This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit: https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home.html

This week it's not a story episode, it's a business one. Alex and Leo sit down with business coach Phil Brookes, who has spent his career in the tyre and garage trade, from the workshop floor to training and running parts of a national group, and now coaching independent garages. We get into the stuff most owners never get taught: pricing with confidence, knowing your real numbers, front of house, recruitment and the small marginal gains that quietly add thousands to the bottom line.

If you run a garage and you have ever felt busy but not as profitable as you should be, this one is full of practical insight.

Timestamps:

00:00 - intro and why business training is undervalued

01:20 - phil's journey into the trade

07:38 - growing and selling a national tyre group

13:37 - why tyre pricing is so sensitive

17:25 - pricing with confidence and the three prices

18:50 - front of house and the restaurant lesson

26:39 - why training fails without follow-up

29:11 - marginal gains and the 1% rule

33:00 - the wheel alignment opportunity

38:27 - how much profit is really in a tyre

47:56 - leading, retention and recruitment

51:09 - knowing your numbers and the benchmarks that matter

57:29 - marketing and the garage that isn't busy enough

1:04:23 - hiq, wholesale and the real tyre margins

1:06:47 - how to get in touch with Phil

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

#ontheramp #garageowners #independentgarage #automotiveindustry #mechaniclife #automotive #castrol #businesscoaching

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit:

https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-...

Joanne Knowles is the Event Director for Automechanika Birmingham and the UK Garage and Body Shop event, the two biggest trade shows in the UK independent garage calendar.

She joins Alex and Dawn on this episode to talk about what actually goes into running them, why attending matters more than ever, and how Motivate is starting to change the way new talent is brought into the industry.

If you're a garage owner, technician, college tutor or student, this one's worth your time.

Timestamps:

00:00 - intro

01:14 - automechanika vs uk garage and body shop

03:00 - why garage owners should attend

07:31 - feedback, parking and the autonomous bus

09:20 - introducing motivate

12:20 - women, the ignite arena and engaging colleges

18:16 - computer science, adas and the future

21:34 - the case for cpd accreditation

25:22 - castrol | the race group partnership

26:37 - industry community, the blend and ben charity

33:15 - takeaways and how to get involved

41:13 - uk garage and body shop 2026

44:00 - outro

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

#automotiveindustry #podcast #interview #ontheramp #independentgarage

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group.

To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit: https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home.html

Jordan from JLK Vehicle Solutions, better known online as The Norfolk Tech, joins us to share how a Covid redundancy pushed him into self-employment and how he's built one of the healthier mobile businesses in the UK.

In this episode, Jordan breaks down why the trade undercharges, what it really takes to run a mobile business day to day, the value of community for solo operators, and why he's been willing to talk openly about burnout.

00:00 – Introduction

02:15 – Redundancy during Covid

06:10 – Six weeks to self-employed

08:45 – Building the business on Facebook

19:20 – A typical day on the road

22:35 – Why the trade undercharges

33:00 – Sponsored Segment

38:00 – Getting scammed, security, and working on driveways

53:00 – Diary management and parts

01:06:00 – The mobile tech community

01:10:00 – Talking openly about burnout

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

#ontheramp #mobilemechanic #independentgarage #automotiveindustry #castrol

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