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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.
Ryan Ragan [00:00:00]:
The fastest obstacle course time will get the immunity piston trophy.
Mike Allen [00:00:04]:
That's it.
Ryan Ragan [00:00:06]:
We will have hidden immunity idols hidden all over the expo too, so when you find them, you bring them up and redeem them, you get a tool or something.
Mike Allen [00:00:12]:
I think we need a zip line across the top of the trade show.
Ryan Ragan [00:00:14]:
They have a height requirement. I've already looked into a lot of that.
Mike Allen [00:00:21]:
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, our 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.
Mike Allen [00:00:51]:
Muscle man.
Ryan Ragan [00:00:52]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:00:53]:
We've got like the dude with the good hair and the tats, and then we've got the loser.
Ryan Ragan [00:00:58]:
I don't— I'm not sure how I feel about these cameras. It's like I feel like Kennedy riding in the limo or something.
Mike Allen [00:01:03]:
Well, you know, what you can't see off camera is that there's a very nice, and by very nice I mean really sketchy, black leather couch just behind us. And I was going to have the two of you on the black leather couch for this interview.
Ryan Ragan [00:01:17]:
That would be a little awkward.
Mike Allen [00:01:20]:
Yeah, it'd be more awkward for one of you than the other.
Ryan Ragan [00:01:22]:
We're not on Playboy or anything.
Mike Allen [00:01:25]:
Yeah, just, just if you avoid direct eye contact, it doesn't get weird.
Mike Allen [00:01:30]:
Production tips from Hugh Hefner.
Ryan Ragan [00:01:33]:
I don't know what we're doing.
Mike Allen [00:01:36]:
All right, so we're, uh, we're at the shop, uh, so there might be some background noise, uh, from the guys working, but it is, uh, Friday. We've had a very busy, uh, action-packed week, and so I think they're kind of already, uh, kind of coasting to the finish line a little bit. So we'll see how that goes. If you hear a Tesla fall off of a lift, uh, don't worry about it.
Ryan Ragan [00:01:56]:
Yeah, we'll be fine.
Tony Mercury [00:01:58]:
It's a lease. I'll give it back to Elon.
Ryan Ragan [00:02:00]:
Yeah, there you go. He can afford it.
Mike Allen [00:02:01]:
How long have you had a Tesla?
Tony Mercury [00:02:02]:
Uh, when did I get it? It'll be 2 years this December.
Mike Allen [00:02:06]:
Okay, what model do you have?
Tony Mercury [00:02:07]:
Model 3 dual motor.
Mike Allen [00:02:09]:
Okay, do you love it or is it—
Tony Mercury [00:02:10]:
I do, I get it, I get the hype. I'm a huge car guy. I've always been a gas guy. I've always had Volkswagens, Audis, always, you know, stage 2 software, downpipes, you name it, right? So I was very apprehensive, right? 'Cause I knew I was gonna get, my car friends were gonna talk shit, right? Like, oh, you got an EV, you sold out. But I get the hype now. Like you charge it at the house, your phone's your key. Like it takes so much thinking about driving away that you don't realize is there until you have one.
Ryan Ragan [00:02:40]:
And my son drives one.
Mike Allen [00:02:40]:
Makes it easy.
Tony Mercury [00:02:41]:
And we were just talking about gas because a friend sent a screenshot or a photo. He spent like $70 to fill up. I've spent in the last 12 months $475 charging this vehicle.
Mike Allen [00:02:51]:
Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:02:52]:
I'm just not an electric guy. I just, I can't trust anything that can be shut down by somebody else.
Tony Mercury [00:02:58]:
Well, I think gas cars are headed that way too though.
Mike Allen [00:03:00]:
Yeah. I mean, modern fuel, I mean, they're all so connected and remotely controlled.
Ryan Ragan [00:03:05]:
I mean, yeah.
Mike Allen [00:03:05]:
So, all right. If you want to experience like the true peak of automotive excellence and performance, no lower. You really need to invest in a Miata.
Ryan Ragan [00:03:14]:
Oh yeah, yeah, I remember this.
Mike Allen [00:03:17]:
I'm sorry that I didn't have the Miata here, uh, for you guys, uh, this morning, but it normally lives here when it's not being actively driven.
Ryan Ragan [00:03:24]:
Your teenage daughter need it?
Mike Allen [00:03:25]:
Uh, she's not a teenager yet, but she does love it.
Tony Mercury [00:03:28]:
Yes. You know, when I see them on the road—
Ryan Ragan [00:03:30]:
She's a girl.
Tony Mercury [00:03:31]:
Yeah, I don't know, I, I secretly want one.
Mike Allen [00:03:34]:
They are the butt of tons of jokes.
Mike Allen [00:03:37]:
Absolutely.
Mike Allen [00:03:37]:
They are also Incredibly fun to drive.
Tony Mercury [00:03:40]:
That's what everyone I know who, who has one or has had one loves that car.
Ryan Ragan [00:03:45]:
Really?
Tony Mercury [00:03:45]:
Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:03:46]:
I just can't imagine.
Tony Mercury [00:03:46]:
There's just something about them.
Mike Allen [00:03:47]:
Well, they're, they're perfectly balanced, right? The weight per wheel is the same around the car, um, and you can just throw them around like on rails. They get no power, they're slow.
Ryan Ragan [00:04:01]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:04:01]:
Right? But they turn on a dime, stop on a dime if you put a little money into the brakes, and, uh, It's a— it's the cliché to say it's much more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car, uh, because most high-powered, high-performance vehicles vastly outpace the skill of the driver. Uh, and so if you develop your skill set driving Miata or any other of the entry-level spec cars, you know, the BMW with the E30—
Ryan Ragan [00:04:28]:
Was that car cheap?
Mike Allen [00:04:29]:
Uh, yeah, I think I got it for $500. Really?
Ryan Ragan [00:04:34]:
Well, now you have money to hire a bodyguard to keep you from getting beat up at the prom or showing up in that car.
Mike Allen [00:04:39]:
Well, to be perfectly clear, there's way more than $500 in it now, but it was a customer and a friend and had been in his carport and it hadn't been started or moved in over a decade. And he sold his house and had to get it out. Like, it was the last thing.
Tony Mercury [00:04:55]:
He said hurry up and come get it.
