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The Gearbox Podcast brings on industry professionals to explore the day-to-day operations of owning and operating a shop. From common frustrations to industry-wide shifts, this podcast covers it with fun and insightful conversations.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:13]:
Welcome to the Gearbox podcast, where we dive deep into the dynamic world of automotive repair and ownership. I'm your host, Jimmy Purdy. An experienced technician turned shop owner with a passion for sharing insights, stories and conversations with industry leaders. This is the gearbox podcast.
Nick Valentine [00:00:33]:
So, what are you talking about now?
Travis Smith [00:00:36]:
Yes.
Nick Valentine [00:00:36]:
Social anxiety.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:37]:
Life. Oh, life. Love and the pursuit of happiness.
Nick Valentine [00:00:41]:
Oh, well, I'm out.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:42]:
None of that, huh?
Nick Valentine [00:00:43]:
That's all the facade, man.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:47]:
You know, build badass cars. You know, living the dream. Yeah, isn't that what you guys do?
Nick Valentine [00:00:51]:
Like, tv shows? Right? I'll do five minutes.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:54]:
Yeah, basically what it is, right?
Nick Valentine [00:00:56]:
Yeah, super easy.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:58]:
Just throw it together real quick.
Nick Valentine [00:00:59]:
Dramatic about it.
Travis Smith [00:01:01]:
They just don't show you all the nightmares that you deal with on a daily basis.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:06]:
Why would they do that? Yeah, that doesn't make any damn good sense. Well, thanks. Thanks for coming in, and say the least.
Nick Valentine [00:01:14]:
Yeah, thanks for inviting us. You may regret it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:18]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:01:18]:
Okay.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:19]:
We started a while ago.
Nick Valentine [00:01:21]:
Oh, no.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:22]:
Yeah, I was hoping to catch something.
Nick Valentine [00:01:23]:
Got some good b roll on there.
Travis Smith [00:01:24]:
Yeah, good shit.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:27]:
Let's see how the sound comes out. I gotta keep adjusting it to try to. It's like, two guys and one mic. I don't know. I mean, we'll see how good.
Nick Valentine [00:01:35]:
We're kind of used to it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:38]:
So, I think you know each other, right?
Nick Valentine [00:01:40]:
A little bit.
Travis Smith [00:01:40]:
For too long.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:42]:
So, who wants to do the introduction?
Travis Smith [00:01:45]:
How about Nick? I've been here already.
Nick Valentine [00:01:47]:
Okay. What you got? Questions?
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:55]:
Good point. So we got Travis, and he's been in before, but, yeah. Got Nick coming up from Grover beach.
Nick Valentine [00:02:00]:
Yeah, Grove Beach.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:02]:
Nick Valentine, right?
Nick Valentine [00:02:03]:
Yes, sir.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:03]:
Okay, perfect. I don't want to screw it up. That's all. Trying to give you the opportunity.
Nick Valentine [00:02:08]:
Just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:09]:
I'm just not good at introductions. You know, I forget people's names.
Nick Valentine [00:02:12]:
Happens.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:12]:
I mean, I remember them until I got to, like, talk to him, and then I forget.
Nick Valentine [00:02:15]:
Or if you see the card, that's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:17]:
That.
Travis Smith [00:02:17]:
No, yeah, I definitely remember the cars over.
Nick Valentine [00:02:20]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:02:20]:
Or people's names.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:21]:
Isn't that crazy?
Travis Smith [00:02:22]:
Yeah. Even. Even my phone. 69 Camaro. You know, I know the guy. I don't know his name, but I know your car, dude.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:29]:
Yeah, I know who you are. Yeah, I don't know who you are.
Travis Smith [00:02:31]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:34]:
So you guys are one in the same, right?
Travis Smith [00:02:37]:
To a point, yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:38]:
Okay. So what, Nick, what's your specialty? What? Well, what do you like to do?
Nick Valentine [00:02:45]:
I like to mainly do most metal work. Tube work or sheet metal, which we've kind of gotten away from. Just kind of stay busy and keep it interesting, but any of the metal work and then a lot of, like, the resto mod stuff.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:00]:
Okay.
Nick Valentine [00:03:02]:
Kind of keeps an interesting and fun and changes it up a bit.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:06]:
Ls swaps for the layman's terms.
Nick Valentine [00:03:09]:
Yeah. That are getting some lt stuff nowadays.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:13]:
How do you guys like doing the lt stuff?
Nick Valentine [00:03:16]:
Starting the first one soon, but.
Travis Smith [00:03:18]:
Oh, yeah, I've done one yet.
Nick Valentine [00:03:19]:
It's kind of same. Same setup, just a lot more stuff involved. Yeah. Ls stuff is nice. Just cam swaps. Everything's easier. Easier to find parts, tuning. Lt is a little trickier, but on.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:32]:
The repair side, the. Lt is just a nightmare to deal with.
Nick Valentine [00:03:35]:
Yeah. I think because, like, so comfortable. Ls's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:39]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:03:39]:
You like, you're kind of starting over in another way. So once you come through with them and do a bunch of them, then it's. It'll be normal.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:45]:
But I think. I think the interesting part is dealing with the clients.
Nick Valentine [00:03:50]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:51]:
Right.
Travis Smith [00:03:51]:
I'm guessing.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:53]:
I mean, that's what people. That's what people want to hear. How do you deal with that? You know, like, unreasonable expectations. Right. Like, that's something I think in everybody in the industry has to deal with. Like, I want to fix. I want to fix now, and I want to fix for cheap. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:10]:
But it's like you're building something like no one needs. Right. And how much your work would consist of just doing repairs versus just building something.
Nick Valentine [00:04:19]:
It's mainly building. And then repairs are hit or miss. I mean, I can go through seasons where it's like sandcar season. You do a lot of, like, preps and repairs, which those are kind of fun, quick, easy, but so it'd be.
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:31]:
Like the bread and butter because you got to have something that's like keeping constant revenue coming in versus just knowing what's going to.
Nick Valentine [00:04:36]:
A few things you just are used to. Each car has their own little quirks, right? You know, this year's car has this issue, and you start address and make it better next year. But, yeah, a couple, three days on them, they're gone. They're not like the six month full build frame off ones where people change their minds 800,000 times. Yeah, the quickie ones are fun because, like, people come in the cool stories, even they break your yard sale it. Like, they're usually laughing, having a time. You're not doing general auto repair. Like, they're almost proudly destroyed it, and they have a funny ass story to tell you with it, and then they're back out hammering on it again.
Travis Smith [00:05:07]:
Yeah, they want to spend the money to fix it because they want to go do the same thing the next weekend.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:11]:
Yeah, so you would think so.
Nick Valentine [00:05:14]:
I mean, somehow they're pledges. As sick as we are.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:19]:
There to actually help them. I mean, through the process, it's. It just. It's just so. It blows my mind because it's like the small amount that I work with is like, I don't want. There's no way I could, like, build a business base around that stuff. It's like, it's so hard to try to get people, for one, to stay on the same page. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:37]:
And, like, not change their mind, like, and then understand the amount of work that goes into it.
Nick Valentine [00:05:43]:
Yeah. The wasted conversations on trying to reel people back into their expectations of their budget is. That's a whole other job in itself, it seems.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:52]:
Yeah, yeah, it's the budget alone, honestly.
Travis Smith [00:05:56]:
You know, it's like what we do, it's more of a. It's a hobby. You know, like we talked about before, you. You guys need your transmission work or whatever repair you're doing to keep your cars driving throughout the day. You know, you have your kind of hot rods side of the business, but, you know, it's everyone's everyday car here.
Jimmy Purdy [00:06:18]:
Yeah, it's not a full build either. Like, no, by no means. I want to go through and, like, every aspect of the vehicle, and it's like, how do you even explain that to a client when they're like, what do you mean? It's, you know, $100,000. Well, why do you even want this done then?
Nick Valentine [00:06:33]:
It's all about idea. But it makes them happy.
Travis Smith [00:06:36]:
So as long as it makes you happy.
Jimmy Purdy [00:06:38]:
So why. Why, in your opinion, is it a bad idea?
Nick Valentine [00:06:43]:
I mean, you're just buying, like, happiness, but it's all temporary, I guess. It's fun. We do it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:06:49]:
That's an interesting way to put it.
