The NOLN Podcast

Feature Read: Setting the Strategy

Quick lube operators dive into their processes for building their organizational strategies, from setting a clear "north star" to guide their decision making and staffing and customer service initiatives, to strategic acquisitions and leadership alignment.
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Private Equity and the Quick Lube Industry (with Anthony Lopez-Ona, Mufson Howe Hunter & Co.)

Anthony Lopez-Ona, managing director at Mufson Howe Hunter & Co., joins the NOLN Podcast to share insights on how private equity firms view the quick lube industry, what operators should take away from the recent sale of Jiffy Lube to Monomoy Capital Partners, and what operators can expect with regards to M&A activity in the industry within the coming months.
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Focus on Details to Find Best Job Candidates

Good help is hard to find, but making sure an applicant’s traits meet the role is even harder. Chris Lawson of Technician Find explains why desperation is an expensive hiring strategy, and he shares practical advice for how independent operators can develop a consistent flow of high-quality candidates to fill job vacancies in their shops.
This article originally appeared on NOLN.net on Feb. 18, 2026.
Read by Brittany Duncan 
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Give and Give: Training Aspiring Leaders to Help Their Teams Win (with David Rogers)

Leadership training expert David Rogers, co-founder of Auto Profit Masters and Shop4D, joins the NOLN Podcast to share insights on “the management triangle,” how his military background and time spent working in the fine dining industry helped to shape his outlook on management in the automotive maintenance industry, management best practices, and lessons he has learned throughout his career.
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How to Keep a Customer for Life

Nestor Gutierrez, CEO of Rancho Express Lube in Rancho Cucamonga, California, says retaining customers comes down to how you treat them and their vehicles. Gutierrez explains how personalized interactions, community involvement, and added perks can foster customer loyalty and differentiate quick lube shops from their competition.
This article originally appeared on NOLN.net on Feb. 23, 2026.
Read by Brittany Duncan 
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Give Up What You Don't Need (with Chris Messer, Mike Jones, and Louie Sharp)

In this episode of the Endeavor to Discover series, Louie Sharp, owner of Sharp Auto Body in Chicago, joins hosts Chris Messer and Mike Jones for a discussion about giving up what you don’t need. Sharp shares his journey of building his business and why it was important to let go of negativity, emotional baggage, and limiting beliefs. Sharp, Messer, and Jones also explore the idea that choosing curiosity over reaction leads to better leadership outcomes and explain how understanding employees’ underlying issues can foster trust and better performance.  
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Reflecting on the Quick Lube Industry's Evolution (with Amber Kossak and Crystal Mathews of Solid Start/True Brand)

As National Oil and Lube News begins its 40th anniversary celebration, the NOLN Podcast welcomes Solid Start CEO Amber Kossak and President Crystal Mathews to reflect on the quick lube and fast maintenance industry’s evolution. Kossak, who has more than 30 years of experience in the business, and Mathews, who joined the industry in 1999, share insights on game-changing moments, major developments, short-lived fads, and common threads that have defined the industry for decades.
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Feature Read: Back to Basics: It's Time to Review the Services You Offer

Analyzing percentages and efficiencies can help determine what services to keep, and which to ditch.
Even when business is running smoothly, it is still worth evaluating the services offered to customers to determine what is working and where a shop might find better efficiency and improvement. In some cases, the answer might be to grow the business by moving some services to a second location. In other instances, cutting a service because it takes time away from other tasks might be necessary to tune up the shop.
This article originally appeared on NOLN.net on June 4, 2025.
Read by Brittany Duncan 
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Revamping a Customer Service Training Program (with Jason Johnsey)

Having grown to more than 900 locations, including company owned, franchise, and licensees, FullSpeed Automotive recently rolled out a new training program that puts a greater emphasis on the customer experience and consistency from shop to shop. At the forefront of this launch is Jason Johnsey, the company’s director of training and development. Johnsey joins the NOLN Podcast to dig into FullSpeed’s mission to revitalize its customer experience, collecting data on where improvement was needed, the importance of listening to both guests and internal feedback, and what the company hopes to accomplish with its revamped training initiative.
Johnsey also shares tips for how shop operators can evaluate their own customer experience and determine whether its time for a tune up their protocols.
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Feature Read: One Size Doesn't Always Fit All

For the automotive service industry, location is crucial to building a solid customer base, ensuring easy access to the shop, and, notably, community acceptance. All three are critical to any service business. Even as a community will want convenience, there are concerns about increased traffic, noise, parking, market saturation, and cultural considerations. Those are among the many issues quick lube operators face when building new facilities.
 
This article originally appeared on NOLN.net on Jan. 13, 2026.
Read by Brittany Duncan
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