Mike Allen [00:04:56]:
Yeah, so it was like, you can have $500, you gotta come get it. So I had to put a top on it, replace everything in the fuel system. The fuel was turned to jelly.
Ryan Ragan [00:05:03]:
Oh yeah.
Mike Allen [00:05:04]:
All the rubber, you know, upgrade the cooling system, new brakes.
Ryan Ragan [00:05:08]:
I mean, it's the car like when you pull out and like your neighbors are out doing yard work and you pull out a Miata, they like turn their back, like don't wave at you. Mike's in the Miata again. Everybody's like, is that what it is?
Tony Mercury [00:05:20]:
No, I think everybody needs a fun car. So to, I guess, redeem myself, I did earlier this year buy a 2010 Volkswagen GTI. So it's 6-speed manual, the seats are manual. So it's— I love the duality of getting into, you know, a 2025 EV with like super heavy tech and then getting into the Volkswagen. Like, I got to put the key in the ignition and start it. So like, yeah, it's a throwback car.
Mike Allen [00:05:40]:
It's, uh, you know what, uh, they're very different experiences and they're both satisfying in their own way.
Tony Mercury [00:05:45]:
Yes. Yeah. So like, the car drove me here today.
Ryan Ragan [00:05:48]:
Yeah, that's what my son always does.
Tony Mercury [00:05:49]:
I did it. Yeah. So they— when I got it, it was on version 12. It's on version 14 now. And I've done multiple like 3-hour car trips in it, like Carolina Beach, Virginia Beach, Charlotte, and it will literally go from my driveway to a parking spot.
Ryan Ragan [00:06:04]:
Yeah, they were just— my, my son and his wife were just arguing about this last night because he was talking about, I'm the one that's always driving. She's like, the car's driving, you're not doing anything.
Tony Mercury [00:06:11]:
You don't realize the mental fatigue. Like when we went to Carolina Beach, you know how like you get off 40, you got that long drag all the way down, and it's always stop and go. It's just the car does all that for you. And when I got there, very much like flying, you know how at the end of a very busy travel day you're like mostly tired? For whatever reason, like, that's almost completely removed with full self-driving.
Ryan Ragan [00:06:30]:
I'm gonna tell you, you're right. When I was in Italy, when we were over in Italy, I was over on business, but we also had a few days to do nothing, you know, here and there. And Marco was our cab guy. You know, my buddy had set it up. Marco had this huge Mercedes, you know, van, black leather, air kicking. I never had to drive the entire time I was in Italy, and I gotta tell you, it was very refreshing. Yeah, I was like, wow, there's no stress. You know, it was kind of like, this is great.
Mike Allen [00:06:55]:
So what do you do on a 3-hour drive where you're not driving? Do you watch a movie? Do you read a book?
Tony Mercury [00:06:58]:
So you can't watch a movie, you can't read a book.
Ryan Ragan [00:07:01]:
This is G-rated too.
Tony Mercury [00:07:02]:
Yeah, they, they have updated it where you— it's— I, I think the threshold's like 30 seconds. You just got to kind of look at the road. There is an interior camera that watches you to make sure you're watching the road.
Ryan Ragan [00:07:11]:
But that's funny.
Tony Mercury [00:07:12]:
You kind of really don't have to pay attention. And once you get more acclimated and comfortable with the technology, like when I'm making right-hand turns, like I'm not even paying attention anymore. So it's like, it's— I have that much trust in the software at this point. Wow.
Mike Allen [00:07:22]:
Well, Seth Thorson's always calling me. And he's in his car being driven home or driving between stores or whatever else. And I think he just does it as like a flex.
Tony Mercury [00:07:33]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:07:34]:
For him to—
Tony Mercury [00:07:35]:
Well, I'll send videos of the car driving itself. It's weird the first time because it like moves the steering wheel, like it just moves by itself. Like you can see the brake pedal depressed and all that.
Ryan Ragan [00:07:42]:
I don't know if I could trust that.
Tony Mercury [00:07:43]:
That's freaking me out.
Ryan Ragan [00:07:44]:
Yeah. That would freak me out.
Tony Mercury [00:07:45]:
It's not for everybody. It takes about a week or two to get comfortable.
Mike Allen [00:07:49]:
Wow.
Mike Allen [00:07:50]:
I mean, in our lifetime there will be cars where there are no pedals and no wheel. Yeah, yeah, there is no ability for—
Tony Mercury [00:07:56]:
and that's like our kids. No, I don't, I don't think it's gonna be our kids. I think it's our kids' kids for sure.
Ryan Ragan [00:08:03]:
My grandkids would probably—
Tony Mercury [00:08:04]:
Yeah, your grandkids probably.
Mike Allen [00:08:06]:
Yeah, I think, uh, also in our lifetime we'll see where you are not allowed to get on the interstate or major highways unless your vehicle Well, it's going to get to that point. Because we're able to stack them so much more tightly and merge so perfectly and everything else.
Ryan Ragan [00:08:23]:
Well, I mean, if there's one thing that's got— I mean, the amount of traffic fatalities is just insane. And something eventually is going to come to a head where there's going to have to be more control established or something.
Mike Allen [00:08:33]:
Well, the data is going to prove without a doubt that most traffic fatalities are a result of human error.
Ryan Ragan [00:08:40]:
Oh yeah.
Mike Allen [00:08:40]:
And when they can prove that they can remove human error and save thousands of lives a year, then they'll require it, especially on major highways.
Tony Mercury [00:08:47]:
Oh yeah, I mean, Tesla does come out with those data points of how many, like, human-driven miles versus full self-driven miles and the amount of, like, accidents and fatalities. And it's like a fraction of what human drivers are already.
Ryan Ragan [00:09:01]:
The problem with human drivers, we're idiots. I mean, I see a guy in a $200,000 car holding his cell phone up talking. I'm sure it has Bluetooth. It's a $200,000 car.
Mike Allen [00:09:10]:
I mean, we bought—
Ryan Ragan [00:09:11]:
I don't know why they don't hook it up.
Mike Allen [00:09:14]:
Yeah. Oh yeah.
Mike Allen [00:09:15]:
2 phones. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:09:17]:
Driving with their legs.
