[Chevelle-list] O/T business

[Karl Groves]

Harlan,

 

I have no experience running an auto shop. I know a few who do and I also
have some experience with other small businesses (including my own freelance
web stuff, see sig).

 

Some of the people I know are in the happy position of being so busy they
don't need to advertise their services because word-of-mouth is so strong
they can't handle the business load as it is.

 

The problem small businesses (of any kind) encounter is how to advertise in
ways that generate a return on their advertising dollar. The bottom line is,
don't bother advertising if you're unwilling to spend real money and do it
for a long term.  Advertising works by having people see your ad (and brand)
in numerous places a bunch of times. Placing a one-time ad in a local
newspaper is an absolute waste of money that would be better spent
elsewhere.

 

Because of the nature of your business, you'll want to really target your
advertising in places which are local and relevant.  I'm not sure about your
area, but we have a magazine here on the east coast called "Cruisin"
(http://www.cruisingmagazine.net/)  which would be a good place to advertise
if you were on the east coast.  There's probably some stuff like that in
your area.  This would be the kind of place to look to advertise. 

 

There are many other things you can do that can raise brand awareness:

-          "Sponsor" a car show. There are a lot of car shows which need
sponsors. They need to pay for the space, trophies, advertising, etc., and
sponsors help them offset these costs.  The fee to become a sponsor varies.

-          Become involved in some local car clubs.  I know some people in
some of the clubs I belong to keep pretty busy just doing stuff for other
members.

-          Network with other similar services.  For instance, if you do
everything except paint, work out a partnership agreement with a body shop.

-          Sponsor a "Shop Night" with one of your local clubs, where club
members can come to the shop and learn something (as long as it is
interesting and useful)

-          Get a website and put interesting information on it.  Show the
quality of your work and write articles which show your knowledge and
passion.

 

 

If you decide to go for it full time, all I can say is good luck.  I find
one of the biggest challenges to be finding a way to grow the business while
also DOING the business.  About 7 years ago, I ran a talent agency, booking
tours across the US and Europe for some heavy metal and punk bands. The
bands were popular enough that booking the tours wasn't really a problem.
The challenging part was that as the owner of the agency, I not only had to
do business (book tours) but also run the business.  I had to be human
resources, accounts payable, accounts receivable, the marketing department,
the IT department, and then I could actually do the work that got the money.
That added a major amount of stress and served to get in the way of making
money.

 

This October, I weighed heavily whether I was willing to go out on my own.
These days I'm an IT consultant. In September I was looking to leave the
company I was with. During my job search, I found numerous opportunities
which would have allowed me to go out on my own.  The challenge, however
would have been ensuring that the rate I charged would cover not only the
money I wanted to make while doing the work, but the money I didn't make
while running the business.  In other words, if I wanted to earn $x per
hour, I needed to earn at least 2*$x while producing, to cover the time when
I wasn't producing.  Keep that in mind when setting rates - you need to be
making money when you're at the desk paying bills or accepting payments, or
doing sales, not just when you're doing real work.

 

Good luck, man!

 

 

Karl Groves
AIM/YIM: karlcore
Skype: eight.pistons
www.WebAccessStrategies.com

25,000+ Antique and Classic Cars For Sale:
www.thehotrodclassifieds.com
New listings added literally every minute! 

-----Original Message-----
From: chevelle-list-bounces at chevelles.net
[mailto:chevelle-list-bounces at chevelles.net] On Behalf Of HarKemAsso at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2007 6:14 PM
To: Chevelle-list at chevelles.net
Subject: [Chevelle-list] O/T business

 

Since its slow, I thought I would ask, I have been out of work since 3-07
and have applied at over 190 places, (and the electric company and others
are ruthless-wanting to shut me off) I used to work at car dealers mainly
doing warranty claims, I am desperately trying to get out of this,(kind of
cut throat) and was wondering if anyone had any tips about starting your own
business? I kind of have a side line but its mostly friends who want stuff
done for cheap.
I want to do restoration work (which I am familiar) but would also like to
do street rods, fabrication, suspension, engine installs. And was thinking
of hiring someone for this--
my main worries are how to get that first customer? advertise? where?? (a
friend of mine has his own business and his advertising rarely brings in new
customers, its mostly word of mouth)
and I am in need of some equipment-do I take out a loan??
any opinions would be appreciated.

Harlan
http://hometown.aol.com/harkem123/HarlanKemperAssociatesindex.html 


**************************************
See AOL's top rated recipes
(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://chevelles.net/pipermail/chevelle-list_chevelles.net/attachments/20071218/0b376400/attachment.html