Episode #53- Time to get off the fence!

Episode Notes: 

Are you spending too much time “on the fence” about something?

Have you been “on the fence” about selling your shop & calling it quits?

Whether its concerning buying or selling a home, leaving or staying at an unfulfilling job, leaving or staying in a toxic relationship or selling your business… some people spend almost a lifetime on one fence or another… terrified to “fly” or even climb back down off the fence!

Join us this week, as we discuss why some many shop owners are “on the fence” about selling their shop, closing-down and retiring or going all-in and retooling their shops as well as their minds, to move into the future of collision repair… and all that it will require!

Visit Rick’s website: www.rickselover.com  

Links to all Rick’s SM platforms: https://linktr.ee/mindwrench

Need one-on-one Mindset or Personal Development coaching? – drop me a note @ www.rickselover.com/services 

Help support the show!     https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Mindwrench

Affiliate Links

Read or listen to Top non-fiction book onBlinkist 20% off membership & 7-day free trial

Need freelance help with your business? Check out Fiverr

Want an easier way to shop? Check out Instacart

Transcript

Episode #53 – Time to get off that fence!

Picture yourself, 5 years old with an old towel, sheet or blanket fastened to the back of your shirt like a cape, balancing on the top of your old fence, arms stretched out straight-ahead… ready to fly like Superman… and just about then your mom comes running out of the house, screaming like she’s on fire or something, yelling at you: “WHAT… in tarnation do you think you’re doing?... trying to kill yourself?... you get down off that fence RIGHT NOW! … before you get hurt... and I mean NOW mister (or missy)!” 

Sound familiar to anyone out there?... any of you grown men & women want to admit to that, hummm?... yah, that’s what I thought!... it’s ok…. That was never me either!

How your mom (or dad) acted was not crazy, they just wanted to protect you from getting hurt… it’s a natural reaction for parents to protect their young from getting injured, because little kids don’t know any better yet, right?

Now realistically, you probably wouldn’t DIE falling off a 6’ fence, but you could potentially break something…. So, you had two choices…. sadly, climb back down off the fence in shame, or… jump off & pretend you flew (and really piss off mom) smiling from ear-to-ear, right?

And you didn’t think for minutes, hours or days about which to do… you chose instantly.

(just for the record, I flew!)

Great thing about being a kid is you don’t have the fears of failing… risk is not in your vocabulary, most things you tried, you approached with great enthusiasm & a positive “I can do this” attitude… your mind hasn’t been conditioned for 20-30-40 years with “NO” or “don’t” or “that’s too risky” or “you may fail, and that would be bad” … you know?

But as we grow into adults, and have the multiple years of negative programing from our parents (they don’t mean for that to happen, but it does), our schools, our society and the news media, we have a harder time making the decision to “fly” or get down from the fence.

Some of us spend weeks, months, years even decades “on the fence” depending on the subject or situation. Take for example, just making a major appliance purchase, we can take weeks to decide, or buying a home, or deciding to sell your current home during this hot real  estate market can takes months of agonizing over the decision, and possibly lose out on thousands of dollars … some people will stay at a shitty or unfulfilling job for years or decades, because they are afraid to make the jump… and some people will stay in unhealthy, possibly even toxic relationships for many years, decades or even a lifetime, because they fear the “what if’s” or uncertainty of what that change could bring?.... some people spend almost a lifetime on one fence or another… terrified to “fly” or even climb back down off the fence!

Right now, in this industry that I have spent my life in, there are more people, more bodyshop owners, a growing army of collision shop owners and even some dealers, that are on a fence… and they have been there for a while now… and they need to make a decision very soon. That fence is getting taller and thinner by the day… it’s time to make that choice.

The “virtual” fence they are on is simple in its concept, but complex in its detail.

There has been a major shift in automotive technologies over the past few years, it started with adding some new types of steel, aluminum, plastics & carbon fiber to how vehicles are built, and a few new sensors that help with safety features – to -the pre & post scanning every vehicle should have before/after repairs – to – ADAS systems, complex OEM repair methods, EVs (electric powered vehicles) and the new challenges that repairing, even storing before repairs, now brings to today’s collision repair center.

In addition to that, we have severe shortage of available repair techs in almost every sector of the country, an aging workforce on the brink of retirement, and no viable stream of incoming young men & women to fill those positions. Shop owners are constantly either understaffed by a tech or two, or on the hunt for an additional tech to keep up with their workload, yet unable to find anyone to fill those open positions.

Toss in the fact that most people during this pandemic, where our whole world and our way of life was turned upside-down, have taken a good, long, hard look at their lives, and really evaluating what they want to do with their remaining time on this planet… and making those “quality of life” changes… like stepping down from shop ownership, selling their place or just closing up and doing something completely different… or retiring a little early.

Couple that with the rapid growth of the National and Regional MSOs, franchised brands and ever-expanding dealer groups.  Today, there are about 32,000 collision repair facilities participating in a $38 billion industry, while more than 90% of the insurance market is dominated by the top 10 insurers. Out of the 32,000 repairers, there are more than 100 MSOs with less than 3,000 locations capturing approximately $16 billion, or more than 40% of industry revenue. The growth rate of the big 4 MSO’s has been very brisk, even through the last 18 months of COVID, along with privity equity still seeing opportunities and having lots of cash on hand, nobody sees a slow-down in sight.

