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Confessions of a Shop Owner is hosted by Mike Allen, a third-generation shop owner, perpetual pot-stirrer, and brutally honest opinion sharer. In this weekly podcast, Mike shares his missteps so you don’t have to repeat them. Along the way, he chats with other industry personalities who’ve messed up, too, pulling back the curtain on the realities of running an independent auto repair shop. But this podcast isn’t just about Mike’s journey. It’s about confronting the divisive and questionable tactics many shop owners and managers use. Mike is here to stir the pot and address the painful truths while offering a way forward. Together, we’ll tackle the frustrations, shake things up, and help create a better future for the auto repair industry.
Mike Allen [00:00:00]:
Nothing strains a friendship like being in business together. It's marriage. It's marriage without the sex, man. So, but sometimes you get fucked.
Nate Winston [00:00:08]:
And here we are.
Mike Allen [00:00:13]:
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 or sponsors or any other associations we may have. There may be some spicy language in this show, so if you get your feelings hurt easily, you should probably just move along. So without further ado, here's your host, Mike Allen, with Confessions of a Shop Owner, presented by TechMetric, the best software ever invented for any purpose ever.
Mike Allen [00:00:49]:
We are here at Elite's Ignite 2026. This is day one for Elite one-on-one coaching clients. Our pro service members got here yesterday and had a day of just content for pro service, which was a lot of fun. I will say that those of you who listen to our podcast on a semi-regular basis, Matt Lofton, who I do my monthly coaching calls— not everybody knows, but I think a lot of people know that he's a former NASCAR racer. Yeah, I think he got up to like Truck Series, right?
Nate Winston [00:01:24]:
Yeah. Yep.
Mike Allen [00:01:26]:
And so last night we all went to Octane Raceway and, and we, we all raced go-karts like fools. And I just want to, I want to put this on camera, make sure that it makes it on camera. It's going to make an appearance in every episode. This is my gold karting trophy from where I crushed Matt Lofton. And it should be noted that Matt actually came in third. So when we do our next coaching call, I'm going to put this on the, on the desk behind me. And I'm going to make sure that he has his bronze one on the desk behind him as a constant reminder, Matt. Anyway, that's good.
Mike Allen [00:02:02]:
Nate, how you doing, man?
Nate Winston [00:02:03]:
I'm doing really well. I'm doing good. Thank you. Thanks for having me on today.
Mike Allen [00:02:07]:
Absolutely. So real quick, just introduce yourself, where you're from, your shop, that kind of stuff.
Nate Winston [00:02:11]:
Yep. So yeah, absolutely. My name is Nate Winston. I own Winston's Complete Auto Care in the wonderful city of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. That's in Northeast Ohio, Akron area. Been doing it coming up on 2 years now. So far, I'm doing pretty good, staying busy and getting a lot of work done.
Mike Allen [00:02:28]:
Okay.
Nate Winston [00:02:29]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:02:29]:
And how long have you been in the trade?
Nate Winston [00:02:31]:
Been in the trade coming up on close to 20 years now. Okay. Yes. All right.
Mike Allen [00:02:36]:
Started out as a technician, I assume.
Nate Winston [00:02:38]:
Or— A lot of people assume that because that's what you do. But no, I started out as a business owner. Okay. Learning the business. Learning to be a technician, learning about customer service all at the same time, all from day one.
Mike Allen [00:02:52]:
Holy cow.
Nate Winston [00:02:53]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:02:55]:
Any history in entrepreneurship or business ownership or anything like that?
Nate Winston [00:02:59]:
No history before that. That was back in 2008. There was no history on entrepreneurship or anything before that.
Mike Allen [00:03:07]:
How? What the hell, man? Did you just wake up one morning like, you know what? I want to be stressed out. I want my cholesterol to be high. I want my mental health to be a challenge. I'm going to get into the automotive repair business.
Nate Winston [00:03:22]:
You could say that, but no, it didn't work out like that, no.
Mike Allen [00:03:26]:
Okay, so tell me, if you don't mind, tell me that story.
Nate Winston [00:03:29]:
Yeah, so I started tinkering with my own vehicles, or my own car that I had back then was a 1996 Chevy Cavalier. Remember those? I do. So had that and tinkering with it, fix up little things on it, and I did really well with it, fixed an alternator on my own. That was very, I was very proud of myself on it. So I thought I'd love to get into business, get into business ownership with a friend of mine that we worked together in a factory. And we had an idea to fix cars, thought we'd be rich and make lots of money doing it. This is going to be a great path for our careers and let's do it, you know.
