Going backwards to go forwards!!!

[Aaryn NZ]

Hello team! :xyxthumbs:

So I turned 40 years of age yesterday, & I spent the day with the family, went out for lunch, chilled out & relaxed - was perfect! This got me thinking & since my trip to Detail Fest I have barely had a day off from the shop, let alone have time to be contributing to the Forum.

I’m gonna chuck some random pictures in here just for something to look at too.

So, I had a blast at Detail Fest & like my last visit to Florida - it goes way too fast & it’s not long until you long to return.

Me outside Detail Fest. rops:

Before making the trip to Detail Fest our little shop here in New Zealand had gotten super busy, we had some staffing issues etc & ‘growing’ the business was a massive battle going on inside my head - do we? Don’t we?

2017 Holden Commodore ‘Motorsport Edition’ CQuartz Finest Reserve Install.

Upon returning home to New Zealand & settling down from the buzz of being at Detail Fest my Wife & I sat down & discussed the direction of the shop. Now our plan was to hire a ‘detailer’ & once I had them up to speed & able to work independently we would then take on someone else & do the same thing. The work is there for three of us & any advertising is minimal, mostly just word of mouth - so room to grow there if need be too.

We had an applicant in mind - he had a little experience with detailing & some experience with a polisher in hand too & I figured any bad habits wouldn’t be too set in place & unchangeable.

Early morning starts at the shop.

So we took this guy on & although there was a fair amount to be taught there was potential long term. To cut a long story short/er - the start of June he resigned via email one night & after checking his work earlier that evening - it was clear to see he had already given up. Even with the enormous workload ahead we decided against having him back to work out his notice. (two weeks) Unfortunately I did have to cancel a couple of jobs but the majority I worked through alone & where possible my gorgeous Wife lent a hand.

Scat Pack Challenger with Feynlab Heal Lite.

Fiat Abarth 124 Spyder with Feynlab Ceramic Lite.

At first anger was the emotion that came to mind (so to speak) but quickly that changed to relief as the realisation that he wasn’t ‘the one’ & it was kind of like the trash taking itself out. Here’s the twist - very next morning plastered over Facebook & Instagram he was advertising 40% off Winter details!!! He had been using me for information the whole time!!! This made us feel a bit foolish & especially when we looked through his social media posts & realised he had been working for himself whilst working for us too.

2017 HSV Clubsport in Spitfire Green wearing CQuartz Finest Reserve.

HSV GTS in for some polishing work & interior Detail.

After some ‘soul searching’, weighing up positives, negatives & everything in between, essentially the single BIGGEST question that settled it all was - Why did we start this in the beginning?
Because this is the industry I love! It was never about the money, it was about doing it right. Being self employed allows me to set the standards & it’s exactly that that has seen ‘Details’ grow to be one of the premier detailing studios in New Zealand.

08 GTR getting its shine on.

Rolls Royce Silver Spirit Buffed - Polished & Waxed.

Two Months have passed & working alone (Ange helps where she can - secretly loves detailing I’m sure.) has seen my stress levels drop considerably. I’m enjoying detailing more than ever & being void of having to constantly oversee someone else’s work, teach, correct errors & even the extra housework another person creates has given me more time to concentrate on the work in front of me & best of all - frees up more time to spend with my family.

Mustang shimmering in the Kiwi Winter sunshine.

Aside from the US of A - New Zealand has the highest Mustang ownership world wide. Finally got my Autogeek banners hung on the wall too.

So there we have it folks. That’s what’s been going on down here in New Zealand for us. A bit of ‘going backwards to go forwards’ & it feels great. I made it to 40 & I thank you - my Autogeek Forum family for being a part of that 40!!!

Random shop photo.

Lexus ISF weapon.

Stunning 2018 Harley Davidson Road Glide with Feynlab Heal Plus.

Thank you all for checking in,

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:


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[PaulMys]

Wow, Aaryn.

Your work is stunning, bro!

 

[bill walsh]

some times working alone works out the best

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Wow Beautiful work! Keep on rocking!

