Wondering how to start a body shop business?
Whenever you decide to open a business, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that must be done, in order to be successful. Individuals that lack preparation and organization are more likely to be overwhelmed, compared to those who do the research and create a body shop business plan. The problem that business owners often face aside from organization is knowledge. Knowledge that is received through experience, education and research.
First things first:
Upon deciding to start body shop business, there are a few things you need to gather in order to put yourself in the right direction. Before beginning any research or analysis, decide what information would be most important to be used in an outline for your business.
This would include:
1. How will you go about choosing the right location- Knowing the best environment for your location, by accessing the following information:
A. Knowing your competition
- Number of identical businesses
- The resources that would be useful with choosing a desired area
- Learn All about finances- Once you have found your location, your financial situation would need to be addressed. This should have the ability to be accessed conveniently, when it could hinder moving forward. The best way to keep this information compiled together, would be to create a business marketing plan portfolio, based on how to buy or start body shop business.
- Putting together the business plan and portfolio- This information should be based off several different factors. These factors include a financial assessment, including money on hand, outstanding loans, requirements to obtain loans and where the loans can be obtained.
- Put together a market analysis which includes current and future mark segmentation of expenses and start up costs.
- Determine the type of business that this body shop would be, such as corporation, LLC, or sole proprietorship. Then determine if you will have employees or independent contractors working for you.
- What equipment and tools are needed in order to run a body shop.This is just a portion of the information that you will need to put together in a portfolio. You will need to have this information readily available when you are attempting to secure an SBA loan. It shows that you understand what is necessary in order to be able to start body shop business.The amount of the loan that you would need to request depends on a number of items. You will need to run the numbers to come to a round about number. This number would be based on factors such as the location and site.
- Equipment needed
- Advertising and marketing costs
- Type of building being used- whether it is a new building or current site
- Summary of ongoing expenses, startup costs including payroll, insurance and supplies.
How much does it cost to start a body shop business?
The cost to start or buy a body shop business can vary. You would need to determine the amount of space being used and the expenses needed to account for it. Keep in mind that you may not receive a loan for the entire amount of the cost, however always look for an amount over your projected totals. Your projected totals can fall anywhere between $75,000 – $550,000.
There are times where the costs to start or buy may fall outside this range, however this is a guideline to know that you are moving in the right direction in estimating expenses.When you are unable to procure a loan in order to start a body shop, there are alternatives to assist you. Funding assistance for startups, are more prominent than one might think. Many investors are jumping through hoops in order to back up a company that they believe will be successful.
Starting a body shop business requires a lot of dedication as well as motivation. In addition, you will need to have goals set. Through these goals you will get through each stage of the startup process. You will need the experience or someone with the experience to guide you. Keep in mind that clients are a big concern when creating a body shop. This means to understand how to obtain clients, or service the clients that you know. Spread the word that you will be starting a body shop business and that their contributions are very much appreciated.
Owning a repair shop, surprisingly to many, requires a good deal of knowledge in a combination of areas, including finances, repairs, sales, advertising and capability of being socially competent. Being able to develop a repartee with your vendors, as well as your clients and customers is important to maintain a good business reputation. One bad review, or one bad public coverage piece, is all it takes to damage a business’ reputation for quite some time. The advancements in technology enables this information to spread like wildfire, and putting it out is not that easy. The auto repair industry is a fast growing business, where shops pop up a dime a dozen. Therefore, if one shop is condemned another arises.
This expenditure should be based on strategy within the community. It’s a numbers game and there is a lot of competition within it. Out of all of the body shop startups, only a third will survive. The ones that do survive, began with market segmentation and understanding the industry. There are a large amount of potential customers and clients that don’t have a regular body shop that they go to. This is based on the fact that in most households, there are at least 1-2 drivers, and out of those drivers there are 1-2 vehicles owned. This is just one side of the equation relating the amount of potential business within the community.
A lot of emphasis on how to start body shop business should be placed on finances and numbers. It’s about finding the right location, and working with obtaining at least a third of the community as customers. Retaining the customers is done through good reviews, repartee, knowledge and dedication. This is not a 9 to 5 job and you will not receive success overnight. You must literally put in the sweat, blood and tears to succeed.