Mobile Electronics Business - Start Your Own Shop

Finding Customers
"Location is definitely a key," Becerril says. "You can have the most beautiful shop in the world, but with the wrong location, you're not going to do well ... you want to be in the middle of where the action is." This is an area with lots of potential clients, but in today's market, having a great street presence isn't that important in today's climate. "It didn't take that much to market yourself [in the heyday of car audio]," says Jason Lee of Competition SoundWorks in Artesia, CA. "You weren't competing with online retailers that have low overhead costs ... people shop differently, and people gather information differently."

Ideally, you want clients to come to you. If you're already an installer at another shop, you can build relationships with clients and take them with you when you branch out on your own. That way, "you won't open the doors and expect people to walk in," Becerril says. In this scenario, you don't need a big showroom on a busy boulevard. Goren even suggests subletting space in a body shop or similar business. You can pick up their customers if they hanker for a new I.C.E. setup.

What about advertising? Most shop owners feel that it isn't the most effective way to pick up clients. "The best way is word-of-mouth," Goren says. Although Holdaway did fliers on windshields, listings in the Yellow Pages and all that, he feels that "nowadays, you need a great website and tons of car shows and events." On the subject of events, there is some contention regarding the value of a shop demo car. Is it worth the time and money to build one?

"It's a must," Holdaway exclaims. "It's a lot of work that takes time to pay off, but it can be the difference between you and the other guys." Jeff Smith agrees, "Demo cars are very worthwhile; it allows potential clients to see your actual real-world skills, not just word of mouth or photos." In Smith's case, he tackled a notoriously difficult Mercedes-Benz SL 500, which shows the shop's knowledge and skills at custom fabrication, OEM integration and system tuning.

Other owners disagree. Becerril admits that, though it works for other people, it doesn't help him. "Showing an install being worked on is the best demo car you could ever have," he says, because the client can envision similar work in his own vehicle. "Your own personal car should be a demo car," Goren says. At the same time, he recommends not worrying about a demo car at the beginning.

Who's The Boss
Unless you're a mainly one-man operation (see The Barebones Approach sidebar), you're going to need employees. "I would say you need to locate your employees before you start," Goren says. "I would not look for a cheap employee or inexpensive staff. A [fresh] out-of-school employee needs to go to an established shop and become an assistant." Becerril offers similar advice, saying that hiring an inexperienced installer may cost you more money by doing a poor job that has to be redone.

If you're already an installer you probably know people you would like to work with. "I hired a crew that I already had a relationship with at other shops," Smith says. "I only hired people I could trust and knew how to handle themselves in a professional manner, while still having fun everyday doing what we love to do."

Further Words Of Wisdom
Once you start, you have to be smart about running your business. "For the first two years, the smart shop owner should really live on a strict budget," Patel advises. Lee agrees and says he wishes someone had told him this when he started out. "You have to understand financial aspects of the business ... become more educated and more informed about how to budget," Lee says. "Always save for the rainy days."