Helf8704

20 hours ago, ErieTint said:

I went through the program at LLumar's facility in Martinsville Virginia the second week of October. Class went really well, instructor was super cool and there was only one other guy registered so it was pretty hands on and focused with instruction. Had to open an account and place an opening order to get registered for class, I would say that was the only downside. I did have help from my rep and a friend who used to tint with what to buy size and VLT wise though. They got me pretty well set up and I've only had to order one additional roll so far for a local PD's new K9 car.

 

Have been moving pretty slow getting things going but I am still working a full time job. I picked up a Graphtec plotter from my friend mentioned above and got that set up and running right before Christmas. Having doors cut for me is HUGE because my hand cutting skills were "meh" at best. I would like to be at the point where I could do a full vehicle in about four hours or less. Pulled in, cleaned, shrunk, tinted, cleaned again and back out in four hours or less. Figured that isn't too lofty and is a pretty good metric to shoot for. That would give me two or more vehicles per day ability wise. Would really like to replace my full time job with this once I am fast enough. I have a list with close to 30 people on it right now that I am slowly picking away at based on our schedules coordinating.

@ErieTint Thanks for your response.  I would like to go the same route you have went, my big hangup on striking out on my own from the start is mastering the skills needed well enough to where I feel confident charging for those skills.  I know after completing a training course it will still take a lot of practice to get the skills down and really feel confident.  Places like this definitely help, but I think it would still be a hard transition.  On the flip side, as someone who worked in a shop for almost 12 years and now has complete control of my schedule in my current position, I would love to continue to have control of my schedule with my current family needs.

14 minutes ago, poppawilly67 said:

own shop.  just me myself and i.

 

@poppawilly67 Did you work in a tint shop previously?  Or have you always been on your own?

56 minutes ago, poppawilly67 said:

full-time firefighter/emt here.  24 on and 48 off.  generally the 48 i am off, i am slinging tint.  been doing this for several years.  my fulltime job pays my taxes, child support, and bills.  so what i make tinting is mine.

 

@poppawilly67 I had a coworker at a truck accessory shop I worked at a while back who did the same thing.  He was 24 on/48 off and would work 1-2 days at our shop for extra cash and a discount on parts for this truck.  He said most of the guys he worked with either had a side job or business on their days off. 

Do you work for yourself or at a tint shop?

@Apex Tint I can understand the things you didn't like about working in a shop.  After having done so for a number of years I have seen plenty instances of both. 

I would honestly like to go the same route as you have went.  I really enjoy my current position and do not really want to go back to working in a shop if I can figure out a way to do it on my own.  However, I do understand the learning curve involved in this business and would love to gain some experience if I can find a situation that would work. 

Do you have a shop or workspace?  The major thing holding me back from going that route is that I don't currently have a space to work in.  I would have to rent shop space in order to do so.   

And have another job or go to school?  Or another arrangement?

A little background on me:  I have worked in the automotive aftermarket for almost 16 years.  I worked in a retail shop for almost 12 years and have been working in e-commerce for the past 4 years.  I enjoy my current position, but miss working on cars.  Tinting is something that has interested me for a number of years and I really wish I had learned how to do it years ago. 

I am currently considering attending a training class in the early part of next year.  After completing a training class I would like to find a part time position in the field.  I would like to keep my current position, but the hours are flexible and I figure I could work approximately 2 days per week tinting in addition to my current position.  It's just that in my time working in a custom shop I don't recall any of the window tinters being part time employees, all were full time. 

I would prefer doing auto tint, but am willing to entertain flat glass as well.  I'm just curious of the prevalence of part time positions or other more flexible arrangements in the tint industry.

I am trying to get started and maybe interested. Can you provide more info on exactly what you have?

I have been looking for a bay to rent at local shops to try and get started in business. I know this is a tint forum but I know a lot of tinters lease a bay at custom shops, so this question should apply to you guys well. I have an internet business selling performance parts and I'm looking to rent a bay to perform installation on products sold through the website as well as solicit more local work. A buddy of mine was at a local stereo/custom shop talking to the owner yesterday and he said he was looking for someone to do performance work for them. He said either an employee or he would rent space to someone to do this. So I could rent the bay from him and do my work out of there. This is a relatively well known shop in town for doing a lot of custom audio work, tint and wheels but not really performance. I mainly sell sport compact performance parts on my website but I manage a truck accessory shop full-time so I know a good amount about those products as well, they do more truck/suv work than anything else. My question is what is a typical price to rent a bay at a shop like this? I'm just curious of what you guys are paying and what is fair. Also, any pitfalls/benefits to doing this that anybody can contribute would be awesome!! I'm just looking for some feedback from someone who does tinting in this type of situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Jason

I had a business idea I have been considering for a while now. I am currently the store manager of a truck accessory store. My main interest though is in the actual installation of the products. I enjoy installing the parts more than any of my other duties. I enjoy making the car look and perform better than just being a parts pusher. My business idea is to open a shop where all we do is install accessories. This would include ground effects, spoilers, lowering kits, lift kits, truck accessories, intakes, alarms, cd players, exhaust systems and other similar parts. Basically most anything you could buy for your car we would install except high performance engine parts, custom fiberglassing and other installations requiring a high level of fabrication. I would only install new parts as there are too many potential problems with used parts. I could market this business to car enthusiasts as well as shoppers who purchase parts online. Possibly even set up a system with online retailers to send these customers to us if they desire installation. Also we could subcontract a window tinter to do tinting, a body shop to paint parts for us, a spray on bed liner company to do spray on's. Basically any type of labor automotive accessory service. I could also market my company to existing shops to perform installations that they currently don't perform in-house. I also am very close to opening a website to sell parts and could parlay that into a retail store at some time using my installation business as the installation center for my retail store. This would most likely start out as a small 2 bay shop (possibly old gas station service center) or a small area in an industrial park. There would be just me and one other employee. I would also work a 3rd shift job in the beginning to meet my prior financial obligations. Just been considering this lately, going to be graduating from college in a couple months with a degree in business management, a degree in automotive service management, and a certificate in entrepreneurship and looking to try something on my own. Let me know what you think, any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Jason