Owning a shop is something most technicians rattle around in their minds from time to time. It’s easy to think, “I’m doing all this work, but my boss is making all the money.” I’ll open my own shop and tell my boss to kick rocks.
Sounds easy, right? You are already fixing cars, how hard can it be?
I’ve been on both sides of this subject and I’m gonna be straight with you.
Just because you are good at fixing cars, doesn’t mean you should own your own shop. I genuinely do not mean anything bad by saying this, I just want to paint the picture of ownership like the Bob Ross of the automotive world.
After I paint you some happy little trees you can decide if you wanna jump on this crazy train.
If you want it and have what it takes, 100% go out there and get it done. If this post makes you second guess however, stick to being a successful technician and thank me later.
That’s right fellow gearheads, in this article I’ll talk about the nitty gritty of shop ownership. The real behind the scenes stuff that only (some) owners know.
The good, the greasy, and the downright bad. Like a broken stud in a GM exhaust manifold this is gonna get fun.
The dragging thoughts of going all in on your own shop
I’ve been there, mentally debating whether or not you can do it, wondering where I’ll find that perfect shop to rent. Thinking every night to myself “I should just quit and do it.”
The mental drain alone is enough to drive you nuts, isn’t it?
I’m with you, I’ve been there. I started at my uncle’s shop and built up my own while still working there full time. Late nights, fights with the wife, and time lost with my kids. It was not easy, but I don’t regret it, this is how I learned what owning a shop is really like.
I managed the shop I now own for years, and in all honesty I had a very good opportunity to learn everything I could working there before transitioning into the owner.
I saw the opportunity and held it tighter than a million bucks stuffed in a suitcase at the airport.
A few years later and I own the big shop, my side hustle is gone and I still get calls from time to time that I redirect right to my service advisor.
Let me be 100% clear with you, I fully support people taking the plunge to open their own shop. I love to see people succeed. With that said however, let’s take a moment to look at some of the realities of owning a business.
Once you know the true scope of owning a successful shop, you may just buy your boss that Christmas card this year after all.
What are some of the initial things you will face?
Where the hell is my shop!
I don’t know where you live but where I’m from just finding a building to rent is a tall order. I can’t tell you how many times I would find a little two bay deserted nook just to find out the landlord won’t rent for automotive use anymore, or the price was astronomical. It’s like once they got the last automotive tenant out, they banned mechanics.
This is due to EPA regulations, as well as insurance issues. Auto repair is a tough business, it’s not like my electrician buddies who buy a van and a couple of thousand in tools, then have Mrs. X giving them the cute eyes while they wire in her new chandelier.
Techs looking to open their own shop need a building, massive tools and equipment, and what about Mrs. X?
She gives us the stink eye because us grease monkeys must be ripping her off, right?
I should have been an electrician.
The money, where is the money?
Shops take cash to run, a lot of cash.
Starting from scratch takes a considerable investment of time, energy, and money. Auto repair requires a lot more equipment than other trades and it doesn’t come cheap, not to mention all of the liability and environmental regulations you need to stay on top of.
If you don’t have sufficient capital, or at minimum a list of potential customers lined up you should probably think about what you are getting involved in.
Start Small
This is why I am a big fan of starting out small as a side hustle, but treating it 100% legit. I started an LLC, paid all my taxes, setup accounting software, and had professional invoices setup. I even had insurance in case something happened. I ran my side hustle like it was a top rated shop from day one.
I installed a lock box for overnight drop off, set up a website, created shirts, business cards, etc.
The works, if I didn’t know how to do something I learned. This is what makes an owner, not “I’m better than my boss at fixing shit!” You won’t succeed with that alone.
Before you fly off the deep end with the “that’s not legal where I live” response, remember this. I’m not saying don’t check your local laws. What I am saying is I did it anyway because I needed to, sometimes you just need balls to run a business and get where you want to in life. I’m not saying break the law, what I am saying is sometimes you need to break the rules to prove you can do it.
This is your call. I finished my side work a long time ago; I’m just sharing my story. YOU are the one who makes your choices. This is me telling you how I came up, NOT what you should do.
Take it or leave it, the decision is yours and yours alone.
Time, oh time, where have you gone?
A business is like a little baby that requires constant attention. If you are the kind of technician who waits for the end of your shift so you can fly home, kill a six-pack, and meet your buddies on Xbox Live, you have no business owning a business.
There is nothing wrong with this way of thinking if you are happy with that; just understand, to jump from technician to owner, sacrifices must be made.
Take it for what it is.
A good tech doesn’t Necessarily make a good owner – here’s why
The tech mindset and an owner’s mindset are two different sides of the coin completely. Ownership requires understanding of business principles. Everything ends with you, and to be honest there is nowhere to hide.
I remember when I opened my first small shop. It started as a small side hustle in my garage. I spent a lot of money on a low-rise lift since the garage has low ceilings. I had people telling me I was crazy and I shouldn’t spend money on the lift yet. Around the time I was cutting open the garage floor, I realized there was no turning back.
