Possible Business

[rowerowe101]

Hi everyone,

So the idea of figuring out a way to work independent with outboards has marinaded in my mind for a while.

I'm not extremely experienced but i'm confident in my ability (don't have any certifications, but 3 yrs in coast guard and 3 yrs at a shop, can figure out most issues.) I've fixed a lot of smaller HP motors and the idea to market my self on craigslist or a similar platform i'd like to pull the trigger on. The idea would be to go pick up a motor from someone , or have them drop off at my garage as I don't own a shop.

This is ideal with my school schedule as I don't have to be working 9-5.

I'm getting paid to go to school through the G.I. bill, but I plan to work on outboards full time once I graduate.

The marketing plan would be to repair at 1/2 the price of shops in my area, on issues i'm qualified for.

Just curious if anyone has done or knows someone who has done something like this, or anyone that has general feedback on it.

Thank you.

 

[gm280]

Unless you work fast, 1/2 price of other shops is a huge endeavor to state. Parts and labor add up pretty fast and back-ordered parts can instantly get you behind with angry customers regardless of cost. A better suggestion would be to work in an already established marina and do the actual repairs for an hourly wage before jumping into this blind-sided. You may find out that the general public isn't so forgiving when it comes to time and money... JMHO

 

[alldodge]

Do great work and build a reputation for doing so, and you will have no issue having business. Shops that do good work at a fair price are always full. Fair can mean 100 or more per hour, just depends where your at

 

[tpenfield]

I believe there are lots of folks that currently do what you are planning on doing. I bought one of my small outboards from such a guy. His garage was full of motors in various stages of repair.

Just be sure that for every advantage, there is probably a disadvantage that you must make sure you are considering. Also, understand that you can probably under-cut the market in labor to get yourself started, but parts are going to be about the same $$$.

Realize that the customer's expectations will be the same for you as compared to other shops, even though you may be charging half the going rate for labor. Hopefully, you have or will quickly develop a sixth sense about outboard motors, as you will need it to be successful.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would not limit yourself to outboards. I would additionally market to the small engine segment covering lawnmowers/chainsaws/etc as each one of those is seasonal.

there are a few small shops down by me that only do carbureted outboards and have a lot of business.

you will need to invest in work benches, hoists, etc. or you need to limit yourself to small outboards under 25hp as the motors today are getting heavier. nothing will ruin your back faster than bear hugging a 50hp 2-stroke and slipping

 

[Sprig]

You say you are going to school. What kind of school - a 4 year college, a trade school or? Will your schooling help you with the business of repairing ob’s? Have you previously worked in any kind of repair business before? What you are contemplating doing I know sounds great but you will find that it is fraught with problems. You’ll have customers who won’t be happy no matter what you do for them. No no explanation will satisfy them. You’ll have customers who won’t pay you, who will slam you on social media, who will sue you and on and on. Youll need business permits, insurance, bonding. You better check zoning, you may not be allowed to run a business out of your garage. Staying up to date on the mechanics of newer motors may be a problem. There are so many other potential problems it would take hours to list them all. I think a better plan would be to go to work for an existing shop. To get started tell them you are willing to work for very low wages , even minimum wage to learn the business. I would even consider offering my services for free for 6 months or so in order to learn the business.
I know many small business owners and I encourage entrepreneurs to pursue their small business dreams . But almost every small business owner I know has failed at least once. Some have been ruined financially. I know a couple that put all their $$$ into starting their business, worked 12 to 18 hours a day 7 days a week and failed after a year. I’m not trying to discourage you , I just want you to be fully prepared for what ever happens. I wish you good fortune.

 

[ahicks]

Buy a dead (non running) motor that you figure you can sell for 3-4 times your purchase price when all cleaned up and running right. Keep them small, maybe 50HP and less. Fix it with nobody asking you when it's going to be done, or asking for impossible estimates. Take you time and do it right. Make sure you service it from top to bottom, that is starts when the key is just bumped and it runs perfectly.

Then sell it.

Be willing to install it.

Rinse and repeat. Stay small. Never more than a couple of motors at a time. Work only on stuff in high demand in your area (EASY to sell for a reasonable price). Stay away from anything older than about 1990 or 95.

 

[GA_Boater]

This is the third time you've brought up this subject.

The marketing plan would be to repair at 1/2 the price of shops in my area, on issues i'm qualified for.

