Gearbox Podcast

Jimmy Purdy [00:00:12]:
My name is Jimmy Purdy, shop owner, master tech transmission builder and the host of the Gearbox podcast. Here I talk with new and seasoned shop owners as well as industry professionals about day to day operations within their own shops and all the failures and successes that come along the way, from what grinds your gears to having to shift gears in the automotive industry. This is the Gearbox podcast. Well, I was pretty impressed with your guys's operation. You know, to be, to be honest, I don't remember what his name was.

David Toole [00:00:44]:
Now my son, Bo.

Jimmy Purdy [00:00:47]:
Was that your son that was speaking at the, at the event?

David Toole [00:00:49]:
Oh, no, that's my store manager, Jason.

Jimmy Purdy [00:00:52]:
Jason. Yeah. I thought j. I didn't, I didn't know anything about. So I assumed Jason was the owner of the company. The way he was talking, man, I'm like, man, how do you get your guys to talk like about your business like that? And he, and he was like hitting all the points like, it was like he had a lot of great, great things to say about leadership. It was awesome.

David Toole [00:01:12]:
Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, he's a good, he's a good, he's a good dude. Good team player. Yeah, we, we. That's how we operate.

Jimmy Purdy [00:01:23]:
Well, I guess on that note, what's. I guess, take me back to kind of the early days. How did it start for you and how'd you get to. Because you own three shops now, right?

David Toole [00:01:34]:
Yep, three. And we're actually just getting into contract on number four.

Jimmy Purdy [00:01:39]:
Wow.

David Toole [00:01:40]:
Yeah.

Jimmy Purdy [00:01:42]:
That's awesome. Yeah, I've heard, I've heard that once the, the three is the tipping point.

David Toole [00:01:48]:
Yeah, three.

Jimmy Purdy [00:01:50]:
Three's tough.

David Toole [00:01:52]:
Yeah, because you need, you need. I'd say you need a certain level of management that costs money and your three really have to be producing to cover it. But like our level of management now I could probably have five and we're, we're staffed for it at Cor. Corporate level, we'll call it.

Jimmy Purdy [00:02:16]:
Yeah. How do they, how does it run the numbers with like management? As far as output of pay, is it based on just the production of their individual teams? Is that how you kind of quantify it?

David Toole [00:02:30]:
Not necessarily. You know, our, our corporate level people is what we call ourselves. We, we just make our salary and since we're in growth, there's, we don't, we don't generate a lot of keep. So we're all paid pretty well salary wise. And as we, as we worked through having three, you know, to just try and lean it out as best as we can, so at least we're not bleeding Everything out because we got a lot of people. The addition of this fourth one is pretty much all, you know, revenue and rent because we're, we already have staff that were bringing to it. We're not going to keep any of their, any of their staff, so I think we might keep one, but I'm not going to add any more personnel and we're just gonna add revenue and rent.

Jimmy Purdy [00:03:32]:
So I guess is the idea to overstaff at your other locations and then kind of pour over is that, that's.

David Toole [00:03:39]:
How we do it? Because we, we run, you know, we run, we run a tight knit team and you can't just throw somebody in there and expect them to know all the nuances. So we staff them in a location, get them trained, get them trained. We're running fat. And then when we open up another one, we, we move them. They're ready.

Jimmy Purdy [00:04:05]:
Okay, lean it out a little bit.

David Toole [00:04:07]:
Yeah, we lean out. We lean out the, the one shop and we, you know, fill in the rest. And that's kind of temporary because as we start to get rolling and we're, we're generating good gp, good, good solid returns, then usually we'll, we'll staff again and eat it up and jump into the next one.

Jimmy Purdy [00:04:32]:
Do you take, do you take key players from, from your, your current operations and does that, does that, does that hurt your, or what's your game plan there?

David Toole [00:04:42]:
Yeah, we, we really don't try to move key players. The key players that are there are there and they're, because they're usually part of the reason why the operation is doing what it's doing. We usually bring somebody in, get them up to speed and usually the people that were moving, we, we kind of turn them into key players, if that makes sense.

Jimmy Purdy [00:05:07]:
No, it does. Yeah. I mean I've, I've heard many different ways of getting to that MSO level and some guys will gut the key players out and obviously that shop will, and they kind of hope that that new shop's gonna do well enough soon enough to make up the loss for, you know, taking the, the key players out of the, the original one. So it's just interesting to hear the different dynamics. Obviously I would think you'd want that, that new shop to up and run as quickly as possible. And so my thought would be, well, yeah, take the, the high performance players out of that one and get that one rolling and then replace it. But it just seems like a lot of shuffling back and forth.

David Toole [00:05:43]:
Yeah, we're, we're, we operate a lot at, with, with culture As a main ingredient. And when you like that disrupt that, it's. It's not the same place. You know what I mean? It's. It's shocks it. So the goal, the goal is to not shock it, you know, it's to know, hey, that you're in here. Hey, we're getting ready to open up another place. You're the one learning from superstar.

David Toole [00:06:13]:
Let's see what you got. And then.

Jimmy Purdy [00:06:18]:
Yeah, I can understand. I know we, we talked a little bit about culture and that was the one thing that really, I was really impressed with. Having terrible names. Jason, right? Yeah, Jason. Yeah. The way he as a manager spoke about communicating with the team and really, you know, invigorating. What, what would be some tips or things or things you've learned over the years to cultivate that sort of environment. Was that something just getting the right people in place or is that something that you had a lot of adjustments you had to make over the years?

David Toole [00:06:52]:
The reality is, I mean, you're in the business too. It's. It really is. It's people. I mean, we, I get a lot of people that are like, hey, how did you do this? And you know, can I have you speak here? And dude, it's not really me. It. It is, but isn't. I, I just, I get good people.

David Toole [00:07:12]:
I have to, I interview. We don't really have a. We don't. We try not to tolerate a lot because we're like, look, tools garage is family, but it's also a high performing team. And the only way you stay on a high performance team is excel at your job. You know, I gotta excel at mine. And if I'm not doing mine, my team lets me know it. And I, I preach that.

David Toole [00:07:39]:
You know, I'm like, dude, if I'm not doing my job, let me know.

Jimmy Purdy [00:07:43]:
Well, I think, I think you kind of encapsulated it. Don't put up with. No, that's the bottom line, Right?

David Toole [00:07:50]:
Exactly.

Jimmy Purdy [00:07:50]:
I think, I think a lot of us get stuck there.

David Toole [00:07:52]:
Yeah, everybody's a rock star, you know, in an interview. And you know, you gotta, you gotta weed through it quickly. You know, you have, there's some key things that you can ask and, and do during an interview that are totally not related to the questions that you're asking. You're just looking for body language, how they answer. Are you looking for a great answer? That's not your typical yes, that's true type of answers. And then when they get past that, then you, you really, as long as you have your Your systems, processes written out like, hey, this is what we expect out of this role. We'll, we'll, we're going to monitor it at the, at the 30 day, the 60 day and the 90 day. We're gonna, you know, we're gonna really make sure we're on, you're on track and you, you like it, we like you, all that stuff.

Jimmy Purdy [00:08:52]:
So what are those?

David Toole [00:08:53]:
We try to not keep them if they're not fit.

Jimmy Purdy [00:08:56]:
Yeah, what are those, what are those check ins kind of. What do they look like when you're, when you're going through those 30 and 60, 90 days? Is it like a real formal sit down and you have a scorecard out or are you just having a conversation or what does that look like?

David Toole [00:09:07]:
It's, it's a little bit of a scorecard in a conversation. We, we, we, it's more of it is. So when we do our reviews, it's kind of like a mini review, but we basically ask them how they're doing, what they think they're, how they, how they think they're doing, what do they think they can improve in, what do they need help with. And then we answer the same questions and there's not many at 30 because it's, you know, there's not a lot going on in 30 days. So we just see, do they see what we see? Because if they're like, hey man, I'm doing great and we're like, you stink. You know, so it kind of helps us gauge do they see what we see and are they on the same page?

Jimmy Purdy [00:09:58]:
So I see.

