It was a suggested video for me through youtube. I am an auto mechanic myself, and it is very, very rare in our industry that an owner will admit his mistakes and point them out. Usually, it's just blaming other people. I enjoyed the video and hope your shop revenue only goes up and not down
Thanks for watching. Just cause I own the shop doesn't make me any better than anyone else. It was a rocky start. I knew we were going about it wrong. I had another video about why I hated owning the shop that one really took off. I have since become at peace with it. Might do an update later. Most of my stuff is from the car lot side, flipping vehicles, cost of car lot business etc. Appreciate you taking the time.
If you are not a technician you.have no business owning a shop. We're on are 36th year running a shop, not easy but i get excited to go to work. I love my job and my shop. Its extremely hard and good help is almost impossible.
You're right, it's a tough business to learn. That being said I subscribe to the “surround yourself with people smarter than you “ theory. The focus on this video is what I did wrong, and what I woulda, shoulda, and coulda done to make it better or what woulda saved us head ache. At the end of the day this is where I’m at today and I’ve recently recommitted myself and I’m about 30 days in. I’m like that alcoholic in rehab. Counting my days sober. Appreciate you watching the video!
With your logic, Steve Jobs should have never been the head of Apple later in his life since he didn't really "build" the products. How did that work out? Sometimes, it takes a certain type of person to be the "visionary" in a business. A person can delegate certain tasks or have certain people in place to run a business and do it well. You ron't necessarily need skils or experience in a particular field to be successful. There are plenty of stories of succesful businesses where people didn't know much or anything about the field they chose to do business in. And sometimes, all it takes is having a different approach or perspective of how to start and grow a business in a sea of competitors thwt have been around for decades. Sometimes a fresh new approach is what people are wanting. Look at what happened to Blockbuster when Netflix came around. How about Amazon that is probably more popular than the once dominant Ebay. It's all about how you manage the business and innovate.
Appreciate it. It’s a bit out of my normal content. I usually do more car lot behind the scenes vids and some Texas dmv forms. Maybe you’ll see something you like.
Glad to hear the new mechanic is working out, brother. Stay calm, breathe, let it happen. Being a small business owner is still the best way to earn a living, even with all the drama.
Yeah I get it! I have the car lot. I love it. The shop, honestly, the blood pressure is coming down. You see the last video about hating the shop? I suspect these will be a trilogy maybe making the next one in a few weeks after I’ve got some more time with Josh the new guy and maybe the promotion I’ve been doing for the shop starts kicking in etc.
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience, especially if you were new to the auto repair industry. Without prior experience, it’s easy for 20% of your decisions to lead to 80% of your problems. I completely agree-you should have asked to see what was reported to the government, especially with shops that handwrite their repair orders. Too often, shop owners inflate earnings, throwing out numbers that sound more like phone numbers than actual figures. In most cases, the business isn’t worth even half of what they claim. As a general rule, businesses in this industry are typically valued at around 10% above their gross profit. Unfortunately, many mechanics, dreaming of owning their own shop, are misled by these exaggerated income claims. Having the previous owner stay on for six months to a year is crucial for a smooth transition. In the automotive repair business, being an absentee owner rarely works unless you have the right person running the front desk-and finding that person requires a willingness to invest in skilled talent. This reminds me of a wholesale transmission shop I know. It was a five-bay operation with a rebuilder and a couple of installers. The new owner quickly realized they couldn’t afford to remain in the wholesale transmission business. They rebranded as a car care center, but now they just blend in with every other shop on the same avenue. To make ends meet, they’ve resorted to selling used cars and renting U-Hauls, but they’re still struggling to pay even one salary. The shop is underutilized, with only one technician working across five bays. If that technician calls out sick, the owner has to step in-and honestly, I wouldn’t want someone with little to no experience working on my car. Parking is another major issue. The lot is overcrowded with used cars and U-Hauls, leaving customers to back out onto a busy road where cars fly by at 60 miles per hour. They’re stuck in a cycle, unable to generate enough revenue to attract skilled talent. Without a solid plan and the right team, these challenges only grow. The automotive repair industry demands more than just stepping in-it requires strategic planning, operational expertise, and a skilled team to successfully navigate its unique challenges
I've been blessed. My last guy was here like 4 years, his body was just getting worn down. He got another job when we thought our sale was going through but before he left he found me another guy and he's working out great.
Retired tech of over 35 years. I spent 22 of them at a GM dealership. I now work out of my garage at home for the friends and neighbors for beer money. Good luck my friend.
I appreciate what you are doing. You popped up on my home page this morning and now I’ve watched several of your videos, just this morning. I’ve been watching more videos about vehicles lately, and I need to sell two or three of the vehicles I have (I’ve got too many) lol
I've been in business over 40 years at it and now I strongly feel dishonest and troublesome customers have outnumbered dishonest mechanics in recent years.
That’s funny. But not. I’m in 5 years now. And honestly these past few weeks I have started to think for a lot of it I was the problem. I’ve had a little paradigm shift. My old mechanic found me a good replacement on his way out so it was a smooth transition.
I’m a pretty hardcore DIY guy (lift, prob 20k in tools). The only time I need outside help is for alignments and tires. Once a great while I need to pay to have something done. Since I’m so hands on, the car is prepped to work on (PB blaster soaking) and I type up anything I’ve done related to that repair. And if I get a call that a bolt is seized, I totally get it. If people were even a little more hands on, I think that would go a long way.
Appreciate your honesty to put it on there for the YT audience to pick you apart. You had some valuable nuggets in there and it is much appreciated. Good luck in your business.
Yeah. The unfortunate truth was I kinda knew it was gonna be a train wreck and I refused to get off. The thing now is, if you saw the first video about the shop, I"m at peace with it. And I've put any sort of plan to sell on hold. Maybe for good. Appreciate your kind words.
As a car audio installer since 1998, you will never find someone that cares about your shop the way the owners should care about it. I worked at a shop for a few years where i did care more than the owner, and it turned into a nightmare and i left in 2020. By 2021 he was out of business. Remember this is your dream, not your mechanics dream.
One of the things that turns me off service advisors who are incentivised is the attempted upsale of stuff you just don't want or need. I would much rather go to a shop that just does an honest days work for their dollar because you have to trust that they are doing a good job. Incentivize car sales people all you want because that makes them keen for a sale and keen to discuss price and a new car is a new car so there are no real surprises or need to trust you are getting a good vehicle. Imagine if the receptionist at a doctors surgery was incentivised to upsell you their services, "Oh we have 50% off on gall bladder removals this week, surely you want your gall bladder removed? How about a sweet foot amputation? Some eye surgery?" A good mechanic is like a good doctor, someone you can rely to diagnois your issue and rectify it as cost effectively and as painlessly as possible.
Yep. We don’t pressure folks. We tell them if it’s real important, something they should plan on in the future, or something to be thinking of. No pressure, we’ll do what you want.
