As an auto shop owner, business coach, speaker, and founder of Small Biz Vantage, I Believe You Should Be Able to Have a Business and a Life
I help single-location auto shop owners build profitable, sustainable, enjoyable businesses that can run without depending on them for everything.
That work is personal to me because I have seen what happens when talented tradespeople work hard for years but never build a business that can operate separately from them.
I Learned Early That Talent Isn’t Enough
I grew up around a small family construction and remodeling company. The people were talented, hardworking, and good at their craft. But they had never learned how to build a strong business around those skills.
Eventually, the company dissolved. After all those years of work, there was no valuable business left to sell.
I also watched subcontractors repeat the same pattern. They knew how to perform the work, but the estimating, financial management, leadership, systems, and delegation depended almost entirely on them. If they stopped working, the business stopped working.
That experience stayed with me.
It taught me that being talented at a trade and building a business around that trade are two very different skills.
When We Opened Our Shop, I Wanted a Different Outcome
My husband, Tony, is a highly skilled automotive technician. When we opened Croce’s Transmission Specialists in 1999, he brought the technical expertise. I brought my background in banking, management, and business operations.
We wanted a business that was profitable, sustainable, and enjoyable. And a life outside of it.
Building that required more than hard work. We had to understand our financials, clarify roles, develop our team, create repeatable processes, and stop treating every problem as something only the owners could solve.
We didn’t get everything right immediately. We learned through real decisions, setbacks, adjustments, and years of shop ownership.
The Problem I Now Help Owners Address
As I worked with other shop owners, I saw the same pattern repeatedly.
The shop had customers, team members, equipment, and revenue. But the owner was still answering every question, filling every gap, approving too many decisions, and worrying about what would happen if they stepped away.
Many believed that was simply the price of ownership. IT ISN’T.
I call it Owner Overload: When too much of the business depends on the owner’s time, knowledge, decisions, and presence.
I help owners address the three conditions that keep that dependency in place:
- Financial uncertainty: Understand what the numbers are saying and make decisions without guessing.
- Owner role overload: Clarify what only the owner should own and assign the rest appropriately.
- Decision dependency: Give the team clearer expectations, authority, and accountability.
The goal isn’t merely to make you less busy. It is to build a stronger business that can perform without your constant involvement.
I’m Not Teaching From the Sidelines
I understand payroll, staffing decisions, cash flow, customer expectations, and the unpredictability of running an auto repair shop.
My experience includes more than 27 years of shop ownership, automotive business coaching, industry speaking and writing, association leadership, and certification as a 90 Day Year Partner.
But credentials don’t create change. Owners get results when they are willing to examine their numbers, reconsider their role, empower their team, and follow through.
Is Your Shop Too Dependent on You?
If you aren’t sure where Owner Overload is showing up, begin with the free Owner Overload Check.
Already know you’re ready to make changes? Schedule Your Owner Overload Paid Assessment.
Your shop runs. You lead.
