Confessions of a Shop Owner

Mike Allen
  • 4.4 (16)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

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.

  1. 4d ago

    Ep 124 - James Hornak & Nathan Ward | These Shop Owners Are 14 Months In and Pacing $1.5 Million

    Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch 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. 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now! Mike Allen catches up with James Hornak and Nathan Ward roughly a year after their first appearance on Confessions of a Shop Owner—and a lot has changed. Their shop now has three full-time technicians, has been running roughly 180 cars a month at around a $955 ARO, and is pacing toward approximately $1.5 million in its first full year. They explain the strategy behind their controversial $29 oil changes, what happened when their first $100K month convinced them they could change roles too quickly, why finding the right service advisor has been harder than expected and how coaching and involvement in the industry accelerated their growth. Mike also opens up about the management mistake that wrecked his own shop culture, they discuss building strong DVIs without trying to sell every discovered item immediately, and Nathan casually declares that the goal for next year is $3 million. Oh—and James and Nathan finally reveal that they were behind the mystery Mike Allen shirts that had him accusing half of ASTA Expo of conspiring against him. Timestamps:00:00 – Mike Discovers the Mystery Shirt01:26 – Martini Bar at ASTA 😂02:24 – Is the Mustang STILL Broken?04:19 – One Year of Insane Shop Growth06:01 – Hiring Three Technicians in Year One09:24 – 180 Cars a Month & $955 ARO10:42 – The $29 Oil Change Strategy12:25 – Pacing $1.5 Million in Year One16:50 – Mike’s Shop Culture Fell Apart18:59 – $100K Month → $60K Month20:38 – Mike’s Best Service Advisor Was a Bartender21:48 – Why Coaching Changed Everything23:44 – Should They Buy a $2.5M Shop?27:54 – Paying Off Debt & Building the “F You Fund”28:30 – WHO MADE THE MIKE SHIRTS?! 😂38:04 – Profitable Enough to Spend Money on a Joke53:28 – The Free Diag Debate Returns55:59 – $5,300 in Discovered Work58:58 – The $3 Million Goal1:03:03 – From Startup to $1.5M Through Community & Coaching

  2. Oct 23

    Ep 123 - Caleb McElmurry | When Should a One-Man Shop Hire Its First Technician?

    Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch HERE 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. 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now! Mike Allen and Bryan Pollock welcome Caleb McElmurry to talk about the realities of building a repair business when you’re still the technician, service advisor, estimator, parts department and owner all at once. Caleb started mobile, moved several hours away and essentially started over with a brick-and-mortar shop—and now he’s intentionally waiting until the business is consistently ready before hiring his first technician. They debate why hiring a cheap apprentice first can actually make a solo owner less productive, how many billable hours might signal that it’s time to hire, what types of jobs a startup shop should avoid and why some European cars can eat a new shop alive. Caleb also explains why his first major training event is focused almost entirely on business and service-advisor skills instead of technical classes, and the conversation turns into ASE certifications, technician licensing, customer communication, $1,000 AROs and why owners shouldn’t go home from training and try to change their entire business Monday morning. The bigger lesson: being great at fixing cars gets you started—but learning how to run the business is what determines what happens next. Timestamps: 00:00 – Why Startup Shops Should Be Careful With European Cars05:13 – Meet Caleb McElmurry06:01 – From Mobile Mechanic to Brick-and-Mortar07:09 – When Should Caleb Hire His First Technician?09:22 – Why Your First Hire Shouldn’t Be Cheap Labor10:05 – How Busy Should a Solo Shop Be?13:00 – Tow Trucks, Winter & Small-Town Shop Life16:00 – Stop Giving Jobs the “Go Away” Price20:29 – First Training Event: Don’t Implement Everything23:00 – Why Caleb Isn’t Taking Technical Classes25:00 – Should Automotive Technicians Be Licensed?30:00 – ASE, Apprenticeships & Industry Standards33:00 – Just Get 1% Better34:00 – Caleb’s Service Advisor Process36:42 – Do Customers Need Prices Explained First?38:00 – A $1,000 ARO in a One-Man Shop39:00 – Caleb’s Plan for His First Technician41:12 – The Difficulty of Turning the Business Off43:13 – Late Nights at ASTA

  3. Oct 20

    Ep 122 - Trey & Sasha Holley | Stop Looking for A-Techs. Build Them.

