Legit fixed location owners

Jean-Claude

Jean-Claude

Keeper of the beautiful
My plans to move into a fixed location are a go. I have my new business license for the location and the spot is picked out and I will sign the lease this week.



I wanted to allow other legitimate fixed location owners to bounce their ideas off of me. While I believe I am ready mentally, have all of the proper business equipment and will be well stocked with supplies, for retail and use...I am positive I am missing stuff.



So please, what, if any, advice do you have? What did you leave out that you only knew you left out once you opened? How did you go about those first few weeks? What type of advertising and marketing did you have and what results did you get?

See where I am going here? Help a bruhh out. ;)



(I am making the move from a mobile company to fixed location, so I won't be exactly starting from scratch. Just a heads up.)



Thanks!
 
NO ONE LIKES YOU....lol



JK, when I talked to an ex shop owner about starting one up, he mentioned a few things to me that I may not be aware of:



-be prepared to stay later than expected for those customers who need/want to pick up cars late night

-every car that goes out of your shop is a business card - go the extra mile, especially when starting out

-network a lot with businesses in the area for referral work

-volume is where its at with a shop, hire a few trustworthy guys to knock out the little stuff leaving you with compounding and polishing only

-your bread and butter will be the wash and wax and interior jobs, paint correction not so much.

-hire someone who knows a lot about the business end of things, but not the technical side so that you can have them up front and sell the products for you and ring clients up and get paid so you dont have to stop for that 5-10 minutes each time as it will add up at the end of the day



there are more, but those are the basics
 
Jean-Claude said:
My plans to move into a fixed location are a go. I have my new business license for the location and the spot is picked out and I will sign the lease this week.



I wanted to allow other legitimate fixed location owners to bounce their ideas off of me. While I believe I am ready mentally, have all of the proper business equipment and will be well stocked with supplies, for retail and use...I am positive I am missing stuff.



So please, what, if any, advice do you have? What did you leave out that you only knew you left out once you opened? How did you go about those first few weeks? What type of advertising and marketing did you have and what results did you get?

See where I am going here? Help a bruhh out. ;)



(I am making the move from a mobile company to fixed location, so I won't be exactly starting from scratch. Just a heads up.)



Thanks!
Click to expand...



I've noticed you posting questions on a forums asking for advice on your expansion. This move will require more that just being mentally prepared with an extra stock of products/supplies. What have you done to insure your fixed move can support this extra expense? Are you planning on doing any wholesale work? Are your cash reserves inline with say 3-4 months worth of expenses? Will you be hiring employees and how will their earning be structured (hourly/salary/subs). Could this move actually backfire with your clients that require your on-site service? I have a friend that had a very successful mobile business that had a major hiccup when he went fised because he never realized that his clients would not follow. He actually had to team up with a highend (expensive$) tow company that would pick up/deliver his client's vehicle just to retain these clients. Are you located on a busy retail street or in an industial sector? There are so many what ifs that I can brainstorm on, but really need more info about your whole expansion. Please elaborate so we can coach you as necessary.
 
David Fermani said:
I've noticed you posting questions on a forums asking for advice on your expansion. This move will require more that just being mentally prepared with an extra stock of products/supplies. What have you done to insure your fixed move can support this extra expense? Are you planning on doing any wholesale work? Are your cash reserves inline with say 3-4 months worth of expenses? Will you be hiring employees and how will their earning be structured (hourly/salary/subs). Could this move actually backfire with your clients that require your on-site service? I have a friend that had a very successful mobile business that had a major hiccup when he went fised because he never realized that his clients would not follow. He actually had to team up with a highend (expensive$) tow company that would pick up/deliver his client's vehicle just to retain these clients. Are you located on a busy retail street or in an industial sector? There are so many what ifs that I can brainstorm on, but really need more info about your whole expansion. Please elaborate so we can coach you as necessary.
Click to expand...



I'll do my best to answer all of those questions.



I already have 5 wholesale/distributor accounts set up with vendors. I will sell to my clients and hopefully to body shops(the body shop aspect I'd rather not speak too much about at the moment). I have a background in distributing and sales. I believe this is a important part of my location.



Distributing will not be my only expansion. I will also offer PPF, bumper repairs and PDR.



I have cash reserves for much longer than 3 or 4 months. But I am treating this like a project that I am not eternally tied to in case it does not work out.



Employee or sub....I have not made up my mind yet. But one, if not both, are going to be working for me. That's one I will figure out with my cpa.



I have spoke with most of my clients and they don't have a problem with the move. I will continue to offer mobile services to a few clients that live way out and always make it worthwhile for me. Otherwise, I will have insurance that will cover whatever I must pick up/deliver. If the location is doing well in 3 months, I will buy a trailer for moving cars. If it's still not doing what I would like but making it, I will put off a large purchase like that.



My location is in a part of town where there are tons of car enthusiast, import owners and the well-to-do. My 3 target clients. My location is visually appealing as well as centrally located. It's in my second most ideal area of town. The most ideal simply could not work, right now.



I have a notable sum of money that will be used strictly for marketing online and on a local level, so that I can reach those who don't already know about me. I will be attending a lot of car shows and car meets, using the opportunity to advertise my location/skill set.
 
David Fermani said:
I've noticed you posting questions on a forums asking for advice on your expansion. This move will require more that just being mentally prepared with an extra stock of products/supplies. What have you done to insure your fixed move can support this extra expense? Are you planning on doing any wholesale work? Are your cash reserves inline with say 3-4 months worth of expenses? Will you be hiring employees and how will their earning be structured (hourly/salary/subs). Could this move actually backfire with your clients that require your on-site service? I have a friend that had a very successful mobile business that had a major hiccup when he went fised because he never realized that his clients would not follow. He actually had to team up with a highend (expensive$) tow company that would pick up/deliver his client's vehicle just to retain these clients. Are you located on a busy retail street or in an industial sector? There are so many what ifs that I can brainstorm on, but really need more info about your whole expansion. Please elaborate so we can coach you as necessary.
Click to expand...



Good questions to ask yourself.
 
JC - Sounds like you have a pretty clear vision of both the path you want to take, and a backup plan in case it doesn't go as planned. Many people say you need a "business plan" to start a business successfully, but many times it's very difficult to stay within this path if uncontrollable economic factors prohibit. Good luck, I think you'll do just fine. BTW - your background in Sales will greatly help with your business.



brwill2005 said:
Good questions to ask yourself.
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Not sure if you're referring to me or not? Care to elaborate Brad?
 
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