Ray Dalio just published a post on LinkedIn analyzing the changing domestic and world orders under the incoming Trump administration. If you're not familiar with Ray, he is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds, and a renowned macroeconomic thinker known for his principles-based approach to business and life. I thought it might be interesting to do a SWOT analysis for the auto repair industry based on Dalio's predictions and the Claude AI output follows below. The SWOT analysis examines the strategic outlook for auto repair shop owners over the next three years. A SWOT analysis evaluates internal Strengths and Weaknesses alongside external Opportunities and Threats to provide strategic insights for business planning. This assessment integrates Dalio's macroeconomic perspective with ground-level insights from repair shop owners to create a comprehensive view of the industry's future challenges and opportunities. The analysis aims to help shop owners make informed decisions about investments, staffing, and strategic positioning in an evolving market landscape. Most of the results are pretty obvious but I thought there were a few interesting conclusions. Let me know what you think. Here's the AI analysis: Based on Ray Dalio's analysis and the repair shop owner comments, here's a strategic SWOT analysis for auto repair shops over the next 3 years: STRENGTHS - Essential service industry that remains necessary regardless of economic conditions - Established customer relationships and community presence - High barriers to entry due to required expertise and equipment - Ability to adapt to both older and newer vehicle technologies WEAKNESSES - Critical staffing shortages, especially for experienced technicians - High training costs and long onboarding times for new staff - Increasing equipment and technology investment requirements - Vulnerability to rising labor costs and inflation pressures OPPORTUNITIES

Hello, Will Sando from Silver lake Automotive in North Idaho here. My biggest frustration by far is other businesses, especially dealerships, coming onto our shop property and creeping through our back parking lot(like a pedophile) approaching our techs while they are on break, and trying to lie to them to entice them to leave us and go to work for them. This just happened to us today. Fortunately, our master tech. loves working for us and our culture and he gave our manager the card of the service manager that was doing this "slimy" tactic. 🤬

Ever written a job post so good it made someone wish they could change careers just to work for you? That's exactly what happened a few days ago when a job seeker from Ireland sent this message about one of our client's technician listings: "Just saw your advert on Indeed and have to say it was one of the best written posts I've ever seen. Sadly I have 0 experience as a trailer technician but it makes me wish I did honestly. I'm currently looking for work after just moving here from Ireland and if you ever need workers with strong and honest ethics, I'd love to work for you." When's the last time your job posting got that kind of response? Finding great technicians shouldn't feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Just this past week, we helped four shops welcome new team members who are already making a difference in their bays. As we head toward 2025, I know staffing is probably on your mind. The good news? Right now is actually an excellent time to start your search, before the year-end rush begins. We have a few spots available for new shops in our program, and I'd love to help you start the new year with a full crew of qualified technicians. If you'd like to learn more about how we've helped source over 80,000 applications for independent shops like yours over the past 6 years, just DM me or reply to this post. No pressure - just here to help if you need it. Here's to building stronger teams in 2025!

Heads up, shop owners: Advance Auto Parts just announced plans to close 700 stores and four distribution centers by mid-2025, alongside posting a third-quarter loss of $6 million. The culprit? Weak consumer demand for car parts as inflation and economic pressures take a toll. If fewer customers are willing to spend on DIY repairs, this might trickle down to independent repair shops like yours. The numbers don’t look great. Despite narrowing its loss from last year's $62 million deficit, the company missed Wall Street’s expectations big time, and sales slid 3% to $2.15 billion. CEO Shane O'Kelly is doubling down on a new three-year game plan to boost efficiency, but with shares at 15-year lows and competition ramping up from low-cost Chinese automakers, it's a bumpy road ahead. All this raises the question: Are you seeing slower business in your shop? Have customers been holding back on repairs due to rising costs? We’d love to hear what’s happening on the ground. Drop your comments below or shoot us a message—your insights are invaluable as we all navigate these choppy economic waters. Here's a link to the original article: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/advance-auto-cuts-outlook-prepares-700-store-closure

I'm getting more and more of these solicitations from mechanics who live in foreign countries with sponsor visas. Have any of you gone this route? What's been your experience? Would you like for me to connect you when I get these? Let me know. I'd love to see if this is something I should check out or if I should just delete these emails.