How can I Fastlane my current business?

[tonyf7]

Almost four years ago my uncle and I got laid off from a small local furniture store. We were collecting unemployment.

My uncle is in his 60's and has over 35 years of experience in repairing appliances. I remember sitting on the front porch of the apartment I lived in at the time reading some self-help book I can't remember the name of, waiting for my unemployment direct deposit to drop, when an idea struck.

"Let's repair and sell used appliance."

I put an ad in Craigslist that morning. "We buy nonworking appliances". I got a call from a guy who's Kenmore dryer wasn't heating.

I called my uncle and we went to this guys second floor condo, gave him 30 bucks and hauled it out with no dolly, just pure man power. We loaded it in the back of my uncle's green Dodge Caravan and took it to his house. He had all the tools we needed so we went to work.

About 30 minutes later he had it working again. I cleaned it up with some bleach water, took some pictures, posted it on Craigslist and later that day sold it for $140.

Profit!

We've been doing that ever since and now we have warranty repair contracts with Sears, LG, Amazon Home Services and a couple of other small insurance and moving companies. Our work mainly consists of repairs now but we still manage to sell some appliances out of our small shop here in town.

Although I'm happy with our progress I've had some lurking concerns for a while now.

1. Even though I've learned a lot about appliance repair from my uncle, it'll take a long while before I get to his level of expertise. He's not getting any younger and if something were to happen to either one of us, the business would crumble. It cannot work without either of us which also violates the commandment of time that @MJ DeMarco mentions in his book.

2. Lack of control. Since the majority of our work now comes from our contracts with Sears, LG, etc., that puts us at their mercy. If they decide to terminate our contracts we're back to square one. We don't have real control of our income in that aspect.

3. Scale. We can physically only service a small town here in Arkansas.

The good thing is there's definitely a need for affordable used appliances, especially given the price of buying new these days. The same goes for repairs. It's usually a lot cheaper to repair than to go out a purchase another appliance. So many people know nothing about appliance repair so there's a huge knowledge gap.

A few things that have crossed my mind to Fastlane this business:

1. Hire some people. Human resource seedlings as MJ calls them. Set up a business that can run without me. Only roadblock to that at the moment is money. We make enough for only the two of us.

2. Create a system that is franchisable. Wouldn't know where to start but I'm sure there are resources out there that I can learn from.

3. Create some kind of content system like "Start An Appliance Repair Business In Your Garage With Little To No Money Using Craigslist".

4. Start some kind of Craigslist-like site but specifically for appliances only.

I'd like to know what the community here thinks about all this. I'm open to any and all ideas.

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[G-Man]

I bought my washer/dryer from an outfit in DFW that appeared to be doing very high volume. @amp0193 Seems has some experience and had some great insights on that thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/appliance-flipping.69978/

Hope that helps

 

[tonyf7]

I bought my washer/dryer from an outfit in DFW that appeared to be doing very high volume. @amp0193 Seems has some experience and had some great insights on that thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/appliance-flipping.69978/

Hope that helps

Thanks for the link. I've give it a read. Seems there's more people does the Craigslist thing than I thought.

 

[GuestUser450]

You can't really "fastlane" a business, given that much of it is structurally inherent to the model.

I'd say sell, after you apply #3: Content System.

A book sharing your story and methods could do well for lead gen and profit but also as a brand builder for valuation. Promoted with the usual media, a DIY youtube channel, possibly affiliate deals with appliance parts supply co.s; you could grow ancillary products and services to max out your business to sell and fund the vehicle you want.

 

[tonyf7]

You can't really "fastlane" a business, given that much of it is structurally inherent to the model.

I'd say sell, after you apply #3: Content System.

A book sharing your story and methods could do well for lead gen and profit but also as a brand builder for valuation. Promoted with the usual media, a DIY youtube channel, possibly affiliate deals with appliance parts supply co.s; you could grow ancillary products and services to max out your business to sell and fund the vehicle you want.