Nick Valentine [00:06:51]:
People come to you because they have to the cart, they gotta make money. They have to, like, get by, pick the kids up, do whatever they're doing. We don't. What we're doing is just nonsense. It's fun. I mean, we dive into it, too. So I don't really have, like, a real reason because it's some sickness, I guess.
Travis Smith [00:07:04]:
Yeah, we go down the rabbit hole, too.
Jimmy Purdy [00:07:06]:
Yeah. It's a disease that we all have in the industry, for sure.
Travis Smith [00:07:09]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:07:09]:
I mean, I guess it's. Yeah, it's your.
Travis Smith [00:07:10]:
You have your own cars, too, so you understand. Yeah. Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:07:13]:
You're in the same boat. You're not free and clear of this whole thing?
Jimmy Purdy [00:07:16]:
No, no, not at all. No, by no means am I, like, cured of this disease, but, yeah, it's just an interesting thing to try to manage that, too. Like, when you got someone coming in with unreasonable expectations, you want this, that, and the other thing. And, like, you're trying to make money, but you're kind of halfway talking them out of it. Kind of. Right. Like, I don't know, it's. It's like a whole different ball of wax.
Jimmy Purdy [00:07:36]:
I mean, it's the fun as a hobby. Like, if you got. No, it's not really fun as a hobby, is it?
Travis Smith [00:07:40]:
No, it was fun before we made it as a business.
Nick Valentine [00:07:42]:
Yeah, sure. You get certain customers that are fun because they're like, they're very transparent about their budget and their goals and expectations, and then the good ones come to you and they're like, this is my budget, but do your thing. And they just kind of give you, like, their overall. And we usually, we ask for budgets, but, like, a lot of people take it a negative way where it's like, how much can try weasel a lot of them. It's like, no, we want to know your full budget to make sure we get you the best options. Or if it's, like, not within, like, the realm of what we want to do, dial it back where you still get the end result that you're back on the road, driving, having fun. It may not be as crazy or wild as your expectations are, but you get everything done, and it still is very useful.
Travis Smith [00:08:19]:
Yeah. Within the means of your budget, for sure.
Jimmy Purdy [00:08:25]:
What's the ideal client then that has.
Nick Valentine [00:08:29]:
A good end result on what they want. Like, either they bring you vehicle, you source it for them. Doesn't really matter there which way, but that has. That tells you their goals with it. You know, if they want something, they want to take their kids camping, tow with it, and do some off roading and then kind of wheel and be crazy. Or just let you just run with, like, a vague idea or references.
Jimmy Purdy [00:08:50]:
Just like a solid vision.
Nick Valentine [00:08:52]:
Yeah. That understands. Like, it costs money to do it. Parts are expensive, and they see the total cost. It's not like we're getting all that profit. There's parts, and especially nowadays are ridiculous. Then lead times are making it worse and you're storing stuff and, like, kind of figuring all that into it. You store something for six months to do a week's worth of work.
Jimmy Purdy [00:09:08]:
Right.
Nick Valentine [00:09:09]:
So it's like, that's kind of all wrapped into, you know, your budget, timelines and everything.
Jimmy Purdy [00:09:14]:
Yeah, I mean, that. That dives into the next part of, like, how to find people to help you do that stuff too, because I just, like.
Travis Smith [00:09:23]:
You just don't. You just don't.
Jimmy Purdy [00:09:27]:
But. Right. I mean, that's like the part of the aspect of the business for everybody that's like, okay, so how. That all sounds good, but then you throw like, someone into that equation and you have to get them paid and if, like, get them through the process. But you're like a whole different level of technical ability that you're looking for. How does that even.
Travis Smith [00:09:44]:
And it's hard to find. You know, I. Over the years, I've searched and searched to find good guys and it's just. It hasn't happened, you know? Luckily for Nick, he has a solid guy that he's had for what?
Nick Valentine [00:09:55]:
Seven? Yeah, yeah. Just definitely an oddball of the to try to find. Kind of have to be able to do everything for what we do. Like, from light mechanic work to cut grain weld and do some shitty tearing stuff apart and get filthy and not cry about it and then show up next day and be like, doing it all again. Yeah, we tried some kids, like, right out of school that went, again. Industry. Just not best case scenario, trying to train kids and like, be tough. You got to kind of find something that has the same drive, same mindset.
Nick Valentine [00:10:25]:
So I've been fortunate to have a dude for. Yeah, long time that's been straight up.
Jimmy Purdy [00:10:29]:
We talked about, I think a couple days ago I was talking somebody about, well, I'm working with the high school, right? So with the industry automotive partner at the high school. So we were just at dinner with Miss Boswell, the teacher over there. And we got the alignment rack in now. So we're talking about bringing the kids in and having hunter come do a training and have them all show up and we'll do like a whole training of the kids and everything. Cool. Rad. But he's asking so if we wanted to send an intern, what is it that we should teach them? Like, what do you mean?
Travis Smith [00:10:59]:
Life skills?
Jimmy Purdy [00:11:01]:
I mean, exactly. Dude, you freaking nailed it. That's it. Like, the psychology of like, of like, being in this industry is like so far more important than like, any mechanical ability. Like, oh, I can weld. Like, dude, you. That's.
Travis Smith [00:11:14]:
There's everyone else in there together.
Jimmy Purdy [00:11:15]:
Like, yeah, yeah, mechanically, but that's not even about, like, like you said, bringing up the mindset of, like, go get your ass kicked it. But show up tomorrow at 730 with a smile. With a smile. Ready to do it again. And I think that's lost, right?
Nick Valentine [00:11:28]:
Because that's hard.
Jimmy Purdy [00:11:29]:
We're all stressed. Like, even though it's our shops and our businesses. Like, yeah, we're stressed. We just don't outwardly show it. Maybe you do some days.
Travis Smith [00:11:37]:
Some days, yeah, last week for sure.
Nick Valentine [00:11:41]:
We've heard days we pop off, like.
Travis Smith [00:11:44]:
But, yeah, no, yeah, the stress is always there. I mean, running a business, I mean, right? Becomes.
Jimmy Purdy [00:11:49]:
And so it's nice to have someone that has a positive attitude. Right? And it's not expected, but it's like, if you give them a paycheck, you kind of expect them to have. You know, it's like, dude, you're not handling half the shit I'm dealing with, but they have their own shit they are dealing with. So it's like, there's empathy. But also, you're trying to, like, find that line of, like, man, I want to be, you know, I want you to be positive, so we could all be positive, but I'm the leader, so I got to be positive. But, like, dude, it's not always possible, though. No, it's not. It's not.
Jimmy Purdy [00:12:14]:
And you have your bad days. But it was just interesting question because it's like, what. What should the interns to be learning to get an internship? And it's like, I couldn't even imagine on the custom car side, like, and that's where all the kids want to be, right? I mean, right? That's. That's what they. They just see the end product, and they're like, I want to do that. That's cool. That looks like a cool culture. That looks like a cool time.
Jimmy Purdy [00:12:33]:
Like, everything about it. And I don't blame them.
Travis Smith [00:12:36]:
No.
Nick Valentine [00:12:36]:
Yeah, we got interface. To me. It looks fun.
Travis Smith [00:12:38]:
No?
Nick Valentine [00:12:39]:
Yeah, but.
Travis Smith [00:12:39]:
But then again, we grew up around all this stuff, too, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:12:43]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:12:43]:
Like, a lot of these kids didn't grow up around it, but they see it on tv and see the cars around town. They want to. Want to be a part of it, but they know nothing about it. And it's hard to get started that way. You know, it's. We grew up fucking little kids wrenching on shit, dirt bikes, whatever we can get our hands on and then kind of learn that way.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:04]:
So what would be an answer to that question on your aspect of, like, finding somebody? Right. Like, and it's hard because you're probably hard on them. When they come in, it's like, you're nowhere near, but how much is that? It's like, how much does. That is like, of that. Like, of, like, not even wanting to deal with it and having poor leadership or, like, just the fact of, like, this isn't gonna work because you're my. You're not even close to where we need you to be. You know what I'm saying? Like, there's a lot that goes into that. Like, even just doing oil changes and brake jobs, but then it's like, you want them to paint a hundred thousand dollar car.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:37]:
Like, that's not even, like, within the realm of possibilities for the next ten to 15 years. Like, well, it's just.
