Do not let the shop ruin your home life. And always pay yourself. I didn't manage my time properly and I never asked for help until it was too late. Good customers understand a wait. Bad customers need to be let go

LT, I have been watching your channel almost since the start. You have been doing a great job, not a problem for you to take care of your family, it's #1 and your new business at this time. I can bet that most of the viewers are understanding, since car/truck people are the best. Also take care of your health and don't get stressed out over all the changes.

On the topic of "learn to say no" - as someone who is exactly the same about taking everything on, I eventually found a method that works. In your situation, you've now had a taste of what the daily grind is like, and now you can set realistic expectations for how quickly you can get some things done. Use this to your advantage - I don't say "No, I can't do that". I say instead, "Well, I can't do that until (insert realistic timeframe), so if you're willing to wait I can put you on the list". That list might get rather long, depending on how much people like your work and their patience. Take for example the custom builds/hotrods - you might have a 2 year long waiting list once you sort out a reasonable schedule for getting them in and finished. Some people will be willing to wait, some won't. But the best thing to do is be up front about your current schedule and abilities - let the customer say "No, that doesn't work for me". Also, finding other options to suggest to customers is a great thing - some of your customers might not know where else to look, so get familiar with the other local options to both suggest alternatives and also as potential backup in case you need it. ;) TL:DR, never say no, just tell the truth and let them decide if you are the solution they want. :) **edited for spelling**

When head gasket jobs come in always check the cost of a motor swap it can save a lot of time and money depending on vehicle if because you never know how hot it was run or if the head or deck surface is warped

LT, I’ll give a few simple tips and these are coming from the son of a father who ran his own shop for over 30 years. Don’t force your kids to be involved, let them do it at their own pace. He never pushed me to work in the shop, but when I had time away from practice or games (played baseball & hockey) I would stop by to help because I wanted to. Also, be there for your family, dad always made time to be there on Sundays for us as well as he never missed one of my games, unless it was out of town. Even then, he surprised me with a few appearances. The point I’m trying to make is that you need to find you a strong GM, someone you trust with your business, this way you can always put your family first. Best of luck to you!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love the wholesome get to business approach. Some channels start that way and have no become all about gimmicks and click bait garbage and the content has become unbearable. Stay true and you’ll get to the finish line and be the same person you were when you started.

Ive closed my shop last November. The best decision ive made for my mental and personal health.

LT, you are killing it brother. The auto service industry can be smothering in itself, without the KZfaq gig and personal projects on top of it. Keep pushing brother! You got this!

LT, you do what you need to do! We'll be here when the videos come out!! Your just going through the growing pains & it will get easier down the road!!!

You should show more of the costumer builds for content. I would like to see projects on the Lincoln. If you are working on those someone could be doing shop work. could space yours in to keep variety.

It's a catch 22. The better job you do for customers, the busier you'll get. Then the less time you'll have for personal/ youtube stuff. You might need a shop manager, if you can find one you can trust, to help ease your workload.

I had my own shop for 2 years and time management and learning to say no to bad jobs are some of the hardest things to learn when you first become a shop owner. Good luck and keep up the good work

Don't beat yourself up. Been watching you for a long time. You are building a business it takes hard work. We are all happy to come for the ride and you share what you can, when you can. We have your back!!

I love your content, it's real and not these high end builds that NOBODY can afford to do. I just wish I had the means to invest in your shop. Keep up the hard work and it will work out!

Congrats! People always underestimate what goes into owning a business, and it looks even you had an eye opening experience. Looking forward to updates and new content LT. Keep up the hard work and you'll succeed!

The reason we watch you are humble. You have an incredible skill set and show us what should always be done. Keep it up and bring the family up with the same sense of self

Hang in there LT, I’ve been with you for the early days, you got the talent and personality to overcome any road blocks, stay strong!!!

Man you seem like one of the most genuine, nicest, humble, honest, hard working guys ever. Of course you will do good. Cheers!

How about some videos of day to day operations? Make your techs KZfaq stars.

Stay after it LT its gonna come back to you guys in layers so be ready for it. Step by step!!! We'll keep watching!!!

As a multi shop owner my people are my largest asset. Keep pushing.

Awesome! You are rocking it man! One day I'll send ya progress pics on my trucks, your help in college, and your channel keep me movitated to do better and learn more!

