Making a Power Play...Need Everyone's Help

[HardcoreZ28]

Ok so as many of you know I've been doing the resto thing for about 3 years now mostly at night and on the weekends. Business has been growing and my reputation is in very good standing around the local car community. Unfortunately with the high cost of a house and shop I still haven't been able to make the break from my day job and the steady paycheck.

I'm at the point where it's getting tough to keep up with all the work at night but won't necessarily sustain me full time yet. So.....I've come up with an advertising/business generating idea to try out. I set up an Ebay auction for a restoration job. The auction is for the cost of labor only and parts would be extra. I've priced the job at $50,000 to start which is about 15% off the normal price if you figure roughly 1,000 hours of labor to do a car and a normaly hourly rate of $65/hr.

This is where I need everyone's help. I need to get this auction viewed by as many people as possible in order to possibly make it work. If you guys could spread it around all the car sites that you're a member of it would be greatly appreciated. This could be the final push I need to comfortably break ties with the corporate world and pursue my dream.

Thank you all in advance for any help you can offer. The link to the auction is below:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=290280279911

[chrisfrom nj]

paul the shop looks great i seen the cars you are working on and finished good luck with everything .if i know anyone that wants to restore a car i'll send them your way

[Blackbirdws6]

Sounds like an interesting idea. I will pass it around.

Just thinking out loud but would it be possible for you to find a few clients that will be long term projects with payments made at certain "goal" points? This can help you move things along with people that have the money to spend and gain you even greater recognition in the meantime. If you can find a good base of customers, these can support the month to month operations while other jobs in the middle can bring in even more business. I can imagine it is tough to fully make the switch but you seem like the guy that has enough smarts and passion to pull it off.

Good luck!

-Brian

[LTb1ow]

You should just bug the mods here, none of them have working resto cars. :mrgreen:

And I will spread it on some of the sites I frequent.

[Iroc-z86]

if i had the money, i would def give business to you. As soon as i get some green you will be receiving parts from me to powder coat :) I will def spread the word for ya though.

[BonzoHansen]

done & good luck

[BonzoHansen]

You should just bug the mods here, none of them have working resto cars. :mrgreen:Luckily I'm not a mod, or my 77 would mess up your count....wait....ummm...JL8Jeff has a super nice 70 SS....he's a mod....

so STFU. :mrgreen:

[LTb1ow]

Just poking fun, no need to get ruffled.

[NJSPEEDER]

Good luck Paul!

Paul has been a long time supporter on the NJFBOA. He has been a member and sharing his knowledge just about since day one.

Hit the link and help Paul live his dream and take advantage of his talents.

[HardcoreZ28]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys.

[2RARE84s]

Forwarded this to my Aunt (the one with the T-Bucket: T-Bucket (http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/0807sr_1923_ford_t_bucket/index.html)) they know EVERYONE in the "car scene"... :) Good Luck!!

[Teds89IROC]

Done, and good luck Paul!

[NJSPEEDER]

Looks like it is going good, getting a lot of views. Keep us updated on how it goes.

[WildBillyT]

Looks great Paul. Good luck with it!

[Knipps]

Glad to see you're getting lots of views, now to wait for that first bid!
hope it works out for you man

[JSPERFORMANCE]

:idea:If you want you can call the car you do a "JS Edition" and I will sign the dash for you when it is done... :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::shock::shock::shock:: rofl::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::rofl::mrgreen::mr green::rofl:

Just messing with you Paul, I know its hard but just do it! If your skills are up to par, you have a good work ethic, and you take care of your customers you will not have a problem making a living for yourself.

[HardcoreZ28]

:idea:If you want you can call the car you do a "JS Edition" and I will sign the dash for you when it is done... :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::shock::shock::shock:: rofl::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::rofl::mrgreen::mr green::rofl:

Just messing with you Paul, I know its hard but just do it! If your skills are up to par, you have a good work ethic, and you take care of your customers you will not have a problem making a living for yourself.

Hahah JS Edition huh? Sounds like a collectible to me!

I have all of the above, but I also have a NJ mortgage from when the market was still sky high and no wife to be my sugar momma during the slow months. Definitely heading in the right direction though.

[NJSPEEDER]

How is this going Paul? Getting any inquiries from it?

[HardcoreZ28]

Nope...only 1 person watching at this point...guessing it's someone from here.

[stoney2677]

i took a look...nice shop

[jims69camaro]

starting a new business in NJ is hard. you seem to be in the right neighborhood, though. i would certainly want to open a business in a more highly populated area. it's all about the numbers. the more people, the more people likely to be into hot rods, the more people that have projects they just can seem to find the time to complete, the more people likely to send business your way. i know as the chain goes along there are fewer and fewer people attached, but you get the idea. helluva lot better than to open in millville or something in salem or cape may county. i wish you luck.

[Fast92RS]

How is it comming along Paul? Its gotta be hard especially now, I dont know how many people are spending big money these days. Its nice to see a place like yours around here especially when all these kind of place's are mostly down south or in california. Good luck.

[HardcoreZ28]

Well nothing happened with the auction but that was no big surprise. Business is still growing though. Even with the market people are spending money. I've got 4 cars in the shop right now all medium sized jobs. Once came in just this saturday and will keep me busy for a good 4 or 5 months. I'm also employing another board member during his winter break as he worked for me over the summer and does fantastic work.

I have enough to keep me busy at night and on the weekends until Spring. Then when show season starts back up I can do some more aggressive advertising again at shows and so forth. Slow and steady I suppose....but it would be great if I could just quit my day job already and focus on this.

[NJSPEEDER]

I really wonder if you went ahead and quit the job or put in for a few month leave of absence if the resto business would just take off on it's own. Once you have time to dedicate yourself to the job and get more of your work out in less time, people will see it and it could take off on it's own.

[HardcoreZ28]

It could.....but the bank won't like that risk when the mortgage checks aren't coming in consistently.