Growing pains or professional suicide?

[KevinP73]

Over the last two weeks I've fired my entire crew. Sure it's really only two guys but they're gone and that leaves me here doing it alone.
I've spent the last couple months being very critical of the work leaving this place and even though my customers seem to be somewhat satisfied I couldn't be less satified with the level of performance that I've been getting from the crew. Everything had to be done two or three times before I was satisfied with the result. Nothing was getting done on time even after I sat them down, pointed to the calender and indicated deadlines. This place to be more of a meeting place for the neighbors employee's than my body shop. It got to the point where I was a frazzled mess even after hours. So I cleaned house.
My plan now is to finish all of the long term/slow paying projects in the shop and move the operation home. I have the facilities at home that are equal in size to the shop here so that won't be a concern plu I could do the daily commute in my bare feet I plan to get very picky about the work I take in. I shouldn't have to do the volumn of work with the burden of a payroll being gone. And my rent here is greater then the motgage so I'd rather be paying a mortgage than rent. Working from home will have it's good and bad points but so does being in a commercial complex.
I guess the next couple months will tell if I've made a good decision or not.
Stay tuned

[GDSOB]

If you can make a living and your happy, more power to you.

At some point you may want to take a vacation, spend time with the fam, etc so it would be nice to have someone you trust to work with. Go slow, be selective. Bigger is not always better.

[techweenie]

Some of the most respected restoration guys in the vintage car business work out of their homes.

A couple of really impressive restorations that get seen by the 'right people' should have you booked for years.

That white '73S you recently did is a good example. And the '70S repair & repaint...

[speeder]

As long as you have the facilities at home, I think it sounds great. Cutting expenses drastically can only be a good thing, as long as you are not strangling your source of customers.

Your biz is mostly word-of-mouth or professional connections anyways, right? It's not like you are giving up a prime retail spot for a body shop, either. I say do it. Your life will improve. If it does not completely work out, you can always get another space in a (newer) industrial mall.

[Evans, Marv]

Kevin,
If your facilities at home are the same size as your shop, I don't understand why you haven't done this before. I'm really suprised that half of those voting think you made a mistake. Sounds like a very good way to simplify your life. Also, you probably know good people you can call in on a part time basis if you need help or good preople you can sub some work out to. Plus you'll be getting write offs for using part of your place at home for business. Unless there are major things I don't know about, it sounds like a no brainer to me. Best of luck.

[Don Plumley]

Solo-practioner specialists are wonderful - so long as you meet your own income needs and the output velocity meets your future customer needs. You don't want to hear, "Kevin is the industry's best, but the backlog is 6 months now before he'll take the next project. I'll have to go somewhere else..."

Taking a very long-term view, it depends on what your goal is. If you'd like to build some equity into your business that one day you can monetize, then the business will need to be more than Kevin. Maybe that means one day you'll need to find an apprentice to teach the craft, with the presumption that one day he'll (or she) might buy it from you.

Craft is the operative word here. If you can effectively teach the craft, you can build and grow your business. If having a larger business is not at all important to you, or the pains of trying to have everyone reach your standards of work is not acceptable, then solo is probably the best route.

My only concern would be your local zoning/EPA/neighbors view of having an real autobody restoration business in their neighborhood. And the downside of "never leaving the office."

My $0.02. Best of luck to you...

[fintstone]

Perhaps you should talk to Henry at Supertec and find out how his move is working out. He left his more expensive Costa Mesa digs for more cost effective ones in Fallbrook? It has cheaper housing, shorter or no commute, less traffic, etc. His reasoning is that most of his business was word of mouth and came from all over the world...so it did not really matter where his shop was. In fact, for guys like me driving in from farther east with a trailered car...it seems a much better location (closer, less traffic). Your work is good enough that I will consider you one of my top picks when it is time for me to paint...regardless of your location. Especially if it keeps your prices within my reach.

[scottmandue]

I'm no business man but when I was unemployed I did some handyman work and just by showing up on time, doing a good job, and cleaning up after myself I made a pretty good living just off word of mouth.