Two babies upstairs, sleep-deprived, and spending money I didn’t have on a lift and concrete. Facing the unknown is what many techs won’t push past. You can be the best mechanic this side of the world, but if you can’t push past complete utter discomfort, you won’t make it long as an owner.
After I finished smoothing out the 18 inch thick layer of concrete I poured for the lift foundation, I knew I had no choice but to make this work.
I feel like every entrepreneur reaches a point where there’s no turning back. You’re either all in or all out. It gets real here—whether it’s a contract to sign, money to invest, or a lease to agree to, it’s time to either fully commit or slam on the brakes.
Only the strong survive.
You have to Believe in yourself, for real
Owners often started as techs, many of whom rarely dealt with situations outside of their bay. For most, the idea of running a business is intimidating.
The truth is that feeling is normal for everyone – always, no exceptions. It’s just the way individual people handle it that separates the outcome.
You have to understand owning a shop isn’t you working on cars and making all kinds of money right away. It’s about learning the ebbs and flows of business.
It takes time.
I like to use the analogy of the new tech fresh out of school buying the 10k toolbox off of the Snap-on Truck.
Needs that fancy tool box, doesn’t have true skill yet, or tools for that matter, but it looks so cool on Instagram.
How good do you think that will work out if he doesn’t produce enough and gets fired? You think Snap-On will feel bad and tell him he doesn’t need to pay his bill? Hell no, that box will be back in the truck faster than you can blink.
The same principle applies to ownership. You need to learn, build, and execute procedures. Not spend a ton of money up front for cool equipment and tools, that stuff comes but only after you start resourceful. Let the business mature into what it will become, this requires patience and knowing when to spend and when to hold off.
Many techs don’t see the backend, they see the cars flowing in and out of the shop. That seems like a TON of money! Jeez we are $180 per hour, the boss is making bank!
Like I said there is a deep backend
- Insurance
- Payroll
- Taxes
- Vendors
- Utilities
- Retirement contributions
- Rent
- Equipment
- Did I mention taxes?
The advice?
You’re a tech, you know the work, the trade… think of how strong you will be if you learn how to be an owner. You need to learn this stuff if you want to own a shop of any size.
I have an accountant and bookkeeper who help me sort things out. They know my vision for the shop. I trust them fully, but I never take my eyes off the end numbers.
If you’re thinking like just a tech, you wouldn’t bother learning enough to at least QUESTION the people you hire. Sometimes hard questions need to be asked, and you need to be the one asking if you think something’s off in your financials.
You have to have full confidence in yourself as a technician, manager, parts guy, service advisor, customer service rep, general manager, building maintainer, and finally owner.
Owner is last because all the ones before it and some not even listed are what an owner needs to be at any given time, any given day.
Let that sink in.
The average tech that toys with the idea of opening a shop doesn’t really want that kind of stress or responsibility. Make no mistake, they can do it, but it takes passion they don’t have.
The financial game, the money is not yours!
A lot of techs don’t have experience with running the back end of a shop. This is something that will get the foolish in more trouble than an ice cube in the desert.
Here’s the scenario of a foolish owner.
They get up and running, and after some time and hard work, money and referrals start coming in. The money flows in like they have Harry Potter’s wand, and the “I’m loaded” feeling begins to make you smile.
Then the bills roll in, after all is paid they wanna cry. What do you mean I owe 7,000 in sales tax this month??
Shop ownership 101: The money is not all yours, you need to get your banking structured and realize it cost money to run a business, especially an auto shop. This is another trap that many average techs can get trapped in.
When things get rolling a lot of money comes in, this is great and obviously the goal. The problem is, if you are acting like “just a tech” you might not realize a good month costs more. More parts ordered, more taxes due, more payroll in many cases, MORE everything.
The business can literally become a cash eating monster, this is why many seasoned owners don’t want to expand their shops. It adds a whole other layer of stress and complexity to a business.
This is also why you will hear about some guys who absolutely kill it with two bays and three employees. They have much less overhead, and in many cases they are smart enough to realize this.
The owner needs to think about these things and make sure he or she stays on top of the ebbs and flows of the business.
Stress management
You know that feeling when you turn the key on that huge job for the first time?
That nervousness?
You know the Audi you just had completely blown apart on your bench. The nervousness, the questions, the “did I line that up right?” Now imagine feeling that more, A LOT more.
As a tech, do you handle being pulled away from a job well? Can you multitask and make decisions while you have a task ongoing?
Can you stay cool when you’re trying to finish that 2.0 liter Audi timing chain job but get interrupted every few minutes or hours? Do you get testy with people? Doing that too often will hurt not only your shop’s morale but also your customer relationships.
You need to answer questions, solve problems, and make decisions all day, The buck stops with you, there is no safety net.
A tech looking to be owner needs to realize that very fast.
All of your techs are doing jobs and turning keys. If they mess up, you mess up. That feeling never goes away fully. As much as you may want to point the finger a customer doesn’t care when you say it was “my tech who screwed up,” you are the one who needs to make it right.
