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Shop Talk Her Way is where former shop owner and coach JeanAnn Saint Grace opens up the books on what it really takes to run a profitable, sustainable, and well-balanced auto repair business.
With decades of experience in bookkeeping, operations, and leadership, JeanAnn brings an honest, no-fluff approach to shop management — all from a woman’s perspective. From financial systems and staffing to communication and culture, she shares insights that help shop owners (and especially women in the industry) take control, build better businesses, and enjoy the ride.
Whether you’re turning wrenches, balancing the books, or scaling to your next location, you’ll find encouragement, strategy, and a healthy dose of “you’ve got this” in every episode.
Shop Talk Her Way is an AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching production — helping shops thrive, her way.
Thanks to WorldPac and the WorldPac Training Institute (WTI) for sponsoring Shop Talk Her Way. Visit worldpac.com for the latest in auto parts distribution and wtitraining.com to explore training programs that can take your career to the next level.
Hi, this is JeanAnn SaintGrace, and welcome to this episode of Shop Talk Her Way. I'm excited to be with you here as always this week talking about what's going on in the shops and what's going on in the world. I wanna thank everybody who takes the time to stop and listen, um, who spends s- a good part of their, their quote unquote "free time" with me.
Um, it's been a real honor and pleasure to be able to bring the podcast to, to the world. Um, sadly, this is going to be the last episode, so I wanted to kinda make it a best of and leave you with some thoughts that, that I really think are the most important ones from the, the last, um, you know, several months of doing the podcast.
Just what are the most important things? And, um, w- probably from the... There's, there's really no priority more these are all things that are really important, right? And the first thing operations-wise, I really honestly believe the two things that you should definitely be doing in your shop are some for- form of a digital vehicle inspection or a courtesy check, so the difference is whether it's on paper or on, um, on a tablet in a electronic form.
The second thing is exit scheduling. And these two things, in my mind, go together, and they, they are really the foundation of cust- your customer service plan. The DVI/courtesy check is a way for you to communicate the condition of the customer's vehicle as it sits at this moment. And it becomes a document that you can refer back to, that they can refer back to, and also starts to keep a record of where everything on the vehicle is at at any given time, and then how it progresses, whether it gets better or whether it gets worse.
But it's really there to inform the customer of where they're at, what investment their vehicle needs, and how can that be planned out. Whether it's urgent and it needs to be done right now, or it's something that they can budget out over the next few months to a year, giving them that opportunity to, to make a plan for the technician to have an idea of where everything's at and for the advisors to, to really be able to hone in their presentations so they're giving the customer the best information that they possibly can And I know when you Google this, the first thing that comes up is that, oh, you'll see a 20% lift in your tickets.
This is absolutely true. However, the number one reason that we do this is for the customer. The byproduct of this is we get sales from it, but the most important thing is that we're helping the customer to make a wise investment of their vehicle. So that's the spirit in which it should be done. And it's always, in my mind, this is inspect and inform.
This is not a time to do heavy deconstruction. You know, if we're just doing a courtesy inspection and we don't have any other reason or authorization to pull wheels, we shouldn't be pulling wheels. If we see something wrong with the brakes, we should be doing a brake inspection at an additional charge, because the brake inspection is a heavily detailed inspection that isn't just a free look-see, right?
This is, this is the differential, differentiation that a l- I think a lot of people miss. And I, I don't want you as a shop owner, I don't want a technician, I don't want a service advisor going off into the weeds on, just based on the courtesy, right? We want them to do an inspection, see where everything's at, and if they see something that needs further inspection, disassembly, investigation Then we should be charging the customer for that.
So, so please make that part of your process. We're not ever asking... The, the only thing that is no charge, quote unquote, or included in the service is the courtesy. Anything deeper than that should be charged for. And then how does exit scheduling, you know, intertwine with this? We should be trying to exit schedule declined work, but...
And that's, that's somewhat optional, but we should be offering. If the customer says something like, "Oh, I need to wait till my next paycheck," then the, the conversation should be something like, "Well, do you wanna get on our schedule now and make sure we've got a spot for you? Or would you like me to call you back in a couple weeks?
