Dr. J.J. Peterson, PhD in communications, explains how business owners can elevate their leadership by stepping into the role of the Guide instead of operating as the hero, villain, or victim. Using proven storytelling frameworks, Peterson outlines four core characters, Victim, Villain, Hero, and Guide, and why self-awareness of these roles is critical to effective leadership.

Victims lack agency and believe outcomes are beyond their control. Villains respond to pain by inflicting it on others, gaining short-term power but long-term resentment. Heroes work to redeem pain but are often overwhelmed and unstable—especially when leaders try to play that role in business. The most powerful role is the Guide: a steady, confident mentor who combines empathy and authority to help others win.

Peterson shows that when leaders stop trying to be the hero and instead guide customers and team members, who are the true heroes of the story, culture improves, trust deepens, recruitment becomes easier, and retention increases. The result is the Badass Softie balance: driven leadership grounded in genuine care for people.

Dr J.J. Peterson, https://www.drjjpeterson.com/

Recorded Live at AAPEX 2025, this episode tackles the classic “chicken or the egg” challenge for auto repair shop owners: should the focus be on marketing to generate work or recruiting technicians to handle it? The answer is simple—both. Sustainable growth requires managing two throttles at once: marketing and recruitment. Neither can be set and forgotten.

Key takeaways include reframing the role as a high tech career with clear advancement paths, adopting an “always be recruiting” mindset, and not judging candidates by resumes alone. Many capable technicians want to move but are emotionally stuck due to fear, loyalty, or past instability. Long-term retention depends on engagement and making employees feel like part of the business, not just workers in it.

Consistency is critical, as marketing and recruiting take time to gain traction and lose momentum quickly when stopped. A shop’s website should double as a recruiting tool, confidently showcasing employees, culture, and benefits.

Ultimately, the challenge lies in the demanding nature of shop ownership. Owners tend to protect what’s working instead of continually investing in the systems—marketing and recruiting—that ensure long-term stability and growth.

Lisa Coyle, Co-Founder, Promotive: https://gopromotive.com/

Becca Zanders, Certified Exit Planning Advisor, explains why most auto repair shop owners are unprepared for an exit—and how to change that. Only 20–30% of businesses that go to market actually sell, and nearly half of those sales are forced by the “Five Ds”: Death, Divorce, Disability, Disagreement, or Distress.

Becca introduces the Value Acceleration Methodology, which reframes exit planning into three stages: Discover the business’s true value and the owner’s readiness, Prepare the leader, finances, and organization to accelerate value, and Decide whether to grow or sell. A key distinction is the difference between a profitable lifestyle business and a business built for value.

The conversation stresses the importance of closing the “wealth gap,” as most owners underestimate retirement needs and have the majority of their net worth trapped in their business. Personal readiness is equally critical, with many sellers regretting the sale because they failed to define their purpose beyond ownership.

Advice to shop owners: build the right advisory team and start advancing your business today, long before a sale is forced.

Becca Zanders, https://www.d6elements.com/

Recorded live at AAPEX 2025, this episode features Tara Topel, the new president of Vehicle Service Experts (VSE), and Missy Stephens, Community Engagement Manager for the Auto Care Association.

The discussion highlights the rebranding of the Auto Care Association’s Car Care Professionals Network (CCPN) to VSE, reflecting the broader industry that includes heavy-duty vehicles.

Key initiatives include:

• Resource Hub:An online center covering topics from shop coaching to ADAS best practices.

• Industry Relevance:Translating Auto Care market data into actionable insights for shop planning.

• Best Practices:The VSE council, currently 10–12 members, aims to grow to 15–20, compiling guidance on apprenticeships, ADAS, and more.

The episode also covers the Right to Repair movement. The association needs real-world examples where shops lacked access to data or support, to counter Congress's claims. Shop owners can submit stories via a QR code on the Auto Care website and are encouraged to share their experiences by hosting legislators.

Get involved, share your experiences, and take an active role in shaping the policies that affect your shop and the entire industry.

Recorded live at AAPEX 2025, this episode features Dan Vance, CEO of Shop Dog Marketing, sharing how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping marketing, business strategy, and the auto repair industry. The conversation explores how AI is changing consumer behavior—from lightning fast website visits focused on trust signals to customers using AI for vehicle self-diagnosis and shop recommendations, with AI often presenting only a few options, strong branding and clear communication matter more than ever.

