Archive for July 30th, 2010
Whether you are starting up a business or creating a new look for your store it is essential that you consider your shop to look good and organized. Making a new look for your shop is exciting however the excitement may fritter away when there is too much waiting of the project to be done, nevertheless the cost and the time wasted. Thus, it is essential to choose the right partner to work on your shop fitting project. But how can you get a good deal with all the options available!
Primarily you need to have a plan if you are considering for a shop fitting project. Evaluate your business as to what products or area should be emphasized. By doing this you can foretell how much you will be the initial cost of the project. Do you need a completely new fitout or just smarten up the existing ones that you have and just add some new shop fitting accessories. Before you start the project you should know what you need and what you can manage to pay, thus the shop fitting project will meet your business’ needs and have your store a fabulous new look.
After knowing your needs now it is time for you to be out on the market finding a company that will work for your shop fitting project. There are a lot of companies that offer shop fitting products and services, you may find some of them on magazines or referred by someone you knew. However because the Internet has been the information highway it has become easier to look for information and companies that work on shop fitting. There have been a wide range of products such as shop counters, shop equipment, slatwalls, card racks, display cases, shop equipment and gondolas.
Looking for shop fitting companies over the Internet gives you more options and great deals. But it might not be easy to look for reliable companies online for conversations are not done face-to- face. Try asking around, look into forums or better yet ask for recommendations from people you knew that have been into shop fitting projects. Don’t be afraid to explore your options, there are companies that can give you great deals and can deliver your need and satisfaction.
ShopfitDirect is a shop fitting company that offers a wide variety of shop fitting options and ensures high quality and best value products that you can consider. Convenience is what online brochures offer for you don’t need to leave your office looking for great deals on shop fitting products and services thus giving you more time to focus on the profit generating activities of your business.
It is also important that the shop fitting company that will work for you will manage and deal with all aspects of your shop fitting project and that will leave you no worries on dealing with the electrician, plumber and sign contractor. Because time matters for every business, make sure that you have a clear idea on how long the shop fitting project will take.
The process of finding the company that will work for your shop fitting project does not just end there, you must need to consider also working with people that create a design for your shop that is functional and that will draw attention to your business. There are several varieties of shop fittings you can choose from shop counters, card racks, gondolas, display case, slatwalls, , slatwall panels and garment rails.
Having a fabulous and functional shop fitting can increase your business’ productivity and revenue and in addition it can improve the working environment for your staff and a shopping experience to your customers.
Have you ever asked yourself the question!.“Is this a good time to sell my business!” That is a question every business owner asks himself, every time he has a bad day. I once received e-mail from the editor of the Auto Body News, asking me that key question. “What is happening in the market today! Is this a good time to sell! ” My quick answer was “These are very interesting times. ”
Of course that answer doesn’t tell you anything that you can get your teeth into. So! Let me clarify my answer. Since I have been selling body shops for 10 years, I have seen many changes in the body shop industry. One thing that hasn’t changed is that there have always been an abundance of both sellers and buyers. The buyers have always been, and still are picky about what they were looking for.
The perfect shop in the eyes to the buyers is (A) one that has a customer base and a revenue stream that is reliable and isn’t dependent on the owner being there to retain each individual customer, and. (B) doing a volume of at least $100,000 per month, but really much more. Large volume sellers think that if they have a DRP, they have what body shop buyers’ want. A DRP is where the insurance companies set up a relationship with the body shop to do all insured’s body shop business, much like an HMO in the health insurance field.
This may be what buyers want, but the DRP contracts are not automatically transferable, and a buyer will be very unhappy if the DRP leaves, the buyer, after they have paid a lot money for this “reliable revenue stream. ” Smaller volume sellers, on the other-hand, not having corporate accounts, dealerships or other contracts still have hope for getting lots of money for their shops. The average shop I run across is only doing about $300,000-$500,000 annual gross income. So what we have is a situation where a lot of buyers are looking to buy a shop, but there are not a lot of shops available, which fit what they are, interested in-$1,500,000 annual gross income or more.
