Tips / Tricks for starting a business

A place for professionals to network and discuss the business and technology inside the shop.



Fully Engaged
Posts: 185
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:11 am
Location: MASSACHUSSETTES
PostPosted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:50 am
Therin lies the problem, if you're a bodyman wanting to start a business,
you have no experience at being a businessman.
So how else do you become a businessman without experience
other than schooling to help? 8)


I would ask a friend or family member, somebody has to have experience. All it really takes is drive and attention to detail. Keep a record of everything, balance your finances\bills, maintain trust relationships with insurance companies and other shops, weekly inventories\ordering and stay happy :)

You can do it if you set goals, form a plan, and stay motivated. I know alot of people that own shops that are definitely not the brightest bulb on the tree.

I say go to barnes and nobles, find some good easy to read books on how to run a business, and do your research. Your definately not going to become a business master over night but it will give you an outline of where to start from. Then its just a matter of finding what works for you.
knowledge is power, power is experience



Top Contributor
Posts: 1531
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2005 10:44 am
Location: San Francisco Bay area
PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:24 am
TheNewGenration wrote:I would ask a friend or family member, somebody has to have experience. All it really takes is drive and attention to detail. Keep a record of everything, balance your finances\bills, maintain trust relationships with insurance companies and other shops, weekly inventories\ordering and stay happy :)

You can do it if you set goals, form a plan, and stay motivated. I know alot of people that own shops that are definitely not the brightest bulb on the tree.

I say go to barnes and nobles, find some good easy to read books on how to run a business, and do your research. Your definately not going to become a business master over night but it will give you an outline of where to start from. Then its just a matter of finding what works for you.


THAT my friend is the definition of "get educated". We are all different, that I admit. There are some who are just so **** smart that they "make their own" and learn. I mean after all, SOMEONE had to develop the studies we would learn in a classroom. HOWEVER, and this is a BIG however, there are more people out there than not that would GREATLY benifit from some schooling. Most businesses that fail in the first few years are people who thought they could "learn on the job". Learning on the job is a LOT more expenisve than learning in a school before you open the company. The margins are TINY the first few years, you are working with very little GP and to use some of it "learning" from mistakes, you are setting yourself up for failure.

I KNOW this, this isn't an "opinion" or abstract or something, I LIVED it. And being where I am now, after getting some education, after walking into hundreds of shops as a paint rep seeing successful businesses and failures seeing the aditudes of the owners, getting some education is VERY important. And that education should NEVER stop. The owners of the shop where I have worked for the last 8 years educate themselves over and over throughout the year, and send their employees to classes and courses over and over throughout the year. They run a $4million+ a year business, they can't be that "dumb" and wasting their time. :)

Brian
Free lance adviser

"Hitting the pavement at 100 mph really smarts"
Evel Knievel
Previous

Return to The Pro Shop!

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests