Tips/Lessons/Encouragement for new Venture

[Al Pachter Al’s Guitar Workshop]

Hey Corey! Come to Health and Wellness For Looths! We talk about ways to manage anxiety of all types. It’s very supportive and non-judgemental. We meet every 2 weeks. Next week on Tuesday is our next meeting.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Al! I will def try to join! I was really active on IHG during covid but have been away from a lot of the live stuff recently. But now that I have my own shop I hope to join in for events more often. Thanks for the tip!!!! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!!!

[Al Pachter Al’s Guitar Workshop]

Hey again, Corey! You’ve gotten lots of great input here, which is great to see. Hope you can make our meeting this coming week on Tuesday at 12:00pm. Also I just posted a new video presentation outling my own business flow model that you might take a look at. It’s about 12 minutes long and hopefully helpful! The link is posted in the general business section here but I’ll give the link again here

https://youtu.be/XER5Rj7sDJw?si=KyRmPMX5X6aXbKII

[Gerry Hayes Haze Guitars]

Hey Corey

I started out, in a small workshop out the back of my home, filled with naïveté and fake confidence. I’m still in that same workshop but am a little less naive and maybe faking things a little less. It sounds to me like you’re far, far better prepared and experienced than I was. I say trust your experience. Go for it. 🙂

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Thanks Gerry! I have read your book (and it has got me into basic electronics repair which is a blind spot for me so far), so I know how smart you are! I love the book. Hoping my little shop turns out half as good as yours!

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

Trust your gut. Say no when you feel like saying no to projects. Chances are good that you are going to have enough profitable work immediately that you won’t have to be the patron saint of wayward dog turds.

If you want to take on projects that will either test your boundaries or are interesting, yet unprofitable, take them on one at a time. Do not take another one in until you complete the one already in your shop. In general, don’t stack cases up. There’s a lot of work out there, it doesn’t all have to live in your shop.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Ian! Nice to hear from you! Some of my customer joke that I am good at talking people out of repair work ( ;

I have been feeling frustrated that I am at a plateau skill wise for the past year or two. I DO have a stack of cases already BUT… I own them. I have been buying “reach” repair guitars that I can learn on and hopefully flip at completion. A few 70’s Martins and a lot of Guilds… so many Guilds (I live 15min away from the old westerly factory so we still have a high concentration of Guild in our area).

Looking forward to being more active on here, you have created something so cool. Cannot wait to see where you take it going forward!

[Grace Da Maren Guelph Guitar Repair]

If I had the experience you had when I started…! Look – if your business is half as amazing as your new shop, you’re gonna do great! You know what to do. And when you don’t, you’ve got support everywhere – your awesome wife, kick-ass mentor, and us, just a click away! You got this! You are ready!

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Thanks Grace! I love everything you post on instagram and am sure I will be hitting you up for advice in the future!

[Grace Da Maren Guelph Guitar Repair]

I’ll be here for you, and cheering you on!

[Doug Proper Guitar Specialist]

Corey, starting your own shop is a huge step. You’ve laid all the ground work and have lots, very likely more experience under your belt than most of us did when we started our shops. That would certainly be true for me when I started 40 years ago.

As far as the anxiety you’re experiencing? That would be normal for virtually any new venture. Given what I know about you, pretty soon you’re going to be too busy to even think about it. You’ve got this!

More importantly, you’ve also got the incredible resource that is the Looth Group. We’re all here for you. If you have a question, need advice or anything.

I highly recommend Al Pachter’s bi-monthly group meetings for a place to make sure you feel like you’re not alone in this.

I’ll go one step further. Feel free to reach out to me. I’ll be happy to help in any way I can. My direct email is doug@guitarspecialist.com and the shop phone number is (914) 401-9052

Also, I think you’re less than 2hrs from us. You’re also welcome to come down anytime.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Doug!

That is so generous, thank you so much! Your repair posts are always both intimidating and inspiring… same goes for your playing. I know I will take you up on the offer to visit in the future. I am a huge jazz guitar nerd so you may have trouble getting rid of me. I am going to check out Al’s health/wellness and am excited to see what everyone shares on there. Looking forward to hearing from you in the future!

