Bryan Kauffeld is a second-generation operator at Ulmer’s Auto Care Center, a family-owned automotive repair business with 11 locations across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. His father purchased the original two-bay service station in 1981.

Kauffeld joined the company after studying finance and management at Purdue University. He spent about 18 years at the counter in Anderson Township before moving into broader leadership. His experience growing an auto repair business now covers site selection, team development, and customer service across multiple locations.

In this episode…

Most shop operators begin a location search by looking for the busiest road. Ulmer’s starts with the number of households surrounding a property. Bryan Kauffeld looks for locations within walking or short driving distance of roughly 15,000 to 20,000 single-family homes.

Proximity makes auto repair more convenient, customers avoid fighting traffic, and each Ulmer’s location gains access to the car count already living nearby.

Convenience brings customers through the door, but service earns the return visit. Kauffeld focuses on memorable first and second visits because neighbors share their experiences and follow recommendations from people they trust.

Growing an auto repair business also requires leaders who can protect the customer experience without the owner at the counter. Ulmer’s managers and service advisors receive the authority to solve problems, keeping service consistent as the company adds locations.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:49] How a two-bay shop became the family business

[03:40] Why Bryan joined Ulmer’s and opened a second location

[06:43] How stepping away from the counter unlocked growth

[10:19] Why rooftops matter more than road traffic

[13:57] How memorable service creates neighborhood referrals

[17:46] Why employee support and autonomy reduce turnover

[23:36] Making “do the right thing” an operating principle

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Bryan Kauffeld on LinkedIn
• Ulmer’s Auto Care Center Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “We like to be in the middle of a neighborhood.”
• “Neighbors tend to talk.”
• “We do what I think is an exceptional job of wowing customers, especially on their first and second visit.”
• “It doesn’t matter what that decision cost us.”
• “There’s plenty of room to grow here.”

Action Steps:

1. Transfer one owner-held decision. Choose a recurring front-counter decision and assign it to a manager tomorrow. Review the outcome without taking the authority back.
2. Give advisors customer-recovery authority. Write down the default: take care of the customer. Treat later reviews as coaching conversations rather than approval checkpoints.
3. Audit the first two visits. Review 10 recent new-customer repair orders. Identify where communication, transportation, or personal attention fell short, then correct one step this week.
4. Create a neighborhood location scorecard. Measure each prospective site by nearby single-family homes, neighborhood access, and customer convenience. Give passing traffic a supporting role rather than making it the entire strategy.
5. Protect front-counter continuity. Growing an auto repair business requires customers to trust more than the owner. Identify the advisor who already carries strong customer relationships and schedule a focused conversation about the support needed to keep that person.

Tannin Cash is the owner of Delta Tire, a five-location tire business in New Mexico with more than 50 employees. He entered the industry at 23 after purchasing his first shop with his brother while enrolled in an engineering program. His experience scaling a tire shop business includes owner-financed acquisitions, multi-store operations, and the development of tire-focused management software.

In this episode…

Delta Tire’s first two location deals came directly from owners who carried the financing. The first purchase followed an informal conversation with the shop owner. The second took eleven months of steady follow-up before Cash secured a lease with an option to buy. Relationships opened the door, while persistence and a strong service reputation moved each deal forward.

The harder problem surfaced as the company expanded. Cash and his brother launched ventures outside the shops, creating distractions that competed with the core operation. Adding more stores demanded tighter priorities and repeatable systems across every location.

That operating discipline matters as tire retail adopts new software and shop technology at a faster pace. Cash’s work with a tire-focused management platform turned new-location setup into a repeatable process and gave Delta Tire a consistent structure for continued growth.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:15] How Tannin Cash bought his first tire shop

[04:50] How Delta Tire grew from one location to five

[09:56] Why outside ventures distracted from tire shop growth

[12:05] How tire-focused software supports multi-location operations

[17:33] How SEMA connects technology, networking, and industry advocacy

[24:18] What tire shop owners learn from industry peers

[27:36] Why entrepreneurship can compete with a college education

[31:37] Why developing employees makes tire retail rewarding

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tannin Cash on LinkedIn
• Delta Tire Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “You need to do your best, so always do your best.”
• “We can’t win at everything all at once.”
• “This industry is usually slow to move, but I feel like in the last five years, the tire industry is moving so quickly.”
• “The customers of tire shops are the best customers.”
• “We’ve got more than 50 people that work for us, and I love getting to work with the people, seeing them develop, seeing them grow.”