What are you qualified to work on? What happens when one goes bad or parts break? Why should anyone pay you to learn how fix outboards? What about special tools?

Customers will expect a working motor in a reasonable time, school schedules or not. There is a lot more to starting a business, even a part-time business, than advertising.

 

[Scott Danforth]

BTW, if you deal with the general masses, be prepared for days without "m"

the whole business side of this discussion above is spot on.

then there is the people side of the bsuiness

you really have to like people to be in a service field. the older I get, the less I like people. however in a repair service environment, you have to remember, the customer is always right (even when they are wrong). you also have to have enough income coming in to cover the one or two jobs that go horribly wrong.

 

[jbcurt00]

I'll add theres plenty of reason those shops charge what they charge:

The marketing plan would be to repair at 1/2 the price of shops in my area, on issues i'm qualified for

 

[rowerowe101]

Buy a dead (non running) motor that you figure you can sell for 3-4 times your purchase price when all cleaned up and running right. Keep them small, maybe 50HP and less. Fix it with nobody asking you when it's going to be done, or asking for impossible estimates. Take you time and do it right. Make sure you service it from top to bottom, that is starts when the key is just bumped and it runs perfectly.

Then sell it.

Be willing to install it.

Rinse and repeat. Stay small. Never more than a couple of motors at a time. Work only on stuff in high demand in your area (EASY to sell for a reasonable price). Stay away from anything older than about 1990 or 95.

I've thought of this, just not really sure where to find these motors. Don't really see many listings online.. I think maybe calling shops and seeing if they would sale would be the way to go for this? Great idea.

 

[rowerowe101]

Unless you work fast, 1/2 price of other shops is a huge endeavor to state. Parts and labor add up pretty fast and back-ordered parts can instantly get you behind with angry customers regardless of cost. A better suggestion would be to work in an already established marina and do the actual repairs for an hourly wage before jumping into this blind-sided. You may find out that the general public isn't so forgiving when it comes to time and money... JMHO

So just ask the marina maintenane crew if you can work independently there

I would not limit yourself to outboards. I would additionally market to the small engine segment covering lawnmowers/chainsaws/etc as each one of those is seasonal.

there are a few small shops down by me that only do carbureted outboards and have a lot of business.

you will need to invest in work benches, hoists, etc. or you need to limit yourself to small outboards under 25hp as the motors today are getting heavier. nothing will ruin your back faster than bear hugging a 50hp 2-stroke and slipping

Great points, I almost blew my back out at a shop trying to be "quick" so this resonates .

I haven't thought of just small carbuerated motors of any type machinery, very interesting. Thank you.

 

[rowerowe101]

You say you are going to school. What kind of school - a 4 year college, a trade school or? Will your schooling help you with the business of repairing ob’s? Have you previously worked in any kind of repair business before? What you are contemplating doing I know sounds great but you will find that it is fraught with problems. You’ll have customers who won’t be happy no matter what you do for them. No no explanation will satisfy them. You’ll have customers who won’t pay you, who will slam you on social media, who will sue you and on and on. Youll need business permits, insurance, bonding. You better check zoning, you may not be allowed to run a business out of your garage. Staying up to date on the mechanics of newer motors may be a problem. There are so many other potential problems it would take hours to list them all. I think a better plan would be to go to work for an existing shop. To get started tell them you are willing to work for very low wages , even minimum wage to learn the business. I would even consider offering my services for free for 6 months or so in order to learn the business.
I know many small business owners and I encourage entrepreneurs to pursue their small business dreams . But almost every small business owner I know has failed at least once. Some have been ruined financially. I know a couple that put all their $$$ into starting their business, worked 12 to 18 hours a day 7 days a week and failed after a year. I’m not trying to discourage you , I just want you to be fully prepared for what ever happens. I wish you good fortu

Yea as I stated, I worked 3 years in a shop, and I dealt first hand with customers, while there were unhappy customers, they were in the large minority.

I disagree with offering your work for free or low wage. People will take advantage of the fact you're offering to work hard to learn, and its better to learn on your own with a defective engine to land your first job, which is what I did.

 

[rowerowe101]

This is the third time you've brought up this subject.


What are you qualified to work on? What happens when one goes bad or parts break? Why should anyone pay you to learn how fix outboards? What about special tools?

Customers will expect a working motor in a reasonable time, school schedules or not. There is a lot more to starting a business, even a part-time business, than advertising.