I am considering purchasing my first auto shop. I searched “things you should know before purchasing an auto repair business” and your video came up. Fantastic video! I love how vulnerable and humble you are. I wish you were closer so I could help you turn your business around. Some great points you had in this video.
Yeah I get it. No shortage of folks letting me know how dumb I was. It’s always made a profit. Just little course corrections along the way. And as for now I’m still at peace and even enjoying it again.
I've ran a successful shop since 1989. Ask away. It's very simple, HONESTY, NO Games, good work. Bend the rules, make deals, do whatever it takes to create the largest customer base you can. Put out a 29.95 oil change sign. Trust me on the oil change. It was a game changer for us 15 years ago in the 2008 economy crash.
Thank you for this valuable video! Just started my own mechanic business and gaining information on the good and bad part of this business. Again great video!
I appreciate it. I definitely became a reluctant owner. You should go back and watch that previous video. Maybe it’ll help you avoid some of the frustrations I had. Thanks for watching!
Thanks. I’ll probably film a follow up one of these days soon. Things have been going good. I’m in a much better head space. Got my advertising going again. Things are going well. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video! Thanks for being so honest. It sounds like you counted on your partner who was in that business already to know how to run and grow this location. It turns out, he didn't. That's a really easy mistake to make.
I strongly agree with nickhoffman (below). This is your best yet. The main reason is you come across as so open and honest ... so many TH-camrs seem to put on some sort of "persona suit" before they turn on their camera ... striving to always "look good". Keep the faith and keep persevering, you'll do just fine.
People don't realize it's tough business. I was surprised to find out how seasonal it was. Business dropped like a rock during the Holiday season, November and December, and then started picking up again when customers got their tax refund checks. I lost any profit I made the entire year, during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I got out after 3 years. Not worth the constant headaches either.
Careful saying that. Some of these folks will say you’re lazy, don’t want to work, or just want to screw people on over priced cars. 😂😂. I get it though. Slows for us in DFW when the state fair comes so October sucks. A little better in November. I don’t think it wipes out our profit but those are break even months December and January most years.
I would never have bought a business where the property wasn’t included!!! I was able to sale my shop In GA only because I owned the land also. I lease in Florida, started from scratch! Grinding
Back in 1980, I invested and started a pizza and fish&chip take-out restaurant. I had no experience, no training, and never worked in a restaurant. Everything you experienced is very common. However, you never explained the toll it took on your family, as we experienced. Good luck with the future.
Well there’s only so much vulnerability I want to throw out there on the web. To say the financial burden caused some problems at home would be an understatement. I just figured my wife would not like our laundry washed in such a public forum.
I hope you can get it all sorted out how you want and how you like and things work out the best for you most people don't know how hard it is to run a business they just think business owners are all spoiled rich people
My wife & I have owned a small business for almost 5 yrs. 1st year was rough. Still, it's not easy, but we see the fruits. Employing is the most stressful & frustrating part of the business
I am not in the car business. I don't know why your video came up - - but I subscribed because it's very educational listening to 2020/hindsight/mistakes in business! Great video - - I subscribed! I hope your business fares well with the change over to electric cars. I'm finding that most car dealers are not prepared to handle them. You won't need a transmission shop for electric cars. I think you would be wise to prepare your shop for them. A lot of of my local dealerships I've noticing are all resisting the changeover to electric (poorly educated sales staff and no infrastructure) and I believe they are going to regret it. The one car lot in my area that has decided to specialize only in electric cars seems to be doing OK!
I’m not real worried about look at how many years hybrids have been out. And yet we don’t get a call a month asking about working on one. I’m sure it will be many many years before gasoline powered BP vehicles are out.
@@buxtonautosales Interesting... Is it that you don't get a call because Hybrids don't break as much or that you don't service them? I’ve been following the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) closely, and as someone uninterested in owning a gas engine in the future, I see EVs as being more like appliances-think dishwashers-than traditional cars. While some see this as a downside, I think it presents new opportunities, especially for small, independent businesses -- while some cars might be throw away.. learn a few tricks and you can learn to fix big problems without turning a wrench and having oil spill in your face, 1/2 the labor. (check out the "service area" at your local Tesla center.. they look like surf shops! Hybrids, on the other hand, seem like the worst of both worlds, combining the complexity of gas engines with expensive, why-bother electric components. Full EVs, however, bring simplicity: fewer fluids, fewer moving parts, and less routine maintenance. Instead of resisting this shift, I believe embracing it could mean rethinking the business model. Historically, this reminds me of how shoe repair shops were everywhere in the 1950s, fixing hard-soled shoes. Today, most people buy sneakers, wear them out, and replace them-fewer repairs, more of a retail model. For car dealerships and repair shops, this could mean transitioning to something more like an “appliance store” than a traditional repair shop. There’s also a big gap in EV repair expertise right now. For example, Tesla now makes service manuals and parts available to the public, but few independent shops are stepping up to meet the demand. It feels like a real opportunity for mom-and-pop businesses to get their foot in the door with EV repair before the big players dominate.
I'm glad you're enjoying the content! that’s awesome. Thanks for watching. I do a lot of behind the scenes of a used car lot type stuff too if that interests you at all.
I backed out of purchasing an auto repair business for much the same reasons as you give: the seller owned the real estate which was not included in the deal, wanted generous (to him) rents not already included in the financials of his repair business, all of his techs were within 5 years of retirement age, asking price looked only at the recent large increase in sales without an increase in service techs (they were working unsustainable overtime), etc. he wouldn’t budge on price but did end up selling a couple months later to, my guess, another rookie business purchaser like you.
Well. Glad you came out ok. Yeah, the business owner never owned the real estate. Our sale of the business was just at the same time as the property owner sold to the new property owner and he set the rent. In his defense he’s never asked for an increase and was a stand up dude when we struggled through Covid.
I appreciate that. You’ve got to humble yourself a bit to share your f ups. Emotionally it sucks but intellectually you know you’re not the only one that’s done it. Thanks for watching my video.
Cool. I appreciate you watching. I knew better and did it anyway. A little at a time. But I’m on the upswing now. Not mad at anyone. Just going from here forward.
I was planning a video like this for my channel. I guess the phone was listening because this video popped up on my feed. 😊I definitely agree with a couple of your points and much respect to you for saying, “I had no business being in this business.” It’s not for everyone. As an owner operator of a mechanic shop, I honestly make more money flipping cars than fixing them. And I agree with the NO PARTNER! My partner is my real life partner, my wife. Wishing you much success going forward brother! -👨🏽🔧🩺 ALEX
Now you talked about having a new landlord. I've said this for years, Renting or leasing anything no matter what tax right off you may get, is throwing your money away. Owning outright has it's cost's, but over time they are FAR LESS than leasing.
Yeah the building is rented. We bought an existing business and the landlord would not sell. I totally get it. And Covid did not help my credit score or my savings account. Hopefully in the future we will buy or build something. Appreciate you watching!
