Posts Tagged ‘Automotive’

So many people today want to own and operate their own business today. One great way to achieve this goal is to invest into a franchise. Most times franchises are more successful than independently started businesses. There are also so many different franchise companies to decide to own that the possibilities are endless. One of the best franchises to invest in is an automotive auto body repair franchise. Find out how to make your dreams a reality.

The first step is to find out which automotive auto body repair franchise you would like to invest in, own and operate. There are many different automotive auto body franchises available. You will want to choose one that has a great franchisor with lots of support for you as a franchisee. You will also want to choose a franchise company that has a good franchise contract that will benefit you in many ways. Also it is very important that they franchise company offers great quality products or services; otherwise you will have a limited chance at success. You may also want to contact other franchisee from each particular auto body franchise you are considering to see what they have to say. They will be able to provide you a great look into the franchise.

Usually franchises are more successful than independently started business. This is because the franchise has already been opened before and they have already worked out many of the bumps along the way. Also they have already established working systems and procedures which you will not have to figure out as a new franchisee. There is also a high level of support in franchising from the franchisor and other franchisee when you need it. They can offer advice and tips as you develop your automotive auto body franchise.

Auto body franchises are a great choice when it comes to franchising. So many people get auto body repairs because there are so many vehicles on the road which leads to more accidents, which in turn leads to more auto body repairs. That is great for auto body repair shops. The best part is that the number of vehicles on the road is steadily growing each year, which means you will continue to grow in an automotive auto body franchise.

Once you have found the automotive auto body franchise that you would like to join you would begin the process. You would meet with the franchisor and go over the franchise contract they have available. This contract is extremely important as it will tell you what the franchisor expects from you, what you can expect from the franchisor and the costs associated with franchising with them. You may want to have a franchise attorney there to represent you and look over the document before signing it. Once you have signed the franchise contract you are on your way to owning and operating your own automotive auto body franchise!

Start looking today for an automotive auto body franchise to make your franchise dreams a reality!

Auto Repair, Auto Electrician, Mobile Auto Electrician

First Aid Auto provided me with a fantastic service and advice when I needed some assistance with the
electrics in my car. And the best thing was that they came directly to me! I’d recommend them to anyone who needs, fast,reliable and cost efficient servicing anywhere in Melbourne.If you need a mobile onsite service that specialises in auto electrical repairs and breakdowns, then First Aid Auto is the one to call.First Aid Auto offers you the convenience of a same day service that comes to you, at your home, workplace or on the side of the road.Our highly trained and experienced staff can solve complex electrical problems, which have become more common in modern vehicles.Most mechanical components have been replaced with electrical components in new cars.Therefore, only a skilled auto electrician can successfully diagnose and repair the fault. First Aid auto can get you on the road again!Our coverage extends to the Melbourne Metropolitan area, Outer Eastern, South Eastern, Mornington Peninsular and
as far as Phillip Island. Click here for our suburb listing Our friendly team is available by calling 1300 661 526, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Our work comes with a minimum of a 12 month warranty, some cases more.We carry with them the latest in computer diagnostic equipment to accurately pinpoint faults and also undertake regular training to keep up with the latest technology.

to know more log on to :: http://www.firstaidauto.com.au

Contact us today to see how refreshing that is. Just call us on (03) 1300 661 526

Are you tired of working for someone else and letting them get paid for it? Do you want to be your own boss? Have you always dreamed of running your own business? Many people today think these things every day; however they believe it is only a dream. Well this dream could become reality by starting an auto body franchise business.

If you are wondering what a franchise business is, it is simply a method that companies use to disperse its products or services through many different retail outlets which are owned by an independent third party. The third parties or franchisees’ are entitled to use trademarks, products, services and even techniques already established by the franchiser (developer/owner). Most of the time the franchiser offers ongoing support and resources for the franchisee to take advantage of. Many franchisers have already accrued many discounts with other business which the franchisee may also use. Depending on the franchise there may be many other benefits associated with running your own franchise!

