Ep 294 - Balancing Technician Pay and High Cost of Living in California Auto Repair With Kobi Meyer

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life. Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE Don't miss an upcoming event with The Institute: https://geni.us/InstituteEvents2026 Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your shop with everything needed to become optimally profitable. Click here to schedule a free demo: https://info.shop-ware.com/profitability Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros! Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros Shop owners, are you ready to simplify your business operations? Meet 360 Payments, your one-stop solution for effortless payment processing. Imagine this—no more juggling receipts, staplers, or endless paperwork. With 360 Payments, you get everything integrated into a single, sleek digital platform. Simplify payments. Streamline operations. Check out 360payments.com today! In this episode, the conversation focused on Kobi Meyer's experience taking over his family's shop, Dana Meyer Auto Care, a San Francisco Bay Area staple for over 50 years. The discussion explored challenges unique to family-owned businesses, including the struggle to maintain a legacy while adapting to modern systems and higher costs of living. Several points came up, including the difficulty of paying competitive wages in an expensive market, the importance of a clear long-term vision for the business, and how coaching and software upgrades have helped strengthen shop operations. 00:00 Struggling with finding passionate hires 06:42 Streamlining operations and systems adjustments 15:13 Buying in a gentrifying area 18:38 Perception of others' earnings 27:31 Living in a paradoxical paradise 33:19 Midwest versus Coasts in Real Estate 38:15 Stopping for Fried Chicken Lunch 41:30 Reckless driving in the Midwest 49:10 Discussing future expansion plans 53:47 Planning for the Future 58:30 Planning for the future 01:01:32 Finding guidance is tricky