Repair shop?

seagullplayer · #1 05/19/10, 11:52 AM

Anyone here work from home in their own repair shop?

Maybe welding or small engine repair or computer repair or???

**clovis** · #2 05/19/10, 03:59 PM

I don't have a repair shop, but I do work from home.

Sounds like a great idea, with low over head.

What are you thinking about doing?

seagullplayer · #3 05/20/10, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clovis

I don't have a repair shop, but I do work from home.

Sounds like a great idea, with low over head.

What are you thinking about doing?

I am open to ideas. In a perfect world I would find some part that I could repair and send back out. My background is mostly industrial electrical, but I work on everything from washing machines to lawn mowers, whatever is broke.

I am in the process of setting up my workshop at home it has been a dream for years. I'm not ready to leave my day job, just yet.

lharvey · #4 05/24/10, 06:49 AM

Seagullplayer

I work from a home office and also have a shop here for computer repair. Normally I don't get drive in customers but I bring machines back to the shop to do repairs.

There is a guy in town here that works from his home and he does high end amplifier, mixing boards and musical electronic repairs.

No, he is not a luthier but he will take big road worthy amplifiers, the likes of Peavey, Crown, Mackie, and others and do repairs on them and get them ready to head back out on the road again.

He also does repairs on stand alone amplifiers like Line6, Fender, Crate, and a whole host of others.

He subs out some of his work to one of my computer techs who does re-coning of speaker cabinets by JBL, AEW, Bose and others.

He has been doing this for about 10 years now and has many of the local music stores in the area making referrals to him. He is always having whole racks of amplifiers shipped to him from who knows where for repair. He does quite well.

seagullplayer · #5 05/24/10, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lharvey

Seagullplayer

I work from a home office and also have a shop here for computer repair. Normally I don't get drive in customers but I bring machines back to the shop to do repairs.

There is a guy in town here that works from his home and he does high end amplifier, mixing boards and musical electronic repairs.

No, he is not a luthier but he will take big road worthy amplifiers, the likes of Peavey, Crown, Mackie, and others and do repairs on them and get them ready to head back out on the road again.

He also does repairs on stand alone amplifiers like Line6, Fender, Crate, and a whole host of others.

He subs out some of his work to one of my computer techs who does re-coning of speaker cabinets by JBL, AEW, Bose and others.

He has been doing this for about 10 years now and has many of the local music stores in the area making referrals to him. He is always having whole racks of amplifiers shipped to him from who knows where for repair. He does quite well.

I bought a book on amp repair a few years ago and fixed one of mine!
There is a somewhat local guy that does just as you discribe.
I also know a man that still works on CB's from home.

Thanks for the ideas, I would love to hear more!

lonelyfarmgirl · #6 05/25/10, 10:30 AM

we have a shop here on the farm. My husband is a mechanic, and a darn good one. this is our sole income. he went to tech school out of highschool for deisel mech., then got a job at a semi place for a while. He then worked for the county shop for 10 years. all the while meeting people and doing side jobs (vehicles) in the evenings at home. eventually he quit the county and went full time at home.

on any given day, there are half a dozen vehicles in the drive. he does everything from grease pumps to cars, tractors, dump trucks, heavy equip, semis, etc...

he doesnt advertise, and is always busy, people show up here at all hours at random. its kind of annoying sometimes. people dont understand there is a line. they call and expect him to drop everything for them right now, right now, right now. expect that if you do this. if you do someone a midnight, or sunday 'favor', you will always be expected to. word will get around. it helps to know everyone.

start doing side jobs long before you quit your day job.
and the comment about low overhead? NOT!
tools are expensive, and basic tools dont cut it. DH has thousands of tools. he uses most of them regulary, and it took years and years to build them up. we just recently had to buy a new scanner, because his old one wont read any of the trouble codes in vehicles newer than 2005, and with all the new rules. Its a mess. the scanner was 3000$.

you will want air tools. doing it the electric or hand way will get real old real fast.

also, eventually the county will come snooping and want to know what you do with your waste oil and antifreeze, etc.

also, remember that you wont make squat on small engines. say you decide to charge 40$ an hour and someone brings a weedeater. its corroded and bent up and you screw around trying to figure out why it wont start, and suddenly 2 or 3 hours went by. would you pay 120$ plus parts to have your trimmer repaired?

not trying to discourage you, but I know the reality of it..I live it..can you weld? better learn.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

lharvey · #7 05/25/10, 02:59 PM

Quote:

also, remember that you wont make squat on small engines. say you decide to charge 40$ an hour and someone brings a weedeater. its corroded and bent up and you screw around trying to figure out why it wont start, and suddenly 2 or 3 hours went by. would you pay 120$ plus parts to have your trimmer repaired?