So why is the automotive auto body franchise business a great way to get into business ownership; just they a look at the numbers. There were 220 million vehicles on U.S. roads in 2003, a figure that had been growing steadily at approximately 5% per year. We can use this figure to project that there will be more than 275 million vehicles on the road in 2008. More vehicles means a larger market, and an increased number of minor accidents as streets and parking lots become more crowded. Every 17 seconds a reported rear end collision occurs, and every 8.5 seconds an unreported rear end collision occurs. The most frequent accident on the road is the rear end collision, at almost 29.7%, and 75% of these accidents occur at less than 10 mph. Fully 12% of Americans had minor damage repaired on their vehicle in the last year alone! 36% of all minor auto body damage is to the front or rear bumper. More than a third!

Compared with other services, auto repair is a real bargain. Over the past decade, the cost of hospital services has risen more than 100%, and the cost of financial services has jumped 90%. Automotive maintenance and repair costs, in contrast, have risen just 44.5%, making auto repair the darling of the service industry.

Now you may be wondering why you should start a franchise instead of starting your own business simply from scratch. Well, the main reason is because 5% of businesses succeed in their first 5 years, meanwhile 75% of franchises succeed in the same time. So you have a much higher chance at succeeding in a franchise business. Another reason is that the franchise already has a working system in place. You will not have to try and fail until you find the solution while wasting your time and money. Another benefit is that there are others out there on your side who can offer advice and suggestions to help your business thrive. Even though there is a system in place it will take your determination and leadership skills to successfully run the business!

When you are involved in an automobile accident in California, you will undergo a significant amount of stress, no matter how big or small the accident is. If you have suffered injuries as a result of your accident, or even vehicle loss, the stress can be magnified. There is no reason that you need to undergo your California auto accident experiences alone. Before you seek legal advice for your California Car accident claims, there are a few steps you need to take immediately to protect yourself in the long run. That being said, both medical and legal advice should be sought out promptly, as delaying the attainment of medical and legal advice may end up damaging your case.

California car accidents cause thousands of injuries a year and are often the result of negligent driving on someone else’s part. California car accidents can result in a wide number of personal injuries, and can include but are not limited to paraplegia, head or neck injury, paralysis, damage to the spinal cord, wounds, lacerations, broken bones, disfigurement, and even amputations.

The first thing you need to do when you are involved in a car accident with personal injuries in California is seek medical attention! If you are able to, get as much information about every party involved in the accident that you can. You will need to exchange basic information with the other driver, such as your name, address, drivers license information, tag and plate information, insurance information such as policy numbers, insurance company names, and insurance company contact information. If there are witnesses to the accident, obtain all of the information that they are able to provide, including name and contact information. Keep records of all police or emergency response members that are directly involved at the accident scene.

As soon as you are a victim of California accidents, you need to seek medical advice and attention immediately. Even if you think you have not experienced great injury, or if you ‘feel fine’ seek medical advice. In many cases of California Auto/Car accidents, shock can distract or prevent you from feeling any initial pain, and your injuries or potential injuries must be assessed immediately. Follow up care with your primary care physician will ensure that you have covered your legal bases when it comes to your personal injuries.

After you have obtained information and sought medical attention, your next step is to draft a record of every detail of the accident. Document everything that happened before, during, and after the accident to as much detail as you can remember. Note time of day, weather conditions, road conditions, where you were headed, and any information that was said, blurted, or discussed by any party before, during, and after the accident.

At this point (after seeking medical attention), this is the time for you to seek legal advice. Bring your documentation, your notes, and any medical documentation you may have to your first meeting. It is important that you never take blame or assign cause to yourself for the accident. There are agencies and parties in place such as the police that have as their responsibility to determine cause. Speak with your California car accident attorney or automobile injury lawyer about how to determine cause. This is not to say that you can not cooperate with officials, or avoid telling the truth. Your case will be better served if you are accurate and honest as much as you can be without taking blame.

