Once its in your blood..............................

PS My best advice is re-train as a joiner, plumber or an electrician etc, you'll need a beat-up van, a bag of tools and a surly attitude.
Don't worry though you'll make loads of money

We all go through bad times, were every customer seems to want a piece of you & everything you touch turns to sh1t. But on the whole the satisfaction of overcoming the hurdles that the job throws at you keeps you coming back for more. It does me anyway!

I have recently (five years ago) taken on a challenge, in the form of purchasing an established business, initially with a partner (now jettisoned) & now with the support of my missus (of whom I wouldn’t have survived THANKS PAULA). It has been a roller coaster ride that would have made great telly for sure. I have seen fellow businesses (namely builders) make a sh1t load more money than ours but hey that’s life!

It is a real kick in the nuts, when you try your upmost to be professional in your approach & the local council try to fine you 2 grand for placing an “A” board sign on the road side, in an attempt to promote your services & keep your 6 guys in work. This country has a real problem at the moment in as much that we are so pre occupied in fighting each other & in the process, anyone with an ounce of entrepreneurial spirit & honesty will be soon convinced that the best course of action is to p1ss off to New Zealand.

As it has been said already, many hurdles are placed in your path, health & safety environmental regulations, waste disposal, employment law, local council regulations, licenses for waste oil heaters, Fire risk assessment, trading standard laws, discrimination regulations…. To name a few.

My experience has told me that, if I were to do it again, I would start small & build up & take it one step at a time. You have more time with less financial pressure to learn the ropes as you rise through the ranks. I am in the position (me & Paula to be precise) were the business is a millstone around our necks. We had our first holiday last year (a week on a canal boat) in five years. We were both anxious about leaving the place for a week, considering all that can go wrong. This kind of pressure would have been avoided if we had done it differently.

Sorry for my ramblings

Dave Hill

Reading this I thought I'd give you a different viewpoint. I am (a long suffering) wife of a self employed mechanic. I do the paperwork in between my part time job (legal secretary) and looking after our daughter. The paperwork does take up time - including evenings as whatever I type, invoices and the like has to be checked by Mark when he is home (and I refuse to work in that pigsty he calls an office at the workshop!!). There simply aren't enough hours in the day for him to do this task as well as all the servicing etc. I try to be supportive but sometimes it is difficult.

He puts in long hours and hates to let anyone down so is often late home. I feel he misses out on seeing his daughter growing up but on the flip side I KNOW he would be utterly miserable working for someone else. My dad was the same. So the question is: are you going to be happier working for yourself including the grotty bits it brings with it or do you want to work for somebody else without the pressure? It's a difficult one with no clear cut answer.

Jane

1. Is your present employer making a profit? Is that profit good enough to sustain a loan to pay off borrowings to purchase the business?

2. Have you discussed a purchase price of the goodwill and tools & equipment? How good is the equipment? Is it worn out or appropriate to today’s modern vehicles.

3. Are you purchasing the freehold? Or are you going for a lease and rent? Are there any liabilities with the business i.e. has the present boss got any out standing tax/ loan issues you don’t know about; especially important if you are buying the shares of a Ltd company. You would need a moratorium signed by him covering such an event for the next seven years. Have you sat down with a good accountant and poured over the books for the last 3 trading years?

4. Have you worked out a business plan? Is there room for expansion i.e. extra bays for techs or will the premises cope with extra work if you are successful with expanding the business? How many days a week does the present business trade are you happy working weekends? if a family man I don’t recommend this. Are there staff who run the administration side of the business, Techs don’t make good paper work people.

5. Is the site in a good catchment area for passing trade? Does the business have a good reputation in the locality? Is there a good up to date data base of customer’s names & addresses? Especially important for marketing purposes and proof of goodwill.

6. Having worked for him you at least know the ropes, if there are other employees would they be happy with the changes. Often major changes worry employees and they get up and leave. Once you are an employer staff changes can be the most stressful of experiences trying to find some who is competent and will fit into a team.

These are just some of the questions you need to ask and a few of the pit falls of running your own business. I for one love the Motor Trade and have seen the march of technology as a challenge and don’t regret one moment of it. I have always been meticulously honest over tax/finances and always say to cash customers if the tax man cant trust me would you trust me to repair your car? And it has paid off. We trade only on a five day a week basis admittedly long hours I for one start around 9:00am and don’t leave until 7:00pm and still on many occasions burn the midnight oil. Yes there have been worrying moments but I charge a fair rate for our work and pay fair wages to my employees the longest being with me over 20 years.

