[ChrisSjoblom]

Hi Justin,

Sorry for the time gap between your message and this response, but I just recently began viewing Pippi’s site. Your post mentioned you will be hitting the road next spring so hopefully this will still be of some help.

If you are not looking to change careers when you hit the road your mechanical skills should be at least as valuable to you while you travel as they are in your current situation. Thirty years and several careers ago I started an auto repair business that specialized in doing repairs at the customer’s location rather than having them bring their car to me. That model proved successful enough that within a couple years I found myself owning a busy “bricks and mortar” shop with several employees. Had I been living an RV lifestyle at that time I could have maintained a very good income by sticking with the mobile concept rather than growing into a fixed location.

I began that business with a small ad in a local newspaper, but these days Craigslist and social media offer a lot of advantages. They are free, immediate and generally more effective than print advertising. As part of one of my current projects I’ve experimented with ads in the “services offered” section of Craigslist in various markets just to see how quickly they can generate responses and I’ve found that a well written ad for auto or home repair in a major city commonly will bring from one to five legitimate responses a day, many times beginning within a few hours of the time it is published. In the smaller markets the legitimate response rate is more like three or four per week, with the first response almost always within the first 24 to 48 hours. Of course, not every response will generate income, but many will. (BTW, some other service types do even better, with lawn care and house cleaning receiving the highest response rates.)

Part of the effectiveness of internet promotion for an “on the road” business is its ability to create a good reputation without the need to spend months or years in one location building word of mouth references. By using a service like Facebook you can build a portfolio of confidence in your work or product no matter where you are at the moment. Facebook generally is perceived by users as familiar, personal and local so comments from people in areas you have already traveled through are, for the most part, just as effective as comments made by people in your current locality. When you get a response from a Craigslist ad, and the person is looking for references you can direct them to your Facebook page for recent comments about your work. Angie’s List is another resource for building a good reputation that will follow you on your travels. It’s free for a business to be listed by them, and they provide a lot of support to help you get feedback reports from your customers. As long as you provide high quality work at fair prices and above all be honest with your customers you will do well.

There is a lot more that can be said about how to start and operate a business while on the road. I’ve tried to just give you some basic info specific to your situation, but if you want to research it more deeply try Googling some terms like “mobile auto repair,” building an online reputation,” “RV travel income,” etc.

I wish you all the best in your future adventures.

Chris

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