David Toole [00:10:00]:
So I do have a lot of people who, that don't make it 90 because you know, I mean you got, I get sometimes there's a little bit of a fear factor because we run a clean shop. It looks like your shop is clean, it's well laid out. We have everything, we have a process. Everybody's kind of like, you know, they know what they're doing and when new people come in, there are sometimes a little, you know, wide eye, bushy tail and we, we get that. So we try and let that, you know, simmer down. We give them props and you know, help them out and get them nice and smoothly into, into their groove. And then we look at their groove.

Jimmy Purdy [00:10:46]:
What do you find? What, what do you find as far as like how long it takes to get into that groove? Because that is an interesting thing and I, I really am like picking up what you're putting down. Like I understand what you're saying there and I've noticed like it takes a little while before they're that new wears off.

David Toole [00:11:02]:
Yeah, yeah, it does. And like I said that 30 day is usually a, A, a touch point. We're like, hey, how are things going? And usually that's when you, they get to be like, oh yeah, man. I didn't know that you guys had all this and you did this and that. This is cool. Like cool. That's great. Now you know where all that stuff is, right? Awesome.

David Toole [00:11:23]:
Okay, cool. Here's what we, here's why that stuff's there and here's what we expect you to do with it. We'll check in again in 60. We'll see how it goes. Here's what we're going to be looking for in your 60. And we let them go. You know, technicians, it's, it's kind of easy. Ish.

David Toole [00:11:45]:
Because you know, we, we know what we do. So I'm a tech by trade. My toolbox is always laid out the same. It comes with me. So wherever I'm at, my job is kind of the same. The only thing I have to learn is how. Where do you park your cars? Where do your keys go? What does your paperwork look like? Where do I have to make my recommendations? That's it. So we know as techs, these are the things that we are looking for, but not really today.

David Toole [00:12:18]:
I want to see once you got your job and you know this is a timing belt on a. Blah, blah, blah. And here's all your parts. Go. Because that you can be in your driveway as long as you got your stuff in a lift. I mean, we're seeing what you can do.

Jimmy Purdy [00:12:35]:
Right? Right. A nice clean bay and yeah, nice clean shop and everything you need to, to be successful.

David Toole [00:12:43]:
It's like grabbing a wide receiver, you know, here, I know you're. I know this is a new playbook, new all this stuff. But I need you to get out there and run a post. Let's see how you, let's see how you do it.

Jimmy Purdy [00:12:56]:
Now one thing I, I've been working hard on myself as far as like putting something together because I've noticed like with technicians it's like a B and C level and I just, I don't quite quite. I don't really agree with that. I mean, I get it's like a terminology that we all understand, but like breaking it down per repair. Now when you're in that process, is there like certain repairs you try to keep away or you just game on and just see where they fall or fail or how's that process for, like, different levels of repairs. Is that something that you've put in place?

David Toole [00:13:28]:
So usually what we're doing is we're. We're really gathering as much info as we can on what. What do you like to do? Like, if. If you're coming on board as a technician, I'd be like, all right, Jimmy, where is. Where's your wheelhouse? What do you do? What do you do that you'll make everyone else look silly? Oh, it's this. I love this. Perfect. We're going to give you a couple of those and just see what your wheelhouse looks like.

Jimmy Purdy [00:13:57]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:13:57]:
Then we say, hey, Jimmy, you good at reading schematics and figuring out the weird check engine lights? Not so much. Okay, awesome. We're going to keep filling you with these, but on a. On. On the chance that we have in our schedule where I can afford to have you take a stab at this, our shop foreman's over here. He's going to walk you through any problems that you have. Have at it.

Jimmy Purdy [00:14:30]:
That's kind of how that makes sense. Yeah.

David Toole [00:14:33]:
We're not. We're not expecting you to hit a home run with it, but we want you to learn how to do it. And especially we kind of like if you really don't have a process, because we do. So, you know, I don't know how. How many technicians you have at your shop or what you do, but, like, when I was a tech, we didn't have, like, Google searches and, you know, Identifix and all these things that make it, like. I don't want to say easy, but.

Jimmy Purdy [00:15:03]:
No, but you. It was figureoutable. Like, right now, like, everything is figureoutable, right? Like, yeah. And anytime you give a tech a job and they're like, I don't know what this. Like, dude, go figure it out. Oh, man. Like, really? What? Well, I'm gonna have to probably watch a YouTube video or something. Like, well, poor you.

Jimmy Purdy [00:15:20]:
Right?

David Toole [00:15:22]:
Go ahead.

Jimmy Purdy [00:15:23]:
There was a time when that wasn't there, man.

David Toole [00:15:25]:
Yeah, right. You know how many things I fixed? I have no idea what it is. I have to go fix it, figure it out, what it is, how it works, and then I. It. Then I fix it.

Jimmy Purdy [00:15:33]:
Right.

David Toole [00:15:34]:
I learned about it, you know, but it's. It's all the same. There's a process. You gotta. Especially now you. You got this thing. Oh, this car does this. When it happens.

David Toole [00:15:42]:
This. Oh, does this one. It does that. You know, you got all the yahoos on forums. You got, you know, whatever. You can just identify pretty much. Oh, 14,000 of these. Maybe I should check that.

Jimmy Purdy [00:15:57]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:15:57]:
First. So, yeah, it's. There's. There's a lot of stuff that. That makes the job easier. It is a hard job. You know, it is a hard job and, and all that stuff. But the reality is, is we're not alone.

David Toole [00:16:15]:
And there's enough information out there shared that we don't have to be alone.

Jimmy Purdy [00:16:19]:
Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And I just have the problem with, like, trying to pull that information out of some technicians, especially when they start and you're like, hey, what's. Like you said, what's your wheelhouse? Like, what do you want? I'll do anything. Like, you don't need to impress me. Like. Like, I don't need you to be like, the go getter. Right.

Jimmy Purdy [00:16:36]:
I need you to take a step back and say, like, show me what you're good at.

David Toole [00:16:40]:
Because.

Jimmy Purdy [00:16:40]:
Because I get what you're saying there. Like, I want to see how good your good is.

David Toole [00:16:44]:
Yeah.

Jimmy Purdy [00:16:44]:
Right.

David Toole [00:16:45]:
Yep. You can say, okay, cool. Because whatever you say you're good at right now, I'm going to do that with you next to you, and we're going to race or we're going to see who does it better. So pick something good. Oh, timing builds, you know, whatever. Right? So, yeah, it is tough. Technicians are a weird. A weird breed.

David Toole [00:17:07]:
They're not. They're not easy to crack open.

Jimmy Purdy [00:17:10]:
Right.

David Toole [00:17:11]:
You know, we want to be good at everything. Yeah. We're like, yeah, whatever. But there's some stuff that I'm not good at. You know, I look at some of the stuff that my guys are diagnosing now, and I'm like, holy, what is that? I mean, how does that even work? That's weird.

Jimmy Purdy [00:17:28]:
So, yeah, we are a little off. And then we decide to open a shop and manage people. And I don't think that's the best place for what? For our minds. But. Oh, yeah, I mean, you figured it out, so that's. That's always good.

David Toole [00:17:40]:
I'm still figuring it out, so I don't think anybody's got it figured out.

Jimmy Purdy [00:17:45]:
So that, I mean, and we talk to. So you jump on the front counter too, right? Like, you're, you're not. Like, you're on the. You're. You're on the counter and you're out in the bays.

David Toole [00:17:53]:
No, I. I can. Yes. So actually, per se, yes, I work on the. I work on the resto mods and the classics, but I actually don't write them up. I have them go to One of the shops, usually my Stockton location, the cars go there, my team writes them up. Hey, cool. They do all the onboarding and they write up a couple of things.

David Toole [00:18:19]:
They get all the client information. They say, hey, our owner is the guy that does these cars. So you get to work directly with him. He's going to call you. So I basically work from my house, I have my work phone and you know, we're cloud based. Like all the good software is now. And I call them up, hey, here's what we got. I vet them because you know, classic car work and resto mod work is totally different.

David Toole [00:18:44]:
Totally based on trust. Right. Because there's no guide, there's no book. You gotta trust that I'm not taking advantage of you and I gotta trust that you're gonna pay your bill.

