Starting my own business.. Looking for ideas

[dshaff24]

Im a electrician.. Ive been working in houses and cars/boats/industrial equipment my whole life dealing with wiring from custom installs in vehicals to wiring a warehouse..

Basically my business will offer
- Lift/lowering kits
- wheels tires
-Remote Car Starters/Alarms
- Paint
- Back up camera's / beepers
- bed liners - step bars - ventshades etc etc
- window tint
- basically any accessory.. I have 2 world wide distributors lined up and the are ready to work with me.. One 2 miles from the shop im looking to purchase and another that does 1 day shipping
-headrest dvd players/flip down dvd players/indash dvd

Basically im looking to do what I love.. Customize vehicals.. Boats trucks golf carts motorcycles etc etc!

Ive torn every vehical ive owned apart and rebuilt them all of them to my liking from rebuilding motors to upgrading motors..

Im having trouble deciding on a NAME for the Shop that describes everything!

Right now I work for 2 of my uncles.. Both doing wiring for his Car Stereo Shop and my other uncle doing wiring for houses/garages/warehouses you name it I been there..

I want to keep the electronic part of the name to where It grabs the car dealerships in thinking Professional and to the point..

I thought of this name

D.E.S Auto electronics - I like this name because it sounds professional in the field of electronics in vehicals.. But then I want
High Mountain Offroad accessorys - because im in the mountains.. Sell a lot of lifts and Jeeping is big in my area! etc etc

So bascally I hope this gives you guys an idea of where im coming from.. And I know theres is a few of you on here who work in this field so any input would be great!

Another thing is I have to have a name that nobody else for me to make is an llc company!

So much to think about:mrgreen:

Another thing I want to do is Sell A.R.E truck caps or Leer Truck caps..

As of right now I do side work installing remote car starters in Brand new vehicals.. The wiring is so technical now days nobody wants to do them around here so I have 10 new car dealerships that depend on me.. and trust me.. These things bring in a lot of money over the winter months

[Fman]

"YOU NAME IT customization and fabrication"... ???

[mapleleaf]

" hook my wife up headrests dvd's in her sequoia asap" LLC????
LOL
Sorry dude just kidding, keep it short and simple, 3 words max, like "Shockey Electronics" or "Wheels and Wires" I know those are cheesey, but at least something that people will remember....
Back the headrest's for my wife's Sequoia....seriously my kid's legs can almost reach the drivers seat.....

[ScottnAz]

1st.... contact Stephen Sinek with Seven Sin Design and have him get your company image/branding/logo put together. Seriously, this dude is amazing. You're in a position to let a REAL graphic designer come up with a company name and image at the same time. http://www.sevensindesign.com/ Do me a favor, and let him know Scott sent ya :)

2nd..... make sure the url for your company name is available. And, be prepared to purchase the url immediately. There are companies/people out there that are able to search for recently requested web addresses, then purchase them out from under you in an attempt to later sell it to you at a higher cost. These days, a good web address is just as important as the companies name and branding. Especially since it sounds like you may be able to enter the realm of online sales. It's all about google rankings.

How about...... MOD IT!

[michael hunter]

Congrats on following your dream. Where are you located I may be in need of your skills?

[csuggs]

Sounds great!! And I agree with the branding and web address insight that Scott has offered. After reading of your intentions, my only caution is that you not spread yourself too thin in the beginning. Concentrate on two or three things you like that you're REALLY good at - and let that be what gets your business off the ground. After you've established your name and reputation for professional work, then diversify.

Just my $.02

As for names . . . something catchy that goes along with your web address, facebook and twitter names, etc. I think a good marketing person can help you with that tremendously.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

I would have to research a lot more before making a move but you may want to consider branding the off-road separately from the Electronics/accessories. This is because the target audience is different and you would need different advertising in different places to appeal to each audience. Maybe this could come a lil later. But it would be as simple as two signs on the same building and two phone lines. The trick is to target the correct customers only and not bleed the two together which diluted the brand imo. Very popular nowadays

Almost forgot, best of luck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jet]

dshaff24 my brotha. We are living parallel lives. Im a couple of years ahead of you. You on Jeepsunlimited? I have been for 9 years now andrewjetmitchel 97' ZJ here is my signature below. Every nut and bolt has been pulled off my motorcycles, boat, jeeps cars and trucks. I hung up my office job 3 years ago and went to work for myself, my grandfather taught me how to wrench and I have been hooked ever sense. I cant leave anything alone. I can make it better, lol. Its a sickness and a challenge. If you need any help you just call me I can tell you what mistakes NOT to make. I even helped Salty87 on here to jump start his own advertising company, hope he's doing well. As for right now, i would say keep your day job and do this on the side..Its REALLY hard out here and even people with money arent spending it right now. this is the 1st year that we havent seen a LARGE jump in our #'s for the year i think we are even below last years right now but have 3 more months to try and pull it out. Go with the 1st name and add a SYMBOL or a shape to your name (like a eagle or the wetsounds symbol) people remember symbols way longer than a name, and you dont want to be tied down just to the 4x4 guys..they are diy guys anyway. Call or pm me. Live the dream man..live the dream. Jet




My 3rd Jeep!! 97' JGC/4.0/42RE, Shift Kit, Bored 60mm TB, cold air Intake, Dynomax muff, AIT sensor moved to cold air intake, 180 degree thermo, coilover shocks/rear, Xenon's, The rest of my money goes to my Wakebording boat!! :blingx2:

06' Nissan/Armada
05' G35/Infinity:blingx2:

Helios/coolmyatticnow.com
A Solar Technology Company

Owner
AndrewJetMitchell

[jonyb]

I dont know how the car audio business is in your town, but with the internet as a main competitor, I'd be leary about jumping in to business.

