My passion for auto repair started off in my garage. It was the coolest garage in the neighborhood. I had pull-down air-hoses, and it was kind of like a little dream shop. All I did was have car hobbies and help friends work on their vehicles.
There were so many of my friends that went and talked to my wife and said, "He's got to open up a real shop one day, and you've got to encourage him to do it.”
Before joining the auto repair industry, I was in the restaurant industry, but I always worked on cars as a hobby in my spare time. Being in the restaurant industry was very time consuming. I was working more than 100 hours a week.
I thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant industry when I had the time for it, but then my son was born. When my son was 6 months old, I was kissing him goodbye when he was in his crib, and I realized I hadn't seen him while he was awake in almost 6 months.
Eventually my wife said to me, and I’ll never forget this, she said, “Mike, you need to open up a shop. You have the passion for it. Working on cars is what you love, and I can tell you’re happy doing it.”
So I did it. I opened up my own auto repair shop. It wasn’t easy though. I worked more than I had ever worked before. That was 22 years ago now.
We started off as a performance only shop, but there was not a whole lot of money in performance repairs. We had a really good reputation. I kept telling myself, “Just keep doing what you do, and as long as you're patient, the money will follow.”
In 2012, we decided to start working on regular vehicles as well. The front half of the shop was general mechanic work, and the back half was performance only. We put ourselves on a waiting list at that point. Things got a lot better, the money came easier, and we applied a lot of what we knew from the performance side to general mechanic work.
“As we started to grow, I began to learn from my team.The new sets of eyes would see something I couldn’t. That’s exactly what I needed to grow.”
This isn’t to say I did everything perfectly. I did a lot of things wrong early on. I knew my ways, and I had my rules, down to the exact procedures. But as we started to grow, I began to learn from my team. I'd been doing it the same way for so long, and the new sets of eyes would see something I couldn’t. That’s exactly what I needed to grow. I love learning from those around me.
I woke up one day about 6 months ago and thought to myself, “I'm in the people business. That's my passion. That's what I love, and that's what drives me.”
I don't turn the wrenches anymore. I don't work the front counter anymore. I do the paperwork stuff for the business, but what drives me is the satisfaction of growing people and to see somebody taking steps in personal and business growth.
We went from averaging 100 cars a month to now, where a very slow month is 450 and a busy month is around 650 cars.
It all worked out in the end. My son works with me now, and it's great to be able to see him everyday.
Entrepreneurs play a vital role in transforming our lives by disrupting markets and revolutionizing industries. We are thrilled that Sunil Patel, Founder & CEO of Tekmetric is to be recognized as a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year®. 2025 Gulf South program. As the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, now in its 40th year, Entrepreneur Of The Year is at the forefront of identifying game-changing business leaders. The program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corporation, Eric Yuan of Zoom, Jodi Berg of Vitamix and Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC.
We're honored to have Sunil recognized among so many other ambitious business leaders in the Gulf South. Learn more about the Entrepreneur Of The Year Gulf South program and follow us along on our journey to the regional awards celebration! Link to full article
Learn more about the story of Tekmetric and Sunil Patel in our latest documentary.
Tekmetric Community
Sunil Patel Earns Finalist in Entrepreneur Of The Year
We're happy to announce that our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction has been recognized! For Spring 2025, G2 has awarded Tekmetric with a range of badges, including Momentum Leader, Best Results, Best Usability, Most Implementable, and Grid Leader.
These awards reflect our customers' experiences and trust in Tekmetric, highlighting their role in our success.
What These Badges Mean
Momentum Leader: We're leading the pack, constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of the automotive industry.
Best Results & Best Usability: Tekmetric is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, helping you achieve the results you want.
Most Implementable: Change can be scary – That's why we've made it easy to get started and integrate with Tekmetric so you can hit the ground running.
Grid Leader: This badge showcases how our customers describe Tekmetric as the go-to solution for auto shop management.
Thank You to Our Customers
We couldn't have done it without our customers! Your feedback and support drive us to continually improve and deliver the best possible shop management experience. We're excited to continue this journey with you and can't wait to see what we accomplish together in the future. We'll continue to innovate, listen to your feedback, and provide the tools you need to run your shop.
At Tekmetric, we understand that data security is more than just a priority—it's a responsibility. That’s why we are excited to announce that Tekmetric is now ISO/IEC 27001 certified! Combined with our SOC 2 Type II certification, this achievement underscores our commitment to keeping customer and partner data safe and maintaining systems that operate at the highest standards.
What is ISO/IEC 27001?
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally recognized standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). It represents a comprehensive framework for managing and protecting an organization’s information assets, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.
To obtain this certification, Tekmetric went through rigorous audits and a thorough examination of security protocols, risk management practices, and data protection measures.
As we continue to innovate shop management solutions to best support our customers, achieving this certification reinforces that our platform and internal workflows protect the highly sensitive data customers and partners trust us with.
What This Means for Tekmetric Customers
For Tekmetric customers, achieving ISO/IEC 27001 certification means you can trust that we adhere to the highest standards for information security.
Enhanced Data Security & Trust: Our certification guarantees that Tekmetric has stringent security measures in place to safeguard sensitive data, including customer information, financial records, and business data.
Reduced Risk of Data Breaches & Security Incidents: By adopting a proactive approach to risk management, Tekmetric minimizes the likelihood of security breaches and disruptions
Compliance & Regulatory Alignment: Our ISO/IEC 27001 certification helps customers demonstrate compliance with data protection regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA.
This certification reinforces our commitment to safeguarding your data, providing you with peace of mind and confidence in our Shop Management platform. To learn more about all our certifications and our commitment to security, visit our Trust Center.
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