Ep 162: How Coachability Turned a Struggling Shop Into a $7M Business with Thomas Andrews

Speaker A: You can make money and do what brings you joy. It does exist, man. We didn't come this far to only come this far.

Speaker B: Yeah, not done yet.

Speaker A: What are we thinking, dude?

Speaker C: Hire a business coach as soon as you can, period. And don't tell me you can't afford it, because I'm telling you right now you can't not afford it.

Speaker B: Amen.

Speaker D: You're listening to the Limitless Leadership Podcast. The podcast designed to help automotive repair shops learn how to lead, coach, train and manage their team better by sharing proven techniques and thought provoking interviews from industry leaders. Are you ready to transform your leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results? Let's get ready for liftoff. It's time to go from great to greater. Here's today's episode.

Speaker B: Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast. Before we get started, don't forget to like, comment, share, subscribe, do all the things you need to on social media to help this podcast impact people and build leaders just like the one I'm meeting with today. My friend is a multi shop owner of CDT Automotive Select Auto Pros. He's a shop coach. Sorry, he's a coach with Shop Fix Academy. And as I shared, he is my friend, Thomas Andrews. Thomas, thanks for being here, man.

Speaker C: Awesome.

Speaker A: Uh, man, I really appreciate it. I'm honored to be here.

Speaker B: Wait, man, I'm excited to have you on. I mean, um, you know, I introduced you as my friend just because I'm gonna force that on, you know, on you. Um, but truthfully, you and I are still getting to know each other. Um, you know, you might, you and I've been following each other on social media for a minute and I see the things that you do. I really like the things that you do and I'm excited for our audience to, um, to, to hear about that. But I'm, I'm, I'm selfishly also learning more about you on this, this, uh, this episode. I, I, I, I really admire and respect Thomas the way that you have, uh, for lack of better terms, picked up the torch and said, I'm going to make, uh, an impact in this industry. I'm gonna be an influence in this industry. And a question I encourage every one of my clients to ask himself is, does my team feel the weight of my title or the influence or energy of my leadership? And from afar on social media, what I'm seeing is a tremendous influence and energy about you. And I was like, I got to get this guy on the podcast. So I'm excited for for this to finally happen. If you would, man, share with the audience who you are, what you do and how you do it.

Speaker E: Promotive is tackling one of the toughest challenges in the automotive industry. Finding and hiring great technicians. Their team is built from people who know the aftermarket, understand technician roles, and recognize what actually makes someone a strong, long term fit. Promotive builds recruiting pipelines for the shops they support. They uncover talent you won't find on job boards, run intentional and structured screenings, and guide candidates through interview prep and communication so shops can make confident decisions. Shops choose Promotive because their process creates consistency, momentum instead of waiting, clarity instead of guesswork, and a partnership instead of a transaction. If your shop is hiring or preparing for growth, head to gopromotive.com you can schedule a discovery call, submit your openings, and see how Promotive supports shops nationwide. All right, folks, as you know, great leadership isn't about doing everything the best. It's actually about having the right partners

Speaker B: in your corner to build your shop success.

Speaker E: It's about putting the right team in place. It's about choosing the right vendors to make you a pro making pro moves. And when I think about the pros, I think about shop marketing pros. The know like and trust factor. That's a real thing. And shop marketing pros understands that. That's why I want to recommend shop m marketing pros to become your marketing

Speaker B: partner in your shop.

Speaker E: They get to know like and trust you and your business to then help your audience get to know like and trust you too and bring your shop

Speaker B: to the next level.

Speaker E: So when I talk about making pro moves, this is the kind of move I'm talking about. This, this is the kind of standard setting partnership that's going to elevate your shop. So if you're ready to become a pro in your shop, visit shopmarketingpros.com and

Speaker B: partner with the best.

Speaker A: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for the kind words, man. Uh, likewise.

Speaker C: I've been, I've been watching you as well.

Speaker A: It's been awesome to see the come up man. I mean, it's uh, it's great to

Speaker C: see, I love to see my people succeed and really doing what you do. It's, it's nice to be able to, you know and share with anybody listening

Speaker A: to this podcast, guys.

Speaker C: I mean Josh is a living testimony of you can make money and do

Speaker A: what brings you joy.

Speaker C: It does exist, right? You can do it. Now. I'm not saying it's easy. It's not easy and it might not be for everybody. However, there is a way to do what you love to do and also

Speaker A: make it your career.

Speaker C: And so I certainly would encourage each

Speaker A: and every one of you if you're

Speaker C: on that, walking off the cliff at

Speaker A: the edge of the cliff and you're

Speaker C: like, ah, uh, I want to stay at my corporate America job or do I leap into this thing that brings me joy, I just don't know how I'm going to monetize it yet. I would certainly encourage you to really, really, really put some thought into it and ultimately pray about it and really, really just think if this is, if this is what you're called to do,

Speaker A: it's going to work out.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And you're going to be able to inspire and impact so many lives doing that and it's just, it's incredible.

Speaker C: So I appreciate you having me on here, Josh. Uh, just to give you guys a brief introduction. I, My uh, name is Thomas Andrews. I am a multi shop operator. Um, we, my, I have a business partner, his name's Mike Lyles and him and I are, we like to call

Speaker A: ourselves high school sweethearts.

Speaker C: So we are best friends from high school and he is the master technician and I am the front of the

Speaker A: house sales marketing guy.

Speaker C: So that is basically how we worked

Speaker A: in the partnership is he was the back of the house and I was the front of the house and we stayed in our lanes and that's how

Speaker C: it worked honestly, because if we were both technicians we wouldn't be here today and if we were both front of the house people we wouldn't be here today. So it worked out because my strengths

Speaker A: are his weaknesses and his weaknesses are uh, my strengths.

Speaker C: And it took just because we're both males, it took us throwing away our

Speaker A: egos and really understanding that hey, we can't do this on our own.

Speaker C: I would not be where I am

Speaker A: today without that man and he would not be where he is today without me.

Speaker C: And we understand that, we appreciate that

Speaker A: and we respect that about one another and I think that's super important in a partnership.

