Me and seth got to talkin the other day about whats involved in getting a shop going. We're not talkin internet sells anymore, brick and mortar. Whats the hardest part of getting it going? Whats involved? What are the hugest things to consider? Overally, if you were going into the business, how would you go about it? PS: i'm not opening a shop, but its something i've been thinking about for some odd reason, and i'd like to know whats involved.. Please, atleast for sake of conversation, give any input you have.. :yes:
decent shop? alot of initial money for demo equipment decent custom installer, with work that can be shown you tell that bastard to come and get me a quote for that thign i posted in my thread
You would be surprised at the investment needed. My guess is that Seth has all the tools needed (except maybe woodworking?), so that will lower your initial investment. But although those dash kits, harnesses, wire, crimp connectors, etc. are fairly inexpensive by themselves; they add up fast. I think when my shop got into car audio my boss spent like $5k on just that stuff. Then you will need enough to support yourself for at least a year without any income. Businesses that don't do this generally fail. It takes that long to get the word out to the customers and build a reputation. After that it will start to pick up. As for the shop, depending on what materials you want to get into, I recomend having a somewhat small shop sealed off from the sales floor and install bay. Especially if you plan on getting into fiberglass. That way you can keep the smell contained, away from the customers. But even having the woodworking room sealed off will help you keep the dust down and your install bay cleaner looking. Even though you may not care, it looks more professional to the customer. One thing I highly recomend is having a decent advertising budget. You will be surprised at how much more business you will get. It will be worth it. One problem you will run into is the lines you can carry. Obviously a company like Alpine won't want to compete with itself, so they usually limit how many dealers per capita you can have in an area. This will make it dificult to pick up the companies you want to carry since other shops already have them. Another problems is finding distributors. But I sent a list of distributors to Seth, so you guys should be fine there. Also you will have to decide what products you want to buy into, and which ones you want to use distributors with. Some companies will want you to buy a lump sum of product to set up with them direct ($2,500-10k), but your cost will be cheaper than using the middle man (distributor). Other companies (Sony ES, Pioneer Premier) will require a very large buy in, plus you will have to order from them like $50k worth of product a year just to stay dealers. As a starting shop, this is extremely difficult to do. And now let's look at the customers side of things. One thing you will need is a display unit to show off your product. The really nice ones usually start off at about $30k. But you may be able to find some cheaper ones. We bought Future Shops old display boards for our shop . Well that's all I can think of for now. If I think of more, I will post them. But if you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.
BTW, if you guys need a guy that is good with fiberglass....... :bye: My boss won't let me work with fiberglass anymore at the shop because of the smell. Plus we are so slow, I don't get many hours. So I could use a good, full time job somewhere (preferably an Adire dealer), even if I have to move. And other prospects I was hoping for don't seem to be happening :unsure: .
Thats good info SK. But let me make it clear, this isn't a joint venture me and seth are planning to take on. Its just a discussion me and him got into the other day. Its something i'm deffinately interested in, but im in no position to get it off the ground right now, or anytime soon, but research is the starting point of any successful business, even if its 2-3 years in advance IMO. But dont get me wrong, if this was to happen for me as i want it to, Seth is the first person im gonna try and convince to jump onboard with me.
one thing I can not stress enough is ADVERTISING< and LOTS of it the day before grand opening try to get a Radio spot every 3-4 hrs with 2x as many during rush hour Conatact any High School, or Collage radio staions in the area Make your grqand opening on a Friday or Saturday and have some kind of "event" so not have to be offical, and it would proablly better if it was a unoffical sound off type event, with a grand opening sale, and all that good stuff try to get the local radio station to do a "remote" during the event as well should set you off right
Sorry to hear that Steven. I assume I know what you mean, correct? I was hoping and praying for you. If I were to open a shop or get involved Steven, you would be the first person I contacted, or suggest contacting. Guys with such expansive knowledge as yours doing the install work are a rare, and extreemly valuable find. My buisness is in fixing cars, any real personal venture I would have in this project would simply be my authorized sales I have recieved for several lines on a local level, and of course maybe some part time install work after hours, but my bread and butter, and my families survival is based strictly on being a Tech.
Sorry to hear that Steven. I assume I know what you mean, correct? I was hoping and praying for you. If I were to open a shop or get involved Steven, you would be the first person I contacted, or suggest contacting. Guys with such expansive knowledge as yours doing the install work are a rare, and extreemly valuable find. My buisness is in fixing cars, any real personal venture I would have in this project would simply be my authorized sales I have recieved for several lines on a local level, and of course maybe some part time install work after hours, but my bread and butter, and my families survival is based strictly on being a Tech. [/b][/quote] you know, in one of my dealer only mags, there was a artical about some one on the east coast somewhere, starting a new platform on how Car Audio is sold this places was a Gas Stations, performance Shop, Mechaic and Car Audio Sales/installs all under one roof you can Get some Gas, adds some headers, and Put in Subwoofers all under one roof Kinda a Cool idea
Cort asked me how I would feel about it and I told him I would do something similar to what you describe if I had the extra cash. Performance and pounding tunes... To me that is bliss.
Sorry to hear that Steven. I assume I know what you mean, correct? I was hoping and praying for you. If I were to open a shop or get involved Steven, you would be the first person I contacted, or suggest contacting. Guys with such expansive knowledge as yours doing the install work are a rare, and extreemly valuable find. My buisness is in fixing cars, any real personal venture I would have in this project would simply be my authorized sales I have recieved for several lines on a local level, and of course maybe some part time install work after hours, but my bread and butter, and my families survival is based strictly on being a Tech. [/b][/quote] Thanks for the kind words Seth. I really do appreciate it. Although I do have a lot of head knowlege, I don't have as much experience with the installs as you may think. I am getting it slowly, but my installs still are kinda slow going right now. Especially alarm installs.
you know, in one of my dealer only mags, there was a artical about some one on the east coast somewhere, starting a new platform on how Car Audio is sold this places was a Gas Stations, performance Shop, Mechaic and Car Audio Sales/installs all under one roof you can Get some Gas, adds some headers, and Put in Subwoofers all under one roof Kinda a Cool idea [/b][/quote] You know, that's what I was thinking about when I was doing my wright-up above. The shop I work at now is somewhat like that. They used to be strictly truck accessories, but moved into cars and stereos. We are even outside sales for Linex. We want to move into auto detailing and window tinting as well. That way it is one stop shopping. You can see it at www.whizzy's.com. Seth, you work for someone right now, correct? Do you think you could successfully open up your own shop doing the technical automotive stuff, with a car stereo section as well? From what I understand, your at the point where you could start collecting on your pension now, right? Opening up your own shop is a very good investment for you future. It's always better to own than work for (monetary wise that is <_< ).
Pension? Nope... I have dabbled in the stock market on my own creating a diversified portfolio to carry me through the rest of my life... I am now working to build a new retirement . I used a large chunk to move myself and my family from Southern California to North Carolina 4 years ago. I used another big chunk buying a townhome, and all the furnishings/appliances/ accesories for it. The rapid development of the area forced me to move my family out of there for a loss on the home. My current home used up a huge portion of my remaining savings, and the recent electrical and plumbing problems I had in the house promptly relieved me of the last of my money . The cost involved in getting up to date tools and equipment essencial to running a successful shop are well above and beyond my current means. I am not simply a "change the water pump" kind of guy. What I do is almost totally electronic and emmissions related. Big dollar equipment is required and high training costs are also part of what is required to stay abreast of being one of the best in town. Oh, and I am kinda old, but not that old