Ryan Ragan [00:09:19]:
Yeah. Leaning over the wheel.
Tony Mercury [00:09:20]:
Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:09:21]:
I don't understand it. I'm like, I, I— you get CarPlay, you have all these things in these expensive cars and they don't use any of it. I just don't understand.
Tony Mercury [00:09:28]:
Yeah, we were talking about that, that at some point they'll have to pass legislation that like the car has to drive itself because you put one human driver on the road.
Ryan Ragan [00:09:38]:
They'll screw everything up.
Tony Mercury [00:09:38]:
Yeah, because you just think how tight, like even like left-hand turns, right? Because most people aren't going to stop and let you go, but the cars are all going to talk to each other and it's like, I'm going to going to create the perfect gap for this car.
Ryan Ragan [00:09:47]:
People think if they turn a blinker on, it gives them right of way. I can just merge in, doesn't matter, I got a blinker on.
Mike Allen [00:09:53]:
I can see major highways. Yeah, that's how I'd be first. And I can see like certain downtown districts in super high population areas like London, Manhattan. Oh yeah, you're not allowed to drive yourself.
Ryan Ragan [00:10:06]:
DC, that was crazy.
Tony Mercury [00:10:08]:
I mean, yeah, well, I like, uh, kind of like brainstorming and thinking about what the future like There, there could be a world where it's a subscription-based vehicle cost. Yeah, $300 a month, whatever it ends up being. But nobody owns a car, you just have an app and the cars are just constantly moving. Yeah. So you just like request a vehicle and it picks you up and brings you where you need to go.
Mike Allen [00:10:25]:
I mean, the average car now is on the road, what, 2, 3 hours a day max?
Ryan Ragan [00:10:28]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:10:28]:
And if you can increase that to 20 hours a day, then you need fewer cars.
Tony Mercury [00:10:32]:
Yep.
Mike Allen [00:10:32]:
Right. If they're being— yeah, I mean, managed appropriately by the AI overlord.
Tony Mercury [00:10:37]:
Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:10:37]:
Very clearly different in this country than the other. I mean, you know, Europe, the cities are built around people. Here they're built around the car.
Tony Mercury [00:10:43]:
Yep.
Ryan Ragan [00:10:44]:
And it's just very different.
Mike Allen [00:10:46]:
Like, so you know this, you're, you're a proud American citizen. The United States is the only country that matters. Everything else is just orbiting around the United States.
Ryan Ragan [00:10:54]:
Well, you know, there's nothing that competes to our rail system and our highway systems. I mean, when you talk about transporting goods across, you know, the semis and all that, I mean, it is crazy when you think about it. It is, man. But, you know, being in Europe, like I said, it's the difficulty in that. When you're sitting in Venice watching them bring a boat in full of stuff, you know, and unload it, I'm thinking, that's a crap job. I would not want to do that every day. And they can only carry so much because it's just the way it is. And so it takes forever to get stuff there.
Mike Allen [00:11:24]:
Well, you know, the drone can drop off our Amazon order in under 60 minutes now if you're in the right neighborhood.
Ryan Ragan [00:11:29]:
Yeah, absolutely. That's crazy too.
Mike Allen [00:11:31]:
The march of technology. That's a big thing that we're talking about. We got together today to talk about ASTA and ASTA Expo, and we started talking about Teslas, and we're 10 minutes in now. We haven't even said what we're here for. The moderator failed. Yep, that's my life. It's one long failure series. I just stumble from one mistake to another over and over.
Mike Allen [00:11:53]:
But the technology is evolving so rapidly. And being an early adopter of the technology, and that's the automotive technology and the technology that we use to service it. And, you know, being an early adopter for a lot of the new AI-driven tools that are available or building your own AI-driven tools to use in your business, those conversations really need to be happening. And you have an opportunity to take advantage of all this new tech and be on the leading edge of the wave, right, versus being reactionary. And the way that you learn about these things, you can learn about them online to a degree, right? But coming to major events like ASTA Expo and being in the room with the thought leaders and being part of the conversations and the networking events that are happening there and the sharing of ideas that's happening there is unlike what you get Like, I'm good friends with the shop right here and the shop right here. There's only so much that we share because we're, you know, the same cars are driving by the front door, right? But if I'm talking to men and women from all over the world who will be gathering in Raleigh next month— uh, 2 months, 2 months?
Ryan Ragan [00:13:09]:
Well, that's when we air, right?
Mike Allen [00:13:10]:
Yeah, yeah.
Mike Allen [00:13:11]:
And there's none of that concern, right? It's just totally open sharing, uh, and so I, I, I'm looking forward to it. This is going to be like my 15th one or something crazy, um, and the growth that we've seen in that time is incredible. But, um, I say all of that to get 12 minutes in to say, hey, who are you?
Tony Mercury [00:13:32]:
Hey, uh, good to see everybody. Uh, familiar face, I'm sure, to a lot of people watching. Tony Mercury. I'm with Auto Shop Solutions. I've been there since actually 2015, uh, and ASTA was It was one of my first trade shows.
Mike Allen [00:13:42]:
I'm sorry.
Ryan Ragan [00:13:43]:
Wow.
Tony Mercury [00:13:43]:
Well, I enjoy it because it's in our backyard too.
Mike Allen [00:13:48]:
Yeah, right. Yeah, you can be home. So, um, you started off as just an account manager?
Tony Mercury [00:13:55]:
Yeah, I started out 2015 as a sales rep and then just kind of— so my full backstory is I was with T-Mobile for over a decade. Yeah, huge organization. And eventually I just got grounded out and burned out, and my goal was to really find a small business where like my hard work and effort would translate to a smaller group of people, right? I didn't want to be like— I still remember what my personnel number was at T-Mobile, right? That's all, right? Because we were like 40,000 employees.
Mike Allen [00:14:22]:
So literally just a number.
Tony Mercury [00:14:23]:
Yeah, I was, I was just a number. I was, you know, graded on my output and performance. That, that's it. Um, so I really wanted to find a small business. I love cars. I had small business sales background, and I found auto shops solutions on a whim. So super lucky and it just like married all of my personal interests together.
Mike Allen [00:14:40]:
Wow.