[Dan Erlewine]

Hi Corey, I’m glad to hear that you are starting an actual shop. I have wondered why you weren’t around the Looth group lately. I read all the advice from the others, and of course I started in a small shop, and had a number of small shops for many years until finally, and age 72, I built the shop that you visited for the workshop. Before that it was the garage of the house, before that the basement of the house since the now-garage building didn’t exist. We added that onto the house in the mid-90s. I agree that your 8 years of hard work and dedication will pay off greatly. Like Ian said, if you take on “learning projects” as repair jobs do them only if you feel you can, and only one at a time. Will you be building a website? That’s important eventually, and if you have a presence on Instagram that is good. I am just starting to post on Instagram to be honest. Any advice you need can be found on the loothalong and you are welcome to contact me when you think I can help. Bon Voyage! Dan

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Dan!

My heart skipped a beat when I saw you commented! My instagram has been a blend of my guitar life and social life so I have been thinking whether two accounts are better. I have not started a website yet but have been compiling a few photos I would like to use and have been imagining the basic layout I would want. Luckily I have a few friends who can help me with the execution.

Your shop is beautiful, I was so excited to visit back in 2019!

I apprenticed for Paul Neri and we were recently hanging out and he found this blast from the past in his filing cabinet! 1996!

[Peter Katsaros Katsaros Guitars]

Hey Corey, I’m in the exact same position! Congrats to both of us.

It sounds like you got your chops down. The reality of life and starting a business is that its a risk. If life has taught me anything it’s that whenever I take these risks I get the most reward. Sometime you have to jump into the deep end and your work will reward you. Let things grow organically and enjoy this time. If you have any questions or want someone to chat with that’s in the same boat feel free to reach out to me anytime.

Cheers,

Peter

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Pete!

Congrats on your endeavor! Judging from your resume it looks like you are all set for a great business! I am jealous that you got to attend RV and spend time at SCGC, those experiences must have been amazing. I have only really done repair so have no experience with building but have a few amazing builders locally so I always check in on their projects. Hoping to try my hand at a build one day. Thanks for sharing your info!

[Benjamin Brockway Strings]

Start with the bar set HIGH. I’m talkin bout money here. USD’s where I’m from. Make sure you get those. Opportunist types tend to come out of the woodwork when an individual sets up shop and starts to advertise as having affordable rates so I’d advise against doing that. Figure out what you’d like to make and charge accordingly. People can then decide whether or not it’s “affordable”. And don’t feel like you need to prove yourself by taking in instruments that nobody else within a 500 miles radius of your area wants to touch and if you have friends with instruments I suggest not getting into the habit of cutting “friend deals”. Your friends should want you to do well for yourself not take advantage of your endeavors and services. Wherever you start out at you’re going to wanna keep making things better for yourself as you build your business and your skills. You probably know by now how easy it is to underestimate how long a project can take and/or get into wishful thinking so just start with the bar high.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Benjamin!

I really appreciate your insight. Pricing is really tough as I do not have a ton of reference points and the guy who I apprenticed with was way too low for today’s standards. Hoping I get a better feel for price as time goes on. Luckily we are short handed for repair in my area so I think most of my friends will be supportive and they seem to never expect a deal. Thanks for sharing your info!

[Benjamin Brockway Strings]

Good news is there’s an excellent network of repair folks these days to discuss such things. Don’t fall into the trap of not charging enough. I went through it and I hate to see it happen to other people. If your mentor wasn’t charging enough that’s good to acknowledge and not follow his example in that area. Check out Doug Proper’s “Loothing for Dollars” series also Al Pachter’s “Health and wellness for looths” meetings cover this area.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

I will check all this info out! I also have been looking at website that publish repair prices and am trying to get an idea of where people are at. Thanks for all your advice

[Bryan Parris Parris Guitars]

Congratulations on the big step! I took work in at my house for ten years until I decided I wanted to grow and needed employees. I think for a single looth shop, a big thing is figuring out what you want to specialize in, what you’re comfortable with, and promote that. I did only setups, nuts and saddles at first, then electronics, then bigger repairs as they came along. Like Ian said, don’t be afraid to say no. People will most often respect your honesty if you’re not comfy with a project. It was a long time before I felt confident with complex repairs.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Bryan!

I appreciate the info! I am hoping to just do the stuff I am really comfortable with at first and collected a stash of project guitars so I have a few “reach” repairs to work on and hopefully flip once they are completed. Finding a niche would be cool! My heart is really with acoustic guitars so I hope I become a bit more well known for that. Hope our paths cross someday! Thank you!

[Alex Q Guitarworks]

Hello!

This came late, but first of all I want to congratulate to you for making this important step. Sometimes things will not be easy, but the satisfaction you will have back is greater than any trouble you will face.

