Episode 211 - Why Your Auto Repair Shop Feels Like a Rut—and How to Fix It

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. My name is Rick White from 180 Biz, and this is my. Just one thing. How many of you are feeling stressed about work this week versus excited? Which are you? Are you feeling stressed about this week or are you feeling excited about this week? That is super, super great question to ask. So real quick, which are you? So let's think this through. What's the difference between being stressed and excited? Right? Burned out or excited. That is super, super important. But I want to talk to you. I ran across a quote, and it's a Simon Sinek quote. And it said, when you're working for something you don't care about, it's called stress. Working hard for something you love is called passion. And I really kind of like, I really believe that my brain is like a. Like a rock. What do they call that when you, when you shine up? A rock. Right. Tumbler. I just tumble thoughts and ideas in my head all the time, and I hope it polishes them and stuff as we go along. Think about this. You know, if I truly believe that burnout happens when you forget why you're doing something, not how to do it, not. Not when to do it or what to do, but when you forget why you're doing something. Okay? When you forget why you're doing something, burnout is the byproduct. And what happens is you're going through the motions, right? You're going through the motions, but they're just focused on the task, on getting through the end of the day. We call that the rut, right? We call that the rut. And the reason why is because you forgot your why now. Your why could be anything. It could be for a better, you know, better upbringing for your kids. It could be to get stuff that you've never had. It could be. Could have been to create an environment where everybody could, in your shop, could thrive. But if you forget your why, you end up in a trap, the rut trap. And you end up in the rut trap because. Because you're going through the motions without purpose. Right? I want you to understand that the less connected you are to your why, the more stressed and burnt out you're going to be. Why is that? Because you're focused on the situation. You're focused on the. On the tasks instead of focused on where you're going or why you're doing it or who you're doing it for. Because then it changes things. It keeps that burning inside, that hunger inside. When you remember who, why, or why you're doing this, right? And the difference is when you're remembering your why, even with a slow car count, even when you remember your why. Like, I'm here to make a difference. I'm here to create a great environment. Now it's just like, let's get this done, let's go, let's rock. And you start to work on it.

You know why you get stressed out when you can't remember your why? It's because you. Your fears creep in, right? Your fears creep in and they start to create a different destination for you. You know, cars count goes down, you think, oh, my God, I'm going out of business. That's a different destination. And it's because you're not remembering your why. See signs that you're in a rut. Every single day feels the same, right? That's a sign you're in a rut. How about the work drains you. You go to work, you get up in the morning, you don't want to get out of bed. And when you get home, oh, my gosh, you just feel like you're just completely drained, that you're just surviving, right? That is amazing. Okay? When you feel that way because you can recognize you're in a rut about in the groove, right? We have groove, rut, and grave. So the groove, right, is when time flies, challenges energize you, and you're thriving. Why? Because you're doing something bigger than you. You're doing something bigger, bigger than just the dollar. That's what's so important about this. You've got to have that why, Your purpose. What I want you to do is step back and remember why you started the shop, right? You may have started it for a loved one. You may have started it to give someone else their dream. You may have started it to put wells in Africa. You may have started it to start to give some, your clients, your community, a place for honest, competent auto repair. You were tired of seeing people taken advantage of. You were tired of seeing people get ripped off. It all depends. Everybody's why is different and it doesn't matter.

But, Rick, mine's a little selfish. What do you mean? Well, you know something? I didn't grow up with much, and I want to make sure that my family and I don't go through what I went through. I want to make sure my kids don't go through what I went through. That's okay. See, that's amazing, right? And then as you grow and you achieve that why now, you find your next why, right? And that's what's so cool about this. But this is the difference between being in a groove versus being in a ruth. When you're in a groove, man, you're rocking, man. You're doing the stuff, but it's because you're focused on who you're serving on, why you're doing it, what you want to achieve. The rut is when you forget. The rut is when you're staring at your feet. Your rut is when you're just doing it to get it done right. Instead of picking up the phone to help someone in care, you're picking up the phone to stop it from ringing. This makes all the difference in the world. Does it mean you're not going to have any issues or problems in the shop? No. But when you're in a groove, you don't call them problems, you call them challenges. And guess what? The challenge is just a speed bump in getting to where you want to go. When you're in a rut, the problem feels like this big giant dam in the way. You're not going to be able to get through. That's what's going on. So what I want to do right now real quick is help you rediscover your why. I want you to just think about what drew you into this industry to begin with beyond just making money. What drew you into starting your own shop beyond just making money? Okay, think about it. Was it the satisfaction of solving stuff that nobody else could? Was it helping, you know, your community? And that was stranded, Mastering complex problems. Whatever it is, the simple exercise is, here's your just one thing for this week. The one thing shift. What made you choose this business in the first place? And maybe some of you feel like, well, I didn't get a chance. But here's the thing I want you to do. I want you to restructure your day around your core passion. Okay? I want you to step back. If it's family, I want you to build it around family. Don't lie to yourself and say, I'm working for my family and never see them because you're killing one to feed the other. You've got to get it so that you're working around your core passion. How about during the summer your family comes over and you have lunch together? Or you find a little spot outside and you sit on a picnic table and you have lunch with your family? How about getting out a little earlier and getting it so that you're not going in and staying all hours of the night? You gotta get away from rut inducing tasks to groove creating activities. Right. One, you're focused on what you're doing. Two, you're focused on why you're doing it. Okay, this is really, really cool. So what I would like you to do is get back in touch with what got you excited in the first place. Who did you want to serve? What difference did you want to make? What did you want to achieve? Remember those things. Fall in love with your passion again and you will see some amazing things happening. That is my just one thing for this week. Thank you guys for being here. I appreciate you. If you Want to Remember July 10, 7pm we're doing our Shop Owners Roundtable. We also have our Pocket Business Genius webinar series. Did a really great one going from chaos to freedom and prosperity this past week. If you missed it, please, the recording will be up shortly. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd love to have you see that. That's Pocket Business Genius is our webinar series. Would love to have you in there, everybody. Thank you so much for being here. God bless. Have fun and go make some money this week. We'll talk to you all next week. Take care. Bye Bye.