For once the answer is not Miata or Korean... I don't think.

bobzilla said:

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

The physical testing, no. There's literally millions of dollars in equipment required to do it correctly. Now, with that said if I had enough capital I could start my own private label using known labs and offer analysis that way. They run dozens of programs through my former employer. Big names like Shell, Chevron, Amsoil etc. I could set the account to provide flagging and no comments then provide my own analysis on that. The problem is I think the minimum is 1000 samples to do this. At $12/ sample cost that's a lot od cash.

The other option is to do what I've done here and offer a more indepth personal look at peoples current reports. Start free and work towards a pay side.

Would you consider a business loan to start this up? If that is what you want to do, if that is what you think you're good at and won't hate doing forever, then $12,000 isn't a huge amount of money to keep you from your goals. 

Write up a business plan, throw some numbers at it, see if it makes sense to talk to a loan officer, or go for it via the SBA. 

In reply to bobzilla :

Don't start free. Start at a a minimum of $12. 

Much like a magazine, who's expenses are paid of covered by advertising, You need an audience who is willing to pay for your expertise. Otherwise when you give it, they're hear it, but few will take it for the value it has. (The same goes for consulting, I could give the fellow brewery owners all the input from our balance sheets and KPIs in the world, and they didn't listen to me the way my clients do because they weren't being billed $450 an hour for my input). 

The reason why I say $12, is that if you get 500 persons to do it, you'd be halfway to setting up your own account. Honestly $12 is still under selling the value that you would be providing in breaking down data obtained from outside samples collected. The reason is twofold. First of all with the data presented in front of you it likely takes 15 minutes or more for you to analyze it and write out the copy of your report and your expertise is rare. Secondly, and most importantly,  you are providing value. Persons who are getting oil analysis done are doing so for peace of mind, to know the current state and condition of their engine and things that may potentially be coming up down the road. There is no better peace of mind than to have an expert look at their numbers and tell them what the situation is, That insight is more valuable than the numbers that they only know what they mean based off of the report and things that pop up on the top six results on Google that they click on. 

Do not hesitate to seek the monetary compensation that your insight is worth. If it means a smaller more specialized market within a niche, but they listen to your word and take it as gospel and heed your advice, that is much better then churning and burning to an audience that will effectively look at your work for a quick thumbs up or thumbs down. 

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

"Do not hesitate to seek the monetary compensation that your insight is worth." this is 100% correct Bob. Think about it from a fleet management perspective, and what you could potentially save them in future repair costs. 

In reply to mtn :

I wouldn't need a loan to start it. We have the capital. But I know that the oil testing side of things is slowing down. Telematics and such have made a lot of it superfluous and instead of monthly testing it's quarterly etc.

I'm not sure I'm willing to toss that much cash at a side job yet.

Also, I wouldn't know how to even begin to do something like this. It's intrigued me for some time but I don't know how to do it.

In reply to bobzilla :

It is smart to not jump in with both feet as your market size wouldn't currently make that viable. Your directions or suggestion of allowing people to get their own analysis done with just the numerical data and from that you extrapolate the information and break it down into something that is more insightful than layman's terms, but it's still easy enough to digest that the average gearhead can understand it. (Such as a certain material coming from a certain aspect due to XY or Z and the benefits or ramification of it etc) 

That his spot on how to grow and develop your market without investing into overhead due to not knowing the potential size of the market. It is really an insightful, intelligent and prudent direction to take things. 

If you were decide to do that I would recommend reaching out to our host here regarding advertising in the magazine. And potentially encouraging them to get a sample analysis performed on any new project vehicle that they purchase that is going to be featured in the magazine. I can think of a certain Miata enduro build That would have likely benefited with regards to hours spent fitting a turbo kit to it, had they known a difference engine would've been a better starting point before bolting on boost bits. Possibly the same for a VW ABA that was swapped into a certain Fox. 

Beyond GRM I would reach out to sanctioning bodies and organizers that do budget enduro racing. Having an engine crap out during a lemon's race causes more of a lost expense then the cost to replace it with a junkyard long block. So keeping up with knowing th health of your engine makes sense as being part of due diligence. I would consider doing a contingency sponsorship with them where class winners get a complimentary analysis. Decals promoting Bob's oil analysis would need to be fitted to the vehicles to be eligible which would be checked as part of tech inspection or you can have them send pictures from the weekend showing the decals on the vehicle to be eligible. 

Obviously it can grow from there to any and every other sanctioning body, point out that the health of your tow vehicle's engine is just as important if not more so as they typically see double duty. 

But those targeted groups it's pretty easy to showcase the benefit of what you would be providing to them. As with any service, you're selling the benefit. 

Also, if you're up for or would like to talk about things more in terms of direction off of here, let me know as I believe I have your email. And I'm not saying this in the professional capacity from my end, as I don't doubt your level of commitment or being bought in to potentially doing this or at least more fully exploring the "fact finding" stage of viability and potential overhead. The beauty of the potential barriers to entry, is that your knowledge and expertise is the biggest aspect. If it starts super small with less than 10 analysis to be broken down per week, you have an inroads to do so without overhead and with a full time job so that your risk exposure is merely advertising cost (which is mainly the educational aspect of, hey guys, I'm doing this!) 

