up on the ends because I wanted that. It suits your evil appearance.
00:02:44
Speaker
I went for the dud dastardly here. you know I cut off my twirly because my wife hates the mustache as it is, so this was a compromise. Hasn't she seen the new Top Gun? that's The mustache is back in style now. Exactly. I told her that. Even Nosferatu
Meet the Buckley Family
00:03:00
Speaker
has a mustache now. a Spoiler alert.
00:03:02
Speaker
ah See? Yeah. I told her 2025 is the year of the mustache. Well, um you know, I've never been able to pull off a mustache. effectively It's probably because I have, like, the big round face and the mustache.
00:03:14
Speaker
You've got a slender face. Yeah, the jaw is the key. I'm with you. Yeah. Pudgy guy life, right? Yeah. Yeah. know yeah All right. So I've got the Buckley clan here from Delaware. Greg, I talked to you not long ago. Yeah. I think in podcast years, though, it's going like three months. Probably. Yeah. Between publishing. don't think so.
00:03:36
Speaker
But I talked with you and Stefan Gravina. Yep. From D.C. Yep. But now we're here with the wider Buckley family. We're here with clan. Yeah.
00:03:47
Speaker
Yeah. So let's just go around everybody introduce yourself. Tell me what you do in the in the company how long you've been with the company and What you dislike the most about Greg? yeah
Family Business Challenges & Joys
00:04:00
Speaker
Well, you first prefaced My role in the company is service manager general manager some form of manager figure it out kind of thing at the Wilmington store.
00:04:17
Speaker
yeah Yes. With oversight into Millsboro as well. Well, luckily it's full point. It's a very self-sufficient, so I don't have to keep my hands too involved there. You know, I'm like somebody else.
00:04:34
Speaker
he He just does what he loves. So that's the thing that you dislike the most about Greg is that he's still so involved in the business. No, it's just... No, come on, man. You hate it. You hate it. We've been trying to get him out. You hate it. Probably five years now. Maybe a little longer. Should I have waited for this conversation topic after we were all finished with our beers? No, we give it to them on a weekly basis. Almost daily. It's not new. It's not new news. They worked
Expanding to New Locations
00:05:00
Speaker
them out of Wilmington. Now it's working out of Millsboro. Yeah, now Millsboro's... Their problem in Millsboro's me.
00:05:06
Speaker
Well, you know how you get them out? Because you break fucking records. Yeah? yeah Well, you can. i mean, the place is a living space up top, so he just likes to spend the time. You get it to make so much money that he goes ahead and gets a place at the beach.
00:05:19
Speaker
Like, all the way to the beach. yeah Not just near the beach, but on the beach. No, Mike came down and saw penthouse. Yeah, saw it in its ra rarest, rawest form. When I went there, there was a TV on, like, a box.
00:05:31
Speaker
A recliner and, ah and like, ah a folding TV table. TV drawer. That's true bachelor living. Yeah. Right. There you go. it's what i felt like... I was in a college apartment, and there should be pizza boxes in the corner. There were not. I just cleaned them up before you got up there. i so so yeah would not know All right. Coming around the room. yeah I'm Jackson. I am Greg's nephew.
00:05:55
Speaker
Okay. um Not by blood, but my aunt is – he married my aunt. um He – I guess he approached me at a family party. Family party. yeah and i was Yeah. I was between between jobs. Right, right. And he – he buttered – he – Lude me up a little bit with the beers. No, no. Hey, you know, wait. I'm glad that you specified. Choice of words here, Jackson. I'm glad that you specified with the beers. Yeah, exactly. Because man, I was completely... With a jar of Vaseline. Right. Choice of words there, bro. Okay. First podcast.
00:06:28
Speaker
Sorry. It's a jug of mobile one. but he said, yeah, he just told me there's an opportunity down in Millsboro. You can move. I was in living near, I grew up in near Washington, D.C. in North Virginia.
00:06:40
Speaker
um and he said, you know, there's an opportunity for you to move down here and and start start over and kind of take a role you probably wouldn't be able to just hop into anywhere else um as a service advisor, potentially, hopefully one day, like the manager down there.
00:06:58
Speaker
um And
Training and Tech Innovations
00:07:00
Speaker
yeah, that's that's how I got started here. And it's been two and a half Two and half years? Yeah. And so you're you're the service advisor at the new shop now? Yeah. i'm So I'm the service advisor. And then we hired an older fellow who's been doing it for a while, sal he's We've made him the manager.
00:07:16
Speaker
So he's got tons of experience. So it's it's a struggle because he came from... the dealership where he didn't have to order parts or anything like that. So I've got, I'm three weeks into a new service advisor. He's got 20 years of dealer experience yes and he's killer on the sales, yeah but he cannot build estimates. Correct. He cannot order parts as he will fuck it up. Yeah.
00:07:38
Speaker
That's exactly what's going on. So we're kind of a combination, you know, Jackson is the future. And the other guy, Sal, is e he already said, um I'm here for five years. Then him and his husband are going to just retire.
00:07:52
Speaker
And that's fine. That's cool. But in the meantime, the skill sets that Sal has in selling and customer management and all that stuff is really good. So rubbing that off on Jackson, having him mentor him, and that's ah that gets Jackson up to another level. And, of course, coming out here,
00:08:11
Speaker
you get the you get the root of the the whole program, you know, and how to do it the right way and stuff like that. So, yeah. Yep. So. But, no, he's been great for, you know, helping me develop my, i guess, my person's scale people skills and my sales, you know, spiel and all that. I listen to him on the phone because we sit right next to each other.
00:08:30
Speaker
so I listen to things he says and I kind of test them out, you know, is it going to work for me? And he usually does. Yeah. So I just kind of add it to my repertoire there. Yeah.
Cultural Significance of Cowboy Hats
00:08:40
Speaker
So here's the thing. Outdated SMS, just they don't just slow you down, they cost you money.
00:08:45
Speaker
And I learned at the hardware. Before TechMetric, I was wasting time on inefficient processes, manual updates, back and forth calls with customers. Now I handle everything in one place. DVI, customer communications, payments, real-time reporting, it's all in one page.
00:09:00
Speaker
Since making the switch, my average repair order has jumped from $293 to And it's not just me. TechMetric powers almost 10,000 shops nationwide. By the time you're hearing this, it probably will be 10,000 shops, helping them grow and operate smarter.
00:09:17
Speaker
If you're tired of losing time and money to outdated systems, tap the link in the show notes and see what TechMetric can do for you. Styles are different. you know you're You're a lot smoother in a sense. He's more, let's just go. good and and he Kind of gruff and direct. He pushes the he he pushes the the client where they need to go, but you know with no hesitation.
00:09:39
Speaker
He's also coming from, I know he said dealership, but he's coming from everywhere from a Kia dealership <unk>i to a beautiful Audi dealership that was in a very affluent part of Florida. Yeah. So he he's he's dealt with high, high-end customers all the way down to, you know.
00:09:56
Speaker
Anything in between. yeah like Well, demographically, it helps too because
Balancing Tradition with Modernity
00:10:00
Speaker
he's almost as old as you. And that is a lot of the population down there. I like I'm the oldest one building this year. A lot of people who are there are moving in are retirees. So having someone there is big hotspot. It's very comfortable for them to talk to.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah, my father-in-law lives in that neighborhood. yeah like Like five minutes from the shop. Yeah, cool. Yeah. yeah ah They're building stuff. That's all they're doing down there is building more and more and more and more houses. yeah It's crazy.
00:10:29
Speaker
And they're not cheap houses. They're nice houses with nice cars that just do expensive repairs. Yeah, yeah they started the house started at four for a one-room two-bedroom, three-bedroom home. just It's a flat, man. Then you go up to $750,000, $800,000.
00:10:43
Speaker
And we're the epicenter. i mean, there's 5,000 homes now coming online by in the end of 2026. So take five times two, two cars per, you've got 10,000 cars within two and a half, three miles.
00:10:54
Speaker
Love 10,000 well-qualified cars. Well-qualified cars, yeah, almost instantly. You know, the marketing is completely different. and You don't need to be aggressive. just has a presence.
00:11:06
Speaker
um And we're fortunate. Well, you know, you bring you bring the elements of a quality organization to a location never had it or has been lacking simply because the laws were different sussex never had to put up with emissions you were never flagged for a check engine light so all of a sudden in a year and a half ago delaware went to all state emission rules so now everybody who had a check engine light that didn't that It's passed for years.