    Keep shop management, payments, marketing (all the things) all in one place with Tekmetric. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Click HERE Turnkey Marketing has made my life SOOO much simpler, AND they've helped keep the phone ringing. Do you need these two things too? Learn more HERE 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now! Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE Mike Allen sits down with Trey and Sasha Holley, owners of a 10-bay repair shop in Thomaston, Georgia, for a conversation about growth, technician development, working with your spouse and building a business that can eventually survive without you. Trey and Sasha share how losing Sasha’s father suddenly forced them into the business side of automotive before they were ready—and why watching him work himself relentlessly shaped the kind of shop they want to build today. They also explain why struggling to find an experienced A-tech completely changed their hiring philosophy after they took a chance on a high-school student, bought him a toolbox and developed him into a productive young technician now learning diagnostics. The conversation gets into their 400-hour backlog, whether becoming a multi-shop operation is actually something they want, succession planning for their son and the uncomfortable question of what happens to your business if you die tomorrow. And in true Confessions fashion, Trey eventually admits that one of his shop’s biggest historical problems wasn’t employees, technicians or customers—it was his own attitude. Timestamps: 00:00 – Do You Really Need an A-Tech?01:29 – Meet Trey & Sasha Holley03:59 – From Two Bays to a 10-Bay Shop05:38 – Being Thrown Into Business Overnight06:15 – Losing Sasha’s Dad at 5108:57 – Starting Their Own Shop11:02 – Running a Business With Your Spouse13:03 – When Employees Play Husband vs. Wife16:40 – Moving a Technician Into the Front Office18:17 – 400 Hours of Approved Work19:27 – Stop Looking for A-Techs—Build Them20:50 – Teaching a Young Technician Diagnostics22:49 – The Never-Ending Growth Problem23:56 – How Much Growth Is Enough?25:39 – Building a Shop Their Son Can Inherit26:08 – What Happens If the Owners Die Tomorrow?28:36 – Mike’s “Oh Shit, I’m Dead” Book35:08 – What Happened to Sasha’s Dad’s Shop?38:04 – Their First ASTA Expo47:03 – Stop Making Excuses and Show Up51:09 – Trey’s Confession: “The Problem Was Me”52:44 – “I’ve Only Had Two Leave in Tears” 😂

  4. Oct 16

    Ep 121 - Marketing Call #2 | Are Your Advisors Accidentally Turning Customers Away?

    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 My marketing before and after signing up with Turnkey Marketing is pretty scary. In a good way. Get your marketing right today HERE 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! Make your techs happier with Detect Auto. They'll stop getting "check noise" or "check vibration" from advisors with the customer concern tool. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Book a demo HERE Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE Mike Allen sits down with Carry-Lynn Rodenberg of Turnkey Marketing for Marketing Call #2, and this time they dig into what happens after your marketing actually works. Mike shares the numbers from his shops—including nearly 2,700 inbound callers in September, roughly 550 unanswered calls and a call-to-car conversion rate of only about 33%—and they talk about how much revenue can disappear when advisors accidentally repel customers. They also discuss handling negative Google reviews, why customer retention may be more important than buying more leads, ways to fill an empty schedule, and why overwhelming customers with massive estimates can sometimes hurt long-term relationships. Carry-Lynn also explains how Google and other AI tools are changing local search, why shops need to be prepared for AI-generated phone calls and why lazy AI use may eventually make every business sound exactly the same. The big question throughout the episode: Do you actually need more marketing—or do you need to stop wasting the customers you already have? Timestamps:00:00 – How Advisors Accidentally Push Customers Away01:08 – Mistakes Happen—Your Response Matters09:34 – Google Reviews & Rebuilding Reputation11:48 – How to Respond to a Bad Review13:37 – What Mike Learned From His Negative Reviews15:46 – You Paid to Make the Phone Ring—Now Convert It18:44 – Measuring Call-to-Car Conversion20:48 – Mike Missed 550 Calls in One Month23:46 – Google’s AI Is Calling Repair Shops28:46 – “Be Nice to the Robot” 😂30:42 – Could AI Capture 100 More Cars a Month?32:50 – Is a Huge ARO Destroying Customer Retention?34:49 – Only 24% of New Customers Came Back39:59 – How to Win Back Lost Customers43:16 – What to Do When Next Week’s Schedule Is Empty48:01 – Easy Customers Already Sitting in Your Database49:35 – Marketing Priorities for a Smaller Shop53:34 – The Most Alarming Thing About AI Marketing57:10 – Bad Marketing Decisions & AI Slop

