tbimm Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 As most of you know I went out on my own and started Tommy's Car Care. Things started out OK but have not stayed that way. Business has ground to a halt and due to the fact that I had very little to fall back on I have decided to close the doors for a bit. I am very against taking on a lot of debt and maybe that is short sighted but it is how I am. Luckily I was able to keep myself in a position where I don't have to break a lease nor do I have any hugh loans to repay. I just have to stop the bleeding before I end up owing the people who have helped me get started so much money that it ruins my name here. Not real sure what my next move is but I will, as always, land on my feet. I am very disappointed today. This was not an easy decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 As most of you know I went out on my own and started Tommy's Car Care. Things started out OK but have not stayed that way. Business has ground to a halt and due to the fact that I had very little to fall back on I have decided to close the doors for a bit. I am very against taking on a lot of debt and maybe that is short sighted but it is how I am. Luckily I was able to keep myself in a position where I don't have to break a lease nor do I have any hugh loans to repay. I just have to stop the bleeding before I end up owing the people who have helped me get started so much money that it ruins my name here.Not real sure what my next move is but I will, as always, land on my feet. I am very disappointed today. This was not an easy decision! That sucks, sorry to hear. You should be commended for wanting to make it right with those who helped you. Now get back out there and put your talents to work, save up and go at it again in a stable economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sorry to hear that Tom. I hope this is only temporary for you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sorry to see this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 That's awful. Best of luck and keep your head up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) Sorry to hear it. I know it is a tough decision. Edited January 27, 2011 by Perchoutofwater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sad to see this post Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I hope it's only temporary. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Your announcement along with Det's thread about telling his wife about the business really tells me more about the economy than all the talking heads on TV. Hang in there. Good things come to good people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 That really sucks... hope its not too long before you are back at it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I am very sorry to hear this, dude. Here are two quotes that I draw inspiration from when I'm lost as to what to do next. "Go back a little to leap further." - John Clarke "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt And to be quite honest, going by the title of this thread I thought you were finally ready to take that leap and begin the hormone treatments for your gender reassignment surgery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Your announcement along with Det's thread about telling his wife about the business really tells me more about the economy than all the talking heads on TV. Hang in there. Good things come to good people. Yeah I avoided Det's thread as I was agonizing over this decision when I read it. I did however call my GF to thank her for being my rock! I am trying real hard to stay positive and be grateful for the fact that I have a very marketable skill set. Taking a quiet day here at the house and then going in to the shop for the next 4 days to wrap up all my responsibilities. Need to let all the customers know that their warranties will be honored and that I will be working at least weekends for myself to keep them on the road. Meeting tomorrow with the owner of my parts house to make things right with them. I really thought I could make this work. I finally have to admit that the current economy has beaten me for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 I am very sorry to hear this, dude. Here are two quotes that I draw inspiration from when I'm lost as to what to do next. "Go back a little to leap further." - John Clarke "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt And to be quite honest, going by the title of this thread I thought you were finally ready to take that leap and begin the hormone treatments for your gender reassignment surgery Thanks for the laugh cliaz. Haven't done much of that lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I know saying goodbye (even if temporarily) to a dream is a rough thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sucks Tom. My biz folded due to illness issues back in August, no f'n idea what to do, other than sell off equipment. Somehow, we always seem to survive it all. I can certainly identify with your situation. Hang in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrumjuice Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Is there anyway you can keep limited drop off and pickup hours, and continue operation during the lean times? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithjam Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Yeah, that really sucks man. I've never even had the guts to try something like that, so you are to be commended for that. I've always wanted to try. Hang in and give it another go sometime. My father in law always said everything happens for a reason. Keep your chin up. As for the economy rebounding......... here in Ontario, Canada I'm hearing politicians say we're going to gain 100,000 jobs in manufacturing. I call BS, we've lost 10X that many manufacturing jobs here in the last 15 years. The good paying jobs are gone. The work can be done in state of the art facilities in Mexico for $5 a day and a hot lunch per worker(which is mandated by the Mexican Gov't). The times that I knew when I started working are gone and they'll never be back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Is there anyway you can keep limited drop off and pickup hours, and continue operation during the lean times? Yeah sort of. I would really like to keep things rolling but the overhead of the SHOP is really the last thing I can cut out of my budget. I won't let my health and life insurance go and I have a brilliant daughter in college who needs my help financially. I quit drinking a long time ago and I am working very hard on quitting smoking as well. I don't eat out nor spend money on anything I don't have to have. I just don't know where else to cut back and still be able to have the shop available to me. I over estimated my clientele and got screwed on a couple of mid range jobs. The money owed to me will probably come back to me but until business picks up in general I can't pay the rent and shop insurance. I won't stay in the shop without insurance as that opens my landlord up to liability. It is not just me that is slow. All the shops in the area are begging for work. Problem is that people just don't have the money to spend so they are driving the cars until they die and then they just take the bus. The difference between me and the other shops is that they have been around long enough to have a bit of fall back money for the slow times. I just don't have that. There are some other factors involved that I have not spoken openly about. This may wind up being a blessing in disguise. Just doesn't feel that way right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) Yeah sort of. I would really like to keep things rolling but the overhead of the SHOP is really the last thing I can cut out of my budget. I won't let my health and life insurance go and I have a brilliant daughter in college who needs my help financially. I quit drinking a long time ago and I am working very hard on quitting smoking as well. I don't eat out nor spend money on anything I don't have to have. I just don't know where else to cut back and still be able to have the shop available to me. I over estimated my clientele and got screwed on a couple of mid range jobs. The money owed to me will probably come back to me but until business picks up in general I can't pay the rent and shop insurance. I won't stay in the shop without insurance as that opens my landlord up to liability. It is not just me that is slow. All the shops in the area are begging for work. Problem is that people just don't have the money to spend so they are driving the cars until they die and then they just take the bus. The difference between me and the other shops is that they have been around long enough to have a bit of fall back money for the slow times. I just don't have that. There are some other factors involved that I have not spoken openly about. This may wind up being a blessing in disguise. Just doesn't feel that way right now. I do not know exactly what you do as far as car care goes so I am making an assumption here so if it is wrong, then ignore my post. Maybe you should contact UPS & Fedex to see if they would outsource their local fleets cleaning. You'd be surprised at just how many large corporations do this (I used to work for UPS and our landover facility did this w/ the permission of the local union). Also, call up firehouses, EMS stations, local post office and places like that. Ambulance & fire trucks MUST been kept clean at all times. You would have to go there to perform any services but hey, it's a client. Dunno, just throwing out ideas. ETA: My assumption was car detailing Edited January 27, 2011 by cliaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrumjuice Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 A lot of it must be your area, my buddy owns a 4 bay tire and oil change + repairs shop here, they are doing very well. Do you do the kwik lube thing? That keeps the wheels rolling and still lets you do the big $$$ jobs. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sorry to hear this Tbimm. Keep your head up and dont give up on the dream! Hopefully things will turn around sooner rather than later for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 sorry to see this. good luck going forward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Hang in there guy.... tough now but things will work out in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 A lot of it must be your area, my buddy owns a 4 bay tire and oil change + repairs shop here, they are doing very well. Do you do the kwik lube thing? That keeps the wheels rolling and still lets you do the big $$$ jobs. Just a thought. You are spot on with it being the area. We were behind the curve on the recession as we were still reaping the benefits (for lack of a better term) of the Katrina relief money. Now that the former administration has all that in their pockets we are feeling the pinch that most started feeling 3 years ago. The real manurety part of all of this is that I had decided when I started out if it got tough I would sell my motorcycle to keep things going when it got lean. Once that was stolen I no longer had the insurance policy against a lack of income. I will revisit this in the near future but I am very skeptical about trying again in New Orleans. I have learned a lot about what it takes to run a business here and am not sure I am willing to jump through the hoops. Also as I stated in a previous post the crime is just starting to hit way too close to home. I am fairly certain that a relocation is in my future for many reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 ugh--sorry tbimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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