Speaker B: That's awesome.

Speaker C: It's so multi shop operator.

Speaker A: We started out with a company called Carolina Diesel Trucks. It was a um, truck club is

Speaker C: how we, we formed this idea.

Speaker A: I was working in corporate America as a cybersecurity engineer analyst and Mike was a master technician at ah, an independent repair shop.

Speaker C: And so he was doing that and I was working in uh, cybersecurity and we both drove diesel trucks and so

Speaker A: we wanted to start a Diesel truck.

Speaker C: But there was a lot of car clubs, right?

Speaker A: Like fast cars and supercars and things like that. But um, there wasn't really many truck clubs around.

Speaker C: And so we started a truck club

Speaker A: and we called it Carolina Diesel Trucks. And we started selling apparel.

Speaker C: T shirts, hoodies, decals, hats, you name it. And we would go to truck shows and uh, and we would set up a booth. What we didn't realize is that while

Speaker A: we were doing this, we were building a brand.

Speaker C: And that is a full circle moment that we've just now started to have

Speaker A: that revelation of oh my gosh, holy crap, that's what we were doing.

Speaker C: Yeah, we were, we were building a brand.

Speaker A: Had he had no idea because we weren't. Dude, we were selling t shirts for 20 bucks. We had like 18 bucks in them,

Speaker C: you know what I'm saying? So we were just getting apparel out. Getting apparel out. And what we were doing was we were building ambassadors that just walked around and told people about cdt. And so that's why we ended up changing to CDT Automotive because Carolina Diesel

Speaker A: Trucks is a mouthful.

Speaker C: So everyone was just like cdt. We're just going to say that.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Leading a shop can be isolating.

Speaker E: Especially when you're trying to grow and still take care of your people. The good news is you don't have to piece it together alone. Techmetric is the all in one platform built for shops and growing operators who want uh, less chaos and more clarity. Shop management, integrated payments and built in marketing, all working together in one place. No bouncing between tools, no syncing issues, no no missed opportunities. Just a cleaner operation, a stronger customer experience and a business that's built to grow. See how it works@uh, techmetric.com or use the link in the show notes. Atlantic Automotive is an alliance of leading auto repair shops. They partner with, invest in and grow exceptional auto repair shops throughout the US for shop owners looking to take things to the next level. Atlantic Automotive can help you scale with access to technology people, growth capital and operational support for shop owners looking to transition into something new. Atlantic Automotive provides a trusted home for your business and a responsible steward for your legacy. Atlantic Automotive is not a franchise, a chain or private equity group. It is a coalition of like minded auto repair shops united by a shared vision and shared resources. Atlantic Automotive is a faith based, family owned company building the number one automotive partnership organization. If you're interested in partnering, go to AtlanticAutomotiveGroup.com and fill out the start a conversation form.

Speaker B: Well, yeah, I mean it's certainly easier but yeah, what's also cool, Thomas, is not only are you building a brand, but you built a movement. Like you're building a community. It's, it's very much like what, what Shop Fix has done in our industry. Um, it's, it's a community. It's. It's a community of tribes of people. Um, and you can, you can speak. I'm going to ask you to speak more on Shop Fix later on. But, um, it's truly is a community and it helps people understand. I'm not alone. I mean, a lot of times we feel stuck. We feel like we're on an island. Uh, we feel like, um, we just feel like we're going through things alone and we just can't get out of this grind. But you and I both know that multiple minds are better than one. And we can go through it and we're going to grow through it. I'm going to ask you to keep on speaking about your, um, your, your background, your journey, your come up, how you got here, but also I am going to ask you to touch on later on the grind that I'm, that I'm referencing. And, and the way a lot of folks right now are feeling this, this grind, they just can't get out of it. So let's, let's have a, that's a teaser moment. But, but pick up where you left off.

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker C: So we, uh, Carolina Diesel trucks then turns into 2016.

Speaker A: So in 2012, we started Carolina Diesel Trucks in 2016. So four years later, um, that is

Speaker C: when Mike left his full time job

Speaker A: and went on out on his own with cdt. Okay.

Speaker C: And so that was a scary moment, right? You want to talk about taking a leap?

Speaker A: Taking a jump.

Speaker C: His concern was obviously ours, right?

Speaker A: And so I told him, I said, mike, I said, here's the deal, man. I sold this big job we were doing. It was like a 80 hour job. And uh, so I said, hey man, this at least cover you for two weeks. And he's like, well, what about after that? And I said, don't worry about that. That's my job. That puts the pressure on me. And I sold him hours ever since. Right.

Speaker C: And so, but that moment, we had two weeks of Runway and it was either do it or don't.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: And so I just want to encourage you guys if you get that Runway. And also it had helped out, right?

Speaker A: I obviously was still at my job,

Speaker C: so I had, I had some security there.

Speaker A: I did not take a salary from

Speaker C: what we were doing on the side. I Was willing to just do it as a time investment for my future, knowing that the fruits would come at

Speaker A: some point in time, but I was willing to take that.

Speaker C: And so I would answer all the calls and I would sell all the work and then I would dispatch it to Mike. My only concern was at the beginning,

Speaker A: while it was just him was like

Speaker C: nobody was at the shop.

Speaker A: So I was like, what if this guy gets hurt?

Speaker C: Nobody's there. You know what I mean? Like it was my biggest fear. And so, but then we, shortly after, I mean, he started in April full

Speaker A: time of 2016 and by August we had hired our first full time employee.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker A: And so, um, and then, and then we moved on from there.

Speaker C: So that stat shop, just so you

Speaker A: know, we started in a one bay shed in 2012.

Speaker C: He built a three bay horse barn

Speaker A: in 2014 for personal use. In 2016 we took it over as the company. And then we did, uh, out of that three bay, we worked until 2018

Speaker C: when I left my job and we built our 10,000 square foot, um, commercial

Speaker A: facility in Fuquay, Varina. We built that in 2018 and we opened January of 2019.

