The NOLN Podcast

The NOLN Podcast

The NOLN Podcast is the premier quick lube industry podcast, helping shop owners and operators improve their businesses with real-world solutions to common problems, delivered by leading industry experts and elite shop leaders.

Episodes

December 11, 2025 16 mins

In this Endeavor to Discover series episode, Chris Messer talks with Mike Jones of Discover Leadership at AAPEX. Jones previews his SEMA Show presentation “Mind Your Business,” which focuses on mindset awareness and how individual attitudes shape workplace culture and results. He emphasizes surrounding yourself with positive, growth-minded people and creating—not reacting to—your environment. Jones discusses how resistant team memb...

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This year has brought many headwinds for the auto service field—particularly with regard to tariffs. From independent shops and suppliers to dealerships and automakers, the entire automotive field has been affected, as have several other sectors that rely on imported materials and goods. Girlington Garage, a small shop based in South Burlington, Vermont, is doing the work to protect itself and its customers.   This article original...

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In the second of three interviews recorded at AAPEX, NOLN catches up with Noel Peña, senior executive director of sales and business development at DRN. Peña explains how the company uses license plate reader technology to help automotive businesses—including quick lubes—target highly qualified customers by collecting data on vehicles passing by their shops.

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November 24, 2025 9 mins

Whether they’re working on the shop floor or keeping tabs from afar, quick lube leaders put in the hours guiding their teams to success. This article, written by NOLN Editor Tom Valentino, takes readers through a day on the job for two shop leaders—a manager for a Valvoline Instant Oil Change location in Lexington, Kentucky, and a Costa Oil 10-Minute Oil Change shop in Perry, Ohio.

This article originally appeared on NOLN.net on J...

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Victory Lane CEO Justin Cialella stopped by the EndeavorB2B podcast booth at AAPEX 2025 to offer his takeaways from the big industry trade show in Las Vegas and also discuss developments with Victory Lane. The company recently relaunched a location in Farmington Hills, Michigan—formerly its oldest franchise—after acquiring it as a corporate store. To re-introduce the shop to its community, Victory Lane held a massive grand re-openi...

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In this edition of our Endeavor to Discover series, Chris Messer and Mike Jones are joined by Randy O’Connor of D2D Development for a discussion on cultivating an outcome-focused mindset. Messer, Jones and O’Connor discuss the benefits of aligning teams around shared goals instead of individual beliefs, turning commitments into actions, and shifting from passive effort to measurable impact.

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November 10, 2025 6 mins
Hiring an administrator can free up managers to get back to focusing on big-picture tasks. Peter Suciu Read by Brittany Duncan  https://www.noln.net/running-a-shop/human-resources/article/55305677/bring-in-the-admin
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Extended producer responsibility laws, which make producers financially and operationally responsible for managing their products and packaging at the end of their life cycle, are on the rise in states across the U.S. David Lawes, CEO of the Lubricants Packaging Management Association powered by Interchange 360, joins the NOLN Podcast to explain the ramifications of EPR laws for quick lube operators.

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Auto Care Association’s Mark Bogdansky offers listeners a preview of the major updates for this year’s AAPEX in Las Vegas, including changes being made to the show floor to improve navigation, make it easier for distributors to find suppliers in specific categories, and help exhibitors connect with interested buyers.

Bogdansky also discusses strategies being implemented to keep buyers on the show floor longer, and he previews the k...

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Chris Messer and Mike Jones are back for another installment of the “Endeavor to Discover” series. This month, they speak on the power of adopting an “I will” attitude. Jones explains why common phrases such as “I think I can,” “I’ll try,” and “I hope” are actually powerless and reflect low commitment, as they express potential, but not purpose or action. Messer and Jones explore how to build confidence, resilience, and follow-thro...

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With the SEMA Show just over a month away, Tom Gattuso, SEMA's vice president of events, stops by the NOLN Podcast to set the scene in Las Vegas. Gattuso shares what's new at this year's SEMA Show, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the multi-year process needed to plan out a SEMA event. Lastly, Gattuso offers up some tips for how SEMA Show attendees can make the most of their time on site.

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Ruben Ortega Jr., director of inside sales at Service Champ, stops by to discuss how the tool needs of quick lube shops, along with common tool-related questions he receives from operators. Lastly, Ortega offers up some practical advice for managing your shop tools while operating on a tight budget.

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In this month’s installment of the “Endeavor to Discover” series, Chris Messer and Mike Jones are talking about leading from the front lines and why leadership isn’t about titles—it’s actually about ownership, vision, and leading by example. Messer and Jones also explain why true leaders lead from the front and why every team member should see themselves as “the” leader in their role.

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Jason Lyon, chief operations officer for Benny’s Car Wash, recently was announced as the association president for the Preventative Automotive Maintenance Association’s 2026-27 term. This week, he took time to speak with us about his goals for PAMA, from better understanding the association’s membership to growing its education and training initiatives.

Lyon also discusses how Benny’s is relying on community engagement and personal...

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Are you a manager or a leader? Do you know the difference between the two?

In this episode of our “Endeavor to Discover” series, Chris Jones, executive vice president of EndeavorB2B’s Transportation Group, and Mike Jones, president and master trainer at Discover Leadership Training, discuss how leaders follow up and follow through—setting specific outcomes and making sure projects are moving forward and not just waiting until the d...

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Doug Zarkin has two decades of experience in retail and brand marketing, but he’s a newcomer to the quick lube industry. Zarkin was hired as the new chief marketing officer for Take 5 Oil Change earlier this summer, and he describes the way in which he has observed Take 5 lube techs working as “nothing short of a symphony.”

Zarkin shares what appealed to him about joining Take 5, what he has been able to carry over from his marketi...

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In the first episode of our “Endeavor to Discover” interview series, leadership and failure are the topics of conversation as Mike Jones, president and master trainer at Discover Leadership Training, joins Chris Messer, executive vice president of the Transportation Group at Endeavor Business Media, NOLN’s parent company.

Jones, who works with small- to medium-sized business owners and their teams on evolving to improve, explains w...

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FullSpeed Automotive President Ron Stilwell joins the NOLN Podcast to discuss the growth of the company’s Grease Monkey brand. Stilwell shares insights on how FullSpeed is mapping the expansion of Grease Monkey into new markets and the role its “store of the future” model is playing in that development.

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Margaret Light, a licensed marriage and family therapist with Equilibrium Therapy Services, explains the impact of mental health on decision making for business leaders. She also offers some tips for shop operators and managers who have a tendency to be either too optimistic or too pessimistic in their work, and she also offers thoughts on bouncing back mentally after making a bad business decision.

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Jim Harrington, executive vice president at Victory Lane Quick Oil Change, is this week’s guest on the NOLN Podcast. Harrington, a 30-year veteran of the quick lube industry, shares tips for how operators can better manage their inventory. In this discussion, Harrington highlights the benefits of good inventory management, and he  explains what can go wrong when stock isn’t properly tracked. Harrington also discusses how Victory La...

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