My customers don’t come to me for convenience or because we are the cheapest garage in town, we are situated on a road known as Motor Trade alley in a large seaside town. They come because yes we do save something from the dealer’s prices but the big but is they get an honest and good job done and can speak to the tech who did the job. We have enough work for 5 techs to sift out the work we don’t want to do Vans, Taxis, and any customer whose face or car looks dodgy. I have lived very comfortably from my business and my wife does not have to work as I believe bringing up two children to be a full time job.

Having said all of that I’ve just turned 50 and want to enjoy life and am soon looking for my exit strategy and go and do something useful like voluntary work. Mike sorry about my ramblings this could be the Best or the worst decisions you make, all I say is weigh it up very carefully.The answer to your question is a resounding YES.

John Kennard.

My husband Trevor started his own garage about 18 months ago, and he too found it diffcult to balance the technical side of things with the admin.

I have recently given up my own job to help him out. Without this move, I didn't think that we could progress the business adequately. Now, having made the move (which was a big decision as it was a fairly good job), we are excited and a bit nervous at the same time!

I think that it will work and in my opinion is worth taking a punt on! We don't intend to grow agressively in the near future...though fairly steady growth is required.

We just joined the board this week and already it has proven to be a great resource - of guidance and encouraging and honest thoughts. In an industry that is increasingly technical and knowledge-driven...this is great news!

So fingers crossed, we'll make it work and hopefully get on the odd holiday in the coming five years!

Cheers,
Martina

Regarding your "exit strategy". I know you are probably a wise old timer (no offence) but when we bought our business, the previous guy a 67 year old, had run things along at a VERY leisurely pace & as such when we showed his figures to an accountant, we were told it was a no go.

I looked a chip shop before & the situation was the same. Just enough turnover to support his needs. Plenty of cash in pocket maybe, but when you need to show the value of your business for sale purposes it is not good news.

Just another angle on this thread.

Cheers all

PS Glad to see the ladies getting involved in the chat!

I have built my business up from a one man band being given a boost of an instant customer base from a large local church I attend. After 18 months of successful trading we had to move on. Not easy finding premises in a large town that in the early days I found difficult paying rents or being stuffed away in the back of some obscure trading estate. Eventually again I shared another workshop with another local rouge who after 2 years of watching my business grow successfully told me to F*?% Off; after returning from 2 weeks summer hols, and he meant it, it was too painful for him to watch another successful business beside him. I managed to last a year of abuse and threats of ABH from him until I heard down the grape vine of this old fashioned garage in the town and the two old boys thinking of retirement. I do still believe in miracles as I know that many other traders or developers would have snatched this place up before you know what, but I managed to sign a ten year lease and bought the business from them stretching myself to my every last penny.

Amalgamating a one man band & apprentice with a two man business meant more employees bigger pay checks a ten year lease all very daunting. Again my good wifey stepped in and ran the books but what with small children and the rapid growth of the business we had to go computerised which in the early 80’s was not her forte. I spent 3 years messing up the accounts and learning an old DOS computing system and another 3 years trying to sort out the mess with my accountant. Fortunately today I can afford someone who understands accounting better than me. Never having been computer literate at school you can imagine the mess, however it was do or die and I finally became computer literate so as to say.

Along the way we have been able to buy the freehold again investing every penny in a very large mortgage which at the time seemed like suicide, but as time has gone on we managed to pay it off in less than ten years and the property has proved to be the best investment ever made.

My policy has always been to keep investing every penny I can afford in equipment not only for the workshop but also for the office. There never has been a year in 25 years of trading that we have not shown an increase in turnover or profits. Even with me possibly giving it all up soon. I am investing in a brand new MOT line with new scissor ramp and ball joint play plates with latest headlamp beam setter for one man testing. When I come to sell I want the business in tip top condition. I have spent 25 years of my life struggling to make it one of the best Independent Garages in our Town. Even though the site may be worth a greater fortune to a developer to put up a block of 50 flats?

John Kennard.

Respect to you mate!

That is the kind of post I would hope to be making in years to come. (50 years maybe ). I am glad you are in a position to be "bowing out" on a high.

