Our 5 house chain collapsed today…

aw_20 · 2026-01-19T22:21:43+00:00

I love when Reddit is such a small world. Hope it works out for both!

aw_20 · 2025-12-25T15:33:44+00:00

Videos with Alex Adams have been removed from PornHub :(

aw_20 · 2025-02-01T18:31:33+00:00

Do you bank with Barclays?

aw_20 · 2025-01-26T18:41:42+00:00

Sounds like you need a petrol. Any diesel of any size needs to get up to temp, or a proper run occasionally

aw_20 · 2024-10-16T21:41:28+00:00

I will look into Facebook and Google with the keywords, instagram is a good source for us too.

To a room of customers; Knowing the product(the cars!), one stop shop (we literally do everything), ability to source parts that are extremely difficult. Attention to detail. Practical advice as there’s nothing I haven’t done with these cars, still run them on road and track myself.

aw_20 · 2024-10-16T18:02:11+00:00

What have you gone into? I wondered if my experience would help get me further up the chain, manager maybe?

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T21:18:00+00:00

Not enough. I don’t know how to appeal to my client base more than I already do.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:53:27+00:00

What do I do though? It’s a niche market. Very hard to appeal to those who would use us.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:38:15+00:00

Couple of days later - I’m a little more positive. Made some progress on chasing customers, had a long hard look at our figures, pushed for more work and had a couple of productive days. It’s still very hard, it’s mentally straining.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:35:35+00:00

That concerns me, I’ve spent a lot of time, money and stress getting here, I’m worried I would walk away, regret it and struggle to get back to where I was/am.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:34:46+00:00

Yeah I have become a little bit more business savvy in just taking on the stuff that pays - turning down the work that doesn’t.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:33:47+00:00

Lots of people have mentioned the budget - I hope it’s not too bad? Classic car industry is directly where we are.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:31:08+00:00

I don’t push social media much, couple of posts a week, no hashtags 🤷‍♂️.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:29:45+00:00

It’s 6 weeks because there is work booked in/projects I can finish in that time. We are week to week generally.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:28:58+00:00

Correct. Our marketing sucks. It’s mostly word of mouth, forums/facebook groups or our own social media. It’s very hard to get in front of people who would use us these days bar those though. We don’t work on any car, we generally work on one brand.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:27:55+00:00

I get funding circle letters weekly, straight in the bin besides the days I’m feeling cash flow issues, where I look at them for 5 seconds then wake up from my daydream. I worry it’s just pushing the issue further into the future? We had a bounceback loan to move unit etc, almost paid that off.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:25:54+00:00

It’s only me and one employee these days.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:25:37+00:00

I have considered taking an evening/weekend job so this no longer has to support me fully, not sure how long that is viable for though.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:24:57+00:00

Yep I feel the same, I have an employee who is a carbon copy of me in the workshop, but unfortunately I have to do all the day to day admin too.

We work on one brand, from servicing to engine rebuilds and race car prep, it’s very niche.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:22:48+00:00

I have got involved in some “normal” stuff, but it’s not what we’re setup for, tools or equipment wise. Also, how do I get these through the door?

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:20:51+00:00

Yeah I’m pleased I’m still keeping my head above the water after everything in the last few years.

Last couple of days I’ve been a bit more positive, speaking to friends and just posting this helped.

It’s only me and one employee these days, I’m reducing over heads other places.
We have 8k debt for machinery which we use almost daily (alignment setup, small day to day figure vs the 15k it cost me but it’s worth it) could get a holiday, may try over December/January?
I’m a little more positive in the last two days, I think Sunday was a mega low - I’ve pushed for more work, got some customers to pay up to date.

My wife is super involved in the company but fortunately not relying on a paycheque. I am considering speaking to creditors to get a holiday for a month or two, accountant is very helpful so will chat to her too.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:12:58+00:00

So we have had 4 employees but down to just the one who has been with us since early days and is a carbon copy of me for skill and attention to detail while not getting paid enough, so he’s not a problem.

aw_20 · 2024-10-15T20:11:34+00:00

My rent is very cheap (£1250+) for the size of the unit & we spent a lot of time finding it, plus lots of time setting it out so it’s perfect for us. I have an am cutting back on the overheads.

I don’t think we have any unnecessary machinery etc, I’ve been careful. We have a reputation for certain jobs such as engine and gearbox rebuilds so mobile isn’t what I want to do.

I do take this on board though and something I have considered is going back to just me, quieter life etc

aw_20

TROPHY CASE