How to Open Your Own Successful Garage Business

With so many of us suffering from financial woes right now, those of us with genuine skills need to be able and willing to start making a living out of them. If you are a qualified mechanic with a good business head on your shoulders or have many years of experience working in car dealerships and think you could start up your own business, now is the ideal time. With the pandemic essentially over, people are incredibly eager to get back on the road for business and pleasure alike and cars are always going to require maintenance.

Before you start choosing the décor, however, there are some important things to consider. Learn as much as possible, create a detailed business plan and make the right decisions – start-up costs can be expensive, which is why you may decide to opt for an unsecured business loan. There are also a few other things you might want to consider on the long road to opening day.

What will you offer to clients?

There are various options for motor traders looking to run a garage business. If you’re a skilled mechanic then you could provide traditional services and repairs, including replacing body parts, or restoring paintwork. If you are a qualified MOT tester, meanwhile, you can undertake MOTs. If you are experienced enough and have a decent knowledge of them, you can even restore classic cars. There’s a lot of money to be made in it and the classics never go out of style.

Decide on a Suitable Location

Choosing the location of your business is very important. A garage needs to be accessible, easy to find and in an area that attracts customers easily. Setting up a garage in a location with lots of existing competition is not ideal either. You want to find a place on a busy road (or close to a busy road) with affordable space. Depending on the staff number and client base, you may also need to consider its size and whether you can afford it.

Setting up your Business

Think about whether you will need staff, what expertise they require, and how many you need. That way you’ll be able to calculate wages and get a more accurate idea of your potential incomings and outgoings. Remember you will also need to cover the cost of tools, vehicle parts, materials, and the rental cost for the garage itself. You need to sort out business taxes, accountancy, licenses, and insurance too. These are costs that really start to add up, so if this all feels a little daunting, you might want to reconsider.

Create a Marketing Strategy

Having the best-located, equipped, and staffed garage in the country means nothing if nobody knows it’s there. Marketing should never be overlooked, even for a business as traditional as a garage. If you have clients in mind, contact and offer your services, hand out flyers, advertise in local magazines and even go door-to-door in the local area with flyers if you must. Also, improve your online presence, create a website with relevant information, start a blog, create social media profiles with updates and create a Google My Business account. These are all stepping stones to a thriving business, but it won’t happen overnight. Be prepared to strap in for the long haul.

Featured Photo by todd kent on Unsplash