I think there is one thing this thread has highlighted & that is.. There is allot more to being a successful garage owner than just being a good bloke on the spanners. (Or scanner or scope ). If you aren’t any good with CUSTOMERS, staff, admin, accounts, VOSA, HSE, Customs & excise etc etc then you won't cope. There also needs to be credit given to the spouses of these guys. A supportive wife is a real asset (Probably essential) when embarking on these projects. (more-so if you have Kids.) The greatest gift of all. (Allegedly)

Like it or lump it, we need the support of a good woman. (Paula told me to say that)

Cheers guys

Dave Hill

When I first went self employed I was earning significantly less than my wife who encouraged me to go self employed. And we have never looked back despite the long hours and hard work it has given us a lifestyle and status that we are satisfied with. So much of this has been achieved with a supportive and understanding wife who in the background has been an inspiration in so many areas. And it is always good despite being late to find a meal on the table and a household that works like clockwork. Mind you I have come close with poor communications over letting her know my home times not to have found my dinner in the dog.

You are right about being a jack of all trades to cope with what is thrown at you but despite the march of technology this has weeded out the men from the boys. When I first started just about every Fed in the shed was at it. I see technology as a challenge rather than a threat and is what has got rid of the chaff in this trade. Any one reading this needs to rise to the challenge and yes get on the training courses and spend hours pouring over info which is so readily available right here on the net and if you are really committed you will win through. I’m sure like so many in the trade I left school with very poor results but have a love for this trade and have learnt more in the school of life than formal education could have ever taught me. Although I sometimes wonder if I had paid more attention how things would have turned out.

However I have spent too long at this thread and my colleagues in the office are wondering if I am communicating love letters so must leave off this subject. But best of luck to any one contemplating starting it alone I for one would encourage you and support you however possible.

John Kennard.

I think that what many of the posts are revealing to me…is that the motor trade does just seem to get into your blood and that this in itself is something that spurs people on.

I suppose, one thing that we are faced with at the minute (i.e. at very much the start-up phase) is how to approach the future. We know that there are a couple of broad options –

1. Specialise and keep the number of employees down, possibly pay less overheads, and in some cases expect more of a premium for the services that we offer.

2. Generalise to a greater degree, employ more people…more billing hours (theoretically leading to more money, but also more headaches!), but not be considered as specialists in any given brand.

I am interested in this thread and the fact that there is a good mixture of thought from both newcomers and those with more experience.

To those of you that have been in business for a while, it would be good to know if you think that you would do it again, but perhaps a little differently…maybe some of you have lessons in growing too quickly, or some of you wish that you had committed more fully in terms of money sooner? From our point of view, there seem to be many opportunities, but also pitfalls and any words of wisdom at this stage are much appreciated!

Cheers,
Martina

When I started, over twenty years ago, if I took the yearly insurance cost and divided it by my hourly rate it obviously meant working X amount of hours to pay for it. If I did the same for rent, business rates, electric and all the other fixed overheads and my own wage, it all added up to X amount of weeks per year. Now add these weeks after the “tax free day” that people talk about and it left a few weeks per year as good profit.

If you do the same now it works out that I have to work just over sixteen extra weeks per year to cover the costs, plus the “tax free day has moved later in the year by about six weeks. The trouble being - I somehow now have to find an extra four months in a working year, and added to the tax free day it now does not leave much as profit at the year end.

I suppose the other way to look at it would be - what hourly rate would I have to charge now to only have to work the same hours as I did then, well at that rate I don’t think I would have any customers!

The main point about my little rant is inflation, every year the government say it is about 2 or 3% but the business rates go up 10 or 12%, electric up 24%, new registration fees are introduced, etc etc. This is the only thing that would make me do something different if I had my time again. I enjoy the work and have good customers but when I see employed people getting yearly pay rises, better benefits and fatter pensions I have to wonder was it all worth it? And if you want to be really depressed just try thinking about what the costs will be in ten years time and think about whether it is worth starting.

Graham

If I knew then what I know now, I would never have worked for myself.
I regularly get together with three guys I went to school with and left with the same or better qualifications.We are all in our early fifties, I'm the only one not retired on a pension. The others worked for large PLCs,a bank,an airline and a large engineering company.
The one that was a bank manager needed my advice on his 'retirement car' Porsche or Mercedes?

Tom W