Speaker B: What was it like for you to leave your corporate job? You're talking about leaving safety and security and I don't even call it a leap anymore. I just call it a step. It's one step. It's one step. Uh, I mean biblically even the Bible talks about God's word is a lamp into our feet and light into our path. So to me it's enough to take one step. And I keep on trusting the process. I keep on having faith over fear and then I can take another step and then another step. Talk to us about what it was like for you to leave your corporate job.

Speaker C: Yeah. So honestly, man, like you have to.

Speaker A: It's, it's, it's a lot of trusting God. Right. It's, it's a lot of understanding what it's like to be on his assignment. And um, you know, I really thought back to the pivotal moment was, I mean I had many conversations with my wife and to be completely transparent with you, she wasn't, uh, the most excited.

Speaker C: She was obviously going to, she, she was obviously going to do whatever. She was going to support me. Yeah. But she was going to let me know how she really felt too. Right? Yeah. Ah. So she was going to make sure that I really had thought through things,

Speaker A: I prayed through things, and, and this

Speaker C: was very important for us because, I

Speaker A: mean this is a huge impact on my family and my wife. Fortunately, for me, she was a cpa, uh, for a public accounting firm. And so she had steady income.

Speaker C: And so it was.

Speaker A: That was a little bit great for us because I was leaving steady income for no income.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: So, I mean, I was, I was making close to $150,000 a year. To zero.

Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, talk about a big step. A big step of faith.

Speaker C: And the only. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons why I was able to do that was

Speaker A: because of my wife. Because we had her stability with her income, but I didn't want my wife to have to work at that job her whole life.

Speaker C: So the goal was, hey, honey, you

Speaker A: sacrifice now for our family and I'll make it up to you one day. Right.

Speaker C: The problem was is that day just kept getting pushed and pushed and pushed. But we'll get into that later. Well, I want to, I want to

Speaker B: pause for a moment, Thomas, because I think this is important. You just said a key word, and it's, It's a word I was actually thinking about before you said it, uh, when you talked about how you're leaving a steady income. Your wife, thankfully has a steady income. So there's, there's a bit of a. I mean, uh, a cushion, if you will. But the word that comes to mind is sacrifice. Because while a lot of us as business owners or entrepreneurs, we think that, yes, it's a sacrifice that we're making, but you and I both know the entire family is making this sacrifice to some degree. And so this, it's a, it's a big pivotal moment. And I'll say when the pressure's on, we don't rise to the occasion, but we do fall to our highest level of preparation. I'm curious. What were you doing to prepare for this? The unknown? Like, for example, when, when it was just you and Mike and, and you guys had a two week, uh, uh, Runway, what were you doing to prepare for the next two weeks and then the next two weeks and then preparing even after you left your corporate job? What, what did preparation look like for you back then and what does it look like for you now?

Speaker C: Yeah, so back then it was, it was all in.

Speaker A: So we, we did, we, we. It was. Mike and I decided we were going all in on this thing. Uh, and so, and I had talked to my wife about. I got her full support. She knew there was going to be early mornings, long days and late nights.

Speaker C: She knew it.

Speaker A: Now. I told her it was going to be a season.

Speaker C: Don't know how long the season is going to last. Right. It lasted a lot longer, a whole heck of a lot longer than I thought it was going to last. I can relate to that too. But we can joke about it now, right?

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: Uh, because we're through that journey in that season. However, during that season it was wake, uh, up in the morning, go to work.

Speaker A: I would work 8 o' clock until 5 o', clock, leave work, I would

Speaker C: drive to the shop to meet Mike. I would pick up Chick fil a, bring it to him. Because I couldn't fix cars, but I

Speaker A: could certainly feed the man. Right.

Speaker C: And so, and I was the parts guy.

Speaker A: So if I, I'd ask him if

Speaker C: I need to stop by a parts house, get by a dealership, buy advanced

Speaker A: auto parts or o' rallies or nap or any of those guys. Right.

Speaker C: And grab parts to bring them out

Speaker A: there to be able to help, you know, speed along the process from an efficiency perspective. Right. Because he's only one guy.

Speaker C: And so.

Speaker A: And we would stay there until the job was done. And some nights it's 7:30, 8 o', clock, some nights it's 2, 3 in the morning.

Speaker C: And that was just part of it.

Speaker A: And that, and it was tough, man,

Speaker C: because in that time I had my

Speaker A: first child in 2017. My son was born in, uh, 2017 and my daughter was born in 2020.

Speaker C: So both of these children were born in complete and utter chaos.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: From that perspective. And then you had COVET Obviously in

Speaker A: 2020, which is a whole nother, you know, ordeal.

Speaker C: Right, sure. But it was honestly like, it was

Speaker A: a testament to the strength of our marriage. It was a testament to the strength of what Caroline and I could do. Uh, if we could do these hard things, we can do anything. Love that. And she really took, I mean she was working full time and she took care of the kids full time. We had them in daycare. But at nighttime, I mean, she knew, I mean there was many a nights we didn't eat dinner together.

Speaker C: Many nights she went to sleep before

Speaker A: I even got home, you know. And it was a season and it

Speaker C: was a tough season.

Speaker A: Don't get it twisted. And I'm telling you all this, you know, that are listening, that it's, it's not easy. And I'm not, I'm not saying that, I'm not trying to make light of that. That was a very difficult season in my life. However, if I were to interview my wife today, who no longer works, she's a stay at home mom and she gets to do what she loves to do, she would tell you it was all worth it.

Speaker B: Thomas, can I ask you. There's a. You know, I'm going to put you on the spot for a moment because in, in my own journey that I've experienced ironically today, like literally today makes three years of entrepreneurship for m. Me today.

Speaker A: Let's go.

