Starting car audio store, Need some help

[DePratt 10+ year member]

wow thought it would be harder


and maybe he wanted to save room in the trunk and not spend a ton so he can save money to open shop???

no, anyone with the "guts" to say they enjoy their music, wouldnt step that low.

and to the OP, spend a lot of time working in a shop, first start with the installs, move to working with customers, understand how to work with the companies whose products the shop sells.

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

MECP just dosent mean anything anymore until you get to the upper levels...

 

[#45 10+ year member]

you could always just work out of your own garage at home as a side job rather than hire people...etc.

put your own ads on some telephone poles or something along busy streets

word of mouth goes along way if you do good work.

 

[pawn man 10+ year member]

the economy is on its way back up guys and no matter what people enjoy good clean sounding music to help with their personal life trials.other then new car sales the automotive market is actually doing great.
as for the rest of it he can make it or fail without the opinions of kids that havent even moved out of Mommys house yet!

i don't know where you live but here the economy is horrible & is in no way on it's way back. ppl are losing jobs now more than 6 months ago.

 

[forbidden 10+ year member]

What kind of money are you prepared to invest in the new store anyways? What kind of research into it have you done other than registering on a forum and asking advice?

 

[badvlvo 10+ year member]

Not to be an ass but if you can't install on your own ride how do you expect to install for a customer?

I have yet to tackle the install on my 04 BMW but that is due to cashflow issues, not due to lack of knowledge. It is more complicated when you need to use LOC's or install security or remote start systems on newer cars. You need experience. Experience will be gained by working in a shop with experienced installers who know how to install to the level of OE or better.

I have owned my own business. I started a shop out of a 1500sq/ft shop and I made it grow to 10ksq/ft in 5 years. Then I sold it for a tidy profit. I didn't do it overnight and had to invest a large sum of money just to keep it alive for the first 2 years while I established a client base.

I will be opening another business in the future but I am waiting for the economy to settle down and to be in the right financial place to do it right.

Do you have the money to cover 2 years of the lease, 1 year of payroll and 2 years of all of your other expenses as well as money for equipment and inventory? If you have it you are better off waiting for a better economic climate or purchasing an existing business that is already profitable. When I started my business it was just me and a friend. We made about $10/hr for the first year, slightly more the second year. When I finally started to see a real profit I was then able to pay myself about the same as my technicians for another year before finally making enough to make the hard work worthwhile.

Having a qualified installer will be of help if you decide to go forward with this idea. If you decide that you want to open this shop please do not do any install work without an experienced installer coaching you or you will have very pissed off customers. Nothing will get me in a state of rage quite like someone ****ing up my car.

 

[sound_around]

i don't know where you live but here the economy is horrible & is in no way on it's way back. ppl are losing jobs now more than 6 months ago.

i live in one of the poorest areas of the country run this zip (24216) and you will see.

other than new car sales the automotive industry is actually doing better these days.

i know this because i am a mechanic by trade and have owned used car lots,car audio stores,repair centers,clothing stores and many other businesses.trust me man it will get better.

people are losing jobs mostly because companys are streamlining and many losing jobs were hired as excess spending.so,they were really never needed.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crying.gif.ec0ebefe590df0251476573bc49e46d8.gif

 

[Qbenjamin 10+ year member]

Your business is already headed for failure if your coming to an online forum with business propaganda questions.

 

[I Like Waffle]

just an FYI about the whole unemployment deal, 8 out of the 10 people ive done audio related work for in the past few weeks have been unemployed. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif Im doing pretty good lately doing it on the side, but i wouldnt take the risk of opening a shop and having expenses. Right now i have no expenses other than parts and such.

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

Ok...from a shop owner.....(I have a shop that is going into year #3 of business)....
Do you know how to do alarms? Remote Starts? A basic keyless entry? How about adding doorlock actuators? What if the door locks are cable driven? Do you know how to do release solenoids? Do you know how to trouble shoot? Do you know how to properly look for the best spot to run a power wire? How about properly grounding an amplifier/headunit/alarm or anything? Do you know how to take apart a vehicle WITHOUT instructions telling you how to do so? Do you know how to acutally solder? How about installing monitors in new locations (headrest, drop downs, custom fabrication)?

If you can't get a LOC in a BMW to work right....you shouldn't even consider opening a shop...I'm not trying to be a jerk...but you don't have the necessary abilities to do so.

As for "hiring" someone to work for you and do installs....ok...lets look at this....he/she is going to want to be paid...every week... now you might be ok here if you pay based on the amount of output...but just starting out he is going to starve..and basically unless you have about $50K so will you....

As for the recession comments...the economy isn't in the $hitter everywhere...in fact I had a stronger March 09 then I did December 08.....and I had a good holiday rush //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif If you dont have any experience...EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE.........dont open a shop... go to work for a shop and cut your teeth, then when you feel comfortable handling anything that comes in door, then if you have the money situtation right, and only then...pursue it... not until then...

Everything he said x2

 

[AVSTANG02]

He can open a store but he's going to need to hire a few installers with at least 3 years experience..

Lots of people open up businesses without being able to actually do the work. It's about having a good team to support you.

But.. the O.P is definitely headed for failure it costs A LOT to open a shop. Gotta get merch, gotta get a shop, gotta pay employees, gotta promote yourself, accounting, tons of etc expenses..

 

[sound_around]

He can open a store but he's going to need to hire a few installers with at least 3 years experience..
Lots of people open up businesses without being able to actually do the work. It's about having a good team to support you.

But.. the O.P is definitely headed for failure it costs A LOT to open a shop. Gotta get merch, gotta get a shop, gotta pay employees, gotta promote yourself, accounting, tons of etc expenses..

its not that bad,!i can get stuff on 90 day tickets and advertise for free.