And successful? I don't mean inheriting a dealership or anything. I mean work in it and make a good living. I ask this as a spin off of the I hate my job thread. I got to talking to my friend about it and I LOVE bikes but never think I could make enough to justify it. My non bike friends always say "well if you love bikes so much why don't you just work at a bike shop". My return reply is always that I wouldn't make enough. Although I would take a slight pay cut, but bills gotta get paid. So let's here it. Anyone here work at one? Or should I say, anyone work at one and make over $60K
I worked at a Kawasaki dealership a few years ago. The pay sucked, and you just get tired of seeing bikes all day, everyday. I would take 2 hour "test rides" to clear my head at least once a week. If its a good shop with good people, might not be bad. but the guy I worked for would drag in every POS off the street from customers with no money, and want to fix them. then they would sit there for a year, then he would settle on them paying half the bill. And that's what eventually killed the place.
If you love ice cream (& you REALLY love ice cream!), get a job at Baskin Robbins....You'll hate ice cream in 5 months. This what I tell people when they get all excited hearing about my job with the motorcycle industry. (Lots of good advice about balancing work-life & private-life in the "career choice" thread too...)
He means the warm fuzzy feeling of doing what you love and being poor as shit. I understand that turning your passion into your job is prone to hating it. And to clarify, I would never want to work on other people's shit. My standard of workmanship only extends to my bikes. And that usually ends with "it passed tech last time!!" I was asking in regards to sales or marketing.
$60+K a year is not gonna happen unless you land a gig in the perfect environment which is about as likely as winning the lottery. Maybe H-D.
I don't have any answers, other than to say I have tried to do what I love, and it is the fast track to learning to hate it. I was musing about this topic a few weeks ago: http://www.speedofarrival.com/2015/02/real-life-and-razors-edge.html
Oddly enough I get exactly what he is talking about. The same type of peeps don't want grid girls lol AmIrite!?!?!
Well, I inherited a dealership. Ran it for ten months. I was making 35K a year when I finally pulled the plug. Dealerships can survive now only on volume. I could see a motorcycle business buying and selling used bikes only making money.
I guess you're both under the mistaken assumption that the only job someone could love involves growing produce in a hippie community. I had coworkers on Wall Street who wouldn't trade their jobs for anything in the world. There is a whole spectrum of options between the two.
I spent 16 years of my life in the business. When things were good (economy) it was less like a job. I've been out now since 08 and i miss it. Leaving that place was like going through a divorce..but right now its like it was in the 80's in the bike business. Not much money to be made and the manufacturers are in this weird place of trying to find those magic bikes that will sell big numbers. I dont know if we will ever see the big numbers like we did between 00 and 07