Running a business is not easy, especially at the beginning. Looks like you’ve gotten a lot accomplished during your first months. Your a good guy and you do good work. I’m sure that in time your new business will be running smoothly and you’ll have many happy customers.

Best of luck LT, you’ll be fine and very successful in your venture. Looking forward to the next video !!!

Love the shop man. Good luck to you brother. I hope everything gets lined out and you can get in a flow.

Alot of people have already said this but take care of you and your family first. We'll be here and enjoy what ever you decide to put out. Glad to see the update and keep kicking butt man.

Hey LT! you’re doing great, the best advice I’ve ever heard as a fellow business owner, husband and father is “ you can’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm” and yes as a people pleaser learning to say “no”is the hardest part.

From custom builds to general repair. Hard transition believe me. experiencing the same thing right now. building a customer base is proving difficult. patience is the key i am learning. good job bud!!!!!

Hey LT I love the content! I love what you are saying. Make sure you don't bury yourself so deep that you burn out, make sure you look after your family too. I will always be here. God bless!!

Love your content LT. Do what you gotta do, we're here for you, even if it's only by watching your videos.

LT, great shop! Thanks for the great content as well. I completely understand the challenges of time management, and my best ( unsolicited) advice is to keep forward motion... keep pushing and what needs to get done will get done! Looking forward to watching more. KT

You have done an outstanding job on this shop and handling everything from what I can see so keep up the excellent work! Yea I know this is not an easy thing to do but you got this LT!

Seems like you're doing well LT. I wish you continued success

All relatable buddy, I’ve been freelance for over 3 years and don’t own my own shop but work with local shops in my area and it truly is a challenge, time management being the biggest one, there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done!

Keep it going, you killing it, the auto repair business is so demanding itself don't worry about KZfaq, we will still be here, always take care of the business,family, customer work first and the other will work out. Keep up the great work.

Welcome to Colorado! Thank you for contributing to our city! Can't wait to see how your business grows! Keep us updated :)

Big things LT. Thanks for sharing and keeping it real 💪🏾

yes remember to say no. I still struggle with this because it's easy to get caught up in other peoples problems that will eat up your time. you only have so much time and if you over do it, you will wear yourself out. finding good people who you can trust to help you is important. you need to delegate some stuff so you can find the time for your own stuff. finding those people to help can take some time but once you find those people then things should start falling into place. good luck and God bless.

And seeing the trend that most youtubers bought a big shop for all their projects and to pump out more content on a regular but you bought a full-time job that's going to consume you and you move to an emission state as well

LT, I started watching you about a month ago and have to say you do a pretty damn good job. I'm happy for you for all of the progress you've made. With all thats going on make sure you leave work at work and spend time with your family. Your kids won't remember that car you had to get out the door or that new mod you did to your truck but will remember you not being there to tuck them at night or watch them at the ball game. Good luck

I watched you on the show way back, and wondered where you went LT! Im really glad I ran across your channel. As an Auto repair/Collision repair shop owner, If I can give you some advice it would be, to Enjoy the fruit it bares, and even the one that fall & rot. When I opened my shop years ago, I was spending too much time working and getting the shop organized in the way I wanted, and Far too much time working. Luckily it didn’t cost me my family! So enjoy it, and remember, No matter how much you make, Ya can’t take it with you, So ENJOY IT!!!

KZfaq just recommended me to your channel. I'm a first-time watcher of your content... Yay!!!... You took the words right out of my mouth. You do seem like a people pleaser and a perfectionist like me. A wise man once told me that life is not perfect and you will not please everyone. I had to learn that the hard way. You should always strive for excellence but don't beat yourself down either. By all accounts, you are killing it!!!! But you are right that it will be a dilemma balancing the shop business and youtube but congrats on the early success of the shop. Can't wait to continue watching the progress.

Completely badass! I'm local to you and will have to stop in and say hello! Rocky Mountain service equipment will have lift parts and they are 15 mins away from you. Glad to see that shop being used.

Congrats! I always love to see younger guys jumping in and starting a business. Tip 1: Figure out what your most profitable part of the business is, that is what you say "yes" too. over time you phase out the lesser money makers and that's the "no's" sorry we can't do that

I use to watch you LT when you were on TV too! You can't do it all ....you just need a good team working for you !

Hey LT wats up ,North Maine Steve from Millinocket, ME. I have not forgotten u buddy youre a mechanical genius i really enjoy learning from you. HAPPY NEW YEARS! LT AND FAMILY

The content is great been watching for quite some time and glad to see you’re enjoying your new business keep up the good work!