There are many attorneys that can help you if you are a local victim of a Los Angeles California Car Accident, you need to know that you are not alone in this experience. Seek medical and legal advice as soon as you can to ensure you are taking the proper steps to protecting yourself and your loved ones.

As with many businesses you need a plan in place before you get started. Similarly the same will apply if you wish to start your own automotive sales or repair business. Not everyone knows what the recommended steps are so here we go over but a few to give you an idea of what you need to look for and plan for before parting with your hard earned money and starting your dream business in the automotive industry. These steps are not necessarily in any specific order but it is recommended that before you start anything you begin with the Business Plan.

Business Plan

Any new business must make a business plan so that it is understood what is required to get your business started, what your intentions are for the future and your expectations. The costs you are likely to face and the funds you have to deal with all the required financial concerns. Your business plan should look to the future, perhaps with a 1 year, 5 year and 10 year outline of what your business expects to achieve within that period. If you are required to obtain funds to start your business you will be required to provide a business plan to the Lending institution and this also shows your commitment and thought processes for your intended business and its success.

Bank Account

You need to ensure you open a business account only for your business income and expenses. If you do not use this account for all your business related expenditure and income many times you will find that the income has not gone into the business and yet all the expenses are coming out of the business. This is often the reason why many businesses do not succeed. In the initial steps of your business you can expect to run at a loss and this can continue for an extended period of at least 1 year so ensure you are not taking any income from the business unless there is a huge excess of income and it is sustainable, during this first initial set up period.

Insurance

Ensure that you have all the required insurances to cover the operation of your business and the employees you have relating to the business. You need to consider coverage for insurance for your employees themselves as well as any property insurance such as vehicles left on your premises and also any liability issues that you can obtain insurance coverage for.

Do not skimp out on insurance requirements as nobody can see the future. Ensure you get coverage for natural disasters etc. If you are able to with your current insurance provider, shop around to get the best deal. Just because you have insurance currently for your private items with a particular company, this may not make them the preferred choice for your business insurances and they may not even have these on offer.

You should also look into some form of personal insurance as if you are the sole owner or operator of the business and were suddenly unable to work how would the business continue to produce an income? Not to mention of course life insurance coverage in the event that there was a death then generally all debts and profits have to go to someone and you don’t want to leave your family in debt if something were to happen to you.

License

Make sure that you check with all regulating authorities that you have the correct licenses and all of your staff fulfills all required criteria before you start off with your business. You do not want to outlay all your start up costs only to find you missed a simple step such as a permit that you may be required to have and you are shut down for the offence or required to pay huge fees.

Advertising & Promotion

Make sure that you have an allowance in your estimated costs for sufficient advertising and promotion. Once your business is open you want everyone to be able to find you so make sure that you have allowed a budget sufficient to cover your advertising and branding promotion for a minimum 3 month period if not for the entire year. Don’t rely only on newspaper advertising, try to be creative with your promotion and ensure you do some research before you get started. Things to consider are items such as a uniform for staff and small promotional items to give away at the end of a completed job or sale? Perhaps key rings with your logo and telephone number on etc.

If you follow these suggestions and listen to advice of others as well as your own common sense you will find that you have a great starting platform to get your automotive business off to a great start. Research all you can about every aspect of the business you intend to start before you go ahead and this applies in any industry not only business in the automotive industry

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Taking your car in to be repaired by shops and their certified technicians can be a surprisingly expensive experience. You may be surprised how much you are being asked to pay for an otherwise simple repair. This makes the ability of doing these repairs yourself a viable and cost effective alternative. However, lack of knowledge is a clear hindrance to this goal. Fortunately, repair manuals are available online to aid you in this endeavor.

The Internet is a wondrous innovation in which you can seek answers to practically anything. However, like most information on the Internet, they are not provided as equals. You should not fall prey to the false assumption that all information you come across will help. Some can even be detrimental to the process. The quality of the online automotive repair manuals depends on the reputation and knowledge of its author so you may want to check on this before putting it to use. It is also best to check the manual in detail to verify if they cover the repairs that you need to do. Certain repair manuals may only cover certain parts of the vehicle.

