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

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

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

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

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

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