Possible fixed location -- need help!

K

kapinnn

New member
Soooooo, I decided to start looking at possible places for a detail shop. I wanted to get something already set with bays and a lift and guess what? Found one just down the street from me -- 10 minutes away.



This place seems perfect except for the price and I think the parking lot is a bit of overkill. It has 2 bays and a lift, an office, and a customer reception area with a restroom. Please check the pdf attachment. The previous shop at the location was a detail shop, which I had never noticed was there...



It's located right on a busy street in South Denver and very close to Cherry Hills, which is a very expensive neiborhood. This street (specially in this area) if full of used car dealers, body shops, 1 detail shop, tint shops, and various car shops.



I was wondering of what am I looking at in full cost to get a place like this? I've never owned a business before and I do understand I have to put a lot of time and effort in it. I was thinking about doing most of the work myself but having 1-2 assitants to answer phones, do the basics, and learn from me.



How do you guys with shops operate? I'm assuming you work Saturdays and Sundays but take either Monday or Tuesday off.



How is business during winter? It snows a few days (usually, last year was an anomally) in Denver and I think we get plenty of days above freezin point.



I currently am mobile and charge $50/hr. If I am catering to the same crowd will that stand? Should I up the charge to make up for overhead?



I dunno, just lots of questions in my mind right now.
 

Attachments

Holy crap that's beautiful. Is there room inside for more cars than just the two bays? Does it have floor drains so you can wash inside? I think in comparison to working mobile you will be more productive (working inside, no travel) so there will be some offset to what you might have to increase your hourly rate to make up for your fixed overhead.



Perhaps you can lease some of the lot space to a limo company. Do you have any idea why the previous shop failed?
 
No idea at all why it failed. I found it by looking for a vacuum shop. It's in a great area but I guess it's a bit hidden because the shop sits far back behind the parking lot. That might be the reason.



I wanna try to contact the owner but the real estate agent is an ***... I asked for info and it was almost like he did not want to sell the place. I had to ask if he could send me some info through e-mail or something...



I'll try to drive by it today and take more pics to show the area.



I wanna also set up a time to check it out in the inside. I'll be sure to take pics and note if there are internal drains. From the outside it looks like it can fit 3-4 cars inside, but I really don't know the building layout.
 
Can detailing support that? In only 2 bays?

Suppose a 20% down of $140k and a commercial mortgage of $560k - very hard to get. You would be at about $4500 per month pending taxes.



Looks like a used car lot, maybe you buy the lot and detail out of it, and find some used car dealer to rent form you to lighten the load?
 
jsatek said:
Can detailing support that? In only 2 bays?

Suppose a 20% down of $140k and a commercial mortgage of $560k - very hard to get. You would be at about $4500 per month pending taxes.



Looks like a used car lot, maybe you buy the lot and detail out of it, and find some used car dealer to rent form you to lighten the load?
Click to expand...



Yep, a bit hefty for sure. Not sure if only detailing will cut it. There a lots of used car dealers in this same street. Not sure if the area can support another one. I'll keep looking for places as this one is out of my budget (by a lot!). I was just amazed it was so close to home and in such a great area.
 
I have fixed pricing for my shop, but it adjusts to about $70 per hour. It's great having a fixed location, but there is a lot to consider. I actually work Monday through Saturday with appointments only on Sundays. Most of my business is actually during the week. If you set up contracts with dealerships it is a good idea to dedicate one slow day to wholesale cars (Monday's are usually slow unless preceeded by a holiday weekend).



Currently, I use one wash bay that needs to get rinsed and sqeegeed after every car. I also don't think the lot is overkill. You can never have too much parking (we have way too little).



As for winters, we do better than you'd expect. I pick up a lot of private limo drivers that don't have the facility to wash their own cars in the freezing weather. Having a heated garage is a huge selling point in the colder climates that have snow.
 
Another thought that I do to help with costs...

Do as much as you can offer to cross-sell with everything automotive. Not quite the capacity that you are looking at, but we have 4 full service bays, 4 lube bays, and sell everything from tires to headlights. I also have a mobile glass guy, a PDR guy, a local paint shop, and a mobile tinter that work out of my shop for a portion of the profits.
 
That's simply not feasible with just two bays.

Not even close.

I would guess you'd have monthly fixed costs of over $14,000. That's $550 per day just to break-even. You'd need another $200 per day for income. That's 3.5 per day, everyday, six days a week. Every week.



Keep looking...



Jim
 
todd@bsaw said:
Another thought that I do to help with costs...

Do as much as you can offer to cross-sell with everything automotive. Not quite the capacity that you are looking at, but we have 4 full service bays, 4 lube bays, and sell everything from tires to headlights. I also have a mobile glass guy, a PDR guy, a local paint shop, and a mobile tinter that work out of my shop for a portion of the profits.
Click to expand...



Jebus man! You do everything at your shop! That would be a little too much for someone like me to organize being that i've never owned a business. It is a possibility, however...



I want to find a bigger place with maybe more bays and cheaper. Maybe I can offer multiple services like you suggested. The tint shop, PDR, and glass do seem to interact with detailing in a way.



Thanks for the help!
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
That's simply not feasible with just two bays.

Not even close.

I would guess you'd have monthly fixed costs of over $14,000. That's $550 per day just to break-even. You'd need another $200 per day for income. That's 3.5 per day, everyday, six days a week. Every week.



Keep looking...



Jim
Click to expand...



Very good points... I was actually looking for a place well under 1/2 mil and was hoping for 3-4 bays.



