Next Meet Discussion: "The Shop"

[criz]

next meet discussion: "the shop"

out of curiosity, what would people like to do if there was this dream shop? i'm big into marketing and stuff like that... i'd like to learn engine tuning... if there are people who are big into painting, mechanics, audio... etc.. we could have something going...

its one of those things where not everyone can be the boss, however... everyone would have a say in with the direction of the company... the company I work at is similar, 10 friends got together and made a interactive agency and 1 is the CEO, another one is a programmer...

if we can find peices that mesh well, we may be able to build something

[teh DIRT]

im a wrench turner. But I am slowly learning other things. One a graduate with my degree I should know a handful

[the mike]

ASE tech. I do the installs and the custom fabbing.

[coco5316]

graduating with a motorsports degree in may

[Zeropistonz]

Currently at an automotive school. Going for my inspection and emission/repair license in a week. Also hopefully will be ASE certified A1-A8 within this year. I don't like to admit it but I also work at pep-boys :thumbdow:.... but hey, it pays the bills and its not a full time job. Oh, and I'm also good with rotarys

[TROLL]

i go to the pep boys by oxford valley mall a lot cause its the closest option, but i really despise the place with a passion. shoot me a pm if you work there and i'll keep an eye out for you. probably not though...
bryan

[criz]

Originally Posted by Zeropistonz

Currently at an automotive school. Going for my inspection and emission/repair license in a week. Also hopefully will be ASE certified A1-A8 within this year. I don't like to admit it but I also work at pep-boys :thumbdow:.... but hey, it pays the bills and its not a full time job. Oh, and I'm also good with rotarys

hey man, any place to gain practical knowledge in a field you're interested in is awesome... good luck with that!

[WKderF]

you know who to come to for I.C.E. i usually just sell, but i am MECP gold level certified for installation.


In
Car
Entertainment

[criz]

hell yea man!

[the mike]

We would make a killing with an in house paint shop.

[criz]

an issue that i've come across in my research, as well as what Charles has found is the imense start-up capital needed. It'll take a lot to have that in-house paint shop as well as a dyno to start off the bat with, however I believe at least the latter is crucial to have from the get-go.

I believe that it won't take much to get the momentum going... once people know there is a reputable all-in-one solution, there is no stopping it.

perhaps, (and this is an idea stretch) that a test run could consist of different groups like an install group, audio group, etc and that those groups would be referred by the other groups for an appropriate install. Like, if someone I knew needed a downpipe installed, i'd refer them to Mike and that same customer may inquire about a new headunit in which we'd send them to Fred. Like I said, just an idea... it is a difficult thing to start, especially since most of us already have the majority of our time taken up with school or full-time jobs...

Myself along with 2 of my buddies that most of you have seen (Bob with the black Type-R and Chris with the white evo VIII) have been planning a shop for quite sometime... they will be done automotive programs shortly and hopefully have some framework set by spring/summer. But it is hard to say.

anyway, this is something I feel very passionate about, which is why I can ramble about this forever.

*edited by troll*

[jigga_x]

Well outside of designing web-sites, i have a sales background and management experience. I'd like to become ASE certified, but I dont have the time or money to go back to school. As of now I do random jack-of-all trades things. Mostly bolt-ons...i have a friend that wraps interiors and a little fiberglassing.

I love to hang around people that know what they're doing and watch and learn from them. It's cheaper than goin to school!

Me and a couple of my friends were actually looking into opening a shop, but money stopped us.

[leeden]

I want a giant dirt test track.

*puts crackpipe down*

[criz]

Originally Posted by leeden

I want a giant dirt test track.

*puts crackpipe down*

[mazda6guy]

I am a mechanic but I would like to learn auto body. I have dreams of opening my own mechanic/restoration shop but Maryland sucks. They have alot of crazy laws for business owners in the automotive trade. At the moment I am learning how to weld and fabricate because my job is boring at the moment. Well you can count me in if you need any help with the shop. This thread is what I have been dreaming about for a long time. Everybody put and share knowledge to help better our cars and even potential customers. We do not even have to run from rotary engines like the other shops. Thanks to Zeropistonz and myself.