Speaker B: And, and, and I, and I. Thank you. I look back at the last three years, and it's been very much of a. You know, if, if you're listening to this episode, feel free to watch it. Go to YouTube at the Bearded leader. You can see my hand going up and down, up and down, because it's very much like a roller coaster. Um, but when you scale back and look at the big picture that, that, that up and down, there's still slow and steady progress being made. And what I've, what I've identified over the last few years is when I think that I, I'm ready for something or I need something, and whether that be another client, whether that be another speaking opportunity, uh, or training to do or something, uh, whatever it is in a particular season or moment, I might be thinking I'm ready for this or I need this, and then it doesn't happen. Or maybe, maybe I'm, um, I'm anticipating. I mean, I have a great discovery call with, with a large organization, and we talk about getting like 20 of their team members signed up for leadership coaching. And I'm thinking, this is great. This is exactly financially what we need right now. And developmentally, this is perfect for the company. I can scale the business and so forth and so on. And then another call happens and there's. They're kind of on the fence and another call happens, and then it just, uh, things, uh, fizzle out. Right? And so I thought I was going to get this, and then I don't get it. And I let you know, six, seven, eight months go by, and then something even bigger pops off. And it allows me the time, the space, the freedom to be able to build and create and develop. And I know that had I gotten that last job that I thought I was going to get, that I didn't get, things would not be able to work out the way that I, that they're working out now. And I'm, uh, saying all that to say this. I'm. I'm learning each and every day still. I'm learning this to this day, how important God's timing really is. Because truthfully, God's timing is, is part. Is perfect. Like in my own life, this is my, this is my own opinion, my own testament. God's timing is perfect. He's not often early, but he's never late. And I'm curious, can you, can you relate to what I'm sharing? Like, were there things that happened in, in your journey where, um, you're, you're hopeful for, for one thing, it doesn't occur. Um, your plans can't be forced, but God's plans can't be stopped. Can you elaborate on what I'm, What I'm sharing?

Speaker C: Yep. So, and you're exactly right.

Speaker A: Uh, it's, it's in entrepreneurship, a lot

Speaker C: of times we as people that are

Speaker A: in entrepreneurship typically are people that, um, run towards obstacles and not run from them. And we are very stubborn individuals that, uh, will just do and do and do and do and do, and we don't accept no for an answer. And we don't like to lose.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: Yep.

Speaker C: So. But the reality is, is, uh, God

Speaker A: has a funny way of, uh, you know, giving you reality check every once in a while.

Speaker C: You know, one of those little gut checks.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: And so that was me. You know, obviously, in 2016, Mike went

Speaker A: out on his own. Uh, well, at that point in time, I was like, I didn't want him to do that alone. I wanted to be there. Right. With him. Right. But I, uh, knew. I kept, I kept, I kept saying, all right, you know, I'm going to quit my job, I'm going to go be with Mike. We're going to start this thing up. And, uh, and I'm like, I'm talking about it, I'm praying about it, and I'm just, I'm feeling the Lord tell me, not yet. Not yet. It's not, it's not your time. Right. And you still have more work to

Speaker C: do in the cybersecurity, you know, in industry and all of those things. And, you know, and, and honestly, case in point, what happens in 2016-2018?

Speaker A: I take a different role within the same organization, and I start to work with the FBI, and I start to work with our, uh, local municipalities, and I'm doing some ethical hacking, slash forensic work on, um, children that go to, uh, public schools here in, in our area. They all have computers now, so they all give them, they give them a tablet or a computer of some sort. Right. And, uh, which is awesome because it gives us something to trace. And so I got really, really involved in a few cases of, uh, with the FBI, uh, of, of abduction. And I was able to work quickly, promptly, and effectively to save uh, some children's lives.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker A: And I would not have Done that or been called to do that, if I would have said no to God.

Speaker B: That's powerful, man.

Speaker A: And not answer the call. Right?

Speaker C: So in that two years, I truly believe that that was God saying, no,

Speaker A: no, no, no, no. Mhm. I need you for this. Hm. I got a couple, I got a, I got a couple things for you to take care of. And then in 2018, when we got, uh, our loan approved, when we went to the bank and said, hey man, I need a million dollars. And they were like, hey man, let me see your P. Ls and we're like, what's that? They're like a, uh, profit and loss statement. I'm like, yeah, never heard of her.

Speaker C: And they're like, oh, really? Like, I'm like, hey man, I got bank statements. I can show you my bank account. But I don't know anything about profit and loss. All I know is I have money, I spend money and I have money

Speaker A: and I spend, uh, money and I still have money.

Speaker C: Right. I don't know how much money I'm making, losing or whatever.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: All I know is that I have enough money in the bank to keep

Speaker A: going one more day. Yeah.

Speaker C: Right. And so, but we get that and

Speaker A: that's a pinnacle thing. And then it realizes where Mike finally gets to the point where he's drowning. And he calls me one night and he's never done this. And he was like, thomas, I need you. I need you. And I'm like, all right. So I talked about it, talked with my wife, prayed about it, and realized, okay, now, now, now's the time it feels, it feels right. And that was two years, right? So then when we moved on from that, we went from 18 full time to 2021. In 2021, we were turning, we were doing $3 million out of a eight, uh, bay operation. And we were losing money annually. Mike and I were working 15 to 18 hours every single day. We had no freedom, hadn't taken a vacation in three years. Marriage is non existent. Uh, it was just awful, right? I had two kids, never home. Missed donuts for dads, muffins for moms. I m. Missed, missed all that stuff, you know? No, no, no. Going to school to see my kids, class, you know, artwork and school plays, all that stuff. Don't have time. I don't have time. Right. Didn't have time. Um, which in reality I did have time. I just didn't prioritize that I prioritized my customers over my family. And uh, and so 2021, Mike and I get to our breaking point. And we're like, dude, what's the point? Like, I'll just go back to cybersecurity and you just go back to being a master technician. We'll sell, we'll sell the land, we'll sell the building, we'll sell the assets, hopefully get back what we have in it, pay off all our debt and move on. And uh, we had that conversation on a Friday and Saturday and Sunday. Really just took some time to really just think about things. And when we did, uh, it was just one of those moments where it's like, man, we didn't come this far to only come this far.

Speaker B: Yeah, not done yet.

Speaker A: Like, what are we thinking, dude? We're not giving up on this. We're not quitters.

Speaker C: We don't quit.

