A Business

[Dieselman]

Tiff
Obviously you had your reasons for going back into regular employment but it sound like you made a mistake. You had done the hard work years of setting up a business and should have kept at it as rewards should have increased.

 

[janner]

Maybe Ian should specialise in putting large V8s into small Mercs. You never know in years to come Mercedes might buy him out and people will search e-bay for fake ///IBW badges.

 

[pammy]

my post removed too, are the mod's nun's, or just power mad,, there was nothing offensive in my post,

Neither and there was!

 

[Tiff]

Tiff
Obviously you had your reasons for going back into regular employment but it sound like you made a mistake. You had done the hard work years of setting up a business and should have kept at it as rewards should have increased.

Yes,I'd have liked to,but many reasons made me give up.Finding good premises,having REGULAR income,(some weeks I was loaded,some we were eating beans on toast.I never,ever borrowed money from banks etc,it all came from the Scirocco)getting a good guy who I could trust to join me,having enough hours in the day to enable me to do the work needed,do homework to keep up to date with the trade,do my books,AND actually see my wife and kids now and again...I also used to spend far too much time and money on my hobby,which was cars....kinda like an alcoholic being a pub landlord.I'm not at all money orientated,as long as I can pay my bills and stuff,never wanted to get rich out of it,and I get much more pleasure fixing up a £500 W124 than I would owning a CL55!!

As I said,all in all,the good outweighed the bad,and if the right premises came along,I'd be up and running again,hopefully with much more business experience...

 

[sweeney todd]

Good luck Ian I should be able to put some work your way shortly when you're up and running!

By the way I can also quote ya for some good commercial combined insurance cover if you're interested.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Good luck Ian I should be able to put some work your way shortly when you're up and running!

By the way I can also quote ya for some good commercial combined insurance cover if you're interested.

Yes interested as I guess I am going to need some

 

[Ian B Walker]

Getting there, have to see loads of people before Friday. Could be up and running within three weeks. What do you think of the logo?

 

[glojo]

Looks brilliant, whose idea was it?

I still say to try your hardest to get some publicity. Having friends and forum members offering to put work your way is excellent, but there are at least five working days in a week and an awful lot of weeks in a year. You need a nice steady flow of work.

Good luck and fingers crossed.

Great logo.

John

 

[Howard]

Nice logo Ian, not sure about being in green .....

Could you make the 'o' of the works into a Mercedes star instead of overlaying a large star ?

 

[lotusmark2]

So glad to see things moving on with this mate.
I know if anyone can do this, you can!!
(oh I would do the logo on MB blue)

 

[andy_k]

I think the original green (Ian sent me a copy) of the logo looked great - I suspect the one he has posted here lost something in the conversion from CMYK to RGB colours

try this version

Andy

 

[Ian B Walker]

I am unable to use a bona fida Mb logo due to copyright issues. My daughter did all the artwork, bless her. John, publicity is paramount. I totally agree whith what you sat ref time / weeks etc. I will be doing newspapers, flyers in hotels, car parks, anywhere that I see a 124 or a 201. Both my local dealers have been very good to me so it is my intention to let them know of this venture face to face rather than just hear about it. I may just be lucky and be used as a person who will do the cars they dont like doing (124 / 201). In return I will send or recommend all the rusty 210 to them

<edit> I would publically like to thank both Andy_k and Zooman (Ash) for their faith and help in web design and general advice. Without them I would still be pondering.

 

[Dieselman]

I think the logo looks good but might be tempted into using MB blue from the laurel wreath design.

Good luck Ian.

 

[GrahamC230K]

I confess to having not read the whole thread - logo is really great, i think using green is a safe bet, hope it goes well.

I think/hope your biggest problem will be being too busy!

 

[Shude]

"Merc Care" in W Yorkshire put rolled-up flyers underneath each MB drivers-door handle in a Leeds carpark - they got mine too... I was amused to see that every MB in the multi-storey had been flyer'd, also BMWs but after some investigation it turned out their sister company "BMW Care" had done the bimmers

That might work for you. How about:

"You own one of the most respected vehicles on the planet! Why not treat it with the care it deserves, next time it needs servicing, repair or other maintenance take it to 124works in Preston, specialists in classic MB models."

something like that, remember to engratiate yourself with the potential customers by complimenting them on their choice of car

If you want some help, let me know, I am moving to Lancaster soon so will only be 20 minutes from you

 

[Ian B Walker]

If you want some help, let me know, I am moving to Lancaster soon so will only be 20 minutes from you

Magic, thanks :bannana: :bannana:

 

[Steve_Perry]

Ian,

Looks like you've found your 1st marketing executive

BTW I like the logo too

S.

 

[pammy]

Looks Great Ian - the very very best of luck with this - you know how much I hope it works out

 

[glojo]

"Merc Care" in W Yorkshire put rolled-up flyers underneath each MB drivers-door handle in a Leeds carpark -

Nice idea,
Underneath door handles sounds much better than putting them underneath windscreen wipers. (pet hate) If nine out of ten people don't like flyers, then at least one person in ten doesn't mind.

Make sure you get someone trustworthy to do this, otherwise you pay someone to dump them down the nearest drain!

John

 

[Ian B Walker]

Nice idea,
Underneath door handles sounds much better than putting them underneath windscreen wipers. (pet hate) If nine out of ten people don't like flyers, then at least one person in ten doesn't mind.

Make sure you get someone trustworthy to do this, otherwise you pay someone to dump them down the nearest drain!

John

Totally agree with both you and Nick. As for despatch of flyers I think either my son, daughter, wife or I will be doing it. Plenty of car parks in this area to start with and hopefully with the assistance of close by members i could on payment of a few pints etc ask them to have a mad 1/2 hour.