| Author | Message | ||
     Thumper74 |
My wife is frustrated by her work and I’m frustrated by mine. While it’s a great company to work for, I’m not convinced that there’s much of a future here. I feel like I’m in the movie ‘Office Space’. If I do something wrong, I hear about from three different people, even if my Supervisor has already addressed it. What does it take to open your own repair shop and small dealership? I’ve been a technician, Service Advisor (at large dealers), currently handle extended warranty Claims, and have run automotive parts stores. I ran a CarQuest (I left because I had no support for upper management and was not able to serve my customers after my increase in sales because my payroll was related to the same week of the prior year under the previous management, ask Wolf how often I was at work…)for a while and was able to increase sales by 300% over the previous manager in less than 3 months because I was willing to work with Hispanic Customers and they referred their friends. I’ve dreamed of opening a motorcycle, automotive, small engine (lawn mowers, snow blowers, etc) repair shop/nice, pre-owned cars. The catch is that my wife and I know basic Spanish and are currently learning more. Even though we’re not Hispanic, we’d like to open a bi-lingual repair shop/dealer and be able to serve a larger Customer base in both sales and service. Even though our area has a large Spanish speaking population, there aren’t many places that are able to work with them due to the language barrier. In order to serve budget conscientious customers, we would have two pricing schedules. The labor would be the same for both, but the customer would have the option of two different types of parts: lower end with a limited, 90 labor warranty and whatever the manufacturer offers and an OEM equivalent or greater parts with a longer labor warranty. It will allow customers some flexibility within their budgets without my facility having a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude. I’m great with cars, but am admittedly weak in welding and in electrical. Naturally, I would be working on improving these skills before opening this business. What kind of person does it take to succeed in business? What is involved in owning your own business? Are there specific problems I may encounter in running a repair shop? I’m honest to a fault, try to associate with similar types of people and intend on charging published labor times with possible surcharges for difficulties such as broken bolts, etc. | ||
| Ceo79 |
Looks like we are in the same boat somewhat. IMO I think the hardest part of starting a business is getting the money to start one. I know a few people that have their own and they say it's very very very hard work, but it's worth it. Start pricing any equipment that you may need to purchase to get an idea of how much start up money you'll need. A good business plan is also something that I would focus on, that's if you're financing this through a bank. A very good resource for getting info on starting a business would be your local SBA office. When I was in the process of starting my own, which fell through, the SBA gave me so much useful info. They have informative classes also. I think the important thing is to not give up and stay focused on your goal. I'm planning on starting an IT company and going after DOD contracts. It fell through last year, but I'm not giving up. | ||
| Dfishman |
Keep your job as you start collecting tools.Once you are set up with enough tools then proceed.Don't try and finance the whole thing in the beginning.Keep your costs low & expand as you grow. | ||
| Brumbear |
Alot of hours and all your money and a couple years before you start smelling the roses but if you do that don't spend it as soon or before you get it remember that the health ins, the vehicle ins, the buisness ins, the taxes state sales and fed all essentail bills come first take a salary at the end of the year whatever is left dump half of it back into the buisness whatever you do you can and will be sucessful. You can do it I am sure I have been running my bus. for 12 years now and have done ok. The one thing I would tell you is keep about 10-15 dollars an hour under the dealers for auto service and make sure you start an IRA or purchase property cause we don't claim to hi on our 1040's | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>What kind of person does it take to succeed in business? << One with the patience and desire to deal with the idiots that make up the general public? | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
Not from my own experience, but I have been told from family with bus. that you need to be able to lose money for awhile before things take off. And by awhile I was told a year or two. Anyway I'm shutting up now 'cuz I myself don't know much about these things but am looking forward to the responses on this thread. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I've got most of what I need hand tool wise, good IR Ti impact gun, the things I would need are high dollar things, tire mounting machine (may just get a No Mar), a balancer, some lifts, a large compressor, alignment machine, etc. Keep in mind that this is a long term goal and I'm always looking for an excuse to buy a new tool! I need to do tons of research. I'd probably maintain a part time job and my wife would maintain her full time job untill we're up and running. The idea of used car lot on the premises is to provide instant income, offer Customer's that purchase vehicles from us a discounted labor rate to retain them. Extended warranties could also be employed that require the customer to return to us for repairs if a failure happens within a certain distance, etc. | ||
| Danger_dave |
My acerbic comment is based on the amount of mechanics and service folk I know that have left small business in the face of unrealistic expectations, default payments and general fed-up-ed-ness with their clientele. | ||
| Brumbear |
tire companies lease machines for selling their brands for great prices lifts can be had for 1500 and up Remember service is your bread and butter the big stuff you can wait on a trans jack and cherrypicker may be a must though | ||
| 12x9sl |
Hoist! I'm sure you've already thought of this. Man, they sure are a time-saver. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Hoist for what? A lift for the car? Or an engine hoist/cherry picker? I have an engine hoist, trans jack, etc. | ||
| 12x9sl |
