Early in my career, a customer brought his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro to my auto upholstery shop to inquire about a full custom interior. After speaking with me for over an hour and browsing through hundreds of fabric swatches, he still couldn’t decide how he wanted his interior to look. Over the course of a month, he returned five times — each time pulling me away from work to … [Read more...] about How to Turn Shoppers into Customers
Better Business
Which Car Shows Should You Attend?
The Hog Ring has written extensively about the benefits of attending car shows. But it's obviously not feasible to promote your auto upholstery shop at every one. So which shows should you attend? In his latest "Interior Insights" article for Performance & Hotrod Business magazine, Ace Eckleberry of ACE Custom Upholstery & Rod Shop lays out his plan for how he decides. … [Read more...] about Which Car Shows Should You Attend?
Check out The Hog Ring on PHB
Check out our article "Price Wars: Compete Without Slashing Profit" on Performance & Hotrod Business (PHB) — the website that Hotrod & Restoration Magazine was recently folded into. … [Read more...] about Check out The Hog Ring on PHB
Estimating 101: What You Need to Know
Giving fair price estimates is one of the most important skills that an independent auto trimmer needs in order to succeed. While over charging isn’t good for customers, under charging isn’t good for shops. In effect, estimates can either make or break an auto upholstery business. … [Read more...] about Estimating 101: What You Need to Know
Paying Staff Hourly, Salary or Commission?
What follows is a touching personal account by Marc Fisher of Auto Trim by Fisher in Lubbock, TX on how he got his start in auto upholstery, as well as a few of the lessons he learned along the way about how to compensate employees. These are the types of stories and life lessons that only true veterans of the craft could share... … [Read more...] about Paying Staff Hourly, Salary or Commission?
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