Mike Allen [00:04:12]:
A lot of us are stupid when we're young.
Nate Winston [00:04:15]:
Yeah, definitely.
Mike Allen [00:04:17]:
Was this like a, like a union factory job in Ohio?
Nate Winston [00:04:20]:
No. So we worked at a factory building vertical blinds, fashion blinds and things like that. Okay. All right. And that's how we met.
Mike Allen [00:04:27]:
How did you pick automotive? Just because you had been tinkering?
Nate Winston [00:04:30]:
Just because I was tinkering, right? That's it. That's it.
Mike Allen [00:04:33]:
Your buddy was not a technician either?
Nate Winston [00:04:35]:
No, no. He was my foreman at the blind factory at the plastic factory. Yeah, I was a technician.
Mike Allen [00:04:44]:
So just a couple of dudes working in a totally different trade. Yes. You know what, we should open a shop. Neither one of us know how to work on cars, right?
Nate Winston [00:04:53]:
Correct. Yes.
Mike Allen [00:04:53]:
It sounds like a pretty atypical path. So what did that look like? You just went out and started looking for a business to buy, or did you open from the ground up, or how did that work?
Nate Winston [00:05:03]:
Yep, open from ground up. Look around from different cities looking for Um, not so much an existing shop, but just a warehouse space or some kind of shop that's for lease that's empty that we can just move into, build it from ground up.
Mike Allen [00:05:16]:
Okay.
Nate Winston [00:05:17]:
Yep.
Mike Allen [00:05:19]:
And so, I mean, that's like the startup story is I got tired of working for the man. I was the best technician in my shop. I went and opened a shop and I was the service advisor, the owner, the technician.
Nate Winston [00:05:31]:
Yep.
Mike Allen [00:05:32]:
Everything.
Nate Winston [00:05:32]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:05:33]:
You couldn't do that.
Nate Winston [00:05:34]:
No. So, oh gosh, no, no, no.
Mike Allen [00:05:37]:
So I mean, like, what do you just, you don't have any cash flow. How do you go hire people without cash flow?
Nate Winston [00:05:43]:
You don't hire anybody. You just do it on your own. This hiring thing, I don't know what that word means. Holy cow. You figure it out and you just have a little bit of money. You know, it was zero cash flow. You live in the place, you live in the building, you live in the shop and get evicted from your apartments and things like that, from your livelihoods. And you move in and you live there.
Mike Allen [00:06:08]:
Did you both live there?
Nate Winston [00:06:09]:
We did. Yes. Yes.
Mike Allen [00:06:11]:
So this was single men at this point then?
Nate Winston [00:06:14]:
I was single. He was married. He has kids. They were living at home, but he ended up moving into the shop also to live there for a week because the traveling was just too much, too costly, gas and everything like that. So he would spend the week there and then on the weekends, then he would go home and I would still stay there and live there because I was single and I had nobody else, you know?
Mike Allen [00:06:35]:
Yeah.
Nate Winston [00:06:35]:
Wow.
Mike Allen [00:06:36]:
That's, that's hardcore entrepreneurship, man.
Nate Winston [00:06:39]:
Yeah. This was in the summer of 2008. Yes. You're working there for free, 100 hours.
Mike Allen [00:06:45]:
Oh, and it's the 2008 downturn too in Ohio. Oh my God, that's horrible.
Nate Winston [00:06:50]:
And we didn't even know about this whole economic crisis this thing. I learned about that a couple years afterwards.
Mike Allen [00:06:55]:
You're just living through it.
Nate Winston [00:06:58]:
I don't know, it's just cash for clunkers, right? Yeah, why is the government pouring stuff in engines and stuff, you know, and getting them seized up to buy new cars, you Weren't know? us, but we didn't get a paycheck for the first year. Um, just figure things out, you know?
Mike Allen [00:07:14]:
Wow.
Nate Winston [00:07:15]:
Well, I mean, buy little tools here and there from Sears and get your red toolbox and figure out how it works.
Mike Allen [00:07:22]:
So how did you get cars early on?
Nate Winston [00:07:24]:
How did we get cars?
Mike Allen [00:07:28]:
Um, were you like advertising on Craigslist.
Nate Winston [00:07:29]:
Or— No, we did advertising through like your Money Saver magazines that you get in the mail.
Mike Allen [00:07:34]:
Money Mailer.