Take care of yourself, enjoy everyday of this passion, and never let it overcome you. If you need a day off, take it.

I hope this will be the joy of your life.

Alex

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Thank you for your words of encouragement! Your resume is really cool, I love seeing the different paths people took to instrument work. Look forward to hearing from you again soon!

[Brian Adoff]

Great thread. Congrats Corey and the rest of the folks on here new to taking the leap. I’m in the same boat; in the process of building out my basement shop and soon getting ready to officially take on paying customers. I’m fortunate to have enough friends who don’t mind me using their guitars to train on.

While the guitar repair business is new to me, running small businesses is not. For one of my “day jobs” I advise owners of creative businesses on how to get their shit together and get profitable. I found it doesn’t matter what business you’re in or at what level you are—everyone faces the same feeling of impostor syndrome and self-doubt. Getting over the mental blocks we place on ourselves will be one of your biggest business challenges.

I was drawn to start a new career in loothing because I don’t think I’ve seen another industry that is as supportive of each other and seemingly devoid of competition (maybe because the lack of $$$ in it 😜). But I’m so impressed at how welcoming this community is and I’m really proud to join it. Thanks @ianhatesguitars for what you built here.

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

You bet dude !

[Tony Lewis Skypilot Guitar Repair]

Hi Corey! I too am just starting out! My shop has been open for about month. Yes, anxiety was high in anticipating whether or not I would get any business at all! Many sceptics (“good side gig but not real money” etc.)! I opened on November 7th and so far so good! I am the only repair shop within a four hour drive. The question I and others asked was “would there be enough guitars around to support a business? I live in Bishop, CA, a small town in California. So far so good. I think customers coming in from the start has been good (I wondered how long it would take for someone to walk in the door which was the first day). So go for it!

Some keys so far for me have been the business side of things. As others have said, book keeping etc. are often overlooked and are maybe the most important aspects of operating a small business. I had a small business in the past and overlooking the business side of things is usually the main determining factor to the success of the business. Here’s what I did in tandem to getting the physical aspects of the shop up and running:

Like you, I remodeled the garage and stocked it with ONLY THE TOOLS I THOUGHT I WOULD NEED TO GET STARTED. Very important so as not to cut into initial startup capitol. I thought, and this has been true, that I could buy more tools on an as needed basis. Amazon can get you tools in a matter of days. It’s easy to spend money (profit) on more tools and drain the bank account of necessary operating capitol. It is amazing how much work you can accomplish with basic hand tools.

This ran parallel to the business aspects:

1) I instantly opened a business checking and savings account to SEPERATE business from personal. Yes, you need to put in personal money into business but you can track what you put in this way. Very hard to track mixed expenses and where money is going.

2) I got an online book keeping program. I use XERO for my book keeping. For me it is the easiest program I have found. Very important to business so you can track what and how your business is doing. You can invoice and take payments with the program and input bank accounts. I think this is the most important aspect of the business.

3) I became an LLC. I’m married and we have property together. This shields our personal properties form lawsuits, etc. Your situation may be different as to how you want to handle this.

4) Aquired local business license and fictitious business statement.

5) Got a EIN (employment identification number) necessary for tax purposes. It’s free to sign up for. Taxes are super important to deal with. Many small businesses overlook the importance of dealing with their tax situations and how to handle. I have a CPA to deal with this end as figuring the tax codes and how they apply IS rocket science!

6) I aquired insurance for the business. It costs me 95. a month from Hartford Insurance Co. This covers liability in case someone slips in the garage, covers instruments to the tune of 10,000. and the usual fire, earthquake etc. This is seperate from the homeowners insurance we carry.

Advertising:

Amazingly enough, the most important form of advertising has been the sandwich board out on the street! Almost every shop day, someone has walked in! This coupled with flyers at all the best bulletin boards in town, google, online etc. Word of mouth has been important as well. I’ve handed out business cards at all the open mics and music events in the area.

There is a great discussion here on The Looth Group about the business side of things. I’m not up to speed on how to find and import it here while typing.

Good Luck! I hope this helps!

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

Hey Tony!

Congrats on the new venture. Sounds like I am a month or two behind you in my journey.

Thanks for all the advice. I just got quoted from heritage to do a workbench insurance policy. I was hoping to have an LLC formed today but am overwhelmed by the services that do it online or to just do it myself.

