Projects Business proposal- Just brainstorming (for now)

MY SITUATION: 54 years old. Second generation in the automotive world. Grew up in my Dad's gas stations. 40-plus years experience in all aspects of auto repair, racing, and restoration. Been in business since 1952.

I went to work at the USPS 27 years ago for security, benefits, retirement. Kept the business as a sideline. It is my real love. I can retire from the job in just over 2 years. At that time I want to have a collector car sales/repair/restoration/rod shop up and running.

I haven't done much work on cars myself in years. I have kept up-to-date on the market, and buy and sell to the extent I can with working elsewhere 6 days a week. I have some equipment and tools, and a former gas station with in-floor lift. I am planning a 40x50 addition to that with in-floor heat and the latest technology.

While I have knowledge and experience, my physical skills are declining. I can still work in the shop, but not like I used to.

MY PROPOSAL: Looking for the right person(s) to join me in this venture. It would have to be somebody with skills and knowledge, particularly in the hot rod/collector car world. I can handle buying, selling, and promotion. I need somebody capable of running the shop. I can be an older, fatter Richard Rawlings, I need an Aaron LOL I don't have a ton of startup money, but will be completely debt free including house and shop in a few months. Willing to put it all on the line to fulfill my destiny.

GOAL: To build an honest, successful, and PROFITABLE business where all involved share in the success while doing what they love.

Timeframe is within the next year or two. Just starting to look for ways to bring my plan into focus. Posting this here is admittedly a crazy thing to do, but there's always the chance that a like-minded person ready to make a move toward their dream will see this and it will srike a note.

I am located in New Haven NY, 8 miles east of Oswego, 25 miles north of Syracuse. Open to ideas, discussion, criticism. If you might be interested in a venture like this and want to talk, message here or e-mail bams50@msn.com. Or text 315-480-4608.

Sincerely,
Bob Andrews
Gas Money Garage
Since 1952

 

That's a hell of a way to try to make some money...

(my wife plans to retire soon from a cushy gov't job, and I have no plans whatsoever to try to get my similar business back into action. I'm 54 now, and worked pretty hard at it 25 years ago)

 

There's money to be made. Doesn't have to be millions. I can do nothing and live just fine on my pension when I retire. But my love of this stuff is the reason to pursue it.

 

don't do it. too much risk, not enough return.

 

My only thought.... Partnerships have a high chance of not ending well. It can work well but not often.
I would lean towards finding the right person and paying them well.

Good luck with your venture.

 

Completely agree about the risk. Return? Never know for sure until you try. And I've always been the type that would rather try it and fail than get to the end of my life and wonder.

 

Agree about the risks of taking a partner. I've owned my non auto biz for 40 years, and had people want to come in and bring money, but my dad's bad experiences with partners in the 40s was enough reason to go it alone. Good luck, I appreciate your plan and enthusiasm, though.

 

I think a better approach my be to just dabble in it for a while, on your own, and if you get to where you really need help, then hire someone. Pay as you go. Don't dive into a bunch of debt, or other obligations.

 

I agree above, the only ship that won't sail is a partnership. If you're the owner, find a good worker and pay them well enough that they have no reason to want to leave.

Is your shop really called "Gas Money Garage"?

Incidentally, I used to have a Folex watch. It was not high quality.

 

Good luck.

 

How many people do you know that would spend, oh lets say $2,000, and have another $2,000 to spend next month? Play money went away with the second mortgage boom long, long ago. Bob

 

Low overhead is key. It's tempting to have all the latest and greatest of everything. But it's better to grow as business grows.
I worked for a guy that leased all kinds of equipment. Looked nice in an empty shop. He didn't last more than a few months.
I started on my own but slowly grew as business warranted it.

Keep control of your business and keep overhead low.

 

A friend of mine has a steady flow of customers like that. All he has is play money work. He is always busy with a couple employees.
Took quite a while to get to that point though.

 

Retire, forget the business and enjoy a hobby. You will live longer and be happier.