Nate Winston [00:07:35]:
Yeah, Money Mailer thing. We did that. Um, and that's it. And hope and pray and wait for people to break down and bring them in. That's it.
Mike Allen [00:07:43]:
You know, how long did that business exist? In that capacity?
Nate Winston [00:07:48]:
In that capacity, we were there together for about 15 years. Oh, wow.
Mike Allen [00:07:53]:
So, yep. How long were you living at the shop?
Nate Winston [00:07:58]:
Lived at the shop for about a year, about a year, year or so-ish.
Mike Allen [00:08:01]:
So you gained traction pretty quick and.
Nate Winston [00:08:03]:
Were able to— Then I was able to move out and get my own one-bedroom, two-bedroom apartment down the road.
Mike Allen [00:08:08]:
Okay.
Nate Winston [00:08:08]:
Literally down the road. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. About a mile or so.
Mike Allen [00:08:13]:
So I know that now you're on your own and we can talk about the partnership and how that ended up happening in a little bit. How big did you grow that business? Like where did it end up?
Nate Winston [00:08:25]:
The first one?
Mike Allen [00:08:26]:
Yeah.
Nate Winston [00:08:26]:
Yeah, it grew pretty good. Several thousand customers, everybody knows in the city, joined the Chamber of Commerce, became president of the chamber in the falls for a year. Had a lot of business connections, a lot of great success, a lot of events that went to and it was good. It built up pretty good. I don't know the exact number of customers, but it was well, yeah. Wow. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:08:51]:
Chamber involvement. Obviously, if you became president of the chamber, then you were very involved.
Nate Winston [00:08:55]:
Yes, I was.
Mike Allen [00:08:56]:
I've always believed that organizations like the Chamber of Commerce or, you know, BNI or whatever else, a lot of its worth and value depends on the makeup of that chamber or that BNI chapter.
Nate Winston [00:09:07]:
Yes, it does.
Mike Allen [00:09:08]:
And the level of engagement of its members. Do you think it's a worthwhile effort and time investment for a startup shop owner?
Nate Winston [00:09:20]:
Yeah, maybe not right away because it does cost some money to get membership and everything, but within the first year of business ownership, yes, absolutely. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:09:33]:
In my experience, if just being a member doesn't bring any value. You've got to be a member and go to the events and build relationships and be social and get involved in the community events that they host and that kind of stuff. How much time did you end up investing in that?
Nate Winston [00:09:51]:
Oh gosh, quite a bit of time. We're talking a good, quite a bit of time, a good 20 hours a month roughly on just helping prepare the events, helping prepare the meetings, helping to go to the events. We were booming back in 2018 and '19 when I was I was the president in 2019 and it was hopping. It was moving and grooving. It was really good. But yeah, it was fun.
Mike Allen [00:10:16]:
Are you still involved at this point in groups like that?
Nate Winston [00:10:19]:
Not so much due to COVID. It changed a lot of atmosphere over the past couple of years. And I'm just so busy. I'm just a one-man shop now. So I'm pretty busy with my full main line of work. But no, not so much anymore. And plus I got 4 kids at home too.
Mike Allen [00:10:35]:
Holy cow.
Nate Winston [00:10:36]:
Back then I only had 2, so I was able to be more free with my time.
Mike Allen [00:10:39]:
Yeah. So tell me about how you ended up dissolving your partnership and going into business for yourself.
Nate Winston [00:10:47]:
How did that happen? That was about, want I to say it was about 2 and a half years ago where we just, we, me and my partner, we'd always butt heads all the time, every week, like any other partnership would. That's natural. You know, so, but that just continued to fester and fester and no problems were getting resolved or anything like that. And then therefore, it was the night before Thanksgiving where I just, I just had enough of the laziness in the partnership and not caring for people's cars, not caring for the people. And I just blew up and threw a yellow match and I broke a bunch of things in the shop and said, F this, I'm out, I'm done. I'm getting a loan or I'll figure this crap out and I'm out of here. First of the year, we need to break up. I, I've given him many warnings over the years.
Nate Winston [00:11:35]:
One of these days I'm done. One of these days I'm out of here. It's like, no, you're not. You're going to stay right here. Like, yeah, okay, you're right. Just kind of played it off, you know, as I'm trying to work on my own business plan in my head, you know. So build up enough courage, build up enough cash flow to figure it out. And I finally pulled the trigger and put all my ducks in a row and got out.