Jimmy Purdy [00:18:59]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:18:59]:
So I really cement that up front and sometimes I, I'll blow people out because they're like, they're asking the questions that are not going to be conducive to a good working relationship, you know, and it mostly comes down to like, oh well I really think I could get this done for like three grand. Dude, that's 12 easy. 12. So we're not, were not close. There's maybe you can get it done for three, but not at a shop.

Jimmy Purdy [00:19:32]:
Like not here.

David Toole [00:19:33]:
Good people.

Jimmy Purdy [00:19:34]:
So yeah, that's one of the things that really kind of got my attention too when we were talking was you have a very successful operation and you are still doing classic cars. I don't want to say still doing, but you are accepting the, the classic car division. And it seems like every single coach and every single company that I've been with or talked to or interviewed, it's, it's very hard line. Like don't take on classic cars. In fact a lot of, a lot of shops will do the 10 year cutoff that seems to be the new. Especially in California. It seems like all shops California, 10 years are older. Nope.

Jimmy Purdy [00:20:09]:
We don't want anything to do with it anymore.

David Toole [00:20:12]:
Yeah.

Jimmy Purdy [00:20:12]:
So it's interesting.

David Toole [00:20:13]:
That seems easy and weak. That's just, I mean that's my personal opinion. Like I, I'm here for the client. You know, if you, if, if Jimmy's bringing me his, his you know, 2013 Beamer and also has three resto mods, I'm not going to tell Jimmy to go somewhere else. Why? I can do it. I can do better than most people. So I'm gonna, you need to have people that can do it though. There, there is that and I have, I have A guy.

David Toole [00:20:49]:
We kind of have another young kid that's a. He has the ability and the desire to do it too. So we. We let him do some of the stuff when we can. That way I can bring somebody up, but that's important also. It's not for everybody.

Jimmy Purdy [00:21:06]:
It's not. It's. It's a little different. But I. So I have an apprentice that just started here recently, and I feel like the classic cars are a little easier to kind of guide her through the repairs. I just. I just feel. And I feel like it's the basics, right? Where if you understand, say, what a mechanical speedometer is, right? And then.

Jimmy Purdy [00:21:28]:
And then it goes to a vss right now you have, you know, then it goes into a module, and it's like, what's the point of all this? Well, it's just telling the speed so that the transmission knows when to upshift, right? And I pull the governor out of a turbo 400 yesterday, and I'm like, this is what makes it shift, right? And you. And you hit the little shuttle valves and watch the valve go up and down. I'm like, so when it spins, it opens up, and this is. And she's.

David Toole [00:21:50]:
Whoa.

Jimmy Purdy [00:21:51]:
Like. And then it upshifts and this. And then eventually electronics take over, and it's just. It's just a speed input that does all. So it's just. I feel like if you understand the basics of it, then you start understanding why they start add. Adding those sensors in place of those mechanical parts.

David Toole [00:22:05]:
Everything. Everything electrical came from mechanical.

Jimmy Purdy [00:22:08]:
Right, Right. And like, if you have those vehicles in the shop and you have an apprentice coming or someone new, it's like, you can really take it to, like, the fundamental level. And it was like, classics are so hard. It's like, well, I mean, you're not charged enough. Probably part of the problem.

David Toole [00:22:23]:
Yeah, you gotta charge. Like, I. Like, this is one of the things that my. My service advisors have a hard time with because there's no guide, there's no book. And, you know, you'll. You'll be like, okay, well, hey, tech. Hey, technician, how long do you think that's going to take you? And of course, technicians are like, oh, man, two hours. What that means is four, so you better get six.

David Toole [00:22:51]:
Right.

Jimmy Purdy [00:22:51]:
That's funny. Yeah.

David Toole [00:22:52]:
And. And you have to be able to. To approach it. Like, okay, hey, a client. Here's what we're looking at. We're time and material. Here's the. Here's the rough idea.

David Toole [00:23:03]:
If it goes over this, I'm gonna Let you know if it goes under. I'll also let you know. But here's. Here's our Rough Guide 6.

Jimmy Purdy [00:23:10]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:23:10]:
So that way we have that. We have that buffer.

Jimmy Purdy [00:23:14]:
Right. And it's. It's. It's. Yeah. Tough to find someone to give you an accurate estimate.

David Toole [00:23:20]:
Yeah.

Jimmy Purdy [00:23:21]:
Especially whenever tech is like, God, I could do that in 45 minutes. It's like, okay, I could. I hope you do, but let's sell it for more than that. So then you actually look good.

David Toole [00:23:29]:
It's gonna be six. Yeah. So. So, yeah, that's. That's what. And when I. When I work with my. With my tech Bill, I usually just ask him like this.

David Toole [00:23:39]:
I said, bill, okay, cool. I'm looking at this. How many days is this going to take you? Oh, half a day. I'm like, okay, cool. 7. You know, I mean, it's.

Jimmy Purdy [00:23:53]:
That's a good way of putting it.

David Toole [00:23:55]:
Can pull that out of their time book.

Jimmy Purdy [00:23:58]:
Yeah, that's true. I guess. I guess it's shame on us for assuming that they could give you an accurate time estimate, because who knows the.

David Toole [00:24:05]:
Reason we're not estimators.

Jimmy Purdy [00:24:06]:
Yeah, the. The day estimate. I like that, though. How many days? Yeah, like a week. You think this will take a week? A week. No. That's way too much.

David Toole [00:24:15]:
Yeah. Cool. Then I'm gonna get 39. So. Yeah, it's. It's just one of those things. You got to get enough time because, you know, we're not in the business to lose money. And if you want to have somebody good to work on these things, you have to help them stay in business.

David Toole [00:24:34]:
So.

Jimmy Purdy [00:24:35]:
And you do. You said. So you do a lot of the work, too, yourself, on these cars, or is it you just ship it out? Not a lot.

David Toole [00:24:41]:
Yeah, I don't. I don't really do the physical stuff anymore. On occasion, I might go tackle something on a vehicle that I built. So I've built several full builds. So sometimes when I'm in town, wherever location I'm at, and I have a client that's like, oh, you know, I have a Mustang that's in my Bay Area location. She's like, hey, it's doing this weird thing. I know you mentioned that this was a potential problem, so I think that's what it is. And I'm like, yeah, I'm almost 100% positive that's what it is.

David Toole [00:25:21]:
So here's your estimate. I'll get this thing ordered, I'll send it up there, and then all. I might head up there to the location. That doesn't have my, my everyday resto mod tech and I'll just go do whatever because to me that's kind of fun.

Jimmy Purdy [00:25:40]:
Yeah. The small stuff. What's your, what's kind of like your daily operation or what does your day look like as far as management's concerned or kind of. What are you tasked with?

David Toole [00:25:52]:
I'm the owner, Jimmy, so you know, I'm.

Jimmy Purdy [00:25:54]:
You don't do anything.

David Toole [00:25:55]:
Eyes in the sun.

Jimmy Purdy [00:25:57]:
That's what I was hoping you'd say because I want some inspiration, man.

David Toole [00:26:01]:
No, I, I, I actually do a lot of the, the back end stuff. So I have meetings with my, with my son, he's my coo. So we're always looking at big picture items. We're looking at vendor, vendor negotiations. I do some estimating for the restomod stuff. I look for acquisition businesses, you know, and, and then I do stuff for the communities. So you know, I try and you know, do chamber of commerce things. You know, I do, I do a lot of stuff for the community.

Jimmy Purdy [00:26:44]:
That's cool.

David Toole [00:26:44]:
So it's kind of weird. Kind of weird. You know, growing up a mechanic that has nothing kind of, you know, we don't, we were always underpaid, at least in. I'm older than you, so we were very poorly paid and, but we love what we did and you know, I was, it was week to week, man. You know, you got your rent, you know, do your side jobs so you can go out and have, you know, have fun with your friends on the weekends, etc. Etc. Now with a business multiple or even just a business, I get, I have gotten to do things that were never in my like imagination. Like I could go help, I can help a group of people financially or physically because a, I have the time to do it and we actually have the money to do it.