Let's see what we find! There is another place that looks abandoned down the street that used to be a Michelin tire shop. All wood construction but has like 7 bays... It's been out of business for as long as i've lived in this area (like 2 years) but I don't see a for rent or for sale sign anywhere...
 
Yea owning it wouldn't be prudent with it being so limited in size. However if they were willing to lease it for considerably less and it had all the needed drains and hook ups I would say go for it. I lease my current location right now and it's proving very affordable. I'd at least ask if that was a possibility. I cold called on mine he never had a sign up or anything but I loved the location and took a shot. Sometimes they pay off.
 
It sounds like the place you found is in a good area, but not a good location. If you live around it and didn't know it was there and found it by accident, that is a bad sign. You could always look for another place, and I'm not trying to be a downer, but....................



Why are you looking for a fixed location? If you are making $50/hour now mobile, why do you want to do the same work but add a bunch of bills on top of you? How much would you have to charge at a fixed location to make the same amount of money that you do now? You have the mortgage or rent, utilities, taxes, pay to employees, etc. to make up. Plus, there is another detail shop in the area. So, you would be the new guy wherever you go, and there may be plenty of detail shops around. But what about mobile, like you currently are? Is there as much competition, after all, you are offering the same detail service plus a convenience in your current operation.



I have thought many times about getting a fixed location. It seems like a great idea, and that it would really make the business I currently run seem more like a "business". However, I just can't justify the extra cost of all the bills that comes along with the location.



If you have a lot of dealers around, could you maybe get a dealer to let you use their garage or a bay of it for detailing? You could give them a percentage of your earnings in lieu of rent, or maybe you could detail the cars on their lot at a reduced rate to get your location. Just an idea.



I hope you find what you are looking for, whatever that may be. I'm just tossing some ideas out there, and some things for you to think about. Who knows, maybe someone will make a point showing the error of my thoughts, and I'll be looking for a fixed location.
 
Here is the problem... I only do part time detailing. It's getting to the point where I am contemplating dropping my full time job. The company I work for wants to pay for my MBA but I don't know if I'm ready to go back to school yet or if I really care for the corporate world. I hate my job more and more by the day...



The reason I was thinking about $50/hr is that I should be able to do more work with a fixed location. I should also be able to cut time being in a shop, so I might even change from a per-hour structure to a set price per vehicle tier. I do understand the overhead is exorbitant, though.



Mobile works very well for me. Maybe I should consider getting a trailer first and going "more" mobile. I currently don't carry water, generator, or compressor. I would like to carry these with me as it makes it more convenient for the customer and would let me target people that live in apartment complexes and offices.



Just trying to get ideas right now for the near future.
 
MBA in finance, for example = $300,000 to $1,000,000 per year if you are smart and work with a good bank in Deriveatives or Prime Brokerage.



Waxing cars or a free MBA? Thats a tough one.....



I know you didn't say you were studying finance. But for example, I just placed a guy in IT in Derivatives and equities application development. MBA from Cornell, day one out of school he got $115,000 + $40,000 bonus. $90k + 20% is average, this kid was a quality hire. He waited a few years after undergrad to go for his MBA. Not your run of the mill product of higher education.



Ill be the first to bash corporate America, this isnt a bash against detailers or people that do what they love. But think about a free education AND the ability to make decisions as to waht you do.
 
I'm shooting for an IMBA (International) in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from University of Denver. I already took the GMAT and was supposed to have started in the fall, but I decided to wait a bit. I REALLY hate studying... I work as a technical specialist for commercial roofing for one of the largest manufacturers in the country. I work with engineers and architects via phone all day. I really hate my job... typical $50k office job.



I don't think offices and me get along. My goal was to get this MBA, quit, and work overseas as a contractor. However, I don't know if I can put myself through the torture that school is. Maybe I should get my MBA and open a shop? :D



On the other hand, I have fun detailing. I do understand it requires a lot of the body and I am exhausted most of the time. I train jiu jitsu 3-5 times a week as well and I'm always sore.



I guess I'm just confused?
 
My only suggestion is to do what makes you happy. Sure money is nice and is a necessity to a point, but no sense in needing to make $400,000 if you are content with less and are *happy* with what you are doing. Wish you the best with whatever you decide...
 
Joshua312 said:
My only suggestion is to do what makes you happy. Sure money is nice and is a necessity to a point, but no sense in needing to make $400,000 if you are content with less and are *happy* with what you are doing. Wish you the best with whatever you decide...
Click to expand...



I wholeheartedly agree. You only get one life, don't spend it doing something you hate doing. Can you put a price on real happiness?



Anything worth doing is worth doing well, and if you hate what you do, you can't really put into it what it deserves. So, find something you like and immerse yourelf in it to whatever point makes you happy. Of course, there are times in life we all have to do things we don't like just to make ends meet, but the end goal should be to find something you really like and do it.



Myself, I like diversity. Doing the same job day in and day out would drive me nuts. So, my wife and I have a cleaning business, mobile detailing business, I do inspections for commercial mortgage companies and mobile home appraisers, and other odd jobs like painting. Tuesday I painted all day, Wednesday I did 5 inspections in some cities a few hours away, today I washed cars at a local marketing company, and tomorrow I have a full detail starting in the morning. This weekend I'll help my wife clean a couple of offices. They aren't the most glamorous jobs, but they more than pay the bills and keep me interested in my work.



I wish you happiness, however you find it in your work life.:xyxthumbs
 
Well, thank you for the support guys. I want to get the MBA, just not now. I guess even if I have to pay I'd rather do it later in life. I think I'm gonna stick to detailing part time for now.



Maybe I should look for a different full time job or just get another part time job. :D
 
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