  5. Oct 13

    Ep 120 - Andrew Klement | From Technician to $600K Repair Shop Owner

    Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch 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. 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now! Mike Allen sits down with Andrew Klement of Finley River Auto and Diesel to talk about what happens when a technician becomes a shop owner—but actually plans for it first. Andrew explains why he hired a coach and CPA before opening, started with a service advisor from day one, invested in systems immediately and surrounded himself with people who had already made the mistakes he wanted to avoid. The result? A greenfield startup with no existing customers that projected roughly $350,000–$360,000 in first-year revenue had already crossed $600,000 with three months left in the year. They also get into Andrew’s first employee quitting, why shop owners fail at training, how to sell repairs without high-pressure tactics, what a healthy shop culture can do for a technician’s career and the time 18-year-old Andrew invented a completely fictional “starter break-in noise” to cover up a mistake. And because it’s Confessions, Mike also gets to explain why releasing an $18,000 repair while still being owed $7,500 is probably a terrible business strategy. Timestamps:00:00 – Sell by Educating, Not Pressuring00:45 – Mike & Andrew Live From ASTA09:15 – Andrew Tried Free Diagnostics10:03 – Finley River Auto & Diesel15:38 – Andrew’s Technician Background17:25 – Building a Shop the Smart Way19:09 – $350K Projection → $600K+ Revenue20:27 – Is the Startup Actually Profitable?23:20 – Almost Leaving the Automotive Industry25:15 – What a Great Shop Taught Andrew29:44 – Can the Customer, Tech AND Shop All Win?32:16 – Andrew’s First Employee Quit34:07 – Selling Without High-Pressure Tactics35:39 – “You Hired Him. It’s Your Responsibility.”39:06 – The Infamous “Starter Break-In Noise” 😂41:42 – A Local Podcast as Shop Marketing44:20 – Andrew’s First ASTA Experience45:33 – Don’t Try to Implement Everything46:21 – The $18,000 Ticket He Still Hasn’t Collected47:06 – Mike: “Don’t Do That Shit.”

  6. Oct 9

    Ep 119 - Jim Cokonis and Justin Allen | Most Technicians Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

    Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch HERE 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. 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now! Mike Allen, Bryan Pollock, Jim Cokonis and Justin Allen sit down on the ASTA Expo floor for a conversation about one of the biggest problems in automotive repair: technicians and service advisors often don’t know what they don’t know. They dig into how bad information gets passed from technician to technician, why years of experience don’t automatically mean someone is doing the job correctly, and why training has to teach people how to think instead of simply memorize answers. The conversation covers tire sales, diagnostic strategy, technician education, young tech development, alignment and ADAS calibration, repair standards and some of the unbelievable things trainers still see happening inside real shops. They also debate whether shops are wasting technologically savvy young technicians by sticking them on oil changes for years instead of identifying their natural strengths early. And somewhere along the way, Mike takes a technical quiz, Bryan explains why someone can be wrong for 25 straight years, and everybody gets distracted by chicken wings. Timestamps:00:00 – Tire Sales Should Be This Simple01:17 – Live From ASTA: How Good Are Shops, Really?05:30 – How Bad Information Gets Passed Down09:50 – Teaching Technicians How to Think15:10 – Mike Takes the Technical Quiz21:18 – Why Aftermarket Training Matters28:05 – What Service Advisors Need to Know29:41 – Stop Overcomplicating Tire Sales34:14 – What Trainers Actually See Inside Shops40:32 – “You’ve Been Doing It Wrong for 25 Years”42:21 – Why Aren’t Technicians Training?46:11 – Are We Wasting Young Technicians?50:00 – Meet Justin Allen from Hunter52:00 – Every Shop Needs an ADAS Strategy57:38 – When a Customer Refuses Required Work1:00:08 – How Do We Raise the Industry Standard?1:03:40 – Can Five Minutes of Training Actually Work?1:10:11 – Training the Next Generation of Trainers

  7. Oct 6

    Ep 118 - Stacia Aeschbach | How a $3 Million Repair Shop Built a Massive Social Following