Travis Smith [00:13:43]:
It's just putting in the work, honestly, you know? Like, I wasn't good 1516 years ago. You know, you still learn every day, but it's just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:54]:
I don't know.
Travis Smith [00:13:55]:
That's why I don't have anyone anymore.
Nick Valentine [00:13:58]:
It's too hard.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:58]:
It's a tough question, man. It's just.
Travis Smith [00:14:01]:
It's. This day and age is so hard. No one wants to work anymore. No one wants to work hard. They don't want to get dirty.
Jimmy Purdy [00:14:08]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:14:08]:
You know, everyone wants to sit on a computer and just make, you know, $100,000 a year. I mean, cool. Me too. You know, but come on, dude, it's a. It's the real world.
Jimmy Purdy [00:14:18]:
Yeah. You know, it's the biggest problem with absolutely no solution. The biggest problem is trying to find people. Right. But there's acts. There's no active solution to, like, fix it. Like, how do we. So we want kids in the industry.
Jimmy Purdy [00:14:31]:
We want these young, young generation to get interested in it. But what are we actively doing to actually get them in the door and be motivated? Not, hey, I'll give you a job. Why don't you go sweep up all those metal shavings? Go sweep up the floors. And when you're done with that, grab them off. When you're done with that, wipe all the racks down. It's like, nobody wants to do that. Who the hell wants to go to an auto shop and, like, go fucking clean the floors? Like, nobody wants to do that. You know? So it's just, there's no.
Jimmy Purdy [00:14:56]:
There's no answer to that. And I think that's part of the problem with it when you're dealing with, like, the technician shortage or, like, the tech, the lack of skilled people in the industry. Right. Well, what are we doing to actively participate? Cause we are. I mean, we're it, right? Like, us sitting in this room right now, we're the future. Like, this is scary, honestly. Yeah. And it's like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:15:15]:
But without us having the solution, we're just contributing to the problem. In a way, you know, a lot.
Nick Valentine [00:15:20]:
Of it, too, is like, I think Travis the same as I am. Like, we learned messing up on our own. We didn't screw up on someone else's dime for x amount of years. Like, once you finally figured it out, it's like, okay, other people want you to fix your stuff because yours isn't as broken as theirs. We're like kids nowadays. They don't want to try and destroy their own crap. It's like, cool. We broke a lot of our stuff to try, like, figure out what to do right verse wrong.
Nick Valentine [00:15:39]:
And not just like sitting behind a book or a teacher. It's like you kind of to learn by just screwing some stuff up and figure out, like, don't do that every again. But yeah, no one knows, like, learn on their own anymore. They're kind of. Do you think self motivation, think a.
Jimmy Purdy [00:15:52]:
Lot are, like, scared to make a mistake because of the Internet? Like, oh, for sure.
Nick Valentine [00:15:57]:
Like, post a picture of some crappy work. It's like every. Just, like, talking crap nowadays. Like, I get it, like, a little bit. Is there gonna be an industry regardless? But, like, yeah, I think it just puts a bit of a wedge. And they don't want to try anymore. They just get like, rain, not just crap, but it's like, that's just part of it. You gotta toughen up and it sucks, but take the criticism and do better next time.
Nick Valentine [00:16:17]:
And we've all been there, like, yeah, I've done plenty of stuff where it's like, I even looked at like, that's terrible. What was that? You throw the trash, you're like, tomorrow's another day. That's a write off. Whatever, but I won't do that again.
Jimmy Purdy [00:16:26]:
Don't let anybody see it.
Nick Valentine [00:16:27]:
Yeah, it's one day better than you were.
Jimmy Purdy [00:16:29]:
You just constantly grow, I think, too. I mean, moving as the generations evolve. I think that is the most critical part of it, though. Like, having someone bash you online or, like, posting that stuff, it's so raw and I think there's a lot of value in it. And who cares what, like, some people say online, like, you know, like, at the end of the day, like, really.
Travis Smith [00:16:48]:
You can't just take it. You can't, like, you can't take it. The harder, you know, honestly, it's just.
Nick Valentine [00:16:53]:
It's just some other weeble behind a keyboard. They're probably doing worse than you are.
Travis Smith [00:16:56]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:16:57]:
Yeah, they usually are, right? Like, no one doing better than you ever talks bad about anybody.
Nick Valentine [00:17:01]:
Like, every customer I have that's doing big things. They very rarely run their mouth on someone else.
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:07]:
Right.
Nick Valentine [00:17:07]:
Like, they're doing their thing. They're in their lane. They're just growing, staying there. People that suck are usually like, well, a lot of biggest ones run their mouth.
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:13]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:17:14]:
You know, and, like, people that are running a business and trying to do good for themselves, they don't have time to go bash people, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:20]:
Right.
Travis Smith [00:17:21]:
It's the people that don't have a lot going on.
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:23]:
Well, like I said, in this room right now, like, we're not on Facebook looking for bad shit right now.
Travis Smith [00:17:27]:
Exactly.
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:27]:
Yeah. We're actively talking about how to make it better. Right. Like, and not caring about what other people say or do. But I just think there's a lot of value in just, like, showing other people that it's okay to make a mistake. But I think that's a big learning thing for me right now is like, being, you know, an owner and a leader and, like, trying to make sure that our work that comes out of the shops absolutely perfect every single time. It's like you gotta sacrifice a little bit of that quality to try to help evolve the next generation. And it's really hard because you don't want to.
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:56]:
Your name's on it. Right. Like, my name, I don't want. I don't want stuff leaving, having to make a phone call, like, hey, can you bring that back in? Because I think we forgot this or. But it's going to happen. And the only way I can, like, get people, guys trained or girls trained is like, to have them make those mistakes and it's got to be on my dime. I don't know how else to do, you know, because it's. Without it, they're just going to go to a different industry or they'll find somebody else to work for.
Jimmy Purdy [00:18:23]:
I don't know. The big thing about the technician shortage, I think it's just that they're just so scared of working somewhere, making a mistake getting fired or make a mistake getting belittled. Right. And, like, I don't know, it's.
Travis Smith [00:18:36]:
Yeah, I mean, if it's constant mistake after mistake, like, cool, like, gotta do something about it, but, you know, no one's perfect, right? Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:18:46]:
Just own up to it, move on, take the lesson.
Travis Smith [00:18:48]:
As long as you learn from it, that's the biggest thing.
Jimmy Purdy [00:18:50]:
Yeah. I think the mistakes, like, in your guys side of the industry is, like, so much more catastrophic. It feels like, can be, you know what I mean? Like, it's a little more costlier than, like, having a vehicle towed back and have to redo a pan gasket or something like that.
Travis Smith [00:19:04]:
Right?
Jimmy Purdy [00:19:04]:
Like, so, I mean, and then, of course, like, warranty stuff and forgetting something pretty critical. I mean, there's just no rulebook, right. Like, you have to be involved with every aspect of that build to know what's done. Right. Because there's no, like, flowchart. There's no, like.
Nick Valentine [00:19:20]:
Yeah. And then some of our stuff, you can't test drive. So you do all these repairs and you're like, there's no test drive. It has, you know, it's a 2000 hp sand car with pad paddle tires on it. You're like, I hope this works. Yeah. Good luck, man. We did our best.
Nick Valentine [00:19:34]:
We don't ever test those cars. So you're really relying on just like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:19:38]:
That's like, with boat repair too. Yeah, for the most part, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:19:41]:
I guess you can go driving all.
Jimmy Purdy [00:19:43]:
The way to the freaking leg. Like, I gotta go to a test drive again.
Nick Valentine [00:19:46]:
Yeah, I just got in the hose pipe. It should be good. Doing 90, though.
Jimmy Purdy [00:19:49]:
Yeah, we'll see. So I heard a little bit about last week. Is there. Is there a story there?
Travis Smith [00:19:57]:
Yeah. What's the story, Nick?
Nick Valentine [00:19:58]:
Oh, just, you know, life. People keeping everything on track. Schedule appointments, people just not owning up to their word.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:07]:
It's a big thing on the client side. Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:20:10]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:11]:
Okay.
Travis Smith [00:20:11]:
You know, just. There's not a lot of respect anymore these days.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:17]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:20:18]:
You know, just like when you tell someone you're gonna do something, just do it. Or just have a courtesy and, you know, call, hey, I can't make it. Just not. Not show up the day of.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:27]:
Right.