All these factors really combine to be the “perfect storm” for shops to jump ship, sell out or give up… yet… there’s that fence I mentioned earlier…. And there’s all those shop owners on that fence… wondering…. waiting…. debating…. “should I sell my shop, or just close the doors for good?” …. “should I rise to the challenges in front of me and next-level my business, be part of the future of collision repair?” … or maybe I just teeter up here on this fence for another couple months, or couple years?

I’ll just be blunt here…. You need to quit procrastinating, make a damn decision… “FLY” or climb back down off the fence before you hurt yourself…. But for God’s sake…. MAKE A DAMN DECISION!

The longer you wait, the more damage you do to yourself and your shop.

By damage, I mean if you think you will sell the shop, your techs can tell what’s up & it only hurts their security there… trust me, they have inkling you’re going to sell, their probably not fully engaged anymore (which may affect your current quality and production) & most likely are actively looking for someplace else to go. Also, if you’re considering selling, YOU will be less engaged in trying to adapt & improve your shops quality, production or technology advances… which hurts your customers experience, CSI scores and bottom-line sales, right?

The longer you sit on that fence…. The longer you wait for the perfect offer, or the MSO that you feel “best” about selling to approach you, the more damage gets done.

I have witnessed this tragedy first-hand with several shops I know personally!

If you are truly finished with running a collision center and want to move on, only a couple things you really need to do:

Find out the true value of your shop, find a buyer and get a deal done… and get to the next exciting chapter in your life… you worked hard for it & you deserve it!

Or…. “FLY”!!!

Make the decision to go “all-in” on setting your shop up for future success, correctly repairing the vehicles of today & tomorrow. Embrace the challenge, find out where you’re lacking in technology, equipment or training, and make a detailed, time-bound plan to get what you need. Make sure to let your employees know your intentions and the direction you’re taking the business, make them part of it… this is a great opportunity to build employee engagement. Technicians want & need some security; all this change is scary for them too!

You have the opportunity to create a shop that technicians want to leave other shops for.  If you’re not sure where to start, ask your trusted vendors, join an online 20 group or Social Media group, Facebook has several groups you can join & ask questions, or reach out to some industry experts for free advice.

Maybe your currently pre-scanning “some” jobs… or catching “a few” of the calibrations needed after repairs (but not sure if you’re catching everything?) … or maybe you’ve had a few electric vehicles repaired in your shop, but don’t feel 100% comfortable that have all the correct information, training or safety equipment needed to do a “proper and safe” repair?

These days, with the amount of technology involved in today’s cars, doing a complete, proper repair that aligns with what OEMs require is really the ONLY way to ensure safety for your customers and protection for you and your business.

“Success leaves clues” … what that means is others have already done this, learned about the technology, investigated the options and then purchased the needed equipment & trained their techs extensively on proper usage, repair methods and safety. Seek out those that have already done so, learn from their mistakes & shorten the curve for your shop on getting up to speed.

The great news is, many other shops have made, or are in the process of making those needed changes, they are progressing with the on-going shift of repair needs, adapting to what is needed both now and in the future. There are other shops out there that have re-evaluated how they do business, and recalibrated how they attract & retain new talent… they are thinking outside the box, attracting employees from other fields of service, creating & rebranding new types of job roles and growing their own techs.

Change is constant in all areas of life, including collision repair… why would we expect it NOT to change? Why would we think the repair methods of 20 years ago would still apply today?

Listen, everyone in this trade more than 5 years, has had to evolve some in how they fix cars & the equipment & materials they use for those repairs, right?

In the past 40-some years I have been in this trade, bodymen (now repair technicians) have gone from pulling full-framed CARS & trucks with torches and a dozer, welding with arc welders & oxy/acetylene torches with brazing rods back in the late 60’s and 70’s… to…  mig, tig & silicone-bronze welders, compression spot welders and computerized measuring systems… just to name a few… and painters (refinish technicians) have gone from air-dry acrylic lacquers and alkyd enamels in the 70’s to base coat-clear coat systems, 3-coat & 4-coat colors with a multitude of quick-bake clear options, some ready to deliver in as little as 30 mins!...from heavy-duty rubbing compounds like Tiger-cut, to 3000 grit trizact sanding foam discs and finesse-it polishing… and many other material and technology changes along the way.

OK, I don’t want to beat this into the ground, but the way I see it, the collision repair business will continue to thrive… I don’t care if we are zipping around in Jetson-style hovercrafts or scrolling Facebook while our autopilot electric cars are driving us to work, we are still going to run into each other and the need for repairs will always be there… so this world will STILL need shops, just like you, to handle those repairs with technicians that are properly trained and equipped. 

Your mindset, which is 100% under your control, is the only thing holding you back from, or propelling you forward to, accomplishing whatever you need to do to be successful... to realizing your dreams of having a profitable collision repair business. If your mindset is not where it needs to be yet, first thing you need to change or adapt is THAT!... everything else will follow.

Time to get off that fence once and for all….

As Henry Ford said many years ago:

“Whether you think you CAN, or you think you CAN’T, you are right!”

 Rick Selover 

Founder & Host of The Mind Wrench Podcast