This year, one change has occurred. There are fewer shops available than at any time in my career. Not fewer of the large volume shops for sale, that is fairly stable, but fewer of the small mom and pop repair shops that have not been in heavy demand. The reason, I believe this has happened is because of the booming economy. Low volume shops are doing better than they have in years. They are making money, and do not feel as much pressure to close down. They still would like to get out, but when they find out that their 5,000 sq. foot shop which is making them a $100,000 net profit, is only worth $100,000 on the open market they decide to keep on working.
As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.
Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that the buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get new business and therefore are too careful.
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired about moving in to the So California market. Consolidators want shops that fit their model. That model sometimes changes but basically they will buy a shop if it fits their model.
If it doesn’t, they will not touch it. The price by itself doesn’t turn their interest on or off. We do not have enough space to discuss what this group will buy, in this article. It is enough to say, “ If your shop fits their criteria they would have contacted you and expressed interest. If they haven’t contacted you, they are not interested. ” Period! They know their market place and who is in it.
By the way, if I owned a shop that a consolidator wanted, I would never sell to them. Being a professional negotiator for 20 years, I find the requested seller financing terms totally unacceptable. When I have discovered what the terms of the sale are, after the fact, amazed me. I had buyers for the same money, or more, without the seller being at risk, but no one asked me.
The second category is the multiple location shop owners. Usually with one or more DRP contracts shop that wants to expand into more areas. They are very interested in the sq. footage of the shop, and its ability to handle over $2 Million Gross Income per year. This buyer only looks in limited areas. The areas being where they have been offered a DRP contract. When they are looking, they need it now, while the window of opportunity is open to them. If they can’t find it quick, they will not need it at all. Recently I had a multiple shop buyer who had made an offer and was negotiating on a shop in West Los Angeles. By the time we finished the negotiations, the DRP contract was gone and consequentially, so was the buyer.
The third category is the buyers who have worked in the industry before, but do not currently own a shop. Also in this group are the buyers who have family in the industry; money is no problem. This buyer believes “ If it doesn’t have a DRP, forget it. If it has a DRP and isn’t making much money, also forget it”. If it has a DRP, and it is making money, they are interested but only at what they consider is a fair price. This group I have successfully changed their mind as to how they analyze what a good shop looks like and on occasion they have bought shops with “a steady reliable income”, instead of trying to find a shop with only a DRP insurance contract.
The fourth category is the person that just wants a shop. They will do what they have to, to afford a shop-that will work for them. This group is the working body man or auto repair shop mechanic. Because of their limited funds, this buyer will only pay what he or she feels the equipment is worth. They will pay nothing for goodwill because they believe that the seller’s customers are not stable and will leave when the ownership changes. Are they wrong?
In Conclusion: There are a lot of buyers out there. My database has over 250 current names of body shop buyers. There is currently a shortage of shops for sale but mostly in the properly priced category. Most days I feel like a marriage broker with a lot of plain brides and a few beauties. The dowry for the beauties is more than most good-looking boys will pay. The balance of the girls may not be pretty, but some of them can sure cook. Anyone want to get married? “Have I got a girl for you”
So you think you want to buy a body shop! A body shop can be a great investment if you have the skills necessary to make it work, and are willing to do the business actions necessary to bring in the business and keep the business profitable. I would like to help you work out if you really want to buy a body shop and, if you do, what kind of shop would be best for you.
Most successful body shop owners come from inside the industry. They are occasionally body and/or paint men who worked in the production area as a teenager or as a young adult. This education is extremely valuable and, if you are buying a shop doing less than $1,000,000 in sales per year, is an absolute necessity.
Some owners learned the business as an estimator, working for a body shop or as an insurance adjuster out in the field for an insurance company. Another group of buyers have had no body shop experience but they grew up around cars and love them. This buyer should only buy a shop where he has a family member with experience, in the business that will be working with him or where the seller agrees to stay for 1 year and teach the buyer every part of the business.
Towing company owners sometimes want to expand into a body shop. This type of buyer has a lot of understanding about the business but needs a shop where experienced staff is staying with the company. The last group is composed of business people who figure they can run any kind of business. This type of buyer can make if he has at least one family member with experience and the buyer is a very good sales person.
In this section I would like to discuss which actions are absolutely necessary to be successful in running a body shop and if not done will guarantee failure. The single most important action that must be taken by any new body shop owner is to bring in new business. This is twofold. 1. Everyone wants more volume and you bought the shop based on your belief you can do more volume than the last owner. 2. You must replace the volume that will be lost by the transfer to you the new owner.
You get this new volume from several sources: One of them is not drp Contracts. This business is relatively easy to get but you do not want to rely on this business over the long term. It is not profitable enough to cover all your fixed costs, even though it will contribute to covering the rent.
This is full retail price business but the dealership will expect you to buy their business by giving them a few thousands of dollars a month or some other compensation. Remember if you can steal the business from someone else, then someone else can steal the business from you. This is a good source of business with most of the money being made on buying and selling cars. This tends to be stable business if you like this kind of work.
Referral business. These are national body shop groups that make national deals and for 10-15% of the income will send you car work. This is a very expensive way to get business and in the end is not profitable. Corporation Accounts/Fleet Accounts. This is one of the two best ways to get business. Some companies do self-insurance. Others have insurance. Regardless, a salesman can get them to send you all their business by offering good service or other remuneration. Corporation accounts are quite often at full price or some reasonable discount. Some people offer to drop the deductible or give some other kind of a discount.
Off the street. This is the best business is the whole world if you can get them in the door and keep them in the door. This is where location plays an important part in getting the business. Visiting all the businesses in the neighborhood and offering discounts to their employees or other employee benefit for coming to you can get this business. This type of business is what a good salesperson dreams of. Most established businesses tell me they did this originally but stopped going out and selling when they got busy. Funny isn’t it! The action that made you busy cannot be done any more because you are too busy. This is how you build a shop’s volume without DRP contracts. This is a profitable business for the man who doesn’t mind selling and making friends with people.
If you are an adjustor and feel that your employer insurance company will give you a DRP contract in a specific area, you might have a high motivation to buy a shop in that area, even if its current volume is low. If you are expecting the existing clients to stay with you, after the sale, you have to do some research on this. If the clients are from corporate accounts, car rental companies, or just off the street, you are probably correct. If the clients come from personal relationships of the seller then forget it. People of like nationality have a greater chance of turning over personal relationships.
If you are buying a shop with DRP contracts currently, do not assume that you can keep them. In fact, you must assume you will loose them the day escrow closes. Do not buy a shop that has DRP contracts unless you already have a relationship with those same insurance companies at another shop you currently own. If you are reading my article, I can safely assume you are not a multiple shop owner currently. There are a few ways to buy a DRP shop and not loose the contracts but I cannot publish this information, in as much as the insurance companies will prevent my approach from working in the future.
Of course you want to decide based on the estimated volume that you expect to do, what size shop you need. If you expect the volume to remain the same then you figure the rent and profit based on that number. If you know you can bring in corporate accounts, dealerships and other business then you can use a bigger shop. If you expect to only have new business that you yourself bring in then a smaller shop may work perfectly.
If you get too big a shop the rent will kill you. If you get too small you will limit your possible volume unless you put in a second shift and keep an eye on that 2nd shift. There are larger capacity shops doing small volume that can be bought very cheap or reasonably.
There are smaller, very inexpensive shops available to use as a first time shop. Then after you learn the business and prove you can bring in volume, you can buy a bigger shop and sell off the smaller one. The best guarantee of success is to start small and grow bigger. What you do not want is to buy a large shop that you cannot fill, thereby working for the landlord.
The biggest mobile phone companies in the world today are Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens, and LG. Nowadays, there are huge numbers of mobile phones around the world that offer high feature mobile phones. There are also other mobile phone shops such as online phone shops that sell phones via internet access. The leading mobile phones in the market are Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sonny Ericsson, Siemens, and LG. Some shops do not sell their phones directly. Normally, phones are sold bundled with their network package.
Listed below are the largest mobile phone shops in the USA. Orange Mobile Phone Shop: The Orange Mobile Phone Shop has an internet shopping that offers various choices of mobile phone products and quick service to all buyers or customers. Orange mobile phone shop completely deals from top mobile phone manufactures such as Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, and Nokia. This mobile phone store or shop also offers network service of leading phone networks. Customers can choose their payment whether they want it monthly or pay-as-you-go plan.
Cason Shop Company: This Cason shop offers video games, laptops, personal computers and other gadgets aside from mobile phones. The Cason shop company sells their products at a cheaper rate so that they get a lot of clients. This mobile phone and gadget shop is located at #7077 South, Clinton Street, Englewood, Colorado USA.
