Blog post title card: Confession - I haven't been eating my own dog food with author Brian Walker image

Confession – I Haven’t Been Eating My Own Dog Food

Today is July 21, 2021. I’m teaching a class at the MARS Conference just over a week from now. The class is on the topic of using video to connect with your customers.

Something has really been eating at me, and that is the fact that I haven’t been doing the thing that I’m about to stand in front of a room and tell a group of shop owners they need to be doing.

I do video all the time. I teach via Zoom, I make tutorials for clients when needed, we recently hired a videographer to come video me and JR teaching a class about how you can use video in your auto repair shop marketing…… but I haven’t done the “off the cuff” videos that I tell people they need to be doing.

It Turns Out I’m A Hypocrite

Now before those of you who know me start telling me not to be so hard on myself, please understand that I say this in jest. I’m just having a little fun in my writing.

Getting back to the story – I’m going to be teaching about using video and not overcomplicating it. About getting so comfortable with video that you just pull out your phone and start shooting anytime you see something interesting. Yet over the last few months I’ve let the excuses get in the way of me doing this very thing.

Let me explain.

Shop Marketing Pros is in-between offices right now. We’re building a new office and I had the opportunity to sublease our old office, so I took it. Our good video equipment is packed up and not easy to access right now.

I’m working from the storage room at my best friend’s office. I like to have a nice background in my videos. I don’t have that right now.

My weight is up. I don’t like the way I look on video right now. COVID-19 has become “the COVID 50” for me.

So like everyone else, I’ve let the excuses keep me from doing what I should be doing.

Just Fix It

The nice thing about situations like this is they’re easy to fix. I was telling my coach about the excuses I’ve been making and he had me open my calendar right then and find a time slot. That happens to be now. I recorded the video that’s embedded above and wrote this blog post.

Action breeds action. Most of the time when I’m writing a blog post, I have a desired outcome from it. It will be keyword rich with words related to auto repair shop marketing (see what I did there?) so that it will help my site rank when people are searching. Often I will have them formatted as a question because most of the time when people are searching, they’re looking for an answer. The only purpose of this blog is to get words out of my head and onto my website, and hopefully inspire a shop owner along the way.

So I Shot The Damn Video

It’s embedded above. I meant to shoot a 2 minute video and I shot a 10 minute video. Some people will start watching it and not get much from it. But if you really listen to what I’m saying and take action on it, it might change the face of your business.

I didn’t have my good cameras.

I didn’t have my good mics.

I didn’t even have a tripod.

I shot this thing with my cell phone, my AirPods, and junk stacked up on my desk to hold my phone for me.

And it turned out just fine.

When I finish this blog post, I’ll be shooting another video and writing another blog post. Today’s Wednesday. I have time blocked out on Friday to do it again. Action breeds action.

Why Do I Care So Much About Video?

Video is the most personal type of marketing medium you can use. Your customers and potential customers can get a feel for who you are. Are you smart? Funny? Approachable?

Video can be turned into so much more than a video. As you can see here – I started with a video and now it’s a blog post on my website. The video will be uploaded to Facebook and YouTube, embedded into my website, and sent out in email.

And if I were paying a writer to write this blog (I’m not), then the thoughts conveyed in the blog would be my own.

Where Are You Not Eating Your Own Dog Food?

How’s the maintenance on your personal vehicle? If it were a customer’s car and you did a DVI on it, what would you find?

If a young shop owner asked you about marketing an auto repair shop, what would you tell him or her? And are you actually following your own advice?

It’s never too late to make a shift. That’s what I’ve done today.

about the author headshot Brian Walker

About The Author

Brian Walker

Brian Walker is the Owner and CEO of Shop Marketing Pros, a marketing agency specializing in marketing independently owned auto repair shops. Brian is a Mercedes Benz Master Technician and has owned multiple shops and served as the Mechanical Division Director for ASA-NC.

He's a mechanic at heart who loves fixing things that are broken which is why he love marketing so much. Digging in and figuring out why a business' marketing isn't working is a lot like it was when he was elbows deep into a car that no one else could fix. When you figure it out, there's nothing else like it. To get to do this for auto repair shop owners combines his passions, and he couldn't be more excited about helping shop owners.