How long did it take for your new shop to bring in 2 cars every day?

[smills1840]

Hello!

 

I'm opening a new shop in an area with very little competition. I've already got my LLumar account set up, along with my plotter. I'm wondering how long it took you guys to consistently bring in 2 cars every day when you first opened your shop. 

 

Thanks!

[TNTLady]

Well thats different for everybody and Ive been doing it so long I dont remember how long it took to build up to two cars plus a day. Be sure to take advantage of the free google site you can claim as your business. Folks google everything nowadays so take the time to set up your page on google and add pictures for visual stimuli. Also YP or Yelp if you have them. Facebook business page is also a great freebie source for advertising. Just keep up posts to get your name out there and they will come. Good luck to you!!

[DynamicATL]

I think we were averaging 2 cars a day by the second year of offering window tint.  As @TNTLady said, social media and online marketing is going to bring you customers faster.  Take advantage of all the free options out there until you can build up some money to do paid advertising.  Craigslist used to be a great option when it was free, but now they charge per post.  It is still pretty cheap if you do a few posts here and there but I wouldn't spend a bunch of money there.  Facebook, Google, Yelp, Instagram, YouTube, etc are all great ways to be found.  Take photos of your work and post online...customers are visual so they want to see that your doing work.  Also, talk to customers about leaving you a review if they enjoy your work.  Tint shops that have been around for years/decades with virtually no online presence will fade away since they have no way to attract the newer generations besides word of mouth.  It was like when Cadillac decided to revamp their entire lineup because they realized their current customer base was literally dying off.  The last piece of advice, do not start off with a low price because you are newer to the game...this is a mistake a lot of people make.  Once you build a reputation for being cheap, it is hard to raise your prices without losing all your customers.  A higher price tag gives the customer perceived value in your service.

[highplains]

6 hours ago, DynamicATL said:

The last piece of advice, do not start off with a low price because you are newer to the game...this is a mistake a lot of people make.  Once you build a reputation for being cheap, it is hard to raise your prices without losing all your customers. A higher price tag gives the customer perceived value in your service.

I had a customer bring me their new truck a couple weeks ago to match the front windows because when I quoted them out on the phone my entry level film was a little more than double the price they had been quoted by a shop in the next town over.

[jconnors]

 

 "A higher price tag gives the customer perceived value in your service."

whether or not it's true, customers will think you are better if your price is higher

i feel people will question you less

you won't mind spending that extra time to get the job done right

a repair is easier to stomach when you get paid good the first time you tint the vehicle

 

also, you are not in business to tint someones vehicle.  you are in business to MAKE MONEY.  tinting is just the way to do it.  so make the most you can without being too greedy. 

it's very easy to drop prices if you need to, but, like was said before, difficult to go up.

[CaliTINT]

For us it took about 2 years before becoming really consistent and little to no dead days. But we did zero paid advertising and only did the free platforms, word-of-mouth, referrals, etc. 

 

I hope you have a plan in place to pay for your shop/bills and yourself when starting out. Me, I kept a part time job. Some people save a good chunk of money to survive. Make sure you have a plan.