Jump to content

Expanding Into Automotive

tjordan06

Recommended Posts

tjordan06

tjordan06

Posted
Posted

I have made the decision to expand my flat glass operation and open a small, lean auto operation.  We have owned our flat glass business for five years and have really enjoyed it.  We are ready to spur some growth and add much needed infastructure.

 

A general location has been selected. We are narrowing down properties now. It looks like we will end up with a non-retail, two bay location with a VERY nice office/reception area. The goal is to build a lean, recession-proof shop that can scale with the economy and industry.

 

The model will be to generate the majority of our leads online (obviously not being in a retial location). We have a great plan in place for this. Our target market will be middle to upper end clientelle (per the demographics of the areas selected).

 

The tintdude community has been such a great source of information and support for the past five years. I know that many of you have gone back and forth from flat glass to automotive. I would love hear your experiences in going from flat glass to automovite. The things you did not expect. The challenges. The benefits. Really anything you can think of that would be beneficial to me.

 

Thank you so much for your time!

 

Tim

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SolarTintWF

SolarTintWF

Posted
Posted

I have made the decision to expand my flat glass operation and open a small, lean auto operation.  We have owned our flat glass business for five years and have really enjoyed it.  We are ready to spur some growth and add much needed infastructure.

 

A general location has been selected. We are narrowing down properties now. It looks like we will end up with a non-retail, two bay location with a VERY nice office/reception area. The goal is to build a lean, recession-proof shop that can scale with the economy and industry.

 

The model will be to generate the majority of our leads online (obviously not being in a retial location). We have a great plan in place for this. Our target market will be middle to upper end clientelle (per the demographics of the areas selected).

 

The tintdude community has been such a great source of information and support for the past five years. I know that many of you have gone back and forth from flat glass to automotive. I would love hear your experiences in going from flat glass to automovite. The things you did not expect. The challenges. The benefits. Really anything you can think of that would be beneficial to me.

 

Thank you so much for your time!

 

Tim

First of all , love the logo! Second, seems like you have the right idea going on about "recession proof" shop. It would be nice if you can find a flat glass guy and automotive guy to handle your jobs, or at least help. Some places have they're auto guys in shop and flat guys on the road all the time (if you are a consistent shop). My suggestion to you is start out with auto and go with the flow, once you start and start gaining speed you will find out what you need to do to takle both divisions. Just my .02.

Take Care

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tjordan06

tjordan06

Posted
  • Author
Posted

 

I have made the decision to expand my flat glass operation and open a small, lean auto operation.  We have owned our flat glass business for five years and have really enjoyed it.  We are ready to spur some growth and add much needed infastructure.

 

A general location has been selected. We are narrowing down properties now. It looks like we will end up with a non-retail, two bay location with a VERY nice office/reception area. The goal is to build a lean, recession-proof shop that can scale with the economy and industry.

 

The model will be to generate the majority of our leads online (obviously not being in a retial location). We have a great plan in place for this. Our target market will be middle to upper end clientelle (per the demographics of the areas selected).

 

The tintdude community has been such a great source of information and support for the past five years. I know that many of you have gone back and forth from flat glass to automotive. I would love hear your experiences in going from flat glass to automovite. The things you did not expect. The challenges. The benefits. Really anything you can think of that would be beneficial to me.

 

Thank you so much for your time!

 

Tim

First of all , love the logo! Second, seems like you have the right idea going on about "recession proof" shop. It would be nice if you can find a flat glass guy and automotive guy to handle your jobs, or at least help. Some places have they're auto guys in shop and flat guys on the road all the time (if you are a consistent shop). My suggestion to you is start out with auto and go with the flow, once you start and start gaining speed you will find out what you need to do to takle both divisions. Just my .02.

Take Care

 

Thank you for the input. I think I will share between the two departments.  This will help me keep my good tinters busy and sharp in both areas until we figure out how things need to be structured.

 

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  •   Sponsored by
    tintwiz

    auto-precut.com

    signwarehouse

    martinmetalwork.com

    tinttek

    filmvinyldesigns

    ride wrap

    Conco

    Lexen

  • Activity Stream

    1. 7

      Air80 vs Stratos70 Windshield

      Since there is no limit of darkness on the top strip, I have wanted to tint it. But I would go very dark, to help with sun glare in the evening.
      mikenot in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    2. 7

      Air80 vs Stratos70 Windshield

      Yeah that’s a very fair point to a degree I’m probably overthinking it. I don’t see really significant glare reduction until you get into much darker tint. Like you I think visibility for me is more important living in the country. I’ll probably see what the specs list the differences between 70% and 80% and then double check with the tinter as to what they recommend. Likely will end up with 70% with a strip along the top. Air80 seems to be much more popular, not sure if it’s due to performance or the difference in cost being so much more for the stratos. thank you
      joshiemcduck in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    3. 0

      Process

      Hey guys - so I work for a vinyl graphics company that is adding window tinting to their repertoire and I had a question about your guys' ideal process. I have my plotter set up and my window tinting software ready to go, but I am completely ignorant about the way that tint installers prefer that things be cut. Currently, I will plot/weed the tint and cut the backing away as much as I dare before handing it over to the installer. I was thinking that the installer would prefer the tint to be cut to shape which I believe I can achieve with the perf cut on my plotter. Is that the typical process or should I not be worried so much about it being cut to exact shape?
      DonMeads in Plotters and Cutting Systems
    4. 7

      Air80 vs Stratos70 Windshield

      Im in TX, plenty of of what you mentioned. While I do sit higher in an SUV, glare reduction is not improved much at all with what I have. My 80% is almost clear, not dark at all. With all tint, it adds a bit of reflectivity from the outside, which I notice makes it slightly harder to see from the outside looking in, in the form of a glare not darkness. At the end of the day, it's not permanent, it's only money!
      mikenot in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    5. 0

      PPF installer for hire in SoCAL

      Hello. My name is Adrian i have good experience with paint protection film and i just moved to California, Irvine, i'm open to travel one hour away for the right job. You can contact me at 5717330693
      adrianpaun in Classifieds • Employment • Marketplace
    6. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      or "bust out another thousand"
      TintDude in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    7. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      Best tip would be, “Sorry, no boats”.
      pbalentine in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    8. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      The answer is to not heat that area too much so that you leave some slack in the film for when you get it to the inside. Also cut your pattern a little large so that you can trim a thread off the edges after shrinking to not have a furled edge. After you do a few of those you'll figure out how much to leave/trim to not have any light gaps. Also I'll leave a hardcard wrapped in a microfiber in the bottom overnight to collect water and keep pressure on the film while it dries. Sometimes you can take the top rail off the glass if the jackwagon boat builder didn't put too much pressure on the glass package when it was installed. If you pull the rail off of a tight package it's a pita to get back on, looking like it could crack the whole time. Congrats on getting it done. I've seen plenty that couldn't, which is why I price them like I do.
      Dano in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    9. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      Thx everyone for the tips the install went fine, however i did run into a new problem on the main curve of the glass from thr outside the tint would lay flat on the big curve but when applying it seemed like there was too much tension and it would not stay down i ended up heating it up and flattening down but some of that area got overheated and warped a little, if you know how to tackle this problem please help me thank you!
      Lauty in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    10. 6

      Removable rigid window tint sheets - WTF?

      civicrice in Window Tinting - General Discussion
×
×
  • Create New...