Tony Mercury [00:14:40]:
Yeah, so started out in sales, managed the sales team, director of sales and biz dev for a while. And then in '21, I was promoted to vice president overseeing revenue. So specifically the lifecycle of our clients. So sales, production, and our client success team. And then 2 and a half years ago, I took over as vice president of operations. So I oversee, really it's like a general management role. So I oversee all facets of our business now. And then earlier this year, our CEO Margaret, which everyone's familiar with, Retired.
Tony Mercury [00:15:07]:
So I run every aspect of her business now.
Ryan Ragan [00:15:12]:
Makes you feel like a failure, doesn't it?
Mike Allen [00:15:14]:
I mean, I already did.
Tony Mercury [00:15:16]:
Yeah, just to rub it in.
Mike Allen [00:15:18]:
So I am curious, you mentioned managing the lifecycle of a client. I had an interesting conversation yesterday with some guests I was recording with about the lifecycle of a client in a 20 Group. And how they come in, and especially if it's their first ever 20 Group, they don't really know what's going on. They're a little bit nervous to share because they feel like there's all these big dogs in the room. And, you know, a lot of people take a year to really warm up to the group if you're, if you're meeting on the phone once a month and in person a couple times a year, right?
Ryan Ragan [00:15:52]:
Mm-hmm.
Mike Allen [00:15:53]:
And then you have a couple years where you're really growing by leaps and bounds, and then a few years where you're one of the established members of the group. And then after that, you kind of start to stagnate and plateau a little bit, I think. And the reality is, I think in my 20 group, I started to stagnate and plateau a little bit because I've been in it forever.
Mike Allen [00:16:14]:
Mm-hmm.
Mike Allen [00:16:15]:
And I worry that I am not bringing the value to the other members of the group because I don't come with the same level of energy that I did 10 years ago, right? And so we were having a conversation about the life cycle, the effective life cycle of a member of a Twenty Group. What's like the effective life cycle of a client for Auto Shop Solutions? Do you expect 10 years? Do you expect forever?
Tony Mercury [00:16:38]:
Yeah, that's interesting. So I was talking with a client who's been with us for over 20 years, right? Because Danny started this business kind of as a side thing while he was doing business coaching, and he's still with us. I would say the average time a client stays with really any digital marketing agency is probably going to be, I would call it 3 to 5 years, right? Because it's— you— they want to see if the grass is greener sometimes. A lot of times they end up coming back because they're like, no, you guys actually did everything. And sometimes we're the first agency they've ever signed up with, so they don't know what they don't know. And then they go somewhere else and they're like, ah, gotcha, okay, I'm coming back. It's not what I thought it was. Or it's a similar level service, you know, maybe we outperform the other competitor, vice versa, in a similar manner.
Mike Allen [00:17:17]:
Well, I— and that happened to us in 2016. I stepped away from Elite's 20 Group Process. It was at the same time that my father was transitioning out of his business, and I was buying Car Fix from my father and just kind of lost focus a little bit, and I missed it and ended up going back. And I, I dabble, I put my toe in some of the other big coaching organization pools, and, you know, there are benefits to all of them. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Mike Allen [00:17:46]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:17:47]:
But, you know, now for the last year and a half, I've been doing Elite's one-on-one coaching for the show. You know, I've sort of started it out as a thing for the show, but I'm really getting a lot from that and really enjoying that.
Tony Mercury [00:18:01]:
Yeah, one of my favorite things we implemented for specifically the lifecycle, looking at, you know, sales, production, client success, and you guys could probably do something similar here, is once a month we have a call And it really started from that TikTok meme, and I always get it wrong. It's like, we're gonna say and we're not gonna judge.
Ryan Ragan [00:18:18]:
Do you remember that?
Tony Mercury [00:18:18]:
Yeah. And they would just say the wildest stuff, and it was really like started as a joke on TikTok, but we kind of took that like initial concept and brought it in-house. So I have my sales manager, my production manager, my CS manager. Sales gets to go and say, here's what's— here's what I'm hearing from production clients, here's what I'm hearing from CS clients, what's working, what's not working. And it's— there's— we have to check our personalities and our egos at the door.
Mike Allen [00:18:40]:
Yeah.
Tony Mercury [00:18:41]:
Because we're thinking about the perspective of the client's experience while we're doing this. And then production gets to go and then CS gets to go and a lot of things get uncovered. And we've been doing this for about 2 years and it's just missing pieces of information that sometimes they don't get moved over from one team to another or an expectation wasn't defined correctly. So it's like we can fix problems while we do that. And again, it's my big thing at the end of the call is this call only works if we take this information back to our teams and implement it.
Mike Allen [00:19:06]:
Yeah.
Tony Mercury [00:19:06]:
And we've been doing that. So I could see any shop really doing something, you know, talking to the GM, the front of house, your service advisor teams, the technicians, like where's our breakdown in communication? Where's our blind spots? How are we serving our customers and how do we make this process better for anyone who walks inside this CarFix location?
Mike Allen [00:19:24]:
So in order for that to work, I have an enormous ego and I probably would have to check the ego at the door a little bit.
Ryan Ragan [00:19:31]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:19:31]:
It's hard and I get super defensive.
Ryan Ragan [00:19:32]:
I mean, you can't get your feelings hurt. I mean, that's the biggest thing. That's the thing. I mean, you got to kind of view it— I always talk about things like that, like playing golf. I mean, you're not playing another golfer, you're playing the course. So there's no reason to be mad at this guy if he's doing good or this and that. And you just kind of have to view it as the field. That's what you're trying to accomplish.
Ryan Ragan [00:19:50]:
And some days you have good days, some days you have bad days.
Tony Mercury [00:19:52]:
It's really hard the further you go in leadership and running a business of not to take things personally because it's really easy. Right, like when I see like if somebody's leaving or something and I'm like, oh man, like I, I take it on me personally and I'm like, there's sometimes there's external factors, right?
Mike Allen [00:20:08]:
For sure. Yeah, I, uh, we're, uh, we've just onboarded a new service advisor, uh, and he's been in the industry for a while, uh, and he came in and I was talking to him and he was like, man, I really thought I knew and I'm realizing how much there is I don't know. I'm like, dude, I mean, you don't need to compare yourself to this guy. He's been with this organization for several years and he's kind of a big dog. Don't— that's not the standard to which you're being compared. You just need to strive to be a little bit better than you from yesterday each day, right?