I have been lucky enough to already have a small stream of repairs before I even formally begin. Thankfully a lot of customers know me from other shops/ my apprenticeship.

I am looking forward to hearing more about your business as it develops! Good luck and thank you for the advice!

-Corey

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

And thanks for the Xero suggestion! Checking it out now, looks awesome!

[Brian Adoff]

You may want to check out Wave (https://www.waveapps.com/) as well. I’ve been using it for years for two of my smaller businesses completely for free. They did recently change the pricing of their plans but I think the free plan still does everything you would need.

waveapps.com

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[Tony Lewis Skypilot Guitar Repair]

Hi Corey,

I used Northwest Registered Agents. A lot to know from state to state. These people are great. Different pricing for differing services but reasonable price and excellent support. They had me registered the same day. This is great! We can follow each other around and help each other on the new journey! Hope your opening goes great!

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

I also use NWRA. Great service and the website is easy to use.

[Corey Williams Noank Guitar Repair]

This is awesome info, thanks guys!

[Tony Lewis Skypilot Guitar Repair]

There is a one hour over the phone introduction to Xero when/if you become a member. I did the trial and then there was a three month membership for .75 cents a month. The support is good when you find out how to use. The best help believe it or not is to ask google AI questions. I tried many other programs. I’m not computer savvy at all. For me the easiest to figure out.

[Brock Poling]

I can’t give you specific advice about running a repair shop, as I’ve never personally done this. However, as a serial entrepreneur who has started, grown, and sold several businesses, I’ve learned some hard-knock lessons that might help. Take what resonates and leave the rest—every business journey is unique.

1. EVERYBODY STARTS OUT FAKING IT.
   When you’re just starting, it’s easy to feel like everyone else has it all figured out. Trust me—they don’t. Everyone learns as they go. The trick is to build a support system. I highly recommend forming a mastermind group with other business owners. It’s even better if they’re in different industries. Meeting regularly (even for coffee or breakfast) can give you new perspectives and help you learn from others’ experiences—especially their mistakes—so you don’t repeat them.

2. CASH FLOW IS KING.
   For a while, it is all about money. Make sure you price your services fairly—not just for the customer, but for you. Finish jobs quickly and collect payments promptly. On the expense side, don’t let money leave the business unless it’s absolutely necessary. Manage your cash like your business depends on it—because it does.

3. DON’T BE CHEAP IN THE WRONG PLACES.
   You’re running a business, not a one-man band. Trying to be your own lawyer, accountant, designer, or bookkeeper is tempting, but one mistake can cost you dearly. Invest in professionals or freelancers when needed—platforms like Fiverr or Upwork can help. It may feel like a splurge, but cutting corners here can lead to bigger problems down the road.

4. KNOW YOUR MARKET.
   Define your audience and stick to it. Don’t try to be all things to all people; it’s a quick way to dilute your focus and burn out. The businesses that succeed often know what they don’t do just as clearly as what they do. Find your niche, and own it.

5. LEARN TO SPOT THE RED FLAGS.
   Some customers will be more trouble than they’re worth—demanding, unreasonable, or endlessly draining your time. They’ll keep you from focusing on better-paying and more satisfying work. Learn to recognize these “time vampires” and steer them to someone else (politely, of course). Protect your bandwidth.

6. DON’T MORTGAGE YOUR FUTURE.
   When times get tough—and they will—resist the urge to make deals that hurt your long-term prospects just to get through today. Taking unprofitable work or high-risk gambles can snowball into bigger problems. Yes, you may need to make tough choices now and then, but avoid selling your soul (or your margins) too often. It’s hard to recover once you start down that path.

7. PARTNERSHIPS ARE TRICKY.
   Business partners can be your biggest asset—or your biggest headache. Be very cautious about bringing on a partner, and have a plan for when visions diverge or one of you wants to leave. Partnerships often have a shelf life, and it’s especially risky with friends or family. Trust me, I’ve learned this the hard way.

8. PLAN YOUR EXIT FROM DAY ONE.
   Most entrepreneurs don’t think about how they’ll eventually leave their business. Will it be sellable? Will it depend entirely on you? If your goal is to build something you can sell or pass on, start thinking about that now. Structure your business to run without you, and consider who might buy it one day. What would make it valuable to them? These questions may feel distant, but addressing them early will give you options when the time comes.

Starting a business is an adventure. There’s no perfect roadmap, but if you focus on learning, planning, and adapting, you’ll find your way. Good luck!