Action Steps:

1. Create a 12-month acquisition follow-up list tomorrow. Record each owner’s contact details, property status, and next outreach date.
2. Ask sellers about owner-carried financing before assuming a bank-funded deal. Put the proposed down payment and repayment structure in writing.
3. Run a distraction audit with the leadership team. Pause one venture that takes attention from the shops without improving store performance.
4. Make scaling a tire shop business repeatable. Document the steps for launching a location inside the management system and assign one person to own the process.

Ron Ramy is the COO of Integrity 1st Car Pros, a bootstrapped automotive repair company operating 14 locations at the time of this conversation. He joined the company in 2020 when it had four locations, bringing experience in software, automation, data, and organizational growth from his earlier work at a real estate technology startup.

Ramy has worked across departments to understand how the business operates and where stronger systems are needed. His work on franchising an auto repair shop has centered on documenting processes, developing leaders, and creating an operating model that someone outside the automotive industry can learn within 90 days.

In this episode…

An auto repair business does not become scalable simply by opening more locations. Growth exposes undocumented decisions, inconsistent hiring practices, compensation plans that break at higher revenue levels, and daily operations that still depend on the owner. The work of franchising an auto repair shop forces those hidden dependencies onto paper.

Integrity 1st faced that pressure while converting its corporate-store experience into a franchise model. Recruiting shifted from judgment-based hiring to panel interviews, defined questions, checklists, and compensation ranges. Incentive plans also required redesign because structures built for stores producing $1 million to $1.5 million became unsustainable as revenue moved beyond $2 million.

The franchise process also changed how leadership received feedback. Franchisees brought questions that revealed missing procedures, while employees closest to customers provided context that dashboards could not show. Ramy connects that openness to internal development, practical problem-solving, and a hiring philosophy built around character, charisma, and competency.

Tires represent another operational opportunity for the company. They currently account for a smaller share of store revenue, but Ramy views the category as a durable service line with room for growth, especially as vehicle technology continues to change.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:23] How Ron Ramy entered the auto repair industry

[06:32] Why franchising requires documented, repeatable business systems

[14:53] Creating a business that can operate without its owner

[18:02] Why tires represent an untapped growth opportunity

[19:23] Why solving problems matters more than identifying them

[21:58] How employee curiosity creates new leadership opportunities

[29:11] Why character matters more than competency when hiring

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “Do I even have a system, or is my business mostly relying on discernment?”
• “Anytime the emotions are seven to 11, just don't make a decision.”
• “It's always going to reward the best solution.”
• “And at the end of the day, we are going to always be rewarded in direct proportion to the size or complexity of the problems we solve.”
• “So their feedback is extremely valuable, and obviously, you have to parse through the signal and noise of what they're saying.”

Action Steps:

1. Record every decision that requires owner approval for one week. Turn recurring decisions into written procedures with a clear trigger, responsible role, and expected result.
2. Replace informal recruiting with a panel interview, a standard set of questions, a candidate scorecard, and defined compensation ranges for technicians and service advisors.
3. Test incentive plans against stores producing $1 million, $2 million, and $3 million in annual revenue. Adjust payouts that become unbalanced as sales increase.
4. Assess the operation for franchising an auto repair shop by giving documented procedures to a manager from another location. Track every point that still requires explanation or owner involvement.
5. Hold a monthly frontline feedback review with general managers, advisors, and technicians. Record operational gaps, assign responsibility, and test proposed solutions inside a corporate location.