Ryan Ragan [00:20:40]:
I think experience works against you though too a lot of times. In my past life in another organization, I had, you know, president was telling me that, you know, I know everything there is to know about this business. I've been doing this 44 years. And my response was, then you need to retire. Because the day you think you know it all, you're not really any use to anybody here. And, you know, I think that works just as much against you a lot of times.
Mike Allen [00:21:01]:
It's just a code word to say I refuse to learn new things.
Tony Mercury [00:21:04]:
That's it.
Mike Allen [00:21:04]:
Yeah.
Tony Mercury [00:21:05]:
So my favorite quote for what you just talked about is comparison is the thief of joy.
Mike Allen [00:21:10]:
Yeah. I guess it's a Bible verse, isn't it?
Mike Allen [00:21:14]:
I don't know.
Mike Allen [00:21:16]:
Maybe. I don't know. My wife would know.
Ryan Ragan [00:21:17]:
So would mine. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:21:19]:
Hey, so now we're 20 minutes in. Who are you?
Ryan Ragan [00:21:23]:
You've got a hell of a system.
Tony Mercury [00:21:26]:
It's almost like we should have listened to Victor on.
Ryan Ragan [00:21:28]:
I don't even know. Is he just making this up? No, I'm Ryan Reagan, Executive Director of ASTA, the Automotive Service Tire Alliance, and the guy that kind of all the weight falls on to pull off the ASTA Expo. Myself and now Callie is helping.
Mike Allen [00:21:43]:
Let's be honest, it's mostly Callie.
Ryan Ragan [00:21:45]:
It is. I always say that. I mean, people I don't— I'm one of those people that don't really need the recognition, so I don't really want it because then you're setting expectations. We don't want to do that.
Mike Allen [00:21:55]:
So yeah, I don't have to live up to high standards.
Ryan Ragan [00:21:58]:
No, but it's, it's good. You know, this would be going into, you know, this is year 2 for me of putting on the show, you know, so it's changed an awful lot.
Mike Allen [00:22:07]:
I remember you visited 3 years ago, and that's when we were in the interview process. I think you had accepted the offer, but you hadn't started Yeah. Um, and then, uh, last year was the first year downtown at the convention center, and that was also your first year, right?
Ryan Ragan [00:22:23]:
Yep. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:22:25]:
And, uh, now we're year 2 coming in now. So if you haven't been to the ASTA Expo, it's in, it's in Raleigh, North Carolina. It's gonna be September 24th through 26th this year. Get into town on the 23rd. The podcast is going to be having some type of social event or party or race or something. I don't know what. We haven't decided yet, but it's gonna be fun. And plan on staying through the evening of the 26th because there's events all day each day, and then there's networking and social events each night.
Mike Allen [00:22:54]:
But it's at the convention center downtown. It's walkable to lots of good restaurants and social venues.
Mike Allen [00:22:59]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:23:00]:
Shopping, if that is of interest as well. So you don't need to come in and have a car if you flying, you can Uber from the airport. It's a 15-minute ride.
Ryan Ragan [00:23:09]:
I recommend it.
Mike Allen [00:23:10]:
Yeah, yeah, parking's a bit of a bitch, uh, and not cheap. Uh, so, uh, you know, if you want to fly in and Uber in, that would be my recommendation as well. Um, but it is, you know, and I've been to them all, right? Uh, you know, I've been to the STXs and the Visions and the Apex and SEMA, and, you know, all of them have their strengths and weaknesses. All of them excel in different areas, but where ASTA Expo is the best, I believe, is in the networking opportunities and the relationship building. Because like nothing compares to Apex and SEMA for just sheer scope.
Mike Allen [00:23:49]:
Yeah, scale.
Mike Allen [00:23:51]:
But it's so big you can't really make relationships because everybody's there with the people they already know, to a degree. Whereas we still have that small-town southern charm kind of vibe going on. I remember when I first got involved with the board, it was, hey, here's a list of people that are here for the first time, track them down and make sure that they feel welcome. That's the mentality that we're focusing on. And so if you come, don't worry about coming by yourself. If you're gonna come by yourself, somebody is gonna drag you into a conversation.
Ryan Ragan [00:24:25]:
Oh yeah.
Mike Allen [00:24:25]:
And you're gonna make friends and you're gonna make connections that become valuable. And I can't tell you how many group chats that run year-round now that are a result of the networking events that have happened at the Expo. So yes, come for the learning, come for the training events, come for the trade show and the vendor relationships that you can help develop, but if nothing else, come for the, for the networking. And the hospitality suite's going to be amazing. Yeah, yeah.
Tony Mercury [00:24:55]:
My favorite thing about trade shows, because, you know, I've been doing this since 2015 and I can't even tell you how many trade shows I've been to at this point, but you'll see a new shop owner that's never gone outside of their own 4 walls and it's their first event and they don't realize how much support there is in our industry, how friendly everybody is, and how, just like you said, half my friends are automotive at this point. Granted, they're all over the country, but like all my group chats are with industry friends. Right? So then you see them at that first trade show and they're like, wow, there's a solution for this and I've been doing it the hard way, or I need coaching, or, you know, I just met some local shop owners that are also Euro shops, right? So, and then you see them at the next one and you ask them how business is doing, they're like, oh, like, I, you know, implemented this from this course I took. And it's just each time you see them, they're like significantly better. So it's just the growth trajectory a shop owner can put themselves on by attending this event It's huge.
Ryan Ragan [00:25:46]:
It's what it is. And I mean, this year it's kind of designed that way to even enhance it more. I mean, you know, like last year we did the theme with the A-Lens and stuff, and it was kind of based on our training being out of this world. And look, we have— I'll put our training against anybody in the country. I mean, it's just that simple. We have over 80 training classes. Some are very technical, very technical. Some are leadership, some are marketing, some, you know, AI stuff's out there.
Ryan Ragan [00:26:07]:
So we have a lot of things. But, you know, this year's theme, we kind of went off Survivor, the TV show. And so you might show up with 5 of your friends, you all bought tickets together. You're gonna have a neck gaiter like they wear on the show Survivor in your bag, and they're all not gonna be the same color. So you're gonna belong to this tribe. And there's places to get photo ops with people in your tribe. So I want you to get out and meet new people. I want you to start talking, start networking, 'cause what you were talking about, I hear that probably more than anything.