These are some great ideas. I particularly like the brand building. Becoming a household name to DIY appliance repair or the go-to brand for starting an appliance CL biz.

 

[Andy Black]

Almost four years ago my uncle and I got laid off from a small local furniture store. We were collecting unemployment.

My uncle is in his 60's and has over 35 years of experience in repairing appliances. I remember sitting on the front porch of the apartment I lived in at the time reading some self-help book I can't remember the name of, waiting for my unemployment direct deposit to drop, when an idea struck.

"Let's repair and sell used appliance."

I put an ad in Craigslist that morning. "We buy nonworking appliances". I got a call from a guy who's Kenmore dryer wasn't heating.

I called my uncle and we went to this guys second floor condo, gave him 30 bucks and hauled it out with no dolly, just pure man power. We loaded it in the back of my uncle's green Dodge Caravan and took it to his house. He had all the tools we needed so we went to work.

About 30 minutes later he had it working again. I cleaned it up with some bleach water, took some pictures, posted it on Craigslist and later that day sold it for $140.

Profit!

We've been doing that ever since and now we have warranty repair contracts with Sears, LG, Amazon Home Services and a couple of other small insurance and moving companies. Our work mainly consists of repairs now but we still manage to sell some appliances out of our small shop here in town.

Although I'm happy with our progress I've had some lurking concerns for a while now.

1. Even though I've learned a lot about appliance repair from my uncle, it'll take a long while before I get to his level of expertise. He's not getting any younger and if something were to happen to either one of us, the business would crumble. It cannot work without either of us which also violates the commandment of time that MJ mentions in his book.

2. Lack of control. Since the majority of our work now comes from our contracts with Sears, LG, etc., that puts us at their mercy. If they decide to terminate our contracts we're back to square one. We don't have real control of our income in that aspect.

3. Scale. We can physically only service a small town here in Arkansas.

The good thing is there's definitely a need for affordable used appliances, especially given the price of buying new these days. The same goes for repairs. It's usually a lot cheaper to repair than to go out a purchase another appliance. So many people know nothing about appliance repair so there's a huge knowledge gap.

A few things that have crossed my mind to Fastlane this business:

1. Hire some people. Human resource seedlings as MJ calls them. Set up a business that can run without me. Only roadblock to that at the moment is money. We make enough for only the two of us.

2. Create a system that is franchisable. Wouldn't know where to start but I'm sure there are resources out there that I can learn from.

3. Create some kind of content system like "Start An Appliance Repair Business In Your Garage With Little To No Money Using Craigslist".

4. Start some kind of Craigslist-like site but specifically for appliances only.

I'd like to know what the community here thinks about all this. I'm open to any and all ideas.

Read this thread:

• The biggest benefit of AdWords

Maybe listen to this radio interview I did, where I talk about that story, and where it's lead me:

• Radio interview

Definitely listen to this recorded call with @Random_0:

• AndyTalks with Random_0 about Building a Lead Gen Business

Some thoughts off the top of my head:

• There's a LOT of search volume for appliance repairs out there.
• It's evergreen - I've campaigns running since 2009 with very little change.
• It's high volume, low ticket, and deemed quite urgent by consumers.
• Click-to-sale-rate is high for the right visitors from the search engines.
• Get into many properties and drop fridge-magnets.
• Team up with other contractors for up-sells/cross-sells.
• Nail how to do it for your city, and become less reliant on Sears, LG, etc.
• Learn how to do it for your city, and work out how to scale to other cities.
• STOP doing the coal-face work.
• Start thinking of yourself as a business owner, not as an appliance repair guy.

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[Random_0]

It's a common thing to see confusion here of how to 'fastlane' a people run company

MJ DeMarco calls it a human resource system

1) Find a repeat set of customers
2) Sell to them individually
3) Delegate each step/process/etc to somebody else
4) Tweak and adjust your processes until the system is completed from order to delivery

Oh, and target densely population regions with a reasonably high population

 

[Jon L]

Almost four years ago my uncle and I got laid off from a small local furniture store. We were collecting unemployment.

