Opening a performance shop...(long but need help)

[J Banning]

Great thread guys. Keep the advice, personal lessons... or spelling jokes coming.

-Banning.

 

[Little6pack]

Needcash.

I would consider your dream a pipe dream at this point.

Go out & get a job, save some $$ for a couple of years.

What I mean here is go to work for a place that is similar to what you want to do/own.

That way you can see the headaches & dedication it takes to run a business.. When owning a business you NEVER have time off.
If you do have time off you need to leave a trusting Monkey in CHARGE! not the peanut gallery.

As mentioned you need to be really good at what you do.
You need to cater to a market that has DEEP POCKETS.

Working just on turbo Buick's alone is tough to do.
You need to consider other style cars.
You need to be in an area that doesn't have to much competition
You need a building
You need a crew ( techs are hard to come by)
You need to be a people person

Maybe you might want to buy an existing business that has
all the equipment & the current owner wants to sell & retire.
Maybe that current owner will hold the mortgage for you?
Or
Maybe you need to visit the SBA for a loan.

You got a long way to go before jumping into this.

download iespell software from the internet.

 

[KillrV6]

well i had no plans on going into somthing like this soon, this is a down the road dream.

i was defanitly planing on finding work at a similar place.
i cant yet though, i need to be ASE certafied and all, and get better at working on cars. i suck right now. spark plug change is a tricky task for me!!! (mostly just that pesky # 6 cylinder )

i dont even have tools yet, which i KNOW is somthing every technition needs. i just have basic socket set really.

im glad you guys are helping me and the other guy out, before this the future was a blurr. no idea which way to go. now its slightly more clear.

being half jewish, i have a buisness mind already LOL

yeah my generation has bad spelling. they were trying some new tecnique called "finetic" spelling, and it didnt turn out to work and me and many of my friends just plain suck!

 

[Mease Performance]

?

how do i get the initial cash it takes to startup?

easy....sell the wife on Ebay!

 

[TurboJim]

Originally posted by neverenuf
Jim, not to be picky but how do you spell the word "sentence"? I

Ummmmm.........

huminahuminahumina...... my bad!

But my work ethic speaks for itself...now, to find a backer

 

[krom]

Originally posted by dhauser
Well, I am where you are talking about: I just quit my job and am pursuing a higher-end classic car retailing business, primarily via the internet. It takes a lot more to do this than just the desire. It takes money, determination, ability to focus, and attention to detail. Take Jim's words to heart--if you aren't interested in being detail oriented, I will guarantee you 100% 7 days a week you will faceplant big time! Honesty, integrity, and good communication and networking skills are absolutes!

Get some good job experience and start your biz on the side, and take BABY steps, but do not lose sight of making SOME kind of progress, every day, every week, every month, and every year.

Volunteer to work at the types of shops you want yours to be modeled after. If they won't pay you at first, they will after they see you're "in it to win it." Trust me, good help is wanted and appreciated.

Have a good attitude. Without it, you're hosed.

Get a good accountant. However you have to figure it out, make sure he/she isn't lazy. Most of them work inside the box. Your loss.

Save money. I am doing this completely on my own at this point. ALL my own money, no wife, no income to fall back on, just me. In some ways, I wouldn't have it any other way. In other ways, it scares the piss out of me.

Complete your degree, whether 2 or 4 yr. You need something to fall back on. I know you might not think you do, but trust me, 80% of all businesses fail within 1-2 years.

It is easy to be lazy. It's easy to take the path of least resistance. It's hard to be truly successful. But that's the way it should be.

Good luck, dude. Listen to the others on this thread. There is a lot of truth and good advice here.

Good luck, one day I would like to get a Hauser Mopar.

 

[GN SBS]

If I were going to start such a business I'd take advantage of all the free help that is out there--

Most colleges and business schools have Small Business or Entrepreneurship programs that teach the stuff and are looking for case studies and more than willing to chat with you about how to get started if you approach them in the correct way.

I took an MBA level small-business class on a whim while I was in grad school and you can learn a lot quickly. What I was most surprised by, though, is that there are also a lot of smart folks out there who would like nothing more than to help you put a business plan together or think through your idea-- you just have to work to find them. The University of Wisconsin's MBA program Entrepreneurship school (and many others) incorporate case studies into their classes-- students are always looking for volunteer businesses to evaluate and some of these guys are incredibly on the ball when it comes to the money side of business. It's like getting 3 or 4 free business consultants.

Most states and municipalities also offer a variety of services for new small business owners-- from business plan help to other general advice.

I think this falls under the general category of "use everything you can to make it work".

Fair warning: I'm an applied statistician, not a small business owner, but as I said, I got a real hoot out of the course I took and was struck by how many people could be used as free (and valuable) help were I ever to go in that direction.

The following link might be a help for identifying these orgs and a generally useful resource:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges


best,
Scott

 

[Little6pack]

Re: ?

Originally posted by Mease Performance
easy....sell the wife on Ebay!

She has to be somewhat good looking to fetch a good price