Welcome to the motor industry podcast, The Harmonic Motion.

The podcast where you can join the discussion with automotive and aftermarket professionals about the technology, the people, the processes and the business of working with motor vehicles professionally.

We’ve had some awesome and amazing chats with some fantastic guests, about the matters which matter.

If you’d like to appear as our guest, please get in touch.

hello@techtopics.co.uk

We’d love to work together with you to make it happen, use the email to contact James for a chat.

Episode 1: Top Technician

Top Technician judges Ian Gilgrass and Glenn Cutter join James in this episode to talk about the Top Tech and the Top Garage competitions. 

Episode 2: Apprentices

Tom Denton and Andy Crook discuss with James the challenges of attracting and retaining young people into the industry.

Episode 3: Buying, Growing and Selling a Garage

Jay Wheatley shares his experience of turning a general garage into a specialist garage, the trials and tribulations along the way and eventually his exit strategy.

Episode 4: Top Garage

Ian Gilgrass and Glenn Cutter are back for another episode, this time discussing the Top Garage competition. They share top tips and advice for garages thinking about entering the competition.

Episode 5: Running an award winning garage group

Michael Shaikly is the owner of Shaikly Motors, who won the large and multi-site garage awards in the Top Garage competition. Michael shares behind the scenes insight into creating a successful garage business and the culture he engenders within his team.

Episode 6: HR in the Automotive Industry

Jennifer Webb is the leading HR expert in the automotive industry. She has been helping garages achieve seamless team cohesion in the industry since 2018 and shares how to and not to succeed in people management.

Episode 7: The Garage Inspector - transform your business

Andy is on a mission to help other garages be the best they can be. He offers top tips to garage owners on how to beat the technician crisis, charging correctly for jobs and investing in your business.

Episode 8: Lindley Auto Centre and Garage Hive - Building a family business

Alex Lindley shares his story of taking over the family business and turning it into the mega success it is now. Discover the hard work and dedication involved in creating Garage Hive.

Episode 9: The life and journey of Steve Scott from Simply Diagnostics

Mr Awesome is here to share his story, from his mission in Africa to modern day influencer. Discover Steve’s story and the origin of the Simply Diag community.

Episode 10: Garage Services Online - Jim Lang and garages in the digital age

Jim is the aftermarkets leading provider of web services for independent garages. Find out how you can get your business online and how marketing can transform your business.

Episode 11: The Garage Owners Network

Post pandemic, Andy set up a group for garage business owners to provide guidance in building a better business. Now, Andy shares his five pillars of success with you.

Episode 12: Business as a diagnostic specialist

Meet Jason Bowden, a diagnostic specialist from Bowden Auto Services. Jason is a highly successful businessman who found a niche in the industry and is now the leading expert in his area. He shares his wisdom and experience on finding your niche.

Episode 13: Revolutionising the role of service advisor

Service advisors are the key to running a smooth operation. They are the glue between the technicians and customers and allow owners to take a step back from the daily running’s. Learn how to hire, train and optimise your service advisor.

HR Vitals Jenn Webb and James Dillon

Episode 14: The Host Swap Special

In a special episode of the Harmonic Motion Podcast, James takes the hot seat as it’s his turn to be interviewed. Learn your host’s story and delve into the mind of James Dillon.

Episode 15: Managing a multi-site business with Tina Drayson

Tina, operations manager at CCM, manages an award winning, multi-site garage. She shares her expertise on financial and people management, the essence of effective leadership and decision making dilemmas.

Episode 16: Darren Darling - From Apprentice to Doctor

The one and only DPF Doctor is here to share his story with us, from starting out as an apprentice to transitioning to self-employment. Darren shares his insight into the world of automotive social media, the importance of a positive work culture and introduces his awesome collaboration with DC Lubricants.

Episode 17: David Massey - Continuing the Legacy

David Massey, the son of legendary Frank and Gene Massey shares how he transitioned into director and owner of ADS Automotive. Dave has a wealth of success and experience he’s here to share with techs wanting to go out on their own. 

Episode 18: Tim Benson - Modernising your garage

Tim Benson is the owner and director of award winning Oldfields Garage. He transformed the garage from a traditional, family run business and shares how you can nurture your existing customer base through business developments.

Episode 19: The ultimate side hustle success story

Gareth Davies is the director of Euro Performance, a German Vehicle specialist garage. Once started as a side hustle in the garage of his family home, Gareth shared his story on upscaling into an award-winning garage and life as an entrepreneur.

Episode 20: The one year anniversary - part one

As we approach one year of the Harmonic Motion podcast, we’ve put together a compilation of the best bits from the episodes so far. We’ve had a whole host of fantastic guests with incredible stories. Here is part one of our highlights so far.

Episode 21: Technical Synchromesh

Welcome to our mini-series: Technical Synchromesh. It’s a place for techs to chat and listen to all things trade. John, Marc and Simon are three of our highly esteemed Master Technician graduates and independent garage business owners. They share their top tips for nailing the diagnostic process, changes they’d like to see in the industry and the necessity of ongoing training and developing your expertise.

Episode 22: Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor is the owner of Sydney Eco Tuning and co-founder of The Garage Network – a community in Australia that provides support, networking opportunities and a safe space for technicians. Jeff made the move from Blackpool in 2017 with his wife to start a new life down under. He arrived knowing no-one, now he’s fostered a nationwide community of like-minded people. James sat down with Jeff on the Harmonic Motion Podcast to hear all about his story and gain an insight into what Aussie life is like.

Episode 23: Technical Synchromesh - The Dream Team

Introducing the Team Behind the Scenes… During the summer holidays, we assembled the Tech Topics technical training team to record a Technical Synchromesh podcast episode. Together the team discussed all sorts of topics, from the true impact continual development has on your career and business to collaborating with your competition to leverage your complimentary skillsets.