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Automotive Repair Industry’s Brightest Minds Share Information, Insight at Mudstock 2011

The nation's top automotive repair shop owners will share their expertise at Mudstock 2011 - an annual training summit that offers attendees the opportunity to learn innovative management techniques, share information and practice strategies that will help them prosper.
By Shop Owner Staff
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The nation’s top automotive repair shop owners will share their expertise at Mudstock 2011 — an annual training summit that offers attendees the opportunity to learn innovative management techniques, share information and practice strategies that will help them prosper.

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Presented by Mudlick Mail, a provider of direct mail services for the automotive repair industry, Mudstock regularly draws more than 100 service center owners from around the country. The interactive training summit will be held September 27-29, 2011 at the Barnsley Gardens Resort just north of Atlanta, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Amidst this beautiful background, industry experts will provide guidance on a wide variety of topics, including:

• Improving time management;
• Motivating employees to improve production;
• Increasing the expertise of sales staff;
• Building a female client base;
• Managing high-volume stores and multiple locations; and
• Strategies for future growth (when and how to grow).

In addition to learning from industry leaders, Mudstock attendees will also hear from NASCAR racing legend Bill Elliot, who will offer insight into how he became one of stock car racing’s most accomplished drivers. A former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Elliott will share success strategies and techniques to stay motivated. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2007. He holds track records at both Talladega and the Daytona International Speedway and was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver 16 times. Still a part-time driver, Elliott launched his career in 1974.

Mudstock supplements the webinars and educational information Mudlick Mail provides on its website to help clients utilize advertising more effectively.

"We want attendees to walk away with tools they can use to become better managers and more profitable business owners," said Mudlick Mail CEO Greg Sands, who also owns more than 20 locations in four states.

Founded in 2008, Mudlick Mail helps automotive repair shops deliver the right message to the right people. The company’s strategically-targeted direct mail campaigns, turnkey service and expert guidance allow shop owners to increase their reach and grow their businesses.

For more information, visit http://www.mudlickmail.com.

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When Your Shop Is Worth Much More Than You Thought

Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.

By Art Blumenthal
Leveraging more than 30 years of experience as both an aftermarket business owner and aftermarket technology executive, Art Blumenthal LLC provides business intermediary and advisory services to both buyers and sellers of industry businesses of all sizes. Art is a member of IBBA (International Business Brokers Association, Inc.). For more information, or to initiate a no-obligation confidential consultation, visit www.art-blumenthal.com.
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Case Study: Owner of San Francisco-based Import Service Shop Delighted to Discover Just How Valuable His Business is to Qualified Buyers
I sometimes share case studies of the clients I have been able to assist in my role as an aftermarket business broker and provider of intermediary and advisory services. I do that when I think the story will provide a reader in similar circumstances with new insights or helpful information.
In the case of Cowden Automotive, Inc., I acted in a consulting capacity assisting the owner and his broker in valuing the business, creating a marketing plan, finding a qualified buyer, and arranging financing for the sale.
Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.
Needless to say, delivering that kind of good news to a shop owner is a rewarding experience. Discovering that the sale of his business would result in his retirement nest-egg being substantially larger than he had ever thought was a fitting tribute to someone who had spent his entire working career as a busy automotive service shop owner.

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