00:11:36
Speaker
yeah Now everybody's going, oh man, what do mean I got to get this fixed? ah yep Black sticker. like go Yeah, yeah lecture saying yeah you saw we see a lot of that. Pop the bulb. Alright, Steve.
00:11:50
Speaker
Last but certainly not at least, the Steve Bullens. I've been with the company for 11 or 12 years. yeah Kind of the same thing.
Strategic Expansion Plans
00:12:00
Speaker
I was i just graduated from college and I was over at ah Greg's house. I think we were watching a football game or something, and he was looking for – Go Cowboys.
00:12:09
Speaker
just yeah get You got the fucking hats on. You got to be Cowboys. No, no, no, no. He was looking for just ah just a lube tech, really, or an apprentice, whatever you want to call it. I don't i don't like the lube tech title.
00:12:21
Speaker
um And I've been there ever since, and i I was going to be a police officer at one time, and then the world went and got crazy. You also have a state trooper mustache. I do. supertroopers yeah pull off I it off. Who wants a mustache ride? I get mistaken a lot for a prior military or a police officer or a fireman.
00:12:41
Speaker
I usually just hit people with, no, it's just a haircut.
00:12:46
Speaker
Demeanor, too. So are you a tech are you a technician now in the company? or i I was a tech, and I've... seen and done just about at all. And, uh, now I'm more of a, I guess a foreman or a man, uh, same, same part with, uh, Scott. I don't, I always tell my guys, I don't like titles, you know, what it is, you know, but I, I still come out, help a guy die in a car. If he's getting frustrated, we had that the other week.
00:13:12
Speaker
Um, and I think that keeps you sharp. And I think that keeps the guys honest. Cause they know that, you know what you're talking about still, but, uh, Wait a minute. I'm sorry. I forgot. What do you dislike the most about Greg? Oh.
00:13:26
Speaker
Oh. I guess when he he brings a whip out, you know. It's going to be even worse now when he's got the cowboy Cowboy hat on. I think he's the sheriff. The boss. The boss. I don't know what you call it.
00:13:42
Speaker
So what you're saying is you hate accountability. Pretty much, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So this is not going to work out. I'm sorry. No, no. He's probably what they said that just maybe a little too hands-on sometimes, a little bit too involved. But, you know, I went up and talked to him the other day and kind of because we got a bunch of new guys, ah new techs coming in, and they have, you know, their ways and things like that. They don't really like to be, you know, hover over your shoulder and say, you got to do it this way, this way. Not because that's what was happening, but they felt that way kind of.
00:14:14
Speaker
So I just kind of was expressing what they told me and told him and said, hey, we're going to take a new approach to this, I think. Okay. And so you're primarily at the new store and you guys are primarily at Wilmington. Is that right? um yeah I'm always at the new store. Okay. Well, we should be going down there more than we do, but we've been really focused on getting getting Wilmington up to you know firing on all cylinders again. We had a little bit of slow time, but now we're kind of bouncing back. I mean, not good.
00:14:45
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, i that was one of the things I wrote down while we're at Ignite. I want to get down there more and and be more of a more support piece down there. Awesome. And as far as what do i what do i dislike most about Greg? I don't like that he didn't wear his cowboy
Lessons from Business Experiences
00:15:00
Speaker
hat until today. I wore mine. I didn't have it out last night. I didn't.
00:15:05
Speaker
But I would have gotten some kind of rib. i know i would have gotten some kind of rib sauce on this hat. Yeah, and it's dirty. It's dirty. and the guy Black hat is the wise move. That's the thing. yeah the guy The gentleman at the hat store literally told us, you only wear a white one to a wedding because you're going to destroy it.
00:15:22
Speaker
Right. And I was like, well, I want to you know i want to be the... The outlaw anyway. so And he got the better to deal. I did. I get a good deal. He won a e got you got more beaver. Is it more beaver? or more This is 100% rabbit. Rabbit.
00:15:37
Speaker
Okay. So you got the X rating on the inside of the hat, right? Yes. So how many Xs you got? Eight. Eight Xs. Holy crap. I didn't know how high the number went. ah I mean he he broke it down to us from what a $100 hat is to a $300 hat to a $1,500 hat and then they had a $5,500 hat. That was chinchilla?
00:15:56
Speaker
Yeah he said it had chinchilla in and beaver and I'm glad I didn't take that one out of the box because didn't want no part of that. yeah Yeah the difference I mean. Oh it was night and day. This is felt. This wool right I mean it's a basic 160 unit but the difference in in material is unbelievable.
00:16:14
Speaker
When you you feel this hat and you feel that hat, you feel the difference, but then you step up to the $1,500. It's like silk. It's like real smooth. but so um At the bar Thursday night, I spotted you before you spotted me. I took picture and posted it online. I was sitting next to my buddy Harrison, and he's Texas guy. He hasn't been his whole life.
00:16:33
Speaker
He was like, well... You know, typical tourists that show up and buy a hat, but at least they got felt hats because it's felt season. But you don't wear fucking straw hats this time. don't wear straw hats. I am big, being coming from, like I said, college, learning some of the law and stuff like that. I'm a big research guy before I do anything.
00:16:52
Speaker
So I came with all the knowledge already ready. And when you wear a hat, what don't you wear a hat, what color. Yeah, we're looking for the off. Yeah, I mean, it was it was a fun time. I've been thinking about this hat for probably – Since we were coming down here. Yeah, i mean, I would say probably four months. months Yeah. i been I would tell you that, like, you've got the gears turning to my head.
00:17:10
Speaker
And I can't pull one of those things off. fuck, I might go get one before I go to the airport this afternoon. Yeah. it was How long was the buying process? Oh, I mean, you could go in and out in five minutes. Yeah. We we hung around and talked to the guy. Got the no-ing. No push, no nothing. He was great to just kind of BS with us, which is what I wanted.
00:17:27
Speaker
And, ah took you know, like I said, broke down what what makes a hat more could walk in there. and get a whole new persona. You really could. Yes, you could. After you buy the hat, they're going to pull right in the boots. They're going to have belt buckles. Dude, man, they got one.
00:17:42
Speaker
It's like this. yeah the next time they got em The next time I'm in Texas, I'm i'm getting a set of boots. nice i've got I've got boots already. but i They got ostrich, alligator. What else you got? Elephant. I want to go full Texas poser.
00:17:55
Speaker
Me too. 100% douchebag. I'm not kidding. Back in urban cowboy days, I had the show i had the whole gear. had whole gear.
00:18:05
Speaker
Did you one of those like bolo ties? Yeah, bolo tie. i had shirts. I had two hats. i had a straw and i had a felt that I got down in Lackland. Does that make you a rhinestone cowboy? It made me a rhinestone cowboy, man. Yeah.
00:18:18
Speaker
But I first got them when when ah I was in basic down at Lackland at the Air Force. And we we had one day to go out and we went to a hat store, you know, and got geared up and then it came back. And before you know, man, there's Urban Cowboy. and Shit was just going crazy. They knew what it was when we walked in. They knew exactly what we were there for and why we were there. That's right. They see it all the time. Well, actually, cool enough, that guy told us all kinds of stories. There's been a lot of famous people in there. Matthew McConaughey's visited there. They tipped us off. We're all done. He tipped us off to a nice steakhouse. Yeah, we went to an awesome steakhouse across the street. Y.O.'s.
00:18:55
Speaker
Y.O.'s. So good. Well, my flight leaves at 9, so I figure I've got to get to the airport by like 7, 15, 7, 30. Got time. We'll be down here at 5. It'll take me 45 minutes to pack up. You do have quite a few things to pack up.
00:19:09
Speaker
Yeah. You know, you make it, you make it. Next time. I'm sure there are. There's always going to be next. Not like Wild Bills. The backup option was the Cavendish. Cavendish. It's a little bit close. But they are right at the mall next door. mean, can you get hats in Houston?
00:19:21
Speaker
No, sure. Sure. Yeah. yeah so i we I mean, we rode all the way down to Dallas. Like downtown Dallas. Old Town. Old Town Dallas. It was what? 2020? twenty Plus minutes, 30 minutes? 19 miles. Yeah, it was 30 That was a lot traffic. Spent more in Uber this year this this trip. Are we bringing these guys back to Houston?
00:19:41
Speaker
I think so. I think we're going to try and get – yeah. yeah When are you going to text? Just give them little taste. I'm not sure yet. We're going to go back and digest what we did this weekend and then you know give them the lowdown on what that other a program is about. um I see merits.