Ryan Ragan [00:26:36]:
It's just how it changed my life, how I met all these people, and they had already went down the same road I was going down, and they can tell me, oh no, let me tell you.
Mike Allen [00:26:44]:
Entrepreneurship can feel lonely.
Ryan Ragan [00:26:47]:
Yeah, very.
Mike Allen [00:26:48]:
The first time you discover that you're not alone and that there are other people living the same struggles, it's incredible. So like you said, first-time attendees at these trade shows, it blows their hair back. It's just like if you've never had a business coach, it doesn't matter which business coach you get. Yeah, because they all focus on the same low-hanging fruit initially. The differences come out later when you get to more fine-tuning and adjustments. Any business coach is going to change your business drastically. Yeah, for the better. Any trade show is going to be amazing, and training event is going to be amazing.
Mike Allen [00:27:23]:
But I'm here to tell you that the Expo is unlike all of them. They're, you know, they're all unique. So yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:27:29]:
It's, it's, you know, we really do, like you said, we, we really do strive for that hospitality, that cliché, that Southern hospitality. I mean, we want you to be I tell every vendor and every person I talk to on the phone every day, you know, I talk to vendors about, you know, they're important to me, the members, the attendees are important to me because the better you all do, the better I do. It's just that simple. You know, if you come to this show and you take one thing away that impacts you in any positive way going back, then it's worth it to me. And I mean, you know, we do things a little different than others. You know, we have the Friday night, the owners-only kind of trade show on the floor. So if you are a vendor, you know, you're going to get to have serious conversations with decision makers in a kind of casual setting and build relationships. There's a— I think it's easier too for people to approach people that they wouldn't think about approaching, you know, because it's not a mob of people.
Ryan Ragan [00:28:19]:
Now Saturday, hey, it's open to everybody, man. Lunch is on the floor. And I'm going to tell you, it'll be, uh, there'll be a lot going on this year. You know, like I said, we change it up. We have a courtyard in the middle. You know, of the trade show to where people can eat their lunch, do all that stuff. And it went from about a 56,000 square foot floor to about a 112,000 square foot floor.
Mike Allen [00:28:37]:
Yeah, as I say, last— if you were there last year, you know, it's double in size.
Mike Allen [00:28:42]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:28:43]:
And so, you know, the layout, there's going to be a restaurant on a concession stand and restaurant on the floor.
Ryan Ragan [00:28:50]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:28:50]:
That you can get access to, and then lunches will be down there, right? We have lunch down there on So the really important question that I haven't asked, because I was plugged in pretty well in the years past, but I've been conspicuously absent in almost everything association-related this year. I think it's because you made it very clear that you didn't like me to be.
Mike Allen [00:29:11]:
No, no.
Mike Allen [00:29:12]:
The very important question is where the podcast booth is going to be.
Ryan Ragan [00:29:16]:
So this year they're on the walls, on each wall. So we'll have 3 over on this wall and 3 over on this wall.
Mike Allen [00:29:21]:
Can you make sure that I'm opposite from Lucas?
Ryan Ragan [00:29:24]:
I can, I can, I can.
Mike Allen [00:29:26]:
His body odor issue has gotten really out of control.
Ryan Ragan [00:29:30]:
I'll put you by Carm, you know. Perfect.
Mike Allen [00:29:32]:
You know, that's a man that I can respect.
Ryan Ragan [00:29:33]:
Well, if only that were mutual, that would be better.
Mike Allen [00:29:37]:
Hey Carm, I'd like you to come on the show. I think we should talk.
Ryan Ragan [00:29:40]:
Yeah, but no, it— look, it's, it's going to be great. There's a lot of fun things. The pre-party is Yeah, I was taking calls on the way here about this pre-party thing because I can tell anybody that's going to attend this, when you show up, bring some gym shoes, stretch a little bit.
Mike Allen [00:29:57]:
I am not sumo wrestling again this year.
Ryan Ragan [00:29:59]:
We got a lot more than that.
Tony Mercury [00:30:00]:
I'm still sore.
Ryan Ragan [00:30:01]:
We got a lot more than that. So, you know, like I said, it's kind of Survivor-themed, so we got to have some challenging things. So in the middle of the pre-party is a 100-foot-long obstacle course. Now it's a blow-up one, so when you fall off, it won't hurt too bad.
Mike Allen [00:30:14]:
They have to sign a release waiver of liability before they go out there.
Ryan Ragan [00:30:18]:
Everybody that registers has to click on that flavor. Yeah, believe me. And then we have axe throwing, we've got the giant boxing glove boxing ring, we've got jousting, we've got a ninja wall to climb. I mean, soccer darts, cornhole, you know, all the crazy stuff. So it's gonna be—
Mike Allen [00:30:36]:
I think bringing the pre-party into the convention center was a great idea last year because historically we've done it remotely. So now we have to bus out and everything. That was a great idea.
Ryan Ragan [00:30:43]:
It's a lot of fun. The fastest obstacle course time will get the immunity piston. trophy. That's it. We will have hidden immunity idols hidden all over the expo too, so when you find them, you bring them up and redeem them, you get a tool or something. And we got some neat stuff that we'll do to kind of have fun. The lobby is going to be ridiculous. The staircase will be ridiculous again.
Ryan Ragan [00:31:04]:
So it gets— even I sometimes, I find myself like competing against myself. What can I do to make it different?
Mike Allen [00:31:11]:
I think we need a zipline across the top of the trade show.
Ryan Ragan [00:31:13]:
They have a height requirement. I've already looked into a lot of that. I was going to put I put like a 60-foot rock climbing wall and they're like, we can't put that in there. I don't know, bungee jump? So yeah, I pushed all the limits on all that.
Mike Allen [00:31:29]:
So if somebody wants to go ahead and buy the bulletin and register, astausa.org and then click on the expo and there's a registration link right there.