Travis Smith [00:20:28]:
You know? So. Because it hurts, you know, it just doesn't hurt us. It hurts Nick's worker. Hurts everything. You know, the flow of all your scheduling gets screwed up.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:39]:
I think. I think that's something we can probably relate to.
Travis Smith [00:20:42]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:42]:
There's no shows.
Travis Smith [00:20:43]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:43]:
I think this year has been probably the worst I've seen.
Travis Smith [00:20:46]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:20:46]:
Everybody's been, like, ever since 24 started, every owns a business. It's just been, like, literally January 1. Like, what the hell is going on with people?
Jimmy Purdy [00:20:54]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:20:55]:
Like, it's not the hard call a couple days in advance. Like, hey, I can't make it. So cool. But it's like the late nights or early morning or weekend drop offs where there are no shows. You're like, I'm here, like, after hours on stupid thing. Like, I don't mind as long as you show up, right. When you're at the shop, you're like, dude, I'm already here, like, plenty. I don't need to be here waiting for you to.
Jimmy Purdy [00:21:12]:
Not for nothing. Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:21:13]:
Like a quick heads up protect. It goes a long way.
Jimmy Purdy [00:21:15]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:21:16]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:21:16]:
The no shows is really strange because over the years, I've evolved the system to, like, do follow up emails, text the night before, and, like, okay, so we're all on the same page here, right? Because like you said, there's other people besides me that are waiting on this. And then you text and you email, then Elvis in the day of nothing. Right. And people get sick. Like, things do happen, but it definitely feels like this year has been a little bit more than. Than what I've seen before. I mean, when you get two or three in a row in a day.
Travis Smith [00:21:44]:
Yeah, that's. It's kind of iffy.
Nick Valentine [00:21:47]:
Yeah. When you start rescheduling a whole week for a bunch of people that need stuff in a rush, no big deal. As long as they all show he's driving three or four in a row, you're like, why'd I rearrange the whole schedule and change everything just to help you out?
Travis Smith [00:21:57]:
Like, and that's it for you not to show up.
Jimmy Purdy [00:21:59]:
That's a totally different aspect because you're looking at something that's going to come in, you're going to have for a month. I mean, I mean, does it show up the next day or just, like, legitimately? You're just like, nope, I got something else, and that's it. Or, I mean, for me, that's like three or 4 hours. So if I get three no shows, that's the whole day for one of the texts. And, like, that sucks, right? Because I really block out two to 3 hours for that car, then figure out what to do. But I'm not, I'm not, like, dead in the water for a week, right?
Nick Valentine [00:22:25]:
Like, is that, like, I keep enough kind of big long term projects where, you know, when the small things come up, it's not a huge deal. We sort of schedule. We're kind of, like, in a mindset and have parts ready, organized to jump back on the bigger projects. And then, you know, somebody needs some last minute, usually not a problem because we have, like, you know, we're gonna have the car for a year, so if we have to pull off for a two or three day job, but then you kind of change gears where you're into shop a little bit to accommodate them, and then no show, you're like, okay, we'll go back to long term project doesn't really hurt the, like, overall income or flow, it just kind of kills you. Like, your driving motivation, like, reset up everything for, you know, the couple people.
Jimmy Purdy [00:23:05]:
The mental aspect. Huh?
Travis Smith [00:23:06]:
Oh, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:23:07]:
And long term ones, like, you kind of like, lay it all out, make a huge mess, you know, where everything is, and then you're gonna be done for a month. You pack it in the car and put all their parts away so you don't start losing them or use them for something else. It's like we just pull that shit away and then we gotta pull it back out to get restart on something for the whole week. So then you start, like, you just go scatterbrained on it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:23:25]:
Yeah, I see a lot of. Yeah, a lot of the mental stuff again.
Nick Valentine [00:23:29]:
Yeah, it doesn't really hurt anything. It's just like a little. You kind of little defeated into the day. You're like, co. We could have just, like, made another day of progress. Thanks, bro.
Jimmy Purdy [00:23:37]:
And then how does that work moving forward with the client? I mean, how many times that happened before you, like, tell them not to come back? That's it. One time. One time. You're done, you're done, you're done.
Travis Smith [00:23:46]:
Don't come back. Lose my number.
Jimmy Purdy [00:23:48]:
You had your chance.
Nick Valentine [00:23:49]:
Yeah, we have some good, like, long term customers. It happens. Like, they're also busy too, like the ones we've had the longest. Usually they own businesses, so I get it. Like, things come up and you just totally space out those ones. They're kind of forever on our books. Doesn't matter. I get it.
Nick Valentine [00:24:03]:
Sympathize with them, because I probably done to them too, but it's just like the random yo yos. It's like, dude, it's like a one and done. Or you have the cancellation fee, you can pay the fee and you're back in the books after that. Like, in the nicest, non, like, egotistical way. We have plenty to do. We don't need your work. We appreciate it, we welcome it, but we'll do fine without your annoyance. Yeah, but if you want to come back, that's cool.
Nick Valentine [00:24:25]:
Like, happy to have it, but sometimes.
Travis Smith [00:24:27]:
It'S usually the people that just no show and just don't give a shit. It's the ones that always, like, penny pinching and want the work done. Like, you know, and it's the people just don't care. They don't care about you, they don't care about the work, they don't care about anything, and they just care about their selves. They're just selfish, you know, so and.
Nick Valentine [00:24:48]:
There'S always the ones that want, like, the late night drop offs. Yeah, keep it on Saturday in the morning to pick it up. It's like, yeah, if you're gonna show, but like, yeah, don't. Don't. Don't start grumbling about your bill. And.
Jimmy Purdy [00:24:57]:
Yeah, it usually goes hand in hand, doesn't it?
Nick Valentine [00:25:00]:
Yeah, they're one of the same.
Jimmy Purdy [00:25:01]:
Yeah, it's the same. It's the same people everywhere. Never.
Nick Valentine [00:25:06]:
Yeah, they just leave my shop with their toy and they'll come here, so, need something done, and they'll grumble at you. It's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:25:10]:
Yeah, all the way around. They got.
Nick Valentine [00:25:12]:
Because they're probably miserable people, but they just possibly.
Travis Smith [00:25:15]:
Yeah, I mean, we're pretty fucking miserable, too, so.
Jimmy Purdy [00:25:18]:
I mean, doesn't help them both in one.
Nick Valentine [00:25:21]:
No, I don't leave her but us alone.
Travis Smith [00:25:24]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:25:25]:
True, true. Yeah, you can peg them pretty easily, but it's tough, too, because you want to, you know, you need. Don't need the work, but it's like, you can't say no to everybody, so you're trying to accommodate and you're like, why am I dealing with this shit right now for. Usually the ones, too, where they, like, take your price and then go shopping around, like, oh, yeah. So how much of that would you get with, like, parts or, like, stuff that you quote as you move in progress? Do you ever have that where you get to a point and, like, a job or, like, a build where they're like, well, I looked up online and. And I found this. Or I found it for this much.
Nick Valentine [00:25:56]:
The razor market, the whole razor market online. That cage is 899. Go buy it. Go get a powder coated. You install it. You waste two days doing that.
Travis Smith [00:26:04]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:26:05]:
That's what my price is. Like, give me a $1,000 more. Because we shuffle, we powder coat, we'll do all this stuff for you. It's like, joan, you know, it's probably gonna cost you more. You're gonna scratch it putting it in your garage. Your wife's not gonna be happy helping you. She's gonna be so pissed. You bought it for a while.
Nick Valentine [00:26:19]:
Cause you didn't tell her, and then she's gonna put it on.
Travis Smith [00:26:22]:
But half the time, they order the shit and it's wrong, you know, and they show up and they bring it to you, and it's all the wrong shit. So it's like, you try to get.
Nick Valentine [00:26:30]:
Away from that or the cheapest version of what you recommended.
Travis Smith [00:26:33]:
It's just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:26:34]:
Yeah, the. What do they call it? The Amazon version or the team. The team move version doesn't fit.
Nick Valentine [00:26:40]:
When it shows up in, like, the straight china boxes, you're like, oh, dude, this is a wrong china, bro.