00:19:56
Speaker
Like I said, I see merits in it. But I got to tell you, there's nothing like this level. Yeah. this is This is a whole – When you come to an elite event – Yeah. So I've been to –
00:20:09
Speaker
probably shouldn't name names, so I'm not saying compliments, right? I've been to a lot of different coaching organizations, events. yeah When you come to an elite event, it's a room full of smart dudes. There are no dumbasses in the room. No dumbasses. You're And you go to some of these other events, if the check clears, you're a member. Yeah. And there's no so type of vetting. Right.
00:20:27
Speaker
And that's one of the things that I really respect about what Bob built and what Darren is continuing with elite is you have to qualify. You have to pass muster yeah to to be a member you and to be a part of it And there's nothing like there's nothing like it. I mean, you can tell right away that, you know, there's no hoopla.
00:20:42
Speaker
yeah We're not out there playing games and talking animal spirits and all that other stuff. don't have a circle of tears. Circle of tears. You know, this is all it's all down and dirty. You know, you you get in, get out. It's ah sparse in a way, but that's that's the beauty of it.
00:20:58
Speaker
You know, you're you're here for information. You're here to network, see some people. lot cool people. And meet cool people. Yeah. Like Mike Allen. You can share your knowledge. Yeah. I don't know. Every kind of automotive experience, it's all gained through just being through it.
00:21:12
Speaker
But my other experiences, i don't know. I feel like I've just learned to sniff BS very quickly. And all the other things that he's gone through program wise, can smell it immediately. But when we saw a lead and I looked into it, I'm like, all right, I'm getting good vibe here.
00:21:27
Speaker
And I can see what they had to offer for for us for the master sir service advisor program. And we'll fly with the Eagles and seeing how they're actually involving quality, successful shop owners. It's like a peer-to-peer based organization.
00:21:41
Speaker
situation rather than just all seminar. Meet hobbies once in a while. We call that sage on a stage where there's no interaction. They just sit up there and tell you how smart they are the whole time. oh It's brutal when you go to those. Yeah.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah. That's the only one that's, you know. That was the big thing for me. I went to Denver earlier, well, technically last year now in June for fly with the Eagles. And, like, I mean, Greg will tell you, I came back with a whole new vigor. and You were ready to light up. Yeah.
00:22:08
Speaker
Yeah, he was ready to, like, kick me out. everybody I had to tame myself because I was like, look, they they even gave you the warning, like, don't go back and try to move mountains. You're not going to start flipping tables. But it's it's hard not to go back and be all energized and ready and,
00:22:24
Speaker
you know Well, yeah, that's what it's all about. You need to have that in order to keep that energy. you You reinvigorate and reinvigorate yourself. Easy for you to say.
00:22:36
Speaker
Yeah. And sometimes you get all new ideas and it just starts the whole cycle all over again. Hey, everybody. I want to take a minute to tell you about the coaching organization I've been involved with for, gosh, over 20 years now.
00:22:51
Speaker
Elite. Elite worldwide, they don't give you a one size fits all solution. They tailor the coaching specifically to you and your shop. They pair you with an experienced coach who is either a current or a former shop owner, and they turn strategies into actual action and accountability and results.
00:23:08
Speaker
Whether it's improving your service advisor's sales, growing your shop, growing to multiple locations, they really have you covered. Clients of Elite really see results. Higher profits, stronger teams, a better work-life balance.
00:23:20
Speaker
If you're ready to take the next step, visit EliteWorldwide.com to schedule your discovery session. That's EliteWorldwide.com to start working on your business rather than in it.
00:23:32
Speaker
Tell them that you heard about them on Confessions of a Shop Owner so that I get a pat on the back or maybe a box of chocolates or something. That would be awesome. Thanks. For you guys. My purpose, I told you bringing out here, is you are my retirement plan.
00:23:45
Speaker
So, but you know, but you got to work at it. He's expecting you guys to pay rent for a long time. Absolutely. And lot of rent. Yeah, a lot of rent, man. A lot of rent. But, yeah, so, I mean, that's what it takes. You know, um legacy businesses, family legacy business or are a whole different animal.
00:24:04
Speaker
And there's a lot that you got to do. It's a lot of work. And when you get, you know, even just one location, know, We really had roles we had to define. And I'm sitting there like, okay, my wife doesn't really want me around the house if I sit.
00:24:19
Speaker
I got to do something. Then number two came up. And before that, we're like, well, where do I put Steve? Where do up put Scott? where Jackson wouldn't have even been in the picture because we wouldn't have needed it. But you're thinking about where you go with your next generation and then what do you do with yourself?
00:24:35
Speaker
you know So you try to carve out not only time but income. Like, all right, well, if I leave, what am I going to do to not burden the company on dead that salary, right? I'm not doing anything, you know, marketing, but whatever.
00:24:49
Speaker
So when number two came up, it was like, okay, great, dynamic change. Now we have an enterprise. Now we got to really think about, all right, We have roles to play. We have needs.
00:25:01
Speaker
The company's going to need some management, both locations. And we're 85 miles apart. Hour and a half. Hour and a half. well good day. you know Yeah. So there's a lot there. between 22 now, today,
00:25:14
Speaker
and now today You know, we had a lot of things going on. One, coordinate, get new get new stuff going on, ah build another location, get involved in the community.
00:25:27
Speaker
All that was going on. And, course, in 24, you know, the personal stuff going on was insane. And I'll probably reflect a couple years from going, man, don't even know how he did it.
00:25:39
Speaker
But we did it because dig in and we dig in and we do it. Right? Yeah. So, you know, it's ah it's different. But now that I think we've really got some – we've got a good runway.
00:25:51
Speaker
Good runway. yes Awesome. So um you've been a one-on-one coach, with a ah coaching client with Elite for a while. Did I hear that you're um kicking it into pro service also?
00:26:02
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I'll be joining pro service probably in the spring. I mean, or whenever they yeah get me to pay for it. I mean, I'm sure they'll give you the opportunity to pay for it this week if you want to. Probably, right?
00:26:15
Speaker
So, well, that was – you brought a good point because in pro serve – You know, geniuses like you or in there sharing all your… Once you get in, you'll see my numbers and you'll know that it's all just a big facade.
00:26:29
Speaker
I always say it's smoke and mirrors with me, man. Damn right. But um the the goal is, you know, as an owner, you want to expand your knowledge base, right? And then you bring that information downstream to these guys. And these guys are working the numbers and the dailies and the and reports.
00:26:44
Speaker
So together… You're setting your plan in. You're setting futures. You're looking out for things. So that's what I look forward to. It's tough sometimes. Sometimes we butt heads ah like any family is going to do. And then not only that, you've got the generational gap where me and Scott and Jackson probably think one specific way and Greg's thinking another way. And, you know, we're not willing to give. He's not willing to give.
00:27:09
Speaker
I absolutely had ah clashing with my father. And that was I think that's one of the reasons that he bought a second shop was to put me an that's why you did it. Yeah. That's the real reason. To get me out.
00:27:22
Speaker
I really want to get out of my wife's hair. Once she found out the apartment was there, she's like, oh, okay, no problem. Go. Yeah. so ah The thing that I found, Greg, was ah my dad was in the trailing end of his career, right? He was ready to retire.
00:27:38
Speaker
And so he was very risk averse, right? yeah You become very conservative in any type of financial decision that you make. And I was at the... very beginning, just gotten married, hadn't even had any kids yet.
00:27:49
Speaker
And so I'm like, let's throw it all in the line. Let's put it all on black, baby. Let's go. yeah Let's, let's go big or go home. yeah And that's a two very different mindsets. yep Right. So, um, there's definitely some, some delicate navigation required in that. Um, and so,
00:28:08
Speaker
I don't know what your plans are. Well, we had many opportunities to move from our original location. But what got us was when we had a deal to buy the ah station,
00:28:21
Speaker
And at the last minute, they came in they said there's a covenant on the property. um And it was from Shell Oil. but the The covenant was you couldn't sell anything but Shell and or mobile, whatever it was.
00:28:33
Speaker
And so when that came about, all the SBA said we don't lend on covenant properties. And I go, holy shit. Because we were like, what are we going do? We had all our numbers up and all that.
00:28:44
Speaker
So we went in our files to look at the old rent agreement that we took over from my dad. And we had thought that we signed a new lease agreement. and So we' were looking, what's going to take to break the lease?
