If you remember back to when you were in school, you’ll recall how you used to have to burn a lot more calories to try to learn something new. In the days before the Internet, all the answers to the existential questions of the universe were confined within the four walls of your local library.

Need to know the particulars of the Louisiana Purchase? Head to the library. Curious about the eating habits of the three-toed sloth? Head to the library.

Thankfully, getting the information you need to run your business today is a heck of a lot simpler than trying to make sense of the Dewey Decimal System. While things like in-person, onsite training and attending industry seminars are still extremely beneficial in helping fine-tune your processes, sometimes the good advice you need is just a click away.

There are a number of online communities you can find dedicated to providing resources for shop owners. But at Shop Owner magazine, we wanted to create an inclusive forum where we could bring the most pertinent business best practices from across disciplines right to shop owners’ desktops, smartphones and tablets. That’s why we recently created the Shop Owner: Professional Automotive Repair Shop Owners Group on LinkedIn.

Our belief at Shop Owner is that while learning how to run a successful shop is usually best exemplified by those with industry experience, sometimes an outside perspective can speak volumes.

With this in mind, we’re going out of our way to find the foremost experts in their fields to talk about topics pertinent to running a successful shop. For example, we recently spoke with former presidential campaign spokeswoman and author Dorie Clark about how shops can best recover from a tarnished online reputation.

We also sat down with social media marketing expert Michael Crosson to discuss how shops can maximize their reach by using social media to more effectively market their shop in the digital age. Regardless of whether it comes from a 30-year industry vet or someone who has never popped the hood of a car in their entire life, our goal is to pursue quality content in all its forms.

Hiring quality techs, investing in the latest tools and putting effective processes in place are all essential steps for running a successful repair shop. But we think the biggest factor that determines how profitable and productive a shop can be is how vigilant the shop owner is about pursuing learning opportunities — wherever they present themselves.

Those who are always trying to learn how to improve their businesses are the ones who will be able to withstand the inevitable “valleys” that come with running any business. If you’ve had your doors open for long enough, you’ve undoubtedly gone through periods where quality techs retire or move to other shops, nobody seems to be coming through the door or the new vehicles showing up in your bays test the limits of your techs’ abilities and patience. The answer to overcoming all of these common problems is learning a little more today than you did yesterday.

While it takes some vigilance to continuously refine your processes and strategies, the return on your time investment will yield dividends for you, your techs and your customers. So, join our LinkedIn group and keep up with all the best business management advice we have to offer — no late fees apply.