Bringing the Best of Corporate America into the Automotive Industry with Bruce Spencer
May 31, 2022
Visiting us today is Bruce Spencer to talk about his experience joining the automotive industry as an “outsider.” After several relocations following the needs of his corporate career, Bruce decided to pivot and find a way that allowed him and his family to settle down. Bruce found a fantastic opportunity to do so by buying Walt Eger’s Service Center in 2016.
Bruce Spencer is the Owner of Walt Eger’s Service Center in Maryland; he is also the President of BJS Consulting and an experienced strategic leader of high-performing teams.
In this episode, we delve into Bruce’s journey transitioning from the corporate and consulting world into the automotive industry. We talk about the challenges he faced during the last six years, his thoughts and feelings about running a repair shop without being a technician, and the skills he brought into the business from his previous life.
We also discuss the importance, as business owners, of knowing to take distance from our company, owning and replying to bad reviews, and clear communication with internal customers. In addition, Bruce shared his flawless approach to deciding what things he won’t get involved in and spending time on them.
Tune in to episode 31 of Maximum Octane and learn about Bruce’s unique approach to the automotive industry.
Some Questions I Ask:
- Many people we talk to grew up in a shop; their parents or uncle had a shop. You come from a completely different world. Could you share your story with us first? (1:50)
- What advantages do you think you have, coming from outside the industry, to run this business? (11:17)
- So many people focus on what they want to do next, even having different systems for it. But you also do that with the things you will not be doing. Can you speak about that a bit? (20:13)
In this episode, you will learn:
- About how Bruce decided to join the automotive industry (3:10)
- How Bruce dealt with the fact that he doesn’t “speaks technician” (9:13)
- Deciding what to work on is as important as deciding what not to work on (14:43)
- The benefits of taking ownership of bad reviews and using them to talk to future customers (19:48)
- Bruce shares his thoughts on weaknesses, strengths, and opportunities (24:43)
