20 GEARS October 2003

Something thats become veryapparent since I first thought ofopening my own shop is thatwhen you write a business plan, youbetter use a pencil with an eraser. Irecently received a compliment from afriend about how well I was developingmy business. I thanked him for his per-ception (just kidding), and kind words,but it made me pause for a moment.

I started to think about growing abusiness, and if in fact it is actuallygrown, or just guided somehow along apath as it evolves on its own? I quiteoften find myself thinking about situa-tions much differently now than Iwould have before.

Some of the people I once thoughtwere so innovative in business nowlook like dinosaurs to me. And peoplewhose word and ideas I at one time dis-missed, I now see to be among thewiser voices within the auto repairindustry. The success of a businessdepends on the quality of the decisionsyou make. Should I pick A or B?Should I buy an existing business, orshould I open a new shop? Should Istay in the family business, or strike outon my own?

I take a level of pride in the factthat since starting out on my own, themajority of the business decisions Ivemade have been good. As for the rest,refer to my earlier remarks about the

eraser. Its also helped that, since start-ing out on my own, Ive developed a bitof a Teflon coating. As much as possi-ble, I allow the bad decisions to justslide off. Thats not to say that Ihavent learned from those unfortunatedecisions, its just that I dont dwell onthem, either.

Well, with all that having beensaid, Ill bring you up to date on theevolution of Diablo Transmissions.

The shop at this point is doinggreat. My volume is increasing nearlyevery month and so is my profit. Mostimportant, I am now able to bring home

a regular paycheck! I can tell you thatthis did not happen by accident.

A few months ago I decided Ineeded help with service writing.Fortunately for me, my timing couldnot have been better. A series of classeswere being offered fairly close to theshop, and I decided to go for it.Although this ended up being a greatdecision, it was also a very difficultone. First of all, a three-day servicewriter class is not cheap. Being awayfrom the shop for three days was alsotough. These issues aside, attending theclass was a great decision.

by Ray Warner

JourneyJourneyMyMyWhen you write a business plan, you better use a penci l with an eraser.

Some of the people I oncethought were so innovative in

business now look like dinosaursto me. And people whose word

and ideas I at one time dismissed, Inow see to be among the wiser

voices within the auto repairindustry.

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GEARS October 2003 21

I learned two important things inthose three days. First, I needed toincrease my gross profit on every job -and they showed me how to do this.Second, I needed to tighten up mypaperwork to ensure complete compli-ance with state laws that pertained toservice writing. The course also helpedme develop some much needed phoneskills, and how to properly price myshop work.

In regards to pricing, I think themost important point I learned is thatmy shops price schedule should havenothing to do with that of my competi-tors. I remember that while in the fam-ily business, our biggest price concernwas what the other shops were chargingto do a similar job. Now I could careless. I have a formula that makes sensefor my needs, and for the most part, Idont deviate from that formula.

Because of this new system, Ineeded a tool to help me estimate jobswith more accuracy, and I needed toimprove my record keeping system. Ifelt the best way to do this was to finda good auto repair software program. Isthere anything more frightening thanshopping for a software program? Well,actually there is; finding out how muchtechnical support will cost.

This was a tough decision, and Icalled everyone I knew for input. Afterconsiderable research, and whatseemed like forever, I made a decision.I picked a system that several generalauto repair shops in our area use togreat effect. In the past, I had used mypersonal computer and software just asa word processor. A way to write workorders in a neat and orderly way, but noreal integration between various pro-

grams as a truly useful business tool.The ability to generate estimates

quickly and accurately was invaluable.I was able to program my parts markupright into the system. This may soundstrange, but having the parts markupautomatically calculated by the pro-gram allows me to separate my emo-tions from the estimate. I believe thatwhen I look back in a year or two, thispurchase, and the positive effect itbrought to Diablo Transmissions, maywell prove to be one of the turningpoints in my business.

Let me wrap up this article bytelling you that the future of my busi-ness looks bright, but only because I amwilling to put aside preconceivedbeliefs and attitudes, and look to othersfor help. My personality is such that itssometimes hard to say or admit that Idont know something. But this busi-ness is far too important to allow myego to get in the way of success.

So I guess what I said at the begin-ning of this piece is true. Im continu-ing to evolve as a shop owner, but Imalso evolving as a person as well. Withhard work and a little luck, maybe wellboth wind up successful.

Ray Warners My Journey series beganin the January-February 2003 issue ofGEARS Magazine. This months arti-cle is the seventh in the on-goingaccount of Ray opening his own trans-mission shop and all the trials andtribulations along the way.

I believe that when I look back in ayear or two, this purchase, and the

positive effect it brought to Diablo Transmissions, may well

prove to be one of the turningpoints in my business.

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