I'm posting this to an empty group, but I hope it won't stay that way for long. I run a solo mobile PDR operation that I started in April 2021. For the first two years I didn't take it seriously. I just enjoyed having a high-paying job where I could set my own hours and work as much (or as little) as I wanted. In year 3 I crossed six figures in revenue. "This business stuff is easy!" Or so I thought. The next year (2024), I didn't clear six figures. I'd also leased a 2,000 sq ft shop that added $30,000 to my expenses. I dipped into savings to keep it longer than I should have, because I didn't want to admit I didn't know how to run my business well. When I finally terminated the lease, I had $150 in my account. Looking back, I can't believe I thought leasing a building was a good idea before I'd even optimized mobile. It also reminded me how much customers value mobile service, so I decided to lean into it. In 2025 I pushed hard. 10-hour days were the norm, and I lost track of the 14+ hour nights. An ice storm hit Northern Michigan and left plenty of dents behind, and my body shop relationships let me keep working late after everyone else went home. I hit a record $150k last year. Not a huge number, but still a milestone. My 6th year in business wraps up in a few months. I've learned a lot lately, but I'm still far from where I think I should be. Right now I'm struggling with the decision to hire. I need another tech to service my accounts more regularly than "whenever I can get to them." The seasonality up here worries me. Supporting another person through the highs and lows of demand is daunting. But that's the leap I'm preparing for. Running a business poorly is easy. I've been doing it for years. Running a business well is really hard. This is where I'll share my wins and losses (as many as I can stomach) to help others and get help myself. If you've made your first hire, or you're stuck on the same decision, tell me about it in the comments.

Had a competitor I’m not necessarily friendly with refer this customer to me. I took a wholesale account from him a couple years ago so I figured he wasn’t fond of me. Still haven’t figure out why he did it but I feel like I need to buy him a drink! I don’t have a shop so I estimated and repaired it at the owners home. I dot the car up, take lots of pics under the light, and get as many angles as I can. I sent the estimate to insurance with 80+ attached photos. They matched my dent count but were giving me grief on the matrix pricing. After checking their supplement, they had forgotten to match dent count on a couple panels so I pushed them on that, but I didn’t push hard on matching my matrix (2025 hail). I could’ve done way better on keeping the vehicle owner in the loop and I wanted to keep our repair timeline, so to keep things moving I conceded. My initial estimate: $8,469.95 Their supplement total: $7,191.17 They had already paid customer an initial amount, but sent me the supplement directly. Collected the difference from the client.

Today I got approval for a hail-damaged vehicle I only quoted yesterday; there was no hassle at all and no reduction in the quoted price. I am feeling pretty blessed lately.

Anyone planning on going to MTE?