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 looked more like a dealership than a repair shop. He missed the first five years of his daughter’s life, and he was not even making enough money to justify the sacrifice. What he lacked was a clear picture of the business he wanted to build.
Today, Frank is known as “The Automotive Rockstar.” He hosts a podcast on Wrench Nation, is marketing director at Desert Car Care of Chandler, serves as Phoenix chapter president of the Automotive Service Association, and is an author and speaker. In episode 22 of Maximum Octane, he shares his story with Kim Hickey, from Carnegie Hall to the U.S. Navy to more than 25 years in auto repair.
What You Will Learn
- How it was growing up in NY and how it helped Frank mold his character and determination
- Frank talks about his first steps and experiences as a musician
- The “M-E” in time is essential. Frank talks about time management
- About Frank’s tough first years in business, overworking himself and forgetting to have a life
- How can we design our shop to support our internal customers and provide an excellent service to our clients
Growing Up in New York and Becoming a Musician
Frank talks about growing up in New York and how it shaped his character and determination. He also shares his first experiences as a musician, including performing at Carnegie Hall. Those years taught him about practice, discipline, and performing under pressure, skills that later served him in business.
Frank also describes his service with the U.S. Navy during Operation End Sweep, the mission to clear naval mines from Haiphong harbor and other waterways in North Vietnam. His path is a reminder that many people in the automotive industry bring rich and varied life experience to their work.
Music and auto repair share more than people expect. Both require hours of practice, attention to detail, and the ability to perform under pressure. A musician learns to listen carefully, and a great technician does the same, picking up on subtle noises and vibrations that reveal a problem. Frank’s background also shows how life experience outside the industry can shape a leader’s perspective and work ethic.
His service with the U.S. Navy adds another dimension. Military experience often teaches discipline, teamwork, and following procedures in high-stakes environments, all of which translate well to running a business.
The “Me” in Time Management
Around the 10 minute mark, Frank talks about time management and the importance of the “M-E” in time. Owners tend to give their time to everyone else: customers, employees, vendors, and family. Without deliberately setting aside time for themselves, they burn out. Protecting personal time is not selfish. It is what allows a leader to keep showing up.
ATI’s 4 Ways to Regain Your Time and I Just Don’t Have Time offer more on this topic.
Protecting personal time requires the same planning as protecting business time. Owners can block personal commitments on their calendars, set clear work hours, and communicate those boundaries to their teams. It helps to start small, such as leaving at a set time two days a week or taking one full day off without checking messages. As the team adapts and handles more on its own, those boundaries can expand.
Many owners fear that stepping away will cause problems. Often, the opposite happens: the team rises to the occasion, and the owner returns with more energy and clearer thinking.
The Cost of Overworking Without a Plan
Frank’s honesty about his early years is the emotional center of this episode. He describes working nearly around the clock, a full shop, and very little to show for it financially. The time he lost with his young daughter is something he cannot get back. That experience taught him that busyness is not the same as success.
Many owners will recognize this pattern. It often comes from underpricing, doing too much personally, and lacking systems. Kim’s own story in The Teachings From a Profitable Business That Started Out Doing It All Wrong follows a similar path.
Frank’s story is a powerful reminder that some costs do not show up on a financial statement. Missed milestones with family, strained relationships, and declining health are real losses. Overworking can also hurt the business itself. Exhausted owners make poorer decisions, have less patience with customers and employees, and have no time to think strategically. Research on overwork consistently links long hours to burnout and health problems, which ultimately reduces productivity.
Planning, Guidance, and Coaching
Frank stresses the importance of planning, guidance, and coaching. He did not figure everything out alone. Learning from people who had already built successful shops helped him avoid repeating mistakes. Associations like the Automotive Service Association, where Frank leads the Phoenix chapter, give shop owners a place to learn from peers.
Associations like the ASA offer more than education. They provide a network of peers facing the same challenges, advocacy on industry issues, and a chance to learn about new tools and best practices. Many owners say that the relationships they built through associations and peer groups were among the most valuable investments of their careers.
Delegation Is Liberating
Frank describes how empowering and liberating it was to learn to delegate. When owners stop doing everything themselves, they free up time for strategy, family, and their own health. They also give employees the chance to grow. Connor Tracy tells a similar story in The Delegation Wake-Up Call.
Delegation feels risky because it means trusting someone else with work you know how to do. The key is to delegate gradually and with support: explain the outcome you want, provide training, set checkpoints, and allow room for the person to do things their own way. Over time, delegation frees the owner to focus on growth, family, and the strategic decisions only they can make.
