a n00b needs help starting with consulting

[bigot]

Hi guys, I'm planning to start a consulting business based on advising people about the car buying process. Mainly the financial aspects to consider when they are deciding a price range to afford.

I'm completely new to the business world so I need a little help. What would I need to do to get started? Would i need any kind of special license other then a general business license?

Thanks guys!

 

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[458]

You need customers to get started. Don't over look this.

 

[Mike39]

Follow these steps exactly:

1.Read the "Millionaire Fastlane " by MJ DeMarco before you do ANYTHING else, you can read it in a couple days

2. Read it again, then come back here telling us about how starting a car buying consulting business is stupid

3. Come up with a better idea, meet CENTS, kill it and make a bunch of money

4. If you fail, or if you succeed at step 3, repeat step 3 until you have more money than you can spend

Ask specific questions, don't ask for hand holding, the new guys are to busy building their empires and the experienced guys are to busy making their millions to walk you through something step by step.

Welcome to the forum, talk to you again in a couple days!

 

[PatrickP]

follow these steps exactly:

1.read the "millionaire fastlane " by MJ DeMarco before you do anything else, you can read it in a couple days

2. Read it again, then come back here telling us about how starting a car buying consulting business is stupid

3. Come up with a better idea, meet CENTS, kill it and make a bunch of money

4. If you fail, or if you succeed at step 3, repeat step 3 until you have more money than you can spend

ask specific questions, don't ask for hand holding, the new guys are to busy building their empires and the experienced guys are to busy making their millions to walk you through something step by step.

Welcome to the forum, talk to you again in a couple days!

this this this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Follow these steps exactly:

1.Read the "Millionaire Fastlane " by MJ DeMarco before you do ANYTHING else, you can read it in a couple days

2. Read it again, then come back here telling us about how starting a car buying consulting business is stupid

3. Come up with a better idea, meet CENTS, kill it and make a bunch of money

4. If you fail, or if you succeed at step 3, repeat step 3 until you have more money than you can spend

Ask specific questions, don't ask for hand holding, the new guys are to busy building their empires and the experienced guys are to busy making their millions to walk you through something step by step.

Welcome to the forum, talk to you again in a couple days!

:iagree:

I'm planning to start a consulting business based on advising people about the car buying process.

I actually thought this was a joke until I did a google search on it. I can't believe anyone would use a service like this. I know I wouldn't.

 

[DennisD]

Maybe we can be a bit more friendly to the OP. We don't know the background and situation.

First regarding any legal issues I am not an attorney and I recommend you get some legit legal consulting on the matter.

What I have done, regarding any kind of consulting... is start by getting a client ASAP. I did it before any sort of license, any sort of corporate setup. It's the only way to know if you're just throwing your money at the idea of starting a business to make you feel like you're moving forward.

I'd make cold calls, put up a website, tell everyone you know, and network like crazy. After a few consulting sessions, if it looks like this is a good idea for you, then post back here and fill us in and we can assist you further.

 

[wade1mil]

Anyone that needs help to start a consulting business shouldn't be starting a consulting business, sorry.

 

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[skipper]

and

hey, you never know.. this might be the next lingscars.com!

 

[PatrickP]

I could see a website where people are consulted on what car to buy. Then they would be referred to an auto dealer who pays the website for the lead.

 

[skipper]

The challenge is that most of the people who really need this kind of advice are exactly the people who wouldn't take it. People who know the limits don't need this service.

On the other hand, comparing cars on TCO over next 10 years is valuable for some buyers. Would they buy that information? I don't know.

 

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[PatrickP]

How do you know the people who need this would not take it?

Have you tried a business similar to this?

What do you mean people who know the limits?

 

[skipper]

How do you know the people who need this would not take it?
Have you tried a business similar to this?

Not business but.. my experience is anecdotical and limited. Certain family members are really really bad with their money / possession management. They buy things that they can't really afford. They constantly overestimate they future as too positive. You can run the numbers with them, prove they can't afford X, but they don't believe it.

Remember, we make our buying decisions subconsciously and emotionally, we just rationalise the decision in our logic brain later on.

 

[stlsmoore]

I could see a website where people are consulted on what car to buy. Then they would be referred to an auto dealer who pays the website for the lead.

Hmm this is giving me an idea, I would imagine you would have to make a specific website for each geographical location and setup the relationships with the local dealers. The run of the mill dealerships doesn't serve much further than the metro area where I live. In contrast I'm sure our local Lambo dealership works a lot of deals nationally or even globally since the market for just Lamborghini's are too small to serve just the St. Louis area.

 

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[PatrickP]

Maybe have a ton of info such as what to look for when buying a used car, which models hold their value better, what parts wear out faster on what cars.

I would imagine there is already sites like what I described above but do they get a referral fee from car dealerships? I don't know.

 

[wade1mil]

My cousin's husband paid a company $500 to buy a brand new car for them because he didn't want to deal with salespeople and get screwed. I consider myself in no way affiliated

 

[PatrickP]

lol

nice!

 

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[Leoto]

What would I need to do to get started?

A good lawyer, a good tax advisor, and a good bookkeeper.

 

[stlsmoore]

Looks like the well known sites have a hard to find page on their website were they kind of walk the consumer on what may work for them. It doesn't look like they're really monetizing it any way from my quick and dirty research. Just bought a domain name related to this just now because it's really tickling my fancy lol.

