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.29.25 – Collision and mechanical repair shop owners have so much to contend with they may not easily find the time to think about the fundamentals of their business beyond the everyday. With this in mind, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) welcomed Rachel James of Torque Financial Group to lead a comprehensive discussion geared toward business owners and their principal team members at INDASA USA Training Academy (Fairfield, NJ) last week that left them with a deeper understanding of how to maximize their company finances.
James – a former technician and major paint manufacturer employee turned financial advisor – stressed just how many components play a role in a healthy financial picture.
She illustrated the process of starting out and the appropriate steps that should be taken along the way toward growth and eventual exit planning.
“The more you observe your finances, you’ll start to get better performance, and that is true of everything in our life, right? The more you monitor and track things, the better you’ll see.”
James encouraged establishing relationships with one’s bank or an accountant to regularly review finances because it really “takes a village” to make finances work well for one’s business. Some business owners may find comfort in numbers when, for example, they have a million dollars in their checking account, but “that’s inefficient. You’re not making any money on that. High yield savings accounts are a great opportunity.”
Managing finances should be an ongoing process; James advised that business owners “be consistent. It doesn’t matter who you are. Whether you’re a multi-millionaire or someone just starting out, keep layering on top.”
Be sure to look for full coverage of this meeting in the October issue of New Jersey Automotive, available at grecopublishing.com. For more information on AASP/NJ, visit aaspnj.org.
