Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 39: Opportunity

Opportunity by Rick White, President 180BIZ

The topic for today is opportunity. There aren't a lot of people thinking opportunity right now. What they're thinking is survival. But survival is only going to get you so far. That’s because you're going to hit your base needs and then it stops. You’ll end up waiting it out. I want to help you stop survival thinking and begin growth thinking. Think abundance. Think about how you can maximize the opportunities that are all around you right now. Napoleon Hill said, “Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache, carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

I honestly believe that there's been some great blessings to come out of this. I think it helped us understand where some of our holes are in the business. I think it helped us to do a reset on how we're doing things and who we're doing them for. It helped us reevaluate what we're delivering to people. I think it gave us a chance to review the people that we're working with and ensure that we have the absolute best team.  For years I’ve said better understaffed with the right people than fully staffed with the wrong. And I think people are really getting that now. I think that's amazing.

I want to talk about opportunity. Some people are asking, “Rick, what are you talking about? Opportunity?” Here's why you're not seeing the opportunity. It's because you have a “blinders on” mindset.  You’re focused on getting to the end of the day, and end of the week. You’re focused on getting your bills paid. And that mindset does not serve you. Think differently.

1. SLOW DOWN.  Instead of rushing towards something, instead of pushing towards a destination of survival and just to get to the end of the day, slow down.  Yes, I said, “SLOW DOWN!” That's the first thing to find. There is opportunity to slow down.
2. Stop staring at your destination. Understand that you still need to move toward your destination (your goal), but a goal is nothing more than getting in your car and knowing where you want to go. You don't spend all your time looking at where you want to on a map. You start to look around you, be aware of your surroundings, and begin your journey.

That's what I'm asking you to do. I’m asking you to slow down and become aware of your surroundings. Let go of the tension. Let go of the stress, let go of the fear.  Then you’ll see opportunity all around you. It might be adding a new service. It might be doing things a little bit different, like offering pickup and delivery. I guarantee that are more things that you can do right now that will help you to blow up your business.

So, stop staring at your destination. I want you to slow down and let go of the stress. And I want you to ask yourself what's great about this? Look around. You enjoy the travel, the journey. Opportunities are all around you, you just have to slow down and notice them.

• Now could be a great time to go after some more fleet work. Other shops are closed. Give new fleets a call and let them know you’re open and there to help and serve.
• You could add a new service like installing electronics into vehicles or a standardization service where you're standardizing the vehicles for your customers.

Now is the time to do a reboot. Now's the time to step back. I think we're going to end up with a great economy. But I think it’s going to be in a new 2.0 America. That’s not a bad thing for those of us that are aware of it and are looking for the opportunities.  I think this is a great opportunity to look at the customers you've been working with and recognize that some of them shouldn't be with you. Recognize that 80% of your headaches are coming from 20% of your customers.  Perhaps it’s time to look at that a little harder.

Tip of the Day. We need everybody to be thinking opportunity. We need everybody to be thinking growth. If you are experiencing a slowdown, instead of freaking out about it or getting upset, now is a great time to invest in your team. There is lots of training out there such as AVI training or WORLDPAC training where your staff can go online.  AC Delco and Napa offers training, as well. Even if your people are laid off, talk to them about doing training. You can't make them do it while they’re laid off, but you can offer a bonus when they come back for every training course they completed during their furlough. Think about that. That might be a nice hook to bring them back to your shop.

Don’t forget to invest in yourself. What kind of training do you need? Do you need management training or leadership training? Do you need a coach? This is a great time to improve yourself. Here's your business tip. Businesses don't get better. They can't. They're inanimate objects. It's the people inside the business that get better, and then the business gets better. So, your business tip for today is invest in yourself and in your team and help them grow.

Thank you for being here.  If any of this resonates with you, please share this video to help others too. Take care. Have an amazing day and go make some money.  God bless.