Everything You Need To Know About How To Start Your Own Garage Business

Being an entrepreneur and owning your own business can be extremely rewarding. It gives you the freedom to control your destiny, create something from nothing, and make a difference in the world. It allows you to create wealth, build relationships, and pursue your passions. However, entrepreneurship isn't easy. It requires dedication, hard work, and determination. You'll need to be willing to take risks and learn from your mistakes. But if you stick with it, the rewards can be immense. You'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're making a positive impact on the world, and you could even make a lot of money along the way. There's no one-size-fits-all path to success as an entrepreneur. Everyone's journey is different. But if you're willing to put in the effort and take risks, you could be well on your way to achieving your dreams. In this article, we will tell you about taking the first steps to start your own garage business from incorporation and licenses to the ways to design a futuristic plan inclusive of marketing and establishing a garage management system .

If you are thinking about starting your own business then the Automotive Repair Industry is a very feasible option in today’s day and age. The global automotive repair and maintenance market reached nearly $750.8 billion in 2021, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% since 2016. The market is expected to grow from $750.8 billion in 2021 to $1,237.5 billion in 2026 at a rate of 10.5%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% from 2026 and reach $2,080.2 billion in 2031.

Here is all you need to know about the automotive industry!

Types of an auto repair shop

Not all auto repair shops are the same. Before you strike out on your own, you'll need to decide what type you want to open. There are a few options to choose from.

Dealer

Many car dealers offer auto repair services for the makes and models they sell. But unless you plan on opening a car dealership, this won't apply to you.

Independent or Multi Brand

The Independent shops offer a variety of general maintenance and repair services for various makes and models. Services may include oil changes, tire rotations, brake replacements, engine repairs and more.

Speciality

As the name implies, these shops specialize in a particular area. They may only work on specific vehicle brands such as BMWs or Audis or offer limited services such as car detailing, electrical or transmission repairs.

How to start your own garage business?

Set up the business

To set up your own auto repair business with a complete garage management system in place, the first step to be taken is to decide on the structure of your business. There are quite a few options to choose from but the following 3 are the most popular ones.

Sole Proprietor: If you aim to start small and have full control over all the decisions of your business, then a Sole Proprietorship is the best option for you.
Limited Liability Corporation: Establishing an LLC creates a corporate veil and separates your personal assets from those of your business, thus creating security both ways. Yes, a Limited Liability Corporation takes a little more maintenance like annual fee, registration cost etc but if you are aiming to launch slightly bigger then this is the best option for you.
Partnership: If you have people you want to include in your business from the get-go, if you wish to give your business the expertise of more than just one person and if you feel that you believe in a team, then a partnership is a great option.
S Corporation: Also known as the One Person Company, is a structure of the business that allows a single person to establish their business on a proportionately smaller scale as that of bigger corporations. This means that you will have the advantage of being a company but without as many costs.

Get License and Permits

As the owner of an auto-repair shop, there are a few licensing requirements that must be met before the company can commence its operations.

A business License is one of the primary requirements for commencing an auto-repair business
An occupancy Permit is issued when a business aims to occupy a brick-and-mortar store for its operations.
Identification Number in the form of CIN, DIN or EIN must be owned to ensure that the business is functioning legally and is not evading tax.
Environmental Certification is also a must since auto-repair shops are specifically assumed to be following non-eco-friendly practices.

Insurance

Like any other business, even an auto-repair shop needs insurance to avoid any liability in case of unforeseen and unfortunate damages. General Liability Insurance, Commercial Property Insurance, Commercial Auto Insurance and Garagekeepers Liability Insurance are a few types of coverage policies which will help keep your business secure. Not only does insurance protect your store and business, but also helps build credibility with potential customers and investors.

Additional Things You May Need to Know Before Starting Your Own Business

Hiring the Right Employees is The Key To Growth

It’s never about the idea, it’s always about the people. Investing in the right people, the right employees with experience and expertise is the key to growing your business tenfold. When given a choice between hiring cheap labour with hardly any experience and costlier labour with previous experience working in an auto repair store, your inevitable choice must be the latter because that is a futuristic choice.

Partnerships are the inevitable step to expansion

When we say partnerships, we mean partnerships with the local businesses surrounding your auto repair shop. Be it giving discounted services to fellow businesses in the area like a delivery truck business or car wash business or be it bartering with various other small businesses for space and storage of your material, building business relationships and exchanging favours is a great way to build your business community and thus take the first step to expansion. When you partner with these businesses and ensure that you have the right garage management system project in place, you are paving the way for better business through their customers and through feasible operational options in the future which will inevitably kickstart the growth of your auto repair shop.

Incorporating a Garage Shop Management System is Important

A garage shop management system helps create a digital infrastructure for your garage business and helps your manage and maintain your business effortlessly, efficiently and effectively. The right software can help you own power systems that are specially designed for Control, Efficiency & Scale.

Marketing and Advertising Play an important role

One of the most ignored and overlooked aspects of running an automotive business is the marketing and advertising aspect. Most automotive repair shops work on the trust of their community. Building awareness through local marketing and advertising and promoting the business on various platforms will play a major role in not just owning a business but growing it as well. Your initial steps could be as small as running offers on regular services and sharing an e-flyer with your community through personal DMs. They could also be sharing the whole range of services through a printed flyer or as posts on social media. The idea is to stay relevant and reliable for all your existing and potential customer bases.

Wrapping Up

Once your garage is operational and growing, you can also consider upgrading with software that will help you manage your operations. A complete garage management system software can provide you with the necessary freed-up resources to increase your levels of productivity.

RAMP is the world's first platform for simplifying the automotive ownership experience. We are doing this by making quality digital infrastructure available to all stakeholders of the automotive aftermarket industry and integrating them together through our SPACE (Service Providers And Consumer Enablement) Framework. This digitisation leads to improved efficiency of the current ecosystem and results in extraordinary end-customer experience.