The year 2021 is drawing to a close. For independent tire dealers across the country, it has largely been a profitable - but difficult - year. With just a few weeks remaining, it’s time to take stock of the last 12 months and start looking at the next 12 months.
With the proliferation of tiers of tire brands, you are likely to survive those instances in which your preferred brands are not available. Automotive parts and lubricants, on the other hand, are another story.
Imagine running a tire dealership and not knowing what is in stock or what sales have been for the month - tirelessly writing up invoices as customers come in and hoping that at the end of the day you’ve made some profit. Sounds ridiculous, right?
There are many types of independent tire dealerships throughout North America and all of these types can be pretty interesting when they are owned by the same person — a multi-store operator (MSO.) Here are several things MSOs can do to improve their business.
A few years ago, I wrote about an impending “wage war.” The primary driver at the time was a shrinking talent pool at the beginning of the pipeline and an aging skilled workforce. (At the time, the average age of a master certified technician was 55.) When you combine those two factors, it creates a wage imbalance.
If you get 30 tire dealers in a room and bring up point-of-sale (POS) systems, prepare for 45 different opinions and a very long, passionate conversation. This month’s column is not going to endorse any particular POS system. Instead, it will help you learn to drive your POS system like the race car that it is and understand what role it plays at your dealership.
Anyone who has worked in the tire and automotive repair business for even a week will be familiar with metrics - important financial and operational milestones or ratios used to evaluate how efficiently and profitably a store is run.
It is safe to say that 2020 was a stressful year. Nearly every facet of your business was pushed to the limit, and while 2021 seems to be shaping up as an improvement over last year, the first half is not without its challenges. In this MTD exclusive, Dennis McCarron explains why finding a stress relief valve for your employees is critical.
I know you’ve heard me grumble about technicians performing poor, improper vehicle inspections - or even skipping the entire inspection process - before. Performing thorough inspections can grow your revenue and when done right, will make customers happy.
Woe be to the small business owner who pores over his or her marketing budget every September, October or November in preparation for the following year.