In the marketing sphere, Vance explains that attention spans are incredibly short. Website visitors typically spend just 20 seconds looking for clear trust indicators such as professionalism, strong reviews, warranties, online scheduling, and financing options. Visual cues communicate faster than text, while warm colors and photos of the team help build familiarity and trust. Online scheduling continues to grow in importance as many consumers prefer it over making a phone call.

Vance encourages shop owners to embrace AI as a “digital butler”—a tool that anticipates needs, explains marketing metrics in plain language, and helps owners show up more confident, shifting from reacting to problems to intentionally driving growth.

Dan Vance, Shop Dog Marketing.com

Recorded live at AAPEX 2025, this episode brings together leaders from Australia’s JAX Tyres & Auto to show just how closely the Australian automotive aftermarket mirrors the U.S. market. Featuring CEO Steve Grossrieder, franchise owner Dan Spiteri, future franchisee Will Attard, and Autoflow’s Chris Cloutier and Craig O’Neill, the conversation underscores shared global challenges—most notably the technician shortage—and the reassurance that the industry is moving along a parallel path worldwide.

Rather than chasing quick fixes, the discussion centers on culture-driven solutions: expanding diversity, building clear career paths and succession plans, and advocating for the industry at the grassroots level. JAX's customer-first mindset is a recurring theme, with every team member accountable for the client experience and a strong emphasis on clear communication to help customers understand emerging technologies like ADAS.

With just under 100 stores, JAX avoids multi-franchise ownership, instead holding each franchisee accountable for the customer experience in their territory. The key takeaway is clear: in both Australia and the U.S., long-term aftermarket success depends on investing in people, strengthening culture, and maintaining an unwavering commitment to the customer.

Eric Svedberg breaks down a smarter, more profitable way to price diagnostic work—what he calls the Level Testing Sales Amplifier. At its core, the system tackles a problem most repair shops quietly accept: testing is often a loss leader. When technicians are tied up diagnosing complex issues, shops miss out on parts sales. A-level technicians can earn less than their B-level counterparts doing routine work, and the rising cost of software and tools goes unpaid.

Svedberg reframes the conversation by using the word “testing” instead of “diagnostics,” a term he believes is clearer and more intuitive for customers. Testing implies a process, not a guarantee—setting expectations from the start.

The Level Testing system uses a tiered structure tied to the shop’s base labor rate:

• Level One – Basic Testing:Single, constant, duplicable issues (like a check engine light that’s always on).

• Level Two – Intermediate Testing:Multiple concerns or intermittent problems.

• Level Three – Pandora’s Box:Highly complex vehicles, often previously misdiagnosed or unsuccessfully repaired elsewhere.

• Level Four – “Grandmother Rate”:Disaster cars involving severe electrical damage, corrosion, or major disassembly.

While the levels are designed as an internal framework, Svedberg finds transparency with customers increases trust and buy-in. Service advisors are coached to remove Level Three from most conversations upfront, steer customers toward Level Two testing as the norm, and clearly explain that testing fees are for time spent—not credited toward repairs. For true Level Three cases, advisors frame the value honestly: if it were simple, another shop would have already fixed it.

Svedberg emphasizes that the system is easy to train and implement—often within a week—by focusing on quick wins with top advisors. Its simplicity improves communication, closes the tech efficiency gap, and can be applied beyond diagnostics to services like module programming and ADAS calibration.

Every decision, he says, must pass the test: Is it good for the car? Good for the customer? Good for the shop?

Recorded live at AAPEX 2025, ASE President Dave Johnson and AAPEX Shop of the Year winner Tom Palermo discuss the value, impact, and future of ASE certification. A major highlight: the U.S. Secret Service joined ASE on the AAPEX show floor, promoting technician careers and showcasing armored vehicles. Johnson notes that the Secret Service requires ASE certification for maintenance roles—proof that if it’s “good enough for the president’s car,” it matters for the whole industry.

Key topics include ASE’s updated test content based on real shop feedback, powerful data showing certification improves productivity and reduces comebacks and attrition, and the ongoing challenge of boosting consumer awareness. They also discuss increasing industry requirements for ASE, new certification efforts for Vehicle Security Specialists, and the continued push for professionalism in today’s high-tech automotive field.

Dave Johnson, President, ASE, National Institute For Automotive Service Excellence

Tom Palermo, Preferred Automotive Specialists in Philadelphia, PA. Tom’s previous episodes HERE