One man show businesses

[Bill]

Like many techs these days I am growing increasingly tired of spending large amounts of money on tools and equipment and having to invest personal time into continuously learning about new models and technologies only to just barely tread water in the flat rate system most of the time.

Ive been thinking about possibly starting a mobile one man show type of automotive business of my own. I call them one man show businesses but you know what I mean, you’ve probably seen a shop outsource some work to them or seen them at a neighbors house doing paint touch up, dent removal, interior/upholstery repair, water leak repair etc.

Ive had so many water leak cars crammed down my throat over the past few years that I have become fairly efficient and successful correcting them. At a techs hourly flat rate pay they can burn you but if you were the business and you were receiving the retail total instead of the 20-25% that you would get as a tech they start to look much more attractive.

So that’s it! Have any of you guys had experience running a mobile one man show? Any thoughts about the pros and cons? Any of you thinking about opening one yourself?

Topic

[rglewis65]

I have seriously considered doing this also even to the point of (I purchased a utility bed for my F350 pickup) I printed some business cards and hand them out to folks from time to time. I am retired US Navy and consider myself very fortunate because I have a pension coming in. I’m a Master Tech and L1 certified and have worked as a flat rate tech for seven years so I totally understand your pain. For the past two years I’ve been on salary at a mom and pop used car lot that sells 20 to 60 units per month. They do not have anything except an air compressor, not even a lift, Hell, I have a lift in my garage at my house. I have, as you probably do also, THOUSANDS of dollars invested in tools, scanners, smoke machines, scopes and meters, I figure 40 to 50 thousand. And it is frustrating when you a putting your heart and soul into your job, and a major part of your pay for tools, busting your hump to earn 35 to 45K a year. When I have friends with company jobs that bring a ten dollar lunch box with them to work everyday and earn 50 plus. I really think it would work for me but I just got an Avionics job (what I did in the Navy) and will now be one of the ten dollar lunch box guys. Woo Hoo! Anyway, things to consider; 1. Where are you? I’m in Oklahoma and right now it’s like 17 degrees outside, makes it a little difficult to put a timing belt on the kids Honda in his driveway. lol. Granted there are a lot of fair weather days here even in winter. 2. Do you have a truck or van that you could work out of, and maybe a trailer so you could pick up a non running vehicle, or a gas powered compressor to carry on your truck for mobile air. Which brings me to 3. Do you have a work shop at your house that you could perform bigger jobs or maybe when the weather is bad outside? Because if you have to rent a space to use as a work shop, things start to get to expensive for a “one man show” as you put it. I think it would work, especially if maybe you have a working spouse that will help make the transition and be able to pay the electric bill or whatever if at first you have some slow weeks. And you can get into big trouble working out of your garage at your house from the city code enforcement especially if your neighbors complain, noise, smell, etc… 4. Plan on having a monthly expense for reference info such as Mitchell Pro or All Data or something, Because you cannot do it without it at least not for very long. I suggest you buy a year subscription and pay for it in advance before you quit your present job. I know Mitchell will give you 14 months for the price of twelve right now. 5. Talk to a CPA and decide do you want to be a self proprietorship or LLC. They, CPA’s are worth the money, especially at tax time, the one I spoke with charges less than 100 bucks a month to keep track of all the receipts and file taxes etc… 6. Maybe get a Smart Phone and set it up to take credit cards because most people don’t have the money to pay for car repairs, and credit cards don’t “Bounce”. BLAH BLAH BLAH I’ve rambled on long enough. I say DO IT! You are a Technician, you like me have a trade/skill that if it doesn’t work (and I think it will) you can always go back to wrenching for a shop owner or dealership. They are always are looking for people, at least around here. I would rather try and fail than live in fear of “what if it don’t work and I go broke”. Heck we all feel broke most of the time anyway. Hope this gives you some ideas, Later, Rick B)

[rglewis65]

I also wanted to add that around here(Oklahoma City) there are quite a few small shops that don’t have or have very little drivability diagnostic capabilities, They have good mechanics, But as Eric puts it they are mostly parts changers. You might stop in a few of the smaller shops in your area and inquire about diagnosing for them or even taking care of overflow/backlog vehicles for them. I do it here for a couple of shops and they pay very well for the time involved. Most will pay you cash…you know the kind that goes right in your pocket. lol. Just another source of income if you don’t have any “mobile” customers. 🙂

[Bill]

Thank you for the interesting input. I didn’t do a good job making my original post clear. To clarify I am considering starting a mobile water leak repair business. That is all I would do is fix exterior water leaks. With the experience that I already have and the proper selection of tools and equipment I believe most water leaks can be found relatively quickly. In the vast majority of cases there would be no need for a lift, heck I can’t think of a single time I’ve ever needed to lift a water leak car. There would not be an excessive amount of tools and equipment needed so there would be no need for a trailer. A small truck or suv should be sufficient and it would be no problem to go to the customers location(as long as they had a water source) which would also eliminate the need for leasing a physical location for the business. I’m sure there are many other factors to consider which is why I am posting this here, you guys might think of something that didn’t cross my mind. In general I think it could be started for a relatively small investment. Building the advertising base and learning what gets you the most customers for the least money might take some time but putting yourself out there as a sublet option to the 25-30 local shops and dealers could form a backbone to help stay afloat until the number of more lucrative home customers gets built up.

[Morgan]

Just to give you some quick background, i work in the off highway diesel industry working on farm equipment so mobile repair is all part of the job for me. Its great to see someone with the ambition to open their own business like this because there is a great market for it, I ran my own business for a little over a year and ill admit i was not at all prepared for it. If you’re fed up with your tool bill now just wait until you have to buy everything your self, not to mention a vehicle, with fuel, more tools, and insurance on all of the above which is a killer these days. You mention shops outsourcing to you, without having liability insurance they most likely won’t hire you because it puts them on the line if something goes wrong, so it not only covers them but you as well. I got lucky because i was doing work out of our farm shop at home, as well as out in the field. Although having a “brick and mortar” shop isn’t necessary it sure makes things easier especially in the winter. Long story short i wound up having to close my doors due to several unpaid or partially unpaid bills by customers, and since i wasn’t incorporated or an LLC i could’nt take legal action. So chose your customers wisely if you dont want to obtain a LLC or something of that nature otherwise you will wind up back to work for “the man” again. Please don’t take this the wrong way im not trying to discourage you, but to prepare you for the massive undertaking that this is. So you don’t end up making the same mistakes i did. Best of luck to you.

[Bill]

Thanks for the input. I’m not talking about a mobile mechanical repair business, that would be a massive undertaking. I’m talking about a mobile business strictly repairing vehicles that are getting water inside when it rains. And absolutely I’m talking about a fully licensed and insured business not just a random guy trying to freelance. The tool cost would be very low. I already have all of the basic mechanic tools and other than that there are a few different specialized diagnostic tools that can speed up the process of locating a water intrusion but they are inexpensive on the grand scale of things. The vast majority of water intrusions come from a small handful of causes – Clogged/detached HVAC or sunroof drain tubes, improperly adjusted doors or sunroof glass, damaged or improperly installed weatherstrip, damaged or improperly installed light assemblies or gaskets, and poorly sealed windshield glass. Most of the time after diagnosing the cause the fixes tend to be relatively simple.

[Author]

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