Speaker A: We don't quit in anything in life. Why would we quit now?

Speaker C: And so then we have this spark

Speaker A: where we're like, you know what, maybe we need to reach out and find someone or find a coach or find some type of business development because we can't figure it out. Mhm. We're, we're not there yet. So we find Aaron Stokes. And, uh, we joined Shop Fix Academy in June of 2021. And we attended, uh, the hackers event in June of 2021 for our first event. And um, and it changed our life, man. I mean, completely transformed us. And I'm not saying that it's like the magic pill or it's the easy button. Uh, no, I'm just saying that we were given a playbook. And we chose when we signed up to throw our egos in the trash and say, you know what?

Speaker C: Somebody else has it figured out. We don't stop making excuses and start making adjustments.

Speaker D: Mhm.

Speaker C: And so we dove in, we implemented systems. We got rid of people that were best friends. We got rid of people that didn't

Speaker A: need to be in the organization.

Speaker C: We got rid of people that weren't producing. And when we started making changes, and it took about 6 to 12 months

Speaker A: to really make these changes, well, then

Speaker C: in 2022, we do 4 million.

Speaker A: And then in 2023, we had enough

Speaker C: profit to expand the building to 15,000

Speaker A: square feet, 15 bays. And we did 7.3 million.

Speaker C: Wow.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker C: And so now I say all that to say that is a result of us truly saying, hey, we don't have

Speaker A: it all figured out. And that's okay. It's okay. And so we ran the play.

Speaker B: Thomas, let me ask you, because what you're sharing is important. It's important for Leaders specifically to recognize and acknowledge. I don't have to have it all figured out when I can get the right people on the bus, get the wrong people off the bus, hire the right coach, find the right mentor, find people who are like minded, who are going through the same things, but ultimately wanting to grow through the same things. When I can surround myself with some incredible people. Multiple minds are better than one. As I shared earlier, all of a sudden things can quickly, pretty quickly change. Um, you know, here we are five years later because you said you attended shop hackers 2021 in 2021 of June.

Speaker A: So almost. Yeah. So in June of this year will be five years. So right there on the cuff.

Speaker B: Yeah. So, you know, five years later. And, and, and ironically. And you, you mentioned this earlier. You guys went all in. And this year's Shop Hackers theme, correct me if I'm wrong, is all in.

Speaker A: That's correct.

Speaker B: You're going all in.

Speaker C: Think about that.

Speaker B: Yeah, you're going all in. So, so I'm going to ask you a couple questions because I'm. Here we go. I'm m teasing Shop Hackers again. But, but, um, the, the question is this. Speak to the, the, the listening audience who, who currently feels like they have to be in control of everything. They have to have all of the answers. Um, and, and, and reiterate and emphasize the fact that, hey, you don't have to have it all figured out, but what you can do is you fill in that blank for me. And then, and then my second question that I'm going to ask you, uh, to do is unplug Shop Hackers, talk about what all in means at Shop Hackers and what can we expect if we attend?

Speaker C: Yes. So to answer your first question, you don't have to have it all figured out, but what you can do is always be coachable. M. Never stop learning. It's no different than sports. If you played sports growing up, it's no different than school. It's no different in business. There will always be somebody more intelligent, somebody moving faster, somebody with more money and somebody with more connections and more community and more everything than you. It's no different than sports. Somebody faster, stronger, better, more competitive. Doesn't matter. However, one of the biggest takeaways in

Speaker A: leadership and in my entrepreneurship journey is

Speaker C: I would strongly advise anyone on this

Speaker A: call and Josh, you correct me if I'm wrong. Anyone on this podcast, hire a business coach as soon as you can, period.

Speaker C: And don't tell me you can't afford it, because I'm Telling you right now, you can't not afford it.

Speaker B: Amen.

Speaker C: You cannot afford it. It is the best thing you can do for you if you're in a partnership. For your partnership, for your family, for your team, for your clients, for your community and for your future, period. And I know limitless leadership. I'll plug them. I know Josh does a wonderful job. He's an incredible human, and he does this out of the goodness of his heart to bring joy, inspire many, many people to be able to chase their

Speaker A: goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Speaker C: And I would advise you, I mean, Shop Fix Academy has worked well for me. We have an event, to Josh's point, called Shop Hackers. It is the only public event that

Speaker A: we have on an annual basis, and

Speaker C: it is August 8th and August 9th. If you just go to Shop Hackers, uh, website, you can go in there

Speaker A: and you'll be able to register.

Speaker C: You can look and see. We've got a lot of speakers. We're announcing speakers every single month from now until then.

Speaker A: We've, uh, got, I believe, five keynote speakers that we're going to have there, and then we're going to have a ton of breakouts.

Speaker C: So basically, the conference is there'll be a good mix of leadership lessons, of, um, real testimonies and stories from successful

Speaker A: entrepreneurs across different industries, automotive repair included, but also other industries. Right.

Speaker C: Real stories, not theory. And then also breakout sessions that will get more into the weeds on certain topics. So maybe you're struggling with something in

Speaker A: automotive repair related to the front of the house or your service advisors. Maybe you're struggling with technicians. Maybe you're struggling with pay plans.

Speaker C: Maybe you're struggling with marketing or getting more cars. And there will be different lessons that will be taught by different coaches, and

Speaker A: then you'll be able to figure out

Speaker C: what pertains to you in the moment,

Speaker A: what you think will be best. I mean, we'll teach on classes of how to transition from being trapped in your business to working on your business, which is something that, you know, Josh mentioned about control. I like to say let go, to grow. Because we. It's like. It's like your baby. And you don't want to, like, give it away, you know?

Speaker C: And so you're like, ah, uh, nah, I'll just do it myself. Yeah, well, I have news for you, buddy. I got the reality check.

Speaker A: And this is why I love having a business partner.

Speaker C: Because not only to your point, Josh, that we multiple minds are better than one mind. It also helps with decision fatigue. It helps with analysis by paralysis.

Speaker A: Right because you got multiple opinions, you got ideas going back and forth. Somebody's playing devil's advocate all the time, right? Also, you have a business partner that holds you accountable.

