Real shop owners, real numbers, real results. Every episode breaks down what actually moves the needle in an independent mechanical or collision repair shop.
Watch the full conversations on YouTube or take Maximum Octane with you on your favorite podcast platform. Follow the show and turn every episode into a stronger decision for your shop.
Typing inspection notes into an iPad one finger at a time slows down the day, and every typed shortcut is a chance for information to get lost between the bay and the counter. Josh Oberlander saw that gap on the technician side...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Maximum Octane goes beyond surface-level advice. Each conversation explores the people, numbers, systems, and decisions that determine whether a shop stays stuck or moves forward.
Build accountability, strengthen culture, and develop a team that can move the business forward without every decision landing on the owner.
Understand profitability, business value, cash flow, and the financial decisions that create more stability and more options.
Learn how successful operators approach marketing, operations, hiring, customer experience, and growth when the easy answer is not enough.
Search by topic, guest, or episode title. Every published Maximum Octane episode is pulled directly from WordPress and automatically links to its full episode page.
Typing inspection notes into an iPad one finger at a time slows down the day, and every typed shortcut is a chance for information to get lost between...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Is your inventory helping your shop grow, or quietly costing you money every day? From excess inventory sitting on shelves to technicians wasting valuable time searching for parts...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners assume back-office losses come down to bad hires or theft. Alex Saladna, co-founder and CEO of Wicked File, says the real problem usually runs deeper....
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Shop owners spend a lot of time on bay efficiency, DVI compliance, and marketing spend. But what about phone calls? It may sound mundane, but how calls are...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Customer communication is essential for success, but what does that really mean? Too often, shop owners rely on outdated software set up years ago. It works well enough,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Money can make or break a business goal, but securing it is not always easy. SBA loans, KPIs, and retained earnings can sound like a foreign language. Working...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
At some point, every shop owner wonders what the real keys to success are. Customer retention? Leadership? A strong digital footprint? The good news is that owners do...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Human resources often gets a bad reputation, seen as the last resort for harassment claims and office conflicts. But HR does much more. Done well, it builds the...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For decades, many collision shops let insurance companies bring them work and called it a strategy. It worked for a long time. It is working less now, and...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners who invest in shop management software use only a fraction of what they pay for. They replace a manual process with a digital one, call...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners say they want a great team. What many actually build, without realizing it, is a team of people they are too afraid to hold accountable....
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners do not know what their business is worth until someone makes an offer, and by then it is too late to be strategic. Whether an...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners think of relationships as a soft skill, something you are either good at or not. David Nour believes that thinking keeps small businesses stuck. Relationships...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners start with a big heart and end up with a struggling business, convinced that charging fairly and caring for people are opposites. This episode of...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners complain about finding technicians but do little to fix the problem. Some ask a candidate, “Do you have ten fingers?” and hire them the next...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most third-generation businesses do not survive. When Dan Garlock’s father told him that second-generation businesses fail at a very high rate, Dan heard it as a challenge. Now,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Your team reads your body language before they hear your words. A bad morning, a lost deal, or traffic on the way in can set the tone for...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Shop owners know the first quarter is often slow, yet many wait until December to panic and throw money at ads. That is exactly the opposite of what...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
There are four core routes to business development: in person, email, phone, and social selling. In-person relationships matter most, but they only scale so far. Harris Fanaroff, founder...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners believe their hiring problem is a technician shortage. Matthew Strom, founder of AutoShop Media, says the real issue is often visibility, messaging, and how shops...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners do not fail at marketing because they lack effort. They fail because their efforts have no clear purpose. Carrie-Lynn Rodenberg, CEO and founder of Turnkey...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners open their doors to fix what was broken at the last place they worked. Once the dust settles, they realize they built themselves a job,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners think their biggest challenges are parts, staffing, or car count. David Boyd, CEO of Call Inbound, says the real problems often hide where owners cannot...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shops know they need marketing, but few understand what customers actually base their decisions on. According to Travis Bickham, Chief Commercial Officer at Shopmonkey, the biggest threat...