Mike Allen [00:11:56]:
What was the format of your partnership, like ownership breakdown, that kind of thing? Can you share that?
Nate Winston [00:12:00]:
A format as far as— were you all 50/50 or— oh yeah, yeah, it was 50/50.
Mike Allen [00:12:04]:
Okay.
Nate Winston [00:12:05]:
It's 50/50, all verbal. That's a big no-no. Yeah. Nothing was written on paper. Nothing. We tried to, and then it would fizzle within the next day or two. Nothing would be his satisfaction. Nothing would be agreed.
Nate Winston [00:12:20]:
Then when it comes time to pay in a lawyer or an accountant or somebody to get everything finalized, it would never move on to that step ever. Never. It just is all verbal.
Mike Allen [00:12:31]:
So you are not the first guest I've had that had a big dream and a partnership and the lack of putting things in writing led to real bad heartburn.
Nate Winston [00:12:42]:
Right. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:12:44]:
Is that— is that— is the first business still in existence?
Nate Winston [00:12:47]:
It is in existence. Yes. Yeah. He was able to jump through some loopholes legally through the IRS and stuff to be able to keep the name. And keep the signage. When I told him we should probably just take the sign down. So you started a different company. I'm starting out my own company.
Nate Winston [00:13:02]:
So it's only right for you to do the exact same thing, to be honest and ethical and stuff. He's like, nope, I'm just going to keep it. And people are going to think you're still here and we're going to roll in business. And that's how it rolled out.
Mike Allen [00:13:13]:
You know, that sucks, man. I'm sorry to hear that.
Nate Winston [00:13:15]:
Yep.
Mike Allen [00:13:16]:
Well, you know, like my, my grandmother used to say, you just wish them all the success and happiness they deserve.
Nate Winston [00:13:22]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:13:22]:
You know?
Nate Winston [00:13:24]:
Yes, I do. do. I I do. Yes.
Mike Allen [00:13:29]:
You know, in relation to that, I had a business partner for several years, and one of the best things that Elite ever taught me in pro service, and the facilitator of my group was Jim Murphy, who you've met before. He's here.
Nate Winston [00:13:47]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:13:50]:
When we were talking about going into partnership, He hammered into my head, he's.
Nate Winston [00:13:55]:
Like.
Mike Allen [00:13:57]:
You have to you have, have to have to have have to an ironclad partnership agreement with an outline of expectations and job descriptions, and you have to have a buy-sell agreement. And the other thing he said is don't ever be 50/50. Somebody's gotta be the boss.
Nate Winston [00:14:15]:
Interesting.
Mike Allen [00:14:16]:
Somebody has to have the deciding vote. And so in our partnership, for the most part, it was 51-49. And then in the original store, it was significantly more unbalanced than that just because it was already preexisting. And so I don't remember the details of what led to the breakup on our end, but it was different communication styles and differing leadership styles. And I'm not even here to say if my style was better than his, right? Because he's got a very successful business now. But I do remember when, when it finally broke, I was actually at a, at a soccer match for my son. And it was probably 4 o'clock in the afternoon. So the shop was still open and running, but middle school you soccer, know, games are at 3:30 or whatever.
Mike Allen [00:15:10]:
And we were on the phone and like it just got— I don't— I have no idea what we were talking about. I don't remember. I don't remember who got angry first. It might have been— hell, it might have been me. I don't know, honestly. But it was, you know what, we need to just call this quits. And it's like, okay, I'll meet you at the shop at 6 o'clock. Does that sound good? And, you know, pulled out the paperwork that was signed in the safe and we had the formula to establish valuation.
Mike Allen [00:15:37]:
We agreed on a number. We agreed on terms and that allowed us to have a clean separation without a lot of pain, a lot of animosity, and allowed him to also go open his own shop. So if my advice, if you were thinking about going into the automotive repair space with a business partner, would be don't be 50/50. Somebody's got to be the boss and have the deciding factor., and that needs to be very clearly understood up front, right? And then the other thing would be to invest the money with the attorneys to have a very clearly defined partnership agreement. And if you, if you're not comfortable on how to do that, then reach out to Elite or reach out to whomever your coaching company of preference is. And if you don't have one, you know, reach out to me and I'll point you in the direction of some. But Obviously I'll point you in the direction of Elite and yeah, and get that. That needs to be part of your startup expense is getting the agreement in place.
Nate Winston [00:16:45]:
Absolutely.
