JamisonAutoGroup

Thank you for bringing this up, Joe! I agree with both of you that it does seem to be an ongoing thing. As the previous comment suggested, " Some shops are better run than others". This is in my opinion, the leading factor in a business's success or demise. Some shop owners are more geared toward marketing and branding (like me), others are geared more to the technical side of the diagnostics and repairs. In any case, I feel it is critical to be well educated in these areas of the business, among others. The most important thing a business owner should be focused on though, is the KPIs. This tells you the pulse of the business, and how to steer the business in the right direction. An owner who doesn't know their numbers, does not know their business!

I also have a two man shop. From the very beginning, I knew that I had to focus on the jobs that I could do better than most of my competitors. I am a BMW/Mercedes shop, but end up taking many other makes and models in as a result of my reputation for quality work. I'm not the cheapest, not the fastest, but honest and thorough. I turn away many types of jobs because either we don't have the tools to do it, or the job is not one that I am well enough educated/experienced on. We take on many larger jobs, dealing with a dozen or so cars at a time. My car count is lower than some shops, but the ARO is a hell of a lot higher than most other shops as a result. You have to play to your strengths, and do the best you can at what you're the best at. Trust your gut and do your research. You will be fine! Good luck!

Thanks Frank, I appreciate it! I am working on getting my wholesale dealer license to enhance my business and create an additional income source. I also make it a point to do sales calls to the used car dealers in the area, and am working to gain some of their repair business. It gets a little easier every day just by taking baby steps and being proactive.

MSPEC, Wheeling Auto, and Harry the car geek, are all right on point! I applaud you guys, you have your stuff together. After reviewing my previous post, I think that maybe I didn't paint a very good picture of what our business really looks like. Yes, we are small, but everyone has to start somewhere. I work from home because I bought my home and 3 acres specifically to expand on what was already here, and build my shop on it, which I have done. I searched for 6 months to find a place where zoning requirements would not be an issue. I am outside of city limits, and that benefits me in numerous ways. The taxes are cheaper, repair shops are 20+ minutes away, and I specialize in European vehicles (separate yourself from the competition). We are a bedroom community about an hour from New Orleans, and there are a ton of Euro cars here on the coast. I didn't simply go rent a shop and roll the dice. I bought a home in an area where I could build my business, my shop, and my brand. I do this full time, this is our family's only source of income, and we are definitely making it. I hope to have a nice commercially zoned property in a high traffic area in the future, but for now, this is what we have to do so we can get to that level. Felix, don't ever be ashamed for starting small!

To respond to Handson, as he quoted, "Please tell me you carry liability and workmans comp, nothing pisses me off more then someone undercutting legit shops by not being licensed and insured. I think you should have to submit an EIN and proof of garage keepers insurance to be a member on this site, unless it is becoming how to become an auto shop owner instead of autoshop owner." I am really not concerned with feelings, only taking care of my family and building my brand. I do carry a hefty commercial insurance policy, have registered my Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State (Bus. ID #1065964), also have an IRS EIN # and pay my taxes to the Mississippi Dept of Revenue on a monthly basis. But that's not all, I also am licensed by the county in which I reside with a business license (privilege tax license) and retain the services of a CPA. I run Mitchell 1 software, and am truly a one man show. I do everything I can to maintain a legitimate shop. I do not cut corners, and also do not like shade tree businesses either. I am a little confused on one thing though, you made reference to another forum, but I do not recall that. Would you mind refreshing my memory on that please? Thanks Jamie Jamison

Believe it or not, back in the late 80's I bought a '79 Chevy Luv that had the same set up for the headlights. Crazy!

This has been a good thread, and regardless of what status or income level a person holds (shop owner or not), I feel that you can learn something from just about anyone. I am a one man shop that has been in business for a little over 2 years. I still work from my home and have pretty small expenses. I am working hard to build my brand as an honest and ethical shop owner, putting customers first. I started my business because of a bad experience as a customer at a local shop, and do not regret it a minute. This business is hard as hell, but worth it! I am a college graduate, and spent the last 9 years working as an Operations Manager in the building material industry. I began my career in the auto business working in a parts department for Mercedes-Benz of San Diego, have worked as a parts man at several auto parts stores, worked as a technician for dealerships and repair shops. I find that you absolutely must do your research before committing to owning a business, and develop a clear plan for success. Finding a way to separate you from the competition will prove to be a profitable decision. And make sure you take time to sharpen your skills, as well as feed your dream. Most importantly, your dream (reason why you are building the business) has to be stronger than your fear of failure!

Great post, guys! I am also a struggling one man show. I have Mitchell1, quickbooks online and work from home. There are numerous times when I let the phone go to voicemail, but I cal them back the moment I have the opportunity. I have a small but loyal customer base, and they already know the drill. The new customers I get are quickly educated on being flexible with the time frame to get the car serviced properly. I have found that most people are quick to understand if you don't answer their call on the first ring. They know that quality work takes time, and I will take the same care and attention to detail with their vehicle once it enters my bay. On the other hand, I have had to fire customers for being unreasonable or time killers, and I don't sweat that loss one minute! The best advice I can give (besides the previous advice listed above from the other contributors), is to take a few moments every morning to prioritize your goals for the day, make time for sales calls, and don't allow people to redirect your attention if possible.

