Starting a Carb Repair/Rebuild service

Any pointers on how to get the word out and get customers? Due to changes in job, would like to take my 20 yrs experience and help make ends meet. AC IH and Deere Carbs are the specialty, not to say I could do Ford etc. Not wanting a pity party, just ways to get some honest business. Thanks

Advertise in the antique tractor magazines.Take a minimum 1/4 page add.print flyers to leave at shows.just get the word out,do good quality work at a fair price,the work will come...Good Luck!!Steve

Ditto what Delta said, and be SURE to prominently mention your years of experience in the ads- that's about the only thing folks have to go on, if you're new to the party. A good website would also be a good idea.

where are ya???

Been rebuilding carbs for 30 yrs now . They have been declining over the years . Good luck

I"m with you Bryan.Most folks around these parts know I"m the carb guy,but just not alot of call for them anymore.Of course I don"t advertise it nationally either.

I've got one for you to do. Please email me at mmittge at compprime dot com so we can get communications going.

Good luck. When I advertised in GM or 2cyl ? many years ago all I got was the ones so bad no one else would do them. I figured all the decent ones they were doing thierselves.

can be done but you are competing against many established outfits. You are also engaging in a obsolete service. With web sites you could do this at home by mail first i would do a survey of need call some suppliers see if they need a carb rebuilder?

Ive got you can rebuild off my 350U, where are you located? Jim

1) Mission statement (what you want to accomplish and what you are willing to do or not do
2) Determine your unique selling point, what are siimilar skills selling for, do your have unique skills that noone else has, your strengths and weaknesses, and competition
3) Think out, then write out marketing plan.. Find someone who is doing the business you want to do (someone you will not be in competition with) and determine how they are marketing, budget, return on marketing investment, time until work starts coming in. If they do not know their numbers or are not willing to share, then DO NOT PROCEED until you complete this step. Now is not the time to THROW $ at advertising that does not work
4) Now evaluate if you have enough $ to start up and advertise, or how you will raise capital, tools needed to complete work, reasonable time to turn work, and your unique selling point. Based on your diligence do it or don't, but make it a decision based on fact, not fiction.
5) Remember, it is either a hobby, a business or a loosing proposition.
By the way, a business allows you to hire, train, expand and duplicate yourself. If you cannot do this, it's a job, not a business.

got a set of specialized carb repair tools if you're interested. $100.00

Believe it or not Craigslist is a pretty good place to advertise, and except for a few places/ad types, it's absolutely free. I spent around $200 about a year ago to print up and sent out tri fold flyers to about 150 different companies in the immediate area and within about 150 -200 miles of me. All that resulted in was one new customer. His machine has been sitting here since I tore it down back in Feb waiting on him to get the money to get the parts needed to finish the job...and for me to get paid....

On the other hand I've placed several adds on just the local, Charlotte, Craigslist, and answered a couple more for people looking for an equipment mechanic in the same amount of time. I've gotten maybe half a dozen responses just askign about rates, etc, etc. In addition the adds have also gotten me about 10 new customers. Four or fiveof those have been back several times with different pieces of equipment, and the others all left happy with the work I did and guarantees of getting their work back again the next time they need something done.

Like I said that's just from placing and answering a couple of free adds on one local part of Craigslist. Take the time to do it in all of the different cities and states and I'd just about bet you'd be suprised how much business it'll bring to you. It's all a matter of scale. Just because there might be only a dozen or so potential customers out of the 10,000 people in your general area, that could still equate to thousands plus of customers in the millions of people that your adds would potentially reach.

All of that said, just keeping any kind of repair business open the way the economy is going right now is difficult to say the least....and that's said based on one with over 25 years in business..... Believe me, since Dad sort of decided to 'retire' and give me the reigns I'm having to take over the business and do it all on my own. He started it in '86 and I got on back about '98 but given te economy and personal reasons he decided last year to do something new. Thing is I'm trying to do it all now right by myself and trying to keep as many of the old customers who are still in business as possible. To do this I've had to cut my rates (ie-reduce my profits and still be able to make a living myself) to match with their capability to pay based on their work situations (ie lack thereof), as well as cultivate new customers.....and while doing it all to make sure that regardless of who I work for that I get paid for my time and don't get screwed...especially out of any hard cash/out of pocket expenses. The latter I do by getting quotes, etc for all but the most inexpensive parts and letting the customer call and pay for everything out of their own pockets so I'm not tying up and chancing my own money. Beyond that all I can say is if you are seriously considering trying to get a new business started.....I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST, AND GOOD LUCK.....

Springfield, TN

One low cost way to spread the word is to attend local tractor shows and hand out fliers/business cards. Also, they have tractor pulls monthly there in Springfield and we have a tractor club over towards Hendersonville (see link below) where you could get to know a lot of the "locals" and spread the word.
We just had our annual show on the 15th but we have meetings and other events throughout the year.

http://tractorsandtrucks.com/