starting a shop? any advice.

[jbwoodie]

I am in the early planning stages of opening a quad (and maybe dirt bike) repair and performance shop. Has anyone out there done this or doing it now that would be interested in mentoring me in the process?

I have a family history of small business ownership and grew up in several family businesses so I am familiar with the commitment so I am more interested in industry specific issues but would accept advice from any knowledgeable source.

Thanks in advance.

[honda300EXtreme]

never had much experience in ownership...

but heres what i do know

fair prices + good customer service = loyal customers

[mod440ex]

dont jack up your prices, wait for your clientel to build. tyr to do timely work make people want to bring their stuff to you over dealers. if it takes off get certified by all the major brands if u can so you can do warrenty work. be ready to spend money before u make moey, and most important



GOOD LUCK

[D-MAN92]

Give me free parts ;) lol
but i would say get a variety of diffrent parts companys in stock and definitly an online store. Then sponsor the forum. Good luck with your shop man hope it all works out. Don't forget to tell us the name of your store keep us posted on how it works out.

[jbwoodie]

I worked in the high end hotel business for 10 years so I know how to please people and go the extra mile, I'm curious about becomming a dealer for aftermarket companies, products that move or don't, services that they thought would go over that didn't ie. machine work (was it worth the investment) ect.

[mod440ex]

well man it sounds like you r headed in the right direction. i hope it really works for you. i know i wish i had more little shops around to go to. maybe look at sponsoring someone at a local event, you know do their motor work, suspension, or anything else. just get your name out there for some reputable work

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by jbwoodie
I(and maybe dirt bike)

First and foremost, change your focus and perception. A quad-only shop is almost certainly doomed to failure. You will find out really quickly that 80% of your customer base is dirtbike.

[mod440ex]

sounds like a great point, thats deffinately something to think about

[jbwoodie]

I will most certianly do bike work but in my area there are a ton of woods riders on both utes and sport quads plus all of the hunters who have there utes decked out for hunting. MX in this area is limited to two tracks that are <40 miles away and they get as good a showing in quads as bikes. Quads and side x sides make up 54% of the off road sales in our area ( I have done my homework) so I think it will fly. I am going to start out of my garage.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by jbwoodie
I am going to start out of my garage.

Most aftermarket companies will not deal with you if you are a home based business.

In order to be competitivley priced, you will need to get onboard with Parts Unlimted or Tucker Rocky, both of which will pay you a visit to verify your business location, and again, no home based businesses.

The financial cost in the basic parts needed to be on hand for sales and service approach the $75,000 mark...to start, and the two suppliers I listed require a buy-in.

Most aftermarket companies prefer you buy in bulk and the best prices are found when purchases are made. Walsh for example offers good margins after you make a purchase of $6500.00.

Good luck in any event, but it's not the business most think it is.

[250r4life]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
First and foremost, change your focus and perception. A quad-only shop is almost certainly doomed to failure. You will find out really quickly that 80% of your customer base is dirtbike.

i think that depends on the area...

i know of several shops here in Mesa that are primarily quad shops that do well and always have tons of work to do...

obviously the bigger your customer base the better, but you also want a certain level of specialization as well...

again here in my area- there was a guy named Wayne who owned Waynes Custom Cycle and he knew the 250r front to back and that was his specialty... right now there is a guy named Ken who owns Kenz Cycle Tech and he knows the Raptor real well and does great work on it...

[Rich250RRacer]

First and foremost, keep your overhead as low as possible in the early stages. Be prepared for long hours. Look for volume discounts when ever possible. Do NOT devote your business to just your brand loyalty. Be open to other brands no matter how much you dislike them, they may make you alot of money.

[joshyz125]

Yeah, working out of your garage won't work, parts Dealers require that you have a Set commercial building, with so many hours a week open, a show room, you'll have to have a state merchants certificate, Fed tax Id, some require business cards, yellow page ads, some require correct zoning, and some even require pictures of your building to show that it is a commercial building. they all require differant combinations of these requirements

insurance is VERY expensive, depending on what software programs you want for your computer you can easily spend upwards of 3,000 for a program set up for the power sports industry, and that's on the low side.

if you plan on borrowing money then you have a Huge list of to do's. business plan, a bunch of financial projections, and better count on 10 to 20% down for the building,

there's a bunch more stuff to worry about also
i'm going through everything right now, suppose to close on the building at the end of the money