I whole-heartedly agree with Gonzo, Joe, and AlfredAuto! You guys are right. I get people bugging me all the time with questions about how-to's on their BMWs. I don't mind helping out other people, whether they are DIY guys or techs. I even collaborate from time to time with other shop owners on problems we face, and the partnership helps us all win. Sharing information is something that I enjoy doing, because I feel like all of us are an ambassador for the business. But when it comes to people taking advantage or not spending their own money on Alldata or Mitchell 1, I have the same opinion that if you want the info bad enough, you should be willing to pay for it! I most certainly am, which is why I have Mitchell 1. You gotta pay to play.

I took the advice, and read the book "Quitter" by Jon Acuff. I highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of starting any kind of business. In addition, I also recommend reading the book "How rich people think" by Steve Seibold. It is also a game changer. Yesterday was my last day with my company. I worked as an Operations Manager for 9 years, and they decided to relocate the Branch to New Orleans. Thank God we were offered a severance package, or we would be screwed. So wish me luck, cause ready or not, here we go!

I agree with AlfredAuto, many of these duties can be streamlined to make the business more efficient. I believe that the owner should do most if not all of it that they are able to do themselves, this keeps their finger on the pulse of the business. I started out doing a monthly P&L using Excel, and submitted all of my info to my accountant, who charges me about $950 yearly to do my personal and business returns (Corp). I have recently started learning Quickbooks, and absolutely LOVE it! And for $13/month, you can't go wrong. As a sidenote, I also have the Mitchell 1 Program, but have not yet integrated it with QB yet. Jamie

I have also received these sales calls from D&B. I had already signed up and received my free DUNS # and have not spent any money on them. Also, I am surprised to hear that AlfredAuto had to have one to get the UPS account. I got on their website and had one on 5 minutes. It was very easy to get the account set up, and they even give me a volume based discount, since I have an Ebay store and ship with them frequently. I also have a FedEx account as well, but used it mainly to leverage better pricing from UPS. Jamie

Actually, I am in the same position myself, working full time as an operations Manager. My salary is 50K, cost of living fairly low. With that being said, I have contemplated the timing as well. My conclusion is that it is almost impossible to save enough money to support your family for the 1st 3 months or so, and I say this knowing that we all have full intentions of having more work than we can handle. This is a tricky business, full of ups and downs. If you could find a way to squirrel back at least 5k to act as a safety net, then I say quit your job and go ahead. GOOD LUCK! Jamie

www.JamisonAutoGroup.com Thanks for looking!

I am just a one man show, but I saw the benefit of using Mitchell 1 software (Manager SE Version 6.9). I absolutely LOVE it!!!!! I love the fact that it handles the accounting side of managing the shop as well as the service side. I use the repair estimator all the time to figure out how much to quote on the estimate. Also, Like someone said earlier, you can create your own pricing matrix. The manager SE program only cost me $212/month. I also love having the ability to email quotes to people. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mitchell 1.

Thanks for sharing, guys. Currently, I am a one man show, working a full time job, trying to get my repair business off the ground. Business has been pretty slow for me as well the last couple of weeks, even though I have advertising on Google Adwords, Facebook, and local print. I also have a website that I built through GoDaddy. It seems like there are times when you have more work than you can handle one week, then the next week, nothing! It always makes me second guess myself, wondering if I should do more advertising or just ride it out. Reading this thread helps me to just keep doing what I have been, and remember that slow and steady wins the race.

I agree with Alfred Auto on this one. I had a local shop owner make me an offer to buy his 10 year+ business for 750K. I'm not gonna go into all the details, but ultimately, I felt that it was a better decision to start from scratch (avoiding the debt) and build my own brand instead. Good luck to you!

I TOTALLY agree with Alfred Auto, he is right on point! I respect him for having the self discipline to keep to his budget of $500/week. I make 50K a year at my daytime job, but am not left with much take home after child support, student loans, etc. It would be really hard to survive if there were any hiccups in the finances. My wife and I have a new baby, so she just went back to work. Had it not been for the car business to carry us through, it would have been rough! Thanks Alfred Auto for the advice! To add to the 2nd part of his response, my daily driver is a 1988 F-250 4X4, and my wife drives a 2001 BMW 525I with 200K. I couldn't do this with a huge car payment, and really do not want to.

I agree that a partnership can be difficult at best. I think of it as a two-headed monster, and tell people that only partner I need is my wife. I like the idea of a silent investor also, that way you maintain control of operations.

This is also something that interests me as well. I am just starting out, and am trying to figure out the best decision to get my business off the ground. I currently work full time as an Operations Manager in the building material business. My intent is to build my car business, but staying as small as I can for as long as I can, so that I can reduce my exposure to debt. I work weekends and evening from my home, out of a 12' x 20' portable building. I am getting ready to buy a portable carport to keep me out of the sun while I work. I keep telling myself that this is short term pain for long term gain. I buy, fix and sell BMWs, as well as perform work on customers' BMWs. I like the attitude of not carrying any debt, and appreciate the thread, and the advice that has come out of it! Thanks!