Mike Allen [00:16:46]:
Because nothing strains a friendship and you're like, this is my best friend, this is going to be great. Nothing strains a friendship like being in business together. It's marriage. It's marriage without the sex, man. So, but sometimes you get fucked.
Nate Winston [00:17:01]:
And here we are. Oh, you're— you hit it right on the head. Yeah, absolutely. It's like marriage, you know, and I can't be married to two different people at the same time.
Mike Allen [00:17:11]:
Yeah.
Nate Winston [00:17:12]:
My wife and him. It's one or the other. And I chose my wife and kids for the better of us, you know?
Mike Allen [00:17:17]:
So I wonder, but like, unless there's a huge, like, net worth disparity, a prenup seems kind of weird in a marriage, right? That's exactly what you're doing. You're getting a business prenup.
Nate Winston [00:17:29]:
Yeah, right. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:17:30]:
And even if you both got nothing and you're starting out of a shoebox, right?
Nate Winston [00:17:34]:
Yep.
Mike Allen [00:17:34]:
You still need that in case of of what you build in the future. But I think prenups are kind of frowned upon, right?
Nate Winston [00:17:40]:
They are. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:17:41]:
Prenups almost make it feel like you're planning on failure.
Nate Winston [00:17:44]:
Yes, correct. I hate it. We don't have it. My wife and I don't have it. And it shouldn't be around. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:17:49]:
But at the same time, I think it's reasonable and acceptable to say you have to have a partnership agreement before you go into business with someone.
Nate Winston [00:17:55]:
Yeah, that you need.
Mike Allen [00:17:56]:
I wonder why there's that disparity. Amanda. Don't worry, I don't want to bring up you have better earning potential than I do anyway. I want the alimony.
Nate Winston [00:18:07]:
Um.
Mike Allen [00:18:09]:
So, and a text comes in from my wife. That's weird. Um, so, uh, things fell apart. Yeah, you know, that happens. Uh, and so when did you open your shop?
Nate Winston [00:18:23]:
Uh, so I opened it February 5th of 2024.
Mike Allen [00:18:27]:
So You pulled out of the pandemic, recovered. He's got all the, all the payroll protection plan dollars in his wallet and he's got all the free government money in his wallet.
Nate Winston [00:18:37]:
Yeah, that was a lot of work. Yes.
Mike Allen [00:18:39]:
Yeah. And now you go into business for yourself. What did it look like starting over? Tell me about that.
Nate Winston [00:18:47]:
It looked scary, you know, because I wasn't sure who's going to follow me over. I wasn't sure if I was going to get any business right at the beginning. But I just bought one tool at a time. Don't just go out and buy all kinds of nice new tools all at the same time, you know, and just start slow and build yourself up.
Mike Allen [00:19:05]:
Work up. Same town?
Nate Winston [00:19:07]:
Same town. Yes. I was not going to leave our city. I wasn't going to leave the town or anything like that. I thought about it as angry, as angry as I was, I was going to move. I was going to open up a shop and who knows where. I didn't care where. I just needed to get away from him.
Nate Winston [00:19:19]:
And the toxicity inside the workforce workplace. But this place, miraculously, by God's grace, it came available right down the street from us. You know, lots of— So you're just.
Mike Allen [00:19:31]:
A couple of blocks down the road?
Nate Winston [00:19:32]:
I am, yeah. 1 mile down the road. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:19:35]:
Do you— is your test drive loop— do you turn around in his parking lot?
Nate Winston [00:19:41]:
No, no, no.
Mike Allen [00:19:43]:
14 times a day. Just One hand out the window as you're turning around.
Nate Winston [00:19:49]:
No, no, I'm a bigger man than that.
Mike Allen [00:19:52]:
I'm a petty bitch, so it's okay.
Nate Winston [00:19:55]:
Yes, we can see that.
Mike Allen [00:19:58]:
Hey, it's me, Mike's kid. Want to tell us your wild shop stories? Or maybe you just think my dad's totally wrong. Call us at 704-CONFESS and leave a message. You can tell us we're awesome, or you can tell us we're idiots. We're cool either way. That's 704 Confess. Just don't make it too weird.
Mike Allen [00:20:17]:
So you're a year and a half, 2 years in now?
Nate Winston [00:20:19]:
Yeah, coming up on 2 years, yes.
Mike Allen [00:20:21]:
Okay.
Nate Winston [00:20:21]:
So it could be 2 years.
Mike Allen [00:20:22]:
And you signed up with a coaching organization right out of the gate.
