How to Open an Auto Repair Business

If you are mechanically inclined and love to work on cars, opening an auto repair business may be the best career choice for you. It may be tough at first, but with some time and effort your auto repair shop will be off the ground in no time. Proper marketing is the key to a successful business of any kind.

1. Write out a business plan. You should take your time when drawing up your business plan and make it as detailed as possible. You need to include all of your short term and long term business goals, as well as the steps you will need to take to achieve these goals. Consider all of the costs of your business such as payment for your shop, employees, utilities and parts. This will help you to determine how much money you need to start out your auto repair business.


2. Locate a building that you would like to use for your auto repair business, and contact the real estate agent that is showing this property so that you can find out the prices and see inside of the location.


3. Check with your local city or town to ensure that an auto repair business is cleared to open up in this location. Individual counties and towns have zoning laws that need to be followed. You will need to obtain a license to work with hazardous materials that are required in the auto repair business.


4. Purchase the property for your business through the bank. Your real estate agent will help you with all of the necessary details that are involved in purchasing this property for your business location.


5. Visit your local city or town hall office to apply for a business license. They will be able to let you know exactly what you need to do to be eligible for a business license in the community in which your shop is located.


6. Locate qualified mechanics to work in your shop. You can use resources such as the newspaper, Internet and craigslist to locate employees for your auto repair business. Be sure to check all potential employees’ backgrounds and references before hiring them on to work for you.


7. Make any necessary renovations to the place in which you will be running your new auto repair business, and ensure that you have all of the needed materials in stock to operate your business.


8. Market your business to gain clientele. You can use sources such as the phonebook, newspaper, craigslist, and the Internet to market your business to potential customers. It is best to offer a new customer discount to any new clients to increase your business. You can also check with insurance and towing companies in the area to see if they would like to work with you for a fee for each referral. This is a great way to get regular clients and will offer you many possibilities for returning customers in the future.