Just One Thing

In this episode, I’ll talk to you about reviews. We all want client reviews, don't we? But why are your reviews so anemic? Most of the time reviews are an afterthought. So, let’s talk about some of the reasons why you don't get the reviews that you could and should be getting right now. Listen along for 4 reasons why you aren’t getting those reviews!

I've been talking about focus lately. I hear shop owners, clients, and non-clients alike, tell me, “Rick, I have a problem with focus. I just can't do it.” You are blaming yourself for your focus deficit. But it's not your fault. I don't want you to blame yourself for this anymore. It's being stolen. That's right. Your focus is being stolen. Let me explain.

Today I want to talk to you about your MUSTS. There are some things that you MUST take care of to create and keep your focus. In this Podcast Episode, I’m going to give you two ways that can help out! So press play and listen along.

What I want to talk about is the mistake that a lot of people are making. Over the last week or so, I've been talking about focus. Since then, a lot of shop owners tell me that they think about their business all the time. I have to respond by saying that thinking about your business is not the same as focusing. This is the mistake. Why? When you're thinking about the business, you're doing usually one or two things. Do you find yourself thinking about your business all the time? Then this is an episode you’ll want to press play on.

Once you understand where it is you wanna go, you have to believe in it. If you don't believe in where you're going, you won’t give it your focus. You won’t pay attention to it because you don't believe it's there. Listen along to hear a little pep talk on how believing will help you.

My topic for today is FOCUS. And why is that important? Believe it or not, every part of your success starts with FOCUS. Here in lies the problem. Goldfish have a longer attention span than we do. It's the truth. They've studied it. A goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds. Our human attention span is under seven seconds. Everything revolves around what you pay attention to. Are you paying attention? Press play to listen along.

In this episode, I’ll talk about accidents in your shop happening right now. Let’s talk about how your Net Profit is merely an accident. Look at your P&I.  You have Sales minus Cost equals Gross Profit.  Then subtract your Expenses which leaves you with your Net Profit.  My problem is that net profit is a left over. It's a scrap. Whatever you get is merely by accident. I'm sick and tired of net profit being table scraps. I'm tired of hoping it’s a positive number. I’m tired of shop owners who are disappointed that they didn’t get what they wanted. That’s why I’m talking about Net Profit.

Please listen to what I have to say today. It will challenge you. Why do we have a problem with our mindset? Let me explain. There's this thing called the Curse of Knowledge that kind of kicks us in our butt in a few different ways. Be sure to press play and listen along so you can avoid these kicks in the butts!

Your Effective Labor Rate is one of your silent profit killers. Many shop owners think their labor rate is what they post, but it's not. It's what you collect that matters. But how do you get on top of this? You need CLARITY. You must know what it is and what it should be so that you can begin to get better. To hear two issues that may be keeping you back and how to correct them you will need to press play!

In this episode, I’ll talk about the dangers of going after 25% off on labor. There are some potholes to be aware of. Press play to listen along!

One is the loneliest number, right? It seems like everyone is obsessed with ARO or Average Repair Order. While it's an indicator, it's not very accurate. What do I mean by that? You can have a couple of really big jobs that will artificially inflate your average repair order number, and give you the false sense of things getting better. There are so many more important numbers. Keep listening as I go over the 5 key numbers that you should be looking at DAILY.

In this episode, I’ll finish working with your spouse.  Remember, this works for your partner and even other team members. So, today is about modifying. What do I mean by that? Modifying is when you shoot for a goal and you don't hit it. You must step back and not do what most people do, which is get angry, frustrated, and lash out at each other. It’s amazing how many of us treat ourselves and our business partners worse than we would someone we don’t know very well. I don't understand that. Listen for how-tos to modify situations.

I’ve recently been talking about working with your spouse or significant other. Today what I want to talk about is probably one of the most important things you will need to do to be successful not only in business but in life in general. This is one you won’t want to miss!

I work with a lot of clients who are a husband-and-wife team. One of the things I work hard at is getting them to work better as a couple.  Previously, we talked about goals. We talked about how important it was to have goals that you both believe in. And what's amazing about that is when a husband and a wife, or a significant other, or a partnership have the same goal, it brings them closer. There are some other foundational building blocks they need to work successfully together. Let's talk about what these other blocks are.