Public facing businesses to customers is usually a horrible lifestyle (which is why many mechanics have a "cuss jar.") You want to pick a repair shop that only fixes like 1 thing or maybe 2 things.
I don’t know anything about the auto repair business. Talking about the bar business: My daughter was a waitress in a bar and my son ran a bar in a different city. Never did they come to me and say “Dad we have this great idea”. “the only ship that doesn’t float is a partnership” pretty funny
Google suggested it and even though I wouldn't own an auto repair business I've run computer shops and there are a lot of parallels I've even thought about maybe opening my own shop and having a low base ply for everyone but then offering them a percentage of their service revenue impossibly a different percentage of their sales revenue
As commission based as possible is great because it keeps your overhead over in the lean times and it gives the employee a chance to earn more money. And if they’re selling more you’re earning more. Everyone wins.
As a tech with 33 years under my belt. I can tell you that and good tech will not sign a no compete. This industry moves fast, and if the shop is not staying up on times, and changes in the industry. Tech will get tired of not having the proper equipment to do a job (I mean shop equipment supplied by the shop owner. Not the tech). A good owner will do everything in their power to keep a good tech happy and working for them. A good way is offering a guaranteed min of 20 hours a week for being there and keeping their shop clean, and anything over that 20 hours is flat rate % of the labor.
Yeah everyone who's ever worked for me had a guarantee. I've got no problem with that. You need people and they need to know they can eat, at minimum. The no-compete would be more for the fella that's acting as the service advisor who was the face of this guy's company. In any case, it's all worked out, is what it is and we're all moving forward. Appreciate you watching!
I watched your 1st video, why.......................Auto repair can be a Gold mine. The building being Leased for your Shop can be the Dagger in the Back. P & L Critical. Your not alone with poor business decisions costing tens of thousands of dollars in the long run. Hard financial times will always destroy a partnership.
Yeah I do feel fortunate we made it out still friends. It’s like I knew better at each step and I could see the train wreck coming. Is what it is. Now we just move forward.
If you didn’t pivot then you would have lost out. You was bobbin and weavin , dippin and dodgin yet with all that going on you still came out better than you went in. Now all you have to do is right that proverbial ship 🚢 and it will float with you as the captain 👨✈️ of the ship.
I guess. I was telling my buddy about how I can’t believe it took off. My best video to date has about 60k views but that took me three years. My buddy said people love seeing someone else’s misery. 😂😂. Whatever it is, it is kinda neat.
Well thanks for watching. The videos about the repair business are a little removed from my wheelhouse. I am a sleezy used car dealer by default so most of my stuff is about the used car business. I made ONE video about the shop like a week ago and it just blew up on me.
The simple answer.... No business plan... No understanding to address critical resources specific to human, technical and environmental impactors.......until the impact happens...... If you have to wait for the event to occur to ask what am i suppose to do..... It's too late...your chance for success is less than 66 percent
Yeah. I was relying on my business partner who already had a transmission shop and honestly the mistake was me not pushing for more information before handing over my money. We could have done a lot of things better. But this is where we are today. Moving forward. Appreciate you watching!
Well I’m glad it’s still getting shown to viewers and I’m grateful you watched and commented! I haven’t a lot of car lot, car flipping content on a playlist on my channel. I made this video about the repair shop I hated and that video blew up on me. Craziest thing.
Well I'm glad you opted to watch it! You can check out that other one I made about why I hate it so much - but I have to say since all the prayers and the other guy backing out on the purchase I remain at peace with owning it.
wouldn't it have been better to just keep the car lot and had onsite mechanic? instead of opening the shop. I used to be mechanic at a car lot and this is how 99% lots operate, there are a few who only have oil changers though. The lot i worked at before, the owner would buy cars from auctions with bad engines etc and i would swap them out. The he would sell the cars etc. i did a lot of bmw's. Engines and timing chains as well as head gaskets. I did it all. I changed trades sorta, I still buy cars ever now and then and swap out the engines etc, I also gut them out and pressure wash the interior, and then do the body work as well, It sure is nice making all the profit, and not having to pay someone else to do the work.
Yeah, the shop was an investment with my partner not originally opening a shop to work on my cars. I’d already had relationships with my partners original shop and another friends shop so I was getting a good rate. If I had not gone in with him to buy the shop I am sure I would have at some point hired an in house guy.
@@buxtonautosales yeah it seems like a huge jump, and you dont know the thick of it, until you jump head first, which is what you did, but congrats on making it work, i bet you gained tons of experience in the end. once you get everything ironed out, you will be very happy.
Yeah, I think I've figured it out now. And I'm still at peace with it. Been working on increasing advertising and making the phone ring. My new mechanic actually exceeded his base this week so he's pumped.
Hearing you describe your business, I believe the problem is you do not have any ability to bring value to your business. You do not have mechanic ability or are willing to get your hands dirty. You are not putting in effort to grow the business. You went into this business believing you can just throw money at it and you will be rewarded. You have made every mistake I can think of. One of your mistakes is one you think is a good idea. Paying manager on a bonus structure to increase revenue. This is a formula for disaster. This is what gives the tire/muffler franchises a bad reputation. When you incentivize revenue in exchange for bonus, you get a manager that will sell unnecessary repairs. Customers know when this is happening and will never come back. You are getting what you deserve and should not be in this business.
Once I watched that viral video this was suggested to me. I watch anything about shops, building them, buying , selling, etc. So that probably has something to do with it? I would never rent an auto repair facility of any kind. I would always want to own the real estate. That may be affecting your sale? Just my 2 cents
I think owning would be preferred but not possible for everyone. I have a great landlord, which the buyer would be taking me at my word. Honestly though that “peace” I talked about is still with me. I’m not advertising to sell at this point. I’m going to reevaluate after the first of the year but I’ve made some behind the scenes adjustments for myself and it seems to be helping my state of mind.
If I was in a position to buy I would have. And if I end up closing the repair shop (which also houses the car lot) I will try to buy the property for the next car lot.
i see the car market going down so i looked at your older videos and you were doing good.. i think its the car market that is hurting you .. just keep in mind elon musk hold on in 2008. and look at him now.. worse case you can do some car work with your guy and sell at the same time.. i had to do that 3 times in my life. if you get dirty working on cars your guys will see that and work harder
Well I’m glad you watched it. Appreciate the comment. I consider myself a car dealer more than a shop owner. I’m embracing the fact that I’ve got two businesses. If you like sleezy used car dealers there’s plenty of content here.
I watch a lot of automotive videos but this is my first time seeing you. This one popped up as a suggested video. Your bald head is fine. You have to work with what you have.
No compet doesn't exist in Colorado for a great reason. Honestly shops are a mechanics dream not a pencil pushers. Techs get paid so poorly that they can rarely own a shop, so tones of Dexter's buy shops and expect techs to slave for them. Learn to wrench 🔧 then I bet you'll feel different about being a shop owner.
