My marketing before and after signing up with Turnkey Marketing is pretty scary. In a good way. Get your marketing right today HERE

Tekmetric opened my eyes to just how much a good SMS will do for a shop. Their software is top of the line, and with them, so is my shop. Try them for yourself HERE

I was SHOCKED when I saw the things I was missing the first time I used Detect Auto. Simple things, but easy to miss. Detect Auto helped clean that up for me, and they can for you, too. Use them HERE

Register for Tekmetric's Tektonic Conference in Huston coming up in 2026 HERE

In this episode, Mike Allen and Matt Lofton break down 2025's financial results from the shop, and talk about what went wrong and what went right. Matt encourages Mike to work towards pre-booking appointments to drive repeat business, and Mike states his goals for boosting net profit in 2026.

Timestamps:
00:00 Matt thinks Mike should only focus on the shop?
01:15 Confessions intro
03:02 Recapping the year: top-line numbers, gross profit, and performance metrics
05:07 Gross profit calculation, labor rates, and tech efficiency
09:35 Ad spend breakdown—what’s working, what’s wasted
11:15 Setting ambitious but achievable 2026 profit targets
13:43 Staffing, productivity by the billable hour, and role expectations
16:03 Navigating seasonal slowdowns and weather curveballs
21:21 Drilling into process—team consistency and customer experience
26:16 Tech inspections, quality DVIs, and closing rate improvements
33:04 The #1 process change to add 10% net profit
34:16 How (and WHY) to start pre-booking appointments for consistent car count
39:00 Pre-booking accountability & reminder hacks that actually work
41:51 Retention challenges with new customers & recapture campaign ideas
45:14 Why “state inspection only” tickets kill profitability
48:48 The key takeaways—retention, consistency, and focusing on fundamentals

Register for Tekmetric's Tektonic Conference in Huston coming up in 2026 HERE

Turnkey Marketing takes the stress of doing something I'm not good at off my plate. And gives it to someone who is. Click HERE for more.

Register for Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2026 Conference January 30-31 - Remember to use this code: CONFESSIONS

Jared Haleck is the new Chief Product Officer at Tekmetric, and today he talks with Mike about the rapid innovation happening in automotive shop management technology. Jared shares his perspective on how AI tools can streamline service advisor-customer interactions, making it easier to gather, document, and translate repair information for technicians. The conversation also explores the future potential of AI in automating repair estimates and improving digital vehicle inspections—emphasizing that the biggest barrier to integrating these tools is just shop owners’ creativity.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Will Tekmetric take over the world??
00:21 – Confessions of a Shop Owner Presented by Tekmetric
01:13 – Speed Vegas recap: Racing exotics, leaderboard drama, and surprises
05:15 – Jared Haleck’s background & first impressions of Tekmetric
08:43 – What does a Chief Product Officer actually do? (And, yes, nerds are involved)
10:39 – The AI revolution: Early adopters, ChatGPT, and what every shop should know
13:04 – Practical AI: Intake conversations, tech translation, and smarter service writing
16:25 – Summarization, speech-to-text, and eliminating “translation loss”
20:03 – Why voice (and phone) is key to the next auto shop breakthrough
25:33 – Wish list: AI-powered digital vehicle inspections & visual documentation
32:30 – Word choices, loss aversion, and writing the story customers need
34:44 – The real trick: Getting creative with AI prompts and trying new ideas
36:12 – Gemini, Claude, or GPT: Which AI platform works best?
39:54 – Where can shop owners get the most bang-for-their-buck with AI today?
41:25 – Fast hacks: Using iPhone Notes for instant transcriptions
42:29 – What’s next? The roadmap to automated estimate building
44:32 – Why Tekmetric is leading the innovation race (and how to join)

If you're like me and aren't good at marketing, don't do it on your own. Let the experts handle it. Touch HERE for more on Turnkey Marketing.

Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch HERE

There are a lot of moving parts in a repair shop, opening the door to missing things. Don't let that happen to you. Learn more about Detect Auto

Register for Tekmetric's Tektonic Conference in Huston coming up in 2026 HERE

Jimmy Purdy is the host of The Gearbox Podcast and owns Shift'n Gears Auto Repair in Paso Robles, California. Today, he and Mike Allen talk about how Jimmy nearly doubled his business in 2025 using the sometimes unpopular AutoShop Answers method. The conversation also covers the challenges of balancing profitability with company culture and how shop owners often struggle to find the one “silver bullet,” when success is really about picking up the right gold nuggets along the way.

Timestamps:
00:00 The golden rule: fully inform the customer before doing any repairs
01:08 Trade show tricks: why veteran vendors bring two pairs of shoes
02:08 Shoe disasters, hiking stories, and quick-thinking hacks
03:28 Shop growth: Doubling sales, why net profit isn’t the whole picture
04:41 Breaking revenue ceilings: Big changes and new sales processes
05:37 Shiny object syndrome and tracking the right KPIs
06:21 Learning to filter industry advice and run the shop your way
07:36 Sales process overhaul: From tech mindset to customer experience
08:53 What great client experience actually means—beyond the inspection
10:10 Shop coaching, sales training, and implementing what works for YOU
12:25 Adapting big shop advice for smaller or rural markets
13:55 Customizing processes, balancing growth and team happiness
15:11 Efficiency breakthroughs: Improving inspections and workflow
17:37 Overcoming DVI inconsistency and getting buy-in from your team
21:50 Estimating strategies: Why quoting everything isn’t always best
25:22 Lessons in sales: The “kitchen sink” rule and sales fatigue
29:13 Team training, scripting, and crushing phone intake times
34:43 Bringing team to trade shows for real buy-in (and to avoid “Black Monday”)
39:11 Evolving customer expectations and modernizing shop experiences
44:39 The myth of the universal “right way” to run a shop
51:06 Seven-day work weeks, shop culture, and the truth about tech retention
54:13 Letting your team find their own wins—even new gloves count
56:06 Shop life, family life, and defining your own success as an owner
57:17 Where to find more: Jimmy’s Gearbox podcast & how you can get involved