I’ve been talking about working with spouses, lately. That can be a real challenge, can't it? In this episode, I will talk about what you can do to make a difference. The key is to have an outcome. The key to succeeding as a couple is to identify an outcome that gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning. Something where you both feel amazing because you both are working toward something each of you wants.  It's amazing when that happens. Now if you don’t work with your spouse this can pertain to your business partner or team so go ahead and press play now!

In this episode, I want to talk about working with your spouse. I think this is an important subject to to talk about because about 70% of the coaching that I do is with couples. I’ll talk from the male perspective because that's what I'm familiar with. It can be frustrating but it can be one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have! So press play and listen along.

You know, we've been talking about labor rate. In this episode, I’ll talk more about the frustrating part of setting your labor rate.  And that is when you put a profit model in place and you don't hit it. The reason is that you're not using the right labor rate. Listen as the info I share may be why you aren’t hitting your profit models.

I’m going to talk about four numbers, today, that you need to know to set your labor rate properly. Yes, it sounds simple but this is a podcast episode you are going to want to listen to as I cover each one!

In this episode, I will talk about one of the things that are keeping you from charging the appropriate labor rate that you could and should be charging to take care of your team, and take care of everything. It’s all about differentiation. You need to be able to answer this one question as a prospective client. “Why would I drive by three of your competitors to do business with you?” Listen along as I give you tips to make you the go to shop.

Today’s episode is about what's driving you when it comes to your labor rate. When I ask the shop owner, “Hey, here's a part, it costs this much. What are you gonna sell it for?” They have a calculation. They have a mathematical equation that they use to determine the selling price of that part. But when I ask that same shop owner, “How do you figure out your labor rate?” I typically hear, one of two things. Think about how YOU would answer this question and then press play to listen along!

In this episode, I will talk about pay plans. I’ve heard for years about this age-old battle about flat rate, hourly, and salary wages while wondering which is best. So let's take the mystery out of it once and for all.

We've been talking about pay plans and increases and when to do them. I can't tell you the number of shop owners that I talked to that have problems with what they're paying people. And it's not that they're paying them too much. The battle is this. Maybe you feel like you should be giving a raise. Maybe you're saying, “It's been a few years and I really haven't done much.” Or maybe they're asking for more money. The problem is that you're not happy with the results you're getting from your staff. You feel like you're paying more than what you're getting back. Listen along as I give you tips to help communicate with your team and get everyone in the same boat.

Today I’ll talk about why your employees or your team members leaving. The mistake you are making is you think they are leaving to get more money somewhere else. Well, money is a concern. You want to make sure you are in the top echelon as far as compensation goes. Make sure you know what's going on around regarding compensation and benefits. Listen to this podcast as I give you reasons why they could be leaving, which may help you keep them.

Today I’ll talk about raises. You are in a situation where you're reacting. I don't think you're consciously aware of the turmoil going on in the industry. And one of the things we need to talk about is the reaction. It's coming from a place of fear. It's coming from wondering if you can afford it. You may ask yourself, “should I give them a raise? How much should I give them?” It creates worry and doubt and a lack of faith in yourself and what you're doing. This is an episode you don’t want to miss as I give you tips on how to work through the fear of raises.

We've been talking about feeling fulfilled and you know how to find that. But now I want to talk to you about putting that fulfillment on steroids. I’ll explain to you how to do it. Be sure to listen to this Podcast as I give you tips for yourself and how to include your team.

Today I’ll talk about feeling fulfilled. This is a really big deal because there are a lot of people that are going to work every day or going through life every day not feeling fulfilled. They feel empty. They feel hollow. They feel like something's missing. It's that feeling of fulfillment. Let's talk about the four areas in that you can find fulfillment so be sure to listen to this Podcast!

Today’s topic is about being happy. Isn't that really all we want out of life? To feel happiness? I will tell you something that I think is a real misnomer. There are two real points I want to make in this episode. This isn't a podcast you want to miss, I mean who doesn't want to be happy?