Car hoist. My dad has a two post one that's capable of lifting our E-350 cube truck. Man, I don't know we did without it before. It's so nice to walk around under the vehicle and work on it rather than roll around on your back. He just got a trans jack, that will be nice. When we pulled my tranny we used the forklift and a pallet to support (while the truck was on the hoist). He usually rolls his Snap-on cabinet right over to where he is so he doesn't have to walk anywhere to get whatever tool he needs and all parts can be placed on the top so they aren't rolling around on the ground. | ||
| Toona |
Concentrate on one thing and do it exceedingly well. If you want to open a repair shop, open a repair shop. Not a repair shop/used car lot/car rental/U Haul/etc. If you get a chance to specialize in a certain area of expertise, do it. I have 3 friends that run their own general repair shops. One specializes in exhaust, the other alignments and the last does brakes/state inspections. Each one has other shops that they refer electrical issues to, or tires, or air conditioning, whatever. Starting out, get your basic tools in order and start picking up equipment as your extra money allows. Extra money might be a bad term, set some goals that you want to purchase a certain machine buy a certain date. Currently, I'm saving for a CNC retrofit or replacement milling machine to replace my knee mill. I bought what I could afford 4-5 years ago, used it and am now ready to "step up". Finance as little as possible. Some days/weeks you will be very busy, other days you wonder if the phone company turned your line off. Advertise. I'm not saying start out with billboards all over the place, but put flyers in restaurants that you frequent regularly, friends that have other businesses, posters staples to telephone poles etc. Business cards are cheap, put one on every car that you touch. Get custom made oil change stickers with your phone number on it. Be prepared to bust your butt. You will have to work to get your name "out there", then you will have to work to keep your name "out there". Get a decent computer for accounting/record keeping. I use Quickbooks Pro. It keeps track of inventory, payroll, item lists, customer database, sales taxes, etc. DO YOUR PAPERWORK every day! File papers, pay bills, do your taxes etc. A little at a time is much easier than waiting until the end of the month to try to "cram it in" Read. Get your hands on as many manuals, trade journals, etc. as possible. Get on parts houses mailing lists. Find out who the sales reps are for NAPA/Autozone/CSK, not sure who is in your area in the way of suppliers. The sales reps can help you get a starter inventory going by telling you what moves and what doesn't. You don't want your money tied up in "dead" inventory sitting on the shelves. Pay for what you have on inventory, don't put it on a payment schedule. The end of the month ALWAYS comes around when you might not have the extra money in your pocket. Find a good BUSINESS insurance broker. They know the in's and out's of what kind of coverage you will need for the building, tools, liability more so than just a regular "home owner" insurance broker. <<I learned that one the hard way. Look professional. Both in your business logo, garage appearance (organized inside and outside), have an organized office area/waiting room, and your work attire. A simple one color silk screened shirts are not that expensive with your garage logo on it. When I was doing appliance work, I ordered my work shirts from a place called Wearguard. They had all kind of shirts to choose from. They would embroider you name and business name on for next to nothing. Unless you are a bank, everyone pays BEFORE the job leaves your shop. They conveniently forget that they owe you $ once they leave your shop. That includes friends AND family. Get set up to take credit cards for payment. At least Visa/Mastercard. Discover is OK with their fees, AmEx is stupid expensive and a headache to try and balance at the end of the month. You can work with your local bank to set up a merchant account. Don't lease their equipment, it's stupid expensive. Find out what kind of terminal they use and buy one on eBay. They will reprogram it for you for free. FirstData wanted $30/month to lease for 36 months-over $1000!, I bought a new one, same model on eBay for $150. I actually use FirstData thru Sam's Club. They had the best transaction fees and processing fees for my business. Remember that good news spreads, but bad news spreads even faster. I'm not saying to be a door mat and let everyone walk all over you, but sometimes you have to take one on the chin-choose your battles wisely. I've been self employed for 25 years and only worked for somebody else for 5 weeks (3 weeks plus my 2 week notice). Last little tip: when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, think of it as an Opportunity Clock rather than an Alarm Clock. An opportunity to make a difference in your own life. An opportunity to learn something new that day. Good Luck! Dan www.ALUMICRAFT.com | ||
| Aptbldr |
Plan its details before you start. Know your costs. Know sales necessary each month/week/day to break-even. Know capital needs and have realistic resources. Make your numbers work. Then if you jump, you know about how deep the water is! | ||
| Brumbear |
there are also fleetmanagment companies like ARI that will use you for their work and some accounts may use it more so with trucks get registered with them it is benaficial and money is guarrenteed in 48 hours. My buisness is different in that I go to them and they are all on account so they pay in 30 days but it keeps my overhead down Toona is very right in the finance as little as possible | ||
| Fast1075 |
A. Know your market. B. Don't go in undercapitalized. C. Marketing is everything! | ||
| Hexangler |
All good advice above. Except for this one: "Don't quit your day job." You should be able to work full time, as well as, own, create, develop, and market etc. your new business. It may take 5 years to make the transition to full time at your new business. Be patient. My question for you is, how do you like looking for new employment? Because when you own your own company, you will be looking for "employment" everyday. | ||
| Terribletim |
Another bit of advice, from a guy who is helping his wife start her own business - Make sure you have the right amount of capitol going in. You don't want to go in underfunded and end up siphoning money from somewhere else to pay your bills. Once you start doing that, you are going down and you can't stop it. The number one killer of small business is going in underfunded. Be good at what you do. Deliver on every promise you make. Never be late. Always be honest. Customers can tell if you are keeping true to any of those. As for the rest, looks like it's been covered already. |
