May 2019

and a big trophy, can make: "I have been on a journey over the last three or four years, and have met some great people in the industry. Like they say, It’s good to talk, and my new network gave me a different perspective. “I’ve fancied going it alone for a while and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I started planning at the end of last year, and got the keys for here on 1 January." Winning Top Technician was a factor: "I realised that I had to do it this year. If I left it for three or four years, I couldn't advertise that I was setting up, and that I was the winner of Top Technician. It would be old news. I was speaking to a lot of people in the industry about it, and I just decided it was time to go. I set about doing the business plan, looked W e have to confess, Aftermarket's garage visit articles tend to follow a formula. We pick long-established businesses, and as part of the piece we will hear about how they got started, and see where they are now. That's great, but sometimes you want to mix things up, do things differently. How about, for a change, we go and see a business in its very early days, and see how a garage is built from the ground up? Yes, we like that idea. When we found out that 2018 Top Technician Shaun Ferguson-Miller was opening his own business, we knew we just had to be there. Fergie’s opened its doors, and unveiled its big, bright and very orange sign for the first time in late February. Based in a converted warehouse on a business park on the outskirts of Thatcham in Berkshire, Fergie’s has been set up as a German marques specialist, catering for drivers of the VAG group output, as well as cars from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. With Shaun is a small team covering marketing, sales (front of house), finance, and of course Shaun’s area of expertise, all things technical in the workshop. The technical team will grow as the business picks up. All being well, he’s looking to take on two more technicians this year. Differentiation Starting out is hard, particularly if you are aiming to start at the top, but Shaun was upbeat about the businesses potential: “We’ve had a great start. Each member of the team is very focused on their individual roles and we’re hitting our targets that were set out in the business plan. It’s 28 AFTERMARKET MAY 2019 GARAGE VISIT www.aftermarketonline.net THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT: THE FUTURE’S… ORANGE Above: Out the front at Fergies Aftermarket looks in on the new business recently opened by 2018 Top Technician winner Shaun Ferguson-Miller very early days but we’re all putting in the hours and committed to making this a success.” They are getting the customers they want too: "The marketing team are busy behind the scenes. From day one we’ve had a defined focus on who our clients are and we’ve built a marketing plan based around that. We’re very keen to get off on the right foot and build a strong reputation based around outstanding customer service. It’s the part of the business the customer sees and touches. It’ll be our point of differentiation.” A new chapter Readers may remember that when he won Top Technician in 2018, Shaun was head technician at Millers Garage in Newbury. What a difference a year,