00:28:56
Speaker
Come to find out, we just took on a continuation of the lease, which ran out the prior year. So was month to month and you didn't know it. We didn't even know it. We didn't even know it. And so when we found out, we were like, yeehaw. We said, we put the sign up. We're out of here.
00:29:13
Speaker
Our attorney said, find somebody to that can take you in. you know Anybody with a bay, five, six miles around, doesn't matter. So the first person I wrote was Don Sheldon, who had the old an old, old shell where we're at today.
00:29:29
Speaker
Up in Newport. I wrote him a letter. He writes to me back. Less than two away. Less than two miles away. So he writes me back. He goes, where the hell have you been? Because he's had his place for sale you know since like 2000 or 99. This was 2006. Hadn't sold it in six years? Well, he he didn't find right buyer.
00:29:48
Speaker
right But 2004, 2005, he started having problems with the tenant. And the tenant got to be nine or ten months behind. Wow. And was running a real shit show. umm Like an old transmission show. Yeah, yeah. And so, you know, he came to me and we met and talked. He goes, just just get yourself in the building and have everything that's in there.
00:30:08
Speaker
So we had the lifts. We had...
00:30:12
Speaker
Well, the Heater Challenger list. had an old Challenger list. In the 80s. Yeah, they were. They were all there. Scott and Jackson. So we walked in with laptop and started doing business. For the oil companies, they came in, and even after we said we weren't going to be there, they loaded up the tanks with $100,000 worth of you right Every tank was full.
00:30:35
Speaker
And then we had to sue them. well we had We went to court because I said, why are you doing this? I didn't buy that gas. I didn't buy that gas. And they said, well, you can't leave. I said, well, I can't leave. I don't have a lease.
00:30:48
Speaker
you know i can just walk out anytime I want. And we would have done it earlier, but my dad was a stickler. He goes, I want 40 years here. I want 40 years. And he wanted to stay by himself. I go, Dad, you can't do that.
00:31:00
Speaker
I go, it just ain't going to happen. So all that went on. And it actually stopped us from getting the hold of Mr. Sheldon earlier and probably saving about $100,000, $200,000 on the property. But, you know, it is what it is. it That was yesterday. It is today. Hindsight is always hindsight. Yeah, you know, you got roll with it.
00:31:17
Speaker
So it's every day. um Now it's just, you know onward. And we're just, well, I mean, I'm excited. I know you guys. and I mean, I always call Wilmington Mother Base.
00:31:29
Speaker
And it'll always have a... For me, Garner is the mothership. It'll always have a place in my heart no matter what because that's where I cut my teeth, you know? Well, i never I'll never forget when we went from the gas station, you know, down there and the building size. And then I clearly remember walking on that parking lot before when it was all empty.
00:31:49
Speaker
There was nobody in there. And I walk up and I'm sitting there and I'm seeing these big tall bays and all that stuff. And I go... man, it's going pretty fucking cool, you know, to to get in there. And then now... To have a real facility. Yeah, and even now, I mean, these guys do... It's clean.
00:32:05
Speaker
The back room is organized. We put an addition on it. And I walk in there on Sunday, just, you know, just coming in, and I'm... I'm so proud of it. I really am. man Wilmington is... We just got Bay 1 and 2 redone yeah last year. Last year, 23.
00:32:21
Speaker
it's beenel That was a disaster. ah Yeah, but we got in-grounds, and i I've had a couple people that i met. Wait, you chose to have new in-ground lifts? Yeah. you took the in-grounds out? no No, we had two posts above-grounds.
00:32:34
Speaker
old Like I said, old challengers from the 80s, and like I said, that's... They hold a place in my heart, too. When I tipped those over, I was sad. oh But we got to in-grounds because we were thinking ahead, thinking maybe we'll maybe we'll do EVs. You've got to think about the batteries and all that. There's just more space on the bus. We really leaned on a tech that we hired, and he had been working for us for a little bit. He he has a little bit of experience in other things.
00:33:00
Speaker
chains. And he even said like his one of his favorite lifts was the in-ground lift. And I was against it. It's a two-post in-ground? Yeah. The rotary. Rotary cartridge. and Now that I've used them, i i don't think I don't think I'd want to go any other way.
00:33:16
Speaker
It's not about how functional and how convenient they are because they're super functional convenient. about how they're going to leak into the ground in 15 years. No, no, no. Those ones are built into a box that can just be serviced. That was the big thing for us. checked all that. I know better than that. Okay.
00:33:30
Speaker
yeah The reason we really had to go to it because that first section of the building is the old configuration of a service station. So the bays are just one or two feet little bit too narrow. That's right. We had the twin posts up.
00:33:45
Speaker
You had to go through. You had to stagger them. No, these weren't staggered. Okay. got an old A-frame shell station with three bays. That's one of my stores. So I know that layout. That's not conducive. The height differences.
00:33:59
Speaker
We put the in-grounds in, and, man, they're like a flying day. It was. Even something as simple as just like. Diag and something inside of a car. like It was night and day different immediately.
00:34:10
Speaker
Being able to swing that door open and just and just be able to sit down and do your job. like It was a so great. we've we've done them We've done everything in there. yeah its it makes It makes a difference. and then and Now in Millsboro, they're all above grounds. and it's They are staggered.
00:34:29
Speaker
They are staggered. That makes difference. Got to do something about that. yeah Are you going to expand or add base base there? Yeah, i want put in three I want to put three out back.
00:34:41
Speaker
you know Will the city let you have outside lists? Yeah. i was I mean, the rules are it's an AR one with um with conditional use. The conditional use goes with the property. So I can go at any time to the board and and say, you know, I need to have an addition to this.
00:34:58
Speaker
And pretty much it's grand. I mean, it's not a side out of mind. Can you just pour slab and put some lifts in? Oh, I can. You should. We've thought about even doing that up north just to be out to work on big trucks. my My argument for it is, like, there are so many other people with residentials who have giant three, four bay. They do.
00:35:14
Speaker
In their own backyard. Yeah. That are exactly what we want to build. Along with the trailers and RVs and stuff. The guy up the street is a tree cutter, JJ. JJ. He's got a, you know how it is, man. He's got a collection of old beaters out in his front yard.
00:35:29
Speaker
You know it doesn't use them, you know, but he's just a collection. talkedck the sco back um yeah good Here's the deal. i I like to think that I'm pretty good at running an auto repair shop. It's what I've done for 20 plus years, but I'm not good at managing a marketing budget and all the different facets of a truly well-rounded marketing plan.
00:35:47
Speaker
There's mail, there's local advertising, there's website, there's Google, AdWords, there's you know all the different things that go into that. And it's just not what I'm good at. So what I've chosen to do is to buy myself the time to focus on what I am good at while having someone else execute on all of those things at a way higher level than anything I could ever do.
00:36:10
Speaker
That's what turnkey auto marketing does for me. So if you feel like you could use some of that same magic, I'm going to recommend that you go to turnkeyautomarketing.com, get a free consultation. Tell them that I sent you.
00:36:24
Speaker
ah Tell them that Confessions of a Shop Owner sent you. You won't be disappointed. But no, it so the the the goal for Millsboro is to keep the footprint Or I shouldn't say the footprint, but the image in the front of the house.
00:36:36
Speaker
The face. The face of it, the face shit, looking like a house. Because people are really, they're like, really? It is trippy. It's trippy. Yeah, it is. It's weird. It's usually the first thing a customer will say is, it looks like a house.
00:36:47
Speaker
Yeah. I'm like, well, it kind of is. But then they come in. But it's a five-bay shop. Yeah. Yeah. They come in and they're like, how? This is pretty cool when the air guns are going and all that. Jackson hates it because he said the other day, air guns going off my ear. I got texts asking me, and I got an answer the phone.
00:37:03
Speaker
ah Well, you know, it's the environment. What can I say? The customers love it. Yeah. So that's all you can ask for. Yeah. So the service counter is out in the shop. There is no lobby.
00:37:14
Speaker
There's no lobby. So how does that work in the winter? mean, there ain't no waiters, I guess. No. Yeah, they wait. They'll hang out. And they'll look around. just got like, lawn chairs? Oh, we got two chairs yeah little coffees, but all black basic office chairs.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yeah. Number one, like, request is, like, can you get a waiting room, please? Yeah. You're talking about bunch of people with nowhere to go. Yeah. Nowhere to be. Yeah. You know, they want to hang out. And they like it. Is is Uber readily available in your market? Yeah, we give me you Uber. I think so. have orders and stuff that are badged up and all that.
