Back when I first considered starting my appliance repair business not much more than a year ago, I couldn’t have accurately forecast what my experience would be.
I only knew that it seemed like a good idea, although maybe a little daunting to get the proper training and compete with well-established businesses for a piece of the pie.
As I moved through the startup process with Uncle Harry training and my own efforts to market my services, I never stopped evaluating whether appliance repair was still meeting my original hopes and expectations for starting a profitable business.
These are some of my favorite things about appliance repair that have convinced me what a fantastic business opportunity this really is:
- You are not trying to sell a luxury item, it is much closer to a necessity. Every household has major appliances, and when they break down people find the money to fix them.
- This is truly a recession-proof business, and the current recession is actually encouraging people to repair their appliances as opposed to replace them. I hear their comments about the high cost to replace appliances a bit more each day as this sluggish economy continues.
- You don’t have to sell the service too hard. Most customers are ready to buy the service once they have contacted you.
- People don’t comparison shop the service as much as you would think. As long as your prices seem reasonable, they will usually have you come out if they have called you.
- Most customers don’t have any technical understanding of what you are doing, so there is a margin for you to learn as you go with various appliance repairs you have never encountered or have less experience with.
- Although most customers are not technically sophisticated, they know when they are being treated fairly. If you treat them with respect and don’t try to take advantage of them, you can easily win their loyalty and repeat business or referrals.
- People don’t scrutinize your bill to the last penny, so this is an opportunity to make your profit margin. But there’s a balance. If you push it too far, you’ll get paid today, but lose in the long run when they call somebody else next time.
I have been self-employed most of my adult life, and few other opportunities have been so easy to start up, manage, and grow. I hope this helps you make your decision about whether to get into the appliance repair business.