Mobile phone shop and internet café: This shop has a large basement and a large ground floor that acts as an internet café and mobile shop. The shop services and sells mobile phones, mobile phone accessories, personal computers, and laptops. This shop is equipped with spy cameras in order to secure the buyers of a safe transaction. It is located at Lillie road, USA.
Electronic Shop: This Electronic shop offers brand new products such as mobile phones, laptops, television sets, video games, as well as personal computers. All their products have a 1-year warranty. It is situated at # 1402 Lakeside Drive Suite Oakland California.
Simeye Mobile Phone Shop: The Simeye mobile phone shop provides their customers advanced state of the art mobile phones, phone accessories, and phone headsets. Their shops are located in the United States and other countries such as United Kingdom, New York, North America, and California.
Coupon codes Mobile Phone Shop: It is an online network shop that offers good quality mobile phones that are branded and user-friendly. Some mobile phones that are sold here come from large phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Vodafone, Motorola, Alcatel, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson. A lot of buyers visit this place for they sell their gadgets at an affordable rate.
T-Mobile Phone Shop: The T-Mobile Phone shops provide mobile phone internet package with every phone they buy. T-Mobile offers a professional e-mail T-mobile phone at a very low monthly price. The advantage of T-mobile phone over other phones is that the messages will be automatically delivered to the headset.
Dial-a-phone mobile phone shop: This shop provides low monthly billings for your mobile phone. Dial-a-phone shop offers the best camera phones, smallest phones, sleekest phone models and of course, the latest phones available in the market. It also has superb latest headsets. The mobile phone brands that this shop normally sells are Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and LG.
No. 1 online Mobile phone shop: This mobile phone shop is more of like an online shop that deals directly in mobile supplies such as headsets, accessories, housings, batteries and much more. They also give discounts to customers. Online mobile phone shops sell their product at a very low price.
Techoni Mobile Phone Shop: This shop offers the latest cell phones at very affordable prices. It has become one of the leading phone manufacturers around the world. It manufactures phones in different countries such as USA, Australia as well as other states in the USA like Las Vegas, Alaska and Indiana. This mobile phone shop has a delivery service and also has stock of all leading brands of mobile phones such as Nokia, Samsung, and Panasonic, along with LG, siemens, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, as well as PDA.
When looking to buy a new tablecloth it is important to ensure you know the dimensions of the table you wish to cover. After all, what would be worse than finding the perfect tablecloth only to discover that you didn’t know what size to buy!This would leave you with the following dilemma: Do you buy it anyway and hope for the best or decide to leave it and go away empty handed.
Making sure you are properly prepared before you start your shopping trip will help to solve this problem before it starts. Doing your homework first ensures that when you do find the right tablecloth, you will have all the necessary data at your disposal to make an informed choice. This will help to reduce the element of risk in terms of sizing.
Measuring your tablecloth is of course, not the only consideration. It is equally important to know how much fabric should be left at each end in order to create an overhang. Doing so will make sure that once you have got your carefully measured tablecloth home, it fits perfectly and creates the right impression.
There are two basic steps involved when it comes to measuring your table in order to get the right tablecloth measurements. As part of this guide, we will walk and talk you through them to make sure you get the perfect size for your table.
Step One: The first thing to do is measure the width of your table making sure that allow for an extra 40mm to overhang the sides of the table. Always remember to check the width of the tablecloth fabric against the width of your table. Providing it is wider, the material can be trimmed accordingly. If it is too narrow, then it will not cover the table adequately.
Step Two: Repeat step one but this time measure the table length. Remember to leave the same 40mm overhang to make sure that the tablecloth has an equal drop on each side.
For instance, if you had a table that measured 2 metres by 1 metre, the amount of fabric you would require for your tablecloth would be approximately 2. 5 metres.
By following these simple steps, it will help to make sure that when you buy your next tablecloth, the chances of getting it wrong are greatly minimised.
So, what are you waiting for!Why don’t you give it a try now and take a look through some of the excellent table covers on offer here at the Tablecloth Shop. All you need to do is find the tablecloth you desire from our excellent range and use your newly created measurements to find one that will look amazing on your table.