WANTED: Mobile Moto/Scoot/ATV Mechanic

Business as Usual?

If you’ve tried calling me recently, I haven’t returned your call because ONLINE BOOKINGS are keeping me extremely busy.

I will occasionally answer the phone if it happens to be in my periphery when you call (it doesn’t ring); IF and only IF I’m not doing anything else.

If you REALLY want to get me on the phone, the best time to call is between 7:30AM and 9:30AM. Texts are much better. I prefer to schedule calls via text. If you don’t get a response, it’s because I’m not interested in answering your question, fixing your bike, whatever it may be. To be perfectly honest, my return customers keep me pretty busy too. If you’re a return/repeat customer, I’ll do my best to answer your text or call. You might have to bug me a little bit, but I will do my best to respond as soon as possible.

All of that said, this has been the WORST YEAR EVER: deaths from the coronavirus/covid19 pandemic, police killings, protests, event cancellations, masks-in-public, misinformation from the media, mixed signals from our so-called “leaders” in government, no dine-in service at restaurants, no drinking at bars, and social distancing. It hasn’t been “business as usual” for anyone since late March. Everyone’s adjusting to the “new normal,” including me, and it’s taking longer than anyone expected. I tried to write something halfway constructive about what I think about what’s going on, but I’ve deleted all of it within 24 hours because nothing I wrote sounded OK by the morning after having written it. Bah.

I’ll say this: there’s an epidemic of pandemic-related bad faith coming from everywhere at the moment: from all sides and quadrants of the political spectrum, from the media, from business leaders, from community leaders, from celebrities, from the commentariat. It’s complete and utter bullshit in my humble-but-accurate opinion.

I have no interest in hiring anyone to work for me. However, given the number of calls I get that I simply can’t handle, I reckon there’s room for 3-5 MORE people in the market to do exactly what I do in Denver and the Denver Metro area.

Right now there are 2 options: Aston at MOTO2N (that’s me) OR Mattycakes at Rolling Ratchet err Wrench. RR has significantly limited their operating range. He’s been doing this for so long, he can easily focus on Denver proper and Broomfield/Westminster/Boulder. RR books out weeks in advance. Good luck if you’re in Aurora or Ken Caryl or whatever. I’ll go just about anywhere I think is feasible from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs. I also book out weeks in advance. Both of us get more calls/requests than we can handle.

That tells me there’s room for someone else to start doing what we do. I’d be more than happy to book appointments based on my leads for someone I think is qualified to roll out and fix bikes. I’d also be willing to show you how the mobile repair process works and give you some ideas about how to optimize it and ensure your customers have a good experience.

If you do it right, this business is pretty damned lucrative. You could do 4 appointments on Saturday and Sunday and make more than you do at your day job depending on your day job and how the weekend’s jobs break.

If this sounds like I want to set some people up to “compete” with me and RR, I absolutely do. I have some very different, non-traditional ideas about competition in business.

I’d be willing to book your appointments for a fixed-price, and then you roll out and close them in-your-own-name and keep whatever money you manage to make. If you want to talk numbers or business, shoot a text to (720) 634-6935 and let’s schedule a call or meet up.

Recent Dental Work

I’ve had to cancel and reschedule a bunch of appointments on account of feeling completely unwell more-often-than-anyone-would-like recently. If I did that to you, I am so very sorry, but I am but one person trying to run the world’s-smallest-fast-growing-small-business, and it’s rough. All it takes to completely screw everything up with my schedule is for me to get sick or injured.

I’ve never been more sick in my life than during the first half of this year. It was bizarre. I was *this close* to going to a doctor, but without insurance going to a doctor is pretty much out of the question unless I think I’m about to die. Let’s not get me started on our healthcare system. ‘Tis neither the time nor place. A few days ago the right side of my face swelled up like a grapefruit. Turned out to be a seriously abscessed tooth that I thought I’d lost like 5 years ago. Turns out there were roots and tooth fragments stuck inside my gums. They got infected. My face swelled up. I had a GIGANTIC “pimple” looking thing on my gums, an abscess.

I called a dentist. She got me in the same day for an evaluation. She wanted to do a surgical extraction + bone graft same day, but I pleaded for 24 hours to “steel” or brace myself for the experience. Doctors and dentists scare the hell out of me. I would almost rather break a bone than go to the dentist. I made it through the extraction and bone graft just fine. The dentist lady was super competent, very empathetic, and managed to cut the infected bits out of my face without hurting me hardly at all. Lots of pressure and uncomfortable sensations with very little pain. I’d put the “pain” at a 1 or 2 out of 10. I feel so much better even though it’s only been 2 days since the procedure.

I’m pretty sure the infection was making me low-key sick for MONTHS before it finally made my face swell up. I should have had it taken care of years ago, but healthcare and dental care are ridiculously expensive in the United States. I haven’t always had money to spend on “emergencies,” and I’ve learned over the years to live with less and do more with less. I’m very thankful I absorbed the expense of an emergency dental procedure without breaking my piggy bank. This business is the ONLY reason that was possible. For that I have my customers to thank. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TRUSTING ME WITH YOUR BIKES OVER THE YEARS. My life has improved so much since I started focusing on my business instead of other peoples’ businesses.

Bikes?

That’s for another post. I’ve been working on LOTS of interesting bikes lately. My own projects are running behind and always on the back-burner compared to my customers’ bikes.

Best way to get me is to book online. I’m really hoping my recent dental work makes me feel loads better, and I can finally get back to “business as usual”. As always, your patience and understanding is sincerely appreciated.