A simple starting point is to track your time for one week and note every task you handled. Then mark which tasks only you can do and which someone else could learn. Many owners are surprised by how much of their week goes to work an advisor, manager, or office assistant could handle with a bit of training.
Pricing for the Shop You Want to Be
Frank also discusses pricing. He argues that shops should price their services according to where they want to be in the industry, not where they have always been. Underpricing forces owners to work more hours for less money. Pricing for quality supports better pay, better equipment, and better service. Brian Hunnicutt covers this in depth in Is Your Auto Repair Shop Undercharging for Its Services?
Pricing decisions shape almost every other part of the business. A shop that charges too little cannot afford to pay top technicians, invest in equipment, or provide an excellent customer experience. A shop that prices appropriately can do all of those things and still earn a profit. Owners who decide what kind of shop they want to be, whether a premium service provider or a value option, can set prices that support that vision rather than reacting to what competitors charge.
Designing Your Shop Around People
Around the 25 minute mark, Frank talks about how to design a shop that supports internal customers and delivers excellent service to clients. Design here means more than layout. It includes workflow, roles, schedules, and pricing, all built intentionally around the kind of business you want.
Designing around people starts with understanding their needs. Technicians need efficient workflows, good lighting, organized tools, and equipment that works. Advisors need clear processes, reliable software, and enough time to communicate with customers. Customers need convenience, clear communication, and a comfortable place to wait or a quick drop-off. When every design decision considers these needs, the shop runs more smoothly and everyone benefits.
Why Design Beats Hustle
Frank’s early years show what happens when hustle is the only strategy. Working harder can produce short-term results, but it cannot fix a business that is designed poorly. Without the right pricing, team, systems, and boundaries, more effort simply leads to more exhaustion.
Designing a business means stepping back to ask what you want it to look like in five years, then working backward to build the structure that will get you there. That includes deciding which services to offer, how many people you need, what you will charge, and how you will spend your own time. It is not glamorous work, but it is what allows a shop to grow without consuming its owner. Frank’s later success, after learning those lessons, is proof that design and coaching can turn a grinding operation into a sustainable business.
ATI’s What Are You Building? offers a helpful prompt for that reflection.
Questions to Help You Design Your Business
- How many hours a week do you want to work five years from now?
- What kind of customers and vehicles do you want to serve?
- What price position supports the pay and equipment your team deserves?
- What are you doing today that someone else should be doing?
Frank also joined a panel of industry leaders in Repairing the Automotive Industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can an auto repair shop owner stop working so many hours?
Start by tracking where your time goes for a week. Identify tasks others could handle, then train and delegate them gradually. Review pricing, since underpricing often forces owners to work longer to make up the difference. Set firm work hours and protect personal time on your calendar. Building documented processes and a capable team over time lets the shop run without the owner handling every detail.
How do I know if my shop is undercharging?
Signs include a busy shop that still struggles with cash flow, difficulty paying competitive wages, little money for equipment or training, and an owner working long hours without a matching income. Compare your labor rate and gross profit margins with industry benchmarks and with what similar quality shops charge. Pricing should support the business you want to run, including fair pay, modern tools, and a healthy profit.
What are the first tasks a shop owner should delegate?
Begin with repetitive tasks that take a lot of time but do not require the owner’s judgment, such as answering phones, ordering parts, scheduling, follow-up calls, and routine bookkeeping. Next, consider areas where someone else has more skill, like marketing or detailed accounting. Keep strategic decisions, key relationships, and coaching for yourself at first, then expand delegation as your team builds experience and confidence.
Why should shop owners join an industry association?
Associations give owners access to education, peer support, and advocacy on industry issues. Meeting other owners who face the same challenges provides practical ideas and a sense that you are not alone. Many owners also find mentors, business partners, and lasting friendships through association events. Groups such as the Automotive Service Association have local chapters that make it easy to get involved close to home.
How do I design my shop around the business I want?
Start with a clear picture of the shop five years from now: hours you want to work, customers you want to serve, team size, and income goals. Work backward to decide which services to offer, what to charge, who to hire, and which systems you need. Then align layout, workflow, and schedules with that vision. Review the plan every year and adjust as the business grows.
Resources and Links From This Episode
Connect With the Guests
- Frank: LinkedIn
Related Maximum Octane Episodes
- Repairing the Automotive Industry with Gilda Dyckman, Denise Stanley, Chris Cozad, and Frank Leutz
- Is Your Auto Repair Shop Undercharging For Its Services? with Brian Hunnicutt
- The Delegation Wake-Up Call: How Connor Tracy Went from White-Knuckling 80-Hour Weeks to Building an Engaged, Self-Running Team