    Keep shop management, payments, marketing (all the things) all in one place with Tekmetric. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Click HERE Turnkey Marketing has made my life SOOO much simpler, AND they've helped keep the phone ringing. Do you need these two things too? Learn more HERE 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now! Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE Mike Allen sits down with Stacia Aeschbach of Aeschbach Automotive and the Driven for More podcast to talk about leadership, growing a repair shop, raising five kids, women in automotive, and how her shop turned social media into a massive part of its brand. Stacia breaks down how Aeschbach Automotive grew an audience of tens of thousands of followers, generated nearly 100 million Meta views in a year, and started hearing from customers who discovered the shop through TikTok and other social platforms. They talk about why generic stock photos and boring repair content don’t work, how controversial content drives engagement, what shops should actually post, and why becoming more human may matter even more as AI-generated content becomes everywhere. Mike also realizes that an auto repair shop is basically a reality show full of misfit toys—which might actually be the best marketing opportunity in the industry. Timestamps: 00:00 – How Social Media Keeps Your Shop Top of Mind00:56 – Meet Stacia Aeschbach03:15 – Leadership & Your “Emotional Wake”07:39 – How Aeschbach Automotive Got Started09:11 – From Tinder to a $3 Million Repair Shop12:24 – Five Kids, Shop Ownership & No Excuses14:48 – Women in the Automotive Industry19:43 – Building a Massive Shop Social Media Following23:18 – Nearly 100 Million Social Media Views24:13 – Making Money From Shop Content26:40 – How Often Should a Repair Shop Post?31:38 – Does Social Media Actually Bring in Customers?34:21 – Why Your Shop’s Social Media May Be Hurting Trust36:52 – Controversy, Engagement Bait & Going Viral39:15 – How Shops Can Start Creating Content41:22 – Humanizing the People Behind Your Business42:51 – Why AI Makes Being Human More Valuable44:56 – Which Automotive Podcast Is the Worst? 😂

  8. Sep 29

    Ep 117 - Coaching Call #21 | Mike Started Charging for Diag. Here’s What Happened

    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 My marketing before and after signing up with Turnkey Marketing is pretty scary. In a good way. Get your marketing right today HERE 47 Consultants brings your shop’s story to life on social media, helping Carfix engage 60,000 people in Raleigh in just a few weeks. See what 47 Consultants can do for your shop, and tell them Big Daddy Mike sent you! Make your techs happier with Detect Auto. They'll stop getting "check noise" or "check vibration" from advisors with the customer concern tool. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Book a demo HERE Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Save $100 when you use code CONFESSIONS HERE Mike Allen sits down with Matt Lofton at ASTA 2026 for another Carfix coaching call—and this time they finally have data from Mike’s decision to start charging for diagnostic work at one location. They break down what happened to car count, gross profit, effective labor rate and average repair order before diving into the much bigger debate around flat rate, hourly pay, technician trust and whether pay plans actually motivate employees. Matt explains why incentive programs often create a short-term bump without changing long-term behavior, why writing an SOP is not the same thing as training, and why repetition and accountability matter more than another complicated compensation plan. Mike also admits that sometimes the recurring employee problem might actually be an owner problem. It’s a conversation about diagnostics, technician pay, leadership, training and what it really takes to build a team that consistently executes. Timestamps:00:00 – The Technician vs. Shop Owner Problem00:56 – Live From ASTA 202601:30 – The Free Diag T-Shirt Conspiracy04:25 – Mike Defends Free Diagnostics08:44 – We Started Charging for Diag: Here’s What Happened12:09 – Should You Quote Diagnostic Fees Over the Phone?18:25 – The Complimentary Consultation Strategy20:15 – How to Sell the Value of Diagnostic Testing25:57 – Should a Faster Technician Cost Less?28:03 – Flat Rate Isn’t the Problem33:46 – Changing a Technician’s Pay Plan Without Losing Trust36:06 – Does Money Actually Motivate Technicians?39:01 – The Cobra Effect: When Incentives Backfire40:49 – What Actually Motivates Employees?43:49 – Are Shop Processes Becoming Too Complicated?44:49 – Writing an SOP Is NOT Training47:29 – Why Great Shops Execute Better51:33 – Mike’s 72-Page Parts Manual 😂52:36 – “I’ve Told Him 22 Times!”53:10 – Mike Admits He’s Been the Problem54:40 – Matt Has Screwed Up Just About Everything56:57 – Why Small Shops Struggle to Train58:12 – Scale Gives You Time to Train1:00:11 – What Mike Needs to Fix Next

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Ratings & Reviews

4.4
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

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.

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