Opening my own Workshop

by **Duffman** » June 14th, 2011, 11:21 pm

ok so as some of you know im about to take the plunge and start my own business. doing the same custom engineering and tuning as ive been doing, but on a 30hr a wk basis.
obviously specialising in Eseries falcons but playing with a quite a few other models and tuning systems etc.

would love all your input on what you would like to see in a tuning workshop that will make it stand out and make you guys feel at home.
ie what music? would you like fresh motorsport events on TVs? seriously anything

and i need a name

ideas

lets hear em

by **holmsy** » June 14th, 2011, 11:35 pm

whats your name?
where will it be?
will you have a dyno?

by **Duffman** » June 14th, 2011, 11:47 pm

yeah will have a dyno in time, Il be located on Goldsworthy street Kadina SA

names Luke

by **BigHutch** » June 15th, 2011, 6:48 am

Goldsman Dyno and Tuning

by **justa6** » June 15th, 2011, 7:18 am

women, need lots of women there. if you have to drive your car there and wait, somewhere to sit, with a few mags.

by **EFFalcon** » June 15th, 2011, 8:32 am

Don't think the names important, when you consider the top workshops around, they're typically named after the owner or similar, they make a name for themselves with the work they do.

what i'd like to see in the workshop as a customer, anything that i could look at to learn something, blueprint style stuff on the walls, exploded views of motors, photos of parts pulled apart showing all the components.

a *decent* board with good customers cars on it, not 6"x4" photos that are faded and look like they're from the 70's

everyone enjoys top gear, so maybe some top gear DVD's mixed in with some of clarkson's other feature length stuff, along with some classic and recent racing footage.

display parts? even damaged turbos, mockup head/manifold/turbo on a stand.

by **deansxr6** » June 15th, 2011, 8:50 am

Pretty much everything above, definitely have motors/ Turbos and components So you can explain to customers aswell what's wrong with there car ! In the office have your best dyno sheets on the wall aswell, like your cars that make big power, and in the workshop, try and get your suppliers to send you big posters and alike, to make it look professional too. I know a tyre and wheel joint our work uses, they have top gear playing there all the time it's great !

by **galapogos01** » June 15th, 2011, 9:45 am

A big T.I. Performance sticker on the window!!

Seriously though, great work giving it a shot! All the best setting it up.

As for what I like to see, for me a personal touch is important, no matter how small the job. Taking pride in your work, not letting half-assed stuff out the door. Giving a customers' car a quick wash after a big job, and asking before adding a discrete sticker to advertise your shop. A nice clean workshop always shows the quality of work you do too!

by **vegabass** » June 15th, 2011, 9:50 am

When I had my LPG system fitted Anthony fitted a bottletop opener with the business name and number on it to my key ring. It gets used regularly and was a nice surprise

A cool website also.

by **Hybrid34** » June 15th, 2011, 10:58 am

Boxcar wrote:Goldsman Dyno and Tuning

Name it GDT performance, sounds tuff

by **holmsy** » June 15th, 2011, 11:20 am

workshop i go to in geelong constantly
messiest place ever
long wait to be served
has old broken cams, cranks, heads, everything stacked up on the floor and across the bench.
new parts sitting on the floor.
the whole back and side of the place is full of old motors

but everyone still goes there beacause they know the guy is good once he remembers he was supposed to do something.

by **EFFalcon** » June 15th, 2011, 11:26 am

But would that attract new customers?
Probably works fine for those who know him by his rep/word of mouth.

but if that bloke was a new starter, what would you think?

by **Mr_4.0** » June 15th, 2011, 12:50 pm

Haha I know who your talking about Josh!

Yer he wouldn't get very many new customers I wouldn't think. Not a very presentable place..

by **needfordspeed** » June 15th, 2011, 2:08 pm

Axe Wound Performance.........We put the U in lube :drinks2:

by **vegabass** » June 15th, 2011, 2:10 pm

Drive in drive out conversions with set pricing? Eg DOHC conversions etc...

by **Duffman** » June 15th, 2011, 7:08 pm

ok, great ideas here guys! love the Topgear idea :good:

thats a definite. also love the Blueprints on walls etc.
Jason of course il advertise T.I. performance, you always look after me.
Gill there are no stupid suggestions... just stupid people

keep em coming.

ps il look into the heaps of women idea

by **holmsy** » June 15th, 2011, 7:20 pm

Mr_4.0 wrote:Haha I know who your talking about Josh!

