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Ideas/Section-4
The morning chill bit
through Drake Schnatter's worn jacket as
he cruised up the aisles of the weekly flea market. Schnatter's
eye scanned the vendor's wares until he found what he was
looking for - a neglected, dirty lawn mower with a three
horsepower engine. He bought the mower for five dollars and
carried it away (the wheels were missing). One week later he
sold the mower with fresh paint, new wheels, and an engine
tune-up for $175. (Normally the price would have been $200, but
Schnatter took $25 off because the customer brought in his old
mower for trade-in.) Now he had an old snapper mower to work on
and $175 in cash. Not bad for a five dollar investment.
If you have any knowledge about small gas
engines (or are
willing to learn) you could turn that interest into extra
income. Schnatter started at age twenty and now invests the
profits from his "hobby" in real estate. His secret is
simple -
find small gas engines, buy them cheap, and resell them at a
profit.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Where can you find small gas engines for
five dollars or less?
For some the task might be difficult, but not for Schnatter. "I
first discovered a way to buy small gas engines cheap when I
exhausted my sources at the local flea market," says Schnatter,
"I remembered a friend in the hauling and clean-up business
who
told me about the good, usable trash his customers wanted hauled
away."
Schnatter made an agreement with this friend
and several other
haulers he found in the local paper.
"I asked the haulers if they would
mind setting aside lawn
mowers, edgers, anything with a small gas engine in their
pick-ups," Schnatter says, "I told them I would pay up
to five
dollars a shot, depending on the condition of the items. Most of
the haulers liked the idea. It left them more room in their
pick-ups and meant less trips to the dump. Plus, they received a
cash bonus," Schnatter is a firm believer in creating win-win
situations.
When Schnatter decided he needed even more
inventory, he placed
an ad in the Magic Ads, a local give-away paper. The ad brought
in so many gas engines that Schnatter had to turn down many
offers. His ad read as follows:
Wanted! Cash Paid For Small Gas Engines
- running or not - lawn
mowers, edgers, mini-bikes. (phone number).
"My phone was ringing constantly!
I told the callers I paid five
dollars for non-running engines and a little more if the engines
run. Within two weeks I had a backyard full of rebuildable
engines, lawn mowers, edgers, rototillers, and a couple of
mini-bikes. I even got a few free mowers from people wanting to
clear out their garages," says Schnatter.
Once Schnatter felt his inventory was sufficient,
he advertised
inexpensive small gas engine repair and sales. He built up a
good customer following by offering special services often
unheard of at commercial lawn mower repair shops. One of the
services he offered was a ninety-day guarantee on any lawn mower
he sold.
One of Schnatter's satisfied customers
says, "Who ever heard of
a lawn mower shop replacing a broken mower with a working
mower?" In this case, Schnatter traded a bent up mower for
one
he had just rebuilt. Schnatter says, "Well, I gave customer
a
mower which only cost me five dollars and had just been rebuilt.
And I took his bent up mower for blades and later sold the mower
for $125. So, both the customer and I were happy."
About two weekends a month Schnatter gathers
his rebuilt lawn
mowers and other garden equipment, and rents a space at the
local flea market. Schnatter also provides a pick-up and
delivery service that keeps his business thriving is offering
loaners to his customers. A commercial gardener says this is a
service he couldn't afford not to have.
From March through June, Schnatter can
barely keep enough
supplies in inventory because his service is in such demand. He
charges between $125 and $150 for gas powered lawn lowers and
usually sells about ten mowers a weekend. Not a bad income for a
hobby.
Schnatter also suggest contracting with
local commercial lawn
mower repair shops during the spring months. "Small gas engine
repairmen are scarce, and most shops are backlogged during the
spring rush," says Schnatter. "I suggest you get a contract
with
them to do repairs and have a steady income from the shops."
Schnatter calls his business a hobby. He
says anyone who likes
to work on small gas engines or willing to learn can turn their
knowledge into cash in a flash.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
HOME STUDY COURSES
NRI SCHOOLS, McGraw-Hill Continuing Education
Center, dept 10-1,
3939 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, DC 20016. Offers a course on
Small Engine Servicing. Send for free catalog.
FOLEY-BELSAW INSTITUTE, Dept 10-1, 6301
Equitable Rd., Kansas
City, MO 64120. Course, tools and equipment to start a business
in Small Engine Repair. Free booklet.
BOOKS
HOW TO REPAIR BRIGGS & STRATTON ENGINES
by Paul Dempsey. Tab
Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0580; $11.20 ppd.
HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT AND REPAIR ANY SMALL
GAS ENGINES by Paul
Dempsey. Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0580; $13.10 ppd.
SMALL ENGINES: OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE
AND REPAIR Tab Books,
Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0580; $17.10 ppd.