There are various ways of looking for haynes repair manuals on the Internet. It typically does not take more than a simple keyword search on search engines such as Yahoo or Google to bring it up. You may also do a search for specialized websites dedicated to vehicles which are usually maintained by reputable technicians or vehicle manufacturers.

Knowing a couple of mechanics personally and asking them where to look can make your online search more efficient. They may also provide you with tips or advice once you are doing the actual repairs. It is good practice to pass on this knowledge once you happen to come across a good source which helped you achieve good results on your repairs.

The Internet is also a good place to locate bargains on actual repair books online. Auction websites such as eBay or Amazon offer used books at a fraction of its retail cost. Many Bookstores may also have online websites in which you can buy repair manuals conveniently and have them delivered at your door steps.

London, Farringdon,  2009 — Major car retailers no longer see a policy of injecting huge amounts of capital into traditional forms of offline advertising as the best means of promotion. Many are are now focused on an interactive web marketing strategy. This year Fords main marketing aim has been to bolstered their online presence, which has seen websites, online ads and social media meshing with their product line and positioning. Other leading automobile companies are following this trend as CMR (competitive media reporting) interactive has noted, listed Toyota, Honda and Ford amongst the top ten spenders in online marketing.

Car companies can use social media applications and blogs to move closer to customers, gain more attention and interest in their services and brand, as well as gaining a better understanding of their customers needs. Car retailers have also seen and noted the importance of an interactive engaging website. In bids to gain and retain customer attention online, motoring companies have become more creative, for example Ford have created and posted on their website a video version of the Ford story. As a result of their online marketing efforts, Ad Age ( adage) reports that the number of qualified buyers who planned to buy a Ford jumped 16% from 2008.

Why Should Auto Retailers Use Online Marketing Rather Than Offline Advertising?

“Over 75% of consumers when searching for the nearest local car retailer start their research online’”– (Jim Rucker- TK productions-chief marketing executive. July 2009)

Car retailers who are market leaders in sales generated via the Internet, share an approach that has revealed some common practices that are critical to a successful Internet strategy. Number one amongst these best practices is taking the time to develop and manage an organic strategy, information regarding how to drive organic traffic can be accessed at: http://www.contextured.com/search-engine-optimization/

Number is to invest in a paid search strategy, you can access more info on paid search marketing at: http://www.contextured.com/search-engine-marketing/. A comprehensive online marketing plan plan will be geared towards driving traffic to your website in the most cost effective manner.

“when searching for a car retailer consumers use search engines 3 times more often than TV, radio, and newspapers … combined!” (www.dealron.com-2009) It can be extremely difficult to dedicate the required marketing resources with all the demands of running a workshop, parts shop or dealership. Larger dealers and suppliers will generally employ an agency but this comes at significant cost. Using someone in-house is an option but the steep learning curve of the technologies involved can often lead to poorly performing campaigns and lower than expected returns. This is cited as the number one reason why businesses give-up on web marketing

Thankfully there are technologies readily available that can help smaller car retailers run profitable web marketing campaigns.

Website Grader is one of these technologies now readily available for free. By simply inserting your website URL and some competing websites into the text fields provided on their website the software will generate a report that measures the marketing effectiveness of your website and SEM (search engine marketing). It provides a score that incorporates factors such as website traffic, SEO (search engine optimization), social popularity. Website Grader will also provide some basic advice on how the website can be improved from a marketing perspective. For more information on tools and techniques available to monitor your websites performance visit: http://www.contextured.com/2009/08/how-do-i-monitor-traffic-to-my-website/

Google Analytics is another online marketing technology which is totally free offering businesses the opportunity to gain invaluable rich insight into its website traffic and online marketing effectiveness. Google has made the features of this product flexible and simple to use. This tool clearly presents the effectiveness of your PPC (pay-per-click) ads, search ranking, website content, click through rates in the form of reports, mapping and charts. Google analytics allows you to understand your website visitors, what and where they’re clicking and therefore identifying any leaks on your website resulting in a lost opportunities.