Jimmy Purdy [00:26:46]:
So with parts, we have our markup. It's part of our. Right. So when I. When I price out a job, I know the labor it needs to be. I know what the parts markup needs to be, and that's what the job costs. This is what it costs to do it. This is what it costs to not do it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:26:58]:
Right? And it's like, it's all the same. And it's like, well, I can go get that part, you know, and can I bring it to you? Like, no. And I tell them straight up, I make money on parts. Bottom line, that's. So if. If I had to not make money on parts, I got up my labor rate. Like, this is all inclusive. Right? So how does that work with parts is everything.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:15]:
It's just strict labor and parts at cost, or.
Travis Smith [00:27:19]:
I mean, I mark everything up 30%.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:22]:
All parts.
Travis Smith [00:27:23]:
Most parts, yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:24]:
Okay. As, like, a standard or is it like.
Travis Smith [00:27:28]:
Yeah, you know, like, yeah, I mean, I don't know what some of my dealer stuff are, but, you know, for the most part, it's all kind of just 30%.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:39]:
Okay.
Travis Smith [00:27:39]:
Like, you got to pay taxes on it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:43]:
Right.
Travis Smith [00:27:43]:
Just kind of just weighs itself out.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:47]:
So the one thing I've always done is, like, a. Like, a parts matrix. Right. So it's like, as the. As the part gets more expensive, the percentage goes down a little bit, and you can kind of adjust accordingly. Right.
Travis Smith [00:27:56]:
Yeah, we don't know what that is, like. Like, whatsoever. Like, well, if it's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:28:02]:
I mean, it's just curious because I don't know how many parts actually are part of, like, the gross sales. Right. Like, is most of it just labor? So, like, you just add a little bit on parts to make your. Your. You know, the slight amount of income, because you got it. Like you said, you gotta shuffle it around. You gotta move it around. You gotta hold.
Jimmy Purdy [00:28:17]:
You gotta make sure it doesn't get scratched. You gotta make sure, you know, typically, when you get something delivered, it's probably not going on the vehicle that day. Right. Like, it's gonna sit around for a little bit. So there's gotta be a little bit of, like, in term management fees. Right? Like, so you gotta. You gotta make a little money on it just because of that aspect. But how much does that actually goes into, like, quoting the job out or, like, is that, like, a majority of, like, what the build would be or the repair.
Travis Smith [00:28:44]:
I mean.
Nick Valentine [00:28:47]:
Yeah, I do mine a bit different. Like we're smaller jobs. There's a percentage, whether it be 15 to 30 ish percent depending on what my kind of deal is too. If I get a bit better deal on them, then I'll try to like work with them.
Travis Smith [00:28:58]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:28:59]:
On the full builds that are, you know, you're gonna have for a year, you know, it's gonna spiral a little bit just going into it. Try to kind of like do a little bit above my cost just so more can go towards labor and they can get more out of it in the end.
Jimmy Purdy [00:29:11]:
I see.
Nick Valentine [00:29:11]:
Or we have some more time. Like when things do go wrong, it's like, okay, cool. That part kind of will float like a little bit of difference in the, you know, what would have been a markup. We can kind of float that into getting stuff done or whatever else for.
Jimmy Purdy [00:29:23]:
So you do more of a cushion on bigger jobs.
Nick Valentine [00:29:26]:
For sure. They're almost my cost or like 5% more. It's pretty minimal. More just storing or shipping costs or whatever else. They're kind of random things that come up that sucks to keep hitting people. Small little charges, you know, a lot of quotes we get too. They just feel forget stuff. So you have to kind of include that in some of them.
Nick Valentine [00:29:41]:
But now job that's like, who would, who would forget? Yeah. Yeah. When you're doing a job that's like, you know, 50 to 80 grand in just parts, add a little on there just for like little hiccups that come along or, you know, we still make mistakes. We. Or the wrong thing. Got to swap it out. Some return shipping kind of goes in there. But yeah, the quick little day to day jobs, they're marked up like there's no way because then you're.
Nick Valentine [00:30:03]:
They usually require more talking. Yeah, more like B's time than the big huge jobs because usually they're coming you. The huge job. They trust you. They know you. They kind of want you to do it. It's a little small jobs.
Travis Smith [00:30:15]:
It just.
Nick Valentine [00:30:16]:
You spend more hours per job to hours on the phone.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:19]:
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:30:20]:
But the big ones, like, yeah, you talk to him for 10 hours overall.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:23]:
But it was in a year.
Travis Smith [00:30:25]:
Yeah, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:30:26]:
Do the same ones and you'll spend 3 hours in the phone for an hour job.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:30]:
Interesting.
Travis Smith [00:30:31]:
Yeah, I'm wasted.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:32]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:30:33]:
So mark their parts up so it kind of comps that and anybody's gonna do the same thing.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:37]:
I see. And it's part like, with, with like your labor rate. I know we talked a little bit about that, too. About, like, changing between, like, paint versus your steel work versus your welding work. Do you just encapsulate it all? Is like, just, I'm gonna have 200 hours. And it's all at this x amount of.
Nick Valentine [00:30:54]:
Yeah, we do that, and then at the end, total up. And if it looks too high, then I'm like, like, if I wouldn't pay it, I'm like, yeah, we'll just dock that a little bit. If we had some bad days, you know, you're there, worked on for 10 hours, be of, you know, 2 hours of progress. It's like, yeah, billing for two. Like, just because you worked over ten, you can't justify it. Like, yeah, a good report, people. And not just ruin it just by, you know, tagging on hours. Just because you're there didn't mean you did.
Travis Smith [00:31:19]:
A good reputation, too, though, you know, people.
Jimmy Purdy [00:31:23]:
Yeah, it's hard to know what's really going on on that aspect. But that's definitely something I probably will debate a little bit on because I don't quite believe that. I think. I think if you want to go.
Travis Smith [00:31:36]:
Run the business in.
Jimmy Purdy [00:31:41]:
No. And I get. I get it. Like, it's emotional discounting. It's a big deal. Like, if something comes in and I got discounting.
Travis Smith [00:31:48]:
Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:31:49]:
It is. It's emotional. Like, I mean, if I do an engine job and it starts racking up, say, 16, $17,000, which we got one right now, right? It's like a zero two f 150. And I'm thinking to myself, dude, I would not, like, I wouldn't pay this, but if I look at the bigger picture. Well, what's the other alternative? You're gonna go buy a $60,000 truck? Like, and at least this one here, the engine's new, it's got a three year warranty, and you can justify the cost, right? Like, if you really think about it, like, it's a decent truck, and now the engine is gonna be new, and everything else is in good shape, so it's not that bad. But if I looked at it as, like, man, I'm spending 17 grand, like, yeah, I'm probably gonna start knocking that price down. But then I start looking at, like, well, wait a second, it's at that price because I've spent all the time to make sure that every hour that we're open, we're getting compensated for. And maybe it sounds like maybe I'm ripping people off that way, but at the end of the day I got to pay all it, you know.
Jimmy Purdy [00:32:38]:
You know, all the costs are going to it. So it's like, how much of that is, like, detrimental? And it's like, then the other side is like, these people don't need these cars that you guys are building either. Like, so, like, charge whatever the hell it takes. Like, this is like, like, if you.
Travis Smith [00:32:52]:
Can'T afford to build a damn thing, just don't come to us, right?
Jimmy Purdy [00:32:55]:
And it's like, I got a soccer mom that needs to take her kids to school, and I'm like, this is like. And she's on a single income, and she's got, you know, she's a single mom with three kids. And I'm like, oh, but I can't. I can't justify emotionally discounting because then that affects everybody else. But I'm like, but, you know, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:33:09]:
Sort of like being empathetic, but not too empathetic. You're like, you can't just point heartstrings every time. I also got themselves that situation. That's not your problem. Don't make it yours. But you're like, you want to go home? Like, I kind of feel like a dick charging the full price, and you're like, could have knocked off a couple hundred bucks. Probably went the world to them. You end the day, probably doesn't matter.
Jimmy Purdy [00:33:27]:
But I think most people didn't even make a difference in the world either, though. Like, yeah, but it does to you. So it's like, on that same kind of token is like, well, that was money that you could have in your back pocket to go buy your new piece of equipment or, like, take, you know, go out to dinner for yourself, but you gave it to them and they're like, never coming back again anyway.
Nick Valentine [00:33:44]:
Yeah, it's a one and done. You're like, what the hell?
