4WD shop thought

[James K]

would it be possible to have a 4wd shop operate the way a barber shop/hair salon?

In the sense that a individual fabricater could rent a bay/space and operate, paying a % to the owner for rent and utilities. The fab guy would have his own clients and would be responsible for getting his own work. While the owner could either have his own clients or just rent space to others.

The fab guy would have to be certified in someway so that some joe blow who just wants space to work on his personal projects wouldn't be taking up space that could be used for a fab guy looking to make a living.


just a thought......................and NO I have no wish to be said guy

 

[Badger]

i don't see why not.as for the ceritfied thing.i don't see why they would have to be certified but they would have to cover themselves with their own insurance and this is were it gets expensive.i have heard of places that allow people to come in off the street to have a shop enviroment with a lift and tools and thats were you would want to cover yourself with some kind of insurance

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I guess it could work... but then again, it sounds like alot of headache waiting to happen too. Haircuts cost $50, custom work on a rig costs $5000+. If you get undercut on a haircut, they beat your price by $5, you get undercut on fab and it could be $1000. Seems like the competition of being in one place would hurt the relationships, etc.

That being said, this has happened on a small scale in the past. Darrell (the PO of Cruiser Outfitters) rented space from the original owners of Cruiser Outfitters a long time ago... he took all the jobs they didn't want, he ended up buying them out.

Charles (Rocky Mountain axle) rented space from DJ doing axle work and other misc fab work. Seemed to work fine for them though they were in a different market (though worked together).

I have always thought about a "motorsports" industrial park type deal. Get some hot rod guys, motorbike, chopper, 4x4, vintage, etc... Shops that don't really compete, they could share high dollar resources such as a frame rack, alignment machine, sandblast & paint booths, etc. But, once again it would be hard to pull off.

 

[Unimog]

What about a fab shop that had it's own business, but rented the space out for night/weekends work by owner/fabricators? There could be a no-compete clause so you weren't doing work for hire. Seems like the shop would gain goodwill and some work from things people didn't/couldn't finish in time...

 

[troutbum]

Haircuts cost $50, .

is that with a perm and color job?


damn I paid $25 for a pair of clippers 7 years ago...

 

[James K]

I have always thought about a "motorsports" industrial park type deal. Get some hot rod guys, motorbike, chopper, 4x4, vintage, etc... Shops that don't really compete, they could share high dollar resources such as a frame rack, alignment machine, sandblast & paint booths, etc. But, once again it would be hard to pull off.

that would be interesting.

 

[James K]

What about a fab shop that had it's own business, but rented the space out for night/weekends work by owner/fabricators? There could be a no-compete clause so you weren't doing work for hire. Seems like the shop would gain goodwill and some work from things people didn't/couldn't finish in time...

I wonder if it would end up being a trust issue. You know something comes up missing yet no one seems to know where it went ie; to many of peoples friends milling around.

 

[Milner]

I love the idea James....So much so that I have been trying to do it for about 10+ years. But it becomes a political and legestical nightmare!!!!

So and so won't work with so and so....Too many egos, and too many different personalities.

Then there is the issue of overlapping work and the guys bidding against and under cutting each other....No one is willing to specialize in just one thing....not willing to give up work....

Ever since I left Advanced back in the day, I thought this would be cool....Get Kevin doing gear work, Kent doing trannies, Charles building axles, Carl designing, Kyle and Benji doing fab, Brandon doing finish work, DJ doing wiring, etc....

Then the owner of the facility managing/paying a couple grunts to help out. Also the facility would supply the major/big equipment....compressor, mill, and what not. Facility would also manage phones, parts, supplies, walkin customers, etc, all for a small fee of course....
Oh how I love to dream.....:greg:

The idea of a motorsports complex is a lot more likely. I think the is what Larry Miller is hoping to do out at his new facility.

PS I will never WORK in Motorsports again! (well, maybe, but the money it would take will never happen) I want to own a nice coffee shop or bar!!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

is that with a perm and color job? ...

The type of places that "rent" booth space do, I think... hell I pay $5 at a place where the stylists are hourly...

 

[Milner]

AND, have you ever been around women that work in a salon??
They are NASTY! Down right mean and catty to each other!!
Or nieghbor that also work with Ang at the bar, is a stylist, and so is Ang's sister....Damm those girls can be ruthless!!
Now imagine guys....Egos, testoserone, and tools....Someone would end up DEAD:greg:

 

[James K]

AND, have you ever been around women that work in a salon??
They are NASTY! Down right mean and catty to each other!!
Or nieghbor that also work with Ang at the bar, is a stylist, and so is Ang's sister....Damm those girls can be ruthless!!
Now imagine guys....Egos, testoserone, and tools....Someone would end up DEAD:greg:

I agree with everything typed above

 

[James K]

I love the idea James....So much so that I have been trying to do it for about 10+ years. But it becomes a political and legestical nightmare!!!!

So and so won't work with so and so....Too many egos, and too many different personalities.

Then there is the issue of overlapping work and the guys bidding against and under cutting each other....No one is willing to specialize in just one thing....not willing to give up work....

Ever since I left Advanced back in the day, I thought this would be cool....Get Kevin doing gear work, Kent doing trannies, Charles building axles, Carl designing, Kyle and Benji doing fab, Brandon doing finish work, DJ doing wiring, etc....

Then the owner of the facility managing/paying a couple grunts to help out. Also the facility would supply the major/big equipment....compressor, mill, and what not. Facility would also manage phones, parts, supplies, walkin customers, etc, all for a small fee of course....
Oh how I love to dream.....:greg:

The idea of a motorsports complex is a lot more likely. I think the is what Larry Miller is hoping to do out at his new facility.

PS I will never WORK in Motorsports again! (well, maybe, but the money it would take will never happen) I want to own a nice coffee shop or bar!!

a lot of what you say seems like it would make it just another 4x4 shop.

I would also think there would need to be some set pricing to avoid the undercutting of each other. Only for basic stuff though, like a tj front cage kit, sas conversions and such the standard stuff that is more of the meat and potatoes of the industry. When it goes to full on custom don't really know what it cost until its done stuff. Then there would have to be some guidelines that would govern the shop as a whole. Because we all know there is going to be the occasional fool who trys to play one guy off another to get the "best deal" he can. Which on one hand is ok but on the other these guys are usually full of hot air and never have any work done anyway.