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Technology has changed almost everything about the service advisor role, but it has not replaced the one thing that matters most: people. In episode 130 of Maximum Octane,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When leadership breaks down, processes fall apart fast. But rebuilding does not start with systems. It starts with people. Chris Darmody learned that when he became general manager...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners know they need marketing, but too often they get stuck thinking about it instead of doing it. Between SEO, social media, websites, and ads, it...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Content note: This article discusses suicide, grief, and mental health. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What does it take to build a business from scratch without a roadmap? For Josh Oberlander, it has been equal parts grit, trial and error, and the discipline...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What if every first-time customer could become a loyal fan who tells everyone about your shop? Bruce Nation, owner of Westlake Independent Automotive in Southern California, says the...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What would it take for you to finally loosen your grip on your business? For Connor Tracy, it took two cars catching fire, a smashed customer vehicle, and...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What happens when your shop’s future depends on more than hustle? In episode 123 of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel sit down with ATI President Ron...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What if everything you built over decades came down to a few key decisions and a lot of grit? In episode 122 of Maximum Octane, hosts Jason Patel...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What would happen if you, or one of your key leaders, suddenly could not come back to work? In episode 121 of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Is your shop’s logo doing all the heavy lifting for your brand? According to Krista Oldenburg, it is not even close. Your brand is your business DNA, and...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What if you could save thousands of dollars a month and give customers a faster, smoother checkout, all without touching your rates? In episode 119 of Maximum Octane,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
A technician needs a tool and cannot find it. He asks another tech, who does not know. They ask a third, who does not know either. Now several...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Can constant training become part of your shop’s culture? Angie and Ken Rocha of Rocha’s Automotive have made it happen. They incentivize technicians to keep up with fast-changing...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Here is an honest question: what does your shop’s social media look like? Is it there because you feel you have to have it, or does it reflect...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Do you have a notebook full of great ideas from a seminar or training that you never opened again? If so, this Maximum Octane throwback is for you....
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Is specialization the inevitable path for auto repair shops? Chris Fraser, co-owner of TLS Motorworks, thinks it may be both the cause and the solution of the industry’s...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
One of the trickiest things about mental health struggles is that they make people believe they are alone. In episode 112 of Maximum Octane, Eric Gibson shares how...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
The world is changing, and so are employees’ expectations. Housing costs, shifting family choices, and other modern pressures have changed what makes a workplace “sticky” for younger workers....
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How much can coaching and strategic planning help a collision shop grow? Jeff Zalis, owner of Specialized Auto Craft, has used both to push his shop to the...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Do you feel it is time to expand your shop but do not know where to start? Robbie Windham of Windham Body Shop has done it in a...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
“Sometimes, we forget we are in people’s business, not the car business. Cars are what bring people to us.” That reminder from Geoff Berman sets the tone for...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What is the best way to create a culture that drives growth in your shop? In episode 107 of Maximum Octane, Jason Patel, Geoff Berman, and ATI Collision...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Can you be ready for the unexpected? Not entirely. By definition, it arrives without warning. But you can put things in place to reduce its impact, and that...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Is your shop ready to embrace artificial intelligence? Whether you see AI as a powerful tool, an efficient assistant, or something to worry about, it is here to...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How effective are your strategies for attracting and keeping A techs and high-performing sales professionals? In episode 104 of Maximum Octane, two shop leaders share how they cracked...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What kind of shop do you want to build? One with excellent customer service, one that is comfortable and visually appealing, or one with outstanding facilities for your...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
If you were dropped into the middle of the automotive industry, would you know how to build a profitable shop? Terry and Travis Griffith were not exactly dropped...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith said it best: “What got you here won’t get you there.” That idea applies to nearly everything, but it is especially true in sports...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Whether or not you follow football or Taylor Swift, the power of a loyal following is worth studying. When Swift showed up at NFL games, the attention spread...
