| Things you MUST do / not do. 1. Have enough working capital to survive a year or more.
2. Do not get too ambitious in bog yourself down with huge fixed costs. do not bite off more than you can chew.
3. Do not hire kids that "hope to learn". If they are smart they will rip you off. If they are not so smart they will mess up customer cars. One of the biggest issues with this business is finding honest, skilled labor.
4. DO NOT start as a partnership. Start small on your own, do not quit your day job.
5. Do not try to compete with the cheapest guys around. If you have the skills you need to price it accordingly otherwise you will fail
6. Have the ability to reject customers that want to low ball you or do not know what they are getting into with this car.
7. Be honest, charge a fair price and be upfront with your customer about potential issues with 20 year old z's. I have many times had to tell customers there is no way I will work on their cars because they are too ar gone and will never be right.
8. Do not stack cars. Its very tempting and I have been caught out by it. Stacking cars = eventual failure for sure.
9. Good accounting is a must. Cash flow needs to be monitored carefully. Don't be caught out thinking you have plenty of cash and suddenly have to pay SZ or CZP bills in the thousands :)
10. Get insurance. Keep in mind 99 % of businesses fail in the first 2 years. I agonized over doing the z thing because everything I learned in business school told me the odds of success were slim. I did it anyway because I love the work but I stayed in touch with my bread and butter job (IT stuff) because it is easier and less stressful. There are times when I thank god I have a "day job". funny thing is I hardly spend anytime in my day job but make 75 % of my income from that. In short. Be very careful :) and good luck Harry
Formerly yellowzxtt
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