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Essentially you got it maybe I can simplify the chart a little better. How many labor hours can I count on per week? With a 4 bay garage. What would be my COGS per week on parts and what kind of markup could I expect? How many alignments a week can I expect and what would my gross revenue be off of each of those. What would my cogs on tires be per week and what would my average markup be on them? Lastly how many oil changes would I be looking at per week and what can I expect for a gross revenue from them?

I am working with a local business consultant on the financial side to my business plan and I would like a bit of input from you seasoned professionals out there. I have 5 main products/services that will be generating income for me, and for each my consultant would like an average answer to the # of sales, average unit price, average unit cost, service hours, and hourly service rate for each product/service. In order to get a good estimate I would really appreciate all the help I can get from you professionals out there, if you could take just a minute or two to fill in the table I have below it would put me light-years ahead of the game. # of Sales per Average Unit Average Unit Service Hours Hourly day/week/mo Price Cost day/week/mo Service Rate Labor Parts Tire Services Alignment Quick Lube Services Also if you could let me know which months of the year are the busiest and slowest in terms of these 5 products/services in your area. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

Well I didn't really know where to place this thread.... I am looking to polish my ability to identify year, make and model of vehicles, especially the older classics and what not. Anyone know of a fun app or website or something that quizzes you and helps you learn more?

Just added your group on Facebook, please add me to your group.

What other factors did you guys find to be most important through your market research, we got location and customer base/median income of those customers. What about some of the cold hard facts like how much I can expect my customer to spend in a year with us? Or how many customers should I even expect to come through my door? I'm interested in the answers to these questions as well as how you found them as I'm sure they are slightly different here.

Makes a lot of sense I'm also sure that ease of access off of that road must be an important factor as well.

I like your creativity in finding a base traffic count that was a good call. Also I just wanted to add that these real estate websites like trulia especially or realitor.com or zillow.com offer lots of free demographic info for areas of town. Also I think there are a l of cheap marketing avenues out there that I think are a lot of time discounted such as social media, face to face meetings with fleets or car lots etc.

What brought you guys to exactly 30k or greater in traffic counts. The only problem I see with that is we are not the only ones that realize traffic count is important. Since others realize that obviously real estate costs are going to be much higher. What I'm wondering is does the increase in real estate costs overcome the increase in sales due to traffic count or is 30k that sweet spot?

Just a quick topic on market research. I am interested to see what resources you startup shop owners used to conduct the market research for your startup??? Also interested in what info you guys were looking for and found?? Thanks!

Yes we definitely have defined a target market in our area and plan to reach this market specifically. Also I agree completely that most business owners are all too eager to drop directly to the bottom line when it comes to competing with competition. At the center of our business model is the fact that we compete of added value and not simply on price. We are planning to leave a name off this crowd funding venture for the moment and simply describe the main aspects of our competitive advantage to others.

So I had this crazy idea last night of using a crowd funding site such as GoFundMe to raise startup cash for an automotive repair shop. I am hoping that our business plan will be enticing enough for many in our area to give a buck or two but I was wondering about adding in some small incentive for those who give a certain amount. Anyone have any ideas on cheap services or give always that I could offer at certain level of pledges? For instance maybe a hand wash and a barbeque at our grand opening if they give $10. Or a free oil change and T-shirt if they give $20. All ideas ae welcome!

Hey guys thanks so much for the awesome info, I just got signed up for a lot of good trade magazines and journals. Now my only question would be trade shows. Any really good trade shows that are beneficial to attend that aren't too pricey??

How did you find out about that association? I have been looking around my area but cant seem to come by any local associations. thanks for the great info guys!

Are they worth joining? What are the benefits?

Thanks so much, do you by chance know of any trade associations nationwide that are beneficial??

I am looking for your suggestions for quality trade journals/magazines, trade associations, or trade shows that can be helpful in marketing, advertising, industry data, market research and customer profiles and that sort of thing. Not so interested in the actual automotive technology side but more of an emphasis on the actual operation of an automotive repair business. Thanks

Hey guys, I found this alignment rack on craigslist, the guy is only asking 1000 for it, its older ya but in perfect working condition just needs some cleaning and a little maintenance. It is the Hunter Lite-A-Line system, I'm looking for anyone with experience with this system, is it good? bad? will it do a 4 wheel alignment? is it worth 1000 or is that not that great of a deal? thanks! Nate

Hey guys, tear this idea to shreds for me I'm trying to find a competitive advantage (niche) and I came to a automotive shop that specializes in serving small business fleets. Plumbing companies, mowing and lawn companies, telephone companies and even used car lots! What you think?

That's the thing I don't want to be like anyone else I want to differenciate myself from the competition so that I can move in and gain market share. And while I totally agree that you can't constantly be trying to duplicate what everyone else is doing I think you really have to be constantly aware at least of where everyone else is at in the industry. I'm looking at what little things everyone has done to differentiate themselves from their competition what has worked and what hasn't?

Hey guys, So I am still working on a business plan for a central Kansas startup shop and I am looking around and am thinking to myself, how on earth am I going to rise to the top and be better than every Joe Shmoe that knows how to turn a wrench and has a garage on that busy little corner lot. Before I go any further in planning my business, I want to decide whether or not I can compete with all the different competition and I would really like everyone's input on this. We have everything from the "best price in town but here is a Ziploc with some extra parts we didn't know what to do with" to the "would you like a refill on that shade grown Columbian imported coffee?" shop in town. Where can I fit in? How do i build my own niche to make money and gain market share? What can I do to compete or rise above the rest? How can I stand out from the rest and nudge my way in to gain some share in the auto repair industry? I am planning for a slightly higher end shop, I don't want to be the lowest price shop in town for sure but I also don't quite want to be the most expensive. I want to charge a little more for a quality job, great customer service and a few extras like maybe pickup and dropoff services or free coffee and cable in the waiting area. How can I make sure I can succeed in an already saturated and very competitive market? Thanks!

Hey guys, I got a quick question for you guys, it seems to me that with a new startup shop that is not established it could be very difficult to get a mechanic that will buy in to the business and actually want to work. How do you find a good experienced mechanic to work for a new shop that isn't established? I'm looking to pay a salary not flag hour so how do I handle the down times through the startup time of the business? Thanks!

This is awesome advice, thanks so much. If I may dig just slightly deeper into your answer, how do you handle someone calling in for a diagnosis over the phone? just simply tell them "hey we try not to diagnose the problem over the phone but bring it on in and we will look at it?" I do have a lube tech built into my plan so I do think that will help. Great advice planning for all situations, thanks so much!

What are some of those businesses?

Here's another curveball for all of you. I am in the same boat just on the flip side, I have tons of business experience and knowledge including quite a bit in the automotive industry but I lack an in depth knowledge of automotive technology. How do you deal with this situation? I am currently in the planning stage of opening a shop was planning to simply hire a master mechanic.

I totally agree with both of you. I am currently seeking employment as an automotive service writer to learn the business and customer side of things. But what I guess I am more worried about is do I need more experience in the actual automotive technology side of things? Do I need to be able to diagnose problems over the phone for customer? Do I need to be able to cover for the mechanic at my shop someday when he is on vacation? Etc... How do I handle this side of the business model?