Watch, listen, and view show notesCan spouses run a successful repair shop together for three decades, keep growing personally, and make the leap from owners to CEOs? Kelli and Lee Weatherby, owners of...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How much does your shop charge for an accurate diagnosis made in 15 minutes by an A tech? How much for the same diagnosis made in four hours...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Christmas and New Year’s Eve are supposed to be peaceful, hopeful times filled with family. But for people who have lost a loved one or are dealing with...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
This Maximum Octane throwback revisits one of the show’s most moving conversations. Lee Anderson, service manager at Integrity Auto Care in South Beloit, Illinois, shares how he and...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How familiar are you with your personal auto policy? In this Maximum Octane throwback, Kim Hickey revisits her conversation with Richard Sharman, an ATI executive coach with more...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Is there anything more frustrating than knowing you are better than your competitors and watching them get the work? Kim and Brian Walker say the fix is getting...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Talking about the pandemic may feel like ancient history, but many people are still carrying its stress and anxiety, often without realizing it. In episode 93 of Maximum...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Technology can improve a shop’s productivity and efficiency, reduce costs, and make life easier for employees and customers, but only if you choose the right software and use...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
“When your socials look like everyone else’s, like a brochure or billboard, it’s not doing you justice or a good service.” That line from Corey Perlman sums up...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Business owners who openly talk about wanting to be profitable are often misjudged. Some people assume that aiming for profit means being greedy or putting money ahead of...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
It may sound contradictory, but owners who focus only on making money are more likely to fail at it. Every technician, advisor, manager, and customer is a person...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Training programs, onboarding, SOPs, and organizational charts sound like big corporation words. But they are crucial for any business, including small repair shops and collision centers. Drew Bryant,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Getting into trouble with taxes is easier than most shop owners think. Everything can be fixed, but preventing problems is far easier and cheaper. In episode 86 of...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Everyone in the industry knows “the tool guys” talk to technicians about where they work and how they are treated. Word of mouth does not just bring in...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
A typo when entering a customer’s information into your system costs more than a moment of irritation. It can send marketing to the wrong address, miss a reminder,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For some shop owners, finding the right second in command is the easy part. The hard part is giving that person the freedom to do the job. Andrew...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Welcoming a new team member should not feel like a coin toss. There are many things owners can do to improve their odds during hiring, and many more...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
People have dozens of good experiences every day, but the ones that stick in their heads at night are usually the bad ones. You do not want your...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What makes your auto repair shop different from Joe’s down the street? If you cannot answer that clearly, neither can your customers. Phil Jackson, business development manager at...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Workers’ compensation is a delicate subject for most shop owners, a thorny issue they would rather not deal with. But as long as employers and employees understand the...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Electric vehicles make up a small share of the cars on American roads, but forecasts suggest that share will keep growing. Should the average repair shop be worried?...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many companies say they have a people-centric culture. Far fewer actually do. Lisa Coyle and Jesse Meddaugh, co-founders of 360 Payments, built their company around putting people first,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
“Never let that technician talk to the customer.” Phrases like that are common in the auto repair industry. But there are better ways to handle the problem than...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How much should you charge for a 15 minute diagnosis by an A tech who gets it right immediately? What about the same diagnosis that takes your best...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Service advisors are vital to every auto repair shop. The right hire can boost your business, while the wrong one can slow it down or sink it. Jodi...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Even when a game feels under control, a good coach is ready for the unexpected. What happens if the star player gets hurt or ejected? Only a capable...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
PTSD and severe wounds do not care about politics or opinions. They are real, and they affect thousands of Americans and their families. The good news is that...
Watch, listen, and view show notesA healthy relationship with your business and your team requires a few essentials: transparency, respect, time to rest, and healthy habits. In this Maximum Octane throwback, Kim Hickey...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Specialists forecast billions of dollars in additional consumer spending in the automotive repair industry over the next few years. Mike Bennett puts the figure at $26 to $30...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
No one likes to think about accidents, illness, or being unable to work. But these things happen, and ignoring them does not make them less likely. If something...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When owners think about retirement, they usually focus on the life they want or where they want the business to be. They rarely think about who will be...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
If you have never seen a baseball coach breakdance mid-game, an umpire dance before making a call, or an all-male cheerleading squad, you have not seen the Savannah...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners believe there is a right time to turn off their marketing. According to Jimmy Lea, there is not. That is one of many misconceptions about...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Every owner wants to grow the business and help employees become better professionals. But how many are truly ready to delegate and trust their team’s decisions? LeAnne Williamson...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners work hard to keep employees happy, yet retention keeps slipping. Pizza parties and scratch-off tickets may lift spirits for a day, but they do not...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
A family atmosphere in a shop makes everything smoother. It creates a great work environment and builds trust, strong relationships, and efficiency. It sounds simple, but it is...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
The world can feel like a hostile place, but some stories remind us how much good there is. Lee Anderson, service manager at Integrity Auto Care in South...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For most people, the holidays are a time to gather with loved ones and celebrate. But for many, Christmas and New Year’s are among the most difficult weeks...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What kind of business do you want to have one year from now? That is the question Don Walter asks in episode 59 of Maximum Octane. Don has...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Why are successful auto repair shop owners often treated differently from successful entrepreneurs in other industries? In this special episode of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey brings together a...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
This episode of Maximum Octane is special in every sense. Gilda Dyckman, owner of Cars Muffler & Automotive since 1996, joins Kim Hickey to tell the story of...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How well do you know your personal auto policy? In the second and final part of Maximum Octane’s insurance series, Richard Sharman returns to explain what you should...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners, and most people in general, never read the fine print in their insurance policies. They just trust that they are covered. Then a palm tree...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When owners invest in their business, they usually think about three areas: marketing, how the shop looks, and how it operates. Within operations, one piece is almost always...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Shops usually go out of their way to impress new customers. The unwritten rule is to give first-time visitors the best possible experience so they will tell their...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
The life of an auto repair shop owner is fast-paced and full of demands. Even owners who want to spend a couple of hours a week on marketing...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
This episode was recorded as Kim Hickey and her community were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Kim felt grateful to be safe, with food and water...
