Vendors/Performance Shops advice wanted

[4DoorRocket]

In a few years, I will be finished with a double major in Business Administration for Finance and Marketing. I am still unsure of where I would like to go from there. There are some options that I am looking into and considering, this being one of them.

I am interested in the automotive industry. Cars intrigue me. Everything about them. The mechanics of everything to the design. I am interested in POSSIBLY opening up a performance shop. If I am going to do this, it's going to be well thought out, no half way doing it. No 99% thought out kinda thing, it will be 110% thought out. I'll have a location picked out that is "attractive", a building picked out, the finances figured out, the marketing done, ect...you get the point.

So, my question is, what advice can you give me? How did you start out? I would love to talk to someone about this. You can either shoot me a pm or post here. Thanks.

[4DoorRocket]

Oh and what my main goal to do, is to basically sell parts, improve parts, do R&D and even installing. I also hope to build relationships with some of these larger auto performance companies.

[8cd03gro]

Originally Posted by 4DoorRocket

In a few years, I will be finished with a double major in Business Administration for Finance and Marketing. I am still unsure of where I would like to go from there. There are some options that I am looking into and considering, this being one of them.

I am interested in the automotive industry. Cars intrigue me. Everything about them. The mechanics of everything to the design. I am interested in POSSIBLY opening up a performance shop. If I am going to do this, it's going to be well thought out, no half way doing it. No 99% thought out kinda thing, it will be 110% thought out. I'll have a location picked out that is "attractive", a building picked out, the finances figured out, the marketing done, ect...you get the point.

So, my question is, what advice can you give me? How did you start out? I would love to talk to someone about this. You can either shoot me a pm or post here. Thanks.

There are many ways I have seen such shops become successful, but you need to pick a specific aspect to focus on. Do you want to be an online retailer with maybe a small store-front? Do you want to be a shop that builds cars for customers? Do you want to focus on one type of vehicle or be an, "everything" shop? You can't just start out huge, you need to exploit a niche, then grow from there. Make a name for yourself. If you are going to be a retailer or focus on one market, you will want be heavily involved in that community, especially online. If you want to be a local place for various types of vehicles you want to be present at local meets, track days, etc. You need people to trust you with their cars, you want them to know YOU. A good way, if you are trying to attack a specific market as a shop, is to hire and/or work with a well known, trusted tuner.

Make friends with the trusted people in the market you're going after. You want people to refer their friends to you. Take special care of customers you know are involved in the community because they WILL be talking to other that they will refer to you or steer away. What I have found is that the retailers and shops I've dealt with that bend over backwards to please me, even if their products are slightly more expensive, are the ones that keep me as a customer.

[ron10]

from an old retired business man,the best advice i can give you,is to remember,you are only as good as the people around you.if you hire people,get the best.

[4DoorRocket]

Originally Posted by 8cd03gro

There are many ways I have seen such shops become successful, but you need to pick a specific aspect to focus on. Do you want to be an online retailer with maybe a small store-front? Do you want to be a shop that builds cars for customers? Do you want to focus on one type of vehicle or be an, "everything" shop? You can't just start out huge, you need to exploit a niche, then grow from there. Make a name for yourself. If you are going to be a retailer or focus on one market, you will want be heavily involved in that community, especially online. If you want to be a local place for various types of vehicles you want to be present at local meets, track days, etc. You need people to trust you with their cars, you want them to know YOU. A good way, if you are trying to attack a specific market as a shop, is to hire and/or work with a well known, trusted tuner.

Make friends with the trusted people in the market you're going after. You want people to refer their friends to you. Take special care of customers you know are involved in the community because they WILL be talking to other that they will refer to you or steer away. What I have found is that the retailers and shops I've dealt with that bend over backwards to please me, even if their products are slightly more expensive, are the ones that keep me as a customer.

Thanks for the post. I appreciate it.

I would like to have a shop and sell products online, but like you said, I have to start somewhere first before I can be huge. As they say, one must crawl before one walks and one must be able to walk before they can run. I guess, I could be a vendor before I became a shop owner. That way, if something were to happen, I would have less to lose. Another positive to that, would be that I could affiliate myself with someone and sell their products and get my name out there at the same time.

As for the area I want to reach out to, I want to deal with sports cars. Specifically anything that has to deal with Ford, Chevy and Dodge. I would love to work on their cars and create new products or improve already existing products.

[4DoorRocket]

Originally Posted by ron10

from an old retired business man,the best advice i can give you,is to remember,you are only as good as the people around you.if you hire people,get the best.

Thanks for the reply. If I do open a shop in the future, I will definitely do that. The quality of service I provide will never be anything less than excellent.

[SS 376]

The installers/performance shop owners I know are great people and good businessmen, but it's not a business with big margins. Plus you need a mechanical background.

I would think the money is in aftermarket custom wheels. If you can figure out the supply aspect of it--that is, finding a place that will build the wheels for you, and can do well at the marketing angle (setting up a flashy website). I'm thinking something like another DPE or COR or ADV.1. There seems to be no shortage of people willing to spend $6,000 to $8,000 or more on 3-piece wheels. I miagine the margins have to be strong. Or just become a re-seller. I believe that's what Nine Ball. He seems to do very, very well for himself.