This is exactly why I don't do residential computers. People think you will work for 4 hours for 20 bucks. NOT

L

sisterpine · #8 05/26/10, 12:53 PM

Maybe there is no money in weed eaters but around here we sure could use someone small engine repair places for generators etc. These items cost upwards of a few thousand bucks and 40 per hour to repair would not be unreasonable. sisterpine

Ken Scharabok · #9 06/04/10, 12:11 AM

My neighbor started a small engine repair shop out of a shop building he built. Doesn't do any advertising. He is known for being fair on his rates and will use a used part if one is available. Pretty well has all the work he wants.

During winter he overhauls mowers, paints them up and resells them in the Spring.

Local Farmer's Co-op refers work to him they don't want to do.

Added: We also have a local place on the highway - Nick's Repair Service. He does so much work during summers he hires up to four local workers who are paid a percentage of the work they do.

bigmudder77 · #10 06/28/10, 12:42 PM

word of mouth is crazy when your really good or really bad doing some thing

we knew a guy that is a GREAT mechanic and he opened his shop with 1 lift and 1 engine lift and 1 tool box and a cheap $100 computer scanner

now 4 years or so later he has like a 6 bay shop 4 lifts a tire changer and ballencer 4 engine lifts like 8 different engine stands a really nice computer (to find out why the engine light is on like a top of the line one that dealers have) a bunch of tool and tool boxes and it was all from word of mouth he had to take out alot of his yard to add a parking lot cause it was getting so busy in there and his was all word of mouth

there was also another guy that i know that opened a small engine repair and i heard nothing but bad things about him and he shut down in a year cause no one around would take any thing to him and he was always having adds in the paper and flyers at like all the local stores for small engine repair word of mouth for charging too much and not fixing it right caused him to shut down

so yes word of mouth is all most people need if they do great work my grandpa worked part time helping a friend run his repair shop for small engines and they were both very good and stayed open for 60 years my grandpa retired from his good job and was working there like full time at 70 some thing years old lol they just closed it up a couple years ago and my grandpa is 84 now

so yes if you are good at what you do then you can make good money doing it and word of mouth if you good will help you out alot

motomom · #11 06/28/10, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lharvey

Seagullplayer

I work from a home office and also have a shop here for computer repair. Normally I don't get drive in customers but I bring machines back to the shop to do repairs.

There is a guy in town here that works from his home and he does high end amplifier, mixing boards and musical electronic repairs.

No, he is not a luthier but he will take big road worthy amplifiers, the likes of Peavey, Crown, Mackie, and others and do repairs on them and get them ready to head back out on the road again.

He also does repairs on stand alone amplifiers like Line6, Fender, Crate, and a whole host of others.

He subs out some of his work to one of my computer techs who does re-coning of speaker cabinets by JBL, AEW, Bose and others.

He has been doing this for about 10 years now and has many of the local music stores in the area making referrals to him. He is always having whole racks of amplifiers shipped to him from who knows where for repair. He does quite well.

My DH and I own a music store, and I can tell you that it is nigh on impossible to find someone who knows how to repair amps.

But be careful here. There is no point learning how to fix cheap amps, they would be cheaper to replace than to repair.

Another suggestion - I have a friend who learned how to fix refrigerators. Instead of taking them in for repair, he cruises the neighborhoods looking for ones people want to get rid of. He takes them home, cleans them up and fixes them, and then rents them, and now many other items, to folks who can't afford new ones. This has turned into a full-time rental business for him, and has become very profitable. He says the only down side is when he has to repo stuff when people don't pay.

Txrider · #12 06/28/10, 04:30 PM

I don't do it but I might in time.

Tools are expensive, I have about 10 grand in tools and I still would have to tool up if I wanted to do it for a business.

Issue is I would want to specialize in older more antique equipment, older small tractors, trucks, farm equipment etc. and I don't know how much of a market there is for that.

I can pretty much fix anything, and have worked on everything from small engines, to forklifts, to cars and trucks, to large trucks and even some aircraft. It's just something I am very good at, fixing machines including computers.

But the old 40's and 50's stuff is where my heart is. Cars, trucks, tractors etc.

lonelyfarmgirl · #13 06/28/10, 09:50 PM

Oh there is a market for it. It does depend on where you live. fully half of what my husband fixes is old junk. there is a shop in the next town that specializes in all that old stuff, but he also does body work.