Ryan Ragan [00:31:40]:
There is, and the clock is ticking. August 1st, that's the last day. We're going right up. The 31st is the last day to get the early bird special ticket price. And it drives you crazy. Yeah, it drives you crazy because I was looking at all the data last year and like half the people, a little more than half, bought tickets within the last 30 days. And I'm thinking all the money they could have saved and all this, you know, buy the tickets. But then as I'm saying that, I just want everybody to know, like, as I'm reading that data, everybody I'm reading it to in the room He's like, yeah, we haven't got ours yet either.
Mike Allen [00:32:16]:
I texted you and Cal yesterday. I was like, hey, I need to get 8 more tickets real quick. I was like, I need to go. That's gonna save me $800 if I go ahead and do that today.
Ryan Ragan [00:32:24]:
Yeah, I'm like, come on now.
Mike Allen [00:32:28]:
Um, so, uh, if you're a podcast listener and you don't know, if you are a shop owner and you've never been to the expo, um, Confessions of a Shop Owner, thanks to our sponsors, is, uh, giving away 10 tickets to first-time attendees. attendees, because we want to get first-time attendees to these trade shows so they can experience kind of the life-changing event that it is. There'll be a link in the show notes to a form to, uh, to register yourself or another shop owner that you know for that drawing. We've already given away 7 of those seats, so we've got 3 more seats to give away. We'll be drawing for that later, uh, later in August, and you'll be notified if you were a winner on that. So link in the show notes to apply for a free ticket to ASTA Expo. You need to come either way, so you need to be there. It's gonna be, it's gonna be great.
Ryan Ragan [00:33:14]:
So yeah, I promise you, I mean, beyond everything else, look, the food's great, the parties will be great, that'll all be fun. I promise you, you'll love the training. We have some solid training.
Mike Allen [00:33:24]:
So 80 classes spread across entry-level technical, journeyman technical, high-level expert technical. We've got service advising We've got management, we've got marketing, we've got office, like bookkeeping-focused stuff. We got some AI-focused classes as well on utilizing the tools that are out there and also how to build your own tools.
Ryan Ragan [00:33:44]:
Oh yeah.
Mike Allen [00:33:46]:
And is Seth coming to teach that class?
Ryan Ragan [00:33:48]:
I believe so.
Mike Allen [00:33:49]:
So it's a truncated version of the class that he taught up here in this lounge a couple months ago, and everybody who came to that class and filled out the feedback form said that it was amazing. I had multiple people call me while they were traveling home in the airport telling me that they had already replaced tools in their business or built new tools in the time that it took them to get to the airport instead of waiting for their flight. So you need to attend that class for sure.
Ryan Ragan [00:34:20]:
We have some new AI vendors this year that are quite unique, really neat stuff. but just had a— just booked them up this week. But they had reached out and was talking, walked me through a demo of their products, and I'm like, well, this is kind of cool.
Mike Allen [00:34:31]:
Everybody, everybody— I mean, that's the buzzword, right? Everybody and their sister says we're using AI to do this, but it's a race right now by all these different companies to be first to market with a fully functional, you know, estimating tool or DVI tool or, you know, marketing management tool or whatever it be. So what are you guys teaching? You've got a couple of—
Tony Mercury [00:34:53]:
Yeah, we have a bunch actually. Uh, Kevin Robinson and myself are doing, uh, How a Marketing Agency Markets. So like our best practices and principles of how we run a large organization, what you can implement in your shop. So it's really, you know, identifying your gap, what kind of— how your— not car count, call count, your cars, your conversion rates, and just really looking at it because a lot of shops just throw money at marketing. They don't really use it as like a profit center or understand like, how do I successfully track these results? We're huge deep dive into that. Jessica Watkins is speaking. She's doing customer success leadership for the front counter. And we have Darren Williams speaking, and I can't remember his topic.
Ryan Ragan [00:35:35]:
I don't know off the top of my head, but yeah, he's definitely there. You guys have quite a few classes.
Tony Mercury [00:35:40]:
Yeah, Velo representation there.
Ryan Ragan [00:35:42]:
Yeah, no, that's good though.
Mike Allen [00:35:44]:
You know, I'm going to be involved in leading my first class ever at ASTA Expo this year, so that's going to be you.
Ryan Ragan [00:35:51]:
I'll have extra security in the building.
Mike Allen [00:35:54]:
But it's going to be Lucas and I, but thankfully we have an adult in the room. Tanika Haynes is also going to be part of it. So the 3 of us are going to be leading a 3-hour-long multi-topic conversation that is specifically for The classroom is not going to allow anybody but shop owners. No vendors, no suppliers, no employees. Shop owners only, so that we can really kind of take the filter off and talk about the reality of what it's like and the struggles that we have as shop owners.
Ryan Ragan [00:36:24]:
That's the beauty about the expo. I think that happens more at our show than anywhere else, where people are just, you know, they drop the guard and they realize It's not about competition, this and that. And, and like, they're from all over. I've got people— we have an entire group coming from the Caribbean now that we booked. We got guys from Canada, a guy from Australia, and they'll just sit around and just let it fly. Like, this is what I'm seeing, this is what's kicking my ass, you know? And that's it. I mean, that's the beauty of it.
Tony Mercury [00:36:52]:
I always equate those conversations— I always think back when my kids were real little and you feel like you're failing as a parent, and you talk to another parent and you're like, oh, your kid does that too? Oh, your kid does that too? It's not me, it's my kid, right? It's— so when you have that conversation with the shop owner, you're like, oh, you're experiencing that too. So it's— it feels like these problems are very unique to yourself, but they're not.
Mike Allen [00:37:11]:
They're not problems to solve. So not adding anything to the conversation, but just for giggles, um, whenever I feel like my kids are a problem or I'm being— I'm performing poorly as a parent, I just go out in public and look at other kids and other parents. I'm like, oh man, I'm fucking awesome because those kids are shit.
Tony Mercury [00:37:28]:
I feel good about myself.
Ryan Ragan [00:37:30]:
My parents are now like almost 80 and they realize that they did fail as parents.
Mike Allen [00:37:36]:
It's over.
Ryan Ragan [00:37:37]:
I'm not changing anymore.
Mike Allen [00:37:39]:
If you were what they had to work with, it was probably a pretty—
Ryan Ragan [00:37:42]:
It was a lumpy mold to start with.