In your case I would also be concerned about the zoning thing, are you sure you are okay in that area?

[nostatic]

life is too short to turn out work that you're not proud of. If you can do what you need at home by yourself and pay the bills, go for it. If you can't, then try to find a better crew. Tough, I know...

[KevinP73]

I'm not too concerned with the neighbors. You can see from this shot that on one side they use their property for parking and the other side is a horse arena Both sides are blocked with a tall fence that you can't see thru. And to the north is Hansen Dam. No one there to complain. The property is accessed from the rear as well as gated in the front. The enitre property is video monitered already because of the horses.


I know it's currently zoned for horses and commercial vehicles parking.

[Don Plumley]

The location now concerns me a bit more - unless I'm missing something big. Think about this in an EPA kind of way. You deal with environmentally controlled supplies. You'll need a paint booth and ventilation system - which needs a permit. Even if you get the permits, one of your Horsey neighbors (current or future) decides the dust or fumes is making Nelly cough, you'll have a cease and desist order stapled to your front door overnight.

And from the pics, you've got a stream in the backard? In SoCal? Can you say waste water containment system?

Maybe I'm missing something, but I've dealt with EPA waste water remediation before and it was no fun and mucho dinero.

[KevinP73]

I don't plan on doing any collision work, I want to concentrate on upper end restorations. Plus I am in the planning stages of doing some online selling of restoration tools and supplies and rental of specialty tools to add another income stream. The "shop" is 2500 sq' and devided into three areas. The far end is currently a rehersal/recording studio that brings in some money. It's very seldom active during the day most "musicians" are scooping fries and waiting tables or mowing lawns during the daylight hours. There is a 25' fifth wheel trailer in the rear that is rented out (also serves as security for the property) The horse stables have some income potential but are currently being used to house the gf's horse and her friend keeps her horses there also.

[goldgunner]

Happiness often comes from solitary efforts; Richness almost always comes from the using the labor of others. Perhaps you should take some management courses?

[KevinP73]

Don, here are a couple details that are not immediately obvious. The section of the shop I expect to move into is currently rented to a guy who is doing "hobbyshop' work himself. Plus the guy who built the shop originally had installed a rather good air vac system and water reclamation tank. He did refrigeration work for a living right on the property. I don't plan on doing very much paint work but will be willing to rent at a local bodyshop when I need to.

[Hugh R]

I was a consultant for many years and never had a client come to my offices, I always went to them. When I went out on my own, my cell phone was my office. If your not dependent on a driveby store front situation, get rid of it if you can. What Don said about EPA, and SCAQMD certainly apply. You may have New Source Review problems with the SCAQMD for a paint spray booth. Best Available Control Technology for a new spray booth is incineration which can be very expensive. Also, you won't be able to transfer your emissions credits for your volatile organic compounds to the new source. If you already have a Permit to Operate for the booth at home, great, if not, look into this issue before you get too far in to back out. Don't cancel your Permit to Operate the old booth until you've figured this out. BTW, I was an air pollution consultant for many years in LA and I used to work for the SCAQMD.

[tabs]

BILL THOMAS...For U Boyz who went to Pomona..he was the guy with all the Ford Diffs lined up in rows on the Black Plastic Boxes.

He has never advertised in the nearly 20 years I have known him, his biz is all word of mouth and he keeps bizzy enough to keep himself in cabage. He at one time had 2 Full time employees and found that after paying them he wasn't making anymore money. Without them he picks and chooses his jobs and makes as much money as before. To some extent iit is a function of getting alittle older he is 57... His big monthly expense is the rent he has to pay on the buildings that houses his STUFF...Geezus if you go there under a pile of cardboard boxes lie....2 69/70 Boss 302s, a 71 Boss 351, a Cougar 302 Eliminator, a 40 Ford Coupe and a Triumph Sportscar. U wander around in back and you might find a whole pile of HP Ford Parts and a Mint Condition 17,000 mile 71 Boss 351.

[techweenie]

Don't feel too concerned for Kevin. I was there today when he took a deposit on a major (bare metal, top and bottom) restoration project. Looking forward to the progress photos...