David Toole [00:27:42]:
We, we, we have a giant Christmas thing in our, in our town up here in Valley Springs. And the Christmas tree is always put, put up by this group called the Valley Springs Area Business association, which I'm part of. Well, it's always this little rinky dink tree and we get some pretty good winds blowing through here, so sometimes it's down the street we gotta go get it and. Well this two years ago we looked at a big exterior outdoor, you know, fake tree, but heavy duty like Macy's level tree. And it was expensive and we were just a little group but because I, I have three shops and you know, we have some funding here and there, we were able to front the cost of this tree. And you know, they, the group paid us back after sponsorships for the, you know, the event, the parade and all the other stuff, but we were able to do that. And when I look back at like, old school life for me, if somebody was like, oh man, we need this. We need like 10 grand for this tree, I'd be up.

David Toole [00:29:00]:
What? Don't look at me. You know, I'll help you put it together. But now, now I can help them put it together and front the money, which is.

Jimmy Purdy [00:29:11]:
That's so cool.

David Toole [00:29:12]:
Weird. You know, it's not. Not nothing that I grew up with, let's put it that way.

Jimmy Purdy [00:29:17]:
Well, and, and on that, I love the stories of that. What was the background? How did you. Was it family? Or did you. How did you get involved into all this? And why did you decide to stick it. Stick it out?

David Toole [00:29:28]:
Well, look at my last name. So you had no choice. So, yeah.

Jimmy Purdy [00:29:32]:
You had no choice.

David Toole [00:29:33]:
I had no choice. Now I. Weirdly enough, my. My mother and some of my uncles were in automotive. One of. One of my uncles was a body. The body field. But my mom always worked at like dealership offices and stuff like that.

David Toole [00:29:52]:
But mostly I have a. Something that technical kids have. You know, I take things apart. I always had to know how it worked for whatever stupid reason that was. You know, just, you know, instead of just being a toy that. A toy that I could go play with, I had to have the toy and I had to look at how it got put together and then wonder. I was imagining how does this work inside? It does something. So I'm imagining gears or something.

David Toole [00:30:25]:
So I had to take it apart and see and see now then I would of course, try and make it faster or better or whatever. And sometimes that worked and sometimes it was broken.

Jimmy Purdy [00:30:37]:
Sometimes they didn't go back together.

David Toole [00:30:39]:
Yeah, but that's, that's kind of DNA, you know, I don't know where that came from. I don't think my dad was like that at all. My mom not like that. So some. Something in here is loose and, you know, made me. Made me who I am.

Jimmy Purdy [00:30:56]:
So you didn't, you didn't take over a family shop. You kind of started from square one.

David Toole [00:31:02]:
Yep, Yep, I got into the. I basically I started, I think in high school. I. I used to draft. Actually, I was into drafting. So I really like that. Technical illustration drafting. I really wanted to design and build houses and stuff like that.

David Toole [00:31:21]:
I was pretty good at it. So back in, in high school, you know, everything was like, with the mechanical arms and the pencils and all that stuff. But we got a computer in our classroom and it had AutoCAD on it. Nobody knew how to use it. My teach, it was brand new to my teacher, and he's like, dave, figure it out. So I'm like, cool. So I did the computer, drafted the. Out the.

David Toole [00:31:47]:
The school. Actually, I drew the school floor plan. So I got my first taste of, like, computer stuff. And I was like, man, this is cool. Then I got into sports a little bit. I played football in high school because they told me I couldn't because I was too small. So I said, all right, I'm gonna. I'm gonna go play some football.

Jimmy Purdy [00:32:10]:
I say, you look like a wrestler.

David Toole [00:32:12]:
No, they wanted me to wrestle, but I'm like, no, I don't. I can't. I don't know. That looks painful. That looks painful. Even though it's probably less painful than football. But. So I was into that.

David Toole [00:32:24]:
And then I took auto shop. And that was the most fascinating thing for me. I. I'll never forget my teacher pulls out, they have this. This camshaft, small block Chevy camshaft, painted lobes and everything. And I'm like, this is a camshaft and this does this. And I was just like, what. What is that thing, dude? It's the weirdest looking thing I've ever seen.

David Toole [00:32:46]:
And I got really into, like, engines. I'm like, how. How does that even work? Of course, because that's.

Jimmy Purdy [00:32:53]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:32:54]:
How my brain is. I'm like, I gotta. I gotta know. So I got into. Into car stuff and then I got a job at. I got a job at something. I had gas station jobs when I was younger. And some of the cool dudes would come in with these cars that were all.

David Toole [00:33:11]:
And I was like, man, that sounds cool. And they always left with smoke everywhere. I'm like, I want to do that. And this Honda is not cutting it. So. But yeah, it was. It was kind of always meant to be. Then I got into the.

David Toole [00:33:29]:
I got into. I worked at gas stations. Then I went to work for my uncle in the body shop as a person. Pretty much floor cleaner of Bondo dust forever. And then I went to a parts driver at a dealership, which is. Which is. This is. That's actually what really got me into wanting to be a shop owner.

David Toole [00:33:51]:
Because I went in, I was a parts driver for this Honda dealership. And I think I was. I was 17 years old. So when I went in to interview this, the store, the parts manager was like, he's like, you know, he's looking at me stupid. 17 year old kid wanting to drive these trucks, these flatbed Isuzu truck and everything that, that they had. And he's like, well, you know, I'm looking for somebody a little who's got some more driving experience. And my dad happened to be there because I had picked him up for something, we were doing something and my dad says, hey, well, just so you know, he's been, he's been back in our trailer, in our tandem boat trailer in to the launch ramps in the campsite since he was 13. And this parts manager happened to be a boater.

David Toole [00:34:45]:
So he's like, I'm gonna give him a chance. So he got me in. I crushed that job because that's what I do. I mean, I'm a worker. So I went in there, showed them how to really drive parts and deliver them. I was a little introverted also, so there wasn't a lot of chit chat. I would go in, bam, get in, get out. Yeah, so I did that.

David Toole [00:35:09]:
But I really got a chance to see a lot of places. And back in the, that was in the 80s, late 80s, man. Shops were just gross, smelled, they're dark. I think everybody was high. You know, it's, it was just a. Not it, it was like, man, it kind of burst my bubble a little bit because in my mind I'm like, I, I want, I feel like this is what I should be doing because I fix things. And back then in the 80s, I'm like, you know, I bet if, if I have a shop it's gonna, I imagine white stainless lab coats. You know, that wasn't real yet.

David Toole [00:35:58]:
You know, people weren't, shops weren't like that.

Jimmy Purdy [00:36:01]:
Right.

David Toole [00:36:01]:
In my mind I'm like this, this is a professional. You should be professionals. So I worked in that, in that driving industry for a little bit and told the, this one gentleman in, in San Carlos where I actually ended up opening up. He's like, Dave, I've never seen a parts driver three times in one day. I'm like, well, it's what I do. And he said, that means you're efficient. Have you ever thought about being a mechanic? And I said, yep, I got a 67 Camaro. Every day I got a 67 Camaro.

David Toole [00:36:39]:
And I'm trying to, you know, do stuff to it. So yeah, I mean, I love this stuff. So he's like, yeah, I want you to come in and work for me. So I did, I just, I left the parts department, got into this, this role and he was my mentor. He did a, he did a Great job mentoring me because, you know, when you're 17, 18, 19 years old, you know, you know everything. And you know, I was hard headed, but also, you know, nervous and, you know, I'll do my thing. And I'd be like, okay, check it out. And he'd be like, yeah, that's almost there and you redo it, you know, but he wouldn't be like, oh no, that's wrong.

David Toole [00:37:21]:
He'd be like, yeah, you know, it's just a little bit off and this. And I'm like, damn, I thought I had it. So he really groomed me the way that worked for me. And so I worked for him for like it was eight years. It was eight years. Well, maybe it was four, something like that. Four or five years. Then I went to the dealership as an apprentice, Honda apprentice.

David Toole [00:37:54]:
And I was already just as good as most of the journeymen there. So I was like, man, this guy, this guy must be amazing because he's better than me. I came here and I'm pretty, I'm in the mix with these guys and they're all, man, 15 years older than me. So I was there for eight years. I ended up leaving there as a shop foreman, service advisor, and I dispatched all different days of the week. And being a foreman, I was the youngest guy in the shop. So when they promoted me to that, they're like, look, they're all gonna hate you. Just say, you know, you know, that's just how it is.

