Shop Profile: No Place Like Bob’s Wheel Alignment
When Bob Archer opened the doors to Bob’s Wheel Alignment in Charlottesville, VA, almost 30 years ago, he had one technician and one front-office secretary. Today, the shop employs 21 people and has grown to more than 17,000 square feet. What’s made Bob’s so successful all these years? “Service, service, service,” he says.
Things To Consider Before Opening Your Second Shop, Part I
You have thought about it long and hard and decided it may be time to open a second shop. Here are some things to consider: 97% of all new businesses fail within the first five years. There are two primary reasons that these businesses fail: Under Capitalization and Poor Management.
Producing a Quality Shop Video Can Help You Break Through the Clutter
Want to build your business by reaching customers through an exciting, visual medium? Videos may just be your answer. They can serve as the ideal medium to break through the clutter and help build your shop’s name and reputation in the community in a unique and visual manner.
Discrimination in the Workplace: Prevention Starts at the Top
The U.S. Justice Department tells us that lawsuits alleging discrimination in the workplace more than tripled in the 1990s. These stories can be found online, in the newspaper and on the evening news almost daily, and most commonly involve race, gender, disability, religion or age. The uncertainty of today’s business climate, the downturn in the economy, and most importantly, layoffs, increases the likelihood of legal action.
Employee Retention is Key to Continued Success
Companies that build and maintain a superior workforce will have a long-term competitive advantage in their marketplaces. Here are some strategies for doing just that.
Don’t Close the Sale – Open the Relationship
Extensive consumer research has proven that there’s a direct link between positive customer experiences and greater sales results and reveal that when there’s a disconnect between the way businesses go about selling their products and the way consumers want to buy them, sales results suffer.
Buy Now, Depreciate Now: What Does Section 179 of the Tax Code do for Capital Equipment Purchases in 2010?
Almost every shop owner can recall what he/she paid for a
piece of capital equipment in his/her shop. Smart shop owners
can even tell what year of depreciation a piece of capital
equipment is in, and how much was claimed on the shop’s taxes. But, a recent rewriting of the tax code has changed this practice.
Youthful Drivers…Is Your Company Exposed?
Making appropriate decisions with young drivers of company vehicles can help prevent losses and protect company assets.
Are You Ready for More Business?
Develop a checklist to make sure you are ready to take full advantage of the massive population of vehicles on the road that need engine work.
Key Person Insurance: Proactively Protecting Your Business
If you consider your employees to be your most important
business asset, then it would be short-sighted of you not to
insure them. Key-person life insurance policies help ensure continuity in a business after the loss of a partner or important employee and also offer valuable employee retention benefits.
Getting ‘Green:’ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle To Reignite Your Business
By now it’s evident that the whole ‘green’ movement is more than just a fad. In fact, successful businesses everywhere have
adapted their operations to cater to consumers who are looking
for more environmentally friendly products and services.
Exclusive Excellence: Exclusively Bimmers Banks On Its Solid Reputation
Dennis Walczuk’s Exclusively Bimmers shop in the Charleston, SC, suburb of Mount Pleasant is a far cry from “the dungeon” that was the back office at the independent repair facility’s previous location. While Walczuk admits the old shop’s less-than-ideal setting definitely lost him a customer or two, he knows that the current facility on Lansing Drive has the opposite effect.