Interest in a private shop in West GA

[un4gvn]

I have been kicking around the Idea of starting up a private shop in the West Georgia area for some time now. I have been working for steelerships for far too long now and I am just curious if there is any interest? I will probably start up out of the house while still working for the dealer until I can get enough business to justify getting an actuall shop. Has anyone else tried this and if so, how did it work out?

Here are some of my qualifications:

Have attended various update and training seminars, including Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, SeaDoo, and Polaris schools.

MECP (mobile electronics certification program) Certified for basic, advanced, and level II advanced electronics.

Attended Montana DOT Motorcycle Safety School.

Race prep. And tuning for several WERA road racers. (2000-2001)

Helped create the worlds fastest Yamaha Roadstar Warrior (6 world records) Bonneville, UT.

Built the fastest Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 (BUB Speed trials 2004)

Very competent in all Electronic Fuel Injection systems, as well as Carburetion

Experienced in use of Dyno and EGA for custom tuning.

Yamaha 5 star certified technician

Yamaha 5 star certified service manager

Yamaha Bronze certified

Yamaha Silver certified (received Top Technician award)

Yamaha Gold certified (received Top Technician award again)

5th Place in Yamaha's US Technician GP Contest

Kawasaki phase I completed

Polaris Master Dealer certified

Completed Honda first step program and full cycle program

SeaDoo watercraft certified

SkiDoo snowmobile certified

Bombardier Atv certified

Completed Suzuki Pro troubleshooting (week long course)

Proficient in the use of Lightspeed computer system

Pride myself with doing the job properly the first time, and have very few comebacks.

Have all tools needed for working with powersports…and then some.

 

[dcarver]

Move to Creston and you will be working on all my bikes.

and trucks

and weedeaters

and lawnmowers

and whatever else is run by internal combustion.

I like private shops and always try to use them first. Good luck.

 

[Captain B]

1. Don't know much about the technical end of the business, but I know that if you get the location, location, location people will drive/ride literally hundreds of miles to get to you.

2. West Georgia? - are we talking Rome or Bainbridge?

 

[un4gvn]

QUOTE(Captain B @ Nov 4 2007, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
1. Don't know much about the technical end of the business, but I know that if you get the location, location, location people will drive/ride literally hundreds of miles to get to you. 2. West Georgia? - are we talking Rome or Bainbridge?
I live in Villa Rica about 4 miles off Interstate 20. Villa Rica is just west of Douglasville and just North of Carrolton.

 

[Fencer]

QUOTE(Captain B @ Nov 4 2007, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
1. Don't know much about the technical end of the business, but I know that if you get the location, location, location people will drive/ride literally hundreds of miles to get to you. 2. West Georgia? - are we talking Rome or Bainbridge?
I live in Villa Rica about 4 miles off Interstate 20. Villa Rica is just west of Douglasville and just North of Carrolton.

I was through there today.

You could do my ECU recall :lol:

 

[Mike-H]

Once you establish a name for yourself it won't matter where your located.....customers will come & find you, word of mouth can make or break you on start up.....but with your experience that shouldn't be a problem....quick books makes a good program for small business (easy for you to use & a good book keeper to keep on top of stuff) best of luck if you go forward with it :good: ....

 

[7xray]

.quick books makes a good program for small business (easy for you to use & a good book keeper to keep on top of stuff) best of luck if you go forward with it :good: ....

Gunny on quickbooks. I've used it for the fire department but you really need to get an accountant to set it up for you. There is a lot of accounting terms that I sure didn't/don't understand.

Good luck and go with the dream. You only get to go around once and when it's all said and done I reckon you regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did.

7X

 

[flapsup]

I'd go that far for decent service from somone who gives a damn about a quality job. Having to explain why a tb sync needs to be done at 3k rpm instead of just at idle or which direction a tire is supposed to spin is not confidence inspiring. Being told they won't install farkles, or having to ask to have all the fasteners put back in, and having to fuss about greasy black fingerprints left on the tupperware does not make me happy while being charged $60 plus an hour.

I'd much rather support an individual than a dealer anyway. You'll have a reputation to build and protect where the dealer technicians are just chasing a paycheck.

I hope you go for it! Good Luck!

 

[Canes]

We need a good quality go to person that is not 30 miles north of Atlanta. unk:

 

[wallypiper]

If you do things right and stand behind it, you'll do well. I know lots of folks that live in that area and ride a lot. Absolutely go for it and your plan of gradually moving from your job to self employed is good. It'll mean some long days but the end result will be worth it. I don't know about this type of business specifically but I'm a small business owner. The rule of thumb for starting your own business is to have two years of money in the bank because it will take that long to start making a real profit. But if you can bulid the business while continuing to pull in a regular check, you can get around that rule. Good luck to ya and check your PMs.

 

[daviddowns2000]

We need a good quality go to person that is not 30 miles north of Atlanta. unk:

Do you actually know of a good wrench 30 miles N of Atlanta? I have a second home in Cumming and plan to move there in the near future.

 

[Scab]

I'm just across the line in Bama, but I'm interested. There's not any trust here with these shops.

 

[Calimus]

Thats because 'Bama mechanics fix everything with 100mph tape and bailing wire

Which sadly does work on occasion.

Jokes aside, it's always nice to have a shop in the area run by someone that has passion for the same bike you have.