When a shop hits it BIG

[ACEFOOTER]

I have a freind with a small custom hot rod shop, himself and three other employees. He is due to finish a car this summer that should draw a great deal of attention his way. (sorry can't say more at this time) I was wondering if Alan, Frank, and some of the other members with shops here could give some pointers on what to expect as far as increase phone traffic from potential customers, media members, ect. What parts of the business should be spooled up prior to the release so he is not unprepaired overwelmed ect. Thanks in advance for the help.
Andy

[ACEFOOTER]

OK, how about from the customer side of things. What irks you when you call a shop you have seen referenced in a magazine or seen one of their cars at a show. What is an appropriate time frame for a response to a phone call/message. Do you call back until you get a live person? How quick do you expect a response to an e-mail inquiry. What do you want to see on the shop web site? How many people want to be able to buy logo apparell ect. Any other expectations needs?

[novanutcase]

I have a freind with a small custom hot rod shop, himself and three other employees. He is due to finish a car this summer that should draw a great deal of attention his way. (sorry can't say more at this time) I was wondering if Alan, Frank, and some of the other members with shops here could give some pointers on what to expect as far as increase phone traffic from potential customers, media members, ect. What parts of the business should be spooled up prior to the release so he is not unprepaired overwelmed ect. Thanks in advance for the help.
Andy

CASH!!!!!!!

[LowBuckX]

What bugs me is when just because a shop has a big name they charge prices that should include gold plating and dinner for 2 for the same thing another shop will do just as well but no big name.

Case in point a local well known engine machineshop race engine builder wanted to charge me double the price of the little guy for minor head work and wanted to give me less of a job and gave me an ETA of "When I get to it" My money went to the little guy that is just as buisy but got right on it and gave me more.

Mill heads (clean up) and competion 3 angle valve job.
Little guy $150 out the door and had them back in 2 days
Big guy $375 and only wanted to give me a basic 45* valve cut with the "WHEN I GET TO IT" buisness

[Goatman]

I find that most good fabricators are just that. They are not business men and that's usually their downfall.


Most need to either take on a partner (but are too greedy to do so) or keep the business small.


As far as being charged more, if the guy has put in the work and is giving you something that only he can do (at least locally), then he has the right to charge a premium for it. Especially if its done right.



That's my only complaint.

[CraigMBA]

It's lack of interpersonal skills.

And they don't see the value of either an employee or a partner to do billing, customer service, collecting money, whatever.

The guy with the $375 valve job was politely telling you he didn't want your business. He's not who you take a set of heads to for an easy valve job anyway.

[ProdigyCustoms]

Well, we have not "hit it big" nor do we really want to. Sure, you guy's here know use well because I won''t shut the .... up, LOL! We have no desire to go bigger in the shop. Let me refraise that. I would like a bigger shop, showroom (need one), but we would be thrilled to just keep building a few cars a year with our small crew. As for media attention, expect a little more traffic, but a couple magazine features do not ring the phone off the hook. You really need a super killer G Force Cuda kind of car to "hit it big" on a build. Now a Orange County Choppers TV show, that is hitting it big.

[Jim Craig]

The main thing -- DO NOT LIE. Secondly, learn how to delegate -- you can not do it all.

Stay ahead of the curve, keep your employees happy, your family happy and everything else will fall in place. Do not discount your time -- figure out exactly what your hourly rate is and make sure you pay yourself.

Emails, phone calls, etc. -- answer as soon as physically possible. Email may seem impersonal, but its how most business gets done.

Have a high school kid set up a website (don't laugh), with valid email addresses -- they can create professional looking websites inexpensively for you and your company.

[BADVELLE]

It's lack of interpersonal skills.

And they don't see the value of either an employee or a partner to do billing, customer service, collecting money, whatever.

The guy with the $375 valve job was politely telling you he didn't want your business. He's not who you take a set of heads to for an easy valve job anyway.

If it was only that easy to categorize! I would say a small portion don't have the interpersonal skills, however, their skills will always get them by, always, unless they are just plain #@@$@. I believe it is a mix of the unknown, pride in what you have built and not wanting that ruined. This may seem odd to most, but just think about, little guy makes it big in todays free marketplace, with so much competition, especially in this industry, it is hard to place trust in another individual to keep the business growing, you always think you can do it by yourself, just like you did in the beginning.

[slowcamaro]

A 'stocked' online store would be nice, I know its hard for a small business to database all of the parts they can get onto such a site. And I know a 'summit' or 'jegs' quality layout is a lot to ask for.

Having an online store with just a few products or even worse just the brands with "call for more info" can be a real pain. Especially when board member/sponsers are pushing what good deals they have on products, but yet I have no way other than a chain of emails to reach them. I really would purchase more from sponsers if the website were more complete. If a huge portion of the listings are "call for more..." at least have an '800' number.

