Garage Owners Network (UK)

Hosted by Andrew Crook

Business

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Episodes

155

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

My mission is to help garage owners become more successful in business. Every week I host a 15-minute training topic inside one of the 5 pillars of running a successful independent garage business. Planning, Finance, Performance, Systems & Marketing

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 21, 202615 min

Topical Marketing

🚨 Nadia's scared to book in. Gareth thinks you're all at it. Sian would rather suffer with dodgy brakes than ask for a payment plan. None of them will ever say that to your face — because none of them will ever pick up the phone in the first place. This week on Garage Owner's Network, we're tackling the FINAL marketing topic in this training series: Topical Marketing — the one that pulls everything together. You'll learn how to turn today's headlines (cost-of-living, the motor finance scandal, energy bills) into messaging that gets your ideal customer to actually make contact. No 10%-off gimmicks. Just the thing that makes every bit of marketing you've already built — your website, your reviews, your Facebook page — actually start pulling its weight. https://www.skool.com/atomic-success-7135/about

October 14, 202614 min

The System Trap

You're rammed — three weeks booked out, techs flat out, phone never stops — and the rewards aren't showing up in your bank balance. This week: why "too busy to build systems" is the exact trap keeping garage owners busy and broke. We push the MBA framework to its extreme conclusion — do less, not more. Hear the story of two nearly identical garages with completely different outcomes, and the four systems, built in the right order, that hand you your time back for good. https://www.skool.com/atomic-success-7135/about

October 7, 202612 min

The Technician Crisis

🔧 We built the technician crisis ourselves, and most garages don't know how we did it. Every garage owner blames the same things for the technician shortage: money, kids today, the government. Fair enough — but wrong. Go live with me this week, and I'll show you two things: 1️⃣ How the industry created this crisis — and why "Turnover Tony" (you'll know a Tony) is part of the problem, not a victim of it. 2️⃣ How to actually fix it — recruitment, retention, and the one thing Richard Branson and Simon Sinek both got right that most garages get backwards. If you've ever lost a good tech to "two quid an hour more" — this one's for you.

September 30, 202611 min

Money Mindset

This week we're talking MONEY — and why your relationship with it is quietly running your whole business. Ever wonder why some owners can raise their prices without blinking, while others stay frozen on the same rate for years, terrified to ask for what the job's actually worth? I'll show you exactly why that happens — plus the real numbers behind the MOT fee freeze, and why raising your prices 3-5% every year beats one terrifying jump a decade from now. Grab a brew, tune in live, and let's sort out your relationship with money once and for all. Join the Skool Atomic Success community here https://www.skool.com/atomic-success-7135/about

September 24, 202610 min

The 3 core functions of your business

Find out how you can be fully booked and still one bad month away from being broke. Meet Overtime Owen, who works 7 days a week. His diary is rammed, and it's slowly killing him & his business. There are only 3 Core Functions in your garage — Sales, Operations, Finance. You're brilliant at one. Blind to the other two. This week: find out how "Disaster Dai" became "Deck Chair Dai" with the one shift that changed everything. One of the last 5 sessions in the Garage Owner's Network series. 🔧

September 16, 202612 min

Community Marketing (Done Properly)

You sponsor the local football team's shirt. It feels good, but you don't know if it actually brought anyone through the door. Sound familiar? This week's Training Topic is community marketing — sports teams, school talks, local Facebook groups, fetes. All the stuff independent garages are already doing, half-heartedly, without ever measuring what came back. I show you how to make community marketing work, and the simple way to track whether your £500 shirt sponsorship is paying you back — or just making you feel nice. Join the Atomic Success community https://www.skool.com/atomic-success-7135/about

September 9, 202616 min

Software isn't the solution - A new GMS will not fix your business

In this training topic, Andy dives into one of the most common questions in the independent sector: " What GMS should I use?" But a GMS is like a socket set, not a mechanic, and software isn't a standalone solution. Discover how asking the 'RIGHT' questions will tell you what's really broken. How to stop drowning in data and start acting on the one number that matters.

September 2, 202610 min

The Feedback Formula

Most garage owners only give feedback when they're already annoyed — and by then it comes out as a verdict, not a conversation. In this episode, Andy breaks down the three-step formula that takes the awkwardness out of feedback for good: Situation, Behaviour, Impact. You'll learn why it works just as well for praise as it does for correction, and what to do when you've said all the right things and the behaviour still hasn't changed.

August 27, 202611 min

What business are actually in?

You opened a garage to fix cars. But if that's still your answer, it's probably costing you money, time, and sleep. In this training topic, we'll go through the three businesses every garage owner is actually running — whether they know it or not. One is where most start. One is where most get stuck. And discover the one where the best garage owners are winning. This could be the topic that changes the way you think about everything. Join the Atomic Success Community https://www.skool.com/atomic-success-7135/about

July 27, 202616 min

Omnichannel Marketing

Your customer does not see channels. They see one garage. In this episode, Andy explains why omnichannel marketing is not about being everywhere; it is about being consistent everywhere. The starting point is simple: your NAP — name, address, and phone number — must match across Google, your website, Facebook, directories, invoices, and reminders. That is the most basic form of joined-up trust. From there, garage owners must connect the customer journey: attract, convert, deliver, collect. Same message, same promise, same process. No confusion, no contradiction, no wasted clicks.