 

You are located in a wealthy, densely populated area. Go for it.

 

I w

I would go this route too. No offence but youre dream is the same as all of ours.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far! I have no problem with all the naysayers. Nobody has ever succeeded without a chorus of discouragement in their ears. I just see it differently.

And yes, that's the actual business name. It was based on the concept that low overhead and no debt means we only need to do this for extra toy money... or just a little- wait for it- gas money

 

That's exactly what I've been doing. For a couple decades. The job, family, and racing came first. Now I'm at a stage of life where it can move to the forefront.

 

I worry when you say, " I can be an older, fatter Richard Rawlings, I need an Aaron LOL I don't have a ton of startup money, but will be completely debt free including house and shop in a few months. Willing to put it all on the line to fulfill my destiny." Remember, Richard Rawlings does have the money and does little else while Aaron does the work. If you don't have the start-up money will you be relying on your partner to put up funding and also be the guy responsible for building the cars? If so, that's a bad idea. Go it alone and hire folks to do the work.
You must be the one completely in charge as finding good people is next to impossible. Start small by yourself to see if there is a market for the business to grow. At age 54+ it's hard to start over.

 

Your Goal says it all.
Follow it.
Build a business, Not a building!
You have an old gas station, a lift and probably
a decent location. I wish I was so lucky!
Start with what you can do now. If you can buy,
get running and driving, and sell from your
existing building, do it NOW. No start-up, just fun.
Do what you can do NOW. Dont start with
building cars from the ground up, or total restorations
that take years, not days like you see on TV!
Just take cars that want to be Hot Rods or nice
originals, get them going and get them on their way.
Your opportunity is looking right at you....
And you are still way young enough to have tons of fun,
and make some money without spending a bundle,
and not loose your shirt if it doesn't work out like you want.
I wish I was closer to you!!!
Just my $.02.
Good luck!

 

Take on a WYOTECH grad on a temp basis and build some cars on speculation and go from there.

 

Why will folks come to your shop?
What does your portfolio of past performance look like?
How many services do you want to offer?
How many contractors for select out-of-house services do you have?
If you have 1 single specialty, what is it?
How many shops within an hour drive are doing what you want to, and for how long have they?

I don't want to be the Devil's Advocate but don't think for a moment that this is a cash cow business. It's not, and it's a very demanding way to make a living for the 1st 3-5 years. You'll get into a groove after that to where it's almost on auto pilot, but the fact is it never will be. The candor you present the idea with can be as good as it can be bad. The shop will own you, not the other way around. I've done this for the majority of my 44 years involved in the automotive field. I never did general repair, I only did regular bump n paint for about 90 days. All the rest was either prototype or restoration. Can you manage a time and material gig efficiently? Just because a car gives you a couple hrs of grief do you know which form is on you and which is on the client? Are you prepared to take next to nothing from it for a cpl years? I just did it again, opened a shop. I'm busy but I'm not making much yet. I'm small and i sell labor only, no product, no mark up on materials. They buy it all, I buy the consumable shit that the shop needs like paper products, coffee, office supplies, shop supplies etc. My place:

I have a couple different unique skills and knowledge of specific brands in a specific era. As good as that shot looks it still owns me. We sell labor, that's all. It's in finishing, assembly, service, upholstery, limited mechanical service (as in I don't do heavy engine work like boring and other machine shop services). It works, but I'm still working it. No debt, all paid for and 2 people that I wish I could clone. Do I love it? Yes or I wouldn't have done it. Is it easy? In plain English, fuck no. Will it ever be? I'm confident that the day is soon coming where it runs like a Packard 12. But, as I asked you above, why do they come to me (why would they come to you)? Because I've been there before and have an enviable track record of peer reviewed work, clients that win. You're asking folks to trust you with their personal property that may have values exceeding 6 figures. I spent a lifetime earning trust and confidence, building relationships. I haven't even touched on the clerical duties (sometimes nightmares). You ready for that too? I hate it but it's gotta be done. Don't think I'm pissing in your ice cream, just some thoughts from both sides of the desk...

