from mechanic to shop ower

[john13]

I am new here so bare with me...I am an owner/ operator however I got hurt bad 3 weeks ago so now I can not work on cars for maybe a year now. I have an out of tech school tech for a year now and he is great but now I have to do something different....has anyone went from wrenching to pen pushing?

[FROGFINDER]

Yep.

 

Hope you heal fast.

 

 

[Joe Marconi]

Premium Member Content 

This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.

[john13]

How badly hurt are you? The reason I ask is, are you in good enough health to go to work each day? This may be a blessing in disguise. This may be the perfect opportunity to build your business by finding ways to maintain sales and build your business. Ultimately, shop owners need to understand that in order to grow, they need to rely on others around them. If the business is too dependent on you, it makes a situation like yours, devastating. How big is your shop, and how many people do you employ?

 

I am not an active mechanic in my business anymore. I once was. When I made the move to train and trust others, my business took on a different meaning for me. I was able to see things from the sidelines, instead of out on the field. I am more profitable with the pen, then I am with a wrench. Working on my business has become my focus. Entrusting great people around you is the key.

 

I hope this makes sense to you. Keep up the dialogue here, I know I speak for all ASO members when I say, let’s see if we can help you through this.

I am outta work for a mimium of 6 weeks I cut 4 tendons a artery and a nerve in my left forearm. No more wrenching for a while maybe a year. once the swelling goes away in my hand and I can move my wrist I feel I can go in and write estimates and stuff. I employ one first year tech. He graduated a local technicial college for auto repair and I have employed him for a year now. Our geographics is a country setting not a city or even a small city setting. So how did you move from the field to the sideline? Night school? Joining ASA? I have been on one side of the wrench for soooo long getting to the sideline seems so far away.

[Gary A]

A lot of us here are good technicians. Now who here thinks that one may wake up one day, buy a tool set and start fixing cars and be good at it? Sounds crazy right? So it was the same on that day that many of us decided to take the leap into our own business. I would advise anyone who is a technician to wait, take it slow and start reading as many business related books as possible to get an idea of what will be required of starting a business and it being successful. The same I would say to you John13, take this opportunity and as Joe said make it a blessing - take these next weeks while your not able to work and buy some books or audio books (audio is my preference). A good place to start is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. And yes surround yourself with the right people! Keep us posted and hope you recover quickly.

[Joe Marconi]

Premium Member Content 

This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.

[Spence]

A lot of us here are good technicians. Now who here thinks that one may wake up one day, buy a tool set and start fixing cars and be good at it? Sounds crazy right? So it was the same on that day that many of us decided to take the leap into our own business. I would advise anyone who is a technician to wait, take it slow and start reading as many business related books as possible to get an idea of what will be required of starting a business and it being successful. The same I would say to you John13, take this opportunity and as Joe said make it a blessing - take these next weeks while your not able to work and buy some books or audio books (audio is my preference). A good place to start is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. And yes surround yourself with the right people! Keep us posted and hope you recover quickly.

 

Great post Gary! Well said.

[Gonzo]

A lot of us here are good technicians. Now who here thinks that one may wake up one day, buy a tool set and start fixing cars and be good at it? Sounds crazy right? So it was the same on that day that many of us decided to take the leap into our own business. I would advise anyone who is a technician to wait, take it slow and start reading as many business related books as possible to get an idea of what will be required of starting a business and it being successful. The same I would say to you John13, take this opportunity and as Joe said make it a blessing - take these next weeks while your not able to work and buy some books or audio books (audio is my preference). A good place to start is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. And yes surround yourself with the right people! Keep us posted and hope you recover quickly.

 

Gary, where were your words of wisdom when I opened my shop? Better late than never, I totally agree with ya... the more you know the better off you are, whether that's repairing cars or running a successful business. You said it!!