Open up a shop?

[Raul @ Stealth Automotive]

Hey guys i need your help. I have been wanting to open up a shop for a couple of years now but have not been able to figure out what location to do it in. I live in the San Fernando valley so i wouldnt want it somewhere really far. I was thinking Canyon Country Or Simi Valley because their are soo many trucks out their with no real shop around other than 4wheelparts. so this is my idea for a shop.

Im looking to be a one stop place meaning we will do lifts, diesel stuff like gauges, tuners, ect, car audo, tint, and custom work. My buddy that is looking to be my partner owned 2 Al N Eds audio shops and he is also a certified welder. He helped Fabricated a bunch of those things on those toyota tundra commercials and he does sick stuff for lift kits and custom bumpers ect. so my question for you guys is should i take the plunge? this would be my first shop so im a lil scared to drop the ball and start it but i very much want to start one. And what do you think about the location i want to open up in. Is their another location that is in need of a good Off-Road Performance shop near me?

let me know guys and thanks for the help

[94prez]

Things I look for in a shop and how important they are:

Location - somewhat huge, but you (as owner) don't want to be in the high rent district. I will travel over an hour to get to sunrise, because they are good. I know guys travel pretty far to get to John Wood. On the other hand, it is a bummer there is no good shop near me (South Bay) that includes Diesel stuff. I would not send my ex-wife to 4WP.

Availability of stock - everyone is getting used to ordering stuff online. If you go to a shop to buy something, you want to be able to walk away with it.

Specialty - It would be good to be able to do it all, but you risk being just ok at everything instead of outstanding in a few things. Take shops like Hoopers that just ONLY do gears. Big shops like ORU do it all, and they have a pretty good reputation, but they have been doing it for a long time. As a new guy you would be relying quite a bit on others and if something happened to your 'go to guy' you would be SOL. ORU and 4WP are big enough get through employee attrition problems. As a biz you could have your tint guy per se, work as an independent contractor at your shop - but then you better make sure he/she is treating the customer right, or your screwed. Good shops don't need to advertise.

Clientele - Of course the ultimate goal is to make money, you may enjoy it but you aren't workin for free. You need to think about the type of shop you want to be considered and often it is clientele. Race, Show, Banks queens.. it is kinda like a gym...if you let your regulars bully the new paying customers and start a vibe that is uncool, your biz will suffer. If you want to do lifts and lowers and show and shine you may not attract the serious tow crowd and vice versa. Go where the money is, and where you are comfortable, and drive it that way. Sounds corny, but every good business needs a business plan, and a mission - and follow it.

Realistic Goals - Find a property in a location you have researched which allows you to do your thing and be competitive. Guys drive to John Wood because of John Wood. He could open his shop on the moon and we would find a way to get there. Start realistic. People pay Wood and know they are getting the best, that did not happen overnight. Shops come and go, the good people remain, and there are probably some good fab guys etc out there.

Contracts and relationships - I know a shop near me, that is pretty good for lift stuff, not the best, stays in biz because they do all the lifts for a few local dealerships that sell lifted new trucks.

Innovation - As much as I like my lifted beast, being forward looking I would consider a shop that has some specialty in Bio-diesel retrofit. If fuel gets to $5 gal and the environmental laws changed, lots of us will be reconsidering how we 'roll'. I guess, don't over extend, and get the basics, but think outside the box.

Sounds like you have operated sans brick and mortar for a while so you'll have to roll in the reality of rent, insurance, employee tax, biz tax, other tax, Oh, did I mention more tax and regulation...so consider your locale. Some cities are easier to do biz with.

Gimmicks. As much as I would like bikini clad girls polishing my lug nuts, I am not going to bother if it is a lousy product with crappy service. These forums are a pretty good place to take the pulse of the industry.

Just some thoughts, you asked.

Good luck dude. Follow your dream, but have a good plan.

94prez

[Raul @ Stealth Automotive]

Wow bud thanks for the great info... i have been doing the whole construction thing for almost 10years but my passion is the off-road stuff. I had thought about the contracts with local dealerships. i have an uncle that owns a body shop and has 1 account with a Toyota dealership and he tells me that the majority of the business comes from them so i could see how a contract with a few dealerships would be a good idea...

