Right now all small businesses are really watching their costs and they are also watching their receivables and cash flow. They have to. If they don’t they’ll be out of business, because a recession makes life tough on all small businesses. What about the mobile oil change business, it must be doing good because people have to change their oil right?Well, people are supposed to change their oil, but when they don’t have enough money to buy food, pay the bills, or they are getting behind on their rent or mortgage payments, they often allow their vehicles to go past the proper interval for oil changing. The reality is every small business is affected by the recession, and nothing, or that is to say no small business is completely immune, or recession proof.Not long ago, a mobile auto service business entrepreneur went to one of our websites, noticed that we were in the mobile automotive sector, and asked me about employee pay. He stated;”I pay only $8 hr at this time. I am thinking I need to give some type of incentive to make them work even harder because of course they are not working as hard as me. Is there some type of solution there. I have enough work to keep me really busy.”Very good question isn’t it? Sure it is, and don’t forget he asks this question in the middle of a recession right, so there are plenty of people who want the job, so let’s take his question to mean; “What incentive Might I Use?” That is to say; “What can I do to improve my employees’ efficiency to get them to work harder?”Now then, we know the question, the second set of questions are the right questions, even if the entrepreneur asks; “how can I MAKE my employees work as hard as me?” The reality is you can’t make anyone do anything, if you MAKE them do it, you are not an employer you are running a prison, or you are a slave driver, and in this day and age that definitely will not fly, see that point.Luckily, for this individual in the mobile oil change industry there have been many car dealerships which have lost their franchise license from their parent companies of Chrysler or General Motors. That means there are a lot of automotive technicians that are out of work and will work fairly inexpensively. However, even Jiffy Lube pays more than eight dollars an hour, as well as the Wal-Mart supercenters which also now do oil changes (only $12.99 can you believe it?).Most mobile oil change companies service fleets, and if you are doing fleets one thing you can do is give incentive pay. In other words, give those employees a little stipend for each vehicle they complete, and you will note that they go faster, and don’t lollygag. Indeed, hope this advice will sink in, and that you will think on it.

There are not too many auto parts that can add bling, shwing, shimmer and shine to your vehicle like some well-placed chrome accessories. Chrome pieces not only separate you and your ride from the road-going nerd herd, it delivers the guilty pleasure of rolling down the street in your bling machine to twist the necks of the gaping and gawking onlookers.Besides adding radiance to your ride, automotive chrome accessories are stronger than the factory parts they replace. Crafted from material like billet aluminum and ABS plastics, they’re perfect for replacing flimsy factory parts and giving your ride a durable, glimmering style. No matter what kinda car you drive, a little chrome goes a long way in giving your vehicle the shine it deserves.Back in the chrome-plated nineteen fifties, there was one brilliant man that we can all thank for the chrome craze. That man was the late, great artist-turned-automobile designer-turned executive big-wig, Harley Earl. Mr. Earl was so legendary for his flashy fixation that a fellow General Motors executive at the time was quoted as saying, “Chrome was god and Harley Earl was the prophet.”Harley Earl’s fondness for flash was never more apparent than the time when some cross-communication and mixed signals led to a case of chrome overload. The Oldsmobile design team presented Mr. Earl with two different chrome-trim designs for the latest Oldsmobile sedan. By mistake during production, both sets of chrome were added to the same prototype. With no time to make a fix, the engineers were forced to present the chrome-mobile for Harley’s approval. As they stood awaiting wrath for the shiny screw up, Mr. Earl actually fell in love with the shimmering scheme and the car went into production.If you want to follow in the footsteps of the great Harley Earl, there are a few key automotive chrome points to hit. Chrome door handle kits are a great place to start. After that, some chrome mirror covers and chrome taillight covers are a great addition. For a racy look, a chrome fuel door adds some track style, and a set of chrome rims is the ultimate classic hot-rod look. And, when you want to take it beyond some individual chrome accent points placed here and there, you can get a chrome package designed to equip your vehicle with a chrome-dipped bonanza of brilliance that our heavy metal-mentor, Harley Earl, would be ever proud of.

There are a hand full of brand names for automotive GPS systems today on the market, that are capable of being used in any vehicle. These units let any person in any kind of auto be able to find their way around. One such is the Garmin Nuvi 265WT that has a traffic receiver that its earlier models do not share.This unit has a wide screen with touch that offers 480 by 272 pixels on a display screen and a back light. This newer design is thinner than before, and is so light and small it can easily fit inside a pocket. It comes stock with the program City Navigator North America NT.This model of Garmin will support Bluetooth so that the user can use it for legal hands free calling to pair with a cell phone that supports it. It has a battery life of about 4 hours from fully charged and speaks the street names and comes with maps of Canada and the US already loaded.The Motorola MotoNav TN765t offers a very easy to use program interface for maps and all the menus, and is Bluetooth enabled to allow for hands free calling and even offers address book syncing, and FM traffic options. The web site offers forums for users and updates to the system so that you can always be the most up to date on the maps and navigation including construction zones and new roads.The Tom Tom XL 340 S has a few things that older Tom Tom devices did not have, and stays well inside the median priced navigation units. This unit offers downloadable maps and fuel prices, lane guidance and Map Share for you to get copies of user updated maps. It offers a WXGA touch screen that allows for more space to type in addresses than ever before.This model is larger and thicker than other models of its kind due to the Easy Port mount included but is worth the money a person will save. The web site is constantly updating the software, allowing you to stay up to date with all road conditions.The best Magellan is the RoadMate 1470, which has a 4.7 inch touch display and allows for a one touch menu that gives the user a chance to look through the most recent and common addresses or destinations. The destination screen lets you decide how to get to the area offering fastest time, shortest distance and others. The larger screen gives the user more room to see maps and menus than previous models, although the cradle can cause the power cable problems when mounted on a dash or windshield. In all other ways, the price is ideal for the screen size, and is well worth the money for beginners.Lastly, the Garmin Nuvi 205W is one of the oldest but best entry level GPS units that is still used today for options and pricing. A touch display screen with beginner interface options, the programming is easy to understand and use for anyone. Some of the options available are trip timing and routes, the Where Am I? option and entry of destinations. The fast programming without additional components and features that many will not ever use, this system has everything for a beginning user at a greatly discounted price.