My uncle is in his 60's and has over 35 years of experience in repairing appliances. I remember sitting on the front porch of the apartment I lived in at the time reading some self-help book I can't remember the name of, waiting for my unemployment direct deposit to drop, when an idea struck.

"Let's repair and sell used appliance."

I put an ad in Craigslist that morning. "We buy nonworking appliances". I got a call from a guy who's Kenmore dryer wasn't heating.

I called my uncle and we went to this guys second floor condo, gave him 30 bucks and hauled it out with no dolly, just pure man power. We loaded it in the back of my uncle's green Dodge Caravan and took it to his house. He had all the tools we needed so we went to work.

About 30 minutes later he had it working again. I cleaned it up with some bleach water, took some pictures, posted it on Craigslist and later that day sold it for $140.

Profit!

We've been doing that ever since and now we have warranty repair contracts with Sears, LG, Amazon Home Services and a couple of other small insurance and moving companies. Our work mainly consists of repairs now but we still manage to sell some appliances out of our small shop here in town.

Although I'm happy with our progress I've had some lurking concerns for a while now.

1. Even though I've learned a lot about appliance repair from my uncle, it'll take a long while before I get to his level of expertise. He's not getting any younger and if something were to happen to either one of us, the business would crumble. It cannot work without either of us which also violates the commandment of time that MJ mentions in his book.

2. Lack of control. Since the majority of our work now comes from our contracts with Sears, LG, etc., that puts us at their mercy. If they decide to terminate our contracts we're back to square one. We don't have real control of our income in that aspect.

3. Scale. We can physically only service a small town here in Arkansas.

The good thing is there's definitely a need for affordable used appliances, especially given the price of buying new these days. The same goes for repairs. It's usually a lot cheaper to repair than to go out a purchase another appliance. So many people know nothing about appliance repair so there's a huge knowledge gap.

A few things that have crossed my mind to Fastlane this business:

1. Hire some people. Human resource seedlings as MJ calls them. Set up a business that can run without me. Only roadblock to that at the moment is money. We make enough for only the two of us.

2. Create a system that is franchisable. Wouldn't know where to start but I'm sure there are resources out there that I can learn from.

3. Create some kind of content system like "Start An Appliance Repair Business In Your Garage With Little To No Money Using Craigslist".

4. Start some kind of Craigslist-like site but specifically for appliances only.

I'd like to know what the community here thinks about all this. I'm open to any and all ideas.

Not that you could necessarily do this, but here is a (very) fastlane approach to appliance repair. At the very least, it will open your mind to what is possible.

I know a guy that does consolidation of companies. What he does is finds a series of companies in an industry like yours (where there are a lot of small players, and everyone is engaged in small-time thinking). He offers some of the bigger players a buyout. Then, he puts together either an IPO or a private company that he then sells to private investors. He brings in top-notch management to oversee the new company. All this results in:

1) The original company owners get a premium for their company
2) Investors get a good deal
3) He gets a 20% equity stake in the resulting company

 

[tonyf7]

Read this thread:

• The biggest benefit of AdWords

Maybe listen to this radio interview I did, where I talk about that story, and where it's lead me:

• Radio interview

Definitely listen to this recorded call with @Random_0:

• AndyTalks with Random_0 about Building a Lead Gen Business

Some thoughts off the top of my head:

• There's a LOT of search volume for appliance repairs out there.
• It's evergreen - I've campaigns running since 2009 with very little change.
• It's high volume, low ticket, and deemed quite urgent by consumers.
• Click-to-sale-rate is high for the right visitors from the search engines.
• Get into many properties and drop fridge-magnets.
• Team up with other contractors for up-sells/cross-sells.
• Nail how to do it for your city, and become less reliant on Sears, LG, etc.
• Learn how to do it for your city, and work out how to scale to other cities.
• STOP doing the coal-face work.
• Start thinking of yourself as a business owner, not as an appliance repair guy.

