The Turn Around Project: Episode 3
Month 1 — Reflections, Roadmaps & Results
I walked into Day 2 with one big question weighing on me: how would I cover the service desk now that my only service advisor had given notice? My first thought was to pull my one sales guy — who had previously worked in service — into that role temporarily until I could find a replacement.
But when I went looking for him, he wasn’t even in the store. He was on his way to deliver a bike an hour and a half away, for free!
Before I could process that, the hits kept coming: my second tech had injured his hand and wouldn’t be in. A trash hauler was waiting for payment. The company credit card bounced at a gas station. And, as if on cue, a letter from one of our brands arrived announcing a change in our territory.
It wasn’t even 10 a.m. and I could feel it — that familiar cocktail of dread, anxiety, and regret. The suffocating blanket I remembered all too well from my first 17 years running this store.
But this time, I caught myself. Week 1's plan was to make a plan. And that plan had to start with understanding the people responsible for the numbers.
The Advisor
The outgoing advisor was sharp, knowledgeable, and had been holding the department together with no real support. When I asked why he was leaving, the truth came out quickly — he never wanted to be an advisor. He wanted to be a tech. He’d told every manager that, but no one ever put together a path to make it happen. They kept him where they needed him, not where he needed to be.
If you don’t evolve with your people, you’ll lose them.
It was too late to keep him — he’d already accepted a tech position elsewhere. But in a rare break, he gave me a lead: someone who’d stopped in the week before asking about a job. He had enough experience to do the work, but not so much that he was set in his ways. I interviewed him the next day, hired him that night, and by some miracle, I had one week of overlap for a clean handoff.
The Techs & Sales Manager
Next came the tech meetings. The lead tech was highly skilled, certified across the board, and honest about the challenges — problems that couldn’t be fixed overnight. His truth was hard to hear but necessary. The second tech was creative and capable, but underperforming in terms of efficiency, likely due to being poorly set up for success.
Then there was the sales manager — the only person left from when I owned the store. Loyal, adaptable, and a rider through and through. He wanted to fight for this place as badly as I did.
For the first time that week, I felt a flicker of optimism.
And Then… the NEXT Bombshell
That weekend, I got news I didn’t expect. Two key staff members were "doing frowned upon things" — on the clock. The only salesperson and the second tech.
Now, in total, half the staff we started with — gone.
This is the 6 step roadmap we will be executing on for the 3 months we’re here.
The Roadmap
From the beginning, the goal wasn’t just to patch holes — it was to build something sustainable. Something that could stand on its own. But before we could do that, we had to understand exactly what we were working with.
We spent the first weeks studying everything we could of each department — the people, the processes, the numbers, and the culture underneath it all. Once we had a clear picture of how the parts were functioning (or not), we stepped back to see how they all connected.
What we saw wasn’t just dysfunction — it was opportunity. Areas where focus could drive real returns. Leverage points that had gone ignored. Waste that could be turned into wins.
Only then — with the full picture in view — did we put the plan to paper. Using Ownex’s DELV framework, we laid out a six-step plan:
Fix Service Contribution – Move from negative to a healthy 45¢ contribution per $1 in labor sales.
Cut Monthly Expenses – Payroll, rent, and interest have to be brought back in line.
Drive Service Proficiency – Turn service into the cash flow engine it’s meant to be.
Increase Customer Engagement – Strategic lifecycle touchpoints, targeted marketing, in-store experiences, community support and engagement.
Improve Sales Contribution – Marry timeless sales psychology with how customers actually buy today.
Build the GM Role – Create a seamless leadership handoff when we step away.
The First Month’s Results
The truth is, turning a dealership around doesn’t happen in clean lines or tidy chapters. It’s more like CPR — a lot of pressure, a few cracks, and the hope that something starts beating again.
Month 1 was triage. We cut deep where we had to. We stitched up what we could. And we started transfusing fresh life back into the parts of the business that were barely hanging on. The team was smaller, leaner, but more aligned. Systems were taking shape. The numbers weren’t where we wanted them — not yet — but you could feel the shift in momentum. Like a pulse just beginning to come back.
By the end of July, service contribution had jumped from -5.4% to 38.1%, and service proficiency rose from an overstated 67.4% to a verified 105.2%. We replaced the outgoing advisor and hired a support role to help stabilize both service and parts. We restructured our tech stack, removing the C-tech and bringing our A-tech to full utilization. At the same time, we renegotiated key expenses: adjusting payroll, securing better terms from the landlord, and reviewing our OEM agreements. On the customer side, we launched new marketing efforts — combining the shotgun-style visibility of IgnitionXD with lifecycle-targeted campaigns built through Chester River Consulting and our own Ownex tools. And behind the scenes, we began building the foundation for the next general manager role: clear responsibilities, defined expectations, shared tools, and a transition strategy that can outlast our involvement.
Yes — July’s P&L still showed a $65,329 loss, and we sold only eight units. That part stings. But this month wasn’t about profits — it was about proving we could stop the bleeding and find a pulse again.
Next month isn’t about more bandages — it’s about stability. Defining what “normal” should feel like. Building rhythms the team can rely on. Rebuilding culture. And continuing to course-correct while keeping our eye on the horizon.
Because once the bleeding stops, and the vitals stabilize…
That’s when the real work begins.
Follow along in real time:
📍 @ownex_io on X
📍 @Maxwell Materne on Linkedin
📍 @max_materne on Instagram
📍 Need help building a plan for your own store? Visit Ownex.io
Next: Episode 4 — Cultural Shifts: Stability or Storm?