Contextured offers a full search engine marketing and optimization package for a low monthly fee. Their technology helps ensure your car retailer is ranking highly in organic search results on Google, Yahoo, and Bing for searches on words like “local garages” “Car dealers” “Motors Dealerships”. As experts in keyword optimization process they can help your website up the rankings in search engine results. For a one week free trial use the promotional code “7days” during signup. See more information at: http://www.contextured.com/?ref=4

There are no quick solutions, but by employing the best possible online marketing tools and technologies readily available on the market, motoring companies can drive increased traffic to their site resulting in more sales, quires, and leads, enjoying increasing success like many leading automotive companies are amongst the doom and gloom.

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release contact Michael Benjamin or Visit: http://www.contextured.com/solutions/

CRM or “customer relationship management” software comes in all shapes and sizes, designed with different purposes in mind, you should research carefully before committing to one. Many CRM solutions today are sold to you by a sales representative from the vendor, and often make empty promises to impress you into signing a long term contract. Finding the most suitable CRM solution for your dealership is crucial to the success of your business. If you are looking to establish a sub prime office or have a CRM tool for your used car department then a small but nimble solution will be ideal. If you are looking to run your service or parts department, then a large scale CRM will be the best. It is important to choose a well designed CRM solution that requires minimum user training, so you can save valuable time when it comes to deployment as well as employee turn over. Just imagine what kind of problems you can run into if your CRM solution requires two weeks as learning curve from a new user. What will you do if you lose an employee in your company! Many dealerships today wrongfully belief in over complicated and clumsy CRM systems, thinking it will be more useful. Only to realize many of these irrelevant, even redundant functions will only complicate your dealership operation. Resulting in mistakes, mis-calculations, or worse loss of profit.

Don’t be sold again into a CRM solution again, take some time to evaluate your CRM needs and make the right choice. Poorly designed CRM systems will require multiple users to make input, each module is carefully designed to match one aspect of your business. For example a F & I module, desk office module, or accounting module are all designed differently although its based on good intention of modulate your dealership. But the truth is this design will allow multiple breaking points in your system, if one staff with special training is sick, your system will come to a haul. This leaves learning gaps, and confusion amount users. Different user access level is usually a good design but having way too many is counter productive. Remember choose a CRM solution that is useful, not just complicated to use.

This article is brought to you by Dealer Elite CRM, your affordable automotive DMS and CRM solution provider. To visit us online please go to www.dealerelites.ca

You’re on the right path for a successful start running your own business. You know this because franchise businesses have a higher success rate than independently started business and you chose to open a franchise. Even though that is true, you will still have to make decisions as a business owner that will affect the successfulness of your franchises future! Once you have made the decision on which franchise you will start, you will need to decide where to open that franchise. This will not be the first or last time you will have heard this but, location is everything! Your automotive franchise should be location near car dealerships and high traffic streets or should be seen from a major highway to increase your chances of success!

Choosing where to open your franchise will still be a creative process! You want your business to be in the best location that it will thrive the best in. There are a few other things to consider in this decision.

The first thing you should do is ask your franchisor for advice. The reason that franchises are successful is because they are already maintaining several locations with successful procedures in place. So they should be able to assist with ideas for where to open your franchise since they have most likely already opened a few. However it is your business and you will want to consider other factors as well. Keep in mind that they may have regulation for your franchising location that you will need to adhere to as well.

One thing to consider is the locations visibility. If you can’t see the business from the road how will they even know that it is there. If the view to your location is obstructed by trees, other buildings or is in a bad angle from the road in a plaza this can decrease your sales since people may simply not know you are there.