When's a good time for us to get back together and start taking care of some of the things on your list?" The other thing we should be exit scheduling is our oil change services, and that way we have invited the customer back in. We're saying, "We want you to come back time over time for your oil change service.
Let us be the person who does that for you. We can keep track of your maintenance. We can keep track of your tire rotations. Let us help you manage the investment in your vehicle and the maintenance and all the things that go with that." So, so that's how those two, between the DBI and the sched- exit scheduling, those are our top tier customer service value adds.
Of course, it helps that we have excellent technicians. We fix it right the first time. We have good warranty. We have good support. We give good advice. All of those things are important, but the basis and the foundation between the DBI and the, um, the exit scheduling are key parts of your, um, retention marketing with your, with your clients.
So make sure that that is a value add that you include in your business. The second thing that I really want to, to talk about is profit margins, and I'm gonna fall back on profit does not equal greed. Profit is the thing that helps you build your business out, whether you need a bigger building or whether you need to pay for a building.
Um, you know, the nuances of the accounting are that your rent is a fixed cost, but your payments come out of your profit. And so, you know, if you're a shop owner who owns a building and you are, um, making payments We have to make sure that there's profit on the bottom line to service whatever debt you're holding, whether it's a small business loan, a construction loan, um, a s- line of credit, whatever that looks like.
The profits are what pays for that. That doesn't come out of your profit and loss. That, we need profit on the bottom line to service your debt and to build the business. And also, as we are profitable, then we can offer more benefits to our team. We can s- maybe add health insurance or a retirement plan or additional training.
The having that, that profit line helps us to make the business better. And, you know, I'm gonna... I know there's gonna be people out there t- who are gonna say, "Well, you should have your training costs included in your fixed costs or in your cost of labor." They're absolutely right, but if there's additional training that's available, or if you decide you wanna take your team to, uh, ASTA or SEMA or Vision as a group and go, and you wanna have the shop closed down, and you wanna pay them for their travel and pay them for their time and pay them to have a good time while you're away, then that comes out of profit And these are just a few examples, but also at the, at the end of the day, the profit is what m- gives your business value.
If the business can pay all its bills and still have 20 to 25% on the bottom line, that's your multiplier for what your business is worth. If your business is not profitable, then there's no value to it, no matter how long you've been doing it, no matter how thick your customer book is, the value when it comes down to it, the valuation is based on your net profit.
And if there's nothing there, there's no value. And I don't wanna hurt anybody's feelings by saying that, but that's just the world that we live in, and that's how a business is valued. So please make sure that your business is profitable. Please make sure that you have all your ducks lined up a- and everything is cohesive in your business, that you have keyman insurance, that you have your regular insurance, that you have life insurance on the owner, whatever that looks like.
Make sure you have a cohesive succession plan, whether it's for sale or if something happens and you have to shut the business down, or if something happens to the building and you need time to rebuild. Please make sure that there's profit there to help cover some of these expenses. Um, I don't ever wish anybody ill, but s- life changes on a dime.
And, and you guys, if you listen to me, you know that's what happened to me. My life changed on a dime, and we were blessed that we had built out a profit model that worked for us, and when we had to sell the business, that we had value in the business. Because if what happened to us had happened four years earlier when the business was breaking even, we wouldn't have had anything to sell but the building.
So keep all this in mind as, as you're, as you're struggling sometimes. I know we wanna give good value to our customer, but we also have to take good care of us. Every relationship has to be a win-win, whether it's you and the customer, or you and your team, or you and your business partner, or you and your spouse, whatever...
Whoever and whatever you're dealing with, we should always be looking for a win for everyone. And if we work out the win-wins, then business becomes much easier. So, so have your ducks lined up, talk about your profit, make sure you've got good profit built into the business. And I-- trust me, if you've done your DVIs and you've done your exit scheduling and you've built that relationship with the customer, then the profit part is not a problem.
People will pay for you to be their, their car person, all right? They're gonna pay you to be their, their first call when they have a problem with their vehicle, and that's what we're striving for And as we talk about that and profit, we're- I'm gonna throw in, um, my sponsor for, for this part of the show, which is AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching.
