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mfemenel
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PostPosted: Wed May 19, 2021 6:30 am    Post subject: side business idea Reply with quote

About 5 years ago I learned how to weld. Since then I've done some body work on my projects and I've done a pretty good job. Certainly saved by the grinder on my earlier stuff but improving every time I do it. I was just thinking today that a fun side business would be helping other people in my area that maybe had some auto welding needs but don't know how or have the equipment themselves. I know when I started on my bus I needed the battery tray done and it was not running at the time. Getting someone to handle that for me was difficult and the vehicle had to be towed there. I could either do this with my setup at home, or travel within a reasonable distance. I've had to make my set up portable as I teach the welding merit badge now for our boy scouts. I've got using a traveling setup down pretty well.

I thought I'd throw it out there and get some pros/cons from you all. Also what's a reasonable price for the labor? Travel costs?
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Braukuche
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PostPosted: Wed May 19, 2021 7:28 am    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

mfemenel wrote:
About 5 years ago I learned how to weld. Since then I've done some body work on my projects and I've done a pretty good job. Certainly saved by the grinder on my earlier stuff but improving every time I do it. I was just thinking today that a fun side business would be helping other people in my area that maybe had some auto welding needs but don't know how or have the equipment themselves. I know when I started on my bus I needed the battery tray done and it was not running at the time. Getting someone to handle that for me was difficult and the vehicle had to be towed there. I could either do this with my setup at home, or travel within a reasonable distance. I've had to make my set up portable as I teach the welding merit badge now for our boy scouts. I've got using a traveling setup down pretty well.

I thought I'd throw it out there and get some pros/cons from you all. Also what's a reasonable price for the labor? Travel costs?


Rates vary depending on region of the US. Out here in CA many guys are charging around $100 an hour. From my experience if word gets out you do metal repair and you are good at it you’ll be turning work away. There simply are not that many guys doing that sort of work now days.
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Evil_Fiz
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PostPosted: Wed May 19, 2021 2:27 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

DAMIT! I had to move to Florida didn't I Rolling Eyes
I could have benefitted from your teaching skills or at least some supervision. I used to live about 1 mile from Providence and Alexander near the Arboretum.

I think it is an excellent idea. Some of us have welders but need some guidance to help us get better. I would have hired you for some of the repairs I botched and had to do over several times.

Good luck,
Emil
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mfemenel
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PostPosted: Wed May 19, 2021 3:36 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

oh man you were right around the corner from me. I take Alexander to providence for work (when we were in the office)... too funny.
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AirHead1966
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PostPosted: Wed May 19, 2021 5:18 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

Before you start touching other people’s antique cars with a welder, which may have real or perceived high value, look into some liability insurance coverage and an LLC. Otherwise you may end up losing a whole lot of personal property to satisfy the claims filed by disgruntled customers.

If you don’t have any professional training and certification, I wonder what would be the liability coverage rate.
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Mike Fisher
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PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2021 5:22 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

A tow dolly is light weight & ideal for towing VW's to your shop for work.
I paid $400 for my used tow dolly.
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jspbtown
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PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 8:27 am    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

Can't emphasize the insurance suggestion enough....

One spark to touch off a fire on the project or even the residence and your life might be impacted forever.
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infiniteLoop
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PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 8:40 am    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

It would be easiest to use another business model as a guide. I would try to set a hourly rate that would be a compromise between what you believe you desire and what is enticing to the customer. If a price is too high it will kill the market for the service or if it's too low you might as well do something else with your time.

Trying to get the quality so a reasonable amount of body work is needed for paint is going to dictate most of the service.
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Braukuche
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PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 2:47 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

jspbtown wrote:
Can't emphasize the insurance suggestion enough....

One spark to touch off a fire on the project or even the residence and your life might be impacted forever.


