Episodios

  • RSR P & L and Budget Pod

    RSR P & L and Budget Pod
    Apr 10 2026
    In this episode of Repair Shop Reckoning, Kevin breaks down the difference between knowing your numbers and actually running your business with them. Too many owners look at their P&L at the end of the month and treat it like a report card. By then, the money is already spent and the decisions have already been made.

    This conversation is about taking that back.

    Kevin walks through how to use last year’s numbers as a blueprint for this year, how to build a real budget instead of guessing, and how to stop reacting to what already happened and start controlling what happens next.

    He also gets into the reality that a lot of owners are making more than they think, they just don’t see it because they’re pulling money out in ways that never show up cleanly on paper. Understanding that changes how you look at profit, pricing, and what your business is actually producing.

    You’ll hear why:
    -Chasing more car count is usually the wrong move
    -How small improvements in margins can completely change your bottom line
    -And why so many shops stay stuck even when they’re busy every single day.

    At the end of it, this comes down to one thing. A profitable shop is not built by working harder or getting busier. It’s built by turning last year’s truth into this year’s plan, controlling the leaks, and making decisions before the numbers force you to.

    If you don’t take control of your numbers, they will control you.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 54 m
  • Breaking Down The Cost Of Doing Business

    Breaking Down The Cost Of Doing Business
    Apr 3 2026
    Most shop owners don’t have a pricing problem. They have a numbers problem and it’s costing them more than they realize.

    In this episode, Kevin breaks down what actually happens to every dollar that comes into a shop and why so many owners are busy, working nonstop, and still wondering where the money went. Because the truth is, you can be doing millions in sales and still be losing money if you don’t understand your numbers.

    Kevin walks through a simple breakdown of a $100 repair order to show exactly where the money goes from the true cost of doing the work to the overhead that eats away at your margins every single month. Payroll, insurance, subscriptions, fuel, taxes… it all adds up faster than most owners realize.

    This isn’t theory. This is real shop math and real-world patterns that show up every single day. In this episode, we get into:
    • The difference between gross and net—and why most people get it wrong
    • Why being busy doesn’t mean you’re profitable
    • How overhead creep quietly destroys your margins
    • Fixed vs variable pay—and who’s actually carrying the risk
    • Why discounting jobs to make payroll is a losing game
    • How bad pricing decisions start before the job is ever sold
    • Why QuickBooks and a real shop management system are non-negotiable

    At the core of this episode is a hard truth too many shop owners are guessing. Guessing on pricing, guessing on margins, and guessing on what it actually costs to run their business. And when you guess long enough, it catches up to you.

    If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t have control. And if you don’t have control, you don’t have a business.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    44 m
  • You Don’t Have a Sales Problem… You Have a Culture Problem

    You Don’t Have a Sales Problem… You Have a Culture Problem
    Mar 27 2026
    Everybody keeps talking about how this industry is broken. How it sucks. How you can’t make money. How technicians are leaving and shops are struggling.

    Here’s the truth. Yeah, there are problems. But that’s not the whole story.

    Because there are shops out there winning. There are technicians building real careers. There are owners creating teams, culture, and systems that actually work. And the difference isn’t luck. It’s how they run the business.

    In this episode of Repair Shop Reckoning, Kevin breaks down what’s really going on inside shops right now. Not from the outside looking in, but from someone who’s been in it for over 30 years.

    He gets into:
    -Why most shops don’t actually have a sales problem, they have a culture problem.
    -How weak processes, lack of training, and poor leadership create chaos that no amount of selling can fix.
    -Why customers lose trust.
    -Why technicians get frustrated.
    -And why owners stay stuck working in their business instead of building one.

    And more importantly, he shows you there is a different way to do it.

    This isn’t about pretending the industry is perfect. It’s about understanding that if you’re willing to take ownership, build the right systems, and lead the right way, you can still win here.

    If you’re tired of the negativity, tired of hearing how bad it is, and you know there has to be a better way, this episode is for you.

    Because yeah, some days suck. But this industry is still full of opportunity. And if Kevin can do it, so can you.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 39 m
  • They Ignored the Trades...Now They Have to Pay for It

    They Ignored the Trades...Now They Have to Pay for It
    Mar 20 2026
    Everybody keeps talking about the technician shortage like it just showed up out of nowhere. It didn’t. We built it.

    For the last 30 years, we told kids not to go into the trades. We stripped hands on training out of schools. We pushed college as the only path. Then we built workplaces that burn out the very people we depend on. And now everyone’s asking where all the good techs went.

    Here’s what nobody’s saying… Supply and demand has shifted.

    There aren’t enough skilled people, and the ones who can actually do the work are becoming more valuable by the day. That means something most people still haven’t realized. The trades are no longer the fallback option. They’re the opportunity.

    In this episode of Repair Shop Reckoning, Kevin zooms out and connects the dots. This is not just about mechanics. This is about a system that devalues real skill while depending on it more than ever. Kevin breaks down why the technician shortage was created, not accidental, how schools and culture steered an entire generation away from the trades, what is really happening inside dealerships and larger operations, and why good technicians are leaving while broken systems keep the wrong people in place.

    He also gets into what actually fixes the problem. Leadership. Training. Pay. Standards. Not talk. Not excuses.