David Toole [00:38:42]:
And I'm like, I'm good with that. So that's where, that's when I learned, you know, it's not really, you just have to have the right personality. And this is where I learned about shop culture because it was a little dismal in the, in the shop when I first got there. And then when I became a foreman, I, I messed around a lot. I would screw around and play tricks on guys and it was less professional. And then everybody started kind of doing the same thing. And I was like, man, I did this. I changed this whole dealership shop.

David Toole [00:39:22]:
There were like 25 technicians in there. And I created this environment and it wasn't, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't that professional.

Jimmy Purdy [00:39:35]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:39:36]:
And I was like, I gotta, I gotta see if I can fix this. So, you know, now I'm now like getting, I'm in my, I was there for eight years, so now I'm in my late 20s and I just started doing things differently and, and pretty soon we became a pretty, pretty efficient shop. Everybody was, you know, we were flat rate. And most people don't like helping each other because they're on their own clock, you know, making their own money. But we, we were actually pretty, we were a pretty good team before I left there. And that's, that's when I learned really a lot about the culture because I wasn't the owner, I wasn't even the manager or anything, you know, well, kind of I was foreman. But I changed the culture of the whole shop, just me. So I did another stint at an independent shop for eight years and you know, it had a good culture and then the owners really started to mess with it and that you, it's, that was, that's hard to battle, you know, the owners coming in because I think they felt like they weren't, they weren't as needed because they weren't.

David Toole [00:40:56]:
But instead of, I guess enjoying it or appreciating it, they had to come in and it up like, you know, interesting. Yeah, it's you, you'll see if you're, if you're at that level, it happens. We kind of self sabotage. So it's weird when you work yourself out of a job per se. So at the, at the independent, I was at, I, I, we, we changed numbers a lot. The culture was good until it wasn't. And before I left there I was, I was pretty burned out in the automotive field because I'm like, man, I made it to the, I made it here. And you know, this is, this is what it was like, I didn't, I was like, I don't, I don't know if I like this.

David Toole [00:41:46]:
So I almost got into construction because I started doing some side work with some of my buddies. They needed help. I would do cabinets or, you know, do some framing with them. And you know, I was like, maybe if I go get my construction license or my contractor's license, maybe I can, I'll make some money. But weirdly, I'm working at this place that I was really kind of done with and I got a phone call that came in from my original mentor right when I was getting ready to do something. I haven't talked to this guy in like five, six years. I'm like, hey, what's going on? He's like, hey man, Dave, I'm old, I'm ready to retire. You ready to come home? And I was like, let me go see.

David Toole [00:42:42]:
So I went and checked it out. It was the same spot I started at. It was way filthier. Not busy. He was in, he's in his 60s, he wasn't doing much, but I was like, you know what, man? This is what I'm good at. So I, you know, I give it one stab. I think I was like, I think it was just getting ready to turn. Was I.

David Toole [00:43:08]:
I think I was just getting ready to turn 39. Like, look, I'm almost 40. I'm either gonna, I'm gonna, I'm just gonna give this a run and see what happens. So I went in and basically bought his equipment and started back at the original spot I worked at. And then I just blew up. Blew up.

Jimmy Purdy [00:43:34]:
It just cuts two, huh? Day one, I walk in. Day two, it's. There we go.

David Toole [00:43:41]:
Yeah, I, I, I, you know, I got everything all in line. I left the other job. I actually took my first summer vacation, which was kind of cool. So I left, I left the independent shop in, In June. Yeah, June. And I basically, I did side work out of my house. I did a Tony Robbins thing and Unleash youh Potential. I built an outdoor kitchen at my house in Belmont.

David Toole [00:44:14]:
And I, I got a website ready because he didn't even have a website. So I got all that stuff dialed in and I was drumming up work. Day one, I opened up. I had. They had four cars. Four cars to work on day one. And they just kept coming. So it was pretty awesome.

David Toole [00:44:35]:
By the time at my first year mark, I hired, I hired somebody. So I worked by myself for one year. Then I had my, my employee Francisco. He's still with me. He was my first hire, and it was just him and I, which is weird. I don't know how many, how many employees you got?

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:01]:
Five. Five. Plus an apprentice.

David Toole [00:45:05]:
An apprentice total?

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:08]:
Well, me and my wife not included in that.

David Toole [00:45:12]:
Okay.

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:12]:
So we both work.

David Toole [00:45:13]:
So.

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:13]:
Yeah, we have five total. Two advisors, three techs, one apprentice, and then my wife and my, Myself.

David Toole [00:45:19]:
When you, when you first started, how many people did you have?

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:23]:
I actually started when I took over the shop. There was three. There was two guys on the floor and one in the office, and they all quit.

David Toole [00:45:33]:
Day three, they didn't like it.

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:36]:
They did not. They did not like having to show up for work in the morning. No.

David Toole [00:45:40]:
Yeah.

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:41]:
So they did not like me.

David Toole [00:45:42]:
Yes.

Jimmy Purdy [00:45:43]:
I was an asshole, man. I didn't, I didn't do a very good job when I started. I did not have the mentality. I, I, yeah, a lot of that stuff has taken me eight years now to actually start getting my head wrapped around it.

David Toole [00:45:56]:
Yeah, it's, it's definitely different. Like when I, when you first was for, for me, When I went from just having to make sure I had enough work to pay my bills and pay myself, when I got my first technician, he's just doing all the, he's working, he's not answering the phone, making estimates, doing any of the other crap that I was doing. And all of a sudden I was like, oh, I don't have enough, I don't have enough work for me to do. You know, he's doing it all and I need, I need more because I gotta, I have to produce hours too because I can't just collect money and have one technician, one advisor. It just isn't, it doesn't work. I mean, you have to have a better ratio. You know, you, you know, one, one advisor or maybe two, three techs, but not one to one. It makes it, it makes it hard to, you know, pay your bills.

David Toole [00:46:54]:
So that, that was the first instance of like, holy. I get, this is weird. If I hire somebody, I have to really be prepared to crank it, crank it up because it's, it immediately eliminates work off of your plate. So that's fun.

Jimmy Purdy [00:47:12]:
Yeah, that's, that's an interesting thought too because it, it does seem like, like you kind of put your toe in the water and you can, you can't. Like you had to kind of like have like that vision, right? Like I'm gonna have X amount of text and X amount of advisors and you just gotta go for that. And not just like, oh, I need, I'll just. The phone's been ringing a little more than lately and maybe I'll hire someone just to answer the phones. It's like, and I did that, I made that mistake. It's like if I just get someone here just to answer the phone and then I can just sit there and do, and do estimates. That'll. That'll, that'll, that's all I need.

Jimmy Purdy [00:47:43]:
And it's like I did all these stupid small like budget mistakes, right? Like I'm just trying to be cheap. Like I don't want to hire a full on advisor because I can still do it, right? Like I don't need someone, but if they just answer the phone and kind of like take care of that for me. I, and it just is so stupid.

David Toole [00:48:00]:
It's a, it's a learning, it's a learning game. When did you. I, I've, I heard a couple, a podcast. You did use some, some training institutes. So when did you, when did you think that that was a good idea? How many years did that take?

Jimmy Purdy [00:48:16]:
I think about year three. I was like, I definitely need some help, but the funds just weren't there. And I think it just goes back to the ego thing of like you, you just, you look at all the free information, you read all, you know, you listen to podcasts, you read their books, you do all the stuff and you're like, I can figure this out, right? Like, I can build a transmission, I can figure out how to do this stuff right? Like, so it's just, you think, you start thinking about it and like the seed gets planted, but it's like you just don't water it because you're like, no, I can figure it out. Like, it's fine. Yeah, I don't know.

David Toole [00:48:49]:
That's how we are.

Jimmy Purdy [00:48:52]:
Well, then you talk that your, your group of like the people you, you kind of group with, like, it's all the same. So like the, the owners I was talking to at the time, like, we're all making the same amount of money, we're all charging about the same and I just didn't realize there's like a whole another like group of, of shop owners. Right? And like, and as you elevate like you start meeting new people that are on different levels, you know, and it's, it's, it's just, that's the most eye openening part for me.

