I need your advice on something. Me and my car club have sourced a garage. 2 car garage with a small office in a quiet area. Now they want to do it by appointments only because we're just starting out and everyone has their own personal jobs so we're just doing side work and work on our cars there until business picks up and we can afford for some to quit their jobs and work there full time making it a regular shop. Now my question is how did the process go for your shop? Did you get incorporated and what type of corporation did you lay out your shop to be(sole partnership, joint partnership, ect) and what would you suggest we do? And what should we do as far as applying for a tax id and all that? Also we're trying to sell performance parts as well if we could and also be able to get parts from shops and companies at vendors price as well....How do we set it up to become a vendor for various companies like Greddy, Skunk2, AEM, Turbonetics, Garrett, HKS, ect.? Well get back to me when you can cause we're trying to set this off right and we're trying to make a name for our shop and car club....thanks for your time

Hey TheDude1,

My family owned an auto repair garage for 30+ years, I have helped set up a few friends' shops, and I own a business myself, although not in the automotive field (mobile anesthesiology).

Before you start plunking down rent money and looking at different hoists to buy, sit down with your friends and hash out a business plan first. This will save a bunch of headaches and miscommunication later. Trust me, nothing dissolves friendships faster than a sour business relationship. When all of you guys are depending on your business to pay mortgages, pay off auto loans, pay for your kids' schooling, business becomes BUSINESS and things aren't fun anymore.

Second, find a local Barnes and Noble or Borders and look in the business section. You'll find a series of books published by NOLO press. They will have books on incorporating your business, when to incorporate, advantages and disadvantages, taxation categories and the such FOR YOUR STATE. That's the beuty of the NOLO press books -- they are tailored for your particular state (New Jersey?) and have printable forms that will save you money so you don't have to hire a lawyer to file your incorporation papers.

Once you get through that and find what kind of business to operate, figure out your monthly operating costs to keep your head above water. Rent, leased material, payroll, INSURANCE (especially if you're going into "general auto repair"), utilities, phone, beer, advertising, inventory, etc. Then figure out how much inventory or services you have to do to cover those costs so that you (sole proprieter) or you company (LLC, inc, etc) won't go bankrupt.

Remember that to be a distributor for performance parts requires that you "buy-in" with a certain amount of inventory or cash to be able to get things at W/D or jober prices (to make a profit with some margin). Some companies require a hefty buy-in while some other companies don't. Go to PRI this December in Orlando to talk with the big companies and they can set you up.

Tax ID numbers and resale come when you register your business with the county or city....once you set yourself up with a business license (and set yourself up for TAXES!!), the information will be there for that.

Good luck!!!

-Jimmy

thanx for the heads up....