HarrytheCarGeek

I was thinking there would be more discussion on this topic. As for me, it clearly tells me why my marketing was not working except for the inspection service offers. This is disturbing to say the least.

WOW! the insurance industry takes in over 3 times as much revenue over the repair industry?! No wonder we are screwed!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php/28840-It-is-all-about-debt http://savingtosuitorsclub.net/showthread.php?2220-It-is-all-about-debt It is all about debt. Are you tired of working like a mule and don't see a way out? Are you tired of always working, missing your family, and your debts keep growing? Would you like to know why you are always working and never getting ahead? If you do, read on, but let me warn you, once you know, you cannot put the knowledge back. It is all about debt. It all begins with our ancestors settling down. In the beginning they were hunter-gatherers, then they learned to grow crops in small gardens, from small gardens to large planting fields. Large planting fields require water; planting large fields are very risky endeavors. For example, if there is a drought (it doesn't rain) the fields may not produce any crops! On the other hand, if you have a plentiful harvest, other tribes may come to steal your crops, so you need security people to protect your harvest. The academics tell us that all this began to be recorded in Mesopotamia about over five thousand years ago. The people in charge of the administration were the priests, it was them that broke the sacred trust and have cursed us with endless wars and debt. Since ancient times, people have chosen smart people to be our priests, it is believed that they would be smart enough to protect the people and help the people survive famine, natural catastrophes, and whatever destruction Nature would wreak on the people. The tremendous problem is that priest are people too, and they are susceptible to greed just like anyone else. It is unfettered greed that has led priests to break their sacred vows and oaths to be faithful and condemned all of us to endless wars and death. See, after a bountiful harvest, the grain would be pooled into the temple's granary, it was the duty of the priests to care for this grain for the community, but not being happy with their pay and having all that grain just sitting there being cared for took a lot of work to keep it safe from spoiling and vermin, they came up with the idea of the people offering to God precious metals as sacrifices/offering. The advantage of storing precious metal like Gold or Silver was that they didn't spoil and did not require as much work to keep them safe as the grain did. But their greed would not be satisfied, now they had lots of Gold and Silver stored just sitting there so they came up with the idea of lending the Gold and Silver, charging interests on the loans based on the same precious metals. The problem was that as they lend out the precious metal it would leave the temple's safe and if there was a famine, they would not be able to buy grain from other places because the precious metals had been lent out. In other to a appease the people, they would kill someone as a sacrifice to the gods. So in their greed they came up with a clever solution to that problem, they would lend out the precious metal by receipt, that is to say, they would give the borrower a receipt stating they had a certain amount of precious metal in store at the temple's safe. This way the precious metal would not have to leave the temple's vault. To their delight they found out that they could safely lend up to 10 times the amount of Gold or Silver stored in their vaults! There is a big issue with this exponential lending though, if there was a famine or catastrophe people would run to the temple to claim the Gold or Silver, but since there was only a small fraction of the metal lent, the people would riot when they could not get their share of the precious metals. Again, greed let them came up with with a very ingenious solution to their problem, instead of lending receipts for the precious metals, they would lend out bookkeeping entries on their ledgers, this way, people didn't have anything physical to claim, they could charge all the amounts they wanted and charge the interest without having the people panic and show up at the temple to riot. This has created a monstrous problem for humanity, their system must keep creating debt exponentially to function and the more the debt grows, the more the people have to pay in interest with their labor. This in effect has made slave of us all over the world. The only solution is for the people to understand how the system functions and to push back by not letting them steal their labor by the priests fraud. In this day and age, in order to conceal the scam, the priest are called bankers and lawyers, but they are the same people that long ago starter to rob our ancestors. It is through the adjustments of the interest rate that they control how fast they rob all of us. Push back, put clauses in your contracts that let you fight back and not let them take your wealth without a fight.

There are some issues with this in New Jersey, we could not hold a postdated check, etc.

Joe, The Finance and Insurance industries ate our lunch, on top of that, the Real Estate and Health Care industries are plundering us. The only way we can survive in this industry is by pushing back and getting our share of the household budget to come back to us.

There is a software program I used in the past to do this type of business. Here is the link: http://www.notesmith.com/ Now, consider the type of customer that you will be dealing with, (there is no easy money, you have to work for it no matter what), if you have no experience chasing money, I would suggest you reconsider, such low margins on tires, and the regulatory hassles may not be worth it, but only you know your numbers and risk tolerance.

Poignant, have you ever thought about why did we need keys to begin with? More than just to keep our stuff lock away for others... because it points the way to where the new keys will be used to keep out those that don't know better. For example, your face and your other biometrics are now being used by the Government to keep you in line. Here are some links to open up the subject, since soon we may need to amend our constitutions to restrict government from using our biometrics as keys. Facial Recognition Technology- Time to recognize the dangers of unfettered use of your biometrics by Government. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112shrg86599/html/CHRG-112shrg86599.htm These are some scary facts on these links:http://www.aamva.org/uploadedFiles/MainSite/Content/EventsEducation/Event_Materials/2015/2015_AIC/2015_AIC_Download_Station/About%20Face-Facial%20Recognition%20Technology_MASTER.pdf https://www.eff.org/files/2013/11/07/09_-_facial_recognition_pia_report_final_v2_2.pdf http://nj.gov/mvc/pdf/About/Annual%20Report%202015.pdf

