From the Magazine: Giving time to the things that matter

Date night shouldn’t feel impossible. If it is, then you need to take a close look at your business

When was the last time you took your significant other on an actual date?

Not sitting beside each other while answering shop texts.
Not checking cameras during dinner.
Not “getting ready in the same room” while mentally still at work. An actual date.

If your first response is, “That’s impossible right now,” then let’s stop pretending the problem is time. The problem is your business. More specifically, the way your business currently depends on you.

Too many independent shop owners have built operations where every problem routes back to one person. Estimate approvals, workflow issues, technician questions, customer complaints — everything leads back to the owner.

At first, this feels responsible. Over time, it becomes a trap.

Ask yourself honestly:

• Can your advisors make decisions without you?
• Do technicians solve problems or simply escalate them upward?
• Can your shop function for one evening without your phone exploding?

If those questions make you uncomfortable, good. Most owners avoid asking them. Because businesses built around constant owner intervention eventually hit a ceiling. Growth slows down. Stress rises. Staff stop taking initiative. Expansion becomes difficult. Home life suffers.

And eventually the owner becomes the bottleneck inside their own business. Many owners mistake this for dedication. It isn’t.

Because businesses built around constant owner intervention eventually hit a ceiling. Growth slows down. Stress rises. Staff stop taking initiative.

Strong businesses are built around process, communication, accountability and leadership structures that allow the operation to function without constant supervision.

That’s why one of the first things I challenge clients to do is make one evening per week completely non-negotiable: No calls, no estimate approvals, no texting advisors from the restaurant table, no checking cameras from the parking lot.

And no, date night does not mean sitting beside your partner while mentally still inside the shop.

Take that person on a date. Leave the environment. Disconnect properly. Be present. Because the moment you truly step away, the business immediately reveals the weaknesses:

• Communication gaps
• Decision bottlenecks
• Poor delegation
• Lack of accountability
• Leadership dependency

Most owners think the issue is workload or lack of time. In reality, the business has often been structured around owner dependency instead of operational maturity. And harder work will not fix that.

Now here’s the real challenge. Show this article to your significant other. Then ask them one question: “Is this me?”

If they immediately say yes without hesitation, don’t defend yourself. Listen carefully. Because the people closest to us usually feel the weight of operational problems long before we recognize them ourselves. They see the interrupted dinners, the inability to disconnect, the constant distraction and the stress that follows the business home every night.

Many owners started their business to create a better life for their family. But somewhere along the way, the business quietly became the thing taking them away from it.

Many owners started their business to create a better life for their family. But somewhere along the way, the business quietly became the thing taking them away from it.

If this article feels uncomfortably accurate, don’t ignore that feeling. These problems rarely solve themselves.

And despite what many coaches will tell you, this is not fixed with motivation or positive thinking. Most owners are simply too close to the business to clearly see where the operational breakdowns actually begin.

Sometimes you need somebody willing to tell you what you need to hear, not what makes you comfortable. Because if your business cannot function without your constant involvement, the problem is no longer just workload. It is structure, leadership and operational dependency.

If this sounds familiar, it may be time for an honest conversation about how your business is really operating behind the scenes.

Greg Aguilera is a director of IAC Canada, an organization dedicated to the management development of repair shops in Canada. He can be reached at greg@intautoconsulting.com.

This article originally appeared in the June issue of CARS magazine.