I work for and with shops and customers. Business is good here in central TX, but some are afraid it will slow down. I think we have been scared into a corner because that is where the feds and media wants us to be. Things have been going along too well and they have gotten bored talking about good times. A change was needed so they created all this financial mess in order to lure us into the lair. Yes it is true many have reduced their 401K's into 101K's but no matter what we gotta keep tabs on what is happening just in case they take away our rights as a free people. (See SEMA) Read the forums on Wall Street Journal and other financial websites and you'll see what the feds, foodstampers, environmentalists, anti-entrepreneur groups, car haters and wealth destroyers would like to do with people like us who enjoy life way too much. When they try to destroy the freedom we have as car guys, hobbyists and business owners they are ripping our consitutional rights (birthright). Living and doing what we want is not a priviledge (Priviledges-who the hell came up with that life limiting idea?) but rights to do as we please as humans. And the feds are right there pushing all the way to get everything they can out of us before destroying who we are and what we've earned. i know this point is off topic or may not be of interest to HAMBers, but as a consultant to those in the industry, I keep a watchful eye and ears open to what the business owners and car guys are thinking and it is a very serious topic everyone on this forum all should be concerned with. Okay, that's enough of my crap. Now go build your business...survive, thrive...VROOM! Mikey www.MikeysPinstriping.com www.HotRodConsulting.com "I do Bad Things to Hot Rod Haters...and Business is GOOD!"
I own 3 tire & auto repair shops We have been busy. Most people are fixing the cars rather than buying new ones. That always helps. However I see alot of the small mom & pop shops closing the doors. This last happened here on 9/11 And took a couple of years to pick back up. I think the strong will survive and the weak will go away. I spent many years working in Chevrolet dealerships and am damn glad I not at one anymore. They are having a real tough time making it.
Automotive Fastener Sales where down for us the last couple months. This month seems a little better. Most the body shops around here have just enough work to get by, there are a few good shops who are just as backed up as ever but the average shop is just getting by.
Last month was the best month in our 10 year history, I don't expect it to continue into this month..December is always slow.
There are some large aftermarket performance parts companies that are in trouble. The next few months into 2009 should be interesting.
I work part time for a custom shower door company in south Seattle and they are asking people to take days off due to the lack of work, the last 3 months have been the worst on record. I have also been doing auto appraisals with my dad on the side for the last 10+ years (he has been doing them for 20+ years) and it has always been up and down but people will always need insurance on their new toy or they will be crashing their hondas so the work is there either for or against the insurance companies. I just went part time at the shower door company after 7 years of full time so I can do some more advertising then go full time into the appraisals and maybe get back into doing some custom work on the side.
I work at a dealer bodyshop in SE Mich, we are slower than it's ever been in this area right now. There's been a few days I've only spent 2 or so hours doing actual work. That's no way to make money when you're working commission. Been working on cleaning out my building to see if I can get some side jobs doing bodywork.
I work in the printing industry and it is slow... in the past we have done alot of printing for the automotive industry aftermarket, this has all but gone away.... we have been doing alot of ad work for beer........
The son of the Chevy dealer (Rich) just came to us looking for a job. We hired him on the spot. Nice kid! I feel sorry for him loosing a family business. Same thing happened to me 20 years ago. My brother stole a lot of money from our family business and put my dad and I out on the sidewalk. We had a nice tidy honest used car business since 1964 and BAM! It was all gone in about 2 months when we realized our money had been "compromised."
I work for Advance Auto, too, and the parts business has been slow, too, but it is picking up. People aren't buying new cars, just fixing up the old ones, which is good for us, bad for the dealers.
i have a hot rod shop and i,ve been steady but looks bad ahead i,m usualy about 6 months out now i,m only 2.people are not spending like they use to fuck it if it gets bad i,ll just do something else.
it is interesting to the the progression of peoples opinions on the status of this developing depression. a year ago these posts were about half and half, leaning towards "things are just fine here! the recession must be in your head!" then every month the same question comes up more and more are admitting things are not doing so well. now we seem to be at about 10:1 saying times are tough. i hope you guys that say things are still great are at least preparing for the situation to change.
I've been spraying Line-X bed liners for 10 years. This year we sprayed about a third as many trucks as last year.....we spray beds for all the local dealers, they just aren't selling any trucks! I started traveling to D.C. to spray blast mitigation at government buildings to keep the shop open. I also spray custom paint, there are jobs there but the rising cost of chemical is scaring off a lot of my customers. Fabrication and exhaust is still pretty strong. Today you have to be diversified to stay in business. Specialty shop around here are really hurting.