Accessibility is another factor to take into consideration .How easy will it be for customers to get to your door? Things to look at are traffic flows and lights. You would like to be in a busy place since more people will become familiar with your business however if there are no traffic lights to help people get to and from your business they may be discouraged from even going in the first place.

Chances are you are going to be located near other businesses. You should use your creative thought process to choose a location that is near businesses that could possible bring you more business. For example, you could open an auto body shop near an insurance office. If you could establish a good reputation with the insurance company they could recommend that their customers chose you to handle their car’s problems.
A little competition is good, but be careful. You will need to know what you are going up against. If you so chose to open a pizza shop across from another pizzeria that has been there for years and the town claims it as the #1 restaurant in the area, it might be a little too much to compete with.

Make sure the area is favorable to what you are trying to sell or do. If there is no need for your business it will not succeed.

Choosing where to establish your franchise will be a big decision and will take much thought, but remember these practical guidelines and do your research before you make your final decision!

As with many businesses you need a plan in place before you get started. Similarly the same will apply if you wish to start your own automotive sales or repair business. Not everyone knows what the recommended steps are so here we go over but a few to give you an idea of what you need to look for and plan for before parting with your hard earned money and starting your dream business in the automotive industry. These steps are not necessarily in any specific order but it is recommended that before you start anything you begin with the Business Plan.

Business Plan

Any new business must make a business plan so that it is understood what is required to get your business started, what your intentions are for the future and your expectations. The costs you are likely to face and the funds you have to deal with all the required financial concerns. Your business plan should look to the future, perhaps with a 1 year, 5 year and 10 year outline of what your business expects to achieve within that period. If you are required to obtain funds to start your business you will be required to provide a business plan to the Lending institution and this also shows your commitment and thought processes for your intended business and its success.

Bank Account

You need to ensure you open a business account only for your business income and expenses. If you do not use this account for all your business related expenditure and income many times you will find that the income has not gone into the business and yet all the expenses are coming out of the business. This is often the reason why many businesses do not succeed. In the initial steps of your business you can expect to run at a loss and this can continue for an extended period of at least 1 year so ensure you are not taking any income from the business unless there is a huge excess of income and it is sustainable, during this first initial set up period.

Insurance

Ensure that you have all the required insurances to cover the operation of your business and the employees you have relating to the business. You need to consider coverage for insurance for your employees themselves as well as any property insurance such as vehicles left on your premises and also any liability issues that you can obtain insurance coverage for.

Do not skimp out on insurance requirements as nobody can see the future. Ensure you get coverage for natural disasters etc. If you are able to with your current insurance provider, shop around to get the best deal. Just because you have insurance currently for your private items with a particular company, this may not make them the preferred choice for your business insurances and they may not even have these on offer.

You should also look into some form of personal insurance as if you are the sole owner or operator of the business and were suddenly unable to work how would the business continue to produce an income? Not to mention of course life insurance coverage in the event that there was a death then generally all debts and profits have to go to someone and you don’t want to leave your family in debt if something were to happen to you.

License

Make sure that you check with all regulating authorities that you have the correct licenses and all of your staff fulfills all required criteria before you start off with your business. You do not want to outlay all your start up costs only to find you missed a simple step such as a permit that you may be required to have and you are shut down for the offence or required to pay huge fees.

Advertising & Promotion

Make sure that you have an allowance in your estimated costs for sufficient advertising and promotion. Once your business is open you want everyone to be able to find you so make sure that you have allowed a budget sufficient to cover your advertising and branding promotion for a minimum 3 month period if not for the entire year. Don’t rely only on newspaper advertising, try to be creative with your promotion and ensure you do some research before you get started. Things to consider are items such as a uniform for staff and small promotional items to give away at the end of a completed job or sale? Perhaps key rings with your logo and telephone number on etc.

If you follow these suggestions and listen to advice of others as well as your own common sense you will find that you have a great starting platform to get your automotive business off to a great start. Research all you can about every aspect of the business you intend to start before you go ahead and this applies in any industry not only business in the automotive industry.