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

The downside is that Amsoil does some of this already and I'd be fighting their marketing and money available. 

In reply to bobzilla :

I wouldn't worry about that necessarily. Amsoil, while a great product with a sterling reputation for engine protection, does have some questions regarding their distribution methods. They also are literally in the business of selling oil and additives. (Now their products are the safest things on the market with regards to extended service intervals etc) but you're still getting insights from a source that sells the product. And you're also getting it from a blanket company not an individual expert that you can respond directly to. 

As you are not selling oils or additives, though you can certainly feel free to recommend them, your feedback will hold more water. It is also why even if you were aware of an additive that was great and a magic bullet and did all of the things and you recommended it for nearly everyone, and you are the opportunity to sell it and distribute it, I would tell you not to if the focus of the business was to be oil analysis instead of selling additive. The same also goes for accepting marketing dollars from distribution channels that sell additives.  

I myself personally trust recommendations that you would make 100% and I think that if a company that made a great oil were to offer you distribution and you were to accept it, I don't think that that would cloud your perspective on other alternatives that were great. But it does create a conflict of interest. Amsoil already has that conflict of interest. I trust them, but I acknowledge that their analysis when the oil utilized was not their own is a conflict. Whereas it would not be for you. 

Also, that's the great thing about getting in with no overhead.  

The other element and aspect is you may manage to make yourself and platform attractive enough to get bought out. (Or at least to get some contract work) 

I also would never worry about anyone else's marketing budget when you're selling the benefit you provide. Especially if you're trying to create and carve out a niche market for a new small business. If you were to get up on the podium at a lemon's race to congratulate the class winners and in 15 seconds explain that your oil analysis service will enable them to be sure that their engine will get through the next race weekend. To that market you're selling peace of mind. If a regional and amsoil distributor gets up and literally says the same thing, The lemons racers in the paddock are going to think, Yes amsoil is great but I'm not going to spend $70-125 per a DIY oil change on my crap can racer when the oil is changed after every race weekend, or even every other race weekend. When the benefit would be exactly the same. If they were to get analysis that said, hey the protection your engine currently has is an adequate due to the fact that the Toyota 2ZZ that you're running has terrible baffling and an adequate oil pump and windage tray so you need to run something with the utmost protection because you're getting wear right now, they'd be spending the $70 per a race weekend for that protection. They're just less likely to listen to the message right now to get checked if it's coming from the source who can provide the protection they need if additional protection is in fact needed. 

Also, any challenge builder is your target market. There is an award for most spectacular failure. Somewhere a tie in promoting the idea of it being drivetrain and not powertrain related can be made. 

I honestly feel that you'd be able to carve out enough of a niche in the market to keep busy and active once retirement comes around. There's potential that it could possibly grow beyond that, but it's unknown and if it doesn't, that's fine as you will have kept the needed investment minimal and you'd be able to keep it going at a low volume for as long as you chose to and as long as the market was willing to make it worth your while. 

Fun fact, their oil analysis is NOT done by them but by a third party. I was that third party. They do have their own limits and recommendations but the results are not skewed to make them look better. They are what they are.

I have to agree with the Cap'n, completely. Sounds like top notch advice. 
And his assessment of Amsoil is spot on. Their products are exelent. Every thing else about them has fostered doubts about them. Enough so, that you would have a slightly different market share or customers or whatever the right words there are. 
I have planed on oil testing for many many years, but never followed through. I would be glad to send my oil to a lab through you, for the personalized service. You need a ton more than me, but I think you can get 'em. 

So I would guess I would need some online presence for people to contact/purchase etc?

In reply to bobzilla :

You would need some type of landing page that would not need to be fancy pretty or overly engagingly interactive. Communication and interaction could be done via email if you wanted to put a Google voice number you could do so but it wouldn't necessarily be required, but it also certainly would not hurt. Payment wise PayPal, venmo, cash app, whichever you prefer and takes the lowest percentage from you. If you're on Facebook, I would create a Facebook business page as well, there are those of us who would follow it and share insights. You could honestly start via Facebook page while still throwing together a landing page with a URL. 

I've had oil analysis done in the past that would has been probably about 15 years. I also don't doubt that amsoil is 100% on the up and up regarding their analysis, but perception is often reality and there is a perception that they have something to gain by offering analysis. (All that being said if analysis says you need better protection you need better protection It's in part why you got the analysis done to make sure that the products that you're using are sufficient for your vehicle usage). 

The BP in the Escort (challenge fodder) does some things that cause me to have some concerns with regards adding boost. You can definitely put me down for a peace of mind analysis. 

Thanks to you enablers I've reached out to old co-workers on the sales side to see what kind of costs/volume I'd need and what it would take on their end. 

In reply to bobzilla :

Although I have never built a web page, I hear it's incredibly easy. And I personally think that the less fancy the page the better. 
Cappy is correct again about amsoil and perception. 
My thoughts... you have mentioned how to buy tests in bulk, for a better price(that was less than I would have thought)... if you added 10% to that for personal analysis, I'd be all over  that deal. If you could negotiate an even better deal with a lab for even larger bulk, and make 20%, I would think that would be a decent job! I may be way off on thoughts, but... food for thought!

