The BodyShop Leaders Podcast

“I Have No Idea How to Repair a Vehicle”: Elias Akiki on Doing It Right

“I have no idea how to repair a vehicle.” It is not what you expect from one of the most respected collision repair operators in the Northeast. But it is exactly how Elia

"Fear Is a Mile Wide, But an Inch Deep" | Logan Martin on Scaling From 1 to 4 Shops

"Fear is a mile wide, but an inch deep." That's how Logan Martin, co-owner of Mr. Dent Collision Repair, describes the leap most shop owners are too scared to take.

"I Thought We Were Doing It Right" The Question That Changed How Josh Piccione Runs His Shop

Josh Piccione started his collision career manning a pressure washer. Today he's the general manager of Tom Wood Collision Center in Indianapolis, running one of the

How a Firing Started a 40-Employee Shop | Kena Dacus

Kena Dacus never planned to own a body shop. She had an accounting degree, a career in banking, and a husband with a dream. Then Chris asked his boss — a shop owner in h

Doug Higgins on What Your Shop Is Actually Worth

"I'm sorry to tell you, the business is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it." Doug Higgins has watched shop owners fixate on a multiple they heard at a

Brian von Tress: "We Burned the Ships and Said We're Doing This"

At 53 years old, Brian von Tress cashed in his retirement, walked away from a COO role at a 19-shop chain, and opened his first body shop with no private equity and no sa

Brad Green: You Come Second

What does it take to grow a single family shop into a 14-location MSO spanning two Canadian provinces in just seven years? According to Brad Green, Director of Operations

From Bankrupt to Bluebird Cafe to Body Shop Legend — David Luehr's Story

David Luehr started his first collision shop with a $100 bill and a borrowed paint gun. Two years later he had 13 employees and was doing over a million dollars a year —

Dan Carranza: We Before Me, Building a Shop Culture That Actually Lasts

What separates the collision shops that are thriving right now from the ones that are barely holding on? According to Dan Carranza, it comes down to one thing: culture —

Sean Guthrie, From the Family Shop to 37 Locations and the Team That Made It Happen

Sean Guthrie spent 20 years helping build one of the most impressive growth stories in the collision repair industry. Starting alongside his father Jim at Car Crafters in

Tim Paap: From Chicken Wire on a '67 Mustang to Most Certified Shop in Central IL

Tim Paap bought a rusty '67 Mustang at 15, discovered his love for collision repair with chicken wire and body filler, and opened Paap Auto Body as a one-man shop in

Jim Lovejoy on Why Your Estimators Aren't Closing

"Let us know if we can help you." That's what Jim Lovejoy hears estimators say in shop after shop. And it's not a closing attempt. It's not even close. In

From Sweeping Floors to Three Locations, Doug Martin's Leadership Journey

What does it take to go from sweeping floors in your dad's body shop to owning and operating three collision repair locations? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, h

Chase Landers on Growth, Leadership, and the Future of Collision Repair

In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, Daniel Burkholder talks with Chase Landers about what it means to grow up in a body shop, step into leadership, and help move a famil

From Paint Booth to Owner: How Todd McGee Built a Top Body Shop Through Culture and Leadership

In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, Daniel Burkholder talks with Todd McGee, owner of Johnson Auto Body in Knightdale, North Carolina, about what real leadership looks l

Steve Olson: From $350K to $1.4M/Month, The Culture Playbook Behind the Growth

In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, Daniel Burkholder sits down with Steve Olson, Managing Partner of Louisville Collision Centers and co-owner of Manchester Collision,

Ken Hunnell: When Process Change Makes People Quit (And Why That’s Good)

What if the moment your team starts quitting… is actually proof you’re doing something right? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, I sit down with multi-shop owner Ken H

David Black: Building a $75M MSO Without Compromising the Repair

What does it take to scale a collision operation to $75 million across 10+ locations — without sacrificing repair integrity? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, Daniel

From Tech to $29M: Kenny Davis On Culture, Mentorship, And Doing It Right

In Episode 8 of BodyShop Leaders, Daniel Burkholder sits down with Kenny Davis, co-owner of Bob Maloney Collision Group in Northwest Arkansas, an operation built on peopl

The Leadership Mistake Killing Collision Shops With Rod Cahoy

Most collision shops don’t fail because of bad technicians; they fail because of a leadership mistake. In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, host Daniel Burkholder sits d