I graduated from high school a few months ago. I have yet to attend any college or institute because I know what I want to do but not how to get there.

I want to have a custom car shop. No ricing Civics; legit sports cars only. I want to do custom body work, performance upgrades, restoration, etc. Anything from t-tops conversion to installing Whipples. I might even want to have a little custom car dealership thing going on way down the road. It would start with a decent-sized shop and I would spread the word about it by going to custom car club meets, especially Mustang ones since that would be my specialty, to showcase what I've done with my own car. I could also use the forum world.

What steps do you guys think I need to take to secure my desired future?
Any schools I could go to for this kind of stuff? Right now I'm looking at either SIU's 4-year course, or UTI. SIU's courses are more engineer-oriented while UTI takes a more technician-oriented approach. This is my main concern at the moment.

Any advice would be highly appreciated since I'm totally clueless on what I should to at this point. Thanks.

 

UTI would be more of what you need, If i recall, UTI also has buisiness classes that are oreinted to that specific field. That should benifit you. And a strictly performance shop is one of the hardest to start and thrive. You have to be really good at what you do. So pay attention in class!!!

 

Thank you. UTI was my preference anyways because of their Hot Rod U and Super Street Programs. I was unaware that they had this business class. I'll look into it.

I know it can be hard. But on a career trek while I was in high school, I went to VS Motorsports. The owner, in his early 20s, had a small custom shop which specialized in BMWs. He upgraded his own M3 to showcase at the track. He said he was planning on taking to the forums to make a name for himself. A year later, my brother went to the same career trek. The guy now has a new, bigger shop, a booming business, personally owns 3 M3s and makes north of $100k/yr. He only has a high school diploma. I thought I could take similar steps after attending some sort of institute or college (UTI is looking real good now.)

 

Takes money and more money for one thing as you know. If you have money, well all you need to do is hire the right people. If not, first thing I would do if you havent is land a job at a performance parts store, dealership, or even a custom car shop. That way you can see first hand the ins and outs of the business. Put a few years in, get a customer base going to where you are pulling money in for your boss. You build that kind of a relationship with your boss, good chance you will see other doors of opportunity to open up. By then, you will have it all figured out trust me, and welcome to the forum...

 

there you go, sounds like your brother has opened a door for you.

 

Thank you for your advice and for welcoming me.
Luckily for me there are a couple custom shops in the area so that I can learn the ins and outs as you say. Don't know if they'll take me without prior experience but it's worth a shot. As for the money, my dad's got me covered but he wants to make sure I know what I'm doing first.

 

How so?

 

Start establishing credit and checking accounts. And maintain them PERFECTLY! NO Excuses!

During my business years, banks don't make loans to newer small businesses. Had to use my own credit cards for backup. Also had to lien my sports car a few times to get me through. And because I maintained perfect credit history, the rates and offers got better and better.

 

I hadn't thought about that before. Good stuff. Thanks.

 

I might of misread your post, is it your brother that opened up an M3 shop?
Regardless you have to find your slice of the pie in the market. Me, knowing that I lived in the DC area, I learned the trade of ornamental plastering and built our business that way. Cdynaco is right, no credit is better than bad credit so your'e off to a good start. Dont nick that armor and keep it clean, especially in this current economy.

 

No, I meant my brother also went to go visit VS Motorsports and I was referring to the owner.

Yeah, it's a shame it's so bad. SIU is very expensive so it would have been a shame to go there and not find a job. But I have a better understand of it all thanks to all the advice you guys are giving me.

 

i wish i had your drive and insite 35 years ago .. iv`e been building cars that long but only for myself .. never occured to me to make a dollar doing it ..

 

"If you're good at something, never do it for free."-The Joker.

There's still time.

 

I would get some hands on experience of what it takes to build hot rods, and run a hot rod shop. Two things will come out of this. 1, It will give you a chance to see if its really what you are going to want to do for the rest of your life. 2, It's going to give you the knowledge to know if work is being preformed to the highest standards. Nothing beats hands on experience.
Its more than a 9-5 job to run your own business. I've own my own business since I was 21. I started out doing what I do at 16. Learned a lot in those 5 years, And a lot more in the years to follow.
To be successful you have to be totally dedicated to the business 24/7

 

Yeah, I should probably find one of these places to work at while I go to UTI.

 

OP where are you located?

 

You're going to have to pay your dues, kid, and your dream probably won't come easy. Good things seldom do. You are going to have to learn and understand every aspect of the business; not just the shop work, but business management, personnel issues, dealing with suppliers, civil "servants", and clients of every sort of persuasion. Get as much worthwhile schooling as you can, but definitely learn the business from the inside: try to hire on with an established and successful customizer and learn as much as you can about how the business works. Be a loyal and productive employee, the kind your boss can depend on and will appreciate enough to share his experience with you, and never forget to treat him and everyone else with honesty and courtesy-- you will be building a reputation to last you a lifetime. And always strive for excellence: do your best every day and become the kind of businessman that every one of us is hoping to know or find when we need the services of a real pro. Good luck to you.

 

^^^ Good advise right there.
If you want to own a custom shop, go for it. If you want to customize cars yourself, go for it. If you want to own a shop and do the work yourself, good goddamm luck kid. You're better off owning the business and have the right team working for you. Believe me that doing it all yourself will be a 7 long day a week job for the rest of your life. Start small with one or two specialties. Sublet a good paint shop. Sublet a good engine builder and tuner. Interior, etc. That type of stuff. But I like your enthusiasm. You're young and have nothing to lose but maybe a nice dream. Go for it but don't get too far in over your head.

 

Carol Stream, IL... A few miles from Chicago.

 

Wow, thank you. Luckily for me I also got me bro and dad to aid me. My dad is the manager where he works and he also wants to show me how to handle all those things. You're right about learning the tricks of the trade from the inside. I've always been tenacious and a quick learner. I won't let you guys down

Yeah, the good things don't come easy but then I don't give up easy either.