Plan B Business
Automotive

Stop selling time at the door rate.
Build bays that compound.

We work with independent auto repair shop owners doing $165K-$3.3M in annual revenue who are tired of fighting on hourly labor rate while dealerships eat their lunch. Our monthly engagement, no minimum term works toward disciplined parts margin, higher effective labor rate, and a shop that runs without you on every job. How fast it moves depends on how seriously you work the plan - what you will see from the first meeting is exactly what is holding the business back.

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Industry Reality

8 patterns we see in most auto repair shops

85%
how often we see it

Door rate posted at $120-150/hr but effective labor rate is $85/hr

Root cause: Discounting on estimates, comebacks (re-work) eating billable hours, technicians not logging time accurately in the shop-management system.

What we do: Tighten the estimate-to-invoice gap. Audit comebacks weekly. Move technicians to flat-rate or hybrid pay structure to align incentives. Target +$25/hr effective lift in 90 days.

80%
how often we see it

Parts markup stuck at 25-30% when industry standard is 35-45%

Root cause: Owner-tech learned pricing 15 years ago and never updated the matrix. Counter staff types in cost and doubles it instead of using a tiered matrix.

What we do: Deploy a tiered parts markup matrix in the shop-management system. Lower-cost parts marked up 60-80%, higher-cost parts 25-30%. Average blended margin lifts to 38-42%.

75%
how often we see it

No declined-work follow-up - 60%+ of estimates die after the first quote

Root cause: Service writer hands the customer a paper estimate, customer says they'll think about it, no one ever calls back. Estimate disappears.

What we do: Digital vehicle inspection (DVI) flow, whether bolted on or native to the shop-management system. Photos + video sent to customer. 48-hour callback system. Recapture 20-30% of declined work.

70%
how often we see it

Technician retention crisis - top techs leaving for dealerships paying $35-45/hr flat-rate

Root cause: Below-market base, no production bonus, no tool reimbursement, no clear career path. Best techs feel undervalued.

What we do: Restructure to flat-rate or hybrid (base + production). Tool reimbursement program ($150/month). ASE certification reimbursement. Define A-tech / B-tech / C-tech tiers with comp transparency.

65%
how often we see it

Mix of work is wrong - too much oil changes and brakes, too little diagnostic and engine work

Root cause: Shop became the cheap oil-change place. High-margin diagnostic work goes to the dealer because customers don't know you can do it.

What we do: Rebuild the service menu around 4-5 high-margin categories: diagnostics, electrical, fluid services, brakes/suspension, scheduled maintenance. De-emphasize oil-change-only walk-ins. Raise oil change price to market and let dealer keep the loss-leader.

80%
how often we see it

Owner-tech still turning wrenches 30+ hours per week

Root cause: Owner doesn't trust techs on complex jobs. No service manager. Owner is the bottleneck on dispatch and customer comms.

What we do: Hire and train a service manager. Owner-tech reduces wrench time from 30 to under 10 hours/week. Owner shifts to estimating, customer relationships, and business development.

75%
how often we see it

Less than 80 Google reviews with 4.4 average

Root cause: No systematic review request. Customers happy but never asked. Negative reviewers are loud.

What we do: Post-RO SMS review request, fired automatically off the closed repair order. Target 300+ reviews at 4.7+ within 12 months.

70%
how often we see it

Fleet and B2B work is 0-5% of revenue

Root cause: All retail walk-in. Local fleets (delivery, contractors, small commercial) go to dealer or fleet-specific shops.

What we do: Build a fleet program: monthly billing, dedicated bay time, fleet maintenance plans. Target 15-25% fleet revenue mix within 18 months. More predictable cash flow, less marketing spend.

Benchmarks

The numbers we aim at

These are the targets we work toward in an engagement - a bar to measure against, not an average anyone measured for you.