In this episode, I want to talk about getting stuck. I don't know about you, but there have been times when I feel like I'm stuck, like I'm spinning my wheels and just not going anywhere. While thinking about it I realized that there are four things that cause you to feel stuck. So what I'd like to do is go through each one of those four things. So press play and listen along.

In this episode, I’ll talk to you about the secret to communicating. The secret is to listen. You step back and listen before you start going off from your perspective. The secret to creating an amazing team is to listen. It's to ask questions. It's all about making sure you completely understand the situation, not just from your perspective. There are other perspectives to what's going on. Everyone can use a little help in communicating, so press play and keep listening.

When it comes to communicating, sometimes we get hurt or someone else gets hurt. I want to talk about that today. How many times have you been hurt by what someone has said? Let’s talk about what usually causes that. Press play as I will give you 3 things that will help you to communicate more effectively and avoid hurting someone or getting hurt.

I talked about communication in the previous episode. And one of the things I want to talk about in communication is friction. I want you to know about the friction that's going on in every communication. Where does that come from? Press play as we dig deeper to answer that question and I give you some tips on how to avoid it.

Today’s episode is about communicating. One of the major stressors in your life is your inability to communicate properly. Most of the time you're running around the shop like a chicken with your head cut off and going crazy. You don’t realize it but you’re barking. You're giving snippets. You're not giving complete thoughts. Your communication has holes in it. Your instructions aren't complete. That's because you're communicating emotionally. Listen along to hear me explain why you are doing this and tips on how to change it!

In this episode, I want to talk to you about planning. Every year, Brenda and I take one entire week to plan for the following year. We just finished our planning week this past week. We went down to the smokey mountains and had a great time. We did spend the entire week planning for sales, staffing, responsibilities, guidelines, benchmarks, etc. We made sure it was all in there. But if you ask Brenda, she’d say it was never enough. What do you do to plan? I think you will want to listen to this one as we go over some confusion about what a plan looks like.

People either tend to have a positive outlook or a negative outlook. And I want to talk about that a little bit. When you are a business owner, you can't allow a negative outlook to take over you. Don't misunderstand me, though. Positivity, to me, does not mean everything's all good and great, sunshine and rainbows. There will always be issues. Positivity doesn't mean pretending there are no problems. Life has problems. Positivity just means a belief. I have a belief that I can overcome them. I have a belief that I can overcome any situation that comes my way. Press play as I give you a few ways to set yourself up for that positive attitude.

Life is a gift. We hear that all the time and sometimes to the point of nausea. But here's what I want you just to think through for a second. Life is a gift. Each and every day is a gift. We listen to this, and we hear it, but I don't think it penetrates. How fast did your kids grow up or are growing up? I'm watching my grandkids now and I'm absolutely mind-blown at how fast they're growing. Each day when I wake up and open my eyes and that's a gift for me. Why? Because I recognize there are more days behind me than in front of me. I know, I know you've heard this before but this is one episode you will want to listen to.

Recently I talked about indecision. The key takeaways with indecision were (1) Stop trying to make the right decision and just go for the best decision. (2) Decisions aren't fatal, they’re feedback. (3) Don't make the same decision twice. Now I want to talk about decisions. Many times, decisions are made in an emotional state. And when that happens, it becomes a reaction. When your decision is a reaction, it always hurts. Listen along for great decision making tips!

The way I see decisions is you’re going down a path and then get to a point where you can go left or you can go right. It’s a decision point. Indecision is when you're stuck at the fork in the road and you're not moving. Where does indecision come from? Have you ever dealt with indecision? This is one you should keep listening to!

We use the word hate a lot. I hate peas. I hate ice cream. I hate this. I hate that. Hate usually comes from unhappiness. We are unhappy a lot, but we don't talk about it. It's okay to be dissatisfied. It's not okay to be unhappy. When you're unhappy about something, you continue to focus on what you're unhappy about and it gets bigger and it gets worse. Listen along as I talk about how unhappiness can affect all aspects of your life.

What I will talk about today is Can Do. There's a can do attitude and that's great to have. It means you will get it done. But what I'm talking about is that you can do anything, but you can't do everything. Brian Tracy, a couple of years ago, said that the average person's to-do list is 140% of their lifetime. Think that through for a second. It means that we must be good at understanding what we want to happen. Now press play to listen along.