Yer he wouldn't get very many new customers I wouldn't think. Not a very presentable place..

yeh.
but hey few years ago i went there and now go there for everything.
from what i see. he has more work then they can do.

but your right john 1
for a new place it wont necessarily be good

by **stevo** » June 15th, 2011, 7:25 pm

AXE Performance would be cool.

by **AaronEF8** » June 15th, 2011, 7:40 pm

Don't bag any other companies, just learn how they suck and do everything better. Look into every competitor/product on the market so you know what you're talking about, so when customers say 'oh such and such said this', you can explain everything they need to know. Do something more than the bare minimum. Don't lie, if you fucked up, say you fucked up and fix it.
That's pretty much what I'd look for.

Do you think there's much of a market for it in Kadina, or even SA? Do you have dyno access there? You'd really need a dyno to check everything, otherwise you could be sending cars out running lean, blow some motors and send you out of business. Plus it's always good to have a before/after graph, even if you over-correct the after graph a little bit

by **Michael (HYPOEB)** » June 15th, 2011, 7:56 pm

Everything i look for has been said. Like Aaron said,Is there much of a market over there in SA?
Best of luck mate!

by **thebeast.** » June 15th, 2011, 8:12 pm

Good to you opening your own shop.
I cant give much more input then anything thats already been said but,
when I was a delivery driver at repco I saw a lot of differnt work shops.
It was always so much nicer walking into a mechanic shop with a nice clean reception with a well kept shop, tools where they belong, mechanics clean and tidy well dressed (to a point) etc,
Then you walk into a shop and think how the **** do they survive, shit everywhere, poor attitude swearing like a mad **** in reception, mechanic's in thongs...
but unfortunatly a lot of it is word of mouth. Once you make a name for yourself you'll be set. But yeah as said ask before chucking the little stickers on as a lot of people get the shits with them, maybe offer 5% off for anyone who returns with the sticker on...
I know 90% is obvious but yeah.
good luck with it anyway

by **Dansedgli** » June 15th, 2011, 8:23 pm

Get a receptionist that a customer can talk to about cars. Not some numpty bitch who just wants to go shopping and will get a proper mechanic to call you back.

by **SNR** » June 15th, 2011, 8:30 pm

Make sure you display the disposal of uncollected goods act. Very important otherwise you can't get rid of shit people drop off and never collect!

by **AaronEF8** » June 15th, 2011, 8:37 pm

Get a receptionist that a customer can talk to about cars. Not some numpty bitch who just wants to go shopping and will get a proper mechanic to call you back.

shit yes.

I HATE calling somewhere, I say 'I want some info on xxx please', she goes 'sure, what do you want to know', then she says 'just hold the line', she goes 'durr, um Ford I think, durr' to someone who knows something more than basic MYOB data entry, he gets on the line and I have to explain everything again.

It's even worse when they say 'yeah I want details' and they make me explain everything, before putting me onto someone else who I have to explain EVERYTHING to again anyway.

Another suggestion, put as much info on your website as possible, to avoid a lot of window shoppers calling. I personally don't understand why prices aren't displayed on everyones website. It's not like someone will buy something expensive just because they called you, and won't buy it if they see the price on the internet. They're either going to buy it or not, regardless of how they found the price.

by **Duffman** » June 15th, 2011, 8:39 pm

AaronEF8 wrote:Don't bag any other companies, just learn how they suck and do everything better. Look into every competitor/product on the market so you know what you're talking about, so when customers say 'oh such and such said this', you can explain everything they need to know. Do something more than the bare minimum. Don't lie, if you fucked up, say you fucked up and fix it.
That's pretty much what I'd look for.