We actually get some pretty decent business from people who find us on Google. And you're right, it's deemed urgent by most people. Many don't even ask for an estimate and just have us do the repair.

"Start thinking of yourself as a business owner, not as an appliance repair guy." - Thanks for this. Don't think I was really thinking like a business owner.

 

[tonyf7]

It's a common thing to see confusion here of how to 'fastlane' a people run company

MJ DeMarco calls it a human resource system

1) Find a repeat set of customers
2) Sell to them individually
3) Delegate each step/process/etc to somebody else
4) Tweak and adjust your processes until the system is completed from order to delivery

Oh, and target densely population regions with a reasonably high population

#3 would require having someone on payroll. Would getting a business loan be a good idea for this?

 

[tonyf7]

Not that you could necessarily do this, but here is a (very) fastlane approach to appliance repair. At the very least, it will open your mind to what is possible.

I know a guy that does consolidation of companies. What he does is finds a series of companies in an industry like yours (where there are a lot of small players, and everyone is engaged in small-time thinking). He offers some of the bigger players a buyout. Then, he puts together either an IPO or a private company that he then sells to private investors. He brings in top-notch management to oversee the new company. All this results in:

1) The original company owners get a premium for their company
2) Investors get a good deal
3) He gets a 20% equity stake in the resulting company

Damn! Had no idea this was even possible. Reminds of my how mortgages are lumped together and sold.

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[BigBrianC]

Try to get monthly contracts with people that sell appliances? Their customers call them and say their stuff is broken, you go fix it. The seller pays you a flat monthly fee, regardless of how many repairs you do. Some months you'll profit, some you won't but the important part is that it'll be recurring. That'll allow you to hire a contract worker, train them, etc.

Your first step should be shifting to working on improving your 'business, not working in it. Take Andy's advice.

 

[Jon L]

#3 would require having someone on payroll. Would getting a business loan be a good idea for this?

don't get a loan. Loans are for businesses that have proven business models. (you have 5 locations and you want to open a 6th in a similar neighboring city). Loans for a business like your are bad news.

 

[tonyf7]

Try to get monthly contracts with people that sell appliances? Their customers call them and say their stuff is broken, you go fix it. The seller pays you a flat monthly fee, regardless of how many repairs you do. Some months you'll profit, some you won't but the important part is that it'll be recurring. That'll allow you to hire a contract worker, train them, etc.

Your first step should be shifting to working on improving your 'business, not working in it. Take Andy's advice.

Everyone else here sells new appliances which comes with a one year warranty. Some people get extended warranties. Our contracts with Sears, LG, etc., is pretty much what you're talking about. They pay us a flat fee for our services on their warranty claims.

 

[tonyf7]

don't get a loan. Loans are for businesses that have proven business models. (you have 5 locations and you want to open a 6th in a similar neighboring city). Loans for a business like your are bad news.

Thank you for this advice. What makes loans bad for a business like mine?

 

[tonyf7]

Read this thread:

• The biggest benefit of AdWords

Maybe listen to this radio interview I did, where I talk about that story, and where it's lead me:

• Radio interview

Definitely listen to this recorded call with @Random_0:

• AndyTalks with Random_0 about Building a Lead Gen Business

Some thoughts off the top of my head:

• There's a LOT of search volume for appliance repairs out there.
• It's evergreen - I've campaigns running since 2009 with very little change.
• It's high volume, low ticket, and deemed quite urgent by consumers.
• Click-to-sale-rate is high for the right visitors from the search engines.
• Get into many properties and drop fridge-magnets.
• Team up with other contractors for up-sells/cross-sells.
• Nail how to do it for your city, and become less reliant on Sears, LG, etc.
• Learn how to do it for your city, and work out how to scale to other cities.
• STOP doing the coal-face work.
• Start thinking of yourself as a business owner, not as an appliance repair guy.

