Help me start my own buisness

[SlowestYfz450]

I am not going to just give up.  Im taking Mrs.nightbreed's advice. But I need some help. Not $. I need some information, I am still really young but I want my own buisness within 12-18 months from my 18th birthday. I want to start up a Car audio shop that also does graphic design. I have only been to one shop that does full body graphics, wich is pretty cool cause for like 600 bucks you can change the full color of your car and it will last around 5 years if takin care of right. Also want to do perforance work on ricers, big trucks, regular cars and rally vehicles.... What are some things I should do before attempting this?

[Bigscrb15]

Goto a local Technical school for the mechanical part and also bodywork, that will give you a great start and also community tech schools usually arent too expensive. for the audio part the best I could reccomend would be to goto a local shop and try to get a job while going to school for the other stuff.

[lawn_man mx]

go  to  a  tech  school  first  learn  the ropes  first   yust  like big scrub  said.  get  a job  with a company  that  does  something  similiar  to what  you want to do  and learn  for  awhile  then  once  you  got  the xperience  then  branch out  on your own  with  a different  idea  of what  they got. dont  give up  . been  there  done that!

[SoFlaEiger]

i owned my own business at 16, doing something i grew up doing.  Take my advice: if you don't know the ropes, get a job doing it first for a year or so.  yes, a full year so you see not only how to do it, but how they run their business (advertising and marketing, employment, customer relations, etc)

Also, you need a business plan.  What are you going sell? What brands? what makes your company unique?  How do you intend on marketing your business? budgets?  Initial start up costs (supplies, employment, location, permits, licensing, insurance, workmans comp, etc)

It seems like a lot but there are some great websites to help.  sba.org (or .com??) is one.

Do you have financing for this business?

[Bigscrb15]

also, you want to work for other people for awhile because there is always that 1 car or problem that only shows up once a year or less and you will be able to handle unusual situations. in our business we always have people that have been working as helpers for a flooring crew for a couple months and think they know it all. they go out on their own and screw up jobs, get a bad name and are out of business and changing careers before they know it. The only way to get good at something is hands on experience.

[dynodon]

Very Good advice !!!! , as a business owner myself, I have been doing cabinet work for over 14yrs before I started my own design and sales center.

   get a good grip on the type of business you want to do, learn the ropes. Then as Scrub said, branch out on your own ,only in a little bit different way from the others.
    GOOD LUCK, one last note; owning your own business is 10 times harder and more work than if you only worked for someone else(late nights, weekends, holiday`s etc., etc.)

[dynodon]

Also, go to your county building to find out appropriate licenses, and what requirements there are for insurance that will be needed. That way you have a jump on what will be needed when the time comes.

[SlowestYfz450]

Thanks guys. I have been doing car audio for 5 years now, Just finished my 65th big install.  Helped get a few USACI records. I deffinetly know what im doing when it comes to the audio part. But the buisness part im not to sure of. I dont plan on doing major body work like collision repair for paint. Just graphics, rims, and perfformance stuff, intakes, exhaust, and for big trucks lift kits and what not......

[aftrmath99]

its alot harder now days to start a business theres all kinds of insurance and license costs  if you have employees  it will cost you about 33 %  just for workers comp  dont just jump in cause you wont succeed do all the legwork first  there are always hidden costs that end up biting you in the butt  so expect to pay about a quarter more than you figure  just to be safe in a business like what ur talking about  location could be the difference between success and failure ive had my drywall company for alot of years and it just keeps getting more expensive every year to operate  it seems like the corperates just dont want the little guy to succeed i dont want to burst ur bubble   just be prepared for the worst and then you should be ok people love their cars and trucks  so you can always be assured that theres money in that kind of work   be carefull of other people also  never give total control to anyone else  its usually your friends that will screw you   i know these things because it has happened to me!! good luck  i hope everything works out for you

[SlowestYfz450]

A friend of mine opened a shop just over a year ago in alabama and at first it was rough but now it gross daily income is apx 3500. A DAY... and its a smaller shop, so im looking for someone/ a partnet to go in on it

[Bigscrb15]

yea, $3500 a day, but you gotta figure all the overhead coming out of that, rent, insurance, lights, water, installation equipment, cost of goods, workers comp, payroll, office equpiment, phone, advertising, etc. In the average business if you had an income of $3500 a day you are doing great if you have $50 a day left over after ALL expenses are paid. The next thing is you need to set a payroll for yourself, say $600/week and make sure you stick to that, that way any other profit will stay in the business to allow you to grow. You also need to make sure you do your payroll right and sales tax right. The state can audit you and it will cost big bucks to clear up any accouning discrepencies.

[SlowestYfz450]

When we talked about an hour ago he told me he didnt set a payroll. He brings home around 300 a day after expenses and stuff...  i am hip to the idea of 300 bucks a day

[Mrs.Nightbreed]

No offense but I find that hard to believe. If he does bring that much home a day it is probably not legitimate meaning he is pocketing it and not accounting for it which will burn him eventually.

You need to get a job in the industry like they said and go to school in the evenings. Then when school is done do your business work as side jobs for a while. When the income grows enough to support your part of the bills then quit your job. Meanwhile your fiance should look for a job doing entry level invoicing and accounting type work with Quickbooks. Also most community colleges offer a 6 week Quickbooks class. That way she can do your books in the evenings after her work. Then eventually she can work for you. But it will not be over night. It doesn't matter how good you are at what you do if you don't handle taxes and books properly you will not survive.