Speaker C: And so when he, when I tell him, hey, man, I want to work

Speaker A: on getting, you know, off the front counter so I can really work on the business, and then he sees me answering the phone, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, right? And then he's like, hey, man. So, like, I know you said that,

Speaker C: ah, you wanted to get off the

Speaker A: front counter, but, like, your actions aren't really lining up with your words right now.

Speaker C: So I'm just trying to figure out,

Speaker A: you know, what that looks like. And he asked me one question. He said, let me just ask you this question, Thomas. And I said, what's that, Mike? And he said, when you're 50, are you going to re answer these phones? And at, uh, 35 years old, when he asked me that, I was like, holy crap, no, I don't want anything to do with these phones. At 50? Yeah.

Speaker C: And so he's like, well, then what are you doing? Then you're gonna have to train someone else to do it or else you're

Speaker A: gonna do it for the rest of your life.

Speaker C: Like, well, that's not what I signed up for.

Speaker A: I thought entrepreneurship was like, you, you,

Speaker C: you own the shop, so you just

Speaker A: get to like, call the shots and you're never there and you just make all this money and you don't have to worry about anything.

Speaker C: No, no, uh, that's not exactly at

Speaker A: all how it works. Right.

Speaker C: However, there is a level of leadership that comes into play where then you start to put that in place in your store and then you start to

Speaker A: level up individuals and like you said, get the right person on the right seat on the right bus and let them work. I mean, success to me now, used to, used to be success to me was how many phone calls I answered, how many sales I did, how many customers I took care of. That was, it was a very task driven, results driven success. Now success for me is when how many people can I hire that are better than me to work inside my organization, on my team?

Speaker B: Yeah, love that. I mean, Steve Jobs was famous for, I mean, for a number of things, but one of, one of his quotes that has always stood out to me was that at Apple, we hire people to. Sorry, we don't hire people to tell them what to do. We hire them so they can tell us what to do. Um, it's important that you're hiring. And you mentioned earlier, I mean, uh, you're strong in areas that Mike may not be, and vice versa. And we can go fast alone, but we can go way further together. And I think accountability, especially in our industry, Thomas, and you may, you may, um, see things differently. I'm curious what your thoughts are on this. Accountability, for whatever reason, in this specific industry, I see more and more of being a challenge. It's immediately met with defensiveness. The guard becomes, uh, uh, up even more. And I think you and I both would agree that accountability is not calling you out, it's calling you up. And if we're going to level up, we've got to be able to be willing to put people in our life that we can trust to speak truth into our life. You mentioned what success is to you. I'm curious, this is a leadership podcast. How would you answer this question? What does leadership mean to you?

Speaker C: Yeah, so I would say, um, leadership to me, just to put it pretty

Speaker A: simply, is the responsibility to go first. That's first in belief, that's first in standards, that's first in effort, and that's first in accountability.

Speaker C: And you know, it's, it's leading by example.

Speaker A: It's eating last.

Speaker C: It's, uh, healthy. Hey, I am showing you how I operate and I want to.

Speaker A: It's all the old saying of would you follow you? That's good. Because if you won't follow you, then why would you follow me? Right?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: So you have to get yourself. And that starts with discipline.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: And so, you know, what I always like to say is, and this is something that.

Speaker A: To touch on what you were mentioning before about accountability. Mhm. Aaron Stokes told me one time to be kind and not nice to your team. And I'm like, be kind and not nice. But like, I, I feel like I am kind. What are you talking about? Well, being nice to your team is telling them what they want to hear and maybe saying things that you don't truly mean. Stretching the truth a little bit. Right. Like, hey, that was a good phone call. Even though it wasn't. Right.

Speaker C: Being kind is being direct. Compliment sandwich. Right.

Speaker A: M. Hey, you're really great at this. One of the things I'd love for you to work on is this, but keep doing this because you're doing a wonderful job. Right.

Speaker C: So you hit them with a compliment sandwich.

Speaker A: But then also it's holding them accountable. When you're kind to someone, you're holding them accountable.

Speaker C: And so, because ultimately that's, that's what they need, not what they want.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Accountability is not what you Want.

Speaker C: It's what you need.

Speaker B: Well, if we're going to grow and develop, we have to have that. That like, that's why we hire a coach. I mean, even as a coach myself, I have my own coach. I'm, uh, sure, I'm sure you have your own coach as well.

Speaker C: We have to, right?

Speaker B: I mean, my wife and I had had a, uh, uh, a marriage counseling session yesterday. Like we have our own counseling, individual sessions, marriage counseling, and everything is fine. I want to make sure. Obviously we have our moments, but I, I believe in this concept of always having people in our life who can speak truth into us. I'm convinced I will always have my own counselor, my own coach. I'm um, thankfully I'm married to a licensed counselor as well, so I get free counseling all the time. But she's great at it and I need it.

Speaker C: But, but here's whether you like it or not.

Speaker B: That's right. Oh, and trust me, I get a lot of coaching. End quote. I get a lot of coaching and counseling on a daily basis. But here's the thing. Love and accountability, there's a fine line between it, but accountability is a form of love and being kind and not nice, or being kind over nice rather. I think might be a better way to say it is a way that you can hold your team accountable. Accountability should not be a negative thing. Accountability is not a burden, it's a blessing. It's not an inconvenience, it's an opportunity. We have to shift our perspective on accountability really is because if I truly want to be the best version of myself, like you said, Thomas, I need accountability. I need people who are going to hold me accountable. And it starts with me. It starts with me leading by example. I'll ask you one of the, uh, you know, one of the questions I love to ask, uh, on this, uh, podcast is what is the best advice you've ever received from a coach or mentor? And before you answer this question, I just want to take a moment and highlight and honor Aaron and the legacy that he is laid leaving, uh, not just for the Shop Fix community, but also for the entire industry. This man was a titan in our industry. And if you're, if you're listening or you're watching and you don't know about Aaron Stokes or who he is, uh, he passed away unfortunately, um, back in February of this year, uh, from a plane crash. And um, man, th. This, this man single handedly led a movement that has changed thousands of lives forever and even lives that he may have never Even met. Because to your point, you have two kids and your kids are going to have kids. And he is truly, uh, he led a legacy and left a legacy. Um, I'm curious, I would love to know, uh, from Aaron, um, to you, what is the best advice Aaron gave to you, but also just in general, what is the best advice you've ever received from a coach or mentor?