Just skimmed through this thread quickly. 

If you decide to start this, don't focus only on cars. Small planes are big on oil analysis. Go through every small airport close to you and drop flyers.  

In reply to 03Panther :

I figure this is something that will be a side gig for a bit. If it works great. If not then so be it.

In reply to bobzilla :

If it works, great. If not and it's something that you enjoy doing, then we'll evaluate the processes, cost, market identify the issues and work towards solutions to make it viable. There are always hurdles. 

However, It is rare to have somebody considering starting a small business who is as open with regards to identifying said hurdles and competition. That is actually why I think at least as a part-time 6-20 hour a week side gig that could blossom into something full time, I feel that you'll do well. 

Most successful small businesses have two parties involved, whether they be spouses, whether it be partners in the business or whether it be the owner and the close friend. And the relationship between the two parties is one person is the visionary who has an idea and a goal and a vision of what they want the business and entity to become. And the other person is the realist or sometimes the naysayer. They point out the hurdles within the market the overhead the problems the things that may arise if conditions change all the hurdles and barriers to success. 

The two positions need each other. The realest and doer will focus upon doing what needs to be done based off of how things are and they will not focus on growth potential. The visionary will focus on growth potential and create a myriad of problems in their wake because processes won't be able to keep up with their changes and vision. They are a ying to each other's yang. 

Most entrepreneurs are the visionary and they have a very loyal realist as their right hand associate. When and if the visionary decides to move on to a different challenge or retire oftentimes that process focused doer takes over the reigns And things start to fall apart at the seams market shares lost profitability suffers It feels like they're just not making an impact and other employees involved often suffer in the workplace because they no longer understand the why they're doing things because there's no big picture.

The reason that I'm rambling about this is visionaries have the idea, but rarely get it off the ground. When a realist has an idea but feels that there's probably not a market or it might not be viable, they often just don't have the vision to see the market, but if that can be shown to them and they buy in and doing the process that they know they can do, then they can be successful as long as they're willing to listen to the market. We are here for you, and it's obvious that you are listening. 

If the feedback that you get is feasible regarding cost. Then before even setting up a formal website. You will want to pick a name. You will also want a logo (because with everything automotive decals will be a thing as will ads, even if small, in some publications). 

Such things don't need to be established until cost viability is confirmed, but you'll want to start thinking about it. Generally simple is better regarding logos as it's recognizable and isn't cluttered or busy when seen from afar. 

All this info is almost overwhelming. I never thought I would A.) have any specific skillset/knowledge base to do something on my own and 2.) do anything like this. 

In reply to bobzilla :

Don't discount YouTube either. Once you're doing the analysis for others - even if it's just interpreting the results of someone else's test - record it, post it, share it. People will eat it up & you definitely have the personality for it. 

YT will drive more customers your way, and also give your business more legitimacy. And hell, if the channel takes off it may produce as much revenue as the analysis portion of your business. 

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

An added point and bonus to add regarding this is, if you're niche market includes amateur racers and you're stating the team's oil sample for that you are analyzing and what they drive,  within what series, possibly have a link to one of their pages or social media platforms. Then you and that team would be providing mutually beneficial exposure for each other. 

Ok. I've reached out and working on the lab side support. I have a name in mind and the web domain is still open. How do I claim that? 
 

ive already got a working idea on what type of service to offer and how to implement it going. Just not sure how to reach the biggest target audience and how to explain why what I'm doing can help them the most. 
 

it's late and I'm jotting down ideas and thoughts before I fall asleep. I have more to ask tomorrow so a couple of y'all may be getting pms from me. 
 

thanks to everyone on this. 

I utilize Google domains to claim domains, I had used GoDaddy, but switched as it's much easier as I use Google site builder. Honestly, what domain provider to use is generally decided upon which one plays nicest and makes things easiest depending upon the site builder that you plan to use. Google was easy for me to use, I'm confident that they're not going to go anywhere and the analytics that they make available to me are easy to access and very useful. 

However if you have another platform for site building that you've utilized or prefer, I wouldn't sway you away from using what you're familiar with. 

I'm glad to hear to overhead is feasible. My mindset is that was one of the largest potential hurdles. 

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

I am still waiting on actual per sample cost. But I have a few ideas that are unique for this. The #1 key to UOA is information. Not just year make and model, but the oil type, viscosity and starting values on things like Oxidation and base. So what if you remove that question. Each new client would provide a new, unused sample of the fluids they're using for a baseline that will be on every used sample they send. This gives them their starting values for their fluid in their application and takes the question out.

The other main issue is incorrectly identifying and logging samples incorrectly. I can eliminate that by having their samples sent to me, to log online and deliver to the lab which is local. These two items take out 90% of the confusion new customers experience when starting out. This last bit is fine for low volume, and I am certain that IF volume were to pick up I'd need to make some adjustments. But I'm not looking for high volume, I'm looking for a personalized experience for each and every customer. I know it can be done and I hope I am the person that can do that.