Do your research. Look into building rental rates in your area along with zoning. Check out other local shops and see what you are competing against and how they are marketing. If there is no one locally doing what you do check into the actual demand in your area. For example: If you are in farm country chances are an import car shop isn't going to get very far....

Unless you have something for financial back up you can't just jump in. I worked elsewhere for almost a year after Mike started the shop. We started in the garage because we couldn't pay building rent. Then we split a bay with someone for a few months then finally got our building. When I came to work with Mike we couldn't pay ourselves enough to pay the business bills and our personal bills but we had a plan. We sold our house for enough money to pay business debts and pay for our new house for the first year. So we didn't have to come with a house payment for year. We also didn't have car payments. We drove old trucks. We just got to a point where we could finally afford a newer vehicle and payments. We also have no personal credit cards or loans in order to keep personal bills as low as possible. My point is that for the first few years of business you have to keep your personal bills as low as possible so that you can get the business off the ground. The less you can pay yourself the more you can put into the shop. You are going into the car business. Do you have any idea how much tools and equipment are?!? You will be shocked!

[Bigscrb15]

............Look into building rental rates in your area along with zoning..........

Im glad Mrs. Nightbreed mentioned that. That will be the single most important decision for going into business!!!! Car Audio shops have to test out their installs and have speakers loud and dropping bottom. Your neighbors are not going to like this. If it is a retail area they will be mad because you can possibly drive away their customers. If you are near a residential area you will have to limit your hours to comply with noise ordinances and won't be able to put in long hours like you will probably need to. Just look around for the right place and dont jump on the first one you find in your budget.

[SlowestYfz450]

I live in the country but i am moving soon. But if i wanted to start a shop it would be in Chattanooga wich has a really high demand... ya i have priced all the tools I need, it was actually less then i thought because i had a buddy who wanted to sell me a lift and some other eqiuptment fairly cheap. I was looking into just buy a corner lot at a stop light(250k) and having a Steel biulding put up, 14,500 for a 60x80 wich would be suffiecent to start with plus office area would be added. bu the cost is my reason for wanting to start the buisness with a partner49/51

[Honda328i]

Not telling you what to do, but you would really do yourself a lot if you went out and got a technical 2-year degree in anything, electronics, computers, auto or motorcycle repair, etc.

You can always have that to fall back on, and at your age, you have your whole life ahead of you.  When you get married and have kids and car and house payments, it is very difficult to find time and money for school later on in life. That stuff by themselves is a lot to pay for even without all the business expenses.  You ought to talk to other small business owners so you know what is in store.  You have quite a few on this website.  Good luck 

[SlowestYfz450]

I was thinking about starting a website buisness to start. Sell product and biulding enclosures etc.... Anyone need a box biult

[Bigscrb15]

If you can build a box for a 2002 1500HD for 2-10's downfiring under the back seat let me know how much you will charge and shipping costs.

[SlowestYfz450]

I would need the vehicle for something like that, some fiberlgass work would need to be done cause im a perfectionist and i like stuff to look "stock" what two 10s do you have

[Da_Mtg_Man]

I would need the vehicle for something like that, some fiberlgass work would need to be done cause im a perfectionist and i like stuff to look "stock" what two 10s do you have

Then how are you going to start an online business building enclosures? They're not going to bring the vehicle from California to Florida.

[Bigscrb15]

I would need the vehicle for something like that, some fiberlgass work would need to be done cause im a perfectionist and i like stuff to look "stock" what two 10s do you have

Then how are you going to start an online business building enclosures? They're not going to bring the vehicle from California to Florida.

I imagine he could build run of the mill enclosures for now. I have seen a VERY succesful audio shop online that just makes a template everytime a customer brings in a vehicle and then they can offer that box for sale online.

I will say that you are ahead of the game because the online place I am talking about doesn't use fiberglass, they make nice looking boxes, but not very custom looking.

[arod]

 i live in south florida and on every corner or shopping center there is a stereo car shop. the competition is fierce. but if you talk 'specialty'(that build show caliber) shops in car stereo there are only a couple. a good friend of mine did what you do for a while. he used to work at a local stereo store for awhile,then went solo. when he went solo his business was mobile out of a box-van, catering mainly high-end installs. he was able to get a mobile license,permit,insurance,etc.. he got all of his business from attending stereo shows,sound offs and all types of car shows, you know 'a traveling salesman' providing custom installs. anyway a few years later he has an established storefront and still provides mobile installs for customers. good luck with your choice and business.

[SlowestYfz450]

I would need the vehicle for something like that, some fiberlgass work would need to be done cause im a perfectionist and i like stuff to look "stock" what two 10s do you have

Then how are you going to start an online business building enclosures? They're not going to bring the vehicle from California to Florida.

I dont have any templates yet. They run about 4grand for cars from 1985 to present day, just about every car in major production. As of now im biulding regular box, bandpass,ported,sealed, isobaric... mainly cars and SUV's.....

[SlowestYfz450]

ohh and fiberglass is the only way to get a truly smooth box, lots of bondo and sanding. You really cant Paint MDF and get a nice gloss. thats why for MDF enclosures i use bedliner to cover them in