00:37:44
Speaker
It won't be, like, five minutes. It'll be, like, 15 minutes to get here, what What type of owners do you have? ah I brought one of our 2020 Hondas down, our Civics. And then we have an HHR if we ever get it for a complete.
00:37:59
Speaker
The Sienna is there for America. We got the Escape. so You've got shit that you bought from customers and fixed up. and Yeah, a little bit of a fleet.
00:38:09
Speaker
yeah And then up north, we have a Civic and a CRV. okay And we actually gave them the Toyota Sienna because we weren't using it. We needed that.
00:38:21
Speaker
I'm constantly shuffling company cars around from location to location. Leasing them to each other and stuff. I haven't got into that technicality yet, man. That seems like it's of CPA lets you get away that? you're just Well, yeah you know, it's one of the things I just haven't delved on, you know, of getting each – division within a company to buy from one another. I know contractors do it all the time.
00:38:42
Speaker
You know, they'll buy, they'll buy cement, but that cement goes to the production or another division and all that other stuff. And it's like, okay. Um, are the two stores, uh, separate corporations?
00:38:55
Speaker
They were. We just brought everything under one roof. Okay. Real estate under the same roof too? No. Okay. That's a separate LLC for me. Okay. Because they're eventually going to buy the shops, but you're going to maintain ownership of the land. Is that right? Yeah. And then when I'm dead, they'll have the land.
00:39:10
Speaker
You gotta love it, right? Just just right there. also like you i mean My grandparents do the same thing. They live down there. They live about 10 minutes away. And they're like, oh, when we die, you'll have a beach house. i'm like, I'd rather have my grandparents, but sure, that's great.
00:39:24
Speaker
Nice consolation prize. Gotta talk about it sometime. like yeah I go down and you like light us light light up a cigarette for them. You guys are brutal.
00:39:36
Speaker
Man, it's reality. I know, but you like go to do shy away from it. You know the plan. I mean, it's just what we want to do. and and if we ah Well, I said when we go for number three, which we i i won I want to see you guys get as many as you like. I really think that once we get through and we get our act together – Well, so if you're trying to generate life, like generational wealth. Yeah, that's right.
00:40:00
Speaker
For one person, it's different than for three people. Yeah. Well, yeah. so But once you get the ballroom. The thing is, like, if you take either shop, we know we do the right things and we're and we have integrity, like we were talking about earlier and in our in our meetings and all that. But, like, it really does show, like, especially down there, going from nothing to what it is now, and it'll be the third year, right? yeah um Has it been that long? Yeah, it's since insane. It'll be two and half years. On the 4th of July, funny enough. Two and a half years.
00:40:31
Speaker
Proper. We're doing the right things, and you know our Google reviews are always good, and we have great, loyal customers and stuff. it's just I think that's like the most fun, is to is to grow, and then, like you said, I do want number three or number four, and I don't know where they're going to be, but they'll be somewhere.
00:40:51
Speaker
So I was at dinner last night. um We went out with... It was a bunch of pro-service guys that are all multi-store operators that are looking to continue to grow. And ah it was an organized dinner by one of the members to talk about dealing with the consolidation wave and M&A firms and PE money and yeah you how to compete against them and grow your where your footprint.
00:41:15
Speaker
One of the guys has... Four shops in New Hampshire. ah And he just signed an LOI on a shop in Tampa, Florida. o and It's quite a bit of waste.
00:41:28
Speaker
It's a little bit of a commute. yeah um He has opened his search window to the continental United States. No kidding. Six plus bays, 1.3 million plus, a certain level of net, ah real estate included.
00:41:42
Speaker
Wow. If it meets those criteria, he's ready to buy. Yeah. And... um <unk> just ah I mean, he also has a stated goal of $150 million in revenue in five years.
00:41:54
Speaker
Okay. So, I mean, he's there are dudes out there with just a different mindset. Well, you know what? ah they there are There is. But, you know, I think with technology today, it makes it easier than ever to operate a business or at least to control still have to have human beings in the building. Yes, you do. Yeah, you do. Yeah, you got to build a team you trust. But I think our experience is we're 85 miles apart. We've had to learn a lot logistically, you know, and how to control it, how to operate it.
00:42:20
Speaker
None us have done this before, so no this is the part of figuring it out. like It's not that it's unachievable to do more than two, but we have to let the second one flourish and learn how to establish both parallel and get foundations. My conviction is about doing it right for some I don't need it. As you can tell, he's the logical one in this whole group. You're just the facts, ma'am. and yeah But it makes me feel nice.
00:42:47
Speaker
yeah um and so just shoot from I am There you go. um i think i think ah yeah go ahead Well, I was going to say, I'm glad you brought that up because all all weekend I've been asking shop.
00:43:05
Speaker
That's one of the main questions I've been asking shop owners is, do you have an another shop? Oh, you have two, you have three, have four. How far away are they? Most of the time, from what I've talked to here, they're they're five miles away, 10 miles away, 20 miles away.
00:43:18
Speaker
When I tell them we're an hour and a half away, they, uh... When you get old, you can't hold it quite as long. When I tell them we're an hour and a half away, they balk at it. So when you say that, that's when I'm like, that's very far away. Quite a commute, like you said. Well, there are dudes out there that just think in a different way.
00:43:39
Speaker
they just I mean, we are self-limiting to a degree. And like for you guys, one of the things you need to realize, and I had to have this revelation, is that your frame of reference for our industry is very narrow because you've only ever worked at Buckley's.
00:43:54
Speaker
yeah You have no concept of what it's like in the greater industry, dealership or aftermarket. You don't know what the average shop is like. Buckley's is way above average.
00:44:06
Speaker
ah The people that are in these rooms that you've been in all weekend are way above average. People that come to events like this and trade shows and training events already are in the top probably quartile of all shops.
00:44:19
Speaker
Most shops are a disaster. And they don't they don't know what they don't know. And they're just struggling to stay above water. And they're working 70, 80 hours a week because they've got to fix the cars and do payroll and balance the books and everything else. Fighting to lose in battle. Yeah. And so there is opportunity for incredible growth if you're willing to go out and find those things.
00:44:45
Speaker
ah Well, so two mentality, you can go out and and get a screaming hot fire sale deal on a turnaround where the business is worth zero. You're buying assets and in base base, right? That's kind of what we did down, down there.
00:45:00
Speaker
I remember you, yeah I talked to your dad about it when he was looking at the deal. Yeah, it was a, it was, it was a real estate play more than anything. Literally. Yeah. Um, say something about something you touched on. There's is one of the biggest challenges for me so far only being with Buckley's and in our community, which is like a retirement beach area is that it is growing. So there's a lot of new people moving in and they all have their perceived ideas from where they came from and where the shops they went to, which probably weren't operating the same way we are. Like you said, um kind of me like explaining to them how we do things, not knowing anything about how another shop works at all.
00:45:42
Speaker
Um, It's a challenge for some people. Most people are like, yeah, it's fine. like they They get it and they they embrace it, but it's a challenge with the more difficult people that I've come across. That's just a point I wanted Greg, I know how far away the bathroom is from here, and you got back really quick. Did you just go piss in the corner? I did. I went to the back door. I saw a bush back there. Yeah, I thought we caught you on the camera. it's ah Well, there's confessions, isn't it? Yeah, there you go. coming to this. Like you said about you know people being above average. and
00:46:19
Speaker
What I always feel to these, which I guess it's I try to see as a good thing. I don't know. Yeah. I learn a lot, but also don't learn a lot that's new, but I get a lot of things that I hear that, like, reinforces values that I realize that we're already doing.
00:46:35
Speaker
So, I try to take that as a positive. Like, it's right. Okay. They're saying this. We're already going to doing this. So, all right. Let's keep on keeping on. Yeah, it's easy to get in the slog of beating yourself up and, like, what, you know, you're always like, what like he's like we talked about earlier, what what am I doing wrong? Doubt. Doubt's always there.
00:46:53
Speaker
And then, like, Scott just said, like, when you get When you get that little bit of reassurance, like, oh, I am doing something right. I am doing a couple things right. And then, they're like, like it's it's way better. and that's how I get energized and for that a little bit.
00:47:06
Speaker
That's one of, the like, the greatest feelings you get. That's what I learned from the master's program I was in is, like, completely turning someone's, like, perception and and view of things and, like, turning it into – explaining it properly and then executing it properly.