Andy, just read the Adwords thread. Very useful but I did find navigating Adwords a little confusing. I'll read up more on it but wanted to ask, searches for appliance repair in my area (according to Adwords Keyword Planner) is only between 10-100 per month. Kind of low don't you think?

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[Jon L]

Thank you for this advice. What makes loans bad for a business like mine?

Loans are like Monopoly money...If you have $50k in your bank from a loan, it makes you feel like you're more successful than you are. As with everything else, employees are more expensive and time consuming than you realize. You'll hire someone for, say, 25K/year, make $10k in revenue on them and repeat. No big deal because you have so much money in the bank, right? "I'll eventually figure this out," you tell yourself, "and then I'll start making money." Well, at the end of the year, you will have used up the $50k, and you'll barely be breaking even on your employees. Or, maybe you'll get lucky, who knows? The point is that a loan allows you to compound your mistakes.

Can you hire contract labor on a pay-for-performance basis? Split the profit of a deal with them somehow.

 

[devine]

The point is not in translating your whole business into fastlane, that's impossible.
The point is finding a detail about your business that is fastlane and scale it up.

 

[Bananas]

One very easy thing you can start doing is taking video of your repairs. Two things:

You stated if your Uncle became unable to work, you'd fail because you don't know as much about repairs as he does.

Edit your videos and post them to Youtube and to your own website. Even if you don't know anything about editing a video, you can learn how to to basic cutting, fade ins and outs, and how to put text on the video in one day. Tons of broke people want to know how to DIY their own stuff.

Just something to consider if you don't want to make a gigantic move right now.

 

[Andy Black]

Andy, just read the Adwords thread. Very useful but I did find navigating Adwords a little confusing. I'll read up more on it but wanted to ask, searches for appliance repair in my area (according to Adwords Keyword Planner) is only between 10-100 per month. Kind of low don't you think?

Launch and learn. You don't know search volumes until you're live. The Keyword Planner gives estimated searches for exact match keywords (better known as search terms).


Don't get a loan. Bootstrap this thing. You're on a journey to become a better businessman. You don't need to make big commitments now that you'll regret later when you've learned more.


*** Listen to the call with @Random_0 ***

He's been a plumber for a couple of years working with his dad who is also a plumber.

The call is week 10 of a "project" whereby:

Week 1) He starts getting lots of calls. He realises he can't close as well as he used to, and comes up with a theory why.

Week 2) We design and build a new landing page.

Week 3) He was right. Now he's getting less calls (per visitor) but is closing more of them, and at twice the price.

Weeks 4-5) Gets too much plumbing work and is ill from working too many hours.

Week 5) Makes the critical and pivotal decision to NOT reduce the amount of plumbing work he generates, but to subcontract the work out.

Week 6) 92 calls and 30 jobs.

Week 8?) He's the bottleneck for calls. I suggest he uses a call-centre. "No way. A plumber needs to answer the phone."

Week 10) He's using a call centre and no longer answering the phone or doing jobs.

Weeks 10+) Stabilising profitability and scaling to other cities.

 

[Andy Black]

@tonyf7

We've neglected to say it, but I think the input you've had demonstrates that everyone is thinking it.

Well done from going from unemployment to taking your skills and selling them and getting a started on your business journey.

Well done on all your progress to date.

Well done on being open to suggestions and putting ego aside.

Say well done to your uncle too.

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[tonyf7]

Loans are like Monopoly money...If you have $50k in your bank from a loan, it makes you feel like you're more successful than you are. As with everything else, employees are more expensive and time consuming than you realize. You'll hire someone for, say, 25K/year, make $10k in revenue on them and repeat. No big deal because you have so much money in the bank, right? "I'll eventually figure this out," you tell yourself, "and then I'll start making money." Well, at the end of the year, you will have used up the $50k, and you'll barely be breaking even on your employees. Or, maybe you'll get lucky, who knows? The point is that a loan allows you to compound your mistakes.

Can you hire contract labor on a pay-for-performance basis? Split the profit of a deal with them somehow.

