Hi I am starting a new glass shop in florida. I have been a tech for a number of years, but I have never run a bussiness before. So I have about a milllion question, and I can't ask any local owners for advice, because I will soon be their competion, would any of you owners be willing to bestow some of your knowledge to a new up and comer?

Run..........

Read agn posts he is new too. alot of advice there.

That would be my advise also, check AGN's posts. If you still have questions, then, ask away!!! LOL!

CRYSTALCLEARGLASS are you planning on using software?
having phones answered by you or somone else or?

I have been looking at edirectglass but have not made any decisions, I hoping to hire someone to answer phones that used to be a csr for another company but again everything is still up in the air

First I hope you are not putting your family in a financialy unstable sittuation, Second you must of had some idea or reason for going on your own so plant that thought first & see how it grows & the most important thing is to get a lawyer(business) & a very reputable accountant! Now if you want more then you'll have to either relocate to the north east (were I'm from)for training & skill developement or wait until 2010 when my projections have matured to the south east.

Hey CrystalClearGlass,

I'm another newbie around here too. I've been working in the corporate chains for awhile now and finally quit to go on my own.

Lucky for you you have found the absolute best resource for starting your own glass shop. THIS FORUM!!!

This forum is absolutley invaluable!

The only advice I'm in a position to offer is keep your OVERHEAD LOW LOW LOW!! Then SELL SELL SELL!!!

Hey thanks guys for all your support I have read almost everybodies posts, and you guys are very helpful. Don't worry John I have sizeable capitol to start I am very fortunate to have a wife that I put through college who is now helping her husband start his dreams. I do hope that by 2010 I will be as sucessful as you.

Hey thats what I need! A sugar momma!!!

Just kidding. My wife and family are being extremely supportive. They have seen how frustrated I was in the coroprate chains and know that this will be better for us in the long run...even if does mean a few lean times.

yup coroprate franchise all of them want you the tech to make thier c.e.o.'s wealthy. I have found the mom and pops shop to be like a family which is why I am out on my own I want to build a small family like bussiness.

I'm shooting for a small mobile operation to start with. If I can do 2-4 jobs a day mobile I'll be the happiest man in the world. I'll worry about growing and hiring techs and csrs later. I've only worked for the chains. All the mom and pops around here are one man operations.

Ditto on the CEOs getting rich. The companies have so much buraecracy that the overhead is so high you have to do 10 jobs a day to keep them in the black. Then they ***** when you want overtime pay.

when i was working for someone else i noticed the mom and pops wouldn't pay as well. i applied at one that actually has three stores and a couple mobile units they said they would hire me with 10 years experience, at the time, for $9/hour. i told them i was currently making $40 per w/s they said they have an installer that has worked for thme for 15 years and he only made $15/hour. thats why i am a mobile only one man show. independants think about that next time an installer asks for a raise.

My advise would be to first check out Gary Hart's 10 part dissertaion on setting up a business. It is generic Business Planning 101 that we all typically say we don't have the time for. But read his articles closely because they are common sense put into verbage. Regardless of how small or large you want to be, if there is more than one person envolved in your day to day business, document all your procedures so everyone has a common thread to address, even among spouses. If your procedures are documented, you can review them at a later time to re-evaluate them to see if they are meeting your objectives in a cost effective manner.

I really like Gary's general synopsis - "Crawl, Walk, then Run".

BQA

I found the same with the one "independant" here in town that does have a few other installers besides himself. I filled out an app and he (and his wife) about fell out of their chairs when they saw what I wanted for salary...and I thought I was being conservative. Their average tech w/ 5 years experience makes less.

Everyone else here is a one man show. Now I am too.

CCG, Make a good business plan. Set up what you want at one week, one month, 3 months, ect. Make your sales match your plan. Where will you be in 5 years, one shop one tech or what. Plan for it and make it happen. Use experts if you are not sure, accountants, business coaches ect.

