Entrepreneur, Operator & Managing Partner
Maybe you’re exhausted from holding everything together.
Maybe your shop runs on good intentions, but no real structure. Everyone’s doing their own thing, and it feels like every day you’re putting out fires instead of building something that lasts — trying to lead a team that doesn’t seem to listen, chasing customers who don’t value your time, and wondering why no one cares as much as you do.
Maybe you’ve tried the tools, the ads, the quick fixes and none of it stuck.
If that sounds familiar, I get it. I’ve been there too — tired, frustrated, and convinced that if I just worked harder, things would finally click. But the truth is, working harder wasn’t the answer. I had to change how I thought, how I led, and how I ran my business.
My Story
I’ve had a passion for mechanical things for as long as I can remember. Born and raised in Greece, I got my first job through my father, working for a mechanic who taught me the trade.
Born and raised in Greece, my parents taught me the value of honesty and a strong work ethic.
My dad, hoping to keep me off the streets and off my motorcycle (which he deemed unsafe), got me my first job in a shop.
And then, at just 17, my family made a major move to the U.S. I didn’t know the language, didn’t have connections, and had to start over from scratch.
The day after landing in Boston, my uncle helped me get a job at a gas and service station. During the day, I worked the shop floor changing oil, fixing brakes, and learning how to keep up in a faster, more competitive world. At night, from 6-10pm, I went to technical school. I was tired all the time, but I loved it. Six months after arriving in the U.S. I had learned the language.
I gave that shop seven years, but finally realized there was no future for me there. So, I took a risk.
I started a mobile oil change business in downtown Boston. I’d drive from one parking garage to another with tools in the trunk and dreams in my head. It was scrappy. It was ambitious. And it failed. I couldn’t make any money. But I learned what most people never do: that passion alone isn’t enough. You need systems, discipline, and a plan.
Eventually, I was introduced to a man looking to reopen his gas station after being closed for construction.
I took the chance, and that became my life for the next ten and a half years. We had no software, no systems, and barely any equipment. I learned to fix cars, manage customers, order parts, and balance the books — everything was handwritten. It wasn’t easy, but it taught me how to grind. How to adapt. How to survive. And it also taught me valuable lessons of what not to do.
During this time, I got married, had a son, and negotiated with the owner. I told him I wanted to own my own shop and he made me promises. Finally, I told him that when my second child was born, one way or another, I was done. The day my daughter was born, I called him and said I wouldn’t be coming back.
With my family and my livelihood on the line, I opened Pleasant Car Care. I knew the basics of running a business, but I was still guessing, and still making crucial mistakes. Then, I met Bill Brusard who helped shop owners with advertising. When I said, “I need more cars coming through the door.” He said, “If you don’t know what to say on the phone, don’t advertise. You’ll just waste your money. You need to meet Todd.”
Two weeks later, I met Todd, who stood in front of a dozen Auto shop owners.
Within minutes, I knew he was the smartest person I’d ever met in this business. The first thing he said stays with me to this day:
“The customer pays for everything.”
Every dollar that moves through your business comes from your customers. Your payroll, rent, equipment, software, even the owner’s profit — all of it is paid for by the customer. So, the way you treat and serve that customer determines everything. Todd Hayes taught me that we’re not actually in the auto repair business, we are in Auto Hospitality.
I couldn’t afford much one-on-one time with Todd, but when I could, I wasn’t an easy student. He called me the “Hard-headed Greek!”
I challenged everything he said, because I came from a different world. But little by little, I adopted a new way of understanding systems, leadership, and a way of thinking that separates good shops from great ones.
One day, while driving home after a long day, I saw Todd’s name on my screen. He asked, “I’m back in the game—you want to work with me again?” We talked for forty-five minutes while I sat in my driveway. The next weekend, Todd flew in and led a workshop for my team at Pleasant Car Care and JB Auto.
That was the turning point.
We built systems, refined operations, and ran the key-to-key process exactly as it was meant to be run — no shortcuts, no half-measures. That’s when the business took off, and that’s when my American Dream became a reality.
Autoshop Answers and the Houston Boston Partnership were born from this story. Today, it’s a place where we teach other shop owners how to run their operations, build profitable companies, and eventually partner with us to reach the next level.