Today is about balance. Why am I talking about balance? Because I think there's so little of it going on in our lives. I think we're lopsided. I think we're driving around on flat tires. What do I mean? We put air in half the tire. The other side of the tire is flat. So why am I saying this? Because I think there's too much emphasis on one area of your life. You must recognize that your life is like a wheel with many spokes. And each one of those spokes represents a different area of your life. How are you with balance in your life? Listen along to get some tips on how you can keep your tires full of air.

I am going to talk about emotions, plain and simple. We all have them. Although some of us have a hard time realizing it. I was brought up in a household where guys didn't have emotions. I was supposed to be the strong, silent type without showing emotions. So, what I want to talk to you about is the good, bad, and the ugly. Listen along as I go through emotions and how I look at them.

What I want to talk about today is your future. Basically, you're doing one of three things with your future. When you look at your life, from your relationships, your business, and your personal life, I guarantee you are doing one of these three things. I know I am.

I want to talk about helping people. There are basically four ways to do that. So let's talk about the first way of helping, which is not to help at all. Believe it or not. For some of us old folk, that is the way we were taught. We didn't get help. We had to figure it out all by ourselves. And that was both frustrating and liberating because when you finally did figure it out, you felt like a million bucks. But the thing is, and I think there's some validity to this.

What I will talk about is the uncertainty that's going on in the world. It's everywhere. It's almost like the world has said, “Oh, you can handle the pandemic? Here, take Ukraine! Here, take Russia! Here, take part shortages! Here, take supply shortages! Here, take inflation!” And it's just mounting and mounting and mounting and people need a break. People need a place where there's safety. If you look at one of Maslow’s first levels, it's about safety. Now the reality is we go looking for safety in the wrong places. We look for safety with money. We look for safety, with things. We look for safety with drinking or different things that just quiet us down on the inside. I would like you as a leader to create a safe place. How do you do that? Press play and listen along as I break it down a little for you.

Everyone just doesn't seem to be as nice anymore. Right? Everyone seems to be under so much anger and stress and pressure. So, why are people so nasty today? Listen along as I dig deeper into what could be happening and how we can make a difference!

There is one differentiator that separates the major players from everyone else. That difference is focus. People tell me all the time that they can't focus; that they don't have focus. I say that's absolutely untrue. We all have focus. It's just what we focus on that’s the problem? The reality is most of us, me included, at times major in minor things. We spend our focus on stuff that ultimately is inconsequential. And that's the separation. It's all about being truly successful in whatever it is you want. It's all about being able to stay focused on what's important. I will give you the steps for focus, so press that play button.

In this episode, I want to talk to you about managing. I’ve heard so many horror stories about managers, bosses, and owners. And they have one common thread. It’s what you pay attention to. You can either catch people doing things wrong, or you can catch people doing things right. I need to tell you that it’s normal for the brain to look for things that are a danger, things that are wrong. That is how our brains are naturally wired. It's easy to find things wrong. It's the way we're wired socially. Think about it. Every commercial you ever see basically says you’re not good enough unless you have our product. They imply that you have an issue and it's your fault until you get our product. But you can overcome that. Keep listening for tips to shift your focus.

In this episode, I will talk about how shop owners are hurting their teams. I have Brandon sitting beside me for a very specific reason. I will ask Brandon a question really quick. “Brandon, if you come to me with a question and I give you the answer, what did you learn?” Brandon replies, “Nothing.” Here's what Brandon learned. He learned to come to me again for the next question. So, what’s the big deal? Hmm think about that and then press play to see how you could be hurting your team by just giving them answers to their questions.

In this episode, I’ll talk about three things. Well, it’s actually four ways you can run your business. At first, I thought there were three ways, but this morning when I was thinking about it I thought of one more. Press play and hear me out on these four ways!

Today’s topic is Defining. I am on a mission to eliminate or eradicate with prejudice, SSDD. I think you know what I mean. It’s Same Stuff Different Day. I see too many shops going into work every day doing the same thing. Like it's another day dealing with a client. It's another brake job. It's another oil service. I want you to get that out of your shop. How are we going to do that? If you're ready to eliminate SSDD then this podcast is for you! So press that play button and listen along.