Randomly showed up on my feed. I’m a one-man show with commercial clients only. Ditch the retail customers and the headache associated with doing brake jobs on Soccer Mom PoS mini-vans. Just sayin’.
I disagree. Is it fair to your employer that you move next door and sell the same service you were selling for him after meeting all of his vendors and customers? I don't think so. Is it fair you have to do it 5 miles away? Or that you can't do it for a year right next to him? I think so. And most states think so. You can't and shouldn't try to restrict a person from making a living in their chosen field. But they also shouldn't have the benefit of you training them up and then they go out on their own next door either.
Yeah, I wasn’t intended to run this one. My partner that needed my cash was the guy with the industry experience. I was already open and running my car lot. Hindsight I guess. Things happen for a reason. Thanks for watching.
First time viewer. I can understand your grief with the business for sure having owned two businesses myself. I can also attest that be honest with yourself and pray in earnest to God and be frugal and smart. Keep God first and he will guide you to what is best. God Bless
Not sure if you watched the first video about the shop (most of my content is about the used car lot business) but I will say I have prayed 1000 prayers in the month leading up to the guys that were gonna buy my shop bailing out. And then when they did I prayed even more. I spent about 2 days down in the dumps and then by that Monday all of a sudden I was at peace. That’s been since November 4th. I hated it for at least two years before that.
@@buxtonautosales open my own electrical contracting business in 2000 after I got my Master's license and actually took a pay hit for the first few years till I got my client base up and yes she got to have some money put back to roll with the punches. Slow business equipment failures
I hear you. I retrospect I have nothing to complain about. I've spent a month in peace. I think I let my outlook sour earlier and let myself get held hostage to things I thought were out of my control.
I bought a shop when I was 21. Ran it for 5 yr. I coulda done a lot better too But not being so young. Then I got stabbed in the back of the neck by a veteran on a bender. I got a little behind on taxes and got suicidal. Lucky to be happy and healthy today. I’m just a regular mechanic now. Stamped out 105 hours of labor last week.
It varies by state and they’re legal. You can’t keep someone out of their industry but you can limit them by geographic area. That’s Texas. Other states must be different.
It was a suggested video for me through youtube. I am an auto mechanic myself, and it is very, very rare in our industry that an owner will admit his mistakes and point them out. Usually, it's just blaming other people. I enjoyed the video and hope your shop revenue only goes up and not down
Thanks for watching. Just cause I own the shop doesn't make me any better than anyone else. It was a rocky start. I knew we were going about it wrong. I had another video about why I hated owning the shop that one really took off. I have since become at peace with it. Might do an update later. Most of my stuff is from the car lot side, flipping vehicles, cost of car lot business etc. Appreciate you taking the time.
If you are not a technician you.have no business owning a shop. We're on are 36th year running a shop, not easy but i get excited to go to work. I love my job and my shop. Its extremely hard and good help is almost impossible.
You're right, it's a tough business to learn. That being said I subscribe to the “surround yourself with people smarter than you “ theory. The focus on this video is what I did wrong, and what I woulda, shoulda, and coulda done to make it better or what woulda saved us head ache. At the end of the day this is where I’m at today and I’ve recently recommitted myself and I’m about 30 days in. I’m like that alcoholic in rehab. Counting my days sober. Appreciate you watching the video!
With your logic, Steve Jobs should have never been the head of Apple later in his life since he didn't really "build" the products. How did that work out? Sometimes, it takes a certain type of person to be the "visionary" in a business. A person can delegate certain tasks or have certain people in place to run a business and do it well. You ron't necessarily need skils or experience in a particular field to be successful. There are plenty of stories of succesful businesses where people didn't know much or anything about the field they chose to do business in. And sometimes, all it takes is having a different approach or perspective of how to start and grow a business in a sea of competitors thwt have been around for decades. Sometimes a fresh new approach is what people are wanting. Look at what happened to Blockbuster when Netflix came around. How about Amazon that is probably more popular than the once dominant Ebay. It's all about how you manage the business and innovate.
Never Heard Of Your Channel Before, This Video Was In My suggested Videos. So I Watched It In Full For You.
Appreciate it. It’s a bit out of my normal content. I usually do more car lot behind the scenes vids and some Texas dmv forms. Maybe you’ll see something you like.
Glad to hear the new mechanic is working out, brother. Stay calm, breathe, let it happen. Being a small business owner is still the best way to earn a living, even with all the drama.
Yeah I get it! I have the car lot. I love it. The shop, honestly, the blood pressure is coming down. You see the last video about hating the shop? I suspect these will be a trilogy maybe making the next one in a few weeks after I’ve got some more time with Josh the new guy and maybe the promotion I’ve been doing for the shop starts kicking in etc.
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience, especially if you were new to the auto repair industry. Without prior experience, it’s easy for 20% of your decisions to lead to 80% of your problems. I completely agree-you should have asked to see what was reported to the government, especially with shops that handwrite their repair orders. Too often, shop owners inflate earnings, throwing out numbers that sound more like phone numbers than actual figures. In most cases, the business isn’t worth even half of what they claim. As a general rule, businesses in this industry are typically valued at around 10% above their gross profit. Unfortunately, many mechanics, dreaming of owning their own shop, are misled by these exaggerated income claims.
Having the previous owner stay on for six months to a year is crucial for a smooth transition. In the automotive repair business, being an absentee owner rarely works unless you have the right person running the front desk-and finding that person requires a willingness to invest in skilled talent. This reminds me of a wholesale transmission shop I know. It was a five-bay operation with a rebuilder and a couple of installers. The new owner quickly realized they couldn’t afford to remain in the wholesale transmission business. They rebranded as a car care center, but now they just blend in with every other shop on the same avenue. To make ends meet, they’ve resorted to selling used cars and renting U-Hauls, but they’re still struggling to pay even one salary. The shop is underutilized, with only one technician working across five bays. If that technician calls out sick, the owner has to step in-and honestly, I wouldn’t want someone with little to no experience working on my car. Parking is another major issue. The lot is overcrowded with used cars and U-Hauls, leaving customers to back out onto a busy road where cars fly by at 60 miles per hour. They’re stuck in a cycle, unable to generate enough revenue to attract skilled talent. Without a solid plan and the right team, these challenges only grow.
The automotive repair industry demands more than just stepping in-it requires strategic planning, operational expertise, and a skilled team to successfully navigate its unique challenges
I agree. Hind site.
Great video! Thank you for being vulnerable so the rest of us can learn what to do or not to do.
Thanks for watching.
What a douchebaggy thing to say. Sure, just pour salt on the wounds. You couldn't just say, "thanks for the valuable lesson"?? Sheesh. 🤦🏼♂️
That douchebaggy comment came from my daughter. She's a Doctor. Her verbiage is just a little different than ours.
Worst part is having to rely on other people like a decent mechanic.
