Helf8704

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.

IF it wasn't for 2 people and one event  I probably wouldn't have had the courage to do it
. . .
1] Is is a Friend and  long time Tinter that i met, When I met him he assured me there is no shortage of cars to be tinted,   he also started to send me some work and told me if ever got 2 slow all I had to do is give him a call and he would send me some work. THIS WAS VERY REASSURING ,  I have yet to call him for being "slow" but the reassurance is comforting
2] My momma who told me to jump off the cliff and learn how to fly on the way down. . . . she said if you never jump you will never learn!!!!
3]while debating jumping off the cliff one day i made like 600 in one day and this was a wake up smack in the face, I made 2 weeks of work in ONE DAY that was the straw that broke the camel's back!!!!!  what i did was I went to part time at my old job for 2 months to see if could do it[10 hour days 2 days a week 4 days tinting ] after that i quit for good and have never looked 
 
Between all this IT IS STUPID NOT TO DO IT . 

LIKE NIKE SAID JUST DO IT. . . . Yes im very slow in clientele as most guys are knocking out 4-6 cars a day and im doing 2-6 a week!  but I DON'T CARE.. . . . Im not trying to be rich and im not trying to work 40 plus hours a week,  so my advice to you is to find out how many cars a week you need to to make a living. . . .and set that as your goal
 
one other thing to note: 1 week i could make 150 the next week i could make 1200, So what i do is i pretend i live on my old pay checks and if i make 1200 for a week I know i made what i need for the month . its probably not the best way to run a business but im learning the business side of things as i go. . . DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I tint full time, but in reality its part time, I quit my job about 6 months ago to mobile tint full time, at my old job i was used to making 10 an hr / 300 a week [I WAS PISS POOR]  The good news is im still used to living off this money . , so i dont need much to survive and i can make that in a car in 1.5 cars . So what i do  is list my self as being on call mon-saturday 9-4 and when im not tinting, I hang out BEING FREEE ALL DAY TO DO WHAT I WANT  and then when i get a call I go out and do the job! I dont know if you count that full time or part time, But for me its Freedom , and i get to work when i want .  i tint 2-6 cars a week which is either way quadruple what i made at my old Job
 
This is what scares about getting a shop.  For the first time in my life i am free and im not sure if I want to commit my self to the hours that shop involves!

I tint part time when the dam tinter show up late or decide not to show up at all. 

I tint on the side and love it.  The extra cash on the side is nice!  All my biz is word of mouth and referrals.  This time of year is slow, but when it's warmer I stay pretty busy on nights and weekends. 
 
I worked in a shop for a very short time.  I didn't like being rushed and dealing with egos.  But if you have been in the aftermarket automotive industry for that many years these things are nothing new to you haha.

I build boiler systems full time and tint on the side. Starting my own business and wanna go full time with it. 

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