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 to bring his businesses under one new brand, Greybeard Automotive. The rebrand, along with his transition to CEO, transformed his business and his life.
Aden owns McDonnell’s ATS, a transmission specialist, and GOS Performance, and ran Destroked, a machine shop in Denver. In episode 34 of Maximum Octane, he tells Kim Hickey why he rebranded, how a weekly team book club changed his culture, and how he found time to work on his business instead of in it.
What You Will Learn
- Aden talks about his three businesses and the services they provide
- Why we must overcome the fear of rebranding and changing our business’ name
- Later never happens. Why we must take care of things as they come up
- Aden talks about how he found time to work more ON his business and less IN it
- Aden shares advice for business and shop owners
Questions Asked in This Episode
- You recently had a transition in your business name. You’ve had a few different divisions of your business. So why don’t we explain a little bit about what those are and what you were doing? And then why did we have to come up with a name change?
- Can you talk about that book reading a little bit and explain that to our listeners?
Three Businesses, One Brand
Aden starts by explaining his three businesses and the services they provide. Running multiple divisions under different names created complexity. Kim asks why a name change became necessary, and Aden explains how bringing everything under the Greybeard Automotive umbrella simplified the brand and gave it room to grow.
Operating several businesses under different names can confuse customers, split marketing budgets, and make it harder to build recognition. A unified brand allows a business to market all of its services together, share a single reputation, and present a clearer identity. Customers who trust one part of the business are more likely to try the others when they share the same name.
Overcoming the Fear of Rebranding
Around the 7 minute mark, Aden talks about why owners must overcome the fear of changing their business name. Many worry about losing customers or starting over. Aden’s view is that businesses, like the people who run them, change and evolve over time. A brand that no longer fits the business can hold it back.
If you are considering a rebrand, plan the transition carefully:
- Tell existing customers personally, through email, text, and conversations at the counter.
- Update your Google Business Profile, website, and directory listings consistently.
- Keep the transition visible with signage such as “formerly known as” for a period of time.
- Make sure your team can explain the reason for the change.
Google’s help center explains how to edit your Business Profile so customers can still find you after a name change. ATI’s Three Steps to Build a Leading Brand also offers guidance.
Rebranding has risks, but those risks can be managed. Keeping the same phone number, address, and staff provides continuity. Communicating the change early and often, both in person and through marketing, helps customers understand what is happening. Many businesses find that a well-handled rebrand actually generates interest and attention, giving them a reason to reconnect with past customers.
Search visibility also needs attention. Updating business listings consistently across Google, directories, and social media, and setting up website redirects from old domains, helps preserve search rankings during the transition.
Later Never Happens
Aden shares a simple but powerful principle: later never happens. Problems that get pushed off tend to grow. Taking care of issues as they come up, whether a personnel problem, a process gap, or a branding issue, prevents them from becoming bigger and more expensive. ATI’s Stop Procrastinating echoes this message.
Procrastinated problems tend to grow quietly. A minor process issue becomes a pattern of customer complaints. An unaddressed performance problem becomes a cultural issue. A delayed equipment repair becomes an expensive replacement. Handling issues as they arise is uncomfortable in the moment, but it prevents far greater discomfort later.
A Book Club That Built a Culture
One of the most distinctive practices Aden shares is his team’s reading habit. He turned book reading into a regular practice and meets with his team weekly to discuss what they read. Kim asks him to explain, and Aden describes how it gives the team shared ideas, a common vocabulary, and a culture of continuous learning.
For shops that want to start their own book club, ATI’s 10 Must-Read Books for Auto Repair Shop Owners is a good place to find the first title.
Reading together has benefits beyond the content of the books. It creates shared language, so when someone mentions an idea from a book, everyone understands it. It encourages discussion and different perspectives. It also shows employees that the owner values their growth. Some shops pay employees for reading time or provide books for free to encourage participation. Popular choices for shop teams include books on leadership, customer service, communication, and personal finance.
From Owner to CEO
Around the 16 minute mark, Aden talks about finding time to work more on his business and less in it. He describes how liberating it was to create responsible leaders and delegate, and how he now uses that freedom to focus on the strategic parts of the business. Mike Bennett covers this transition in Learning to Get Out of Our Company’s Way.
The shift Aden describes requires trusting others with responsibilities the owner once held. That trust grows through clear expectations, regular communication, and giving people room to learn. As leaders develop, the owner can focus on strategy, growth, partnerships, and the long-term direction of the business, work that only the CEO can do.
Aden’s Advice for Shop Owners
Aden closes with advice for business and shop owners. His recurring themes are to act instead of waiting, to invest in your people’s growth, and to step back from daily operations so you can lead.
One recurring theme in Aden’s advice is the importance of acting rather than waiting. Whether it is a rebrand, a difficult conversation, or a new habit, the right time is often now. Waiting for perfect conditions usually means waiting forever.
Investing in people’s growth can take many forms beyond a book club. Shops can send advisors and technicians to training, pair newer employees with experienced mentors, and give developing leaders small projects with real responsibility. The common thread is treating growth as an ongoing expectation rather than an occasional event. Employees who see a path forward are more likely to stay and to take the kind of ownership that lets the owner step back.
Branding Lessons for Specialty Shops
Specialty shops, such as transmission specialists, performance shops, and machine shops, face unique branding challenges. Their names often describe a specific service, which can limit how customers see them as the business expands. A broader brand can create room for growth while still communicating expertise. At the same time, specialists need to be careful not to lose the reputation they built for their core service.
Successful rebrands often keep a connection to the original reputation, such as a tagline or “formerly known as” messaging, while introducing a name that reflects the full range of services. They also invest in telling the story behind the change, helping customers understand that the people and quality they trust remain the same.
Action Steps
- Ask whether your current name and brand still fit the business you want to build.
- Choose one book for your leadership team and schedule a discussion.
- Make a list of problems you have been putting off and handle one this week.
- Identify one area of the business you can hand to a developing leader.
For more on how your brand affects recruiting, listen to Your Brand Is Costing You Talent, and for the benefits of focusing on a niche like transmissions, listen to Chris Fraser in Little-Known Benefits of Specializing in the Automotive Industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will changing my auto repair shop’s name hurt my business?
It can cause short-term confusion, but a well-planned rebrand usually keeps customers who trust the people and the service. Keep your phone number, address, and staff the same if possible. Tell existing customers personally and through e-mail and text, use “formerly known as” signage for a period of time, and update your Google Business Profile and directory listings consistently. A clear story about why you changed helps customers feel included rather than surprised.
How do I update my Google Business Profile after a rebrand?
Edit the business name in your Google Business Profile to match your new legal or real-world name, and update photos, logo, website link, and description. Google may review name changes before they appear. Update the same information on your website, social media, and major directories so the details match everywhere. Consistent information helps both customers and search engines recognize that the new brand is the same trusted business.
How do I start a book club with my shop employees?
Choose a practical, readable book on a topic like leadership, customer service, or communication. Set a schedule, such as one chapter per week, and a short meeting time to discuss it. Ask each person to bring one idea they want to try. Many owners provide the books and some pay employees for reading or meeting time. Keep discussions focused on how the ideas apply to your shop so the reading leads to action.
How can a shop owner work on the business instead of in it?
Begin by identifying the daily tasks that someone else could handle with training, then develop people to take them on. Set clear expectations, check in regularly, and give employees room to learn. Use the time you free up for strategy, finances, marketing, partnerships, and developing leaders. The transition takes time, but each responsibility you successfully hand off creates space to focus on long-term growth.