Jimmy Purdy [00:33:46]:
Was it really worth it? But, yeah, the emotional discounting is it's huge. And it's like, and I do the same thing on big jobs, you know, that go four or five months in, and it's like, you start looking at the, like, oh, man, did we really spend that kind of, kind of time then? And then you see the guys working and a lot of its research, right? Or they're like, putting something on two or three different times, and it's like, did it, did it really take you 4 hours to, like, mock that up? Like, but how long it would have taken me? Would I have really gotten it in 45 minutes? And I'll use, like, the example of doing, like, a disc brake conversion right? So that's probably something you guys are familiar with. China, right? So you get these, so you get these cheap parts and you go to put them on. They don't quite fit. So you got to mess with a little bit to get it to work, right. And it's like. And all of a sudden it's like, hey, so I've got like 3 hours and it's like 3 hours? You got 3 hours doing a disconversion. What the hell? Like, what are you talking about? Right? Like, how did it take you fucking 3 hours? It's like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:34:40]:
But that's just what it took. And it's like, so how much of that is, like, do you just send to the client? And how much of it do you say? All right, well, I guess I'll just pay out of my pocket his time to fix your car. Or like, even, even worse, give you a disc brake conversion that you don't freaking need. Like, you know what I mean? So it's more a want.
Nick Valentine [00:35:00]:
Yeah, I get the, I get the.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:01]:
Empathy, but it's really tough to like. Yeah, you almost got to stay out of it.
Nick Valentine [00:35:05]:
Yeah, it comes into something like, if it's. If they want to supply the parts, every single minute charge, because when they're junk parts, that's fine. We're making your junk work. But if I pick or I supply it and it's. We have a fitment issue. Yes, it is between, like, me and the manufacturer. But customer, they want on one thing, you're quote on one thing and the parts suck. That's not on them.
Nick Valentine [00:35:25]:
You know, especially if you pick them out, if they're supplied by them, then that's fine.
Travis Smith [00:35:28]:
It's a whole different story. Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:35:30]:
When they supply junk because they don't want to pay for good stuff.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:32]:
But you didn't engineer the parts either, though. So even though you used your best judgment, it's not like you engineered the part. You're not the one that, like, built it, manufactured, engineered all that stuff. So it's like to take that on, on your shoulders. I mean, granted, that's tons of empathy. Like, but at the same time it's like, yo, I got, like, I'm here to make money. Like.
Nick Valentine [00:35:51]:
Yeah, it's a hard toss up. Yeah. There's not really. It's always going to be an opinion. It's never right answer.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:57]:
Right.
Nick Valentine [00:35:57]:
It just kind of is what it says.
Jimmy Purdy [00:36:00]:
But I've heard that a lot with, like, with the custom build site is like they look at after a year, they start the exact same thing you said it. Look at everything. And I'm like, oh, man, that's. That's a little much. You start knocking thousands of dollars off, and it's like, man, that was your. That was your year, though. That was your life. Like, a year of your life going into that thing.
Jimmy Purdy [00:36:17]:
It's like.
Nick Valentine [00:36:18]:
And the longer they're there, the more you do that.
Travis Smith [00:36:21]:
Oh, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:36:21]:
So, like, if it's there for, like, you plan on a year and it starts getting over, you're like, you know, we could have done a little better that month. Like, those, like, slow days, we're like, we were into it. Like, okay, I'll dodge a little bit there, talk it there, and you, like. You just do it. Like, the longer term, if it's two or three day thing, build two or three days straight up, done out the door. But, yeah, you put some good time on them, and, yeah, just kicks in.
Jimmy Purdy [00:36:42]:
So. So if you're. So if you're paying attention, make sure you take a long time to get your car.
Travis Smith [00:36:45]:
Yeah, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:36:46]:
We're not taking any more big projects. Everything's really quick and easy. You hiring for the trainees?
Jimmy Purdy [00:36:53]:
Take. Take your custom one to make sure it takes more than a year, and you get a big discount, which.
Travis Smith [00:36:57]:
Well, the labor did go up, so it kind of justifies for everything.
Jimmy Purdy [00:37:01]:
No, it makes sense. But, yeah, it's tough because I know it's like, the whole adage of, like, the quicker you do a job, the more they should pay for it. Right. Because proficiency. Yeah, expedition. Right. So it's always strange how that works. And so, like, the longer you take, the cheaper it gets.
Jimmy Purdy [00:37:18]:
Like, it's really. It's really weird because it happens a lot, a lot, a lot. And then it's really should be taking everything, and you're adding 20% at the end. You know what I mean? Like, realistically. Right. But how much could you actually do that and still be able to have customers coming in the next day? The big thing. And, like, this side of, like, the service industry, I guess you'd call it, for, you know, the day in, day out vehicles is just upping your labor rate. Well, you're not making enough, then you need to up your labor rate.
Jimmy Purdy [00:37:44]:
You need, you know, 70% on your parts. Then if you're not making up, just continually pushing that envelope, and it's like, well, look, that's all well and good, but people have to pay that bill to have the business be successful. If you don't, if they don't want to pay the bill, it don't matter how much you want to, it doesn't matter how much you estimate these jobs out, they have to say yes to it, right? I mean, how much of that is a problem for you, like, to take on a car? Is that a fear when you're like, oh, quote, well, I want to do this one, you know, I want to do this. Ls swap. I want to do this. Lt swap. I don't want to lose it. So you, do you quote low to get it? Or, like, how does that estimating process work?
Travis Smith [00:38:23]:
I don't anymore. I used to, you know, years ago just to get work. But it's to the point where you built a name up for yourself. So you're kind of constantly busy, you know, and, like, with me, like, I'm not picking and choosing every day what I want to do, but there's a lot of stuff that comes in. I'm like, I just. I just don't want to mess with that anymore, you know? So it's just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:38:48]:
What would be an example that what's a turn off for you? Like, what, what do you try to.
Travis Smith [00:38:52]:
Get away from bodywork, dude, like, crazy. God, man, I'm just tired of it.
Nick Valentine [00:38:57]:
Done a huffing bondo, dude.
Travis Smith [00:38:59]:
It just, I don't know, just, I'm not a fan of the mechanic work whatsoever, you know, like, I'll put a motor in every once in a great while. You know, a small box chevy blows up, I'll throw one in a car. But I don't want to do that every day. You know, I'll do your ls swaps and all that stuff. I like to think outside the box and build something, one off versus buying something and just bolt instead stuff on. So it's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:39:28]:
That sounds like a nightmare to me, I guess. Yeah, I guess where you and I are different, but that just doesn't sound like a good.
Nick Valentine [00:39:35]:
That's where the problem stem from. It's every day is that you're recreating and read.
Jimmy Purdy [00:39:39]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:39:40]:
You're trying to do better, different the day before. We're fierce. Like, swapping a motor. Like, there's a couple ways to plug it in there, but in the end result, it's gonna be the exact same.
Jimmy Purdy [00:39:47]:
Yeah, yeah.
Travis Smith [00:39:47]:
Everything's all relevant.
Nick Valentine [00:39:48]:
Yeah. Bolts up to the same, holes are gonna be tightened. Whatever sequence you do is up to you, but, yeah, there's not as much headache involved in that.
Jimmy Purdy [00:39:54]:
Yeah. The exactness of it is what is.
Nick Valentine [00:39:57]:
What I like, you see, the end is the same. It doesn't matter.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:01]:
My job as a technician is to put it back exactly the way it was when it came in to the point where you can't even tell me.
Nick Valentine [00:40:08]:
The way it came in broke.
Travis Smith [00:40:09]:
But fair point.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:11]:
Fair point. Very good.
Nick Valentine [00:40:13]:
You're not doing a very good job there, but very good.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:15]:
Very good point there. Just the same, if not better. How's that better?
Nick Valentine [00:40:19]:
Hopefully a little bit better than what it shows.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:21]:
This is slightly better.
Nick Valentine [00:40:22]:
You left on a tow truck the exact same way.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:24]:
If I could do that every time, then I'm on to something and charging for it.
Nick Valentine [00:40:28]:
They still pay their bill. You know what?
Travis Smith [00:40:29]:
You're doing pretty damn good, dude.
Nick Valentine [00:40:31]:
Yeah. I'll send them a resume, just pull.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:34]:
It in and right back out. And that's $5,000. Exactly. It's exactly the same. I know. That's how good I am.
Nick Valentine [00:40:41]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:40:41]:
Hello.