Speaker C: Yeah. So, uh, you know, one of the

Speaker A: things Aaron's famous for is saying big, uh, door swing on small hinges, uh, which really hits home when you think about small and small levers. Massive impact, right?

Speaker C: So, uh, small adjustment, okay?

Speaker A: So in. In our business, you know, make the small adjustment. Look for the smallest adjustment with the largest impact. Right?

Speaker C: Because change is tough, Right. And it's tough with technicians. It's tough with, you know, older individuals.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: So if you have people that have been with you for a long time and you implement this massive change and the impact really isn't a little. You know, one of the things that he would tell me is, and I would say that this is probably one

Speaker A: of the biggest things that impacted me

Speaker C: personally was this is when we went.

Speaker A: And this is what gave us the idea to go to store two, when we bought and acquired the store that we named select auto pros.

Speaker C: So CVT Automotive, for those of you

Speaker A: that don't know, in 2023, we expand to 15,000ft. Um, 15 base. Right. We serve roughly around, um, 500 to 600 customers per month out of that store. Um, and so we do. We do a lot of volume.

Speaker C: It's a large short.

Speaker A: It's a very busy operation. For those of you that never been, we're right outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. I would welcome anybody that's listening this podcast. Come in for a tour. Happy to. Happy to. To show you around and show you what that store looks like. Um, but we would be frustrated because we were trying to chase, you know, we had done $800,000 a month out of that store, and we were chasing a million. And this is where ego comes into play. Okay? So I remember, never, I'll never forget, I walked. It was after a pro conference. I pulled Aaron inside. I'm like, aaron, I'm going to do a million dollars a month at a one location. I'm chasing it. He said, well, what have you done? I said, well, 850. And he's like, thomas, have you ever thought about the orange being out of juice to squeeze and the level of effort that it's going to take for you to squeeze that last drop? Of orange. Why don't you just go find another store? Mhm. And I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, I want a million dollar shop

Speaker C: just to say that I do seven

Speaker A: figures a month in automotive repair out of a single location. Because I was chasing the trophy, the out, the accolade, the pat on the

Speaker C: back, all, all the clout, all of it.

Speaker A: And Aaron's like, thomas,

Speaker C: if you could

Speaker A: get 80% of that store's capability and you don't have to be there a day in your life, would that not be worth it to you? And I'm like, well, yeah, I mean, of course. I think that would be great. So do it. So then we go find. He's like, go, you're bored. Go find another store. You need a project.

Speaker C: Stop squeezing the orange and go buy another orange.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's good. Get it, just get it.

Speaker C: And so it was really, really good, you know, Right? So, and, and that was really good. The other thing he said to me,

Speaker A: that was super impactful. And this is, makes sense to leadership podcasts, right? He said leadership to Aaron was maturity plus accountability. He said, in leadership, you're going to have one of two conversations every day. Anytime there's a leadership involved, you're either going to have a maturity conversation or you're going to have an accountability conversation. And I was like, man, that's. That makes sense. Like, I was thinking about employee conversations and hard conversations. I'm like, yeah, like, either there's drama or it's, you know, a blame game,

Speaker C: or he took my ticket or he got my hours, or he got more hours than me, or he makes more money than me, or this isn't fair or whatever. A maturity. Yeah, or it's an accountability conversation is,

Speaker A: Hey, I need you to turn 40 hours a week out of this bay. You're at 35.

Speaker C: What do I need to do to

Speaker A: be able to help make that happen for you? And not play the blame game, but play the coach. We're not micromanagers, we're coaches. Right? So, you know, I always, always like to think, you know, I tell my managers, I'm like, hey guys, I'm going to put a whistle around your neck

Speaker C: so that while you walk around, every time you look down at your neck,

Speaker A: you're reminded, I'm a coach, not a manager.

Speaker B: That's so good. I, I love that analogy. So you actually just shared three great nuggets in a matter of two minutes. I mean, the first two came from Aaron. This, this last one about being a coach over a Manager came from you. And the reason I'm bringing this to. To everyone's attention is because in a matter of a couple minutes, you delivered three solid perspective shifts, because a lot of us may not be thinking about the second perspective that you're able to share on each of those three. And this is the power of having a coach. This is the power of having someone who you're willing to speak truth or who you're willing to allow to speak truth into your life with perspective. The way that we view things drives the way that we do things. You started viewing things differently with the orange analogy, and you did things. I mean, like, it prompted you to literally go and get a second location. Um, so it's. It's pretty incredible. Let, uh, me. Let me ask you, Thomas, if someone is listening or watching this episode and they're thinking, hey, you know what? I've been thinking about this way too long. It is time for me to get a coach. It is time for me to check this thing out and find out who is the right fit for me. Um, I love that you said this earlier. Uh, we might be thinking, hey, I can't afford this because I'm in the grind. I'm just in this. I call it the J curve. The J curve is where we're starting on the lower end of the J, and we expect to go from the lower end to the higher end. It's this linear progression. But we go through this inevitable dip because when someone gets a coach, they're gonna. They're gonna shift some paradigms for you, and you're gonna try some new things, and you're likely going to experience an inevitable dip in progress and efficiency and productivity and success. But if you gotta. If you keep on going through it, you're gonna keep on growing through it. Big door swing, uh, on small hinges. Go through the dip. Too many of us are quitting in the dip. So go through it and.

Speaker A: And.

Speaker B: And grow through it. I'll ask you if someone is listening or watching and they're thinking, it's time for me to get a coach. How, How. Where do I go to? Uh, check out Shop Fix Academy. Yeah.

Speaker C: So Shopface Academy.