As we all know, running a successful auto repair shop takes more than just knowing how to fix cars. You're also managing people, you're managing processes, customers, and profitability, and that's what AutoFix... that's where AutoFix comes in. AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching helps shop owners strengthen their operations, develop their teams, and build a healthier business with practical coaching designed for the realities of the automotive industry.
If you're ready to spend less time putting out fires and more time building the shop you want, learn more at autoshopcoaching.com. That's autoshopcoaching.com. AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching, helping shop owners build better businesses. And as you guys know, I'm a coach. I firmly believe in coaching. I had a coach when I was in business.
I am a coach now. I feel like for a lot of people, having a coach is the next level of secret sauce that they need to get their business where they want it to be. Um, most people have done the game of inches or ga- done the game of yards, and now they're down to the inches and parts of inches to get to the, to the finish line or get to the goalpost.
And sometimes having a coach is the thing that, that helps you over that edge into the profit model that you want, into the life that you want, into the, the shop that you want. So, um, you know, probably not necessarily a non-negotiable, but something I would highly recommend is that you have some kind of a coach or you have a team behind you, such as a financial advisor, um, a, an attorney sometimes, um, your accountant.
If, if they're not specialists in automotive, then having even just a once-a-month coaching call with somebody on the outside helping you get a 30,000-foot view of your business is a great idea. So I'm not gonna put that down as non-negotiable, but I highly recommend. And so when we talk about... We've talked about your DBIs, we've talked about your exit scheduling, we've talked about a profit model, and the, the, the...
that's kind of the Base of your cupcake, let's talk about it that way. Those two things are the layer of your cupcake that, that are really foundational and the basis. And the top of your cupcake, the part that gets a lot of the attention and needs a lot of the attention, and really should be the outward face of your business, is how you take care of your people.
And when I say your people, I mean your customers, and I mean your team. Both, both of those groups of people are the ones who are gonna propel your business to where you want it to go. And I have talked a lot about engagement, which is how much effort you're getting out of your team, how much they are invested in bringing their A game into the shop with you every single day.
And engagement is driven by primarily them knowing how they're doing and what's next. And so if you can keep those two thoughts in your mind as you're managing and leading your people, you're going to be very successful at it. Because if we're telling them today, "Hey, you're doing a great job, and you're, you know, this is your next step in your career," or, "This is your next position in the shop," or, "This...
You're doing great, and these are the things that you ne- need to do to, to get a raise or to get a bonus or whatever that looks like." And then if you're, if you're gonna be doing that, then a pla- a way to really rev that up, and a- and one of my non-negotiables is that you should be doing one-on-one meetings with them at least once a month.
Bi-weekly would be great, and once a week would be even better. Getting them to know that you care about them as people, that they aren't just widgets in your machine, that you're not talking about them as your children or as adult daycare or whatever those negative connotations are. That you see them and hear them as people, and that you care about how they do, not only in the shop, but in their lives, this is what makes them bring their A-game every day.
And of course, we need to have good benefits as, as best as we can provide. Uh, sometimes those get expensive, so we may have to pick and choose. But helping them to make their lives better and to, to help them fulfill their life goals, even to help them define their life goals, is key to keeping their eye on the prize.
And it's not just a grind, it's not just a paycheck. It, it means they're invested in doing the best that they can for you, for the shop, for the customer every single day. So, so take good care of your team. And if you take good care of your team and they understand how important people are, then when they're dealing and working with your customers, they understand how to take care of people.
And the way that you take care of them filters into how they take care of their customer. And guess what? It's a win-win because as the... you're building a relationship with your team and you're engaging with them, and then they're engaging at their best with your customer, we're building relationships all throughout the shop.
And that makes your customers loyal. That means they keep coming back. That means we can continue to build this, this beautiful business that you're working towards and help you fulfill, fulfill your goals as well. Because everybody's on the same page, everybody's working together, and everybody has a good understanding of how we're doing and where we're going.
