Another Different Way to Make Money in the Parts Business
Something that I have seen on a few occasions is people opening a store with the intent to sell the store once they have turned it into a profitable business. Essentially they are banking on their superior business skills to allow them to create a thriving business where many others will fail. Of course, some of the success of these ventures came from the real estate boom over the last several years. However, they study the area where they are going to build their business and do their homework in order to find a good location at an excellent price. An important part of the plan is to have sufficient money to buy the land and building for their needs. That fixes a major part of the cost to do business even before they open their front door. Next they work on containing the daily costs to do business. Their buying decisions for the products that they sell are based on quality and price not on convenience. They may buy from as many as a hundred or more suppliers. They work hard to keep their expenses at a minimum. They work with a minimum number of employees, they have a minimum number of phone lines and cell phones, and they keep their Store POS System cost to a minimum. You name it and they spend the minimum amount that they need. They are usually knowledgeable in the business that they plan to open. In these days most auto parts stores are struggling to survive. However, I have seen a person with no experience in the auto parts business open an auto parts store and turn it into a money making business. He paid good wages to hire people with experience in the parts business to teach him the business. Most important, he knew how to run a business. I hate to say it but it seems clear that in the parts business, knowledge of the parts business is not nearly as important as management skills.
Labels: containing costs, Parts store, Real estate, Store POS System
Using Knowledge to Sell Bearing and Seals
There is a retired gentleman in our town that was locally famous for being able to find and sell parts that nobody else could find. His strength was in bearings and seals. The bearings and seals came off of no telling what and nobody was going to find the application in any catalog. He used a micrometer to measure the old bearings or seals and then looked up the bearing or seal by size in old paper catalogs. These are his instructions. We start with ball bearings. You will need to measure the inside diameter, the outside diameter and the width. The inside and outside diameter measurements need to be accurate to within .001". In most cases the width can vary some but not always. The seal is measured the same way. With seals if you are measuring an old seal you must allow for wear. On the inside the old seal may measure less than the new one. On the outside diameter the old seal may measure as much as .005" smaller than the new seal. That is because there is a press of .005". In other words, the new seal is .005" bigger than the hole it is going in. For taper bearings you must also measure the radius, that is, the taper of the inside of the bearing.
Labels: Auto Part Store Software, Bearings, Parts store, seals, Store POS System, successful automotive jobber
Making a living While Selling Parts to Repair Shops
A short while ago I was taking with a small jobber store in the Midwest. He said that he didn't want to sell to repair shops. He said that they want you to deliver and then beat you up to get the lowest price, are slow to pay and when all is said and done they go bankrupt and leave you poorer by several thousand dollars. One jobber from the past seemed to have at least part of that under control. He billed his repair shop customers every week. If they didn't pay by the time billing was run on the following week, they were cash only. In today's economy everybody should be doing business that way.
Labels: Auto Part Store Software, Parts store, Store POS System
