advice for a friend mustang shop

[ConeArrow27]

Hey all one of my friends is a mustang buff and wants to open his own mustang shop. Any advice I can give him? All I know is detailing lol

[dcjredline]

I bet most people dont really know what you mean..I know I am confused on what your asking. What is the definition of a Mustang shop? Just mustangs? Does he want/need business advice? Mechanical Advice? If you can expand some more I bet you will get at least one or two responses that will help you/him greatly! There are lotsa great people here.

[Vortech5.0]

I do not own the business but I deal with a "mustang shop" quite often. They really are just that, they highly specialize in Mustangs and do anything from oil changes all the way up to building 3000 hp dragsters. But they also work on any make and model too. They are amazing at what they do and their knowledge is incredible. They are more than just mustang "buffs", they are mustang God's. They can tell me what every single bolt goes to, what every single wire does and why. It is a very tough market and I know they have struggled in the past. Took them years, and opening and closing a few times before they really hit it right. They are very involved in local mustang forums and clubs and I know that's how they get a lot of their customers. They also get alot of business from selling just parts. They have a lot of "ins" with many parts distributors and can get really good pricing. I buy most my parts through them because they can beet most internet pricing. I know that doesn't happen over night too. They have done quite a bit of work on my car and I would recommend them to anyone. But that's only because they have earned my trust over years of dealing with them. Not sure if this is the advice your looking for but hopefully it helps. Good luck.

[ConeArrow27]

I ment for this to be in off topic sorry mods feel free to move it over there.



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[ConeArrow27]

I think hes worried it will fail. I told him it souldnt hes great with stangs. Or with any car. I wish he would do my volvo lol

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[dcjredline]

OK so general advice... Be honest, do good quality work, treat the customer like they are important to you. If he's that good with mustangs he will do fine.

[thebamboo23]

- quality work in whatever the shops offers, i.e. mechanical, fabrication, welding, etc
- honest pricing and time estimates
- meet deadlines, quick turnarounds
- customer service at 100%
- always pick up the phone, respond to emails in a timely manner
- never front on your customer
- how big the the shop gonna be?
- does he have the $$$ for a lift, tools, workers? etc..
- how is he going to pay his workers?
- how is he going to market, promote, and advertise?
- he needs a solid structured business plan (reevaluate every 3 months)
- what is his unique point of sale?
- why should they choose his shop over others?
- he needs a business plan
- will he be a distributor of any parts?
- does he have vendors?
- operational hours
- insurance
- uniforms
- online presence
- website (seo)
- whats his goal behind the company?
- business plan
- figure out overhead cost, hourly/flat rate, etc
- work 26 hour shifts, 8 days a week
- security cameras
- will not make true profit margins the first couple years
- able to find solutions, not only see problems
- taxes
- prepared for something unexpected to happen
- location
- concept
- etc