March 17th, 2010 - Thrive or move on. If you aren't growing, you're business is dying. With the current state of the Automotive Repair Industry, your competitors are getting stronger, or they are dying off. Now is the time to re-affirm your dedication to the industry and your business.

The industry is going through huge changes, that once relied on rock solid business practices, now sways towards new thinking. This trend has gone on since the early 90's, some analists suggest that the successful Auto Repair Business Owners are going back to the old way of thinking, currently relying too much on Insurance companies to bring them business. With this type of thinking comes less and less reliance on building a customer base, which will now be vital to survival in these economic times. Start by reminding your current customers how much you care about them and their vehicles. Work on quality, not quantity. You'd like to think your customers will always come back to your shop, but this is not always the case unless you give them good reasons to.

December 31st, 2009 - If you purchased and put into use new automotive repair equipment in 2009 you are eligible to write off that purchase using Section 179 of the IRS tax code. If you aren't utilizing the increased write-off amount ($250,000), your business might be missing it's full potential. That could mean real-money-in-your-pocket, back from the government! Find out more at our Section 179 section.

February 5th, 2009 - Replace or Repair? This is often a choice that the collision repair industry must face. Determining whether to repair or replace damaged equipment is very important to the long term health of your business. At first glance the choice may appear to be an easy decision. Weighing out the pros and cons of each may make the decision easier. Repairing an old piece of automotive repair equipment may be extremely costly, and will still remain a liability due to it's age. While purchasing a new piece of equipment may seem costly, choosing a pay-over-time option may help soften the blow. Financing your new or used equipment can be just what your business needs to obtain the equipment needed, yet keeping the capital required to run your business in the bank.

January 26th, 2009 - "State of the Industry" - The current outlook for the collision repair industry seems bleak, on paper. With every year passing, business owner's in the repair industry find themselves pointing the blame towards the suppression brought on by insurers that fail to adjust to the rising costs and labor rates, making survival more difficult than ever. While the current state of the economy has been disasterous, the auto repair industry stills seems quite optomistic. A recent survey conducted by ABRN shows more than half of all independent repairers projecting revenue increases in 2009. With the current deprived new auto sales industry, most consumers are opting to repair their current automobile instead of purchase a new one. With this in mind, the majority of projections being made by small shops around the nation are a growth of between 5-20% from last year!