00:47:23
Speaker
And then they see, oh, wow, they're doing it the right way. So we kind of just change their whole mind about how things work. And we tell them, we do this to make it easier for you. And that's what it ends up being.
00:47:34
Speaker
Well, yeah, to kind of piggyback on that, I won't get into a specific number, but we were, we're here. So this is a lot of the the management team and the, the We had a good week up north, but we had a phenomenal week downstate. Record week. So that is an awesome feeling to trust those guys and do that.
00:47:57
Speaker
It lets you know you're doing some right stuff. But I'll tell you what, you know what? I realize it's after 5 o'clock on the East Coast. I'm going to see how they did this week. I haven't logged in yet. There you go. Yeah.
00:48:09
Speaker
Well, it is a good feeling because, you know, you think you're winging it. winging it, but it's, you're really not. I mean, I i think all of us here and the people we hire, they have good common sense.
00:48:20
Speaker
I mean, some of the, yeah, some people don't, you know, and we've we've had to deal with those, but most cases we all have common sense and and business is all common sense. It's, look, you know The simple principles of buy low, sell high is there for product, right?
00:48:34
Speaker
But when it comes to customer care, it's, okay, what do I need to do for you to win your business or or to build that relationship with you? And my life has been nothing but customer service.
00:48:45
Speaker
You know, can I fill it up? are you doing? Wash the car, do whatever it took, whatever it took. That mindset has always been there. So, you know, trying to transfer that. feeling, sentiment, practices down to you guys, that hasn't been difficult because you guys know what it's all about.
00:49:05
Speaker
We come from different areas, and I know we've technically I've only ever worked in this industry at at Buckley's, but i've done i was an electrician. ah That's where I get a lot of my Diag bases from. Rhode Island State Trooper.
00:49:22
Speaker
You know, we were going to get into that. I was an electrician. I i worked at Best Buy to help put myself through college, and I did a bunch of jobs there. That's where I met my wife.
00:49:33
Speaker
um And the same thing, like Scott's been Annapolis, been all over the place. So we have a bunch of things to draw upon, and then we just apply them to this industry. And it's good to see that, like, I think that helps us with those different perspectives.
00:49:49
Speaker
And same thing with Jackson. I know it's only been ever here, but you've done other things outside of it, and you can use that to pivot off of it. And you've got a marketing major, don't you? Yep. Yeah, there you go I would tell you that there are a lot of millionaire shop owners that are in that room that we've been in all weekend. um And there's a bunch of different ways to skin that cat, right? Mm-hmm.
00:50:12
Speaker
The techs turn shop owners who have spectacular shops work really hard and grinded really hard and they've got there and they're in a really good place. I've talked to a lot of them this weekend recording, but the dudes who aren't techs who got into automotive repair, they come in and they grow explosively yeah way faster because they're not tied down to trying to fix the car. Right. They hire dudes to fix the car. Right.
00:50:37
Speaker
Well, funny enough, to go all the way back we were talking about at beginning, where, what are our roles now? I thought getting out of the Bay, I thought I'd be happy. i was like, finally, I'm going kill my back, kill my knees.
00:50:51
Speaker
Uh, it was the hardest thing I think I've ever done in this industry. And I struggled for a couple of weeks with that. I felt like I was kind of useless and, I'd be sitting there and I'd be like, I don't know what to do with my hands.
00:51:04
Speaker
Uh, but then he kind of hit a rhythm and now I'm, Well, I amped up again. it It rejuvenated me again. And sometimes you need that kick in the ass to to get back to it. And i love I love to coach and I love to teach and train people.
00:51:19
Speaker
I've always done it. um And it's one of my favorite things to do. So I have really been enjoying where I'm at now. Yeah. and As an example to what you were just saying about hiring right people, starting off a location, you pretty much, I mean, I had to grab anybody I could.
00:51:37
Speaker
And fortunately I got two guys that were capable. Can't say exceptional. They were capable. And it lasted so long. They were role players. They were role players. Right, right. They were pivotal. and And now we can see the results of having three really good techs.
00:51:52
Speaker
You know, two aces and one... up-and-coming intern, right? And then we got the other, but he's a work in progress or not a work in progress. But, you know, in any case, um the results are evident this week, right?
00:52:07
Speaker
We won at 160 hours. We had four guys. I said, look, all right, now we're 160 hours. That's our inventory. We sold 153.7 this week, right? So, you know, we're where we understand now what it's like to have a good team.
00:52:22
Speaker
um And that's important. So you want to scale? Sure. Hire best. Pay them. Pay them well. You've got to be fair. You can't hire the best unless you pay them. Unless you pay them. Absolutely right.
00:52:34
Speaker
Yep. And so that initial investment, you know don't think don't think you're going to skimp. You shouldn't skimp. And you know no matter what the case might be, but bring in somebody who's going to do well and pay them, incentivize them.
00:52:49
Speaker
I definitely agree with Elite. weather there there is a I do agree, Pam, but there is a certain point where just our culture and the way we run things and we are a family, like that goes a long way as well because guys feel appreciated because we do appreciate them. Yeah, but candidates that you're considering hiring don't know about your culture. Exactly.
00:53:07
Speaker
no No. You have to let them experience something on the interview. They've got to be able to see something of value there. Yeah. Like Eric, you know, he would tell me, he goes, so they countered my offer to him and Dan.
00:53:25
Speaker
They countered big time. And they both said no because of what was going on. yeah That's what I was saying by the culture. I guess I should have prefaced it with all that. But, like, if you just walk in there, you you just get that vibe.
00:53:37
Speaker
And, like, you're like, something's different here. Like, I think that's why sometimes customers like to hang out. I think they like that weird vibe that do we have down there. Yeah, and the and the shop, being the the bay being right there where customers are, and we have guys that aren't, like, they're not, like, yeah they're not like not they're people They're people. They're not blowing out gangster rap in the Bay? No, no.
00:54:04
Speaker
but One Bay is kind of questionable. Oh, yeah. Like Screamo stuff. yeah No, they're like, because they'll come out and they'll be like, especially Eric, they'll come out and be like, hey, Eric, can you just, can you come me help me out here real quick? And we're going to get get into like a long conversation with the customer and they really like that. I know some shops like to keep the techs away from the customers, but you know, it doesn't work out. It's not about keeping the techs away from the customer. It's just about keeping the techs productive. because they're subject that's That's all based on the tech though. Cause like I got a really good tech. He don't want nothing do with a customer.
00:54:35
Speaker
Yeah. And that's fine. A lot of texts are not people, people. Yeah. Right. That's okay. But they, but the customers like that. They like that. Cause they, they like talking to me, but I don't know everything and I don't, you know I'm still getting the way I say things and the way I describe things. and It doesn't always sound smooth, but when Eric comes in, it's like he's been doing this for 20 years. and just It's just easy for him to just talk about stuff. so it makes it It also makes it easier for me to kind of combat the price people because I'm like, well we can't we're not go you're not going to get this quality of service paying people.
00:55:10
Speaker
$80 an hour labor rate, wherever you came from. You're going to get this quality of service from the tech or us the desk. It goes back to having what I, well, things I've learned, again, parallels things already been thinking, but having you know the philosophy of the shop, not just at the sales level, but through the technicians as you know based on the culture of education.
00:55:33
Speaker
So keeping your techs educated can help keep the rest of your staff educated, which helps keep your sales staff and keep your customers educated. When you keep your customers educated, they will they will purchase.
00:55:48
Speaker
They trust. who It's a game of communication. yeah yeah Yeah. Almost every time there's a clusterfuck in the shop, it's a failure of communication at some point.
00:55:59
Speaker
We're very familiar with that. Every shop is. Yeah, I know. That's the thing. We were going to take home that envelope game. we We were all like, that's taking that back with us.
00:56:10
Speaker
Because that's going to be a good one to watch. Oh, it's going to hilarious. And it really does demonstrate, like, how it's so easy to just have that breakdown immediately. Yeah. Yeah, it is. I miss the games, yes. It was a good one. Yeah.
00:56:22
Speaker
That was real good game. because And you had to do it manually, which means that your speed of messaging was... Terrible. Oh, yeah. I'm i'm the B guy. So I'm inbound. there I got messages flying from my two guys, and they're telling me do this. And then I had to listen to A, C, c and d Right. And they're going back and forth, and we needed to complete. And then we were thrown off because one of our guys, ah one of the envelopes had five, which was wrong.