Nate Winston [00:20:26]:
Yep, I got Elite Worldwide. Yep, yep, Elite here.
Mike Allen [00:20:29]:
The best coaching organization in the world. Sorry.
Nate Winston [00:20:35]:
You're fine, yeah, they've been great.
Mike Allen [00:20:37]:
So you came to Ignite last year also, right?
Nate Winston [00:20:40]:
I did, yes.
Mike Allen [00:20:41]:
Was that your first event like that or? You've been coming to like ASTA and stuff like that, right?
Nate Winston [00:20:45]:
Surprisingly, I've never been to ASTA. I have never been to ASTA.
Mike Allen [00:20:49]:
Bro, we got to fix that.
Nate Winston [00:20:50]:
We're trying. I think my wife and I, we talked last night. I think I'll be able to make it this year finally for the first time.
Mike Allen [00:20:56]:
Well, the podcast is buying free tickets for first-time attendee shop owners. Now, not for all of you, right? But when we pass over 20,000 followers and then for each 1,000 thereafter. Buying a ticket. So, so like, follow, and subscribe so that I can give Nate a ticket to ASTA Expo.
Nate Winston [00:21:19]:
Yeah, I've tried to go the last 4 years, but always something came up for whatever reason. But this year looks pretty clear. Okay. So, but yeah, I've gone to Vision. I've gone to Elite Worldwide events a lot in the past as well.
Mike Allen [00:21:31]:
So Vision is not a long drive for you though. It's pretty close by, right?
Nate Winston [00:21:34]:
No, that's a very long drive. I fly for that. That's about a 12, 13-hour drive, and I'm not driving it by myself, so I'll fly.
Mike Allen [00:21:42]:
What do you think my grade was in geography in school?
Nate Winston [00:21:44]:
Um, you look like an A student. Yeah, A+.
Mike Allen [00:21:48]:
I just established that I don't realize that, you know, you're 12 hours from Vision. So, right, um, like, from my shop.
Nate Winston [00:21:55]:
To your place in North Carolina, I'm about an 8-hour drive, so I'll drive to ASCA. That's about my limit.
Mike Allen [00:22:01]:
Awesome.
Nate Winston [00:22:02]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:22:02]:
All right. Well, looking forward to seeing you in Raleigh on the last weekend of September. We're doing the hospitality suite again. It's going to be awesome. So, uh, so it's a good time, dude. So that'll be good. Um, actually next weekend. So all the, all the shit that we bought for the hospitality suite last year is like a bunch of video games and like arcade cabinets and couches and, and, and stuff.
Mike Allen [00:22:24]:
I have a second floor at one of the shops that's just dead space. So we set up a company lounge up there.
Nate Winston [00:22:29]:
Oh, nice.
Mike Allen [00:22:29]:
Poker table, everything else. And, uh, It's like a cigar lounge. But so we're hosting an ASTA social event there next weekend, but that's all getting schlepped back over to the convention center for, for, for this year. So should be a good time.
Nate Winston [00:22:47]:
Okay.
Mike Allen [00:22:50]:
So you, you break out, you got to go start over again on your own. You're still a one-man show?
Nate Winston [00:22:57]:
Yep. So one-man show.
Mike Allen [00:22:58]:
Okay.
Nate Winston [00:22:58]:
No employees.
Mike Allen [00:23:00]:
You're gonna keep it that way?
Nate Winston [00:23:02]:
As of right now, I know our wonderful coach Matt Lofton, he's pressing me to hire somebody, at least do some interviews with people, get your feet wet, keep talking to people. Everybody's telling me I need to hire someone as busy as I am, as much workload as I have. I need to be bringing on people, but I just have a lot of trust issues with employees and that sort of thing. Okay. Um, I need to figure out.
Mike Allen [00:23:28]:
So, but yep, your first hire would it be, I assume, a technician then at that point?
Nate Winston [00:23:33]:
Yeah, like a, like a B-level technician, somebody who can do your brakes, suspension, shocks, and get things done properly.
Mike Allen [00:23:39]:
Have you thought about bringing on a young man or young woman, uh, out of tech school to just kind of bring them up from into that role?
Nate Winston [00:23:45]:
I thought about it. I'd like to in the future at some point. I really desire for that, but a lot of other shops tell me not to do that because I just don't have the time to train them right now. I have very limited, zero time to do that.