Business first as it is very important to take care of the business and youtube is a second for this part of life. Obviously family is also very important. Glad everything is working well for you with the shop and I hope it gets even better!

Coming along nicely,all the best to you

Love the channel Brother!! Been watching you since the studio days, always appreciate your skills, honesty& integrity and ability to laugh at yourself. Don't worry about pleasing everyone- its exhausting and impossible. Hire that mechanic, say no a little and those projects will happen. ✌

bro i bought a mechanic shop at the first of the year, and like everything u say is resonating sooooo much, i dont have a youtube channel but everything you say hits so hard

Take care of your family and your business first, YT can wait! So glad you're doing well!

Very honest on all accounts, dude your killing it. Just remember family time needs to be up there to please old you who might have regrets later in life.

Heck, yes. Run the business first! You have goals and determination. Those projects will get done. I enjoy the shop videos.

L T. you are doing great. I liked watching you when you were on the cable TV show and this is great that you are now the owner of a shop KZfaq stuff is great to watch. It will all come together. Thank you for all the great content.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family LT!🦃🦃🦃

Not disappointed in the video content. You took a big leap and looks like you landed on your feet. Keep it up. We are visiting Colorado soon, to see a race up a mountain, hope to check out your place, maybe pick up some merchandise.

Love you brother. Keep up the great work!😊

Wow congratulations man. Good luck man.

learning to say no is going to be the biggest thing you can learn to do. im pro at it. I work in IT and its my go to heh. you guys are rocking it, dont stress.

Good on you mate. Keep on keeping on...

That's a good problem to have. I'm glad you're busy. Keep up the great videos

Good for you . There is one here in town ,pretty much the same as yours. Half a million in little crappy Sheboygan wi. 300,000 for little two bay Rents are hovering around 3500/mo if you can find a place to use for automotive use. Be glad you can even get that far.

great video ...never give up LT we know you can do it...

I’m happy for you LT! And thanks for considering installing the L33 in our Tacoma‼

you are kicking butt LT! thank you so much for all the cool content

Looks great brother! Thats a nice starter shop!

Love the Lincoln.The waiting room looks great. I like the pine on the wall

12:44 Keep up the good work LT! I'm glad that you recognize that your family is the most important consideration in your life! I caught your comment about family considerations with your time management decisions. You obviously put them number one. Nothing is worthwhile without a good family life, in my opinion. One has to watch out to not become a workaholic. Balance is key. I've seen people put work first and their family second with time expenditures. I've seen people all alone and in nursing homes with nobody visiting or comforting them during their final moments. They still had family on this Earth. However, they had no connections to them as they did not invest in their relationships properly. They couldn't go back and replace all of the childhood memories and experiences with their children and spouse that they had missed due to them always being at work. Those connections can not be bought with money of any amount. It's kind of like that song Cat's in the Cradle. They were taught an outstanding work ethic by their mentors. However, they were not taught about family family life and how to value it and how to put work in perspective properly. Thank you for the excellent media content you provide as I am no longer physically able to do what I used to be able to do. I enjoy watching you perform your automotive passions in life. It gives me an escape from chronic pain and such. I miss being physically fit and active like I used to be, so thank you for the content that you provide. Your hard work and efforts do not go unnoticed. You are very successful in all you do, LT. You reflect it daily. Keep On Truckin. Take care and enjoy your journey through life! Thanks again!

Congrats and keep up the good work

My old accountant told me, when I had my shop in Indiana, "if your business is too busy and you don't have enough time to get everything done and your home life is suffering, remember that your time is precious and charge more for it." So I raised my labor rates about 20% and some of the business fell off. I lost a couple of customers, but made more money and had more time for my family. Just a thought...

appreciate your honesty and transparency

Loved this video. You are serving your viewers well.

I wondered where you eneded up. I watched what originally started as Power Block for ever. Trucks was always my favorite. Stacey David was the man. You were one of the new faces that I actually enjoyed. Most guys were ok, but you fit far better than most. Glad to see you back at it an doing what you're good at. Best of luck!

I had a shop exactly like that by my house. It was a Macys tire center and was abandoned for about 15 years. The mall wouldn’t sell it unless you bought the entire property. And even then that wanted to demolish it for appartments. I wanted it so badly my entire young adult life. Sad to see it gone and shitty “luxury” apartments built there now

Welcome to COS, hope you do well COS has alot of repair shops.

