In 40 years, the basic recipe for success in collision repair remains the same.

Back in May 1985 — 40 years ago this month — I started full-time in the collision industry. It doesn’t seem that long ago, of course, but as I reflect, collision repair has seen many changes since then. In 1985, the most advanced technology in cars was fuel injection. ABS & airbags weren’t yet in any of the domestic cars we worked on. HSS/UHSS steel barely existed, and ADAS, DRP, and MSO were unheard-of acronyms. Very few shops knew anything about OEM repair procedures. Clipping cars was common practice. The internet (AKA “the cloud”) was nonexistent, and handwritten estimates are all we had.

With all the changes over the last four decades, are things really that different? In the bible, Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” It’s crazy how this verse is a perfect description of the collision industry. The basics are still the same as in 1985. Consumers are still wrecking cars, and shops are still battling with insurers to be paid to fix cars correctly and make a fair profit.

So, if the basics haven’t changed over the last 40 years, what’s the difference between very successful shops and mediocre ones? There are three foundational ingredients to this success recipe:

Written Goals
Positive Mindset
Be Unstoppable

When I bought my shop back in 2000, I had two separate buildings. Over the next ten years, I remodeled both buildings, installed a new paint booth, etc. I am one who doesn’t like banks nor debt and I made the improvements using cashflow. Even though the renovations were completed, I still wished my buildings were connected. In 2011, I met Mike Anderson and that is where my 20-group journey group began with him. In 2013, Mike went to a leadership retreat. Upon his return, he encouraged each of his 20 group members to attend. So, in 2014, I attended. And it was life-changing for me.

Mike Jones of Discover Leadership, based in Houston, taught us we only get one life to live and no do-overs, thus we must make the most of it! One concept that I think of every day since then is that in life, we have a choice to be either the flag or the wind. When we are just the flag, the wind just blows us wherever it wants. That wind can be others or circumstances. When we choose to be the wind, we for the most part control the outcomes of our life. Otherwise, WE must make change happen, rather than just hoping things change.

After Discover, I decided I was going to build a new shop. My shop had been at the same location since my grandpa started it in 1951. So, I decided to build a big 12,000-square-foot box over my two existing buildings and demo everything underneath except the paint booth and office. Was it crazy? Of course, but in 2016 it became a reality. During the construction it was the hardest I had ever worked in my life, and we kept fixing cars the entire time. I even had newspapers wanting to write stories on it.

Back to the recipe for success:

We must have Written Goals and then start visualizing them as already accomplished feeling that success, like an athlete who sees themselves crossing the finish line. Start with small achievable goals to boost our confidence. By reaching small goals, we build courage to accomplish much larger goals. Don’t forget to set deadlines, as we can’t live in someday, where someday I will do this or that.

With a Positive Mindset, we can use affirmation statements like, “I am a great businessman,” or how about this one: “I am a great spouse.” Making them visual and even repeating them is crucial. I remember when I was in school, I was envious of the kids who were smarter than me. The reality is, 50% of the smartest people on the planet work for someone else, and we must not sell ourselves short. We can even use gratitude journals and write down three things at the end of each day we are thankful for. Lastly, we must do everything we can to avoid negative people, no different than if they have the plague.

To Be Unstoppable, author Brian Tracy explains, it’s like a mountain stream that eventually finds its way to the ocean. It wasn’t easy, but it got there with relentless determination. We can’t succumb to problems but focus only on solutions for ways to adapt and persist. Bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly due to their body weight vs small wing size, but by rotating their wings in a figure eight they create vortices (hurricanes) and can then take to flight.