So even as you work with your customers, encourage your team to be as encouraging to the customers as you are to your internal team. Because helping the customers understand that they're making a good investment, that they're making good choices, that they're doing the best that they possibly can, validating their decision to come and do business with you by giving them good service and then helping them to take good care of their vehicles, it all works together.
It's all part of this magic soup that is making a shop successful So as you always hear me say, love your people until it's weird. Let them know how much you care about them. Let them know and understand that their outcome is intrinsic to your outcome and that you're on the same team, that there's not a conflict going on between the front of the house and the back of the house or the owners and the team.
Make sure that everyone's on the same team dancing to the same music, and that will help you get your shop where you wanna go. And definitely last but not least, continue to grow yourself. You are gonna continue to grow as a leader and as a person the more you engage with your team. And as, as human beings, we are never meant to be stagnant.
Our, our makeup is not to become complacent, just let the world go by us, just live in the grind. Make your growth a part of this plan. Make sure you're getting out there and talking to other shop owners. Make sure you're getting out there and talking to other business owners. You never know where a great marketing idea or a great new path for your business might come from when you talk to other people.
You just never know that, that somebody that's got an ice cream shop is doing a certain kind of marketing and it's working for them, and by golly, we can make it part of our marketing plan too, and it becomes a better marketing plan and drives the business that we want. So, you know, again, I'm a coach, so I advocate coaching, but having, being in a peer group, being in a business group, being with, with people that have the same set of challenges and joys that you have will help you to grow the business that you want and will help you to continue to grow as a person I know that, and we all know, you know, the grind makes you dull.
The grind makes you overwhelmed. It makes you tired. So finding ways to elevate yourself, elevate your leadership, elevate your learning, whatever you need to do to keep that passion going for your business, do it, and make sure that's part of your budget and part of your profit plan. So I know this is, um, short and sweet because I don't, I don't want to, A, get emotional and start crying on you guys because this has really been a tremendous journey for me.
I hope it's been a good journey for you. I hope that you have found through my information and through my stories that you can be the best shop owner that you can be. And even if my story is not the same as your story, hopefully there's been some nuggets along the way to help you to get where you want to go.
So the second, um, sponsor for today is the mashup or the team-up between AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching and ADP. AutoFix has partnered with ADP to help auto repair shops simplify their payroll, their human resources, their compliance, hiring, and employee management while unlocking exclusive savings for eligible auto repair shop owners.
This isn't just a partnership on paper. Chris Cotton, the owner of AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching, also owns three repair shops, and he believes in ADP so much that he shifted all of his payroll and over to ADP. Through this partnership, eligible AutoFix members can receive a 20% lifetime discount on eligible ADP services, waived setup fees, and up to six months of free payroll.
ADP can help you accurately pay hourly, salaried, seasonal, and split shift employees while supporting tax filings, hiring, onboarding, compliance, employee benefits, workers' compensation, and more. If Chris trusts ADP across all of his businesses, it's worth seeing what ADP can do for yours. Check your eligibility and connect with a dedicated ADP partner using the AutoFix and ADP link in the show notes So in closing, I wanna thank everybody who has been a faithful lis- listener, everybody who may have just popped in for this one.
Thank you for spending some time with me. Hopefully, like I said, this has helped you to become a better shop owner. I've been so grateful to have this opportunity to have this podcast and to, to help hopefully elevate our industry. You all know how much I care about you guys, your teams, our customers, and, and really the industry across the board doing better, being better, and, and having the reputation that we deserve, which is we're here to serve, um, our communities and our people.
So as I said, um, you know, take good care of your people. Love them till it's weird. Don't hold them at, at arm's length. Build out the shop that you're looking for. And if you wanna stay in touch with me, there's gonna be some cool things coming down the pipe from me. So, uh, follow me on Facebook, look me up.
You-- I've got a website that's just my name, JeanAnn SaintGrace. You can find me anywhere. Ultimately, I wanna thank you all so much for being part of our industry, for being good stewards of our industry, and go out, love your people till it's weird, and build your shop your way. This is JeanAnn SaintGrace signing out.
Final episode. Go out there and take on the world, you guys. Thank you