I know im a new sponsor on here but i have built a very good reputation on Powerstroke.Org and the business is growing so quickly that i knew this year i would have to choose either the construction or the stealth business to do full time.

Thank you for all your info i very much appreciate it....

-Raul

[Fastpowerstroker]

sounds like prez either owns his own biz or has just done some serious homework on it.

[K5Cruiser]

I've also wanted to start up a shop (off road or fabrication), but really haven't done anything to get to that point. If you have the desire and opportunity, I say go for it!

A good business plan will take you a long way, not to mention that if you need a business loan the bank will require this. I don't think location is going to be that big of a deal if you don't want to worry a whole lot about walk-ins off the street. If you advertise well (not necessarily expensively), and build good relations with your clientele, it won't matter where you're located as people will go to you.

Good luck and I wish you the best in this business venture.

[bigrpowr]

if you do it i simi valley let me know, i'd love to help you out.

[Bobby_Dezarov]

Take shops like Hoopers that just ONLY do gears.
94prez

Thought I was the only one on here that knows Richard Hooper and his gang. We race with all of them, what a bunch of hilarious characters!

[94prez]

Hoopers is great. Lot's of guys on here recommend them, I just used them and was quite happy. And yes - a bunch of characters - the kind of shop that is getting harder to find these days.

[Bobby_Dezarov]

You need to see those guys at the race track, you think they are wierd and crazy in their shop, you've only seen the tip of the iceberg!

[bigrpowr]

i know the guys at hoopers. anthony is a great guy. but damn the location is something else. keeps rent down i guess.

[94prez]

i know the guys at hoopers. anthony is a great guy. but damn the location is something else. keeps rent down i guess.

Oh, you mean the location next to all the salvage title auto dismantlers? Funny thing is I had all morning there so I walked up to the golf course (they later said they would have dropped me off). Wow, I am not a golfer but the little cafe was nice, drank some beer, hit some balls, and walked back to the ghetto for my rig. Not a bad day.:cheers444:

Back to the topic = seems like the guys who race, or somehow stay passionate about what they do, stay successful. There is a Porsche shop we take my wifes car to in San Diego because they are worth every penny. The shop is closed on certain days because they are all out racing. Are there even any local diesel shops that do such a thing?:smokin:

[Fast Attack]

Raul,
I think the advice from Prez is right on the money. I am a business owner and agree with all he says.

Since I live in Thousand Oaks, my vote would be Simi Valley!!! We are starving for good shops in this area. I am driving to Irvine for a lift on my truck Friday at Outlaw Offroad.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Mike

[Ewog]

Raul,

I think it is great that you want to go out and open a shop. Simi would be a great place for it as well. There are a lot of kids with money and like to spend it. I grew up out there and my parents are still there so I would make the drive to have some work done on the truck.

Now for what Prez had to say.... He is 100% right. Also keep in mind hat since you also want to do the installs your insurance is going to be even higher then it would be to just open a Stealth store and have them pick the parts up and install them at home. That is why the internet business is nice no real need for to much (if any) insurance.

You should talk to a few other shops and see what it takes as far as overhead to run the shop day to day. I am assuming at the start it will just be you and your buddy doing the work so don't take salaries into account. Unless I am wrong and you plan to hire aCERTIFIED mechanic. Which is also a big plus?

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to also keep the shop separate from the internet business. That way since you will be giving up on the construction thing, you will have something to sustain you until the shop starts to take off.

Hey I wish you the best of luck in the hardest thing you will do.

Ewog

[Raul @ Stealth Automotive]

Hey guys thanks for all the advice... turns out im going to wait another year.. i have a few friend swith shops around the country and the one i respect the most has one in arizona and this is what he had to say:

Speaking from very much knowledge on this subject. Sit and really think about if your ready to do it. When I firsts started I had a partner. Kinda like Pat and larry, but we are no longer friends. This was a few years back and with that under me and know the very low Margines in this business I would not have a partner.