Absolutely! Thanks for watching my video.
I tell people all the time.. You think finding a good shop is difficult? Try finding a good mechanic.
I've been blessed. My last guy was here like 4 years, his body was just getting worn down. He got another job when we thought our sale was going through but before he left he found me another guy and he's working out great.
Retired tech of over 35 years. I spent 22 of them at a GM dealership. I now work out of my garage at home for the friends and neighbors for beer money. Good luck my friend.
Thanks. I’m making it. My attitude has gotten a lot better with it.
I appreciate what you are doing. You popped up on my home page this morning and now I’ve watched several of your videos, just this morning. I’ve been watching more videos about vehicles lately, and I need to sell two or three of the vehicles I have (I’ve got too many) lol
I appreciate you watching. I’ve got some on getting your car ready to sell, how to get the most for them, things like that. Appreciate you watching.
I've been in business over 40 years at it and now I strongly feel dishonest and troublesome customers have outnumbered dishonest mechanics in recent years.
That’s funny. But not. I’m in 5 years now. And honestly these past few weeks I have started to think for a lot of it I was the problem. I’ve had a little paradigm shift. My old mechanic found me a good replacement on his way out so it was a smooth transition.
@@buxtonautosales We get bummer mechanics and on occasion even undocumented one fired last summer. He was young.
I am fortunate I had a good guy for the past four years and when he was leaving he helped me find my current guy who is doing great so far.
I’m a pretty hardcore DIY guy (lift, prob 20k in tools). The only time I need outside help is for alignments and tires. Once a great while I need to pay to have something done. Since I’m so hands on, the car is prepped to work on (PB blaster soaking) and I type up anything I’ve done related to that repair. And if I get a call that a bolt is seized, I totally get it.
If people were even a little more hands on, I think that would go a long way.
Appreciate your honesty to put it on there for the YT audience to pick you apart. You had some valuable nuggets in there and it is much appreciated. Good luck in your business.
Yeah. The unfortunate truth was I kinda knew it was gonna be a train wreck and I refused to get off. The thing now is, if you saw the first video about the shop, I"m at peace with it. And I've put any sort of plan to sell on hold. Maybe for good. Appreciate your kind words.
As a car audio installer since 1998, you will never find someone that cares about your shop the way the owners should care about it. I worked at a shop for a few years where i did care more than the owner, and it turned into a nightmare and i left in 2020. By 2021 he was out of business. Remember this is your dream, not your mechanics dream.
Good advice.
One of the things that turns me off service advisors who are incentivised is the attempted upsale of stuff you just don't want or need. I would much rather go to a shop that just does an honest days work for their dollar because you have to trust that they are doing a good job. Incentivize car sales people all you want because that makes them keen for a sale and keen to discuss price and a new car is a new car so there are no real surprises or need to trust you are getting a good vehicle. Imagine if the receptionist at a doctors surgery was incentivised to upsell you their services, "Oh we have 50% off on gall bladder removals this week, surely you want your gall bladder removed? How about a sweet foot amputation? Some eye surgery?" A good mechanic is like a good doctor, someone you can rely to diagnois your issue and rectify it as cost effectively and as painlessly as possible.
Yep. We don’t pressure folks. We tell them if it’s real important, something they should plan on in the future, or something to be thinking of. No pressure, we’ll do what you want.
I am considering purchasing my first auto shop. I searched “things you should know before purchasing an auto repair business” and your video came up. Fantastic video! I love how vulnerable and humble you are. I wish you were closer so I could help you turn your business around. Some great points you had in this video.
Yeah I get it. No shortage of folks letting me know how dumb I was. It’s always made a profit. Just little course corrections along the way. And as for now I’m still at peace and even enjoying it again.
I've ran a successful shop since 1989. Ask away. It's very simple, HONESTY, NO Games, good work. Bend the rules, make deals, do whatever it takes to create the largest customer base you can. Put out a 29.95 oil change sign. Trust me on the oil change. It was a game changer for us 15 years ago in the 2008 economy crash.
@@sleeeper88 thanks for watching the video and I appreciate you’re suggestions.
Small business owners are such hard workers. I work hard at my job with long hours, but it doesn't compare. Thanks for the video. Subscribed
I appreciate it. As expected lots of hate mail on this one. My car dealer vids don’t have near the negative.
Thank you for this valuable video! Just started my own mechanic business and gaining information on the good and bad part of this business. Again great video!
I appreciate it. I definitely became a reluctant owner. You should go back and watch that previous video. Maybe it’ll help you avoid some of the frustrations I had. Thanks for watching!
I give you lots of credit for owning up your faults and trying to fix them. Best of luck to you i hope you succeed
Thanks. I’ll probably film a follow up one of these days soon. Things have been going good. I’m in a much better head space. Got my advertising going again. Things are going well. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video! Thanks for being so honest. It sounds like you counted on your partner who was in that business already to know how to run and grow this location. It turns out, he didn't. That's a really easy mistake to make.
Yeah. It all worked out in the end. I had a real me talk shift about three weeks ago. I’m grateful for it. At peace with the whole thing now.
I strongly agree with nickhoffman (below). This is your best yet. The main reason is you come across as so open and honest ... so many TH-camrs seem to put on some sort of "persona suit" before they turn on their camera ... striving to always "look good". Keep the faith and keep persevering, you'll do just fine.
Thanks. Appreciate the watch!
Popped up on recommended. It's my first time seeing one of your videos. Pretty good
Thanks. I mostly do car lot content but I did make two about the repair shop side. Check them out! Appreciate you watching.
People don't realize it's tough business. I was surprised to find out how seasonal it was. Business dropped like a rock during the Holiday season, November and December, and then started picking up again when customers got their tax refund checks. I lost any profit I made the entire year, during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I got out after 3 years. Not worth the constant headaches either.
Careful saying that. Some of these folks will say you’re lazy, don’t want to work, or just want to screw people on over priced cars. 😂😂. I get it though. Slows for us in DFW when the state fair comes so October sucks. A little better in November. I don’t think it wipes out our profit but those are break even months December and January most years.
Yep November-feburary the worst part of the year for this business. Ever since covid it's hard to predict tho things are not the same
Yeah, I hear you. Two weeks in a day and I’m still at peace. Picked up a few jobs today as well, always makes you feel better.
@@buxtonautosales healthcare no better
Just popped up on my feed. Good video was thinking about starting my own ship
I'd do it again I just would have gotten started differently.
I say go for it, if you really want to! Have faith!
Thanks! Appreciate you watching and your comment!
Thanks for sharing your journey. That's why people write autobiographies and why people buy and read them - to learn and not make the same mistakes.
Ha well I got lots of examples!
This just popped up on my feed. I'm going to go watch your previous video now. Interesting to me.
Appreciate you watching! I’ve got way more car lot content.
I would never have bought a business where the property wasn’t included!!!
I was able to sale my shop In GA only because I owned the land also.