David Toole [00:49:16]:
Yep. Yeah, there's some great, there's some great shop owners out there there. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of information that you can, that you can steal from them. So for me, you know, the, the cool thing about being in that independent shop is they, they sent us to ATI training for service advisors. So I got an early taste of, early taste of like what's out there. And when we went, their, their lead guy, Brian, Brian Stosh, he was the advisor trainer and he was, he was sharp and he was like, oh, these guys are sharp. You know, he's, he's throwing, you know, scenarios out and you know, making us, making us work for, for it. And I, I realized man, this, there are people out there that know more and can really hone your, your game, you know, and just like being in sports, I don't know if you played any sports, but you know, there's, there's a reason you have coaches and because they, they can, they see you kind of better or differently anyway than you see you.

David Toole [00:50:34]:
Some of the cool things that we did when, when I was in ati, we were in this group called or I was in this group called Peak Performers and we used to travel to the group members shops and we would audit them. So paperwork facility. We'd interview their people and then we, you know, we'd kind of go, you know, give you like we'd give Jimmy all the information afterwards. And sometimes it wasn't, most of the time it wasn't good. It wasn't, I don't want to say it wasn't good. It was eye opening and frustrating sometimes for the receiver of that information because we've, we were all in some pretty good shops and we would go in there as a group and like if I go to your shop, your shop's cherry. But I don't go there every day. So when I go there and I'm auditing it, I'm seeing things.

David Toole [00:51:29]:
Like we went to this one shop, beautiful place, awesome. They had the coolest like I still wish I had some of this stuff but they had like old ass brake rotors holding the door open. Like rusty old brake rotors. Like this place is like high end and they had this random like customer little computer sitting in a weird little spot and just looked janky. And we just started you know, noticing these things and they're like well, huh, I guess I didn't notice that. Yeah, obviously. At least paint the rotor. You know, paint it with like make it look like a cross drilled slotted performance something or I don't know.

David Toole [00:52:11]:
But that is junk that should be in the scrap metal bin. Just little stuff like that. Like you don't see it when you're, when you're in it. Sometimes it's nice to get somebody else's take on it. Yeah, that's where, that's where having people on your team with the willingness to let you know what they see, you know, because when you're the owner, you know, they don't want to or they don't feel like they should. You have to make sure that that door is open. You see it and it's on me. I need to know because I might not see it and I'm, I'm gonna own it.

David Toole [00:52:56]:
I'm gonna, you know, that's on me.

Jimmy Purdy [00:52:59]:
Yeah, the group process. Yeah, I'm yeah familiar with it. We did the group process for about a year. You know, we did this, that we traveled like three. I think we hit three shops last year and that, that came to an end at the end of the last of 2024. Interesting process. You know, Um, I don't know, I just don't, I don't know. Holding each other accountable and then paying for paying the coaching company for that as well.

Jimmy Purdy [00:53:26]:
It was, it was just all like a little strange for me. Right? And then you, and then you go to the shops and it's like, well, it feels like I'm not getting anything out of this and not to be selfish, like, I love helping. Like, so of course you dive right in. Like, everybody loves to go to a shop and start being like, oh, do this and do that and do the other thing, but you can't do it at your own. Right? But then you're like, what am I, what value am I getting out of this? Because I'm still paying for this monthly program. Right? But you're, you are learning because you're learning because that's the stuff you should be going back to your shop and kind of, and, and picking apart as well. But it's hard to do it to your own stuff.

David Toole [00:53:59]:
It, it's very hard to do it to your own stuff. And it's hard to hear it also. So it's, you know, it's just one of those things you have to be, you have to be vulnerable. You have to be willing to, to hear it because not everybody's just saying it just to make sure they look better than you, but they're doing, if they're truly doing it for you. It's something you got to listen to.

Jimmy Purdy [00:54:24]:
Yeah.

David Toole [00:54:26]:
So, so that's, that, that was a lot of fun when we did, when we did that during, during those shop visits. But again, like you said, it's when you're a thinker, it's like, look, all these, all these, all these ideas, they're all coming from us and I'm paying for it, right? It doesn't, doesn't feel awesome because, you know, it's not cheap. And yeah, a lot of these ideas were, were mine. That being said, I also are indeed plenty, which is Robin duplicate.

Jimmy Purdy [00:55:00]:
So that's true.

David Toole [00:55:01]:
You know, it's, it's a trade off. But like, you were experienced. There are different levels. So I'm not a, I'm not a really big fan of being a big fish in the small pond. It makes, it makes me a little uncomfortable. I grew up a little introverted, so, you know, I don't like, I don't, I don't like being noticed that much. But when you're the big fish in a small pond, you get to help a lot of people. So that's the trade off.

David Toole [00:55:37]:
You just have to break through whatever mental disorder that you might have. And for me it was like, I don't, I don't want everybody to Think I'm great because I'm just doing, I'm struggling just like everybody else. But if I can help somebody, that, that part was neat. And I think that helped me break out of my shell a little bit because I did get to share a lot of information of stuff that I did and that I learned on my own. And then I got, I got moved into different groups and I was like, holy crap, I want to be like that dude. You know, that guy's, that guy's got it going on. How's he doing it? So, you know, there's, there's a lot out there. There's people, there's tons out there.

Jimmy Purdy [00:56:22]:
Do you still stay in some sort of coaching group? Focus on your people?

David Toole [00:56:29]:
I, I was in Transformers for years. I was actually in ATI and Transformers for a while and then just Transformers and now I'm not in any group because I really want to, I want to take that money and, and use it for, on my team because I, I was having a hard time trying to. I'm, I'm looking at it like this. I'm spending whatever was 15, $1800 a month plus travel on me. Not that I don't need training, but we're in a good spot that, you know, I'm not even doing the tweaking of things. They are. So is it really valuable for me to spend 50, $60,000 a year on great ideas or can I figure out how to get, get them into training? Put together events where we all get together and you know, we did an award summit last year where I ordered a bunch of awards. I took little polls of like what everybody thought, who was the best this, who was the best that, what store had the best parts GP all that stuff.

David Toole [00:57:39]:
And you know, we did a vision presentation and award ceremony. And you know that, that cost less than my training all year. Was expensive, but it cost less than my training all year. And what the, what the team got out of it was incredible. You know, we're, we're all spread out a little bit. You know, we're, we're like, I think there's a, about a hundred miles between our two furthest shops. So we don't see each other physically hardly often. So when we do, it's, it's kind of cool because we, we are all on like slack.

David Toole [00:58:20]:
So everybody communicates with each other. But when, when you're in person, you're like, oh, hey dude. Yeah, what's up? Oh, you're the guy that smoked me in hours. Yep, that's me.

Jimmy Purdy [00:58:30]:
That's cool.

David Toole [00:58:31]:
It's. It's fun.

Jimmy Purdy [00:58:33]:
That's definitely using the. The funds to impact a lot more people. So that. I mean, that makes sense.

David Toole [00:58:38]:
Yeah. Yeah. What about you? What. What do you. What do you. What groups are you in any.

Jimmy Purdy [00:58:43]:
Well, current, currently? Yeah, We're. We're kind of. We're not with anyone right now, and we're kind of looking to see what the next options are. And the one thing I wanted to ask you, too, because the one thing that I've thought about is it feels like when you're in a coaching group, like, it's not really your shop and it's nsa, where it's good to be held accountable. Like. Like that's the point of the coach. But you're always kind of in the back of your mind. You kind of want to make some unilateral decisions and make some mistakes because you just, like, you know what? I just.

Jimmy Purdy [00:59:11]:
I need to do this because I want to because it's my business. And sometimes you need to be slapped and say, that's stupid. Don't do that. But sometimes you just need to make the mistake and learn from it. And I feel like you kind of get one hand tied behind your back, in a sense, with coaching, but again, maybe it's just the group that. That or the. The company that you might be with. Right.

Jimmy Purdy [00:59:30]:
Maybe they're just not the right fit for you. And I think that was what happened with the last company we were with. I just. I just. We got what we needed, and I think we came to a point where we weren't getting any more out of it. And it's like, okay, well, it's time to see what else is out there, and there's so many out there. So now there's like the. The analysis paralysis, right? Where it's like we're doing all these interviews with all these code, because the first one you sign up with, you're like, dude, everything I need, boom.