The good owner never loses their cool, even when guys mess up. You are responsible for each one. In my shop I have great techs, but things do happen, and I fully accept that if the shit hits the fan, I need to be the guy running to grab the toilet paper.
Train your employees and enforce your particular policies for people who don’t make your cut, but never forget, everything falls on you at the end of the day.
Understand that if something gets damaged, or worse someone gets hurt, it’s on you. This is the part of ownership you don’t see on flashy TikToks.
This is the real shit.
one tip that will set you up for success
ORGANIZATION. I will say that one more time. ORGANIZATION is absolute key to running the back end of a successful shop.
Will you take the time to create a system that tracks invoices, returns, utilities? Most techs hate geeky technical stuff. Here’s the Buzz Killington in the room.
You need to learn accounting software.
You need to learn how to scan, structure, and organize all invoices, statements, etc.
You need to create systems, what you don’t know you need to learn.
Sign up for my free newsletter to learn how
I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay organized when running a shop. You might manage without it when you’re small, but as you grow, the added paperwork will quickly become overwhelming without a system to track everything.
You need to think like a business owner first, technician second. Build a system, make sure it works, run it without exception, stay on top of your books and paperwork, this equals a win.
You need to be a teacher
The auto repair business is wildly complex and requires constant learning and evolution. The weak and outdated die, or at least they run on borrowed time.
Techs, (at least the serious ones) are curious. Like you and me, they want to know how things work. Good owners recognize the employees who do and invest heavily into education.
The mindset shift from tech to owner requires mature insight. It’s no longer about you. Educate your employees as much as possible.
A successful shop owner knows he or she must work ON the business.
Working ON the business, not FOR the business means learning as much as possible so you can teach your crew what they need to know to be successful.
You need to fix the nightmare cars your techs get stuck on and address any backend issues that arise. This requires a calm and confident mindset every day. As the owner, understand that the buck stops with you. There is no safety net, and things will go wrong from time to time.
Instead, it becomes a game of putting your crew before yourself. Anything your employees do for their position, you need to be able to do yourself. You also need to create procedures to train new people.
This is where techs will need to slow down and understand the importance of bringing the crew up by bringing themselves up.
Most techs like the thought of owning a shop, but they don’t want to learn how to train people. Managing people is something that requires a specific mindset and approach. Some people have it, some people don’t.
The good
Jeez, I’ve spent so much time telling you about the hard reality of owning a shop I’m even asking myself what the hell am I doing here?
The truth is owning a shop is very rewarding and can be quite lucrative if it’s done correctly. It takes time but it’s worth it.
You are building a solid asset which can set you up for life. You see the beauty of our trade is there is a huge demand. If you build up a customer base and treat them better than anywhere else, they will stick with you for a very long time.
I always hold this fact in my back pocket, even if this thing tanks I will be OK because I have built a list of people who want me, and only me to fix their cars. This is when you hit the sweet spot, people are hunting for a chunk of your time, they value it greatly.
Remember how I said work ON the business? This is where you train your people to gently take these loyal customers by the hand and seamlessly provide them with the same experience as you did to build their trust.
This is when you have arrived and owning a shop is more like overseeing than grinding away trying to figure it all out.
Are You Actually Ready? The Honest Questions
Many auto techs have the dream of owning their own shop, and I love seeing people thriving in business. You can absolutely start a shop if you really want it.
Here’s some questions though.
Are you willing to break away from focusing strictly on fixing cars?
Are you ready to accept all responsibility, as in everything good or bad?
Will you learn how business works?
Can you handle working 60-80 hour weeks for the first 2-3 years?
Are you prepared to make less money initially than you do as a tech?
Can you deal with the stress of making payroll every two weeks?
Are you willing to sacrifice time with your family while you build?
Can you handle being hated by customers sometimes?
Can you fire someone who has kids to feed but isn’t cutting it?
Do you have 6-12 months of living expenses saved up?
It’s OK if you don’t want to take all of this on
Here’s the thing nobody wants to say: being a great technician is a damn good career. There’s honor in that. There’s real value in mastering your craft.
You can make $70k-100k+ as a senior tech, go home at 5pm, and not think about work until the next morning. You get weekends off. You see your kids. Your wife doesn’t hate you for always being at the shop.
That’s a GOOD life.
Not everyone should own a shop. Hell, most techs SHOULDN’T own a shop, even the really talented ones. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Being a badass technician who actually has a life is better than being a stressed-out, broke shop owner who’s about to lose his marriage, always.
So here’s the deal. If you read all of this and you’re thinking “I still want to do it,” even after everything I just laid out… then you might just have what it takes.
But go in with your eyes wide open. Know what you’re signing up for. Don’t romanticize it. It’s hard as hell. The first few years will test everything you thought you knew about yourself.
But if you’re built for it, if you have the drive and the willingness to learn, it can also be incredibly rewarding.
Me? I wouldn’t change a thing. I love what I do. That’s not me on a high horse, that’s me telling you what I wish someone told me years ago.
The choice is yours.
Now get back to work.
