Smog Shop for Sale - What Makes a Smog Shop Business Attractive?

Buying a smog shop for sale can be an attractive small business for those who want to run their own business and those who want to be an absentee owner. A smog shop is a very simple business with no inventory and a guaranteed market provided by the states requirement to have vehicles smog checked periodically. However, like any business you need to make the right purchase and run the business in the right way. The smog check industry underwent a big restructure with the introduction of the STAR program. The STAR program lowered the average cost of smog checks for newer vehicles and also reduced the time required to smog check a vehicle. Before you buy a smog shop for sale, you should check out its STAR rating and make sure there is a good chance the rating can be maintained.

Smog Shop for Sale - The STAR Program and Your Shop

The STAR program was the first major restructuring to the emissions control testing industry since the BAR-97 program. The purpose of the STAR program was to improve the quality of emissions testing and reduce the amount of fraud in the program. This Los Angeles Times article on wide spread fraud in the industry highlights the problems. From a business standpoint, the STAR program has had a large impact on how a smog shop is operated and what steps need to be taken to bring in the most profit.

Smog Shop for Sale - Setting Shop Prices?

If a smog shop is for sale, one of the reasons the owner may be selling is that there is too much nearby competition. Like any business competition has an affect on the prices you are able to charge. If you have a nearby competitor who is selling a smog check for less than yours you will likely need to match that price at least from time to time. However, many shop owners mistakenly believe that they must compete on price and that is not always the case. There are many shops who have a higher price than their competitors and still see plenty of business. Many are more profitable or as profitable as their lower priced competitors. In short they work less to make the same or more money.

Smog Shop for Sale - Running Your Smog Shop

There is more to owning a smog shop than just buying a smog shop for sale. How you run your smog shop can dramatically affect it's profitability and success. Once a customer has a bad experience at your location, they are unlikely to return willingly. Moreover a very upset customer may post a bad review of your location on Yelp, Facebook or Google+ which will turn other customers away. Your shop is your best sales tool. At the end of the day, someone has got to keep track of the money. The more time that takes, the less time you will have to do other things and the more exposed you are to employee mismanagement.

Smog Shop for Sale - How To Grow Your Business

So once you buy that smog shop for sale, and get it running right, you now need to grow its business. If you are growing you will not replace the customers who for one reason or another leave your shop, and you will not ever increase the money you make. Based on your location there are a certain number of vehicles which are likely to need smog shop services. The owner of these vehicles may live nearby or if your location is on a busy street or nearby a shopping center that draws in customers, they may live farther outside your shop location. The bottom line is that to make the most money, you need to attract the most customers you can and you need to smog check their vehicles as quickly as possbile. But how do you attract customers? Many owners put up bright signs to make their locations visible which is a great strategy. But in today's market most if not all customers visit review site and search on the Internet before they buy. How do you make sure you get these Internet searchers?

Smog Shop for Sale Listings in California from BizBen.com