Jimmy Purdy [00:59:53]:
Let's do it. I'm ready to roll. Like, because you're in survival mode, right? You're like, I need your help. And I waited years before we finally signed up. Soon as I had the funds in the account, like, let's do it right now because we are suffering, right? But then you kind of get above your head, above water, and you're like, wait, I got options. Oh, that's not good. It's like walking into Baskin Robbins, you know? You're like, I don't know what I want anymore. Just give me three options.

Jimmy Purdy [01:00:18]:
It Makes it so much so that's kind of where I'm at right now. It's like there's like that analysis paralysis of like, I don't know which direction we want the shop to go. And I think that's the time I need to take to really figure out, okay, what exactly is it that we. Where are we going? You know what I mean? Instead of just trying to pay rent, like, okay, now we're paying rent. Like, so now what, what is the vision and the goal that we want this place to get to?

David Toole [01:00:41]:
Yep. Yeah. Because some, some groups have a, like if you're, if you're looking to become more CEO level, there are groups that have better programs like that. Right. Because you know, we're in that, we're in the automotive field, man. We've, we all came from kind of grunts. That's, that's what most of our field is, technicians turned business owners. So a lot of these groups help you just get, get through that hump because that's a completely different animal.

David Toole [01:01:14]:
Business is not your car. There is a way more, there's way more knobs and, and bells and whistles that you gotta focus on when you're running a business. But then when you start, when you, when you're like, okay, cool, I got business down. I got my p. Now I know what my GPS are supposed to be. I know what my margins are supposed to be. I'm pretty much on track. I got my fixed cost kind of in, in check.

David Toole [01:01:39]:
Now we want to grow. How do I do that? Do I just go get another one and do the same thing? You know what's going to happen to this one if I'm not here? That's when you got to do your interviews. Like what, what coaching companies help you expand, you know, because they're not all, not, they're, they're not all created equal. I've been in.

Jimmy Purdy [01:02:05]:
You gotta find like your, your blind spots too or like your, your weak spots, you know, And I think for me leadership was kind of the hard one or building, cultivating. Sure. Obviously the amount of employee turnover I've had and, and you know, I think the. Right now my, the senior on staff is just over a year. So I haven't really had anybody with us for more than a year. So that's a pretty glaring like. Okay, wait a second here. That's probably not right.

Jimmy Purdy [01:02:32]:
Right. And that's on. Yeah. And that's on me. So it's like there's my, there's my hole. Okay. So I think I need to focus on finding leadership training more than coaching. You know, auto shop, direct coaching, you know, so, yeah, it's just.

Jimmy Purdy [01:02:48]:
It's just trying to find your way, but it's hard to do that. Like, how do you look yourself in the mirror and find out what it is that you're missing?

David Toole [01:02:53]:
That's the toughest thing. And that's. That's the thing that you. You kind of mentioned earlier. You know, with the coaching, you're spending money, and the reality is like, you know, and this happened to me, too. It's like, you go to coaching and you're like, you don't really. You don't share it all, and you don't share it accurately. You know, they might look at the numbers and they might see some numbers, but there's some stuff that you just don't.

David Toole [01:03:15]:
It's hard to get vulnerable. It's hard to open up and, you know, bash yourself. Because at the end of the day, if we are not performing, it's. It's me. It's me, so. And when it's me, I take that shit seriously, man. I. I'm setting up.

David Toole [01:03:36]:
I'm setting up stuff. I'm like, look, what do I need to do? What. What? You know, what didn't I make clear? Am I. What. What? You know, what? Here. Here's our. Here's our goals. How did I not make this clear enough? What can I do better? What's.

David Toole [01:03:57]:
What's holding you up? What do I. What wall do I need to break through? Because it is you. You know, at the end of the day, it's all on you. You're the one with the bills, you're the one with the team. You're the one with everything. But truly, your people are what make you a better you. So, yeah, it's you. You got it.

David Toole [01:04:24]:
You got to own it.

Jimmy Purdy [01:04:26]:
I know what you're meaning with the. With the group process. I feel like that. So, I mean, it's easy to share your numbers when you're doing well, right? And. And then. And then when we don't, you know, when I wasn't doing well for a long time, it was easy to share my numbers. And even still when I'm missing something, like, I'm. I'm really not too much.

Jimmy Purdy [01:04:43]:
I don't hold that too close because it's like, this is where I need help. Like, I don't need you to look at the numbers when we're doing good. I need you to see what I'm doing when I'm doing bad yeah. You know, but that hurts a lot, too. So it's like, I don't want to. So it's like, here's here. How do I fix this? Right? And I don't have a problem sharing that. My point was, like, you get in these coaching groups with other shop owners, and then all of a sudden when their numbers go bad, they don't want to share it or they fluff it or they, or they miss the meeting or whatever because they don't want to show, you know, how bad they're doing.

Jimmy Purdy [01:05:12]:
But that's. So that's where you're losing your value. You know, it's like, man, like. Because I'm going to have that month too, right? Like, the month that you don't want to share to me is the month I'm going to have here eventually. So if we can figure it out with yours, it's going to help me later. And, and that, that's one of the things that I didn't really care for because we're all the same, right? And that. That's what would happen. It's like you, you just, you would miss that sharing opportunity because they didn't want to show you.

Jimmy Purdy [01:05:36]:
And then it's like everybody loses. Yeah.

David Toole [01:05:38]:
Yeah. And that's, that's the, that's the downside to it, because it is. We're all people, you know, we're all prideful people. And, you know, it's. It's tough. It's tough pulling the Komodo open, you know, so. But it's. It is really how you, how you get better.

David Toole [01:05:59]:
So what, what you would. If you interviewed my team, what you would find is I'm very, very transparent. That's what makes it easy for me. So I'm. I, I share all of our. I share all of our numbers. You know, some of the fixed cost is irrelevant, but, you know, you just like on a abbreviated P and L, you can have your, you know, your rent and your, Your things that matter. The things that they are in control of is the things that you share with them fixed.

David Toole [01:06:29]:
They're not so much, but, like parts, even their own costs. Some of the shop expenses, you know, where they're doing building fixes or repairs of things. I share it all. That way they know Dave's not rich. Dave. $6 million in revenue, $3 million in cost, $3 million in fixed. What's left? See what I'm saying? That's. This is where money goes, right? Crazy how.

David Toole [01:07:05]:
How much comes in and goes out. It's. It's insane. But, you know, I just, I think that's what, that's where you got to have good people because you got to trust them. Just like, like I mentioned earlier when we were talking about the, you know, building the classics and the Resto mods, you got to have, you got a confidence, you got to have faith in the, in that working relationship and you kind of have to have that with all your people. You know, they're, they're, they're making you money at the end of the day. So, you know, you got to take care of them, make sure that their living is good. But if you don't have them, you know, you don't have.

Jimmy Purdy [01:07:47]:
Well, the, like the, the margins are just tight. Right. So all it takes is a, a day of not wanting to give 100 and then you lose your, you know, your 4% of that you get to.

David Toole [01:07:58]:
Take home and you're, and you're into the wonderfully well managed state of California as well. So.

Jimmy Purdy [01:08:04]:
Right.

David Toole [01:08:05]:
You know, the, the regulations and rules that we have to follow for employment are just teeth pulling. You know, it's, it's awful. Like, you know, personally as a technician, I liked being flat rate. I was in control of my paycheck. You know, if sometimes I would run up, I would run that shop out of work so I can get off early. And I still made 12 hours that day. But with, as an hourly employee, which is pretty much what you have to be in California, there are some other little convoluted that you can do, but it's, it's just a bunch of is what it is. Doesn't create good solid employees anymore, but raw hourly and you know, the, it doesn't, you don't get to create that drive unless you have bonus structures and you know, your margins are thin.

David Toole [01:09:03]:
You know, you got the guy that. Working there eight hours and he produced five for you because that's all you had today and you just lost three. So that's on the shop.

Jimmy Purdy [01:09:14]:
Yeah, yeah.

