Blog Entrepreneurial Stories

Start an online car mechanic business, create your own space and cash

20

Many Kenyans continue to buy cars and our roads are becoming congested by day increasing chances of vehicle breakdowns due to wear and tear and collisions among others that constantly need the attention of a mechanic.

It does not matter, car breakdowns can happen anywhere at any time and what if it happens at a place far away from a garage and during odd hours?

This is where there is a niche market for a skilled and experienced mechanic who does not have a job and has been relying on one-off tasks at some garage or some call-ups to fix owners cars at their homes.

In fact, if one was to take a walk in Nairobi’s Central District Business especially downtown along Kirinyaga Road where there are many vehicle spare part shops and garages, they will find mechanics in their number eagerly waiting strategically at some points for car owners driving along looking for repair or other services. 

These experts are but just a representative of a bigger number of mechanics in our major towns who find themselves crowding garages where they work many hours but with little pay.

If you are one, then starting an online car mechanic business can serve you better, create your own space of business and start earning some cool cash.

It is not difficult. You can start small by offering mobile car repair services with a few customers you have made contacts.

Make follow-ups and suggest to them if they are free if you visit them at home for minor car repairs like a tire change or by roadside should they encounter some minor breakdowns.

In such cases, you will need to go to where the car is hence factor in your transport. In this, you will be offering convenience in the business something which most businesses today capitalise on to make sales. This way, they can stick to your repair services and make some savings.

21

To earn your customers’ loyalty, you can begin to give some services on offer an indication that you care and they will come back or always be willing to call you in case of a need.

Once you are sure you have enough capital you can improve on your tools and equipment before visiting the eCitizen portal for online business registration.

You will be charged Sh150 per name search, Sh800 for registration and Sh50 as a convenience fee.

Remember, the size of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online

Once this is done, you can move to create social media presences where you will have to engage customers.

22

However, you should note that social media accounts like Facebook pages, Twitter or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website.

Luckily enough, today, there are website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder that has made creating a basic website extremely simple hence you do not need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Using website building guides available, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn’t take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.

That simple your business shall have gone online where many potential customers are and you will become more accessible to them.



Add your thoughts about this story

comments


About Kuza Biashara

About Kuza Biashara

Starting a business is a leap of faith even in the best of circumstances. We at Kuza Biashara are focussed to encourage these daring small business owners who have the potential to innovate and change the world by contributing to the nation’s economy and livelihood.