Windshield Repair Forum

Hey everyone hows it going?

I figured I kick this off in the right direction by giving a little introduction:

My name is Nick Lindsey. I just purchased a Delta EZ-300s and patiently waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I'm excited about entering the field of self-employment! Just the idea of it is liberating as many of you I'm sure are aware of... Ive been wanting to get involved in WR for about 5 years. I recently resigned from my career, sold my house, and moved to a Austin, Texas to get a fresh start. Ive been in the automotive repair industry for 11 years. I was a Mercedes Benz technician for the last 7 years and worked bumper to bumper at Park Place in Dallas. While I was a tech I noticed my dealership subleted windshield glass chip repair. I had a chat one day about 5 years ago with the WR tech and he opened up to me quickly and even told me how much money he and his one employee made. Needless to say it was more than I was making which I found to be attractive. I decided to look into doing chip repair for my dealership as the sublet was not always very timly and we would sell alot more if we had a technician/s in house. I brought this to my service directors attention during a focus group meeting. Rather than agree to let me be a wr tech I was sent to train and became factory certified in Mercedes glass replacement. Ive been replacing glass on Mercedes and Maybach vehicles ever since (as well as bumper to bumper repairs). Ive replaced alot of glass that I know for sure could have been repaired. Most Mercedes Benz owners dont even get their insurance involved - they just pay the cost of the windshield. Well I finally got tired of the politic'in, flat rate pay, intermittent electrical problems, and basically just turning wrenches on Mercedes in general. Decided to shift my focus and explore the world of entreprenuership. So I put my sights back on WR.

My goal is to complete enough repairs during each week to be able to support myself while I go back to college. I would only need to perform 5-10 repairs/wk to keep my head above water.

My next step. As I am currently in the process of starting from square one, I'm spending everyday trying to figure out what my next step should be. I'm hungrily searching through the forums and absorbing as much as I can from there as well as the internet in general. Currently, I'm working on a business name while doing research on licensing, insurance, marketing, etc.. Not exactly sure where to put my focus. Kinda overwhelmed but in a truly exciting way!

I look forward to growing and devoloping a relationship with each and everyone of you. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to drop some knowledge or wisdom please feel free to do so.

Good Day!

I like your story. I think intially you should find a good location, (I only pay 15.00 a year on a roadside, near a city, I have generated a grand in a month with only working a total of 40hours roughly.) The insurance part pays but its a pain in the arrrse... Especially working with Safelite. They are the police and profiteers all in one. Make sure you get a smart cell phone, like a tablet one. So you can process cards on the spot, get signatures and put the customers on speaker phone with you, so Safelight wont try to steer them away from doing business with you. Use facebook, craigslist, google places ect for free marketing. Insurance will take a while to get rolling, be prepared. Thats my two cents of on and off of four years of biz.

Thanks for the advice. Could you elaborate on the insurance issues. I'd like to know more about that.

LWR,

if you're interested in home based insurance, for your biz, RLI is the way to go. They now offer liability with garage keepers, if you want to add it. I paid $575 for the year, $1 million policy with garage keepers.

If you need some help or guidance or just someone to chat with, PM me, I'm local and most importantly, I don't mind helping you out as best as possible.

ATX

ATX,
I certainly could gain some knowledge from you especially considering that we occupy the same city. Thank you for extending a helping hand. I will get in touch with you.

ATX, you are a true human being! I am just starting out myself full time and I only can dream of finding someone close to me that would be willing to help me brush up on my skills. Much respect and thanks for being on this forum. If I were still in Texas You would be hearing from me for sure. I hope to see more posts from you in the future.
Thanks Again!