Are you thinking about expanding your business to multiple locations or growing a single store? That’s a big decision!Â
In this session of Amplify, Aaron Stokes shared his expert tips and strategies to help shop owners expand and succeed. With practical advice on recruiting, training, and managing both single and multi-location shops, Aaron provided valuable insights to take your business to the next level.
Let’s break it down and see what might work best for you.Â
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Boost your shop sales
Simplify shop management
Empower your technicians
Simplify your processes
Aaron advises to simplify your processes. For multi-shop growth, your processes must get simpler. Not more complicated. As you add more locations, it’s crucial to streamline your operations to avoid chaos. And for single-store growth, you can afford to be more flexible, but simplicity is still key to scaling efficiently.
Maintain consistency
All locations should follow the same procedures. Whether it’s paperwork, digital tools, or customer interactions, consistency is crucial. As Aaron said, you can’t have one shop using walk-around videos for inspections and another not. Every location should operate in the same way to ensure quality and efficiency.
He shared an example of a Chick-fil-A: This company maintains strict operational procedures across all locations, ensuring consistency and quality.
Manage growth wisely
If you plan on multiple locations, how do you structure your businesses legally (e.g., LLCs, S Corps) and financially? Aaron suggests keeping your corporate office within your main location. This will simplify your finances and operations.
Delegate and trust
If you struggle to delegate, growing beyond one location might be tough. Aaron emphasizes showing trust in your team and let them manage certain aspects independently. He also believes that one should delegate effectively and ensure that projects and responsibilities are clearly assigned and followed through.
Technicians and recruitment
Aaron says that it’s crucial to assess the true skill level of technicians. So you can avoid overpaying. For instance, a technician claiming to be an ‘A tech’ but is actually a ‘B tech’ can disrupt the pay structure and performance expectations. He suggested to do the following:
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- Implement training programs to help technicians grow. And ensure they meet the required standards.
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- Regularly train managers and senior staff to identify and recruit top talent.
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- The recruitment process should be rigorous, focusing on identifying genuinely skilled technicians.
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- Ensure the training is continuous and aligns with industry standards. To help keep the technicians updated and skilled.
Management and culture
Aaron then highlighted the importance of culture. He says managers must prioritize maintaining the company culture. They should make sure that all employees understand and follow the company’s values and operating procedures. Employees should internalize the company culture to the extent that they can self-regulate and uphold the company’s standards without constant supervision. Aaron also believes that managers are key to enforcing and modeling the desired culture.
He suggested to do the following:
- Invest in leadership development to groom internal candidates for higher management roles. This helps in maintaining culture and ensuring continuity.
- Use personality tests and performance evaluations to identify potential leaders early and provide them with the necessary training and experience.
- Regular evaluations and feedback mechanisms can help in maintaining and improving the organizational culture.
Business valuation and expansion
Aaron then shed light on single stores vs. multi-location businesses. And how they have different valuation metrics. Single stores are typically valued at 3-4 times net profit. While multi-location businesses can be valued at 5-8 times net profit. The ease of management and scalability often make multi-location businesses more attractive to buyers.
Deciding between expanding a single store to a super shop. Or opening multiple smaller locations depends on management capability and market strategy. Aaron shared that multi-location businesses need effective district managers. While single super shops need strong general managers and foremen.
Recruiting becomes critical when expanding to multiple locations. Hiring a dedicated recruiter can help maintain the quality of hires and ensure cultural fit. Marketing strategies differ based on the number of locations. Multi-location businesses need more detailed and location-specific marketing efforts.
Wrapping up
Whether you choose to grow multiple locations or you focus on one giant store, remember that simplicity, consistency, and smart delegation are your best tools. Evaluate your current setup, plan your expansion carefully, and keep your operations streamlined. By doing so, you can successfully scale your business in a way that works best for you. And if you are still unsure or confused, then watch this whole session here to gain more insights and clarity.
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