A professional auto technician is an individual business model. You may work for someone else, but you are their business. You represent yourself and built a reputation even if you no longer work there. So how’s your reputation today? How can it help you earn more?
Here’s a great short video that drives home this point. Notice it shows “Old School” is the same as “New School” when it comes to having business presence.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0kDDH364rE[/youtube]
The whole point of having this membership directory is to promote the professional, not the work location. As you know, a shop can have the best of everything, but it’s all pointless without someone who knows how to utilize it all.
So what does any of this have to do with your online presence, earnings and reputation? Everything!
Having an online public profile in the membership directory is an advertisement of yourself — your reputation, your own business model. If you leave one workplace, your reputation still remains the same at a new location. Why? It can become public knowledge, and not just here. There’s social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. too. People can talk about you and build your reputation, and you may not even know it!
Apply this logic now with your current employer or work location. If you are more concerned with how miserable you are, how poor the shop conditions are, how unfair things are etc. instead of “how can I focus on making myself better”, then you can expect to be treated the way you represent yourself. As a manager, why would I care about your earnings if all you do is complain? I’d rather take care of the techs who just do the work.
If you haven’t done so already, its time to think of yourself as your own business model, even if it means swallowing your pride and squashing you ego. People do research before they buy and they eventually WILL research you! What you can do now using the directory profile:
- Build your reputation now with good customer feedback and ratings.
- List all of your credentials, strengths and specialties.
- Add a photo of yourself so people can relate a face to when they meet you.
- Keep your profile updated.
Our member profile opportunity is unlike any other online for technicians. You have these tools freely available to you so use them wisely.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you should associate yourself as a professional business model:
- Do you take ownership of your work?
- Are you willing to be responsible for any mistakes you make?
- Can you focus on your own work and disassociate yourself from distractions around you? (you know, all of the stupid work place games and battles others try to suck you into)
- Are you serious about your career choice?
If you answered yes to all of these, then you have a good shot at it.
As the old saying goes, “For anyone to help you, you must be willing to help yourself”. Those of you who’ve been around for a while can relate to changing shops over pay, over management issues, etc. But after a while, you learn that “issues” happen regardless of where you work. You’ve learned to deal with issues so they are no longer issues, even when those issues are your ability to deal with other people!
Be your own business. Act like your own business. These are the true steps to success, both mentally and physically.
Leave a Reply