Im a smalltown, full-time student, I dont have a cell phone, or long distance service so a good chunk of my purchasing is done online . I know alot of small companies are willing to give you a call if you send them an email, but then I feel as if theyre working around my schedule...the communication chain just becomes a hassle sometimes.

Right now im building an engine on an almost non-existant budget, so I really have to search out the best deals on parts, but I also need quick service as the engine is being built in class for a grade. I can't wait 2 weeks for all my email questions to be sorted out before ordering parts.

Hope this input was helpful.
-Blyth

[ACEFOOTER]

Thanks for the input. CASH is definately always an issue in any small business and lack there of causes stress and loss of focus. Anyone have some extra? Anyone? Bueler?
I hope the sucessful release of a couple of cars doesn't double his rate, my car is still a two away in the schedual lol.
At 25 years old he is learning a ton very quickly on what it takes to run a business. He has great support from his dad, but I don't see him taking on a partner. Also he is way more interested in being able to make enough money to keep building cool cars rather than making money to buy toys, but learning the balance of how much to charge is certainly tough.
His interpersonell skills are excelent! The first time I met him I was so impressed that he took the time to talk to me, show & explain the current projects and focus on our conversation. The down side is that I now see how it takes away from his productivity during the work day, but everyone is a potential client.

[ACEFOOTER]

Well, we have not "hit it big" nor do we really want to. Sure, you guy's here know use well because I won''t shut the .... up, LOL! We have no desire to go bigger in the shop. Let me refraise that. I would like a bigger shop, showroom (need one), but we would be thrilled to just keep building a few cars a year with our small crew. As for media attention, expect a little more traffic, but a couple magazine features do not ring the phone off the hook. You really need a super killer G Force Cuda kind of car to "hit it big" on a build. Now a Orange County Choppers TV show, that is hitting it big.

LOL well I think your cars are big hits! I thought about it after I posted the thread but I should have said "When you release a car that's a BIG hit". My freind wants to keep it small also. A tight group of guys who all get along and have fun every day building cool custom cars. A decent size shop with a show room out front and a parts counter to be able to help out the local guys. He just needs a couple of guys on the west coast like Bob J and Bill H who like to have High end custom cars built and understand the money that needs to be spent. He doesn't want the TV show kind of exposure but rather the 1-3 cars a year.

[ACEFOOTER]

The main thing -- DO NOT LIE. Secondly, learn how to delegate -- you can not do it all.

Stay ahead of the curve, keep your employees happy, your family happy and everything else will fall in place. Do not discount your time -- figure out exactly what your hourly rate is and make sure you pay yourself.

Emails, phone calls, etc. -- answer as soon as physically possible. Email may seem impersonal, but its how most business gets done.

Have a high school kid set up a website (don't laugh), with valid email addresses -- they can create professional looking websites inexpensively for you and your company.

He would not purposly lie, but holding to time lines in custom work always seem to be an issue. I told him if he thinks he can get somthing done in a week, tell the customer it will take a month and be a hero when its done in three.
Right now it's a struggle to make rent and payroll every week, but he loves to be at the shop, and he is, 7 days a week, 7am-7pm minimum, I shudder at the number of nights he's there until after Midnight.
Is it ok to have certain hours for calling back customers, have a worker take the information down so he can call back when it's better for him?
As for the web site, it's on me for the time being, at 40 plus with a family I do what I can but a high school gearhead web head is a great idea!

[ACEFOOTER]

Blyth, great feedback, thanks. The on-line store definatly exceeds my web design skill level but is on the agenda. I work for free, all though I get to hang out at the shop and take pictures and they even let me hold stuff, hand them tools, and once in a while turn a wrench. At the size level he wants to maintain like Frank mentioned, I wonder if the 800 number would be good or not?

[BonzoHansen]

If he is a hot rod shop - i.e. builds cars - why would he need an online 'store' or an 800 number? What is he selling (or hoping to sell) online?

[BADVELLE]

If he is a hot rod shop - i.e. builds cars - why would he need an online 'store' or an 800 number? What is he selling (or hoping to sell) online?

His talent, services, that next project.....

[ACEFOOTER]

It's possible to become a local dealer for a AM brake company, suspension products, strg racks ect. It's possible to come up with some custom brakets to to adapt part"A" to car "F" ect. Kinda like ATS and their T56/LS1 stuff.

[BonzoHansen]

It's possible to become a local dealer for a AM brake company, suspension products, strg racks ect. It's possible to come up with some custom brakets to to adapt part"A" to car "F" ect. Kinda like ATS and their T56/LS1 stuff.Ok, cool. I didn't get that impression with the previous posts.



His talent, services, that next project.....I didn't say web presence, I said online store. You don't buy bodywork online.

[BADVELLE]

I didn't say web presence, I said online store. You don't buy bodywork online.[/quote]

Your right, but you can see it. At any rate, I understand what you were talking about, my fault.