“I Can’t Make Money On Paint!” (a.k.a Why Johnny Kicked The Dog)
At first, this shop owner thought his problem was paint, but after working with his jobber and accountant, he realized it was actually a sales problem. Now he’s making good money on paint and focusing on improving other areas of his business as well.
Examining the State of the Industry
Too many shops, not enough work, not enough profit, too much insurer involvement and not enough business expertise on the part of shop owners are all contributing to the sorry state that is the collision repair industry.
The Process of Efficiency
Our industry has focused on gross profit issues for far too long. The key to success lies in the way we work, not in what someone else is doing to us. It’s time we shift our focus to ‘fixed’ costs — repairing more cars with the same ‘fixed’ cost or repairing the same amount of cars with a lower ‘fixed’ cost.
On the Spot
Due to the misconceptions and lack of knowledge regarding squeeze-type resistance spot welding and its equipment, we conducted a welding machine challenge — a test that would simulate working on a vehicle and help shop owners make
better decisions when purchasing a machine.
Viva Las Vegas
The 24th annual NACE show brings an opportunity to explore 2,000 trade show booths, further your education, hang out with friends and maybe wake up with an empty wallet and an unwanted tattoo.
An Incident at the Courthouse
Eighteen years ago, this stay-at-home mom got an auto body shop in her divorce settlement. Today, the story seems funny. Back then, not so much.
We Want Your Nomination
This month we kick off our annual BodyShop Business Magazine Executive of the Year nomination campaign, a ritual to honor dedicated and successful leaders within the collision repair industry. This year marks the 23rd year we’ve honored a shop owner, manager or top executive/principal. As I reflected upon this process and reviewed the names of
Bullied No More: Learn How to Counter Intimidating Negotiation Techniques
“My way or the highway” negotiation techniques have intimidated the repair industry long enough. Learn how to counter them.
A ‘How-To’ Guide for Increasing Labor Rates, BodyShop Business, February 2006
Rather than belabor the exhaustive list of reasons labor rates need to rise, let’s focus on what type of market conditions act to create higher – or more frequently increasing – prevailing rates in individual markets. By Tigger (from his view in the Thousland Acre Wood) No one in the collision repair industry would argue
Standard Operating Procedures – Working Smarter, Not Harder
Maximize productivity by standardizing “best practices” across your organization. “Since we started truly implementing standard operating procedures, it’s a statistical fact that I only spend two hours a week in three locations and that we grew from five employees to 50 in a four-year time period,” says Troy Gates, owner of a three-shop operation called Gates