The new owner of William Street Motors said the business has seen its fortunes turned around, with a renewed focus on training.
Ryan Ginifer took over the Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire garage last year and, to date, has invested £73,000.
This cash has gone on an extensive renovation of the building, construction of a dedicated training room, staff welfare room, new workshop tools and equipment, an MOT station, and IT infrastructure including a garage management system (GMS) and new website.
He said: “By the time I get it to where I want it to be, I could probably have bought another house!
“It’s all money well spent though. The priority has been investing in staff and training them to my level of expertise and professionalism. I’m passionate about apprenticeships. We currently have two apprentices in the workshop. It isn’t always plain sailing though.
“I soon discovered that what they’re learning in college isn’t keeping pace with the reality of a fast-evolving automotive world. They do need to attend college and gain qualifications, but there are knowledge gaps to bridge.
“So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and build a fully equipped training facility just off the workshop. It’s quite something.”
Despite running his own business for 19 years, Ginifer also acknowledges the continual growth and learning required for garage owners too. He credits the success of William Street Motors to a shift change in his own knowledge.
He continued: “I’m a master tech and love my job. However, running the business is a different skill altogether. I used to value it by what was in the bank at the end of the month. We worked on whatever came through the door, including the unprofitable jobs.
“I wasn’t alone in this. Historically, it’s how most technicians who become garage owners are, especially those passed down through generations of families.
“These days though, there’s so much out there to help us run good profitable garage businesses. From training courses with people such as Andy Savva, GMS systems like Garage Hive, and automotive online specialists Garage Services Online, you can deploy it all.”
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