Sound advice, but from what I’ve seen in CA there are hordes of guys doing all sorts of work under the table without license, insurance, etc. just verbal agreements and no contracts.
Interesting story.
I know a guy who took his bus to a very well known VW guy here in San Diego for restoration work. Dude has a “legit” business with an address and everything, but everything was done verbally including estimates. Long story short the bus never was finished and what was done was shit work. Still the shady ass “business man” demanded payment for work done above the estimate. The owner refused as he didn’t ok it and the scum bag shop owner refused to release his vehicle. Cops were called when the guy went to the shop to demand his vehicle. Owner told the cops the dude owed him money and he wouldn’t release the vehicle. The cops asked the shop owner for the written estimate proving this, which of course he didn’t have, so the cops told him to give the guy his bus back. BAM!
Well, shady owner had disassembled the vehicle and had all sorts of expensive parts in boxes in his shop but claimed they didn’t belong to the bus, that it was brought in stripped, effectively stealing the parts. When the car owner complained, the cops asked him for an inventory from the shop owner, of course he didn’t have one as everything was done verbally.
Moral of the story if you are going to do work for other people do everything in writing.
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1959 SO-23 Westfalia
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jspbtown
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PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 6:36 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

I am sure there are a ton of guys doing stuff on the side. And if they don't have a penny to their name then they got nothing to lose.

But like I said....the guy wants to weld. A few sparks where they shouldn't be and a house burns down then the guy is gonna be in a whole world of hurt...regardless if there is a contract, paperwork or anything else.
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Mike Fisher
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:23 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

Mark (yella chicken) has a mobile auto repair business in San Diego.
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VW_Jimbo Premium Member
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 8:25 am    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

I do not weld professional or have any certifications. The FIL has those and taught me how to weld. I weld as good, good enough to not have to rely on the grinder too heavily!

Not being a welder, but instead being a contractor, has been a odd mix. I have the opportunity, often enough, to take on welding items together for people. The last one was a side yard fence. 42 inches wide, 84 inches tall, bolted to a cinder block wall. It had to pass the swimming pool inspection. It was sand blasted and epoxy primed. Total cost to the customer was 4500. I made my regular profit.

The best part of the job was the completion time. It took 2 weeks. Most of my projects take between 2 to 4 months. It is so nice to have quick jobs, instead of long ones!

If you go into business, ALWAYS GET LICENSED AND INSURED! The public consists of many assholes, I being one of them. People like to defer to courts. Be careful and always cover your ass!
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esde
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 6:07 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

A welding cert isn't going to help a business like this. But some other things will. Set up an S-corp LLC, get liability insurance, take a welding safety class and get your OSHA 40 card. The last two will lower the insurance premium. The first two make taxes easy and protect your personal life in the event things go badly at some point.
My general contracting business does a lot of steel work and welding, so I manage to mix clients cars in this way.
I've caught a few cars on fire, and always managed to put the flames out in time. Always: know where fuel lines and tank vents are. Disconnect the battery. Protect upholstery and insulation from sparks. Bucket of water, extinguishers, etc on hand.
SD
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evanfrucht
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 8:10 am    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

I do mobile welding, custom metal work/body work, and rust repair in Southern California, Los Angeles area. I haven't even done much advertising and am extremely busy and already have small client base, only after a year or so of being in business. I mainly do rust repair, as that's the most in demand, lots of floor pans, rockers, etc. Mostly 40's to late 70's cars. I also occasionally do some general fabrication work in between, sculpture, general repair, custom gates etc.

Pretty much no one offers this service, especially mobile. It's a lost art, and very high in demand. The people who need high quality body fabrication done in a timely manner are essentially desperate most of the time. I am not cheap at all per hour but I know these old cars very well and can do show quality work. My clients are almost always thankful, praising my work too. I enjoy it. You can make really good money if you are skilled and know how to hustle. As mentioned above $100 hr plus around here is the going rate. I have enough calls to be selective about which jobs I take and when.

And also ya cover your ass with insurance and an LLC.
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Dusty1
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 5:38 pm    Post subject: Re: side business idea Reply with quote

AirHead1966 wrote:
Before you start touching other people’s antique cars with a welder, which may have real or perceived high value, look into some liability insurance coverage and an LLC. Otherwise you may end up losing a whole lot of personal property to satisfy the claims filed by disgruntled customers.

If you don’t have any professional training and certification, I wonder what would be the liability coverage rate.


Best way to avoid disgruntled customers which is where your liability issues start... is to restore your own cars in your own garage.

Welding is easy compared to managing customer expectations.

You still might have to deal with arbitrarily pissy neighbors and the local zoning enforcement officer.

esde wrote:
Protect upholstery and insulation from sparks. Bucket of water, extinguishers, etc on hand.
SD


It's super easy to cause extensive glass damage due to welding spatter. Picture this: You're welding happily along in your own dark little 8-10 shade world. You flip your helmet up and discover you've spattered all the glass. Not the end of the world in many later VWs, the glass is readily available.. Could be a hassle if you're working a rust bucket oval or split with original Sekurit glass.

.
.
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