00:56:53
Speaker
But we didn't know any better. So all along, we're thinking – we're not thinking – to playing it the right way or or reaching the goal. We were saying we couldn't reach the goal. We couldn't. I don't think we did, did we? I mean, no, we didn't know you yes it was impossible.
00:57:07
Speaker
yeah Yeah, we had basically had to get four of the same shape. Yeah. And one guy had five, so he thought he needed five. Two guys were trying to get the same shape because we had too many. Yeah, way too many. Yeah. Yeah, they apologized for that, but I said, if anything, that made it better.
00:57:20
Speaker
Yeah, it did. You should have at least someone that can't get it done. Yeah, we kept working for a solution. Yeah, because sometimes that's going to happen. Sometimes you're not going to be able to get it done. You get dealt shit hand with part or a vendor or something, and there's nothing you can do, and you have to know how to kind of work through that and make it the best possible situation.
00:57:40
Speaker
Well, you know, overall, you know, opening up a second location when I was 63, Right? sixty two That's how you know he's getting old. I can't remember. I can't remember my own freaking aging. No, i know my age. was well Wait until he can't remember how much the rent is. That'll be a fun bridge to cross. That's what I mean to he'll He'll forget the rent bill in the wrong direction for you guys. But no, the rent was $75,000. Right, exactly. Oh, I added a zero. I didn't tell you. Make sure you pay the heat bill.
00:58:13
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, the thing is, is that Opening up something, I guess, late in the game, you know, most young guys will go ahead and they'll tear it up, you know, get four, five, six, seven by the time you're 40, maybe 50.
00:58:27
Speaker
But, you know, for me, the opportunity came around and think you've got to have an open mind. um I mean, i I didn't have to convince these guys, but I really had to drill down and do numbers first and look at it and look at the then present the opportunity to and It's one time I did something right. I just wanted to see the books from the downstate, and they kind of didn't have any.
00:58:51
Speaker
no Literally. It was just kind of like when you don't really make money. You're buying real estate. Yeah. it's yeah great Property assets inventory. That's time to get out. Just leave. I mean, sorry my second store. Yeah. um I went and looked at business broker, had it listed. And, you know, if if it makes it to the Internet on a business broker deal, it's not a good deal.
00:59:12
Speaker
Right. And nobody wants it if it ever makes it the internet because people who have connections buy the good deals before it ever gets there. um But I didn't know that at the time. And I went and looked and it was a shithole in an incredible location.
00:59:27
Speaker
um And it was dirty and like the the person, the the people that owned it, um stellar reputation, like five-star reputation.
00:59:38
Speaker
um And they always had foster puppies in the lobby, oh which mean, Hey, I mean, it's a good draw and a good community. Right. But also there was all always dog shit and dog piss. Um, and so like I walked in, i was like, yeah, right. Right. Um, so, you know, I looked at the books and there was, there was no profit. There hadn't been profit in years.
01:00:02
Speaker
Uh, the equipment was mostly old, but functional was maintained. Right. And I was like, you know what? Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me and and everything. But, um, I just don't think that there's a deal that can be made here. Cause I didn't, I'd, I'd been looking at so many deals and, you know, every shop owner who has a non-profitable shop they've been at for 20 years thinks it's worth a million dollars because that's what they think they want to retire.
01:00:25
Speaker
And there's no backing for that. Why it's worth a million dollars. And so I didn't even negotiate. I said, thank you, but, but no, thank you. Um, and, The following weekend, I get a phone call and and it's, hey, you don't know me, but I own the real estate at this business.
01:00:43
Speaker
And they called me and told me that they're closing the doors next week. And I'm going to have to sue him for a rent on lease unless you're willing to take over the lease as it stands right now.
01:00:58
Speaker
um And to I wasn't willing to do that. But what I was willing to do was sign a new lease. Right. And he was willing to give me two years. And i I negotiated my way in three years. But that whole area was getting massively redeveloped.
01:01:13
Speaker
But then I had to go talk to the owner of the business again because I needed all the equipment and all the tooling. And they said, we're going to sell it all on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, whatever it was.
01:01:24
Speaker
ah So why would you do that? Yeah, right. So well they were so far upside down on payroll taxes that all profit was being garnished. And that's why they never raised their rates and that's why they never tried to sell anything. That's why they never turned any profit because any profit they made, they had to give to the government. Sure.
01:01:42
Speaker
So that's why they had a stellar reputation because they never charged for anything. Right. They were living in the 80s still. Sounds familiar. I was like, don't sell all your shit.
01:01:54
Speaker
How about I just come in and give you an envelope with $20,000 worth of cash in it? And i mean, it's your responsibility to report that to the IRS. It's not my problem. It's going on my books. Mm-hmm. And so I got a new yeah EIN and a new corporation and and opened up
Encounter with a Federal Agent
01:02:09
Speaker
the doors. And two weeks in, i ah took a week closed to clean and scrape the shit off the floor and everything else, right, and paint.
01:02:17
Speaker
um ah IRS comes in, or as a not IRS. It was some federal agent dealing with that. Whooped a badge, was very aggressive. And I had to pull out and show that it was a separate EIN. And it was like, this is all the same equipment that I've come in here for every month.
01:02:34
Speaker
And was yeah, but I bought it all. Whether or not they're reporting it, i i I bought it all. I mean, this is a brand new business. I happen to be operating in the same building as a previous business that was a tax evader.
01:02:49
Speaker
And they said, well, ah showed them that I showed them the purchase agreement and everything else. they said, well, it's good that you did your due diligence that way because it would have been your tax liability if you had bought their corporation. Oh, yeah. Yeah. so
Relocation Challenges
01:03:00
Speaker
Absolutely. that firsting ah got a six-bay shop in an incredible location for 20 grand cash.
01:03:05
Speaker
That's perfect. So, yeah, I wish I could repeat that. Is that the one in the college area? No. So that one, three years is up and I had to move. I moved it a mile and a half away. Okay. New location is not nearly as good. We struggle with ah visibility and traffic.
01:03:19
Speaker
Right. ah So the third store is the one that's right on on campus. ah okay It's a great location,
New System for Car Inspections
01:03:25
Speaker
but it's an old A-frame shell station with three bays. So it's not hard to sell three bays full of work.
01:03:30
Speaker
no right right And so what I'm trying to do is implement the rack attack system and the speed of service system there to inspect and sell and then ship the cars a mile and a half away to the other building you go and and use it as a feeder. So I have car count at the small store and capacity at the at the medium store is the hope.
01:03:50
Speaker
um see if I think at the Zimmerman, Judy Zimmerman, That's what she does up in in PA. They've got a big campus. i mean, it's a big lot, and they have they have a quick lube. And the quick lube sells for the shop.
01:04:01
Speaker
yeah Then they've got used cars. They've got the whole thing. But, yeah, a mile and a half is no problem at all. It's right down the road. you So it's all different.
Developing SOPs and Focus Areas
01:04:11
Speaker
What's your big takeaway from this weekend? what are you doing different on Monday?
01:04:14
Speaker
Um, probably going to start on some good SOPs, I think. And, you know, for myself, um, start to personally evaluate where I need to be more, where it's more important for me to be.
01:04:26
Speaker
um and, you know, make sure that I keep out of the shop and what it's doing, you know, and then really just start working, trimming things up, got expenses to go through, just a bunch of stuff, you know, first the year. Yeah.
01:04:42
Speaker
And marketing. Yeah. Ownership. Ownership shit. Yeah. That's what it is. Old timer. Yeah. Old timer. The future is now. So, you know.
01:04:54
Speaker
I just sit upstairs, you know, and then just, you know, okay. I'm going upstairs. No problem. We all are really happy when when you go up there. Yeah. And then we hear the music blasting, like the eagles and the. you
Transitioning to Growth Focus
01:05:06
Speaker
know the who and all the 70s and 80s fans. Because we know he's like is up there in his nest.
01:05:13
Speaker
He's doing his thing that he needs to be doing. yeah know and I enjoy it. I but i do like it. it's it's It gets hard when you know um you're, and this is for older guys, you talk about like ah mistake or confession, it no matter how much you might love being in the Bay, being involved in the day-to-day,
01:05:31
Speaker
Once you turn owner, you can't be. you You shouldn't be. Unless, you know, if you're the If you're going to grow, you can't be. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. He needs to be better at. And, yeah you know, not to to be actually candid for a moment. He needs to work on the business, not in it.
