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Starting Mobile ppf and window tint

rideordie763
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rideordie763

rideordie763

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I've been installing for 5 years with ppf, scotch guard venture shield, pro series and pro series 2. I started on 2011 range rovers and Jaguars, I was the in house guy at the dealership, I was there for about a year then luther wanted to start a accaury division to weed out the venders. So big Corp. and son of luther sit me done offering me a position I said yes and of course lots of promises that didn't fall Thur. I have been with automotive performance studio for 4 years now and I was the last standing of the 4 guys they had at the begging of the start up. There was ups and downs but always made more every year. Needless to say i just couldnt put up with Corp. bullshit anymore and the 4 middle men from customer to installer. I put my two weeks in and decided to leave my lead installer position with a.p.s

I'm going on my own and I'm going mobile as ppf and tint.

I'll have a plotter, lab top, and a folding table.

I'm on here to see if I can get some suggestions on starting a ppf and tinting business?? I forgot to mention that I've only done a hand full of cars window tinting just figured I should offer another service. I'm certified in ppf and not window tint. Was thinking of getting certified for tint

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PPFdistributing

PPFdistributing

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Have you done some of the backend stuff yet like registering your business? Getting an EIN? Probably should get some minimal insurance to start. I'd also think about buying some domains till you are ready to put time/money into doing a website. Get a Facebook page started is a definite since it's free. Get email setup as well, gmail is free. That should be a good start. You can PM me for some more info on getting things started as the list can be long so you don't want to overwhelm yourself by trying to get it all done at once.

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rideordie763

rideordie763

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I have not thought of EIN? I was thinking of taking a crash course on business. But yes insurance is a must, I also have a name which I thought would be good to have before moving on to gmail Facebook business cards and website. I appreciate the help vary much, it's not going to be a easy road getting the clientele so I want to take the right steps, With a Morgage and two kids it has to work.

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XPEL Jeff

XPEL Jeff

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Here's a quick checklist:

 

- Get a good accountant and discuss your intentions/goals
- Register your business with the state.  Your accountant will help you decide the best way to do this (i.e. LLC, S-corp, etc)
- Register with the IRS and get an EIN
- Get insured
- Design logo
- Build business plan (these can be found online)
- Acquire and build a website
- Create a business bank account
- Figure out where/how you want to market your services
- Decide on products
- Settle on a location (even if you are not brick and mortar, you need to figure out how far you are willing to travel that makes sense)
- Decide what amount you will pay yourself and what will be reinvested into the business
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pro-tect mobile

pro-tect mobile

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Jeff listed out a lot of good points. BUT one of the first things you need to do is get training whether it be tint or PPF. One thing I have learned in this business over the last 13+ years is you can have 20 great installs but one bad one will kill your business. Sounds like you haven't really had any formal training and you will need it. If you aren't great at tint don't offer it until you are. Tint is being done everywhere and if you are doing poor tint work then it will kill your PPF business. Much better money to be made in PPF although tint can be a good filler. Just don't offer it unless you are great at doing it. Next you need to ping some mobile installers and find out what tips and told they can recommend for you. Mobile installing is much different than working in a shop. I think you have plenty on your plate with Jeff's post... quality work is a must though so get training. And I hate to be the one to point this out... work on your communication skills. having a lot of typos and misspelling/grammar errors will make you look unprofessional and you will loose some customers that way. Just being honest after reading your post.

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Midtown Houston

Midtown Houston

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Certified don't mean nothing.....Experience is everything...

 

We just got our 3M Crystalline Certified after installing it for almost 7rs....They just started this class

We got our 3M PPF certified by Steven Burn like 6 yrs ago....

We got our Xpel Certified last yrs....

 

Just sub out the tint....that what I would recommend.  Having 3 location....I am not able to do installation all the time but I alway oversee the work....Junk don't leave out of my shop..

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pro-tect mobile

pro-tect mobile

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Certified don't mean nothing.....Experience is everything...

 

We just got our 3M Crystalline Certified after installing it for almost 7rs....They just started this class

We got our 3M PPF certified by Steven Burn like 6 yrs ago....

We got our Xpel Certified last yrs....

 

Just sub out the tint....that what I would recommend.  Having 3 location....I am not able to do installation all the time but I alway oversee the work....Junk don't leave out of my shop..

I totally disagree. For one being certified does mean "SOMETHING". It means you went through the factory training... and its also a quick way to shorten the learning curve a bit. Just winging it and learning through trial and error and cost a lot more time and money which could kill the business pretty quick. I'm assuming he isn't starting out with a lot of capital so why not do it right from the get go and get certified???? Any training you can get will help eliminate bad installs.... and it only takes one to negate 100 good ones. The pissed off customers are usually the one who leave reviews... not the happy ones.

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Midtown Houston

Midtown Houston

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we shrink film differently than most installer...we don't even put direct heat on the film just the edge....I can teach you this technique in 2 days. It will take you months to years to learn to shrink back glass on different vehicles using the traditional method. No school will teach you this method....we install so much 3M Crystalline that we invented this method....and no it is not a ballon method....we used this method to shrink back glass on a VW Golf in less than 5min....same with BMW X5...all suv with rear spoiler are cake using this method....

Look at our instagram page @midtownmotortrends

Edited by upperkirby
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TTS

TTS

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we shrink film differently than most installer...we don't even put direct heat on the film just the edge....I can teach you this technique in 2 days. It will take you months to years to learn to shrink back glass on different vehicles using the traditional method. No school will teach you this method....we install so much 3M Crystalline that we invented this method....and no it is not a ballon method....we used this method to shrink back glass on a VW Golf in less than 5min....same with BMW X5...all suv with rear spoiler are cake using this method....

Look at our instagram page @midtownmotortrends

Sure sounds like the baloon method ... Any videos ?

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