 

[VISITOR]

aaryn, things don't always go as planned and with a mountain/obstacle or two to climb (is life), things will work it's way out in the end for the better. keep staying positive my friend, thanks for being part of AGO! :xyxthumbs:

 

[LEDetailing]

Happy belated birthday and congratulations on your success. Keep taking time off to spend with your family. You’ll never regret spending time with your family. The detailing jobs will always be there. Especially with your skills.

In my opinion the best looking detailing comes from one man/woman operations. The exception is husband/wife teams.

 

[fly07sti]

It’s not a fluke that your shop and caliber of work are so good. You’re a good dude and you bust your a$$. Happy Birthday again my friend.

 

[Dr Oldz]

That was a great post! You work looks amazing also. Best of luck to you.

 

[SWETM]

You and the help from your wife put out awesome work and incredible finish on the cars you do!

Sorry to hear about the employee that took advantage of your kindness. It's not uncommon that they do go on their own. But it would be more acceptable if they did it with a honest and opened way about it.

You could always have an open eye for a new employee if one would come around.

Seems like you had an awesome birthday with the family. Happy Birthday!

/Tony from Sweden

 

[Pats300zx]

Looks like you are killing it Aaryn !!!! Fantastic work !!!

 

[Misterpaul]

Aaryn, Happy 40th Birthday!

Your shop and the shop of your former employee will never truly be in competition with one another. You will continue your highest quality work at a fair to both parties price and he will go after the low hanging fruit that is more concerned with saving a dollar, sort of bespoke vs. Kmart.

Thank you for the picture of that PBM Holden Commodore. I’m going to replace many of my chrome bits with gloss black. I may even rebadge back to Holden from Chevy. Either way, those wheels are beautiful unlike the fugly wheels GM stuck on them before sending the to the states. Just wish they weren’t so expensive...

Here’s to your continued success, cheers!
(Its coffee for me, it’s 6:45 AM as I’m posting this, and post #1,000 for me!)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Paul A.]

Beautiful work and a beautiful shop, Aaryn. Sorry to hear about the "going backwards" step but those are common in our line of work. They also help in your experience to learn and grow in this mad practice of life. I have often said, the negative lessons I've learned are worth more than the positives over time.

Keep pluggin', my friend. You are doing extremely well and that's good to hear.

 

[Sizzle Chest]

Happy Birthday Aaron! And glad to see you post up here again!!! Hope all is well!

 

[Aaryn NZ]

Wow, Aaryn.

Your work is stunning, bro!

Thank you Paul. :xyxthumbs:

some times working alone works out the best

Thanks Bill. :xyxthumbs:

Agreed, it certainly takes a load of stress off not having to supervise someone else.

Wow Beautiful work! Keep on rocking!

Cheers Kamakaz1961. :xyxthumbs:

aaryn, things don't always go as planned and with a mountain/obstacle or two to climb (is life), things will work it's way out in the end for the better. keep staying positive my friend, thanks for being part of AGO! :xyxthumbs:

Thank you VISITOR. :xyxthumbs:

Appreciate the kind words my friend. rops: Compared to some of those Mountains we've had to climb in the last few years this is a cake walk. I'm pleased we stood back & thought about what we originally set out to do. The push of clientele backing up blurred that vision for a while. I don't wish to let anyone down but I am but one, & if they cannot wait, then so be it. :xyxthumbs: Thanks again mate.

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[Aaryn NZ]

Happy belated birthday and congratulations on your success. Keep taking time off to spend with your family. You’ll never regret spending time with your family. The detailing jobs will always be there. Especially with your skills.

In my opinion the best looking detailing comes from one man/woman operations. The exception is husband/wife teams.

Thank you LEDetailing. :xyxthumbs:

Perfect advice right there my friend. I have an incredible family & money will never buy back time not spent with them. We never set out to 'get rich' opening our own shop but I tell you - detailing has lead me to meet some fantastic people & a lot of them are via this forum, I have a wealth of friends because of detailing & I'd choose that over the dollar any day. :xyxthumbs:

I love it when my Wife Ange comes in & helps out at the shop but alas - She has a full time job plus being a full time Mum plus handles all the paperwork for the shop . . . run out of time to have her there too often. Appreciate your comments mate. rops:

It’s not a fluke that your shop and caliber of work are so good. You’re a good dude and you bust your a$$. Happy Birthday again my friend.