I lease in Florida, started from scratch! Grinding
Yeah in a perfect world we would have bought but it wasn’t for sale. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Tom this is your best video so far!
Thanks. I’m working on it my man. Did you watch the one about why I hate owning a shop? That one’s blown up crazy. (For me).
@@buxtonautosalesyes sir saw it, your content is priceless!
I agree Nick, this is the best video so far. Excellent autopsy of what happened and where to go moving forward.
Yeah always easier to see after the fact.
Back in 1980, I invested and started a pizza and fish&chip take-out restaurant. I had no experience, no training, and never worked in a restaurant. Everything you experienced is very common. However, you never explained the toll it took on your family, as we experienced. Good luck with the future.
Well there’s only so much vulnerability I want to throw out there on the web. To say the financial burden caused some problems at home would be an understatement. I just figured my wife would not like our laundry washed in such a public forum.
how did it turn out?
@buxtonautosales I didn't share details, just said it took a toll on our family. 🙃
My rule number one, only because I've seen how it worked out with members of my family, "Never go into business partnership with a family member(s)".
I would agree! Thanks for watching.
I hope you can get it all sorted out how you want and how you like and things work out the best for you most people don't know how hard it is to run a business they just think business owners are all spoiled rich people
Thanks. Like I’d mentioned, lots of prayer. I’m pretty much at peace with it going on about three weeks now. We will see if that peace continues.
Appreciate your honesty...
Yeah it’s almost easier to be vulnerable and admit mistakes to the internet than to your friends and family.
My wife & I have owned a small business for almost 5 yrs. 1st year was rough. Still, it's not easy, but we see the fruits. Employing is the most stressful & frustrating part of the business
I joke with a restaurant owner I see frequently. The perfect business is one that doesn’t have employees.
I am not in the car business. I don't know why your video came up - - but I subscribed because it's very educational listening to 2020/hindsight/mistakes in business! Great video - - I subscribed! I hope your business fares well with the change over to electric cars. I'm finding that most car dealers are not prepared to handle them. You won't need a transmission shop for electric cars. I think you would be wise to prepare your shop for them. A lot of of my local dealerships I've noticing are all resisting the changeover to electric (poorly educated sales staff and no infrastructure) and I believe they are going to regret it. The one car lot in my area that has decided to specialize only in electric cars seems to be doing OK!
I’m not real worried about look at how many years hybrids have been out. And yet we don’t get a call a month asking about working on one. I’m sure it will be many many years before gasoline powered BP vehicles are out.
@@buxtonautosales Interesting... Is it that you don't get a call because Hybrids don't break as much or that you don't service them?
I’ve been following the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) closely, and as someone uninterested in owning a gas engine in the future, I see EVs as being more like appliances-think dishwashers-than traditional cars. While some see this as a downside, I think it presents new opportunities, especially for small, independent businesses -- while some cars might be throw away.. learn a few tricks and you can learn to fix big problems without turning a wrench and having oil spill in your face, 1/2 the labor. (check out the "service area" at your local Tesla center.. they look like surf shops!
Hybrids, on the other hand, seem like the worst of both worlds, combining the complexity of gas engines with expensive, why-bother electric components.
Full EVs, however, bring simplicity: fewer fluids, fewer moving parts, and less routine maintenance. Instead of resisting this shift, I believe embracing it could mean rethinking the business model.
Historically, this reminds me of how shoe repair shops were everywhere in the 1950s, fixing hard-soled shoes. Today, most people buy sneakers, wear them out, and replace them-fewer repairs, more of a retail model. For car dealerships and repair shops, this could mean transitioning to something more like an “appliance store” than a traditional repair shop.
There’s also a big gap in EV repair expertise right now. For example, Tesla now makes service manuals and parts available to the public, but few independent shops are stepping up to meet the demand. It feels like a real opportunity for mom-and-pop businesses to get their foot in the door with EV repair before the big players dominate.
Yeah we just never get calls about them.
Great video and attitude.
What a great learning experience with your best foot forward all the way.👍
Your 2 videos just showed up for me.
I'm glad you're enjoying the content! that’s awesome. Thanks for watching. I do a lot of behind the scenes of a used car lot type stuff too if that interests you at all.
Thanks for watching them!
I backed out of purchasing an auto repair business for much the same reasons as you give: the seller owned the real estate which was not included in the deal, wanted generous (to him) rents not already included in the financials of his repair business, all of his techs were within 5 years of retirement age, asking price looked only at the recent large increase in sales without an increase in service techs (they were working unsustainable overtime), etc. he wouldn’t budge on price but did end up selling a couple months later to, my guess, another rookie business purchaser like you.
Well. Glad you came out ok. Yeah, the business owner never owned the real estate. Our sale of the business was just at the same time as the property owner sold to the new property owner and he set the rent. In his defense he’s never asked for an increase and was a stand up dude when we struggled through Covid.
Thanks for sharing such important insightful information!
I appreciate that. You’ve got to humble yourself a bit to share your f ups. Emotionally it sucks but intellectually you know you’re not the only one that’s done it. Thanks for watching my video.
Very interesting video. I'm a car guy and was always interested in owning a shop.
Cool. I appreciate you watching. I knew better and did it anyway. A little at a time. But I’m on the upswing now. Not mad at anyone. Just going from here forward.
originally your page just popped up on my screen. I do like to watch any automotive repair videos. DIY and Shops
Glad you found me!
Since you asked, random suggestion on youtube for me. As you counted #5-#2, I heard #1 behind a portion of decision issues
Right. It was the big one!
I was planning a video like this for my channel. I guess the phone was listening because this video popped up on my feed. 😊I definitely agree with a couple of your points and much respect to you for saying, “I had no business being in this business.” It’s not for everyone. As an owner operator of a mechanic shop, I honestly make more money flipping cars than fixing them. And I agree with the NO PARTNER! My partner is my real life partner, my wife. Wishing you much success going forward brother!
-👨🏽🔧🩺 ALEX
Your comment popped up twice!
Now you talked about having a new landlord. I've said this for years, Renting or leasing anything no matter what tax right off you may get, is throwing your money away. Owning outright has it's cost's, but over time they are FAR LESS than leasing.
Yeah the building is rented. We bought an existing business and the landlord would not sell. I totally get it. And Covid did not help my credit score or my savings account. Hopefully in the future we will buy or build something. Appreciate you watching!
Public facing businesses to customers is usually a horrible lifestyle (which is why many mechanics have a "cuss jar.") You want to pick a repair shop that only fixes like 1 thing or maybe 2 things.
Ahhh we are doing ok. Things seem to be getting better by the day.
I don’t know anything about the auto repair business. Talking about the bar business: My daughter was a waitress in a bar and my son ran a bar in a different city. Never did they come to me and say “Dad we have this great idea”.
“the only ship that doesn’t float is a partnership” pretty funny
Thanks for watching.
Gotta remember the seven P's.