Do you think there's much of a market for it in Kadina, or even SA? Do you have dyno access there? You'd really need a dyno to check everything, otherwise you could be sending cars out running lean, blow some motors and send you out of business. Plus it's always good to have a before/after graph, even if you over-correct the after graph a little bit

agreed.
yes im certain there is a market for it on the Yorke Peninsula, Kadinas becoming quite a hub now. i will have a dyno in time, but even for now i have diagnostic and data logging gear more than up to the job

by **Duffman** » June 15th, 2011, 8:50 pm

Dansedgli wrote:Get a receptionist that a customer can talk to about cars. Not some numpty bitch who just wants to go shopping and will get a proper mechanic to call you back.

yeah i dont see me putting a receptionist on just yet. will just be me

by **nothin suss** » June 15th, 2011, 8:55 pm

axeman83 wrote:doing the same custom engineering and tuning as ive been doing, but on a 30hr a wk basis.
obviously specialising in Eseries falcons but playing with a quite a few other models and tuning systems etc.

30hrs a week?? What are you going to with the shop the other 4 days a week to pay the rent?

by **Duffman** » June 15th, 2011, 9:07 pm

nothin suss wrote:
axeman83 wrote:doing the same custom engineering and tuning as ive been doing, but on a 30hr a wk basis.
obviously specialising in Eseries falcons but playing with a quite a few other models and tuning systems etc.

30hrs a week?? What are you going to with the shop the other 4 days a week to pay the rent?

keeping my current job aswell

by **nothin suss** » June 15th, 2011, 9:17 pm

Cool well good luck with it all, it's been attempted by many before and will take some hard work for sure! Sounds like you're determined.

by **Adumb** » June 15th, 2011, 9:36 pm : **holmsy Likes this post**

Good luck with it all!

Only thing I can suggest is not to talk to customers like they don't know anything. Gives me the shits when mechanics just dismiss what you say!

by **Duffman** » June 15th, 2011, 9:49 pm

stevo wrote:AXE Performance would be cool.

this is realy growing on me :drinks2:

by **EF ECTIV** » June 16th, 2011, 2:10 am

couple of workshops over here in WA started off as part-time gigs and have since become bigger due to
a solid fanbase and hard work.... BYE Performance springs to mind... can def be done with the right
attitude, knowledge and plenty of hardwork.... good luck with it all...

by **bng** » June 16th, 2011, 8:35 am

Keep your work area tidy. Make it look modern and clean. If people can see you look after your area, they'd be more likely to trust you with their cars

by **Bob Lablaw** » June 16th, 2011, 5:54 pm

Can you get a finance company on your side, you can advertise and they give you customers a decent rate... you get work and paid and finance company sort the rest out..

by **burnoutxr6** » June 16th, 2011, 6:41 pm

You wont have any dramas mate,the quality of your work is bloody awesome you should do head and cam packages simmilar to mr mock but at a affordable price.A nice big plasma in the waiting room showcaseing the cars you have done and the products you fabricate. :thumbsup:

by **pHaT`eL** » June 16th, 2011, 6:50 pm

Everything as above. Possibly a few larger framed photos of top quality customers cars + dyno sheets/timeslips etc..

Stevo's logo ftw also

by **TAXI** » June 16th, 2011, 7:07 pm

I think you will do well in kadina if you treat the customers well.
country kids aint afraid of a long drive, so you will have plenty of young e series drivers fom all around wanting a good package deal (exhaust,cam,chip+tune)

and for a name axe tuning or axeman performance somthing along those lines is catchy.
then on a sticker have (cutting down the competition)
good luck with it ill be down for a peek and tune.

by **Mr_4.0** » June 16th, 2011, 7:46 pm

good luck with it mate. wish you all the best!

by **Bomber** » June 16th, 2011, 7:55 pm : **Jake Likes this post**

axeman83 wrote:ps il look into the heaps of women idea

Strippers, pole dancing and lap dancing in the waiting room

offer a lay by system for people to pay of upcoming woo=rk before its done since ull be dealing with E-Series owners

by **AaronEF8** » June 16th, 2011, 8:10 pm

yes im certain there is a market for it on the Yorke Peninsula, Kadinas becoming quite a hub now. i will have a dyno in time, but even for now i have diagnostic and data logging gear more than up to the job

Thats cool. I haven't been down that far for a while now. I was just thinking back to the times I was there and young guys always asked about my car, they were blown away by the fact I had Ghia door trims in a Fairmont lol.
And we both know most of Adelaide thinks of the Yourke Peninsula as a weekend trip away lol.

Not having someone to answer the phones can become a real pain if you're under a car most of the time.

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