 

[Determined2012]

I for one would love to see a website that shows all the different makes and models of cars, with different years of the cars- showing what the terms were (4% APR, 24 months, $235 month) What the buyers credit score was at the time of purchase, if they had credit union financing, etc. That info is not out here. I think that a lot of people would use a site like this as a guide and a tool so they could compare... The information would come from actual people who purchased the vehicles... I think a site like this would get a lot of traffic.

 

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[wade1mil]

I for one would love to see a website that shows all the different makes and models of cars, with different years of the cars- showing what the terms were (4% APR, 24 months, $235 month) What the buyers credit score was at the time of purchase, if they had credit union financing, etc. That info is not out here. I think that a lot of people would use a site like this as a guide and a tool so they could compare... The information would come from actual people who purchased the vehicles... I think a site like this would get a lot of traffic.

I see a huge problem with this though. Every person that has ever bought a car says they bought it for $100 over invoice with 2.9% interest and a $249 payment because of their 825 credit score. In reality, they got $500 off retail with 12% interest and a $525 payment over 84 months because of their 575 credit score, bought an extended warranty, gap insurance, paint chip protector and interior stain protector from the finance manager for full retail. Nobody wants to admit they paid too much.

 

[2KidsinUT]

Wow... 21 replies to this thread and only 2 offered anything of value relevant to the OP's question... It's not what you sell, it's how and where you sell it!!

OP... if you're anywhere in the US you won't need any kind of special license to be a car buying consultant. And as long as you do business (the activity of offering your service) in your own name, you likely don't need a general business license either. I would'nt have a clue if you live outside the US.

458 and DennisDuty pretty much nailed it in their replies, got to get that first customer... that's really where any consulting business of any nature begins. Consulting is a service, so market your "service" instead of marketing a business.

 

[Vigilante]

OP... if you're anywhere in the US you won't need any kind of special license to be a car buying consultant.

Are you sure about this? How do you know that?

The only thing worse than no advice is bad advice.

I would assume you would need a brokers license, but since I am not sure I would not post my opinions as fact.

I can tell you that laws on this would vary from state to state, and the chance that your statement is true nationwide I would peg at less than 1%.

 

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[2KidsinUT]

I would assume you would need a brokers license, but since I am not sure I would not post my opinions as fact.

Why would he need a brokers license??? He said that he wants to offer consulting services not broker services!!

 

[Vigilante]

The correct answer to your question is :

1. i don't know (on a state by state basis) and
2. neither do you

The description and license requirements would vary from state to state. In Minnesota, if you facilitate the sale of more than 6 vehicles in a calendar year, they consider you a broker and require a dealer's license, which in turn requires a physical retail location that is available to the general public.

So, I don't generally answer questions unless I know the answer to them.

 

[Vigilante]

For those of you not yet proficient with Google, here is a pretty good outline of a car consultant/broker :

What is An Auto Broker? - AutoHeroes Personalized Car Buying Service

And that is about the full length of time I am going to spend in this thread.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The challenge is

21 replies to this thread and only 2 offered anything of value relevant to the OP's question

The big shame in this thread is the OP has disappeared and probably won't read anything ya'll write.

He was a run-by-fruiting...

[video=youtube;5U4_zonfvW0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4_zonfvW0[/video]

 

[Leoto]

Robin Williams was the best Bond girl ever.

 

[2KidsinUT]

For those of you not yet proficient with Google, here is a pretty good outline of a car consultant/broker :

While it's true that I don't know every states laws, there is a huge difference between consulting and brokering. Brokering might include facilitating the sale of cars, but consulting does not. The OP said he was planning to start a consulting business based on advising people about the car buying process, which is not the same as brokering. Oh, and car buying is simply not a professional industry that might be regulated. If you have a problem understanding the difference between the meanings and implications of the two words, let me introduce you to my friend: dictionary.com... otherwise, Vigilante, rein in your ego and step off... you offered nothing but ridicule and FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) for an otherwise do-able sounding business idea.

OP, of course I assume you know I'm not giving you legal advise, and neither is anyone else in this forum (that I know of). So I'll correct myself and just say it's my "personal opinion" that your idea as you presented it is do-able and has a potential market without over-bearing regulations and licensing requirements... at least not in the US. And once again, like most consulting gigs, it's all about getting those first customers.

 

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[2KidsinUT]

The big shame in this thread is the OP has disappeared and probably won't read anything ya'll write. He was a run-by-fruiting...

LOL... It's a good exercise in futility!!

 

[Vigilante]

While it's true that I don't know every states laws, there is a huge difference between consulting and brokering. Brokering might include facilitating the sale of cars, but consulting does not. The OP said he was planning to start a consulting business based on advising people about the car buying process, which is not the same as brokering. Oh, and car buying is simply not a professional industry that might be regulated. If you have a problem understanding the difference between the meanings and implications of the two words, let me introduce you to my friend: dictionary.com... otherwise, Vigilante, rein in your ego and step off... you offered nothing but ridicule and FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) for an otherwise do-able sounding business idea.

I would be WAY more interested in your comments if I thought you might have even a 1% chance you know what you're talking about. People like you are dangerous, kid. Talk less, and listen more.