[criz]

awesome!

maybe we can all but heads together and figure out how to give the MY04+ WRXs big foglights!

[the mike]

I have a few fog ideas, but I don't know a carbon fiber/fiberglass guy to work with.

[criz]

[alachua]

I manage an $18 million/year retail store with 4 subordonate managers, and 80-100 hourly employees ranging in age from 16-55. I guess if you need someone to pull it all together, establish vendor relationships, design and set sales floors, and train a sales staff, I'm probably your guy.

Having watched a friend of a friend open a shop, grow, move, expand, expand, and fail, there is a lot to take into account when opening and running an establishment of this nature.

First, while a dyno may seem great, take into account that for the hardware alone is $80-100k. This does not take into account the cost to run it. If one were to purchase the machine solely on credit, it would need to run almost non-stop in order to make a profit during the month. Taking into account the space it consumes, and the cost of having someone essentially dedicated to running it (it has to always run to make money), it is very unlikly that owning one from the get go would be profitable.

Second, while having a big staff where everyone is very focused would allow a large group of people to live the dream, until the shop has built a solid reputation and gained a large enough market share, it will be difficult to justify the expense of having an 8-10 person staff. A staff of 3-4 people to start out is a good starting point, but those 4 people have to be willing to accept that for the first few months, their paycheck may not be as regular as it was before.

Next, beware of over diversification. It is a lot easier to gain customers when you are 'the best' or 'great' at one or a few things. If you have your hands in too many areas, you will end up being 'good' or 'ok' at a lot of stuff. The problem is, there are a lot of people 'good' at these things already, you need to differenciate yourself from your competition. Personally, I feel mobile electronics are best left to the established shops at this point in time. The amount of space it consumes both on a sales floor and in install, the amount of inventory many companies require you to buy to become a dealer, and the amount of competition in the field make it a significantly more difficult area to turn a profit in. Take the space that you would have dedicated to this, and do somehing other stores don't.

Also, consider that any brick and mortor shop will be forced to compete with internet sales. Many shops that sell on the web aren't shops at all. It is one or two guys who have the ability to have distributers drop ship product to customers. These 'shops' operate with very little overhead, thus they are able to sell at a significantly lower profit margin than a shop that is paying for a store front, and has inventory on hand. How will your shop establish their own web presense, deal with the costs associated with it, and compete with other shops on the web?

Finally, the 'performance and styling' automotive aftermarked has the highest consumer regret of any business of its size. This means less long term repeat business. The golden rule in retail is that 'it costs less to keep a customer than it does to get a new one.' This also means its more difficult to operate that dream 'no rice' shop, as most customers you aquire wil be in your store looking for stupid ricey garbage first. Only after they buy their big aluminum wing, GT-R badge, and vinyl stickers do they move to the next leval of purchase. If they got their crap somewhere else, they will be pre-disposed to returning there when they remove their head from their ass.

Can it be done? Absolutly. Is it a good long term business to start? That is a possibility, but it could just as easily happen that 'hooking up' cars becomes painfully uncool in a few years. Where would the shop be? What is the local competition like in this area? How far away from a the main comercial strip will the shop need to be to not violate any noise laws when you get a dyno? These are the tough questions that your business plan has to address.

Alright, class is out for now. ;)

-Cliff

[criz]

thanks for the input... i've done some poking around and figured out some areas that a shop would be successful at... 1 would be the philly area (approximity to NJ and to 95) and the West Chester area (close proximity to philly area, 202, 422, 476, 276, 76... and that both locations (especially west chester) have high average incomes and automotive precense.

Cliff, you made some very valid points... i've thought about some that you mentioned already, however I didn't know that 1 person is usually designated to run a dyno... I was just thinking it was something that anyone could run with the proper knowledge.

I always thought that a dyno would bring people in, and that when they saw the numbers they pushed (usually disappointed) we'd help them get the gains they wanted.

obviously some of the things i've mentioned above couldn't be implemented from the get go, however I strongly believe that an all-in-one/one-stop-shop is needed... with the exception of selling parts... you are right that it is an already filled market and tough to make money off of.

part of my inspiration: SuperAutoBacs in Japan