Hello Everyone, I have not posted in a while but am here daily.
As I posted about a year ago, I started a brick and mortar vintage auto restoration/paint and body shop. We only work on vintage and musclecars and do not do general collision insurance work.
Fast forward a year and it is a total time suck, like working 80 hours a week minimum, missing out on all family time, working until dropping from exhaustion and getting burnt out.
Keep in mind I have 3 employees that are good at their job and do not need micro managed but the real super technical and ultra specialized work falls on me.
It is basically impossible to find someone with my skill level that is not doing this for themselves, as this is such a specialized profession. It is not the same as collision repair so general bodymen and production painters are not a good fit ( I have been through a couple of them last year with spectacularly horrible expensive results).
The 3 guys I have now can do the general work required but need direction from the master, which is me.
I am already 57 1/2 and do not want to spend the next 10 years doing this for only a couple hundred thousand a year, if that.
Picture our shop like the car restoration shops you see on tv working on really expensive musclecars and building street rods. Most of our customers cars are six figure rides at the minimum.
My wife is telling me this is killing me as it is starting to affect my health with the 7 day weeks and 12-14 hour days. I could do this in my 30-40s but coming up on 60 it is not sustainable. It is also causing me to miss seeing my youngest son and grandchildren grow up.
She suggests we start a youtube channel to to showcase my knowledge and also the car builds we are doing.
Before anyone suggest it, I already know the emyth book inside and out and do have systems in place. I probably should have thought a little more about Gerbers advice to not ever build a business that relies on experts, like myself.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts on how to fastlane a business like this?
Thanks in advance.
As I posted about a year ago, I started a brick and mortar vintage auto restoration/paint and body shop. We only work on vintage and musclecars and do not do general collision insurance work.
Fast forward a year and it is a total time suck, like working 80 hours a week minimum, missing out on all family time, working until dropping from exhaustion and getting burnt out.
Keep in mind I have 3 employees that are good at their job and do not need micro managed but the real super technical and ultra specialized work falls on me.
It is basically impossible to find someone with my skill level that is not doing this for themselves, as this is such a specialized profession. It is not the same as collision repair so general bodymen and production painters are not a good fit ( I have been through a couple of them last year with spectacularly horrible expensive results).
The 3 guys I have now can do the general work required but need direction from the master, which is me.
I am already 57 1/2 and do not want to spend the next 10 years doing this for only a couple hundred thousand a year, if that.
Picture our shop like the car restoration shops you see on tv working on really expensive musclecars and building street rods. Most of our customers cars are six figure rides at the minimum.
My wife is telling me this is killing me as it is starting to affect my health with the 7 day weeks and 12-14 hour days. I could do this in my 30-40s but coming up on 60 it is not sustainable. It is also causing me to miss seeing my youngest son and grandchildren grow up.
She suggests we start a youtube channel to to showcase my knowledge and also the car builds we are doing.
Before anyone suggest it, I already know the emyth book inside and out and do have systems in place. I probably should have thought a little more about Gerbers advice to not ever build a business that relies on experts, like myself.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts on how to fastlane a business like this?
Thanks in advance.
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