Depending on the location you will need to do about 150K a month to break even. My rent was 7k, insurence, workmans comp, phone service electrical water, security system=====17K alone per month.

You cannot run a business, do sales, answere phones and keep the inventory without employees.

Upfront Cash needed 200K. You need to purchase inventory, displays ( Vendors will help a lot on that ) I went over 1 year without a 130K month. I took a loss for a year. Good employees are 15-20 bux an hour

130k in a month sound great I know but the margin on parts and labor doesn't pay the bills on 130k total sales. We do much much better than that now but it took a long time to get there

i sell a lot out of the state which is the reason i dont have a storefront or shop because i havnt found a need for it yet.... im gonna take this year to try and develop my business here locally. It will also allow me to look around for places and try to get an investor because i dont have 200k lol.... if their is enough interested in a good performance shop then ill prob open one next year.....

-Raul

keep the suggestions coming :)

[BilletGarage]

Things I look for in a shop and how important they are:

Location - somewhat huge, but you (as owner) don't want to be in the high rent district. I will travel over an hour to get to sunrise, because they are good. I know guys travel pretty far to get to John Wood. On the other hand, it is a bummer there is no good shop near me (South Bay) that includes Diesel stuff. I would not send my ex-wife to 4WP.

Availability of stock - everyone is getting used to ordering stuff online. If you go to a shop to buy something, you want to be able to walk away with it.

Specialty - It would be good to be able to do it all, but you risk being just ok at everything instead of outstanding in a few things. Take shops like Hoopers that just ONLY do gears. Big shops like ORU do it all, and they have a pretty good reputation, but they have been doing it for a long time. As a new guy you would be relying quite a bit on others and if something happened to your 'go to guy' you would be SOL. ORU and 4WP are big enough get through employee attrition problems. As a biz you could have your tint guy per se, work as an independent contractor at your shop - but then you better make sure he/she is treating the customer right, or your screwed. Good shops don't need to advertise.

Clientele - Of course the ultimate goal is to make money, you may enjoy it but you aren't workin for free. You need to think about the type of shop you want to be considered and often it is clientele. Race, Show, Banks queens.. it is kinda like a gym...if you let your regulars bully the new paying customers and start a vibe that is uncool, your biz will suffer. If you want to do lifts and lowers and show and shine you may not attract the serious tow crowd and vice versa. Go where the money is, and where you are comfortable, and drive it that way. Sounds corny, but every good business needs a business plan, and a mission - and follow it.

Realistic Goals - Find a property in a location you have researched which allows you to do your thing and be competitive. Guys drive to John Wood because of John Wood. He could open his shop on the moon and we would find a way to get there. Start realistic. People pay Wood and know they are getting the best, that did not happen overnight. Shops come and go, the good people remain, and there are probably some good fab guys etc out there.

Contracts and relationships - I know a shop near me, that is pretty good for lift stuff, not the best, stays in biz because they do all the lifts for a few local dealerships that sell lifted new trucks.

Innovation - As much as I like my lifted beast, being forward looking I would consider a shop that has some specialty in Bio-diesel retrofit. If fuel gets to $5 gal and the environmental laws changed, lots of us will be reconsidering how we 'roll'. I guess, don't over extend, and get the basics, but think outside the box.

Sounds like you have operated sans brick and mortar for a while so you'll have to roll in the reality of rent, insurance, employee tax, biz tax, other tax, Oh, did I mention more tax and regulation...so consider your locale. Some cities are easier to do biz with.

Gimmicks. As much as I would like bikini clad girls polishing my lug nuts, I am not going to bother if it is a lousy product with crappy service. These forums are a pretty good place to take the pulse of the industry.

Just some thoughts, you asked.

Good luck dude. Follow your dream, but have a good plan.

94prez

As a business owner I agree 100% with what was said above!

Taking the plunge into any new business is risky and nerve racking. Don't let it scare you though, the risk is worth the reward! Having owned my own business for the past 8 years now, I couldn't imagine going back to work for someone else even when work days go 18 hours. I wish you luck and I say, go for it!