Me and a close friend are partners in a car audio business. We basically do the same thing you mentioned. We're a dealer for Rough Country lifts, get wheels/tires from a local place that sells only on Google/Ebay, sell Wet Sounds, Digital Designs, remote starts by Clifford, and a few other brands. We can cover anything automotive. We do the best work in town, and compete with 2 other shops: 1 is a hackjob where they're known to trade stereo's for dope, and the other one has been around for years, but is only surviving by custom home audio. The other local mom and pops shops have failed due to the rising of the internet. Ours survives because we don't try to feed our families with it. We work out of a private shop at my house and are appointment only. Since we've both been doing this since 1994, some car dealers and other businesses come to us, but there's no way that we'd be able to live off of the business.

I did an install for a guy last night that bought a kenwood DD head unit off of Amazon. He looked me dead in the eye and said he doesn't understand why I can't buy stuff any cheaper than he can from Amazon. Some people just don't understand.... I was ready to smack him for some of the comments he made, basically saying that I was too expensive. My labor rates are cheaper than anywhere else, and I don't have an overhead. He also doesn't understand why it costs at least $12 to ship anything to my place from our distributors.

Good luck on your venture, it's just not something I'd go out on a limb for. The way that manufacturer's are changing cars and putting better systems in, car audio is getting dead IMO. I hate to see that day because it's been a part of my life for a long time, but that's what it's coming to. We do, on the other hand, do tons of leveling kits on the new Chevy's for a local dealer. that's still not enough money to keep someone afloat though.

[DAFF]

Keep the name as basic as possible. A single word short and catchy is best.... Try talking to the younger croud and looking for a texting style language relating to your field.

[dshaff24]

Thanks everyone for the input..

My uncle is a stereo shop that basically lives off of remote starts and truck acc.. Stereo stuff is basically history in my eyes other then replacing factory blown speakers or oem cd players that broke.. Internet is just to hard to compete with! Anyway since We are talking about my uncle when Im working for him I pull anywhere from 300-2500 dollars a Day working at the car dealerships.. Now thats gross which means he nets usually 200 being a sad day and 1500-1800 on a good day from just me working that day for him @ the NEW CAR dealerships installing all types of stuff!

In the winter ill do 6-8 remote starts a day @ 325 a pop 5 days a week So Im sure the money is there to survive since he got a big house on Deep Creek Lake and 2 boats.. a motorhome.. A house around the Shop.. Every toy you can think of.. Now stereo stuff is very limited but it does happen

He sells a lot of basic cd players just to replace broken oems.. Or its a full blown dvd reverse cam ipod hook up etc etc etc etc

Then there is truck accessories.. I have been paying attention and noticed we usually have about 45-50k a month owed to JUST our truck/car accessories warehouses.. So add profit + install money and Bingo!

Now there our days we do nothing and its usually feb/march.. But I work both jobs so Id just be doing homes and warehouses etc etc then


Anyway just giving you guys an idea from my standpoint of what I see..

I appreciate everyones Ideas and info, Im really been working on this for 2 years and am finally starting to get somewhere with it


Im really looking for some Business owners Input on the way they started off and how they payed taxes, If you have a lot of money to help start? Did you get a business loan? Grants?

When you get a business Name.. Ive been talking to people about the LLC in the Name? Ya Or na?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to add some input..

Oh and im located in South west PA. Below Pittsburgh

[Mani]

I am an LLC owner. I know that in Texas you are required to use LLC in your company name if your are registered as such. That's not to say that the police will show up and arrest you, as not everything I have printed has said LLC on it either, but it is a (not really enforced) requirement. I would check your state's law on it first.

Personally I'd opt to not have LLC on the name. I'd rather keep the name as simple as possible, for your industry.

[jzelt]

To put another spin on this thought, since you are working for you uncle's business...how are you going to go out on your own and get the same business you are currently working on?

You are going to have to be lower price or he plans on getting out of it and you can pick it up, I would think. If you are going to compete with him, I would think that will strain family ties as well. In small communities, word of mouth gets around, and if he gets mad you break off, any/all of his customers will know not to go with you because he bad mouths the business...

While you see the dollars (as every worker who isn't an owner does), I am sure there are headaches and legal requirements that he deals with that an installer doesn't. If you have done your research and thought of these points of view, great.

I want you to succeed, just possibly putting out ideas against why you may want to break out.

[dshaff24]

To put another spin on this thought, since you are working for you uncle's business...how are you going to go out on your own and get the same business you are currently working on?

You are going to have to be lower price or he plans on getting out of it and you can pick it up, I would think. If you are going to compete with him, I would think that will strain family ties as well. In small communities, word of mouth gets around, and if he gets mad you break off, any/all of his customers will know not to go with you because he bad mouths the business...

While you see the dollars (as every worker who isn't an owner does), I am sure there are headaches and legal requirements that he deals with that an installer doesn't. If you have done your research and thought of these points of view, great.

I want you to succeed, just possibly putting out ideas against why you may want to break out.
Hey good or bad I appreciate the different angles of opinions.. Those are some good points!

As far as family goes Im definitly not trying to cause any tension.. And the plan would to get new business Elsewhere.. I been looking at buildings miles away in a different town so everything would be a fresh start.. The bad thing is at my uncles we cover PA WV and MD that we are set up with dealerships so Id just go to the ones in between that he doesn't I suspose