David Toole [01:09:15]:
There's a lot of, there's a lot of nuances with California rules, but again, transparency and, and having good people, they at least understand it, kind of respect it, help whenever they can. That's important. You know, I got some, I got guys, I got a couple that are over 10 years with me and a handful that are over five currently. I've been in business for 15 this year. 15.

Jimmy Purdy [01:09:49]:
It's impressive. Yeah. So I guess, I guess to my last question I wanted to ask you, was, was your vision for tools garage, what is it you See yourself in the next 10 years going to.

David Toole [01:10:07]:
Well, I will say that that is going to come from my leadership team because in 10 years I'm going to be a retirement age. So what I do see is the possibility of having a, a shop dedicated to resto mod type work where I could staff it with people that know how to do it. So I can tinker in there, but it runs on its own. How many shops we have, again, it's going to be dependent upon our leadership. Like they're like, hey, we, we want, we want to earn some more and we, we would like this. I'll invest, I'll be, I'll be your investor. But I'm not, I'm not, I'm not putting in the grind. So if you can handle it, let's go for it.

David Toole [01:11:04]:
I'll front the money, so we'll see. Anything's possible. I also said I was only going to be a single shop owner. So.

Jimmy Purdy [01:11:16]:
There'S that ADD again, right?

David Toole [01:11:18]:
Yeah, right. That. It's like when it, when it gets to, with, when it gets too complacent, you will either go in and screw things up or you're going to find something else to do. And for me, when our one shop was cranking, I didn't need to be there and it was weird. I didn't, I didn't entirely like it. Like I was at home. I live on property like 10 acres out here in the, in Valley Springs. There's plenty to do.

David Toole [01:11:48]:
But I felt weird, felt weird not doing stuff.

Jimmy Purdy [01:11:54]:
So did you, on, on that remark, did you feel like, what's the word for it? Kind of like the abandonment. Did you feel like you were, you were abandoning, abandoning the team?

David Toole [01:12:08]:
Yeah, maybe not so much abandon but like, you know, like I mentioned earlier, it's like you feel like you're, you're not needed or your, your purpose is like, you know, you're not. If you're not needed. Um, that's what happens to a lot of shop owners. You know, they feel like they're, they're not needed, but they gotta, it's not being done exactly. Like they like, they want it so they'll go in and back when I was doing it, it was always like this. So you get in and screw it up and I guess it makes you feel better. But that's a, that's a, it's a real thing and it's, and that comes from rose colored glasses because we all say we did it like this and it was awesome. But we didn't.

David Toole [01:12:55]:
Dude, I Can't even tell you how many. Like, in my mind, I'm like, dude, I used to do this and that and that. I didn't maybe sometimes, right? I probably did sometimes, but.

Jimmy Purdy [01:13:07]:
Well, then the only person that thought it was awesome was the person that was doing it. Right. Like, did anybody ever actually tell you that? Or you just thought it was the best way of doing it?

David Toole [01:13:16]:
Yeah. Right? Yeah. You didn't do it like that. Let me go back and find some paperwork and I'll show you. Dave, you. You effed up plenty of this paperwork. You're right.

Jimmy Purdy [01:13:27]:
I feel like I've heard that so many times that I always catch myself throughout the day. I'm like, it doesn't need to be necessarily my way, you know, but no.

David Toole [01:13:35]:
No, there's a lot of things that are not my way now, and it's fine. They're. You know, I. I look at, like, the reviews that come in from people, and I'm like, man, these are. These. These clients are just experiencing greatness from these. From our teams. And I'm like, you know, that that's better than I did it.

David Toole [01:13:56]:
So, you know, they're doing something right, and I just. I just gotta support it. They know. I am the. I'm the. I'm the lead barrier breaker. You know, I'm. I'm the.

David Toole [01:14:08]:
I'm up the chain. Like, if you can't get something to happen and Bo can't get something to happen, if it gets to me, oh, it's. It's happening. We're. We're. We're getting through there. That way you can do whatever it is that you wanted to do. So that.

David Toole [01:14:26]:
That kind of keeps me. That. That get. Keeps me going, keeps me feeling useful, and it's few and far in between, but I think that's why I like doing the. The Resto stuff, because it kind of keeps me occupied.

Jimmy Purdy [01:14:39]:
Yeah. Someone told Dave he's important, damn it.

David Toole [01:14:42]:
Yeah, exactly. It used to be, man. Used to be important.

Jimmy Purdy [01:14:48]:
Well, Dave, I appreciate your time, man. I know you're a busy guy and we're getting a little late, but I do appreciate your time coming on and giving some of your insights, because it's. It's awesome. Especially in California. I don't have a lot of people I get to interview that are in California, so that's exciting for me.

David Toole [01:15:05]:
So for. For me. So I. I did a lot of podcasts. We did them on site, though, so I. I would bring people in. So everybody that I interviewed was from California. They just weren't Shop owners.

David Toole [01:15:18]:
You know, we were. They were clients of mine that had small businesses or whatnot. And we would get in and we called it Shop Talk Live. So we would just talk shop. I'm talking about their business and you know, how it relates how we do our business and how they kind of. That's pretty cool.

Jimmy Purdy [01:15:35]:
I like, I like that take. I've tried that a few times. There's a few episodes I have that are. That are like that non automotive. And we try to make those correlations and I mean, typically it is, right? I mean it's.

David Toole [01:15:45]:
It's.

Jimmy Purdy [01:15:45]:
Business is business.

David Toole [01:15:47]:
Yeah, it is. It is. I kind of miss doing it, but man, it was tough to try and get to a place and get people coordinated to be there in person person. And probably doing it the way that you're doing it was. I would probably have more success doing it that way. It was fun. And I think, I think people had a lot of fun being there. You'd see the nerves on them.

David Toole [01:16:08]:
They would be freaking out when I got cameras out there and they're like, let's come on. There's. There's nobody watching. Just the, the 17 million fans that we have.

Jimmy Purdy [01:16:20]:
They don't, they don't even know you. Don't worry about it. The in. Per. The in person stuff is, is definitely. There's a different nuance to it. I like it a little better. But this is the only way you can make it happen in this day and age.

David Toole [01:16:33]:
Way easier because I, I was slammed all day. I'm sure you were slammed all day. I literally just got in here to. I'm trying to get this engine out so I can start doing some work on it. And I have to do wait till like damn near 5:30 when I'm done and getting started on it.

Jimmy Purdy [01:16:49]:
Yeah, yeah.

David Toole [01:16:50]:
This is my home garage.

Jimmy Purdy [01:16:53]:
And you still got the energy to keep going. Good for you, man.

David Toole [01:16:56]:
Yep.

Jimmy Purdy [01:16:56]:
You're doing something right. Eat your Wheaties this morning, didn't you?

David Toole [01:17:00]:
That's right. I eat them every morning.

Jimmy Purdy [01:17:02]:
Well, if anybody wants to check out any of your videos, is it on YouTube or how do they find some of your interviews?

David Toole [01:17:08]:
Yeah, we're. Well, our, our YouTube channel, which is Tools Garage, has all of the Dave the Car Guy shop talk lives on there. I started creating a Dave the Car Guy website because I was going to separate it out and do that, but I haven't had any time to do it. But you know, who knows? Maybe I'll. Maybe I'll do it like Jimmy, do an actual. Just zoom podcast. This is way, way more convenient. But, yeah, Tools Garage.

David Toole [01:17:39]:
Tools garage. On YouTube, you'll see a lot of our funny parody shop videos and all the. The pod. The podcasts.

Jimmy Purdy [01:17:48]:
And it's Tools with an E. Yep.

David Toole [01:17:50]:
Tools with an E. My last name Tool.

Jimmy Purdy [01:17:53]:
That's T O O L E s. Give him a like and a subscribe and. And watch his stuff because he's got a hell of an operation going on, so.

David Toole [01:18:03]:
Yep, Working on it. Working on it. And you, too, Jimmy, out there in Paso.

Jimmy Purdy [01:18:07]:
That's right.

David Toole [01:18:08]:
Yeah. Oh, no, you're not passive.

Jimmy Purdy [01:18:11]:
No, it is past robos. Yep.

David Toole [01:18:12]:
Yeah. Yeah. Cool, man.

Jimmy Purdy [01:18:15]:
Well, thanks again, Dave.