Interesting. I can see how that could happen pretty easily. Getting a loan to upgrade our "store front" was what I had in mind. Our current shop is basically a huge storage unit with a really high sealing and doesn't look very conventional. But I think it also makes people feel they're getting a deal when they buy appliances from us because of the implied low overhead.

Anyways, no loans for me!

Thanks for explaining.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[tonyf7]

One very easy thing you can start doing is taking video of your repairs. Two things:

You stated if your Uncle became unable to work, you'd fail because you don't know as much about repairs as he does.

Edit your videos and post them to Youtube and to your own website. Even if you don't know anything about editing a video, you can learn how to to basic cutting, fade ins and outs, and how to put text on the video in one day. Tons of broke people want to know how to DIY their own stuff.

Just something to consider if you don't want to make a gigantic move right now.

I've searched YouTube and there isn't really anyone doing this in a way that works. If I were to get into making videos I think making them for other repair techs might be a good idea.

There are a lot of people going to school to learn how to repair appliances but graduate and don't really know how to actually do anything because all they did in class was study to pass a test! No real world experience or even practice runs on some old appliances. I hear these appliance schools really suck a$$.

Videos could be a really good resource for them.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[tonyf7]

Launch and learn. You don't know search volumes until you're live. The Keyword Planner gives estimated searches for exact match keywords (better known as search terms).


Don't get a loan. Bootstrap this thing. You're on a journey to become a better businessman. You don't need to make big commitments now that you'll regret later when you've learned more.


*** Listen to the call with @Random_0 ***

He's been a plumber for a couple of years working with his dad who is also a plumber.

The call is week 10 of a "project" whereby:

Week 1) He starts getting lots of calls. He realises he can't close as well as he used to, and comes up with a theory why.

Week 2) We design and build a new landing page.

Week 3) He was right. Now he's getting less calls (per visitor) but is closing more of them, and at twice the price.

Weeks 4-5) Gets too much plumbing work and is ill from working too many hours.

Week 5) Makes the critical and pivotal decision to NOT reduce the amount of plumbing work he generates, but to subcontract the work out.

Week 6) 92 calls and 30 jobs.

Week 8?) He's the bottleneck for calls. I suggest he uses a call-centre. "No way. A plumber needs to answer the phone."

Week 10) He's using a call centre and no longer answering the phone or doing jobs.

Weeks 10+) Stabilising profitability and scaling to other cities.

Holy crap Andy! This is EXACTLY what I'd like to do!

(Except for the getting sick part)

Didn't have a chance to listen to the recording because kids and halloween but I definitely will tonight.

Week 2) We design and build a new landing page.

Would you mind giving mine a quick look? It's a free Weebly page so I know that's probably the first thing I'll need to change. When we started funds were pretty low and I had to go with whatever I could get.

 

[tonyf7]

@tonyf7

We've neglected to say it, but I think the input you've had demonstrates that everyone is thinking it.

Well done from going from unemployment to taking your skills and selling them and getting a started on your business journey.

Well done on all your progress to date.

Well done on being open to suggestions and putting ego aside.

Say well done to your uncle too.

Thanks @Andy Black

It's been an exciting journey and based on all the resources in this amazing community, I think I'm only getting started!

 

[Random_0]

#3 would require having someone on payroll. Would getting a business loan be a good idea for this?

From my point of view no

You can use self employed sub-contractors that only get paid per job. One model I use it charge the customer 100 and pay the subcontractor 50

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[tonyf7]

From my point of view no

You can use self employed sub-contractors that only get paid per job. One model I use it charge the customer 100 and pay the subcontractor 50

I like this approach because I don't have to do any HR stuff like payroll and insurance. Just have to find qualified contractors.

 

[Random_0]

I like this approach because I don't have to do any HR stuff like payroll and insurance.

The costs of HR, insurance, pension payments (UK), sick pay etc will be virtually imossible for you

You need to start making progress. What's your first bottle neck? The leads.