Watch, listen, and view show notesMany shop owners have a retirement plan that amounts to leaving the business “feet first.” It is technically a plan, but not a good one. Retirement may feel...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Shop owners often underestimate how much a toxic employee really costs. Keith Katz learned it the hard way. For almost a year, he kept an employee whose behavior...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For many shop owners, financial numbers are private. Sharing them with employees feels risky, even taboo. Ken Martin believes the opposite is true, and that opening the books,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Customers do not walk into your shop with a clean slate. They bring stress from the economy, the news, their jobs, and their families. Mary Kelly has a...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When employees are happy and engaged, they provide excellent service, and that service brings customers back. Cassandra Bergum, general manager and owner of Hi-Line Service & Hydraulics, has...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Unpredictable things happen. That is what makes them unpredictable. But a business that serves people must have a plan for when they do. Customers will usually understand a...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Between corporations competing for our attention and endless political noise, it is easy to spend time and energy worrying about things that have nothing to do with our...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
It may sound surprising, but the same marketing principle applies to multibillion dollar brands and small businesses: advertising and marketing must be done consistently, regardless of the economy...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Jason Meyer’s father wanted him to become a CPA. Jason chose a different path, returning home to work in the tire and auto repair business. That decision led...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
High achievers are not superhuman. They have simply built habits that make their days more effective. In episode 38 of Maximum Octane, Dr. Mary Kelly delivers what Kim...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For many shop owners, cryptocurrency and blockchain feel confusing or even suspicious. Dr. Mark Hale wants to change that. In episode 37 of Maximum Octane, he pulls off...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Like any industry, auto repair carries biases that shape how shops treat employees and, above all, how they attract and keep them. Charlene Parlett believes that thinking more...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many owners worry that giving employees more authority means losing control. Matt Barnes has found the opposite. As owner and operator of B&B Automotive and Superior Auto Service...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Changing your business name can feel risky. Will customers be confused? Will you lose the reputation you spent years building? Aden McDonnell faced those questions when he decided...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
What would you do with your time if your shop could run without you? For Pam Tures, co-owner of Lee Hill Auto Service, the answer turned out to...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Bruce Spencer returns to Maximum Octane for a conversation about habits, rest, transparency, and freedom. After his first episode about entering the auto industry from corporate America, Kim...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many shop owners grew up around the business. Their parents or uncles owned a shop, and they learned the trade from the ground up. Bruce Spencer took a...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Many people come home from a conference with a notebook full of great ideas that ends up on a shelf. Wendy Hawks, General Manager of Riverside Auto Center,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
The quality of our relationships shapes nearly every part of life, from marriage to business partnerships to how we lead a team. In episode 29 of Maximum Octane,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Balancing a demanding career with marriage and young children is one of the hardest juggling acts there is. In this episode, Kim Hickey talks with two people who...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Not every Maximum Octane episode is about running a repair shop directly, but this one shows how creative entrepreneurs can be with the space they have. Laura Ritch...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
How much attention are you paying to your shop’s Google reviews? For many owners, the honest answer is not enough. Reviews can feel like a double-edged sword. Five-star...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
No one goes into business to lose money. Yet most owners were taught to think of profit as whatever is left over after expenses, debts, and payroll. Whatever...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
To many entrepreneurs, building systems sounds complicated, time-consuming, and restrictive. Wendy K. Walters sees it the opposite way. Systems are natural freedom producers. When processes are sustainable, reliable,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most of us hold on to things we barely use. Storage facilities across the country are full, many with waiting lists. That stuff takes up physical space in...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Frank Leutz learned one of his hardest business lessons early. He worked himself to exhaustion, spending as many as 20 hours a day at a packed garage that...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When more people started working from home during the pandemic, threats to safety did not go away. They simply followed people home. Terry Choate Jr., a former law...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Shop owners face plenty of forces they cannot control in the fight to hire and keep good technicians. Jay Goninen, co-founder and president of WrenchWay, says the first...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When major world events dominate the news, small business owners often do something unhelpful: they let those events become a smokescreen that distracts them from running their business....