 

Reading other replies I see one that says Wyotech. I have worked with 3 Wyotech grads and you could put a 9mm to my head and say "Hire another or..." I'll take the 'or', thank you. All were whining little bitches expecting Foose money for Moose ability. They grind those poor fucks out for $35K in tuition. The majority of them, in my experience, know little more than the name of the tools. Yes, we all had to start somewhere. My youthful learning went like this, "...here, don't fuck it up..." and I didn't. From there I was worth training. Think about that one, please. Maybe way later if you feel philanthropic and want groom someone. And yeah, I'm not feeling "Gas Money" either. My mission statement: "Where You Would Send A Friend". The 3 of us live that ethic every hour. My place is called " The Enthusiast Garage ". Simple, direct, honest. Just my opinion...

 

Okay, stay calm, I'll talk you down...
First, lets look at where you want to open your business. New Haven ,NY. In the poorest county in NYS, that gets over 12 feet of lake effect snow every year. Only jobs near by are at the prison (soon to be closed) and the nuclear power plant (also soon to be closed). Population of 2800 people. Many shops start by getting extra cash by doing normal side work. Your local craigslist is filled with "mechanics" looking for side work.
Second, You want to take on a partner (equal partner I'll assume) to do all the heavy lifting while you wheel and deal on the phone in the office. Oh and mostly with his money, but in your old gas station garage in the MOST HEAVILY TAXED STATE IN THE COUNTY.
Third, You are putting up your house and garage. The median house price in your town is $119,000 and former gas stations I would not touch in NYS because of DEC concerns. The AVERAGE clean up cost of a gas station in NYS is $225,000. Once you reopen it, you MOST likely will have to clean it. Operated a few junkyards in NYS. Trust me on this.
ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT YOU EARNED IT.
Play in your garage, hell make a little money there. But I would not suggest opening this kind of business there.
NOT trying to beat you up, but hoping to make you think about this a little more. 19fordy above makes good sense in his post.
My 2 cents.

 

All good advice- besides a solid vision- experience and quality of product are key to establishing a quality business. What kind of cars have you built or what are your current rides?

 

Wow! I think OLDTINPUSHER is 150% correct, based on my recollection of Oswego, NY and surrounding areas.

 

Shitloads of truth in this post. The Wyotech thing made me laugh. At the resto shop that I used to work at, we had one of those went-to-college-for-restoration guys, after he got fired someone called my boss for a reference on his behalf from an oil change place. The guys I've met who were the best at it were good only because they had many years of grinding out long hours in the field.

I only mention the name thing because it sounds so much like the reality show losers. I think that would shine a poor light on your new business venture. But take it with a grain of salt from a guy who calls his shop the Potter Meat Market and ironically offers only used auto parts from it.

I've been self employed and running my shop for around 10 years now and I really love it, I don't want to discourage anyone from jumping out on their own. And I do believe you can make an honest living in the field, I know I do.

The part that concerns me is that you have no capital to work with and want to take on a partner and you want your role to be the deal maker while the other guy does all the work. I don't see you finding a business partner that would be willing to do all the work without a guaranteed paycheck and no employee respects a boss that won't get his hands dirty and do some work themselves.

If you can't start making money there with just yourself and your current building and equipment, you have no reason to think it'll be better with more people and expansion. That would be done as a result of success, not to chase after it.

 

And one other small thing that may bite you. Richard and gang will probably come after you for trademark infringement and his lawyers/pockets are bigger/deeper than yours. You might win but "famous marks" get different treatment on these things. Win or lose, it will cost you money you can't afford to spend.

 

Gas Money? Is that the best you've got?

 

Lots of good advice here from folks in the business. I have built many cars and kinda considered this as well. Being retired with no debt and a few bucks made me think maybe but then decided to just tinker at it and enjoy rather than create more worries,etc. Many shops in my area that do good work but still struggle with deadlines, customers paying on time and overhead-not for me at this point. Be cautious and beware of partners.