01:05:45
Speaker
Yeah. i he's He's made strides. I'll be honest. You know, he's done it. But I know it can be hard to let go of of a baby. Well, it's also hard, too, because I've always been the front person. That's what I I've always been the outgoing guy, the the guy that meets and greets and kisses babies all the time.
01:06:04
Speaker
I've done all my life. And you can't take that away and just shut it down. it's
Community Engagement Initiatives
01:06:09
Speaker
It's difficult. So for me, I have to find that particular call skill set. don't care call it, but that's got to go someplace else. So no what so what am I doing? um doing meeting I'm doing car care clinics at – To the why and all that. And we're doing it. And by the way, I just ah got a hold of AAA and AARP.
01:06:30
Speaker
We're going to car fit events at the Y. And up in Wilmington, we can do them at the shop. So I'm fulfilling what I like to do. At the same time, we're bringing people into the shop that are qualified to be yeah good clients.
01:06:44
Speaker
so Yeah. Sorry for my distraction. i just got a call from the alarm company. The alarm's going off at one of the shops. Wonderful. Wonderful. was just pulling up the cameras. It's just the dude's leaving and not. Saturday at what? Four o'clock? Yeah. is Saturday at 610.
01:07:02
Speaker
Yeah. So the shop's open until 530. So they were probably just leaving a few minutes ago.
01:07:09
Speaker
I'm not asking them to do anything that I'm not willing to do. i've been working all day. That's right. Yep. Absolutely. you know so We've mulled that around before. What, Saturdays? Yeah, it's a hard sell.
01:07:20
Speaker
I
Operating on Saturdays: Challenges
01:07:21
Speaker
take time with family. Don't do Saturdays unless you have a stellar sales process. Right. Because Saturdays are just going to be oil changes and flat tire repairs unless you have a killer sales process.
01:07:32
Speaker
Yeah. You can do that with a call center. just take calls in, get relief, and fill it up from Monday to Friday. Yeah. yeah That's what it is. Well, guys. well guys Anything else we've got to talk about? Man, I don't know. I thought we were going to get violent, but it didn't turn out that way. Well, what I didn't do, Greg, is I didn't say, all right, now they've had their turn. What do you hate the most about us? Yeah, you should have. I would have waited three months to hear that. You know? It's the real hard questions. They just hate the fact that I interfere.
01:08:03
Speaker
That's what it is. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. yeah I mean, know I've said this for years. I mean, like I said, i've been with the
Delegating Responsibilities
01:08:08
Speaker
company for, let's call it 12 years. I've told him since about four years in when I actually said that I wanted to be a part of ownership and management and all that. I said, I just want you to be able to enjoy the things that you deserve, that you can walk away and still be a part of it. That's fine. But you should be able to go golfing. You should be able to go take Hannah to wherever you want to go with Patty. Like, that's what's important to me. And I think you deserve it. It's just you won't grab it. You dabble in it.
01:08:40
Speaker
But you can't let go. I don't know. Wait a minute. I think... He's getting better, like I said. think he is better than the large majority of owners at Living Life. I agree. I agree with that. I mean how often do you see he's working out and posting his music? He's out with the Smash Brothers. He's at a concert. He's at the beach with Patty. I mean... Yeah.
01:09:02
Speaker
your frame of reference is small there. where We, as, as shop up independent shop owners, we are workaholics. Yeah. Yeah.
Adapting Family Business Vision
01:09:10
Speaker
think part of your reservations is I get it too. So I always think about this when you want to grow, it's been a family business and the name and the family has always been present and a form of marketing or just how the business goes and being another generation.
01:09:26
Speaker
Now third, we got to find a way to keep that model that you can. So if we can grow, great, but we have to keep my, what I see, I want to keep that quality as best as possible.
01:09:39
Speaker
Oh, yeah. You always want to keep quality. have to find a way transition and change what the... There's also personality. You're right. It's all relative. I mean, came from my dad. You can do all in your one shop. Now, you're going to get me one. You know, I can, I do it wherever I'm at. I mean, it's just having the ability or skill, whatever you call it. I mean, I don't care I like meeting and greeting people, shaking hands and do all that. when you When you allow yourself to be open like that, um things happen.
01:10:10
Speaker
I mean,
Generational Influence on Business
01:10:12
Speaker
it's natural. I mean, watched my dad do it. I did it. um My sister does it. my brother my My brother does it. I mean, we're just personable. When you start to not let your personality take place or get out there,
01:10:25
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you will you will attract. trying to channel. i want we got to figure out a way to channel it differently. Well, I know. But you will attract the people that you – if you are rigid and, and and you know, one-dimensional in a sense, you'll attract those people. They can be good people. Nothing wrong with But that's not my style.
01:10:45
Speaker
I like being out there. you know It's just so much fun. To your concern and to your point, it can be a family business and and it can still be growing into a new into a new vision, right? Because each generation's vision is different.
01:11:01
Speaker
um I'm the third generation. My grandfather, it was an auto repair shop, but it was also the grocery store, the feedlot, and like the social hub of the small little community. And then my dad's store was...
01:11:16
Speaker
a big-ass tire store that slowly evolved into auto repair. Yeah. And then, you know, my store is – I don't know what the personality of my stores are. It's just a a shit show, right? Very modest, this one.
01:11:29
Speaker
Yeah. it's the it's it's It's the best shit show ever. The best shit show you've ever seen. Yeah. now
Brand Identity and Personal Attachment
01:11:36
Speaker
So, you know, you guys – have the ability to make it whatever you want to make it, but it ain't yours yet and you've got to earn it.
01:11:44
Speaker
ah It's not for free. um i didn't I didn't get my business for free. I had to buy it from the old man. Right. And I don't know that if that conversation has happened at all or not. No, they I mean, look, um I'm transparent. I told them, said, it's yours when i'm but I'm ready to give it to you. And then they're earning it.
01:12:01
Speaker
they Yeah, they're earning it. I mean. I got three-fitty. You got three-fitty? Yeah. i could put We could pull something together, right? Pull something together. I think the the important thing is, even though the name is on the wall,
01:12:15
Speaker
that is my is ah is my last name, you've got to start thinking of it as the brand that you want to move. It's the brand Buckley's. It's not Buckley family. It's the brand Buckley's.
01:12:25
Speaker
And what does that mean? What do you want to do with it? you know Can you roll with it? Can you push it out? Many times people told me, don't put your name on the building. Put something else. Put your location, whatever, Wilmington, whatever. Whatever you want to don't put your name on there.
01:12:39
Speaker
I never agreed with that because if I put if i put any other name on there, It doesn't resonate with me. i don't i don't I mean, that's why, you know, on our uniforms, our name is my name, especially where our our brand is over my heart because that's where belongs.
01:12:55
Speaker
I bleed that. That's that's what I grew up with. it It doesn't go over here. And for guys who wear two or one, I mean, where you you're divided. So my name is on my leap over my heart.
01:13:09
Speaker
That's where stays. And that's why I believe it. Now, that's my name, but can be my brand. You've got to get the logo tattooed over your heart. I do. I've been trying to
Podcast Wrap-Up and Future Teases
01:13:19
Speaker
get him to get a tattoo since I've known it.
01:13:21
Speaker
Yeah. So over 15 years. Remind me to tell you about how I got scarred by tattoos after we get off the air. So, hey, we're missing Darren's closing remarks right now. Yeah, are. It was a lot of fun. This is a lot of fun. Yeah, it was good time. Thanks for bringing on the family and the kids. Yeah.
01:13:39
Speaker
you It's good. We'll check up in a year and see if you killed D.C. I was going to say, next time Greg won't be here. I would love that. We'll have a couple more cowboy hats next time. There we go.
01:13:53
Speaker
See you. Thanks, Mike. Thanks for listening to Confessions of a Shop Owner, where we lay it all out. The good, and the bad, and sometimes the super messed up. I'm your host, Mike Allen, here to remind you that even the pros screw it up sometimes, so why not laugh a little bit, learn a little bit, and maybe have another drink.
01:14:09
Speaker
You got a confession of your own or a topic you'd like me to cover, or do you just want to let me know what an idiot I am? Email mike at confessionsofashopowner.com or call and leave a message. The number is 704-CONFESS. That's
01:14:24
Speaker
three three seven seven If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, or follow. Join us on this crazy journey that is shop ownership. I'll see you on the next episode.
01:15:02
Speaker
and just...