Thank you Don my Brother. :xyxthumbs:

Kind words my friend, thank you - they mean alot from you. Hope you lit one up for my Birthday bro. rops:

That was a great post! You work looks amazing also. Best of luck to you.

Thanks Dr Oldz. :xyxthumbs:

You and the help from your wife put out awesome work and incredible finish on the cars you do!

Sorry to hear about the employee that took advantage of your kindness. It's not uncommon that they do go on their own. But it would be more acceptable if they did it with a honest and opened way about it.

You could always have an open eye for a new employee if one would come around.

Seems like you had an awesome birthday with the family. Happy Birthday!

/Tony from Sweden

Cheers Tony. :xyxthumbs:

Yeah it was a bit of a sh!##y thing to do but hey, the situation helped us see what we needed to see. Oh yeah for sure, I'll keep an eye out for that 'someone' . . . are you heading South Tony???

Thank you for taking the time to comment mate. :dblthumb2:

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[Aaryn NZ]

Looks like you are killing it Aaryn !!!! Fantastic work !!!

Cheers Pat. :xyxthumbs:

Appreciate it buddy.

Aaryn, Happy 40th Birthday!

Your shop and the shop of your former employee will never truly be in competition with one another. You will continue your highest quality work at a fair to both parties price and he will go after the low hanging fruit that is more concerned with saving a dollar, sort of bespoke vs. Kmart.

Thank you for the picture of that PBM Holden Commodore. I’m going to replace many of my chrome bits with gloss black. I may even rebadge back to Holden from Chevy. Either way, those wheels are beautiful unlike the fugly wheels GM stuck on them before sending the to the states. Just wish they weren’t so expensive...

Here’s to your continued success, cheers!
(Its coffee for me, it’s 6:45 AM as I’m posting this, and post #1,000 for me!)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you Misterpaul! :xyxthumbs:

Yay for my thread being your 1000th post mate, nice! rops:

Haha, yeah I chucked a few Holdens in there for you folks to see something a little different. Let me know if you do decide to change your badges out, I have some good contacts here at Holden. :xyxthumbs:

Beautiful work and a beautiful shop, Aaryn. Sorry to hear about the "going backwards" step but those are common in our line of work. They also help in your experience to learn and grow in this mad practice of life. I have often said, the negative lessons I've learned are worth more than the positives over time.

Keep pluggin', my friend. You are doing extremely well and that's good to hear.

Thank you Paul A. :xyxthumbs:

Brilliant comments my friend & absolutely spot on too. Thank you for chiming in mate. rops:

Happy Birthday Aaron! And glad to see you post up here again!!! Hope all is well!

Thanks Scott. :xyxthumbs:

All is good my friend, just been a bit slack & a little busy. Thanks for the Birthday wishes mate. rops:


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[SWETM]

LOL I'm packing my bags and come half around the world to you

 

[Aaryn NZ]

LOL I'm packing my bags and come half around the world to you

You got it buddy - I can either put the kettle on or make sure there's some cold ones in the fridge! rops:


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[Justin at Final Inspection]

Great post and love the honesty about your mindset and trial's and tribulations. This post is exactly why I don't really want to get into having employees. I see it all too often that people expand and sometimes things go well but a lot of the time they end up downsizing and keeping it simple. For me I would rather be booked out 2-3 months and have people who are willing to wait for quality work then be trying to get tons of work out the door.

Myself like you share the passion and enjoy doing work(most days lol) There's a reason your successful. Your awesome at your craft, and you care about your clients. There's no way you won't be successful.

I like you have doubts all the time if I'm doing it right or can I, should I expand. Then I step back and realize that things are going awesome here and there's a reason I am booked out 2-3 months solid.


I just had a conversation with a close friend who wants to get going on his own business adventure and I told him it's mentally draining sometimes but the satisfaction and reward out does any mental demons you may have. If your skill set is there and your reputation then you'll be fine. My dad always has said your only as good as your reputation. You need to treat people right, do the job right. Even if it means taking it on the chin once and while. You do that and you'll be successful.


Keep killing it brother! Very happy to see you doing what you love and doing well.

 

[Belo]

great work. Love to see those Holdens!