Garage Owners

[Hitch78]

Gmac90 said:

Cheers guys I think im going to start small and work my way up hopefully earning a good profit to expand the business and keep on top of diagnostics and electrical

This is a great idea. Have the balls to back yourself to make it work and see how it goes without betting the farm. There is still and always will be a niche for good honest mechanics and your reputation will be your biggest asset. Build that brand and business will grow through word of mouth.

If its a success you will need to become the manager and you probably know now whether that is something you want or not.

My one point of advice is to understand your cost structure and where the market is for pricing and set your prices accordingly. Loads of people make the mistake of pricing too low in the early days (in all sorts of businesses) and only get the balls to price properly when their reputation and confidence grows.

[s p a c e m a n]

One of my mates is doing rather well with a general jack of all trades garage but also breaks a few cars, does some fabrication work for track cars and rebuilds turbos on the side to keep him busy between customers/after closing time

[forzaminardi]

OP, if your boss is pushing on 70, and you have an OK relationship with him, why not have a chat with him to see what his plans are for if and when he retires? Possibly this might be an easy way in, for example taking a partnership with him, or at least he might be able to give you an insight to the financial and practical realities of running a business.

[kev b]

Excellent advice!