Mike Allen [00:23:58]:
Yeah, that's legit. Like, you need to invest time and attention into the development of a young technician. If you're just going to get them and stick them doing lube work, you know, that's why so many of them wash out. Because I mean, where I'm, where I'm at, a lot of the students in the automotive programs don't ever graduate because they're working part-time at a dealership or something else and they get told, You don't need to finish your program. Just come on full time with us and we'll finish your training internally and you can go to OEM training. And, you know, they have good training programs, but then they get pigeonholed into the quick lube and they get stuck doing lube work and GS work for a couple of years and they get mocked and made fun of and yelled at and everything else. And then they, they wash out. So we're seeing a real big issue with that.
Mike Allen [00:24:48]:
Locally. I don't know if that's nationwide or.
Nate Winston [00:24:50]:
Not, but yeah, I don't know. I've never worked in a dealership before, so I have no idea how that works. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:24:55]:
So what does '26 look like for, for Winston Automotive?
Nate Winston [00:24:58]:
Right. Um, same as last year, but do a little bit better. Continue to stay focused on customers, um, get the vehicles done, interview other technicians, um, things like that. And I plan to try to make a huge attempt to hire somebody at some point this year. I don't know when, but we'll see how that goes.
Mike Allen [00:25:19]:
Do you enjoy working on the cars or communicating with the customers more?
Nate Winston [00:25:25]:
Um, I want to say 50/50 on both ends. I really love every aspect of the business of the shop. Um, some customers can be frustrating with their questions and stuff, but cars are frustrating as well. Yeah, we all know how that goes. But yeah, I like both ends really. Okay. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:25:41]:
What's the biggest challenge you're dealing with right now?
Nate Winston [00:25:43]:
I'm trying to manage it all, workflow, just trying to make sure I'd be able to get back to everybody in a timely fashion. That's the hardest right now.
Mike Allen [00:25:53]:
Well, so I mean, it's an instant gratification society we live in, right? So it is, everybody wants their vehicle back 5 minutes ago.
Nate Winston [00:26:00]:
Yep. And I think like that too. I think like, hey, they dropped it off, they want it back right now, they want it back today. So I'm always constantly in a hurry trying to get it done as quickly as I can, you know.
Mike Allen [00:26:11]:
So you're not taking on a lot of big heavy work, or is it?
Nate Winston [00:26:13]:
No, this year I'm done doing engine work, transmission work. I don't do that anyways, but this year I'm done doing engine replacements. So that just takes up way too much time. I gotcha. Yep.
Mike Allen [00:26:24]:
Focus on the low-hanging fruit and the gravy work.
Nate Winston [00:26:28]:
That's it. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:26:29]:
What software are you using?
Nate Winston [00:26:31]:
Wonderful TechMetric. Oh, yes.
Mike Allen [00:26:34]:
That seems like a wonderful segue into a message from one of my partners. So let's call it what it is. If you're going to step away from the shop, it better be worth it, period. Especially in a one-man operation, you've got to have a tremendous value to step away from the shop. Tectonic 2026 is designed for that reality. It's role-based sessions, hands-on workshops, and conversations with people who actually understand what it takes to keep a shop profitable and a team sane. I like that it doesn't pretend that we need, we all need the same thing, right? Owners, advisors, technicians, unless you're Nate where you're all of those things. But we don't have the same headaches.
Mike Allen [00:27:17]:
You're not wasting time sitting through sessions that you don't apply to your day-to-day life. We don't need technicians in keynotes that don't apply. We don't need owners in, in technical classes that don't apply to what they do every day, right? You should leave with a clearer idea of what to fix first, what to tighten up, and what you should stop chasing. That's one of the biggest things you can gain from events like this is learning what you don't need to be burning time on. Presented by TechMetric, Tectonic is happening April 9th through 11th in Houston. Tickets are on sale now. My listeners actually get $500 off standard pricing with code Confessions500. So go to techmetric.com /tectonic.
Mike Allen [00:28:00]:
That's T-E-K-T-O-N-I-C. Or tap the link in the show notes.
Nate Winston [00:28:05]:
Wow, that was wonderful.
Mike Allen [00:28:06]:
I got to learn. I see, you know, did such a good job. I'm not used to doing live reads, and I'm, I'm trying to get better at it. So you see these people on, on, uh, TV that are doing live reads, and it's just so smooth and easy.
Nate Winston [00:28:18]:
Yeah, I don't, I don't got it yet.
