Good luck with the move. Lucky I saw this post, I'll be in LA last week of Nov first week Dec visiting from OZ and the famous So-Cal Speed Shop is on my list of shops to visit. Just have to change the address on my list and get the map back out.
Good luck Jim! Wish you back here in the midwest(you probably don't) so I could keep your secret but that's the way things go. Catch you later. ****
Good luck my Brother....the one and only speed shop here in town just folded after 30 something years in the Biz.....
You're moving from Los Angeles city limits? to Long Beach which is a separately incorporated city. I figure you know that requires a different business license but just so people don't wonder if you're in the Valley part of LA or down here at the Beach, shouldn't you Be calling it So-Cal Speed Shop L.B.? After all, I find it confusing as hell already since So-Cal Speed Shop in Pomona is as much in "L.A." as the L.A. County Fair Grounds are, so if I am, anyone from out of town is confused by that already. Just some random thoughts... Might make it easier for customers to find a store in Long Beach if it wasn't erroneously named to be in Los Angeles.
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION, isn't that what they say. Best of luck at your new location. Years ago used a early Ford place in Long Beach. Went to POLY HIGH in '56.
Best of luck with the move. Don't know you but your comments here are read with interest on the Right Coast. I'll stop by when I get out that a ways. — MRAK
Cool deal Jim, although I don't know about being that close to Jesse, you might turn into some kind of "Tough Guy" Richard certainly knows his way around this whole deal and will certainly be an ***et to your bidness. By the way I noticed he sold Americoat, sign says under new owner, what's up with that?
Main store is in Pomona- my store is named "Los Angeles" because it's a broad stoke as my territory touched Bakersfield to Huntington Beach- so calling it "South Bay" or "Long Beach" would be too specific. Hey, but it's tech week- I'll add a couple T-Shirts to the winner so I'm not totally off topic- Thanks Jim P.S.- come see us at the Rascals car show this weekend!
Good luck Jim, you work hard and deserve to make it in this "not so easy" hotrod aftermarket buisness.
I've often wondered how you could compete with the headquarters So Cal in Pomona (whats that? 50 miles away?). Nothing personal, but if I were in So Cal, and wanted something like a ch***is, etc. from them, why would I not just go to the source? (Pomona). Perhaps you have some niche that I don't know about? I go to Vegas a lot and wonder how Lennie can afford the overhead of that large store, but he's a long ways from Pomona. I'm not being critical, and wish you the best of luck- but having 2 So Cal Speed Shops so close together in this ****py economy has got to be tough.
Jim, Richard and Jeb are both cl*** acts. Richard has helped me out on more than one occasion, trading work for art etc. Good move. I look forward to droppin' in.
Since you asked let me explain a little- and let me tell you I have learned A LOT as I near my second year of business. When I started the research for one day opening a shop I asked around to friends in the business and one of them was John Reid at SO-CAL. He proposed that if I was considering opening a shop I should consider a SO-CAL franchise. I didn't think they would want something so close to them, but they did because they would rather support a network of community connected franchises than try and do it all themselves- and that is the same for Southern California or Pennsylvania. The main store has enough going on that they are open to someone covering that territory and do shows and local events (just the same as their representatives in Las Vegas, Phoenix and the rest). Location is key and despite a ton of looking for the "right" shop my first location suffered from being a bit too large ($$$) and off the beaten hot rod path- something that should be much different in the new location (even though it's only about 4 miles difference). I also rely on the support of people when I travel to events and from the HAMB that I proudly support as an Alliance Vendor. The key also is not to stock ONLY SO-CAL merchandise in your store, it has to be a well-rounded inventory and that's something else we are working on so that someone can stop in for anything from SO-CAL or a magazine or a new set of Firestone wide whites. All of this with an ability to give a deal here and there. Another thing I bring to my own store is an in-depth knowledge about the cars and how they work. That's important to someone on the other end of the phone or just on the other side of the sales counter. If you have been to one of the major late-model Auto Parts stores lately you know that when it comes to giving you ANY automobile advice they have NO IDEA what end of the car the stuff goes on. Finally, I feel that being the front end of a shop like Richard's is EXACTLY the thing I need to help supply him and his customers with their required parts and vice-versa when someone comes to me for a part and someone to install it or build them a whole car there's no one better in my area than Richard Graves to help them out. Win-Win, let's see how it works out! Thanks Jim
Hey Jim, the one thing I've always wondered is why isn't john Reid's own store a So Cal? Seems odd to me. What's your take on that?
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