May 2019

little creche for son Quinn also. We told you it was a modern place didn't we? Customers Apart from the technical stuff, you always need to remember that a garage business needs customers. When they arrive, Shaun has presentation covered thanks to a comfortable, warm- wood-and-armchairs reception that could be an upmarket high-street cafe: "I initially wanted it to be all white and fresh and clinical, but I had my mind changed and this is so much better. Everyone who comes in says how nice it is, and wants to chill out, read a paper, have a hot drink, they love it. Because we are a little bit out of the way, we wanted to create somewhere people can wait." To have them waiting, you need to have them in the first place. With this in mind, Shaun sought out advice: "I did a lot of business training with John Batten at Auto iQ and he has helped me massively. I didn't think advertising was important before I started the business. As far as I was concerned it was all word of mouth. Starting a new business, that is not going to happen though. We are literally at the bottom of a road with no passing trade. I’m too busy in the workshop to give marketing the focus it needs which is why we bought in someone to do this from the start. That and our front of house team are every bit as important as the technical ability we have in the workshop.” It's a hard slog starting from scratch, but with a young family, a big vision and a great team, Shaun is on his way: “I am doing long hours at the moment- I am here until 11pm every night. I just want to set everything up, systems, equipment, etc. All of that effort will be worth it in the long run, getting it all right from the beginning. Doing this, I have learnt almost everything in one go, from a business point of view, which is really cool. Luckily my mum is an accountant with a massive company, so she has helped with it as well. With mum's, my wife’s, and my friends support as well as a great team, it was the ideal time, and the ideal recipe. Now we’ve all just got to put in the hours and do the work.” We know he will succeed. MAY 2019 AFTERMARKET 29 www.aftermarketonline.net at what I wanted to do, arranged additional finance on top of the money we had, then set about finding the right equipment to meet our budget. I started planning in November and into December, got the keys on 1 January, and that was it. From that point we were here full time. This was a warehouse that had been used by a parts supplier. It was just a bare shell. We turned it into this within three months, and opened on 25 February, and we have been open a month now.” Shaun was thoughtful for a moment, and then said with a laugh: "When you look back, you think 'how did this even happen?' I still don't know how it happened!" That was then, and this is now. Let's look at what Shaun has set up: "We have four two-post service ramps, a dedicated wheel alignment ramp, and a Class 7 MOT ramp. We are setting up as an MOT station at the moment too. In the meantime, are working with a local garage that is carrying out the MOTs for us. In return, we are doing their diagnostic work. It’s a system that works well for both of us currently. “On the tooling side, as we are a German marques specialist, all the diagnostic tools are for the VW -Audi Group, Mercedes and BMW. We have to have that as a specialist. We have some generic scan tools as well as a backup but, factory tooling is a must.” Shaun and the team are thinking long-term. One of the things he wants to create for Fergie’s is a positive working environment. With this in mind, upstairs, we found the bones of a staff lounge: "We’re focused on building a great team and staff retention is a big part of that. Having a great place to work as well as the right culture in the company is really important. You need somewhere they can relax, and eat in comfort.” Next door, Shaun has set aside a room for training. Training is really important to Shaun and having the right environment to do that is essential. “When we do training in the evening, they will come up here. Treating the staff right is the biggest thing for me. I want to get great techs here, so they need to be treated well.” The staff are not the only ones getting good treatment. Shaun also became a father for the first time last year, and they have found room for a Apart from the technical stuff, you always need to remember that a garage business needs customers ” Below: Comfortable and warming reception area