Get your phone ringing, then monetise it, then systemise it

 

[RHL]

Sit down. Really sit down. Sit down with your uncle, and the hard data-Number of calls, bills, etc. Know exactly how every day for a month goes: Calls in, jobs in, dollars in and out, delivery times, costs, etc.

Figure out where the bottle neck is. Anything you try without hard data will just be a guess.

Is the bottle neck that you don't have enough work? Then Andy has said everything that needs to be said. Get going with Adwords, maybe even some SEO i you have the inclination. Hire someone if you need to; you won't regret it.

Is the bottle neck that you can't do all the work you have?

Then you need to hire employees for every unskilled task you have. You should never pick up or deliver another appliance again as long as you live. You are now the repair guys. That's it. You may also want to hire another employee to train beside you with your uncle. Make him sign a non-compete then get him learning.

Constantly press for more diverse contracts. The only way to claw control back from Amazon, Sears, etc. is to rely on many competing companies. Don't be content that you have "enough" work. When you have enough work, hire more people, wrangle another company (Best Buy, PC Richard, etc.) and get busy.

But eliminate the non-specialized bottlenecks first. The most valuable asset is you or your uncle's time. Make sure that he is doing absolutely nothing every day except the things that only he can do. Taking calls, booking appointments, pick up and delivery, 100% of that should be done by an employee who can't repair appliances, and, as a result, will cost less per hour.

You cannot be afraid of hiring. In your niche, employees are the ONLY play that gets you to the Fastlane. You will be stuck in the same Slow Lane + rut (high five figure/low 6 figure take-home income) forever if you are unwilling to hire more people. You will never divorce this business from your time until you can get someone else to marry their time to it. At this time, there is no way to automate what you're doing. Human labor is the only play.

 

[tonyf7]

Sit down. Really sit down. Sit down with your uncle, and the hard data-Number of calls, bills, etc. Know exactly how every day for a month goes: Calls in, jobs in, dollars in and out, delivery times, costs, etc.

Figure out where the bottle neck is. Anything you try without hard data will just be a guess.

Is the bottle neck that you don't have enough work? Then Andy has said everything that needs to be said. Get going with Adwords, maybe even some SEO i you have the inclination. Hire someone if you need to; you won't regret it.

Is the bottle neck that you can't do all the work you have?

Then you need to hire employees for every unskilled task you have. You should never pick up or deliver another appliance again as long as you live. You are now the repair guys. That's it. You may also want to hire another employee to train beside you with your uncle. Make him sign a non-compete then get him learning.

Constantly press for more diverse contracts. The only way to claw control back from Amazon, Sears, etc. is to rely on many competing companies. Don't be content that you have "enough" work. When you have enough work, hire more people, wrangle another company (Best Buy, PC Richard, etc.) and get busy.

But eliminate the non-specialized bottlenecks first. The most valuable asset is you or your uncle's time. Make sure that he is doing absolutely nothing every day except the things that only he can do. Taking calls, booking appointments, pick up and delivery, 100% of that should be done by an employee who can't repair appliances, and, as a result, will cost less per hour.

You cannot be afraid of hiring. In your niche, employees are the ONLY play that gets you to the Fastlane. You will be stuck in the same Slow Lane + rut (high five figure/low 6 figure take-home income) forever if you are unwilling to hire more people. You will never divorce this business from your time until you can get someone else to marry their time to it. At this time, there is no way to automate what you're doing. Human labor is the only play.

One problem were having is that when repairs jobs start flowing we neglect our shop. No one is there repairing appliances so nothing gets sold. Our sales business falls as our repairs rise. And vise versa.

When repairs are slow we start fixing up appliances for sale but we can't keep both side of the business booming simultaneously.

The first employee we need to hire is someone to be at the shop repairing, cleaning and posting appliances on Craigslist and Facebook for sale.

Instead of paying them a salary or hourly, what do you think if we hire someone who gets paid a flat fee for each appliance he or she repairs?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk