WAYNE0
Well-Known Member
Who here has started a small business ?
BUSINESS START UP
- Thread starter WAYNE0
- Start date
-
Have here:
Auto Body/Painting Business 12 years
Auto Upholstery 2 years
17 years in the Home Remodeling/Painting business
Over the Road Trucking, My own Truck. 17 trips to Chicago from MN hauling cereal products.
Last Business I owned was my Computer Service Business 5 years.
Retired and played with the mopars for 8 years now.
These were all my own businesses, only have worked for others for 4 years of my adult life.
Being self employed you call your own shots and the tax advantages are great.
☆☆☆☆☆
Learing how to market and promote yourself is a big help to building your business up.
Local Businesses Groups are a great place to get started and network with others.
Auto Body/Painting Business 12 years
Auto Upholstery 2 years
17 years in the Home Remodeling/Painting business
Over the Road Trucking, My own Truck. 17 trips to Chicago from MN hauling cereal products.
Last Business I owned was my Computer Service Business 5 years.
Retired and played with the mopars for 8 years now.
These were all my own businesses, only have worked for others for 4 years of my adult life.
Being self employed you call your own shots and the tax advantages are great.
☆☆☆☆☆
Learing how to market and promote yourself is a big help to building your business up.
Local Businesses Groups are a great place to get started and network with others.
Last edited:
OK what's the scoop? Why are you asking and what do you want to know?
Slantsix64
Well-Known Member
Number one rule in starting a business, be prepared to fail in the beginning, then gradually succeed from there. lol
WAYNE0
Well-Known Member
Awesome thanks for the reply I have been doing classic auto restorations part time for about 20 plus years while working a full time job. The place i was working at closed down a few years back. I have been doing restorations full time. I would love to start a small restoration shop. You know go legit. I know all the rules and regulations. They keep coming I keep doing them
Sounds like you have already started.
WAYNE0
Well-Known Member
I was doing classic auto restorations part time now im doing it full time. Under the radar if you know what i mean. Like to start a legit business. Just asking for some pointers. What to do What not to
I started my first business when I was 18 years old from my parents garage selling speed parts, eventually put a speed shop and ran it for 7 years and sold it to move to the U.S. mainland. I then went to work for others, and worked for 2 different companies in the automotive aftermarket for about 5 years. I then decided to go back into business and bought an established automotive repair business, that was a franchise, and was basically scammed. Lost everything I had, including my marriage, and had to go back to work for someone else, also in the automotive aftermarket, for about 4 more years.
At that point I found a partner, who had a warehouse full of parts, mostly truck accessories, and started selling parts on eBay with him while I held my regular job, did extremely well, about 6 months into this business I was making 3 times more money selling parts on eBay than I was at my regular job so I left my regular job to dedicate myself to sell parts on eBay. He suddenly got a really aggressive cancer and died unexpectedly. His Wife took over the warehouse and ran the business into the ground in 6 months. I then found another partner, well he found me, as he had heard how well I was doing on eBay motors (at the time I had the 3rd largest account on eBay motors by sales numbers) and he had a warehouse full of only speed parts. We partnered up, and did very well for a while, but this eventually went belly up too. He had another warehouse that he was trading product lines with, and when that warehouse started seeing the numbers he was buying and selling, the other warehouse decided to not honor their trading agreement anymore and they went in themselves to sell parts on eBay and basically copied our business model and auctions, cut us off from those manufacturers, and everything went to hell. while I was doing this I was also selling parts by myself from my home.
Thankfully I had made quite a bit of money with my 2 partners before everything went belly up, and also by myself from my home, and had saved all of it. At this point in time performance product manufacturers were not happy about small sellers selling their stuff on eBay and undercutting their prices, and they were really closing the doors on people like me. Summit and Jegs were not happy about the competition on eBay, and they worked hard to squash it with the help of the manufacturers. At this point in time, I knew that to make it, I would need to start importing product and making my own brand.
I then found my 3rd partner, who had also lost a business because of a previous partner, but he had the key to making product overseas and making your own brand, he had befriended a Taiwanese broker who supplied a ton of the major brands in the USA. I had saved up money and he had the connections, so off to the races we went. Anyways, its been almost 20 years now and we are doing well. We manufacture a ton of performance products, accessories and wheels. No, we do not make parts for classic Mopars, although I have been thinking about maybe doing so, as there is so much that is not made, what is made is sometimes of substandard quality, and everything is crazy expensive.
Anyways, here is what I have learned in over 35 years of being in and out of business, of falling miserably and succeeding.
If I had one suggestion that will make it almost impossible for you to fail is to start the business from your home on your spare time. I know this is not easy, I know it will put a toll on your family life, but it is the only way that I have found where you almost cannot fail. Being young and having a positive attitude helps a LOT. The younger you are, the easier it is to work 16 hour days.
You start your business from your home on your spare time, while you hold a full time job. Eventually you will get a steady clientele, this may take a couple of years. At some point you will start making more money on your side business than on your regular job. You need to save as much of your business money as possible. When you start making substantially more money (I would say 2-3 times more) on your side business than on your regular job, you can then quit your regular job and concentrate on your business. Keep working from home for as as long as you can, eventually you will need more space, you will need help (employees) and the business will force you to leave your home and put up a "real" business. Remember that you need a lot more money to run a business outside your home. You will now need a ton of licenses, permits, inspections, rent, employees, utilities, insurance, a CPA etc... As soon as you legitimize the business with a real location, business should keep growing. People will more easily find you, and they will be a lot more comfortable giving an established business money, than a guy in his garage.
Marketing your business is very important. When working from your home, you customers will be your marketing team. Word of mouth is free, and there is no better advertisement that a satisfied customer. Make business cards and give them to everyone, they are cheap and effective. If you are in the automotive world, go to all the local car shows, drag races, car clubs, car meeting places (like where the street racers meet up at night before they go racing), talk to everyone, give everyone your business card. It is work, but it is cheap and effective. Put up a website, tons of cheap "ready to run" websites are out there. Spend as little as you can, but maximize what you get out of it.
At that point I found a partner, who had a warehouse full of parts, mostly truck accessories, and started selling parts on eBay with him while I held my regular job, did extremely well, about 6 months into this business I was making 3 times more money selling parts on eBay than I was at my regular job so I left my regular job to dedicate myself to sell parts on eBay. He suddenly got a really aggressive cancer and died unexpectedly. His Wife took over the warehouse and ran the business into the ground in 6 months. I then found another partner, well he found me, as he had heard how well I was doing on eBay motors (at the time I had the 3rd largest account on eBay motors by sales numbers) and he had a warehouse full of only speed parts. We partnered up, and did very well for a while, but this eventually went belly up too. He had another warehouse that he was trading product lines with, and when that warehouse started seeing the numbers he was buying and selling, the other warehouse decided to not honor their trading agreement anymore and they went in themselves to sell parts on eBay and basically copied our business model and auctions, cut us off from those manufacturers, and everything went to hell. while I was doing this I was also selling parts by myself from my home.
Thankfully I had made quite a bit of money with my 2 partners before everything went belly up, and also by myself from my home, and had saved all of it. At this point in time performance product manufacturers were not happy about small sellers selling their stuff on eBay and undercutting their prices, and they were really closing the doors on people like me. Summit and Jegs were not happy about the competition on eBay, and they worked hard to squash it with the help of the manufacturers. At this point in time, I knew that to make it, I would need to start importing product and making my own brand.
I then found my 3rd partner, who had also lost a business because of a previous partner, but he had the key to making product overseas and making your own brand, he had befriended a Taiwanese broker who supplied a ton of the major brands in the USA. I had saved up money and he had the connections, so off to the races we went. Anyways, its been almost 20 years now and we are doing well. We manufacture a ton of performance products, accessories and wheels. No, we do not make parts for classic Mopars, although I have been thinking about maybe doing so, as there is so much that is not made, what is made is sometimes of substandard quality, and everything is crazy expensive.
Anyways, here is what I have learned in over 35 years of being in and out of business, of falling miserably and succeeding.
If I had one suggestion that will make it almost impossible for you to fail is to start the business from your home on your spare time. I know this is not easy, I know it will put a toll on your family life, but it is the only way that I have found where you almost cannot fail. Being young and having a positive attitude helps a LOT. The younger you are, the easier it is to work 16 hour days.
You start your business from your home on your spare time, while you hold a full time job. Eventually you will get a steady clientele, this may take a couple of years. At some point you will start making more money on your side business than on your regular job. You need to save as much of your business money as possible. When you start making substantially more money (I would say 2-3 times more) on your side business than on your regular job, you can then quit your regular job and concentrate on your business. Keep working from home for as as long as you can, eventually you will need more space, you will need help (employees) and the business will force you to leave your home and put up a "real" business. Remember that you need a lot more money to run a business outside your home. You will now need a ton of licenses, permits, inspections, rent, employees, utilities, insurance, a CPA etc... As soon as you legitimize the business with a real location, business should keep growing. People will more easily find you, and they will be a lot more comfortable giving an established business money, than a guy in his garage.
Marketing your business is very important. When working from your home, you customers will be your marketing team. Word of mouth is free, and there is no better advertisement that a satisfied customer. Make business cards and give them to everyone, they are cheap and effective. If you are in the automotive world, go to all the local car shows, drag races, car clubs, car meeting places (like where the street racers meet up at night before they go racing), talk to everyone, give everyone your business card. It is work, but it is cheap and effective. Put up a website, tons of cheap "ready to run" websites are out there. Spend as little as you can, but maximize what you get out of it.
Single member LLC- small, car friendly self storage. That business needs almost no marketing, but I can write off trips to local swap meets if I display advertising.
Residential real estate rentals, but that "business" is not required to be a true "business" by the state.
The other one isn't really either, but I did for liability and estate planning reasons.
Residential real estate rentals, but that "business" is not required to be a true "business" by the state.
The other one isn't really either, but I did for liability and estate planning reasons.
i would just stay under the radar a lot less bullshit to deal with , cash is king .
But hurts when you are social security age. My friend is going through that now.
If you dont pay into social security, I think it is 40 good quarters, you will get very little when it is time to collect it. My friend worked off the books most his life, is 70 now did body work up to last year off the books and gets less than 500 a month from SS and has nothing else as income. He is lucky he has good friends.
Steve welder
Well-Known Member
I think a lot depends on how much risk you want to take and how much capital you have to start your business
Do you have to rent a shop. Can you work legit were you now work. Do you have health insurance now
Your going to find going legit, you have to generate a lot of revenue before showing a profit
I have serious concerns about a one man legit restoration shop, which means you need to help and thats a entire different situation
When your legit you need to make money, have money coming in every week. How you do that while paying overhead and depending on one or two customers to pay you, I would say you need at least a few months expenses in the bank
Id say if you want to open a body shop, do insurance work and such and take a restoration one at a time that might be a better option
Every small restoration shop or one man show ive ever come across had or has a shop on their property out of view and flys under the radar
I had a S corp welding business. I worked a FT job and did my other work in very free second I had
I literally worked seven days a week from early morn to late at night
I was able to switch days off and work off shifts on my FT job to accommodate my welding business
Every year my welding business grew. My wife was working a state job and had benefits for the family if need be, so I seriously thought of quitting and going full time in my business
My downfall was I wasnt that good at reading blueprints and although my mechanical skills were top I still wasnt that good at the business end, there was a lot I didnt know
And than there was liability and insurance. The liability insurance was a big nut but I needed it for some jobs.
I was called to look at a very big pipe job that would have lasted months. I could have made big money, I looked at the plans and was prepared to bid the job but they required liability insurance/ workers comp policy's. They also stated no work after hours and no work on weekends. This was because it was a big apartment complex and residents would not put up with the noise
Still I forged ahead
What happened was a few weeks later I got called for a union Boilermaker job at prevailing wage and the kicker was it was a full time job with good benefits
My youngest was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
I came up with a figure for the contractor and told him what I wanted for the pipe job
I told him I need a check for a third to start. He balked and asked to see my insurance first. I told him look, I'll come to your office with my policy's but I leave with a check
needless to say I took the boilermakers gig and put in 21 years retiring in 2014
I dissolved the S corp but worked part time, nights and weekend for various contractors, finally retiring for good earlier this year at my 70th birthday
I did very well but I do pay a toll
Good luck just be cautious and dont get in over your head
WAYNE0
Well-Known Member
As of right now i an swamped. I even have people coming from out of state to get work done. What i hear from them is no one in there area want to do the old cars. I even hear that in my area. The body shops in my area dont want to touch them unless its an insurance job. Thats good for me. Its not like im a rookie at this. Ive done many from just body & paint to full restores. I do every thing but engine & trany rebuilds & seat recovering. Just some of cars ive done and yes i do other brands. lol I just specialize in mopars
Steve welder
Well-Known Member
Your a very talented guy
very impressive
Steve welder
Well-Known Member
Were you live now, could you open a shop there? Is it zoned for that ?
gunbunny
Well-Known Member
Remember Fotomat?
A buddy of mine and his wife owned 3 or 4 of them.
They had a "minilab" at the house and processed film there. When they closed the Fotomats up, they still had pharmacy's they worked with, so they weren't hurting.
When digital cameras became a thing, they were in denial, and wouldn't buy the equipment.
Now they're screwed.
Turns out neither were honest with the IRS and neither paid SS taxes for themselves.
I was out to their house the other day and he was telling me that they both are working at a convince store to get their 40 good quarters in with SS.
They're collecting SS but between them it's less than a $1000 a month. He found out what a 35 year old "minilab" is worth when he tried to sell that, not much. They did put some money back, but 2008 was hard on that.
Don't skimp or if you're gonna, get yourself a part time gig for SS reasons.
Sales is your lifeblood. No salesman you hire will be more motivated than you. If you are an introvert, if you are not a people person, you will have to put that hat on and step into that arena. Like these guys. In spite of what they wear, I'm pretty sure they get the chicks. Remember your goals and remember that bull is your competition and will do everything he can to **** you up. You can be the winner, be smart, be quick, minimize risk maximize your brain sweat. Don't ignore ROI like the guy in red, that's the horns.
Dan the man
Well-Known Member
Hope you paid in your social security tax all of this time
Definitely, always want to have a good tax man, they are worth their weight in gold.
The saying is you don't want to have any zeros in your social security columns.
Go legit! I have friend that did the cash deal for quite a few years.
Well he got caught, he ended paying almost 1/4 million dollars to the IRS after they estimated his income.
Pay now or pay later dearly.
Well he got caught, he ended paying almost 1/4 million dollars to the IRS after they estimated his income.
Pay now or pay later dearly.
Definitely create an LLC or S-Corp. And keep all income and expenses separate from your personal money. Basically, you have to treat the business as a completely separate entity.
WAYNE0
Well-Known Member
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