Nick Valentine [00:40:42]:
You came here. That's funny.
Jimmy Purdy [00:40:45]:
Yeah, yeah. The exactness. I mean, the fabrication. Anytime I get into something like that, I try to. I try to involve as many, like, components that can be bought. Right. Like, that way the next guy working on it, he's like, what is this? Like, well, you got to make that if you want to replace that. Well, that sucks.
Nick Valentine [00:41:02]:
I'll make job security for us, though.
Jimmy Purdy [00:41:04]:
Yeah, yeah.
Travis Smith [00:41:06]:
You know, just. I don't know. Over the years, you just build a good clientele, and it comes down to money. Honestly, it just, like, are they willing to pay for your. Your talent, you know? Yeah, I want to show people my talent and, you know, get my work out there. It's. But in regards. People have to pay for that, you know, so it's just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:41:32]:
Yeah, and so how much of that is, like, people showing up just kind of wasting your time as far as, like, just trying to get your ideas and do it themselves or, like, try to get free information or, like, try to get your aspect or your take on how you would do it and then leave. Right. Or, like, have you just do one aspect of it? And is that something you'd even entertain as they're building something? Hey, so I just need this done. Can you just do this aspect and I do the rest? I mean.
Travis Smith [00:41:59]:
Yeah, I mean, I've done that quite a few times. I mean, just, like, a couple weeks ago, I built a trans tunnel, driveline tunnel for a car some kid was building. So it's just. It's cool to see people still out doing work. You know, there's. There's enough work out there for everyone.
Jimmy Purdy [00:42:14]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:42:15]:
You know, it's just.
Nick Valentine [00:42:16]:
Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of. It is nice to have those. Especially those when someone's trying to do it, you know, whether they're doing all the tube working and the engine work and whatever else, and they see something to do, like you're saying, like, just sheet metal. So, yeah, it takes a lot more tooling to do that than, like, you know, building some small motor mounts. It's cool. Like, they're kind of doing what they can in their garage or whatever else, and then, you know, pick it up for a couple days and just knock out a bunch of sheet metal work. And whether they'll come back to you later to finish it up for them, because they just get over it or.
Travis Smith [00:42:43]:
It'S out of their ballpark as far as knowledge, you know? But it's like, over the years, we've spent all this money on tooling and have the right stuff to. To get the job done faster. You know what I mean? And it's like, a lot of people in their garage, they don't have that.
Jimmy Purdy [00:42:59]:
Right.
Travis Smith [00:42:59]:
They don't have the room. They don't have the funds to buy all these thousands of dollars of.
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:06]:
To build one car. Exactly.
Travis Smith [00:43:07]:
You know, for a car that they're just gonna go out and drive and they're not.
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:10]:
They find out they don't want to build another one.
Travis Smith [00:43:12]:
No. Exactly. Yeah. How's that working out for you, James?
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:17]:
I'll be happy when it's done.
Travis Smith [00:43:19]:
Yeah. Let's put it that way. Which one? I guess Anova's done, huh?
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:23]:
Yeah, it's close enough for now, anyway.
Travis Smith [00:43:25]:
It dries. You can enjoy it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:28]:
I don't know. Yeah. Like I said, it's a disease. I don't know what the problem is. Why? Why? Why? It's fun when you start. No, no. The fun part is when you're scrolling on the marketplace looking for a project.
Travis Smith [00:43:39]:
Oh, yeah. Oh, hey, I need this.
Nick Valentine [00:43:41]:
Yeah, it looks easy. A marketplace.
Travis Smith [00:43:43]:
Everything's super fun, and it's always fun when you have it done and you're out and enjoying it.
Nick Valentine [00:43:48]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:48]:
Like.
Nick Valentine [00:43:49]:
Like the riverbed.
Travis Smith [00:43:50]:
Yeah. Like our shit shows today.
Nick Valentine [00:43:51]:
Like, we're just.
Travis Smith [00:43:53]:
Yeah, just all smiles, man. Get out.
Nick Valentine [00:43:56]:
I don't know.
Travis Smith [00:43:57]:
Come to realize you have to go enjoy the shit you have.
Jimmy Purdy [00:44:01]:
Yeah, I was talking about that earlier today, about these guys that collect cars just to collect cars and not use them. Bizarre, right? Like, just to have them in a sealed box.
Travis Smith [00:44:15]:
No.
Jimmy Purdy [00:44:15]:
And take them out once a year.
Travis Smith [00:44:16]:
No.
Jimmy Purdy [00:44:18]:
Build it. To break it. Right. Like, I mean.
Nick Valentine [00:44:20]:
Yeah, that's like the fun in it. And everything you break you to, like, get to but you're forced to upgrade it. So you can just do the same stupid crap next time but not have to have towed home.
Jimmy Purdy [00:44:31]:
So you're still, I mean, even with the headaches and the nightmares, you're still like going breaking your own shit.
Nick Valentine [00:44:37]:
That's otherwise you just go postal. That's only keeping us absolutely from just going mad.
Jimmy Purdy [00:44:42]:
Oh, that's so interesting because it's like the last thing I want is one of my own cars to break.
Nick Valentine [00:44:47]:
It's like I don't want to break either. That's.
Travis Smith [00:44:49]:
But you find the limit, have some fun with it.
Nick Valentine [00:44:52]:
And when you hear the cracking and.
Travis Smith [00:44:54]:
Breaking, you like just kind of turn.
Nick Valentine [00:44:55]:
Up the music, dial it back a little bit and then just ignore it. Forget it. Suppress the need to try to fix.
Jimmy Purdy [00:45:01]:
Like, it's like giving yourself more work throughout the weekend. Like, oh great, now I got to think about fixing this all next week.
Nick Valentine [00:45:06]:
But also too, it's good on the, as dumb as is on the business end, if they see you out just hammering on all your stuff. Yeah, it is good to like, okay, this guy actually hammers on their stuff. Like I can trust him with mine because they hopefully you make it through. And you especially like our off road side of stuff. Like try to destroy everything I own, which is, it's terrible every day mental mindset because I know it's cost me a lot of money, but it is kind of keeps you sane and then that's good for you doing what you're selling them.
Jimmy Purdy [00:45:36]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:45:36]:
And then like if they're not, you know, if you sell them apart, you can show them why you have it, why you personally run it and what it does, you know, if you just show up every day like a GI metro, telling someone they need to spend a million dollars on something, it's like you're driving metro.
Jimmy Purdy [00:45:48]:
Like it's like a mechanic showing up on a bicycle.
Travis Smith [00:45:51]:
Yeah, yeah, I mean, life.
Nick Valentine [00:45:52]:
He's actually the smartest guy. He's like, this is stupid on the.
Jimmy Purdy [00:45:58]:
On the aspect of marketing. So is there any active marketing that you do or what would be like other than what you just stated? What would be a way of getting your name out right if you like wanted to go that direction?
Nick Valentine [00:46:10]:
I've always liked it. I always liked the thing of just like minimal on social media, just you know, posting customer stuff. Kind of keeping them updated too. Cuz love to like your customers have all their buddies, everybody's asking, so it's nice to have like a little bit of social media nonsense and then, you know, trusting that word of mouth will make it work. I never. I never, like. Yeah, yeah. Never want to do, like, the radio thing or a tv, like, for one.
Nick Valentine [00:46:34]:
I'd never, like, my anxiety would go through the roof, but I think.
Travis Smith [00:46:38]:
Yeah, yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:46:39]:
Like, what, Rolls Royce or won them, like, camera? Which big brand it was. They never advertise like, word of mouth. And your customers talking about it should make your business thrive if you're doing a good job, where if your business fails, it's because of you in the end result. But, you know.
Travis Smith [00:46:53]:
Yeah. It's never someone else's fault. Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:46:55]:
It's always me, you. But if you can make it thrive off of word of mouth, then you're doing a good job.
Jimmy Purdy [00:47:00]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:47:00]:
Because people love to talk bad when they do good. So if you get enough good, then that's true.
Jimmy Purdy [00:47:05]:
Yeah, it's. It's. I mean, it's pretty tough. I mean, word of mouth is not an easy thing to get anymore.