Prior proper planning prevents pretty poor problems.
Or in your case change the last word to partnerships.
Right? Lesson learned. What sucks is I knew better and did it anyway!
@@buxtonautosales I hate that when that happens.
Yeah. I did it. I own it. Literally. Thanks or watching.
5 p's piss poor planning prevents production
@@ThomasConlon-gu5pz for sure.
Google suggested it and even though I wouldn't own an auto repair business I've run computer shops and there are a lot of parallels I've even thought about maybe opening my own shop and having a low base ply for everyone but then offering them a percentage of their service revenue impossibly a different percentage of their sales revenue
As commission based as possible is great because it keeps your overhead over in the lean times and it gives the employee a chance to earn more money. And if they’re selling more you’re earning more. Everyone wins.
Just popped up on my feed. I taught business at the university level, so I was interested.
Ha. You must have laughed your ass off at my mistakes. Hind site.
Transmission shops are tough. It’s hard to find a good transmission guy.
It is!
Commenting because the algorithm loves you!
Apparently it does on this video!
This sounds like a Jedi mind trick for the landlord to trick him into thinking you like it and want to stay to get him to approve a new owner to lease
No, the landlord was willing to vet my replacement tenant all along.
Great information, thank you for sharing. I’m looking into a shop in central fl area
I wish you the best of luck!
Yeah, you just showed up on my suggested feed. Caught my interest so I clicked. I watch Rainman Ray’s channel, might be why yours go suggested.
Well whatever the reason was I’m glad you watched. Thanks for tuning in!
Oood video . I feel better im not the only one that wished my shop just blow up.
Ha. Right. Totally understand. I’ll say that I’m at peace with right now.
As a shop owner very good information good video
Well, hind sight is always 20/20. Thanks for watching!
As a tech with 33 years under my belt. I can tell you that and good tech will not sign a no compete. This industry moves fast, and if the shop is not staying up on times, and changes in the industry. Tech will get tired of not having the proper equipment to do a job (I mean shop equipment supplied by the shop owner. Not the tech). A good owner will do everything in their power to keep a good tech happy and working for them. A good way is offering a guaranteed min of 20 hours a week for being there and keeping their shop clean, and anything over that 20 hours is flat rate % of the labor.
Yeah everyone who's ever worked for me had a guarantee. I've got no problem with that. You need people and they need to know they can eat, at minimum. The no-compete would be more for the fella that's acting as the service advisor who was the face of this guy's company. In any case, it's all worked out, is what it is and we're all moving forward. Appreciate you watching!
When/if you get out this dead trade unscathed, you will be SO happy!!!
You know what, right now I’m fairly happy. I’m at peace. (Of course it’s only been two weeks!)
This came up on my YT feed after watching few car repair videos.
Appreciate the response. Thanks for watching.
good review, it just appeared on my suggested watch list.
Appreciate you checking it out!
I watched your 1st video, why.......................Auto repair can be a Gold mine. The building being Leased for your Shop can be the Dagger in the Back. P & L Critical. Your not alone with poor business decisions costing tens of thousands of dollars in the long run. Hard financial times will always destroy a partnership.
Yeah I do feel fortunate we made it out still friends. It’s like I knew better at each step and I could see the train wreck coming. Is what it is. Now we just move forward.
Just popped up....very informative.
Thank you. More to come.
Your partner fires the service advisor without warning the advisor or to you. That's ridiculous.
Yep.
If you didn’t pivot then you would have lost out. You was bobbin and weavin , dippin and dodgin yet with all that going on you still came out better than you went in.
Now all you have to do is right that proverbial ship 🚢 and it will float with you as the captain 👨✈️ of the ship.
I hope so. Sometimes I feel like that Samaritan pirate in that movie Captain Phillips. “Look at me, I am de captain now!” Appreciate you watching!
Wow, it looks like you went viral. Congratulations!
I guess. I was telling my buddy about how I can’t believe it took off. My best video to date has about 60k views but that took me three years. My buddy said people love seeing someone else’s misery. 😂😂. Whatever it is, it is kinda neat.
A business with a partner is like a marriage without love.
Right.
wait what?
Worse. A partner can take everything. a wife gets half.
new here today, just popped up in my feed
Well thanks for watching. The videos about the repair business are a little removed from my wheelhouse. I am a sleezy used car dealer by default so most of my stuff is about the used car business. I made ONE video about the shop like a week ago and it just blew up on me.
Found you in my suggestion videos.
Well thanks for watching!
Mechanics are easy to find. GOOD mechanics are not .
For sure!
I work at dealership but would like to go mobile
There’s plenty of people on Facebook I see asking for a mobile mechanic so there’s clearly a market.
The simple answer.... No business plan... No understanding to address critical resources specific to human, technical and environmental impactors.......until the impact happens...... If you have to wait for the event to occur to ask what am i suppose to do..... It's too late...your chance for success is less than 66 percent
Yeah. I was relying on my business partner who already had a transmission shop and honestly the mistake was me not pushing for more information before handing over my money. We could have done a lot of things better. But this is where we are today. Moving forward. Appreciate you watching!
vid just popped up never heard or seen any other video
Well I’m glad it’s still getting shown to viewers and I’m grateful you watched and commented! I haven’t a lot of car lot, car flipping content on a playlist on my channel. I made this video about the repair shop I hated and that video blew up on me. Craziest thing.
Good video, your video popped up randomly
Well I'm glad you opted to watch it! You can check out that other one I made about why I hate it so much - but I have to say since all the prayers and the other guy backing out on the purchase I remain at peace with owning it.
wouldn't it have been better to just keep the car lot and had onsite mechanic? instead of opening the shop. I used to be mechanic at a car lot and this is how 99% lots operate, there are a few who only have oil changers though. The lot i worked at before, the owner would buy cars from auctions with bad engines etc and i would swap them out. The he would sell the cars etc. i did a lot of bmw's. Engines and timing chains as well as head gaskets. I did it all. I changed trades sorta, I still buy cars ever now and then and swap out the engines etc, I also gut them out and pressure wash the interior, and then do the body work as well, It sure is nice making all the profit, and not having to pay someone else to do the work.
Yeah, the shop was an investment with my partner not originally opening a shop to work on my cars. I’d already had relationships with my partners original shop and another friends shop so I was getting a good rate. If I had not gone in with him to buy the shop I am sure I would have at some point hired an in house guy.
@@buxtonautosales yeah it seems like a huge jump, and you dont know the thick of it, until you jump head first, which is what you did, but congrats on making it work, i bet you gained tons of experience in the end. once you get everything ironed out, you will be very happy.
Yeah, I think I've figured it out now. And I'm still at peace with it. Been working on increasing advertising and making the phone ring. My new mechanic actually exceeded his base this week so he's pumped.