KPITypical starting pointPlan B target12-month goal
Effective labor rate$80-95/hr$135-160/hr$115-150/hr
Parts gross margin (blended)25-32%40%+36-44%
Average repair order (ARO)$280-380$550+$450-600
Technician productivity (billed hrs / available hrs)60-70%90%+80-92%
Google reviews count50-90300+200-350
Owner-tech weekly wrench hours30-40<108-15
% fleet/B2B revenue0-5%20%+12-22%
Engagement Model

What working with us looks like

  1. 01

    Month 1: Shop financial + workflow audit

    We pull 12 months of repair-order data out of your shop-management system. Effective labor rate, parts margin by category, technician productivity, ARO, comeback rate. You leave with a written 90-day action plan and the 2-3 highest-leverage levers.

  2. 02

    Months 2-3: Parts matrix + DVI flow

    We deploy the tiered parts markup matrix. We roll out the digital vehicle inspection flow, bolt-on or built-in. We rebuild the estimate template. Service writers trained on declined-work callback discipline. Review request system goes live.

  3. 03

    Months 4-6: Tech comp + service manager

    We restructure technician compensation (flat-rate or hybrid). We help you hire and onboard a service manager. We rebuild the service menu around high-margin categories. Fleet pilot launches with 3-5 local accounts.

  4. 04

    Months 7-12: Operational leverage

    Effective labor rate up $25-40/hr. Parts margin in target band. Owner-tech wrench time below 15 hrs/week. Fleet program contributing 12-20% of revenue. We shift to monthly cadence. The shop runs on systems, not on you.

Common questions from auto repair shops owners

What size shop is this for?−
Sweet spot: $165K-$3.3M in annual revenue in a 3-12 bay shop - the same band our Hebrew site states in shekels. Below it there are three ways in, not none: the academy at $33/month, the $365 paid diagnostic and B-Start at $365/month - plus business-plan work for an owner who has not opened yet. Above it you usually need a full-time GM in-house rather than an outside partner. It is a guide, not a gate - ask and we will tell you straight.
We're a specialty shop (European, diesel, performance). Does this apply?+
Yes - in fact, specialty shops benefit more because pricing power is higher. European specialty (BMW, Mercedes, Audi) shops can command $150-200/hr effective. Diesel and performance shops have stronger fleet/B2B potential. The methodology is the same; the rates and mix differ.
What about smog/inspection-only or quick-lube shops?+
We don't work with smog-only or quick-lube models. Those are volume-throughput businesses with different unit economics. We focus on full-service repair (diagnostic + mechanical) where margin discipline and technician skill matter.
Mitchell1 vs ShopWare vs Tekmetric - which do you recommend?+
We do not pick winners between vendors and we do not sell software. The specification is what decides it: your shop-management system has to hold a tiered parts markup matrix, capture technician time at the job rather than at the end of the day, produce effective labor rate by service advisor, and push a digital inspection with photos to the customer phone. Run that list against what you already own before you run a migration - most shops are paying for more than they use. If yours genuinely falls short, we help you scope the move.
Our techs hate flat-rate. They'll quit if we switch.+
Common fear, usually overblown. The transition matters: hybrid (base + production bonus) is the bridge. Top techs make more on flat-rate because they're efficient. Slower techs self-select out, which is the right outcome. We help structure the transition over 3-6 months, not overnight.
Who does the work?+
Ligal Frish and Eitan Eshtemaker - the two co-founders. You speak with them, not associates.
What's your fee structure?+
Situation Room: $365 one-time. B-Grow: $1,430/month (most engagements). B-Beyond: $2,750/month (multi-bay fast-scale or multi-location). No minimum term and no notice period - you can end it at any time.
Do you handle marketing campaigns?+
We handle strategy, offer development, and funnel structure. We don't run Google Ads or LSA campaigns. We partner with vetted automotive marketing agencies if you need execution help.

Stop selling time. Start selling outcomes.

30-minute strategy call. We'll diagnose your top 2 levers and tell you if we're a fit. No pitch. No pressure.

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