Speaker A: You can just go to shopfaceacademy.com and we have several programs. So we have a light program, which is great for beginners and people that just kind of want to test the waters. It's a much more economical, um, product,

Speaker C: and so you're able to get there.

Speaker A: The barrier to entry is much cheaper. Um, but you do.

Speaker C: You get a lot of Group things. You get community, you get access to

Speaker A: video, library, a lot of Aaron's content. Um, but. And you do get one free ticket to the Shop Hackers conference every year. Ah, out of the light program.

Speaker C: The only thing that you don't get is the four quarterly pro conferences a year that we have and then also

Speaker A: a one on one dedicated coach and tribe and so which I think is

Speaker C: a massive for when you're ready to

Speaker A: take the next step.

Speaker C: I would advise you not to hire

Speaker A: a one on one coach if you're

Speaker C: not ready to actually do hard things. Because we value time. Just as we value your time. We value our time and it is a waste of our time. We could be pouring into somebody that is willing to take the next step and willing to take the leap and believes in what we have going on that they will actually do it and bring the success needed into their life to be able to transform, inspire and

Speaker A: impact all of the lives that they touch in their family, their team, their clients, their community.

Speaker C: And so I would strongly encourage you to number one, just do some searching, right? You've got limitless leadership on here.

Speaker A: You got Shopkins Academy on here.

Speaker C: Two great options. I would strongly encourage you, just like

Speaker A: you do anything else, reach out, see who you connect with better.

Speaker C: It's a lot about connection. If you connect with Josh and you feel a great connection with him. I mean a lot of it is

Speaker A: the community and it is the relationship. You know, you may be more inclined

Speaker C: to take that step or take that

Speaker A: leap because Josh is telling you that.

Speaker C: Or it could be that you go

Speaker A: to shop this academy like you know what, I'm strictly an automotive repair. I really want dedicated automotive repair, you

Speaker C: know, coaching and we have a big library, a massive community and that's maybe

Speaker A: more your speed then perfect. But just try it out.

Speaker C: And my biggest thing is anyone if I man, I cannot imagine where I

Speaker A: would be today if I found Shop Fix Academy in 2017 when they started.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: I was four years late.

Speaker C: And in that four years, I mean think about the come up from 21 to 25 to 26 where we are today, right?

Speaker A: We're going to do close to 10 million this year.

Speaker B: That's incredible.

Speaker C: Okay, out of two stores now another thing I would tell you is this.

Speaker A: And this is a big leadership thing. I think you asked me this question, I never answered it. What uh, does leadership kind of mean to me right. When I talked about the responsibility to go first.

Speaker C: I'm a big believer in.

Speaker A: It starts with belief, then it turns into a Behavior, and then it turns into your standard, which then reflects in your culture, which then gets you the desired result. You have to go up the stairs backwards.

Speaker C: So if you have an issue in your business and you are not getting a desired result, then trace the stairs backwards. You're going to look at your result. Okay, I'm not happy with result. Let's look at the culture. Uh, the culture is not reflecting that result. Okay, well, let's look at the standard. Oh, well, I forgot to put the standard. Oh, well, let's look at the behavior. Oh, it's. There is no behavior. Oh. Want to know why? Because you don't believe in it. That's why. It starts with belief. And if you don't believe, your leadership team is not going to believe.

Speaker B: That's right.

Speaker C: Your team is not going to believe, your clients are not going to believe, and your community is not going to believe.

Speaker B: That's so good.

Speaker C: And so it starts with belief. And that is the single most important thing. How am I going to educate and inform a client, present data, facts and analytics to a client about their vehicle

Speaker A: if I don't believe in what we're doing?

Speaker C: How am I going to hire top tier talent? How am I going to transform lives? Because I believe that we have the best customer experience in automotive repair.

Speaker A: Period.

Speaker B: That's so good, Thomas. I want to, I want to add, add to that. We will always find evidence in the things that we believe. So think about this. If you don't believe in yourself, in your team, in your product, in your service, in whatever it is that you're doing or selling or serving or whatever, if you don't believe in it, the unfortunate reality is that you will find evidence that supports your limiting belief. So this is again, the power of finding people who can help you, uh, shift those paradigms, change your perspectives, view things differently, do things differently. And I'll, I'll add to this too. I want to keep plugging Shop Fix, uh, for a reason. Um, and some of you might be thinking I'm crazy for this, but look, Shop Fix is. They're shop coaches. Limitless Leadership are leadership coaches for shops. All we do is leadership. We bring leadership development to this industry, among other industries. We bring leadership to a number of industries, but primarily the automobile repair industry. I'm saying that to say this Limitless leadership and Shop Fix are a value add to each other. So I would say, yes, it's important to interview multiple coaching companies. Yes, it's important to find connection. I think connection before content is a, is a big belief that I have. But consider, consider, both consider, consider that they are a value add to each other. Um, I mean, limitless leadership. All we do is focus on leadership development. We focus on people, on the soft skills, on helping transform you from a high performing team member to, to a, to a coach to a leader, to a developer of people. So consider that. Thomas, man, I really appreciate your time today. Uh, I told you this interview is going to go 30, 35 minutes and here we are pushing 50, almost an hour. So thank you for your time. We, uh, could have kept on going, quite frankly, man. A lot of great nuggets of information, great words of wisdom. Uh, once again, really admire and respect everything that you're doing for this industry. Keep going, keep growing, brother. Um, man, I'm excited to see, uh, what 2027 looks like. We're in the middle of 2026, but if you're listening, go to Shop Hackers. Check out Shop Hackers. Uh, great speakers, great coaches, just like Thomas. Um, so, my friend, thank you for being on Limitless Leadership podcast.

Speaker A: Awesome.

Speaker C: Thank you so much, man.

Speaker A: Rock on.

Speaker B: And thank you for tuning in to another episode. As you know, we look to transform our leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results. So thanks again, everyone. Have a great day today. Forget to smile. Don't forget to tell your friends how much your. How much. Don't forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, including your friends. I'm, um, Josh Parnell reminding you to keep leading. Well,