Get in your car and drive it at rush hour, look toward your shop and see what parts of your shop stand out. If you can, take someone with you and a camera and take pictures to help you visualize the shop's facade. While you are at it, have a memo recorder, record your observations and anything that stands out. Next, think about what the people stuck in traffic could be thinking about, and the problems they could be having with their cars, e.g.: Check engine light on? ABS light on? A/C doesn't work? Heater doesn't work? Belt's squealing, car making weird loud noises? Etc. Then make a sign that stands out and appeals to them to come into your shop.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR BUSINESS GOOD ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU? Has anyone called you selfish? Were you offended? Were your feelings hurt? I am alarmed at the highly neglected conditions of over 60% of the vehicles going through my bays. Bald or completely worn tires, dangerously worn suspension components, that is to say, ball joints so worn that they could break upon hitting a pothole, shocks or struts that no longer damp, tie rods ready to pop if the tires are forced to turn against a curb. In our state, the motor vehicle commissioner was delegated the duty to inspect vehicles for their operational conditions at least once a year, then it was increase to a biennial term, that is to say every two years, to eventual discontinuation of the safety portion of the inspection program on August 1, 2010. Now, all the commission does is check for the emissions system to be working. When the New Jersey Repair Excellence Council (NJREC)voiced their concerns about the safety hazard the discontinuation of the safety inspection program may present to the public, they were dismissed as self interested money hungry leeches. Not being politicians, NJREC failed to articulate their position well, clearly they have a vested interest in cars being maintained, but even more than that, their self-interest is one that benefits us all by keeping dangerous and ill cared for cars off the roads. It is about time that those that care about the automotive industry came together and speak with one voice about our interests. You should not be ashamed to speak up for striving to prosper in an industry that provides an essential service to the community. Other industries have hijacked the legislative process to deprive us of the much needed revenue to stay in business to provide an essential service to the community. It's time we scrutinize our position and speak up for our self-interests and those of the community at large. You have to be smart enough to know where is your bread buttered, and there is no shame to speak up for your self-interests where it benefits the whole society at large.

Taking a lead from the NJABA, I was doing some research and came across this article. http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/pdf/americans-aging-autos.pdf The article is a good read, it may give you food for thought is you are having a hard time meeting your own numbers.

I don't understand the question. My parts costs vary, but on average can be 25%, down to 12% of the particular job. On some oil change specials, the parts and supplies can be as high as 63% for me! And there are diagnostics jobs that supplies and equipment amortization are less than 5% in costs.

bstewart, You have described the difference between America and the rest of the world as it pertains to worker training. America is Capitalistic for the poor, and Socialistic for the rich, which is why you can make a very large fortune if you know how to exploit it. One reason we are struggling in the USA is the the Finance industry hit the automotive industry right in the gut after the 2008 finance collapse. They had the Govt. pass the Cash for Clunkers bill, which withdrew the majority of demand for auto repair from the market, and turned into an auto finance bonanza. Auto shop owners are struggling to drive traffic into their stores, there is a lot of pent up demand in cars that are being neglected because the majority of the people's cash is being diverted into servicing their rent/mortgage and health insurance premiums. This keeps owners from paying higher wages, and attracting great talent into the industry.

CTM, For a practicing mechanic this is not really viable. I think vo-tech schools can really use this though. Practicing mechanics need this for emerging technologies, manufacturers of diagnostic equipment could use this to put out training for their equipment and troubleshooting guidelines and scenarios. my $0.02 ducats

1. Staying healthy, and motivated to continue the business. 2. Keeping (paying) customer happy and coming through the door enough to make it worthwhile to stay in business. 3. Finding and training trustworthy people. 4. Keeping up with new technology and vision of where the business is going. 5. Making enough of a profit after taxes to make it all worthwhile. . . .

UTS, thank you!

We close out the job when paid. The guys are paid by tracking the productivity report on their hours.

Ok, here is the feedback from my guy: Commission is about 20% of gross sales, he does about $15K week in sales which works out to about $3k in revenue for him. The neg, people leave all kinds of stuff in those trucks. Some are even used for crimes, and you have to be careful to keep excellent records.

I toyed with the idea of issuing the car care club cards, but never got around to doing it. Does anyone have any experience running one? If you do, care to share some pro/cons? Thanks!

This is good!

Thanks UTS, I was just curious as to how you made your growth plans and determinations. You know, given the Fed's mandates: http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/brainard20160603a.htm I was thinking that 10% growth YOY, would be extremely aggressive.

Great opportunity! It's a money maker for one of my guys. The cons? Oh, boy, the things you see come through.

Hi, UTS! How did you arrive at the 10% target rate of growth?

Oh, man! You are right in NYC! I couldn't imagine your overhead. Hey, question, how do the guys on the Bronx can do $40 brakes for the taxi guys?

A drive around may be in order, no? Stop by and say hello to those still open too, that may give you some surprise...

Gonzo, you are right. There is this one thing I want to point out, Chinese competition really distorted the market. Think about this, how can a CV axle be cheaper new than a local rebuilt unit? Somethings don't make sense until you see that it's not business as usual, but economic political warfare.