AGN, I respect anyone who goes out and tries to better themselves, but there is a reason why the Mom & Pops that are doing everything right can't compete with salaries offered by those that expect their installers to complete 8 installs a day. AS a small auto glass owner you need to keep your labor costs below 20% of your sales. Labor costs continue to rise. Cost of materials continue to rise. The average profit margin per invoice continues to decline. You know what your cost are. Do the math and crunch the numbers and you will see what a wonderful business this has become for the small shops. I feel as though the big boys and the insurance industry have carried out a very effective plan in the larger markets to eliminate the small auto glass only shops and force everyone to be one man shops or mobile only. Along the way they have fractured our ability to combat their measures. Is this a conspiracy? No, I'm pretty sure I experienced it happen. I am very lucky that I do not have to rely on the general public to make a living. I have 30 years experience behind me (some with the big boys, most on my own) and a solid base to keep me busy. I wish you well but personally I think you are out of your mind unless the industry changes or you learn residential and commercial to go along with auto glass.

Thanks for the pep talk LW.

I can understand how hard it is for the small shops. I've been in and around small business my whole life so I know the game. My comment was simply a statement of fact...not a critique. As long as their installers are happy making the money they are making then I'm not going to be the one to make waves.

As far as auto glass goes it seems a good way to make a living to me. I realize the industry has its pits (some large ones), but what industry doesn't? If you can show me an industry that you can make a good living and not have to deal with and bull **** I'll hang up my cold knife.

AGN, As I said before, ALL businesses have their up's and downs. You know your market, you know your competition, you have a genuine desire to make this work, Keep going!! You CAN do this if you want it bad enough. Also, as I said before, it's NOT going to be easy, sometimes glass sucks, but that would apply to any business. Besides, if you don't do this, you will always wonder "what if"!!

Great words Glass Lady. The other thing I would suggest, is think outside the box. I know it's a cliche used too often, but think about it. If you can come up with a hook, a differentiator from other shops, pursue it. Always, always look at your objectives and really critisize how you are doing. If it doesn't work, try another approach. I've only been in this business for 18 mos and I still find it amazing that shops are beating their heads together complaining about the compitition. Do something about it, just don't resolve that you can't compete. The big guys are the easiest to go after because they are corporate and get corporate guidelines that they may not have any influence to change. As an independant, you can go any direction you want simply by doing your research and finding that differentiator. There was also a discussion about a sales person. Get one. Your job is run the shop, you need an outside presence touting your difference. Pay on commission only, higher than normal if you want to steal someone. Give them a recoverable draw to help them along until they start making the money they need to be happy. Meet with the sales person regularly to get feedback as to the problems your potential customer is having with their shop of choice. "If you run into any problems, give us a try". Don't do it by price because then your customers will expect it and your profit margin suffers.

Those are all great ideas, and I will absolutely take them to heart. I am not looking to get rich just looking to be free I just want to be able to say I fired my boss because I could do it better. Not to mention this has always been a dream and finally my wife said enough is enough, now is your time go after it. So I named ny company after her (Crystal

Thanks Jim and Glasslady!

You both are right. I like the sales person idea, but I'm not sure I can afford one right now. I'll have to look into it. I am planning on doing most of the selling myself at first, but I can definitley see that being a problem when I am busy doing glass.

can any of you idiots spell

CGM, What is wrong with my spelling?

In Buisness since 91. I could help. What part of Florida first. I'm in Florida also. Everyone wants mobile, and the Summers are brutle.

There are 135 auto glass in the local phone book where I'm at. If your good, you'll find your place.
I get a lot of calls, se habla. You say no and they hang up. Do you speak spanish?

Citrus County Marion County Hernando County, to start world domination next. I only have one other shop in my area, other than the big guys. thier are mostly out of Tampa. Right now word of mouth is keeping me busy, I have worked in this area for so long everbody knows me I am just tring to break in to the big time. I am almost at the point where I need to start hiring a CSR but I really don,t know who I should get or how to train one.