Thread: new kid

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Congrats on choosing a good field and having the sense to go to school to get some good basics. Now, having said that I'll share my views. As someone who recruited and hired young guys from body shop tech schools don't make the same mistake I've seen too many make. When you graduate, you'll know enough to become a good apprentice, not a seasoned, experienced journeyman. You'll still have a LOT to learn. The BEST apprentice I ever had still needed three years of daily, on the job experience to get up to the level of good. Most took more, including some who improved very little. And I always teamed the "newbie" with a high skilled journeyman so they would learn the "tricks" (not really tricks at all, but just wise methods of improving the process). It's tempting to get the big head and think "you know it all" when you graduate the class, but in reality, "you don't know what you don't know". Treat learning as a lifelong practice and you'll constantly improve your skills, no matter how good you think you are.

As for starting your own "business", the guys above have given you some good snipets of advice. I would just add some more perspective to give you lots to think about. In part it depends on what you mean by "business". If you're talking about you, by yourself in a couple stall situation, you're going to work real hard to draw in customers. Hint: people aren't waiting down the street for you to just open your doors, and when you do they'll come flooding in. You need to build a rep. That's very hard even for experienced guys who are known, much less a fellow who's just starting out in the industry. Far be it from me to rain on your parade. Being self employed (don't get too romantic about that "be your own boss thing", you always have bosses...........they're called customers) is very gratifying, and if you're a smart business man (extra duties sometimes far greater than those done while wearing your technician hat) you'll also make a darn good living. And depending on how much of a business you really will be you're going to have to comply with a bunch of regulations imposed by any number of government agencies. At a minimum, depending on your local situations, you'll have the environmental people, taxing authorities, fire department, and some little sneaky things the city you set up in wants to impose. Just for example, here in Washington, every small business falls under the rein of 58 sets of regulation administered by 25 agencies. Perhaps a good approach for you would be to work for someone else at first, hone your skills and learn a bit about what's required to operate a business. Most businesses fail because the front office stuff wasn't done right, not because the back shop stuff was bad.

When you do run the show, keep a guiding message in mind. One I like is "Under promise and over deliver". You make your customers a whole lot happier when you do the job better than they expect, faster than they expect, and at the price you quoted (or that you kept them apprised of necessary increases because of unforseeable "problems" with the vehicle).

One last thought. In the customer hierarchy of importance (and this applies to almost every product and service out there) price usually falls in #4 or 5, unless that's the only choice you give them (which is the mistake that too many businesses make). And that's not to say you can rip people off. But most people, whether they can vocalize it or not, are looking for VALUE. If they feel they're getting their money's worth they are happy. What that means is, if you do a good job of teaching them why something costs what it does, they'll happily pay whatever the toll is as long as they feel you gave what you promised. Whenever I hear a prospective customer ask about price before anything else, what I actually hear is; "I don't really know what the difference between what you're selling and what the guy down the street is selling, so I'm assuming they're the same and therefore only price matters". Now, if the guy down the street is a hack, they're gonna get ripped off if they choose him, and since in their mind all you guys that do the same thing are the same , you're a hack too. All those body guys are!!! So, if you spend the time to educate them as to why you offer the best VALUE, and deliver that value, you can charge a fair price, even if it's higher than the hack down the street.