Most people have no clue the dedication you put into running a shop. Every shop owner underestimates space, time, and money. It really sucks when you have to stop your own projects to work on customers and when you may get a few minutes, you're too tired to work on your own. You don't have enough time to run a business, do youtube, fix your projects, family, etc. Recording, editing, and uploading videos takes tons of time and is its own business. I've been battling it for over 30 yrs. In order to pay your bills, you have to make money. You can only make money by working on things. If you're one person, you can't do it all. Everyone wants you to work on it because you're the expert. When you make your hobby a business, you basically ruin you hobby. Turn work away and only do things you can get done in a timely manner. It's extremely hard to do custom work and run a regular work shop. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done. After many yrs of running a shop, I wish I would have went a different direction, or at least pick what I work on instead of telling everyone yes. When you tell everyone yes, it fills your schedule up and wears you down. It'll change you eventually. The other issue is you want to treat everyone right, and will put them first before family so you are always trying to finish up or complete something out of your normal hours. I could talk all day on pros and cons of being a shop owner. Many people succeed and make a good living. Others don't and never get ahead. But I do know life is short and if you wear yourself out worrying about other people, instead of family, you'll always regret it.

Keep the good work up bro! And thanks for being honest and keeping it real with us 💪💪💪

Welcome to Colorado. We used to rock here. Outside Denver and Boulder we still do.

It sounds like you are on the right path what I did to learn to say no is to sit down and write a business plan that only encompasses the things I want to do, the things I’m good at and the things that make money. So it’s very easy when someone comes at me with something that does not fall within these parameters, I just say “I’m sorry that is not within my business plan” I don’t have to use it much but when I do i immediately feel relieved.

Keep grinding LT ure truly are living ur dream alive u Faith an Strength will carry u always God Bless🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Business isn’t for the faint, I’ve been doing it for 6 years and last year I decided to add doing KZfaq videos and I can relate to you on time management. Just need to build a schedule and try and stick to it. I’m a one man band and so there’s days where I don’t stop until I fall asleep but it’s worth it.

Wishing you the best!

Time management... a real conundrum at times. I have 5 projects of my own, 2 paying jobs/builds, my day job, stuff for my folks... not as much as you have going obviously, but it gets overwhelming. "One bite at a time"

Congratulations! 1st time viewer, subbed, keep the bread & butter work flowing, treat your guys right, it'll come!

Congrats on the shop. I used to watch you on that TV show via youtube. I always liked what you did on the show even though it was TV show scrubbed. Work is important, but make sure you dedicate enough time to family. The time goes by fast and before you know it you missed things in your childrens' lives or time with your wife you cannot get back. Work will always be there, but do not sacrifice family for work. Keep doing what is right by your customers and they will always come back to support you. Best of luck and prosperity.

Dude your doing a great job on the channel, keep going and keep your head up...

New sub. Im a third generation Ford dealer, now retired. I, easily, spent 85-90 hours, a week, in the store, thinking about the store, or planning for the store. Feel free to pick my brain.

wow cool.. i liked when LT was on the tv show. glad i found your chan. nice shop... will be watching more for sure.

LT been a fan since your days on cable. Keep plugging along.

Oh darn it, I was hoping you were still in the Salt Lake area. My 98 7.4l Suburban needs some attention.

You're doing great work keep it up.

Great update!

Kudos to you. Making a business run is not easy. Being master mechanic on top of that is basically being Superman in two different places at the same time. You are my hero.

LT love your channel been watching since your first video. Keep up the awesome work brother, remember you’re not throwing shade if it’s true. Love ya bro

Hang in there you’re doing great! Love the channel. True fans of you and the channel will understand priorities. I’d rather get an occasional video that has quality content than something thrown together just to get some quick views.

I figured you put in that wood wall in the customer entrance. It looks good. Idk why you'd change it. It matches well with the steel and white painted accents. Looks hip. My opinion though. Good work. Cool project. Thanks for sharing with the world.

Congrats, man. I'm here in SLC (I restore old Land Rover Defenders)... real estate is a joke in Utah. ... Get Eric O. over there as a consultant. If anyone knows how to manage a shop, it's that guy.

When you're in a situation like this your fave word should be delegate!!! Brest of luck with the shop.

I hope you get so busy, You have to get you another place just for your KZfaq channel.. keep up the good work..