Exploring Life & Business with Nicola Kakish of Revive Auto Repair

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicola Kakish.

Hi Nicola, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I always enjoyed hands-on stuff. It started with building blocks as a toddler and by the time I was 10 or 11 years old I was already full blown into electrical appliances and gadgets. About that time, I got a VHS tape stuck inside my parent’s VCR–remember those? So I did what any curious pre-teen would do. I ended up taking the unit apart, but I didn’t stop there. I took it apart, removed the stuck cassette tape, and rebuilt it.

You can only imagine my surprise when I actually got it working again! What a relief! I liked knowing that I was able to solve problems and enjoyed the challenge. It helped me build a strong sense of confidence. I was born in the US, but grew up in Windsor and graduated from high school there in 2004.

From there I started my college adventure and set off to the big city of Toronto to focus on earning my bachelor’s degree in electrical mechanical engineering. I accomplished it, graduating from Humber College, and had a lot of fun while I was at it. Healthcare has always been an interest of mine, especially cardiology and the electrical impulses that pulse throughout the body. I went back to school for cardiology tech and echo cardiology, a completely different field.

While I was studying for these certificates, I put my engineering degree to work for me for a couple of years working for General Motors (GM). I enjoyed it and I enjoyed my work in cardiology tech and echo cardiology, too. When GM went bankrupt, though, I knew I could not ignore my true passion any longer. I took the opportunity to pursue a master’s in automotive technician certificate and began work at a Volkswagen dealer to hone my craft.

In March of 2014, I finally realized what had been my life-long pursuit, unbeknownst to even me. I opened my own auto repair shop in Troy, Mich., starting off with half of a building. The second year, we expanded and took over the whole building. Customers were finding us and they were appreciating our commitment to customer service. It seemed unreal.

Today, we run an 8-bay auto repair shop, working on everything, but specializing in high-end and luxury vehicles, super vehicles, super sports, and foreign, Japanese, and domestic automobiles.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I launched Revive Auto Repair, I was a first-time business owner. I think most people don’t realize how much goes into running a business. It can be overwhelming at times. My passion was engineering and auto repair. That’s what I wanted to do.

I wanted to troubleshoot and repair vehicles. I wanted to do it at affordable prices and have my clients drive away pleased that I had finally been able to solve the problem that the “big dealers” had not been able to. I wanted them to feel they had paid a fair amount for our work.

By opening my own business, I didn’t realize the extent to which I had to also become an accountant, tax expert, human resources expert, commercial real estate agent, and general errand guy. I’m not only the company CEO, but sometimes I’m also the landscaper, chief estimator, janitor, and my own legal counsel. All of a sudden, I’m not just fixing cars and solving vehicle problems. I had to become an expert in many other areas. There were a lot of late nights and a lot of learning.

One of the biggest challenges as a business owner I’ve faced on my journey–and I think many companies can relate– is building clientele. People may overlook a small shop. There are a lot of word-of-mouth referrals in this sector, but many people find a good thing and they don’t want to share it with too many people otherwise they are afraid they might have trouble getting their own appointment when they need one.

Advertising is also very expensive and tough for a start-up business on a shoestring budget to afford. And even with a small budget, there’s experimentation to find where your audience spends their time. So how do you get in front of the people who need your services? In between working on vehicles and managing the repair shop, you talk to people. You attend networking events and you learn social media. You asked other people what’s worked for them.

So overall, it was a relatively smooth road, but you cannot deny the hustle that goes into being a business owner. It keeps you moving.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Revive Auto Repair?
Not all repair shops are created equal and people should interview their mechanics and learn a bit about their background before they just drop their vehicle off with them and put faith in them that they know what they are doing.

One thing we did to set Revive Auto Repair apart from our counterparts is to become dealer-certified. Certification means we’re backed by the big dealers, as well as some of the manufacturing companies. We have access to the parts we need when we need them, so our customers aren’t left without a vehicle for any longer than they need to be.

Revive Auto also accepts second- and third-party warranties, so any of our certified mechanics can get the vehicle repaired at limited or no cost to its owner and, again, get them back on the road as soon as possible, without having the wait or hassle of a bigger dealership.

Revive is not just an auto shop but we are advanced technicians, meaning that we will design, fabricate, solve, and modify items that dealers are not able to do. They use us as support, having us solve issues to save vehicles from going into lemon law.

The knowledge that I have of a wide range of vehicles has built up a reputation for us in Southeast Michigan and beyond. Customers often transport or ship their vehicles from out of state to our facilities for services and repairs — from California, Texas, Arizona, the Las Vegas area, Florida, and New York.

We also have carved out a special niche “caring for” luxury vehicles like Bentley’s and Lamborghinis. For vehicles like these, there are limited places to get them maintained or repaired and many mechanics are just not familiar with them. We have great familiarity with and are extremely comfortable under the hood of these types of vehicles and can get replacement parts with a quick turnaround.

We are not just a repair shop. We like to educate our customers, too. We bring them into the back to stand side-by-side with the technicians to show them what’s really going on with their vehicle and what repairs are needed to solve the problem.

What are your plans for the future?
We’re really excited about a program we teased a few years back but are getting ready to bring to full fruition in the next few months as soon as the app build-out is completed. In our line of work, you see many customers who are struggling to pay to keep their vehicles running just so they can get to and from work and keep food on the table and a roof over the heads of their families.

My team members and I wanted to help these people and make auto repair more affordable. The current inflation rate and the state of the general economy are also making it tougher for middle-class families than it used to be. They are being strangled and need some relief.

Our automotive discount program rolls out across the country this summer. Dozens of dealerships around the country have signed up to help people, too. Through this app, people who have signed up can apply for a discount on their auto repair bills based on their income earnings, and financial situation. It’s a way to keep people moving, going to work, keep their vehicles on the road at a reasonable price.

The other great thing about this program is that everyone can apply and everyone qualifies for some discount. We’re just trying to make it easier for the average person trying to earn a living and we’re very excited that other dealerships agree so that we can take this program national and make the cost of auto repair more affordable for people in Michigan and beyond.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reviveautorepair.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reviveautoshop/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reviveautorepairshop/