[Closed] Starting Small Cycle Repairs Venture

[url= https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business ]https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business[/url]

Good luck.

Thanks for the link, I best get reading 🙂

and dont forget insurance..

Maybe google people who di it and ask them... so long as they are not in your area 😀

I think your business plan has a flaw if you are only going to work on small bikes, just saying.

lol.

i did use a local guy who did this about 5 years ago. not sure if he's still going. he had run bike shops before, but at the time he had a LWB van through his work and seemed to have a other couple bikes in the van when collecting/dropping mine. so expect volume to be low.

tbh it depends on what kind of trade you're after. there are at least 3 local guys doing this on their own in my area. one does general work on all kinds of bikes and two specialise in high-end MTB. afaik they all require drop-off at the moment. there's amped cycleworx who i've used, and the other is bad ass bikes. if you're talking about only MTB, i know the two MTB guys round here have very strong connections to the MTB scene, and you know how people love to talk 🙂

tbh i think this is way forwards, with online sales dominating the "LBS" is going to be replaced by online and local bike tech.

I did exactly what you are describing.
Most of my business was people taking advantage of the free collection and drop off which was fine.

I started in 2012 and rode the wave of Olympics and TDF wins. Business was great in the summer months but died to nothing in the winter. I also made money utilising my coaching and TCL qualifications to do guided rides etc.

I just operated from my garage so no cost of premises etc and I spent a fair amount on advertising - flyers in the local paper was most successful.

I stopped after 2 years because I moved 500 miles to Scotland.

I regard it as successful and I was starting to get lots of repeat customers but if I'd had to pay for a workshop then I'd have lost money I think.

Good luck!

You should get a van and hang out at popular family cycling venues.
Most dads are rubbish at maintenance and if they are passing a man who can just adjust brakes while they wait I'm sure it would be popular.
We used to have a man on a bike with a trailer who would set up his work stand on the cross roads of our village.
He used to get some commuters whose bikes needed tweaking.
Also get into suspension servicing as I'd certainly prefer not to risk posting stuff off

part-time/bit of extra pocket money venture

You may find that a barrier to making the numbers work on this is that your public / product liability insurance will be largely the same whether you do it full time or as a hobby job. If you've not got a track record / experience / qualifications you also might find the insurance costs quite high in absolute terms, at least for the first year or two. Your pickup / drop off service is also a load more insurance cost, as well as bits of other legal faff that comes along with using motor vehicles for trade.

Also, if you're planning on doing this at home (or wherever you choose to do it) there'll be further insurance complications, and potentially change of use, business rates etc. considerations. If you're planning on doing it from home and there's a mortgage, there's a further complication that might figure.

Essentially it's about scale - there's this chunk of fixed overhead that will be the same whether you're doing one a week or ten a day.

Also, the major distributors these days aren't overly keen on supplying to home-based operators so you may need the working capital for parts as you won't get credit terms - not a showstopper in cost terms (if you have the money of course) as there seems to be plenty of LBS owners complaining that they pay more "trade" for bits than you can buy them retail off t'internet, but warranty support will be much harder to come by than through a proper trade channel for instance.

On the other hand, lots of LBS people seem to be of the increasing view that the workshop is the only place to make any money now, with the internet killing their ability to make profit on selling bikes / stuff, so in principle it's a sound idea, just not sure it'll work without more commitment / time than your OP suggests you're envisaging putting in (unless profitability isn't that important to you).

I'm not in the trade btw, just things I've gleaned from talking to the odd LBS owner and reading bike industry guff on t'internet.

I tried this and hated it; I couldn't make enough money from it and hated working on crappy bikes for people who just carried on neglecting their bikes. It gave me backache as well.

Why not just tell customers your not insured ?... would not bother me in the least. Do you really need a big public liability if your upfront and tell them first.

A luton van as a workshop would work .Do everything onsite if you have the parts needed .Could be a fair old outlay for a proper tool kit and enough spares though

Why not just tell customers your not insured ?... would not bother me in the least. Do you really need a big public liability if your upfront and tell them first.

It'd be a bit of a downer if there was an accident and the victim's family decide to sue for millions, though.

NO NO AND NO.. you ll spend more time running around pickin up and dropping off bikes than fixing them.. you ll have to justify the cost of every part you fit.. everybody has internet access and will rejoice in telling you that you could have bought that 30 quid chain for 29.99.. you get mugged for scratches on bikes and blokes falling off insisting the brakes dont work anymore.. you ll be bored to death by fat boys telling you they are /were a 'contender'.. get something zero hours working for mike ashley you ll make more and have more spare time and no hassle.

It'd be a bit of a downer if there was an accident and the victim's family decide to sue for millions, though.

Has that happened to anyone ? Just wondering. Everyone is happy to work on their bikes but as soon as another touches it you need indemnity insurance ?