    If you are a shop owner trying to build a team, a technician feeling the pressure, or a parent trying to guide your kid down the right path, this is a conversation you need to hear.

    Because at the end of the day, the world still runs on people who can fix things. And the people who can are about to get paid.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 24 m
  • The System Said He’d Never Amount to Much...They Were Wrong

    The System Said He’d Never Amount to Much...They Were Wrong
    Mar 13 2026
    Most people know Kevin Brown as the guy who tells it like it is.

    The shop owner. The operator. The guy calling out the chaos, the excuses, and the bad decisions that quietly kill shops.

    But this episode is different.

    This is the beginning of the story.

    In this remastered episode of Repair Shop Reckoning, Kevin sits down with his mom and dad to talk about where it all started. The learning struggles, the behavior issues, the teachers, the testing, the medication, the farm, the trades, and the moments that shaped the way he sees the world now.

    Before the businesses…
    Before the consulting…
    Before the podcast…

    There was a kid who didn’t fit the system. A kid who struggled in school. Got bored fast. Got in trouble, and was told, directly and indirectly, that he was going to have a hard road.

    This episode explains how that same kid found his way through hands-on work, the farm, the trades, and an obsession with learning and eventually became a master certified technician, business owner, leader, and teacher.

    This is the episode that explains why Kevin is Kevin.

    In this episode
    • Kevin’s parents tell the real story of what he was like growing up
    • The learning struggles and school system battles that shaped him
    • How the farm became the turning point
    • Why hands-on work changed everything
    • The underdog story behind the voice of Repair Shop Reckoning If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t fit the system…

    If you’ve ever been underestimated. If you learn better with your hands than from a book. This episode is for you. Because sometimes the people who look like the biggest problem early on. Become the ones who build the most.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 31 m
  • Why I Switched My Shop From Flat Rate to Hourly

    Why I Switched My Shop From Flat Rate to Hourly
    Mar 6 2026
    Flat rate worked in Kevin’s shop for years. But the world outside the shop has changed.

    Parts backorders. Fleet approval layers. Training the next generation of technicians.

    Jobs sitting in bays waiting on things nobody inside the shop can control. And when that happens, flat rate stops rewarding productivity and starts punishing the wrong people.

    In this episode of Repair Shop Reckoning, Kevin explains why he made the decision to move his entire shop off flat rate and onto hourly and salary pay.

    This isn’t a rant about pay plans. It’s a real conversation about what happens when the system around your shop creates friction you can’t control.

    Kevin breaks down what changed, how the team approached the transition, and why leadership, training, and procedures matter more than the pay plan itself.

    Because the real issue isn’t flat rate.

    In this episode
    • Why flat rate worked for years and why it’s getting harder to make fair
    • How training younger technicians exposes the flaw in the flat rate system
    • The real impact of parts delays and fleet approval layers
    • Why rushing for hours hurts quality and culture
    • The system Kevin put in place to protect production, training, and his team

    If you run a shop, manage a team, or want to understand why technicians are leaving the industry, this is a conversation you need to hear.

    Because at the end of the day, it’s not about pay plans. It’s about running a shop that actually works.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 14 m
  • How To Hire A Marketing Company Without Getting Scammed Like I Did

    How To Hire A Marketing Company Without Getting Scammed Like I Did
    Feb 27 2026
    Marketing can build your shop or quietly bankrupt it.

    In this episode, Kevin breaks down why most marketing promises are smoke and mirrors, and what shop owners should actually measure if they want booked work, not “impressions.”

    What you’ll hear in this episode
    • Why “impressions” are the most abused metric in marketing
    • The tracking question every shop must ask on every customer
    • Why Google Business Profile is the real local gold mine and it’s free
    • How to handle bad reviews without looking weak or corporate
    • How Kevin audits marketing so he can cut spend and increase results

    If you’re paying for marketing and you can’t tie it to booked work, you’re not marketing...You’re donating.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 4 m
  • The Backend Mistakes That Bankrupt Shops

    The Backend Mistakes That Bankrupt Shops
    Feb 20 2026
    If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t control your business!

    In this episode, Kevin sits down with Maria Montie, partner at Shindel Rock and a key resource inside the Repair Shop Reckoning network, to talk about what most shop owners avoid their backend.

    Cash flow. Oversight. Internal controls. Tax structure. And the dangerous assumption that “my accountant has it handled.”

    We break down:
    • Why bookkeeping and real accounting strategy are not the same thing
    • How overstated revenue can quietly create six-figure tax bills
    • The internal control mistakes that lead to embezzlement
    • Why “no surprises” should be your financial standard
    • The difference between delegation and responsibility
    And here’s the part that should get your attention:

    A shop owner we were working with received a six-figure tax bill. After reconstructing the books and filing an amended return, that bill was dissolved.

    Not reduced.

    Dissolved.

    Because when you don’t understand your structure, your revenue classification, and your reporting you can end up paying for mistakes you didn’t even know existed.

    This episode isn’t about accounting theory.

    It’s about control.

    You can delegate tasks.
    You cannot delegate ownership.

    If you’re serious about leading your shop instead of reacting to it, this conversation matters.

    No fluff. No tax hacks. Just the reality of what it takes to run a business the right way.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 h y 19 m