Mike Allen [00:37:46]:
Not what I'm saying is that if you think your shop is bad, come to the expo and see all the other shops and how bad They really are. Maybe. I mean, I don't know. I mean, I'm not here to judge.
Ryan Ragan [00:37:56]:
It will be honest conversations, I can tell you that.
Mike Allen [00:37:58]:
You can come visit. You can come visit my shop and it's a disaster. Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:38:02]:
So got to get that floor fixed.
Mike Allen [00:38:03]:
That's what— Oh my God, everything. Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:38:06]:
Yeah. I don't even go over the garage.
Mike Allen [00:38:07]:
I got a roof leak here now. I found that last week.
Tony Mercury [00:38:09]:
I saw the puddle.
Mike Allen [00:38:10]:
Yeah.
Ryan Ragan [00:38:11]:
Why didn't you fall?
Tony Mercury [00:38:13]:
I know. Well, there's some time.
Mike Allen [00:38:15]:
Yeah, that's actually, uh, that leak is from the AC unit. for the front of the building. Yeah, it's—
Tony Mercury [00:38:21]:
Yeah, we had a lot of rain. A lot of—
Mike Allen [00:38:24]:
Yeah, we were in like a major drought and it's—
Ryan Ragan [00:38:27]:
And it just came. Yeah, yeah, my pool was overflowing, which was great because I was spending a fortune filling it up because we didn't get rain for 2 months. And it was just like, man.
Tony Mercury [00:38:35]:
This happened last year too. Yeah, we were like, we need rain. And then it starts and it doesn't stop. You're like, okay, that's enough rain.
Mike Allen [00:38:41]:
Is it our monsoon season? Is that what this is?
Tony Mercury [00:38:43]:
We're coming up, right?
Ryan Ragan [00:38:44]:
Yeah. I think so.
Tony Mercury [00:38:45]:
Well, we had the huge monsoon hurricane 2 years ago.
Ryan Ragan [00:38:48]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:38:49]:
Oh, we, we had hurricanes 2 years in a row.
Ryan Ragan [00:38:53]:
Oh yeah, the one was just far better.
Mike Allen [00:38:55]:
The one that flooded out west was terrible. People lost their homes and their businesses and everything else. You go downtown Asheville and it's still, it's still crazy.
Ryan Ragan [00:39:04]:
Yeah, so it's, um, I mean, I'll be driving over in that area and you're looking like in the middle of a creek there's a mobile home. I'm like, maybe, maybe we can move that now. I mean, what's it been, like 2 years?
Mike Allen [00:39:13]:
Yeah, drop down 40, you see it.
Ryan Ragan [00:39:14]:
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it was like, we can't get that out of here.
Mike Allen [00:39:18]:
Yeah, um, I need, uh, help brainstorming something if you guys can help me. This is totally off the record, 100% not being recorded. I, uh, I have a dream of, uh, some type of social gathering/network event, not a training event, uh, sometime in 2027 or early 2028. 28, hosted by the podcast. And, uh, I wanted to do a cruise, but that would make me a copycat because Carm does a cruise, and I can't be bogarting Carm's action because he's the OG, right? Um, so you think like the Keys or—
Ryan Ragan [00:39:56]:
Everything, everything starts and ends at Irish Kevin's there. So I mean, that's where you start and where you end usually. Irish Kevin.
Mike Allen [00:40:03]:
I think somewhere warm and awesome in the middle of winter.
Ryan Ragan [00:40:08]:
Yeah, yeah, Keys would be good.
Tony Mercury [00:40:09]:
I mean, what is it, a Green Pelican?
Ryan Ragan [00:40:11]:
Green Parrot? Yeah, solid.
Tony Mercury [00:40:13]:
A lot of dive bars there.
Mike Allen [00:40:15]:
Yeah, we could do it. We could do a bar crawl. We start at the south end, and by the time we get to the middle section, the guys who've never been to the Keys don't know that it's all drag bars on the other side. We're just stumbling into drag bars. They're gonna have to make great stories. It'll be hilarious. Well, I mean, all right, you heard it here first. We're going to the Keys as a podcast.
Ryan Ragan [00:40:32]:
Does that mean we're automatically looped in to go?
Mike Allen [00:40:36]:
I mean, I think so.
Ryan Ragan [00:40:37]:
I mean, now we've come up with the idea, I mean, you can't—
Mike Allen [00:40:40]:
So details to follow.
Ryan Ragan [00:40:42]:
I'll send you my flight requirements and everything.
Tony Mercury [00:40:44]:
Yeah, well, we can charter a plane.
Mike Allen [00:40:46]:
Yeah, so once you fly private, you never go back.
Ryan Ragan [00:40:48]:
Oh yeah, my buddy just moved to France and they took their dogs with them and they actually flew on a private plane jet with all other dog owners. And he's like, there's like 17 dogs and like 10 people on this plane. And he said—
Mike Allen [00:41:02]:
Imagine how bad it smelled.
Ryan Ragan [00:41:03]:
He said it was actually phenomenal. I mean, they're eating, you know, caviar and champagne. And he said, if I could fly like that every time, I would, but I don't want to tell you what I spent.
Tony Mercury [00:41:11]:
Oh, I could only imagine.
Ryan Ragan [00:41:12]:
He said it was not cheap.
Mike Allen [00:41:14]:
All right, guys. Well, have we left anything off?
Ryan Ragan [00:41:18]:
Not just, you know, hit the website astausa.org, you know, sign up and get some expo tickets. I promise you, you're not going to regret it. It's one of the best shows in the country.
Mike Allen [00:41:27]:
It's the best show in the country if you care about relationship building.
Ryan Ragan [00:41:31]:
I can't say that because I'm biased. You know, people will be like, what's that idiot supposed to say?
Mike Allen [00:41:36]:
Link in the show notes to sign up if you've never been, if you want to try to win a ticket. But don't let waiting to find out if you won or not prevent you from buying a ticket. If you've already bought a ticket and you win, I'll just reimburse you for your ticket. Go ahead and sign up now.
Ryan Ragan [00:41:49]:
I like it. Very good.
Mike Allen [00:41:53]:
Boom.
Ryan Ragan [00:41:54]:
I bet Braxton hates everything you do.
Mike Allen [00:41:56]:
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 You can also email me, 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.
Mike Allen [00:42:35]:
Thank you.