Slo_crx1

Actually, not in that area. These kids have money, their parents have money, and they don't care. Like I said, the nearest shops are at least an hour+ away. The one shop does do good work, but they're too far for most of the people down there. The other shop is pretty much your typical "ricer" shop. As far as doing stuff on the side, I also install alarms, car stereos, remote starters and other moblie electronics. I'm MECP certified master installer and have the skills for that to keep things floating. But I don't want to be the typical "ricer/pep-boys" type of shop. I see way too many of those as it is these days. I spent a good 7 years working for an actual race team/shop myself working on everything from a track crx and integra, to vintage lotus 7's and ferrari GTO350's, all the way up to the older Lola Mk.8 indy cars and Porsche 962's. My experience with all these cars and then some has added to my own little projects, and even though they're different machines the principles are all the same. My thing with starting this shop is to try and offer an alternative...these people go out and spend huge amounts of money on the greddy and edelbrock turbo kits...I want to show them another alternative, and a way to make more power for their dollar. An online store is also something that I would like to have along with the shop, and also as a place to showcase some of our work. I appreciate all the input...it's good to know what another person's perspective is.

1SloSC2

first off, i highly highly doubt you are MECP Master certified. being that there are less than 100 of them total, its a very far cry. im first class, and that was pretty tough ----.

If you are serious, youll want a place in a "good" location. some garage out back wont cut it. heavily traveled roads, with other places to eat/shop nearby are good. while it is in a "good" location, youll want to make sure you can afford rent, elcetricity, water, heat, air, telephone (more than 1 line) and any other utility you may need. then add in payroll, taxes, vendor certificate and other ---- so you can legally sell products.

If all that is go, the first and most difficult part to being succesful is reputation. 1 person tells 10 people if they have a bad experience through you. youll most deffinitely have to start out selling ---- pretty cheap to get it going. cheap mainly because i gaurantee people can purchase it off the internet cheaper. once people realize you are more than a computer monitor and actually enjoy their business, and you have better/great customer service, they start referring and be repeat customers themselves. Dont worry about selling ---- too cheap though, if you have tools and knowledge to do the labor part, youll make more money off of labor than anything else. why? simply put there is tons of profit in labor, even moreso if it is not youre product. customer service is KEY in successful businesses, especially private owner businesses.

Next, Have fun and enjoy the headaches of keeping product in stock. Go to best buy and look at there wall of installation accesories, now double that, and thats what youre likely to be up against. multiply that by 100 and thats the internet. do lots of "investigating" and see what vehicles are more popular in your area and stock more parts for those vehicles than most other vehicles. I sell around 23 or so 1988 and up GM wiring harnesses a day, so I stock around 110 of them, that way i do orders roughly once a week. just as a general idea of stocking. If you can hang around for a little bit (at least a year) youll get a good idea of what you sell a lot of and what you dont sell at all.

Demo's and displays are great to have especially if youre advertising your "quality" work. i know youre looking at doing more performance setups than anything else, so build a vehicle or 2 and at least one good display that is going to cater to everyone that walks through the door. If someone is looking at turbo setups, build one, study it and find several key ways in which it is the better alternative to the other guys equipment. show several key ways to prove your installers/mechanics are better than the next guy.

Warranty/refund work sucks ***. you dont make any money. customers are getting irritated, and chances are, when it starts to go downhill, it keeps getting worse until you finally bend over backwards to give them exactly what they want. youll want to make sure that whatever you are selling to that person is EXACTLY what they are looking for. go over the pros/cons of most everything you sell. if they want an alarm with all the bells and whistles, start low and work youre way up, according to their budgets and needs.

but......i digress. i could sit here for hours and type about this, as ive really really been researching, talking, working, and contemplating this idea myself. best advice i can give you, is be a vendor for tylenol or excedrin. youll have lots of headaches.

myshtern

Make sure one of you has some business sense.

Seems like you are confident in your automotive knowledge, but the fact that you are asking this question proves your lack of business know-how. Someone needs to be working on cars, while someone is marketing, selling, and accounting for the money that travels through your shop.

Carnesd

i work at pep boys as a mechanic, we just had another mechanic that graduated from UTI lock up a motor in a tahoe. Pep boys has to eat the cost of the new motor and installation. A couple of weeks ago another genius i work with put 4 racks in a mercury, blaming the rack each time when he was putting the wrong fluid in it. Pep boys had to eat the installation and parts on that as well.
As well as many, many other fuckups.

But if its your dream i say go for it

Slo_crx1

Well, to 1SloSC2...yes, I am MECP master certified...I used to work for Best Buy and worked my way up to head Tech Installer, and part of the process is you have to take MECP's. They only require you to take and pass the basic installer's test, but heck...they pay for it, so why not. Plus each step up is a raise there. And yes, the test is very long, very brutal, and takes forever to study for. College entrance exams and the SAT's were easier than that test. And I also know what you mean about the "100 gm wiring harnesses"...Best Buy...been there, done that. Fortunately in that area the closest Best Buy and Circuit City is still an hour and a half away. My automotive knowledge in that area is well known, and i've had quite a few people ask me when i was going to start something down there. I know business's are a hard deal...I've been running my own little electrical and painting business on the side now for a few years. Taxes and paperwork suck. Vendor's licenses is something completely knew to me, but that's what the one guy is for...he's a business major. I know if things do work out though that it'll take quite some time to even show a profit. Average these days is around 2 years I beleive before you break even. I just want to do something that i've always wanted to do, and maybe someday it can be something i do full time.

fourthgenhatch

Hey man I say go for it to. As long as you know how to work on the cars, sounds like you do, and do the work right you'll have a good rep. Like someone before said that's most important. Someone has a bad experience they'll make sure everyone they know knows it. If it's good they might tell half as many, unless you're really good. I got a little business down here in GA doing lawn maintenance and landscaping. Only spent about 1000 in overhead and now I just pay for gas for the mower and truck. Having connections to get you business is key. For me, once I start cuttin someone's grass, I make sure they never wanna do it themselves again and they'll keep callin. that's my 2 cents

later and good luck

hebijake

a speed shop would rock man, Me and my bro-inlaw and accordepicenter wanted to do that forever, but like whitey said, it's an easy way to loose a TON of money... Think it through, if you plan it right, you hopefully will be fine

DA-MAX

good advice right there too...its like me, I can come up with all types of ideas and stuff liek that, but when it comes to putting them into action or a business plan, I draw a blank, but my buddy I work with can get ---- together without a problem. so yeah, a keen business sense and understanding can be just as important as knowing how to wrench on a car!