Yea , hopefully thats ok...

As I said, I have close to 6 yrs experience with small HP motors, so that would qualify me to work on 30 HP and less motors. No one is "paying me to learn how to fix outboards."

I have all required tools, only thing I would need is test tank.

 

[gm280]

Yea , hopefully thats ok...

As I said, I have close to 6 yrs experience with small HP motors, so that would qualify me to work on 30 HP and less motors. No one is "paying me to learn how to fix outboards."

I have all required tools, only thing I would need is test tank.

I would have a serious problem doing what you are proposing. I have to FIX everything when I am repairing anything. I even have to make it look brand new as well. And that would mean longer repair times AND higher cost for the repairs the customer didn't ask for... But that is just me. Looks sells quicker then function so many times. If you repair engines and make them look great, they will sell before a great running engine with dirt and grease all over it...bank on it!

 

[rowerowe101]

I would have a serious problem doing what you are proposing. I have to FIX everything when I am repairing anything. I even have to make it look brand new as well. And that would mean longer repair times AND higher cost for the repairs the customer didn't ask for... But that is just me. Looks sells quicker then function so many times. If you repair engines and make them look great, they will sell before a great running engine with dirt and grease all over it...bank on it!

I'm not sure what you think i'm proposing, or maybe I didn't word well enough what I said to make you think i'm not fixing everything? I'm well aware of whats required in repair, as well as unforseen fixes the customer wasn't prepared for. I agree though, people are attracted to the pretty motors when that's of the least importance in optimal functionality.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I don't know where you're located, but in my area, there are not a lot of options for getting boat motors repaired, outboards or otherwise. I've been to a few of the places in our area and I was not impressed with the quality of the work. I'd love to find somebody like you, if you did good work for a fair price. Even if the work had to occur around your schedule, I could live with it if the work was done right the first time.

I would guess that the viability of your plan depends at least in part on where you are and what sort of competition there is...

 

[gm280]

I'm not sure what you think i'm proposing, or maybe I didn't word well enough what I said to make you think i'm not fixing everything? I'm well aware of whats required in repair, as well as unforseen fixes the customer wasn't prepared for. I agree though, people are attracted to the pretty motors when that's of the least importance in optimal functionality.

What I meant by; "I have to fix everything" statement is, if a customer came in and wanted a new water pump impeller installed, and I found a lot of little issue while doing that repair that weren't actually engine stopping issues yet, I'd have to fix them knowing that soon they could be engine stopping issues. Of course the customer wouldn't want to pay for those extra fixes because that isn't what they brought the engine in for. So I would be out of both the parts and labor for those items. But that is just how I have to do things myself. I didn't mean you would ignore problems. Only that I have to go beyond what the customer asked for. And that would cost ME money and time. That is why I am not in that type business... On the flip side, I also am not trying to talk you out of your goal and interest either. You sound like you can make it work. And I would never ever talk anyone out of their dream ideas. I say if you think you can make it work...go for it! Just be careful and watch out for such things.

 

[dingbat]

The first thing you need to do is come up with a comprehensive business plan. Need to do a bunch of research on market size, market variability, cost of entry, long term market projections, ROI, COGS, etc. Nothing like throwing a lot of time, energy and money into products or services going nowhere.

You will be surprised at the bureaucracy just get a business license. Took three days of running back and forth between the various county entities getting approvals and signature on the applications forms.

Then there are the quarterly and annual costs associated with complying with the regulatory demands. Received notice on Monday that I must file (and pay) quarterly on the number of plastic bags I dispense during the course of business. I don't use plastics bags, but that doesn't negate the need for me to file quarterly report on usage.

Then there is the issue of dealing with suppliers and trade organizations efforts to limit entry into the business once your licensed.
Don't get me started........

 

[JimS123]

My goto old OB guy started out just as you have in mind. Fixed a motor in his garage, then got paid to do it for someone else, then went to work for a marine dealer. When the old guy retired he bought the business. He's been there now for 41 years.

A few things to consider....

You won't work on newer motors because you don't have the education or expensive equipment to do so.

OTOH, since dealers WON'T work on old motors, if nobody in your area will you have a captive market.

You'll need lots of capital to buy parts. You'll need insurance and legal help. You'll need a Tax Attorney unless you are willing to learn all that stuff yourself. Go to your local SBA and let them teach you what you need to do to run a business.