I work at an independent NAPA auto parts store and this ime of year is our normal slow time but this year is down somewhat and an elder told me its the transistion between good and bad economy; good times people buy accesories and wants, slow times they don't buy, really slow times the buy their needs. i have noticed the repair manual sales are way up it that is a barmometer of the times...........
business has been steady for me. i've been here 20 yrs. and have aquired some good accounts over the years, inc. the Aquarion water co. and ATT phone co. down the street, plus a few mechanical garages around town that send me work, and of course my own customer base. i learned early on to turn out a good product at a fair price and the customers will keep coming back. someone on here asked one time "have you ever met a rich honest bodyman?" and the answer is no! but when all the guys that fucked their customers went out of business, that opened the door for the honest guys to pick up their clientel, and that helps to keep us busy. i know i'll never get rich doing this, but at least me and my guys won't have to worry about keeping a roof over our families heads, and if we ever get that slow, fuck it, we'll just work on our own stuff!
I don't have anything lined up in my shop when this is done Maybe I'll finally get started on my 61 Ford unibody. Business seems slow, as if even the people who don't intend to pay aren't buying. GH
Put an add up in the misc. area for work that you perform, maybe some guys that are thinking about getting some work done may be ready to roll? worth a shot. I know of a 55 chevy in Minnesota that needs some patch panels welded in, just looking for an experienced welder / bodyman. Dont forget marketing is still a key factor in getting business, alot of shops get used to steady work coming in and they kind of let there marketing plan slide a little ..... they forget it may get slow one day! of course the best advertisment is positive word of mouth, but sometimes you still gotta do the traditional marketing thing. Its interesting to read the areas that are busy and the ones that are slow, seems like Texas over all is still pretty steady busy.
Texas is fairly busy right now like I said in my previous comment on this post. I've been striping for 30 yrs, I've seen several recessions and seems I'm busier then than when things are good. Guess people want to spend $$ on something that makes them feel good. SHOPS: I tell the shops I work with as a consultant to keep your face out in the general public. Keep going to the cars as a vendor even if you don't get business at some of them. I've been doing shows for 29 years. 20 shows this year with about 15 making money. Some did not too well but I keep going because some people, even though they know and trust you, will take several times of seeing you to buy. Selling your services in this industry isn't like selling burgers to a starving crowd, you gotta build a trusting long-term relationship with your clients from the beginning. And if you can reach the guys with the big bucks, make them believe in you and that you will do as promised, they will come back for more. Know the lifetime value of just one customer who loves you. I;ve seen many shops take money before the job begins ( there nothing worng with that if you actually do the job) and if they even perform the job, it gets rushed or laid to rest in the back corner until the owner shows up. When the car owner comes back for warranty work or even unreasonable problems, most of the time there will be a difference of opinion about who does what on the dollar side. The car owner wants you to stand behind the job, the shop owner feels it is not his fault and thus the problem begins, The owner gets pissed and probably won't come back for another build, if he ever does. That is where the meltdown begins. If you don't stand behind your work the customer will tell many people of your bad deeds. And you lose what could be a lifetime of income even in bad times. From my experience, middle class, blue collar, white collar and high net worth clients, even though they all bitch about the economy, will spend great sums of cash for their dream car. The hot rod & custom shops and specialty aftermarket businesses have had a good run in the last 20 or so years. Maybe it's our turn for a meltdown. Some of you are already experiencing this and now you have no idea of what to do. What now? There are ways to save yourself from the dreaded depression. If you're a business owner remember this . you're not just a talented craftsman, you are a business person first. For me,, the day I quit being an artist was the day I started making money! I had to learn that even though I'm proud of what I do and was ego driven by seeing my work on the streets, I had to learn how to market, sustain my business, build my and grow my business, establish realistic goals, earn peoples' trust, take care of my business first and foremost before applying my trade. Once I figured out that I must work on my business instead of just working in my business, the money followed. I have ideas that you may want to try. email me and lets talk. But, there will be no bailout money. Mike www.HotRodConsulting.com
I have worked at the same Chevy dealer here for 30 years. Service dept. is slow, parts and body shop slow also. Sales is just about dead. Our salesmen that cash cowed it for the last few years are all crying now. They were like the rest of America and bought big homes and spent all that money on crap. Now they all cry about making their house payments and credit card bills. I am glad I am just a dumb mechanic that paid off his home and spent money on his hot rods. We will get through these tough times just as our ancestors did, but it may be really ugly for a lot of people. It will last much longer than most think it will in my opinion. Hang tough, the rich wont want to go down either.
Business as usual. The dreaded "november slowdown" was of lesser impact than in the past few Years. (That's how it has always gone around here. November blows, December blows until the 15th. Then hold on, 'cause here it comes.) Bays are full (as usual), bills are paid, pretty darn happy, all in all... On a somewhat crappy note (for others) there are screamin deals on used shop equipment.
If you want to go into business for yourself or you are in business for yourself, a must read is the book "The E-Myth". Exactly what Mikey is saying. You can have all the skills/talents in the world, but without a workable plan you will never succeed. Just my 2cents worth.
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