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Determination and hard work are not enough to build a successful business. You also need a plan, the right people around you, and expert guidance. Adam Kushner learned...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
There is a subtle but powerful difference between owning something and being responsible for it. People take care of what they own far better than what they are...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Service advisors are the bridge between customers and technicians. They translate concerns, set expectations, and often decide whether a repair gets approved. Brittany Schindler, General Manager at Rod’s...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Social media gave nearly everyone a way to share their voice and market their business. Podcasting does the same thing in a more personal way, and it requires...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
In most organizations, roughly 10 to 20 percent of people are top performers, and about the same share sit at the opposite end. Everyone else is in the...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Kim Hickey calls this one of the most powerful episodes of Maximum Octane. After years of reading self-help books and studying visualization, she says Coach Barney Feinberg helped...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most businesses change because they are forced to. When life hit Patrick Connell hard, his small automotive shop and newly completed car wash were not bringing in enough...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Emotional intelligence often gets dismissed as soft or “woo-woo.” Debbie Muno, Managing Director of Genos North America, makes the case that it is grounded in science and, more...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Starting out as an independent contractor or sole proprietor is how many shop owners begin. It is simple and inexpensive, but it can carry real risk. If someone...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
When most people hear the word CEO, they think of names like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos and assume the title has nothing to do with running an...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Disney charges premium prices, and guests still wait in line for hours, smile, and come back again. How does a business get customers to pay more and wait...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Most shop owners hold tightly to decisions about refunds, inventory, and schedules. Scott Brown does the opposite. As owner of Level 5 Solutions, an ADAS calibration company, and...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For a self-confessed workaholic, one of the hardest decisions Bill Nalu ever made was closing his shop on Saturdays. He had spent years working 60 hour weeks and...
Watch, listen, and view show notesRunning a business is hard. Running one with your spouse adds another layer of complexity. Kelli and Lee Weatherby, owners of Accurate Automotive in the Phoenix area, have...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Mention hypnosis and most people picture a swinging pocket watch and someone on stage quacking like a duck. Robert Radnoti, a clinical hypnotherapist, life coach, and podcast host,...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
For owners who built their shop from the ground up, the hardest part of growth is often stepping out of the daily work. You know every customer, every...
Watch, listen, and view show notes
Every shop needs managers, but managers alone will not grow a business. Al Oramas, President of Pro Auto Care in Denver, realized this while sitting in a session...
Watch, listen, and view show notesPlenty of auto repair shop owners know the feeling of a “good” year that somehow leaves no money in the bank. Host Kim Hickey lived that reality for...
Watch, listen, and view show notesTry a different word or clear the filters.
Maximum Octane brings together decades of automotive coaching, repair-facility experience, marketing, and business leadership. Kim and Hunter focus each conversation on the real decisions shop owners face, from people and operations to profitability, leadership, customer experience, and sustainable growth.
Kim brings more than three decades of automotive experience to conversations about leadership, financial performance, operations, people, and building a stronger business.
Hunter combines a decade of marketing experience with firsthand automotive industry knowledge, helping shop owners connect growth strategies to real business results.
Maximum Octane pulls from four decades of coaching independent mechanical and collision shops across the US and Canada. Every episode is grounded in what we see inside real shops and real financials.
Tactical breakdowns you can apply the same week
Candid interviews with owners who have done it
Benchmarks drawn from thousands of shops
Maximum Octane reaches automotive professionals looking for practical ideas they can use to lead better, improve performance, and build stronger businesses. Join the show as a guest or align your brand with conversations built specifically for independent repair and collision shop owners.
Have a useful lesson, a proven approach, or a story that can help shop owners make better decisions? Tell us what you can bring to the conversation.
Put your brand alongside relevant, business-focused conversations for independent automotive shop owners, leaders, and decision-makers.