Nick Valentine [00:47:11]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:47:12]:
I mean, there's just. I mean, the saturation is crazy, right? Like, marketing and people just shoving stuff in people's face, like, without being part of that. You kind of get lost in a little bit. I don't know, that's. That's tough. And, I mean, obviously, when you're dealing with year long jobs, you're not trying to fill your bays in a sense, and make sure you have 110 cars going through the shop a month.
Travis Smith [00:47:38]:
Yeah, no, those days are over. No, you can only do what you can do, for sure.
Jimmy Purdy [00:47:46]:
Yeah. I mean, the marketing aspect, I think getting the shiny stuff out there, right? Like, showing people on Instagram, Facebook, like, the cool stuff you can build, and then hopefully they reach out. I mean, I don't know, it's stuff. I mean, there's so many, like, get on there, like you said, the radio and tv. I don't know. Look at, like, people. Like Richard Rollins, you know, just like, a totally different direction of, like, what most people want in their shop, you know? But he's, like, wildly successful. I mean, for what he wanted.
Jimmy Purdy [00:48:16]:
You know what I mean? Like, and he's. I think he's got a decent shop, but, like, the guy's kind of a salesman. Like, that's what he is.
Nick Valentine [00:48:23]:
Yeah.
Travis Smith [00:48:23]:
Knows how to talk. To talk.
Jimmy Purdy [00:48:25]:
Right. You know, it's like a lot of people don't want, like. So I don't want to be that guy.
Travis Smith [00:48:28]:
I don't know how to talk. To talk. I can talk to customers and that's about it. You know, not a big.
Jimmy Purdy [00:48:35]:
Well, you just want to be like. Like, you just want to build cool shit. Like, I don't really care about all that other stuff. Like, I just want my work to showcase who I am.
Travis Smith [00:48:43]:
Exactly.
Nick Valentine [00:48:43]:
Just want to work, just show up, work, go home. That's it.
Jimmy Purdy [00:48:46]:
Yeah.
Nick Valentine [00:48:46]:
No more, no extra needed.
Jimmy Purdy [00:48:48]:
Not like, yeah, it'd be nice just.
Travis Smith [00:48:50]:
To show up, still own a business, but not have to deal with the.
Nick Valentine [00:48:54]:
Paperwork, not to do the business owners.
Travis Smith [00:48:56]:
Yeah. You know, just like, I just want to work.
Jimmy Purdy [00:48:59]:
The american dream.
Travis Smith [00:49:00]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:49:01]:
I mean, it really is, right?
Nick Valentine [00:49:02]:
Yeah. Why pick a fence? The whole shebang.
Travis Smith [00:49:04]:
Still trying to figure out how to do that.
Nick Valentine [00:49:06]:
Have a fence.
Travis Smith [00:49:08]:
I mean, the fence would be nice.
Jimmy Purdy [00:49:10]:
All the above.
Nick Valentine [00:49:11]:
Keep the roof rough out.
Travis Smith [00:49:12]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:49:12]:
Yeah. So on that topic, as we kind of wrap it up a little bit, what. What is the outlook like, like, what do you feel like? And for both, you like, moving forward? The ideal client, the ideal shop. The ideal. Like, cars are changing a lot right now. There's like, huge shifts in the industry, right. And I think a lot of people are pushing back more to have, like, older vehicles and keep them on the road. They don't want this electric stuff.
Jimmy Purdy [00:49:41]:
They don't want all these freaking sensors and stuff to fail and all this stuff. So I think a lot of people are taking old cars and trying to modernize them. Right? Like, that's a big one. What I mean, is there a direction or vision that you see it going?
Travis Smith [00:49:55]:
You.
Nick Valentine [00:49:57]:
Had different expectations anymore. It's kind of do the more of what we're doing, just try to keep it to being more of the larger jobs. Keep like, the foot traffic down, and then just find other people to sub out the smaller jobs too, because it's. The other small stuff is fun, but the bigger ones are way more rewarding. And just do a couple those a year and just leave it at that. Where it's like you've like four people you deal with on a yearly basis and that's it. That big deal. And then, like, light production, make some parts small, simple things that are not, like, there's no explanation needed.
Nick Valentine [00:50:33]:
It's pretty cut and dry, and then that's it. That'd be ideal.
Jimmy Purdy [00:50:38]:
That's. That's interesting. And that's like, I think that comes from a lot of seniority because that's kind of the direction that most businesses end up tailoring to. Right. Increase your arro, your average repair order and decrease car count. I think when you start an auto repair, you want car count, oil changes, you want 200 cars in a month. Like, you just want to knock things out. Then you start realizing, I'm making a damn money.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:05]:
It doesn't make any sense. So you start getting, these are your repair orders up to 15, 1600 and lower down, how many cars are coming through the shop. And I'm with you on that. My idea would be if we can keep the car count down around like 30 or 40 a month and then keep the repair order up around 2000. That's kind of a sweet spot. But it's tough because most people don't want to spend that kind of money. Every time they come in, they feel like they're getting kicked in the teeth. Like, every time I go there, it's like two grand.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:32]:
Do that.
Nick Valentine [00:51:32]:
Just buy a new car at this rate.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:34]:
But, but I think on your mindset of that, I think that's the, I mean, that's that kind of a consensus. Consensus. And how it, like, usually develops, because that's what makes sense. The less people you got to talk to, the more you can do your work.
Nick Valentine [00:51:45]:
Yeah, working is what pays the bills you need in the end.
Travis Smith [00:51:49]:
But, you know, like when you first start in your business, like, of course you can't, you can't do, can't do.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:58]:
What he said exactly.
Nick Valentine [00:51:59]:
Yeah, you just have to eat shit for a handful of years, do all those small jobs you don't want to do, but everyone's little $20 jobs can turn out to be thousands, thousands later.
Travis Smith [00:52:06]:
It's just, it might be every peak customer, it might not, you know, like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:10]:
And you gotta do with a smile on your face too.
Nick Valentine [00:52:11]:
Every time. I'm losing my ass in this, but I come back next time.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:15]:
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Nick Valentine [00:52:17]:
Yeah. As long as you just learn from the lessons and grow, then, yeah, it always does work out.
Travis Smith [00:52:21]:
It just comes down to putting in the work, you know, when you first start.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:25]:
Well, showing up every day.
Travis Smith [00:52:27]:
Yeah, yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:27]:
Being there. Always being there.
Nick Valentine [00:52:29]:
Especially. Even if you get kicked in the nuts. Pick the phone up, doesn't matter. Pick the phone up, show up. Yeah, that's like the bare essentials, really.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:36]:
I mean, try not to pull your bare essentials. But the most important thing, like, yeah, just to be there. Like, I think I see that a lot too. With guys that aren't doing so well. They start showing up at ten or eleven or noon. It's like, I don't know what's going on. It's like, dude, if you show up at 07:00 a.m. every day, why? There's usually no one there? It just takes one.
Nick Valentine [00:52:55]:
What if there is though.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:56]:
It just takes the one, right?
Nick Valentine [00:52:58]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:59]:
It's a waste of my time to get there that early.
Travis Smith [00:53:01]:
Just an hour extra day.
Nick Valentine [00:53:03]:
It's an hour more progress away from distractions though too. Like we changed shop hours a while ago, six to four. Because from six to nine you get so much done before the phone rings, people show up, whatever else. So you almost can like any more. I'll get more done before nine. Four and then nine to four is just like losing my mind somehow. Like either on the phone, phone calls, reordering parts, ordering parts I thought I ordered the day before, tracking down where the hell they went because they're either lost or something else. You know, that's most of your day anymore.
Nick Valentine [00:53:33]:
It's 8 hours of chasing. That's just get in early and just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:53:37]:
Doing a little actual hands on work.
Nick Valentine [00:53:39]:
Yeah. Grind as much as you can in the first phone call. Just back.
Travis Smith [00:53:42]:
Okay. The day's done.
Nick Valentine [00:53:43]:
I'm just gonna be on my phone and just deal with headaches all day. But just accept it and be like, cool. Do that with a good mindset, hopefully.
Jimmy Purdy [00:53:49]:
Cause I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be the fireman for the rest of the day.
Nick Valentine [00:53:52]:
Yeah, pretty much.
Travis Smith [00:53:53]:
Yeah, it sounded better and better. Yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah, we'll go there.
Jimmy Purdy [00:54:06]:
Well, it's been fun.
Travis Smith [00:54:07]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:54:07]:
Appreciate you guys coming in. A lot of good insight.