Running a Tight Ship

Who says July is too late for Spring cleaning? It's never too late in the year to organize your business. Perhaps a first step could be to gather all of the INSIGHTs you have for 2003 and put them in a binder. Read over the last several issues, mainly March and June. Knowing what your business is worth and being able to schedule in an efficient manner are too very important parts of running your own business successfully.

Last month our feature article encouraged collision repair facility managers to consider a different way to manage time - and maybe make a more efficient profit. This time we want you to use every square foot of your facility’s space efficiently and wisely: "Making Every Square Foot Count."

It is crucial to be aware of what your business is worth, and just because you are smaller than the guy down the street does not mean you are worth less. The same applies to the bigger guy - do not assume that a large shop automatically equals greater worth. An efficient business is an efficient business, no matter the size. History has shown that a well-run small ship can run circles around a fleet of lumbering giants.

The feature also revisits smart scheduling. Something a smaller shop may have to think more about, but definitely not something a larger shop can ignore. Along with smarter scheduling must come smarter use of space.

Our TrendLine this month ( See page 18.) shows a happy break from the trend we have reported since 2000, at least according to those shops that have responded to our yearly questions about I-CAR. The overall I-CAR Shop satisfaction level score has gotten worse every year since 2000.

This year, though, scores are up - way up. The overall I-CAR score is up a hefty 20 percent from last year. Each part of the I-CAR experience improved, too. Respondents are 38 percent happier with the availability of classes. Location has a 30 percent improved score and class content is up 18 percent. Even the pricetag for an I-CAR class has a better score, 21 percent better than last year.

An upcoming feature will take a closer look at I-CAR, and expect a report on I-CAR’s annual meeting, scheduled for July 23 - 26 in Fort Lauderdale.