Mike Allen [00:28:21]:
I just need reps, man. Just got to get reps. So I am excited about Tectonic, though. It looks like it's going to be fun. Yeah. Although I'm not sure what kind of vibe they're trying to put out there. I was looking at what to expect and they've got an IV rehydration bar there so you can go in and get an IV the next morning so you're fresh as and right as rain. So maybe it does sound like my kind of conference.
Nate Winston [00:28:44]:
So yeah, you'll fit right in.
Mike Allen [00:28:48]:
You know, ironically, I have learned that I think I'm going to stop consuming alcohol at these events when I'm working for the podcast because I'm not exactly like my A-game is already C-game, right? So you throw in a little bit of a salty hangover and it's really weak, weak sauce. So yeah, whereas the episodes that we record when I'm sitting at my house and it's in the I'm evening, going to continue to drink That's fine. whiskey. You're at home.
Nate Winston [00:29:16]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:29:17]:
Yeah. Just get a little more wobbly by the late in the episode.
Nate Winston [00:29:20]:
That's okay.
Mike Allen [00:29:22]:
So anything specific that you're hoping to gain at Ignite this year?
Nate Winston [00:29:26]:
Just more friendships, more networking, more shop ownership insight. That's it really, you know, just try to continue to grow, sit in on classes and just get my face out there and keep meeting new people, you know.
Mike Allen [00:29:40]:
Any of the vendors that you're specifically interested in meeting or learning more about?
Nate Winston [00:29:46]:
Nothing specific, no.
Mike Allen [00:29:48]:
That we've got. Like, I'm planning on talking to Rilla, who I actually have signed up for but haven't implemented yet. So I got to— yeah. And Promotive, I've just signed up with.
Nate Winston [00:30:02]:
Oh, okay.
Mike Allen [00:30:04]:
And so getting to know more of their team really effectively. There's a whole list of them out there. ARS Loaners out there. I just want to check in with them. I've been using them for years and love them. So Um, that's one of the, you know, besides the networking and the relationship building with other shop owners around the country, which is a huge valuable asset, um, having a chance for a couple of days to build rapport with these different vendors and really figure out the people that are behind the brands and see if it's somebody that you want to do business with. There's a lot of value in that too.
Nate Winston [00:30:36]:
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Mike Allen [00:30:38]:
Actually, Ash Kaplan was in here earlier. She, I recorded with her at SEMA and she was with her former employer at the time and they had a partnership that wasn't in writing. Oh, right. One of those deals. And she has since gone out on her own and opened a new business. So I'm going to be recording with her. So I'm interested to learn more about that.
Nate Winston [00:31:01]:
Yeah, there you go. That's great.
Mike Allen [00:31:02]:
There's just lots of good connections to make and further. So yeah, that's what it's about. Well, cool. Nate, surely there is one other thing that we do on this, uh, on this show. Uh, it is Confessions of a Shop Owner, where you confess disasters. Doesn't have to be a disaster, it can be a mild annoyance. And I should have given you some prep time to think about something. I just dropped it right in your lap.
Mike Allen [00:31:25]:
Nothing. Everything runs perfect at my business.
Nate Winston [00:31:29]:
Yeah, right.
Mike Allen [00:31:30]:
So, uh, well, if you do want to, um throw some hand grenades into the workflow, I can recommend, you know, free diag, bring it in right now no matter how busy you are.
Nate Winston [00:31:40]:
Okay.
Mike Allen [00:31:41]:
Cheap oil changes.
Nate Winston [00:31:42]:
Okay.
Mike Allen [00:31:43]:
All great methods to build stress.
Nate Winston [00:31:47]:
I've been, I've been studying that free diag thing that you're doing. So I'm thinking of implementing that this year.
Mike Allen [00:31:55]:
So I feel like there might have been some sarcasm there, but if you, you know, just call me, just call me if you ever want to make poor choices.
Nate Winston [00:32:01]:
A little bit.
Mike Allen [00:32:02]:
Follow me for more advice on how to have scalable mediocrity.
Nate Winston [00:32:07]:
That's good.
Mike Allen [00:32:08]:
Thanks, dude.
Nate Winston [00:32:09]:
Yes.
Mike Allen [00:32:09]:
Thanks for listening to Confessions of a Shop Owner, where we lay it all out— the good, 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? 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@confessionsofashopowner.com or call and leave a message. The number is 704-CONFESS. That's 704-266-3377. 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.
Nate Winston [00:33:05]:
You know I said Jess. You know I said Jess.