autosparky wrote on Feb 18
th, 2017 at 11:42pm:
Did you ask the old owners to stay on for a few months to help out??
The contract says the main guy will stay on for 2 weeks, I'm going to ask him if he wouldn't mind sticking around longer than that, at shortened hours and days, just to make more contact with customers. You only see a very small percentage of your clients in 2 weeks.
autosparky wrote on Feb 18
th, 2017 at 11:42pm:
$165k for the history between two partners is a declining sales figure hope you realize,
That number was the biggest red flag for me from the get go. 1 guy that's busy most of the year, and is decently efficient, with someone writing service to make up for slow days, should still be able to get close to 200K in labor sales alone. The 10 year P&L I received, showed 1.65M, so divided evenly comes out to an average 165K per year. Considering 10 years ago was about the time the bottom fell out of the US, and that the last three years have been 159K, 163K, and 172K ( on paper ), I feel confident from talking around and with the owners that the number is reflective of a lack of drive. Inspections on every car don't happen, and work sold is likely the minimum the customer came in for. Marketing and changing the customer thought process will make a huge difference and be a necessarily large part of my plan. I look to gather as much information over the next few weeks to ensure that there is room to grow.
Abndanger wrote on Feb 19
th, 2017 at 3:56am:
First thing I noticed is the gross sales. This to me is extremely low. I opened my shop and it was not a turn key. Just a fresh shop with myself and a service writer. We had generated that type of number the first year. The number you provided needs to be doubled within the first year being it is a turnkey business already. You have to set a goal for yourself. Figure out your average car count and set goals to increase the car count. But with saying this don't over promise and under deliver as well. It is easy to do.
My goal is 250K by end of year 2017, and that's if I'm running it by myself, with the wife answering phones for me part time if needed.
Abndanger wrote on Feb 19
th, 2017 at 3:56am:
Next issue is how you are going to market yourself? As with any business you need to stand out from the rest. We all here know your talent. Questions is does the public in your demographic are know this?
Working on that. Have my older sister helping me out big time. She was vice president of marketing when she left Infineon raceway in Sonoma CA a few years ago. She's currently very high up in the marketing dept. for the USO. Her husband, who is just the best brother in law, joined the coast guard to take advantage of the education opportunities, and he also graduated from Boston University a year ago with a degree in finance. They will be great help.
Abndanger wrote on Feb 19
th, 2017 at 3:56am:
The other thing I noticed in your posting in your wife works at the hospital. This could be a good source of cliental for you. Most usually have a good income and you are close and convenient and you can offer rides back and forth. I would caution with your wife working there to be discrete as some things can back fire with referring.
Yes, I've thought about this too. I wouldn't really push it, just let it play itself out. I figure just with her current coworkers that would be happy to bring their vehicles to me, I can ensure a great experience, and word will get out. An ex boss of mine, at All County Automotive, tried hard marketing techniques, that got him banned from a bunch of places. He sent the kid out one day to put flyers under windshield wipers in the parking lot of a satellite branch of the hospital. A place where the labs are and primary doctors offices and such. Well, since it was the summer in Florida, guess what it rained, and all those flyers made a huge mess. What a dipshit.
Abndanger wrote on Feb 19
th, 2017 at 3:56am:
Have you given any thought to OE tooling?
On my list of things I want to look for on Tuesday when I go to the shop, is printing out reports of customers and vehicles. I most definitely want to up the tooling game, as it's very spotty in the area and I can fill a gap. I want to focus it toward the initial customer base though. No sense buying the Consult III plus if they only have 3 customers with Nissans, unless you properly set that up to ensure you are checking for updates on every visit.
The shop up the road that I'd like to buy in 5 years ( of which he owns the business and property ), doesn't do much OE tooling. Another ex employer, Clark, has a Tech2, but programming is not a regular occurrence. Across the street from Clark is Shaffer, and he I believe has an IDS, because he is very Ford saturated. Looking into the addition of said tools sooner than later, as part of my marketing plan is going to be to stress how factory capable I am. The dealers are all basically about 4 miles further south of the shop, or 10 miles north. The VCDS is going to happen probably automatically, seeing as how the yacht clubs have a bunch of them lying around, and the yachty kids have VW's. For the price its ridiculous not to have one if you do any VAG work.
I'll post some more info for you guys if you'd like, some of the research and stuff I've done if youre interested.
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In need of advice in regards to shop ownership (Read 807 times)
