Contemplating Starting up in Colorado Springs

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ChuckPeazy
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Contemplating Starting up in Colorado Springs

Post by ChuckPeazy »

Hey all, so recently my brother put the spark in my head to start a windshield repair business. He's been in the windshield replacement and repair industry for quite sometime in Flagstaff, AZ so he gave me the spiel of how to get started. I'm liking the idea a lot (especially the low startup costs) and have wanted to start my own business and be my own boss since I was young. Im 23 right now and I graduate with a marketing degree in May. I feel confident that I can start my own business and be successful and I can market myself well but I'm just worried about the first leap of quitting my day job and going at this full time. I'm married, my wife is in nursing school and she doesn't work. I'm the sole provider and can't afford a lot of down time.

I guess my questions would be:
Does it take a while to get the business up and running?
Can you really make a good living doing it or is it all just hype when I read on Delta's website?
How much time is spent in downtime?
How much time is spent actually working? (marketing, repairing, bookkeeping, etc.)

Any other comments or potential concerns are welcome. I appreciate the help in advance.

Thank you,
Charlie
bill lambeth
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Re: Contemplating Starting up in Colorado Springs

Post by bill lambeth »

Colorado Springs is one of the most Beautiful places I have ever been here in the states! That ? is very subjective and would take me a entire book to answer! Can you make a living? Yes ! You will get out of it what you put into it! It is all about sales and relationships .In my opinion anybody can do good repairs if they apply there self. Not everyone is cut out for cold calling and getting door after door slammed in your face. You have to find your niche and go with it ! Some like fleet and some would rather do insurance work. This is NOT an easy life staring out ! Lots of long hours and of course if you choose fleet you will never see your family on the weekend. You can pm me with any other ? you have ! Good luck! ;)
ChuckPeazy
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Re: Contemplating Starting up in Colorado Springs

Post by ChuckPeazy »

Thank you for the reply. I haven't decided which route to go. I'm actually still waiting for my kit to get here so I can start practicing. But I'm excited and I go into it knowing that it will be tough. I have a list of things I need to do still before I get up and running. Including choosing a name, getting it registered,applying for a license, purchasing the domain, creating a website, hosting it, getting a logo made, printing shirts... It goes on and on. But I'm getting there.
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benswindshieldrepair
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Re: Contemplating Starting up in Colorado Springs

Post by benswindshieldrepair »

To expand on what Bill said, the repair quality will come easy with proper equipment, training, and practice. The making a living part depends all on the matter between your ears. If you have a good business sense, you can make a living. If you are confident in your repair abilities and can make a sale, and even do cold calling, you can make decent money doing this. It's pretty much like any other business out there. Like Bill said, you get out of it what you put in. Read some of the posts on here on creative ways to market your service and tailor the suggestions to your own taste and situation. The claims on Delta's website are not hype, but they represent a WSR guy realizing his full potential and really getting after it.

Regarding cold calling: Don't cold call people with junky cars. They don't want to give you their money and the rejection will be de-motivating. Stick with nice vehicles with recent damage and your repairs will turn out nice and your customers will appreciate your service and find value in it.

Best of luck!
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Brent Deines
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Re: Contemplating Starting up in Colorado Springs

Post by Brent Deines »

To add to Ben's last sentence, owners of high end cars are also much more willing to pay cash and eliminate the need to bill insurance. We have a number of customers who service "only" high end vehicles, rarely if ever bill insurance, and charge a premium for their services. They also do very high quality work and get a lot of repeat business and referrals.

That's not to say that there is not a lot of insurance business, and some cash business, to be had on vehicles in the low and mid-range price, but the guy who has a $1000 car with a $2000 stereo and bald tires is not generally your best target.
Brent Deines
Delta Kits, Inc.
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