Hearing you describe your business, I believe the problem is you do not have any ability to bring value to your business. You do not have mechanic ability or are willing to get your hands dirty. You are not putting in effort to grow the business. You went into this business believing you can just throw money at it and you will be rewarded. You have made every mistake I can think of. One of your mistakes is one you think is a good idea. Paying manager on a bonus structure to increase revenue. This is a formula for disaster. This is what gives the tire/muffler franchises a bad reputation. When you incentivize revenue in exchange for bonus, you get a manager that will sell unnecessary repairs. Customers know when this is happening and will never come back. You are getting what you deserve and should not be in this business.
Thanks for your contribution to the Algorithm. No ones perfect. And in spite of all this the business is still profitable.
Spoken like a raging narcissist. I agree with the commenter. You will be out of business in short order--glad you opened your mouth.@@buxtonautosales
Maybe. Then I could make a youtube video titled "All the youtube haters were right - I'm out of business"
Once I watched that viral video this was suggested to me. I watch anything about shops, building them, buying , selling, etc. So that probably has something to do with it? I would never rent an auto repair facility of any kind. I would always want to own the real estate. That may be affecting your sale? Just my 2 cents
I think owning would be preferred but not possible for everyone. I have a great landlord, which the buyer would be taking me at my word. Honestly though that “peace” I talked about is still with me. I’m not advertising to sell at this point. I’m going to reevaluate after the first of the year but I’ve made some behind the scenes adjustments for myself and it seems to be helping my state of mind.
Most businesses lease their buildings, if they are storefront/ brick and mortar
If I was in a position to buy I would have. And if I end up closing the repair shop (which also houses the car lot) I will try to buy the property for the next car lot.
Where is your shop at in Texas?
I’m outside of Dallas.
i see the car market going down so i looked at your older videos and you were doing good.. i think its the car market that is hurting you .. just keep in mind elon musk hold on in 2008. and look at him now.. worse case you can do some car work with your guy and sell at the same time.. i had to do that 3 times in my life. if you get dirty working on cars your guys will see that and work harder
Appreciate the insight.
Your video just popped up on my feed.
Well I’m glad you watched and appreciate the comment.
Was recommended to me :)
Well I’m glad you watched it. Appreciate the comment. I consider myself a car dealer more than a shop owner. I’m embracing the fact that I’ve got two businesses. If you like sleezy used car dealers there’s plenty of content here.
I watch a lot of automotive videos but this is my first time seeing you. This one popped up as a suggested video. Your bald head is fine. You have to work with what you have.
Thanks for watching! Appreciate the comment.
No compet doesn't exist in Colorado for a great reason. Honestly shops are a mechanics dream not a pencil pushers. Techs get paid so poorly that they can rarely own a shop, so tones of Dexter's buy shops and expect techs to slave for them. Learn to wrench 🔧 then I bet you'll feel different about being a shop owner.
Well, as I’d mentioned I’m kind of at peace with it. I subscribe to the surrounding yourself with people smarter than you theory.
Randomly showed up on my feed.
I’m a one-man show with commercial clients only.
Ditch the retail customers and the headache associated with doing brake jobs on Soccer Mom PoS mini-vans. Just sayin’.
Something to consider for sure.
I still have all my tools i still have2 snapon socket sets from 1972 i don't use them there trophy items
That’s some experience right there!
No Compete contracts should be against the law. Period. It is against the Free Market.
I disagree. Is it fair to your employer that you move next door and sell the same service you were selling for him after meeting all of his vendors and customers? I don't think so. Is it fair you have to do it 5 miles away? Or that you can't do it for a year right next to him? I think so. And most states think so. You can't and shouldn't try to restrict a person from making a living in their chosen field. But they also shouldn't have the benefit of you training them up and then they go out on their own next door either.
You should’ve given him nothing and said if you make it out to the point of profit you’ll give him 50% of his investment
Well it’s profited all along. It just wasn’t blowing our doors off.
Came up in my video feed
Appreciate you watching!
Atleast you have the huevos to open your own business 👍🏿✊🏿💪🏿
Yeah, I wasn’t intended to run this one. My partner that needed my cash was the guy with the industry experience. I was already open and running my car lot. Hindsight I guess. Things happen for a reason. Thanks for watching.
@ 👍🏿blessings to you and your family
First time viewer. I can understand your grief with the business for sure having owned two businesses myself. I can also attest that be honest with yourself and pray in earnest to God and be frugal and smart. Keep God first and he will guide you to what is best. God Bless
Not sure if you watched the first video about the shop (most of my content is about the used car lot business) but I will say I have prayed 1000 prayers in the month leading up to the guys that were gonna buy my shop bailing out. And then when they did I prayed even more. I spent about 2 days down in the dumps and then by that Monday all of a sudden I was at peace. That’s been since November 4th. I hated it for at least two years before that.
I'm on male dating sites and you popped up on my feed.❤
Oh Man! You better ask for your money back! But thanks for watching!
Subbed.
Much appreciated!
You just popped up in my feed
Thanks for watching! I do mostly car lot videos but there’s a few you might like.
@buxtonautosales kool
You want to own the building!!!! Rent is Bull turds
Absolutely. It woulda been my first choice. Next time.
TH-cam suggested it to me.
Well I’m glad you decided to watch it! And thanks for the comment. They really help me grown the channel!
Found you on u-tube.
I appreciate you watching!
Men like mechanic stuff
For sure!
Ask Forrest Gump would say life is like a box of chocolates
Yep, it’s brown, it’s squishy, and it doesn’t always taste like you’d hoped . . .
@@buxtonautosales open my own electrical contracting business in 2000 after I got my Master's license and actually took a pay hit for the first few years till I got my client base up and yes she got to have some money put back to roll with the punches. Slow business equipment failures
I hear you. I retrospect I have nothing to complain about. I've spent a month in peace. I think I let my outlook sour earlier and let myself get held hostage to things I thought were out of my control.
You probably put the vuy you fired in a nad place so you need to be in a bad place too.
Yeah, I’d say so.
I bought a shop when I was 21.
Ran it for 5 yr.
I coulda done a lot better too
But not being so young.
Then I got stabbed in the back of the neck by a veteran on a bender.
I got a little behind on taxes and got suicidal.
Lucky to be happy and healthy today.
I’m just a regular mechanic now.
Stamped out 105 hours of labor last week.
Man 105 flag hours in a week? That’s humping. Sorry for your challenges and glad you over came.
No competes are stupid and illegal I believe
It varies by state and they’re legal. You can’t keep someone out of their industry but you can limit them by geographic area. That’s Texas. Other states must be different.
Randomly on my feed
Well, you must’ve watched some, you commented where. Appreciate it!
I'm confused on your story?
Sorry to hear that. This was more things I wish I’d done differently when I bought the shop in 2018.
But not forever
Thanks for your three comments. Appreciate you watching.
1st mistake, you should have kept paying the First Mechanic . Nobody running in there to do that Hard work on some Sucker Sh**t.
Well, this second guy is doing well. Thanks for your comment.