Owning and operating your own shop can make it hard to do anything else. Andrew Marinelli of Marinelli Auto Service in Winter Park, Florida, spends his free time mentoring today’s youth at his church. He got in to mentoring youth about eight years ago and has been doing it ever since.“I showed up at church one day, they were asking for mentors and I just felt compelled to help,” Marinelli said.Over the years, Marinelli has seen kids come and go, but he’s made a few lasting relationships with a few young men he still speaks with today.“I still talk to

Everyone has an opinion; that has been the status quo since the beginning of time and that’s a fact that will stand the test of time. The difference between now and 100 years ago is everyone has a voice online. Now, when it comes to customers’ opinion of your shop, you hope for the best, but it’s also good to prepare for the worst.Social media levels the playing field when it comes to people voicing their opinions. Everyone can say anything about you, and you’ll want to try and use that to your advantage. But what if someone has

Every year we check out Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Franchise 500” list to see which members of the oil and lube industry top the chart. The process for defining the 37th annual list of the top 500 franchise companies in the U.S. began in July of 2015, when Entrepreneur asked franchisors to participate in the survey. Each submission was vetted before being entered for data analysis; 951 companies made the first cut (24 more than last year). Of those, the top 500 made up the Franchise 500 ranking based on financial and statistical data from July 2013 through July 2015.Only franchise

Bernie Sachs wears many hats. Sachs resume includes, lube shop operator, teacher, superintendent artist, avid golfer, father and grandfather. At 76 years old, Sachs still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. Sachs worked in education for 37 years but he always loved working on cars. Today, he’s found a way to combine his passion for art, cars and the game of golf in a rather unconventional way.“I am a detail nut. I love antique cars and I’ve always kept my cars in pristine shape,” Sachs said.When Sachs retired from education after serving as a teacher and

We’ve already reflected on almost every year of National Oil & Lube News’ existence. Let’s finish strong with the last five years, 2011-2015.2011Memorable Moments• No. 1 Song of the Year (according to Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100): “Rolling in the Deep,” by Adele• No. 1 Movie of the Year, per box office gross (according to Box Office Mojo): “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson• Super Bowl Champs: Green Bay Packers•World Series Champs: St. Louis Cardinals• NBA Champs: Dallas Mavericks• Occupy Wall Street movement took the streets of New YorkIn 2011,

We’ve already reflected on almost every year of National Oil & Lube News’ existence. Let’s finish strong with the last five years, 2011-2015.2011Memorable Moments• No. 1 Song of the Year (according to Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100): “Rolling in the Deep,” by Adele• No. 1 Movie of the Year, per box office gross (according to Box Office Mojo): “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson• Super Bowl Champs: Green Bay Packers•World Series Champs: St. Louis Cardinals• NBA Champs: Dallas Mavericks• Occupy Wall Street movement took the streets of New YorkIn 2011,

We reflected on 20 years worth of National Oil & Lube News (NOLN) in the most recent July, August, September and October issues. We remembered marked moments, past Operator of the Year winners, challenges and triumphs. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane continuing with years 2006-2010.2006Memorable Moments• No. 1 Song of the Year (according to Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100): “Bad Day,” by Daniel Powter• No. 1 Movie of the Year, per box office gross (according to Box Office Mojo): “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly and Jack Davenport• Super Bowl