This is getting boring

Ah, I did think, given the kind of chap you are, that you would have
already looked into it.

It does always come down to area though, doesn't it? With any
business or job. Certainly I get stuck just as much as anyone with my
job needed me to be in certain places.

 

There are at least a couple of guys around here who have a mobile
service. They come to you with a van full of tools and parts. Dunno
how successful they are. It would seem difficult to make much money at
it.

 

It's always worth a look at. I'd need a big van though

 

Damn sight cheaper than premises.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=250595707318

 

Or this one, bit pricier:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=120552222068

 

1141cc?!? Doesn't sound very mobile to me!

 

My mate Andy's got one similar to that[1]. Tis a fantastic bit of kit.

[1] http://www.ottstuntteam.co.uk/album/pages/43_jpg.htm

 

Why not a mobile van with all the spanners needed?

And with blinking neons "Wizard of Loz will pass your MOT".

 

Yes, this is probably the right point in the thread to chip in. You can't
really run a one man M/C repair shop from rented commercial premisis down
there. The combined costs of prevailing rents, the fucking huge business
rates and insurance overheads will rip your guts out.

Ducati John manages it in Leeds but costs are probably a bit lower, he only
does Ducati's and significantly does a lot of specialist stuff, he has all
the machine shop skills and equipment.

But a mobile service with a van large enough to house a nice workspace might
work, particularly if you did a tyre service. Alternatively you need a mate
with a working factory premisis who will rent you out space on the side.

Thing is, might become a bit like working as a Service Tech for a
dealership. Financial pressures goad you on to work at a faster and faster
rate and pretty soon the pleasure leaks out of the whole job. I've been
down this road on the side when I owned the courier company.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, 'Hog

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This. If you do this, and can get within hailing distance of a dealer
price (a bit more is not a problem, a lot more might be), then I would
definitely be a customer.

 

I moved my office back home years ago because of the overheads , many
of my collegues have done the same .

If your carrying a large amount of tools then your better off not
having a lockup , a nice big alarmed van with decent aftermarket
security locks parked on your driveway is far less likely to be
targeted than a lock up on a dark industrial estate .

 

Yeah I'd use a service like that, and it's a small jump to doing cage tyres
if you can get the stock. One doesn't need to stock the fucking world. Just
2 or three hand picked types that you know will make customers happy.

 

+1

In fact, if I could get someone with as much savvy as Lozzo (and in
particular someone I know wouldn't **** me around) I'd happily pay a
reasonable premium for a "home service/repair" facility rather than
trust my bike to a shop.

 

It's troooo.

Y'know, something else I thought would make a nice service. A bloke who
would actually come and maintain my laser printers. I mean adapt the toner
cartridges and come fill them regularly and clean up the machine. The price
of OEM cartridges is horrendous and refilling can be done for about half.
It wouldn't be difficult to find enough customers to give you 6 site visits
a day.

 

How close are you to Leighton Buzzard and would you consider there?
Drop me an email if it might suit.

 

this doesn't grab me as much. I pretty much regard my printers (the
whole unit, not the cartridge) as an expendable item - buying a new
one from Amazon or whoever only costs a couple of quid more than the
cost of driving to Cartridgeworld and getting a refill done. And OEM
cartridges can often cost more than a whole printer.

 

Which ignores the subtle detail that the cartridge supplied with a new
printer tends to be half the capacity of an OEM replacement...

(Not to mention the environmental impact. I know, I know, but still...)

 

that's into "la la la la, I'm not listening" territory. ****, so I'm
lazy - whatever.

I'll "take the Keith" on that one.

 

<grin>
You can buy cartridges on the same interwebthingy, y'know. Total effort -
reduced.