Yes. And is it really worth the risk? If your business isn't viable enough to cover the cost of insurance, the you really shouldn't be doing it.

You cock up someone's brakes and they are unable to stop at a junction and cause a car containing Pogba, Ed Sheeran and Keira Knightly to swerve into a tree, leaving all of them with horrific injuries requiring 24hr nursing care for the rest of their natural lives.....

.... I wouldn't skimp on the insurance.

bencooper - Member
Yes. And is it really worth the risk? If your business isn't viable enough to cover the cost of insurance, the you really shouldn't be doing it.

Sanctimonious, much?

Public liability insurance needn't cost the earth. Go for it OP it may work it may not but you'll never know unless you try.

Positive vibes.

Not saying don't get insurance just pointing out he could start small and tell customers upfront "I am not insured, you accept all liability".... I appreciate big shops etc must have it, just seems a tricky one when just trying to get off the ground and barely making ends meet.

Look up Grease Monkey in Edinburgh.

Public liability insurance needn't cost the earth

Precisely - if the business can't cover that, then it's not viable. And morally questionable to be in business if you're not insured (it's actually illegal in some countries).

Not saying don't get insurance just pointing out he could start small and tell customers upfront "I am not insured, you accept all liability".

I doubt that'd stand up in court.

Hey,

Thanks all for the reality and the positive posts (in equal measure). In regards to the insurance issue, that's the first thing I thought of.

This thought is basically coming off the back of me really not liking my job anymore and honestly, I really don't know what to do. 32 years old and not much in the way of qualifications...

I'm not thick (honest), but stuck with not being able to prove it on paper 🙂

I know someone who set up a Facebook page for a particular locality-offering bike repairs.local pick up/drop off.
Started with a hatchback and bike rack,then a van and now has a new shop .
best of luck to you.

As someone who runs a small business you have to get insurance. It's not if you screw up and someone sues you. It's also if someone uses a no fee claim company to sue you and you just have to pay the legal fees even when you are not at fault.

Some big green ethical type companies ie Oxfam, will pay you for a days fettling of their staff bikes. They are really keen on their staff riding in. Might be worth checking out any large firms with big commuter bike parks.

With all new business ventures start with how much you want to earn and work backwards. Be realistic about likely volume of work and costs. Bench mark with local bike shop costs, but bear in mind they will be making on parts as well as labour. And good luck.

John, I do exactly what you describe. You do need insurance. This cost me £500 this year. If you don't you can guarantee that the night your garage gets broken into you will have a £1k bike in your care and it will be taken. I know. Otherwise, working from home = low overheads. I got some grant funding to buy tools etc and to get some Cytech qualifications though I had to pay the VAT which more or less negated the funding. I would say that the business pays to run my car, 20% of my household expenses and leaves a profit of around £5k pa. I don't advertise hard, mainly a website and word of mouth. I could do more and be busier. True, you get some crap to work on but also some good stuff. I have considered charging twice as much and doing half as much to eliminate the riffraff. If you are time rich, you can afford to do a thorough, bespoke job and you will get repeat custom.

A pal called Graeme Hart (Edinburgh) did just that. Worked from home during the week, then set his van up at a local pub at the weekend which has a high number of passing cyclists. Worked well for him and he now has a small shop. Give him a bell for a chat (Hart's Cyclery) if you're not going to be local competition.

Pretty sure Big on Bikes near Derby set up from home and now has a shop. Also does maintenance classes and Bikeability. If you are not local then Dave there may be able to offer some tips.

Insurance is no big deal. Liability cost me around £350 and insuring my estate car for business use was a whole £1.20 extra.

The free collection and delivery was built in to the price and people will happily pay for the convenience.

I bought parts from CRC etc although Halfords click and collect was surprisingly useful so no trade accounts needed. Then I charged the price of the parts at cost plus my time to fit them. Being up front about that went down well with customers and made my prices competitive despite higher labour costs to cover delivery and collection.

I'd work on anything, but the price reflected how much I wanted the work. Occasionally my quotes were pretty high if it was a PITA customer and bike then if I got the job I was well rewarded and if I didn't then I was happy anyway.

Finally I didn't go silly on tools. Spending hundreds on tools you'll only use occasionally doesn't pay. For these jobs I either refused them or subbed them out to aa LBS. For suspension I sent everything to TFT and just charged to remove, send and fit the fork and shock. It's amazing how many people can't do this themselves and then I'd help them set up the units and understand how the dials changed things. Again I was totally up front with the customer about sending the stuff away and buying a nitrogen charging unit isn't really viable for occasional use.

I suppose it could work if you set yourself up as bespoke mechanic for MAMILs with lots of cash and nice bikes. Look at the website for Fell Bikes in the Ribble Valley; selling reasonable frames equipped with good kit to folk with cash to splash and the need for something a bit exclusive. The focus is on the bespoke/exclusive angle.