Okay guys,
It seems everyone on here has a side hustle, and I've been soul searching for mine. I think I found it yesterday when I responded to an ad on craigslist. It was for a salon who's pedicure chair quit working. I have a 2 year degree in Electro-mechanical troubleshooting so I made short work of the issue. But I found out 2 important things while I was there. I actually like the work, Its indoors and the systems aren't overly complicated or hard to work on and the more important part, according to the Salon owner there is high demand for general salon equipment repair. She said there are no dealer techs in our area, in fact there is only one technician at all in our area and no one likes him. (Apparently he's been caught making up prices and charges labor that wasn't actually performed, also he doesn't seem all that bright because he frequently has to do callbacks)
So heres where I need mustachian advice. What do I do now? I would like to launch a small business of just myself specializing in salon equipment repair, anything under roof, tanning beds, pedicure chairs, basically anything that is not cost effective to throw away and replace.
I wish I could just go to all the salons in the area and give them a card and explain that Im new and will be happy to service their equipment for cheaper than anyone else. At least until I get established but I don't think thats legal at this time because :
1.) Im not a legitimate business, Im just me...
2.) I don't know how to handle liability issues, obviously I don't want something I touch to catch fire and burn down the place and kill 20 people and get personally sued (extreme situation for example)
I don't mind doing research, I don't expect you guys to hold my hand, but if someone could just tell me which corner of the internet to start in, that would be great! Some simple questions:
1.) How do I structure My business, LLC or Sole Proprietorship?
2.) How do I handle Liability, Umbrella policy or do I need to look into more specific coverage?
3.) Whats the best way to get this thing launched? I have a full time Job that pays well, but I enjoyed the work I did yesterday and the demand seems high. Also I definitely just want this to be a side gig at this time on my days off, or after I get off work. I can't imagine there ever being enough work to replace a full time job, but you never know....
Sorry for the long post, I will check back in periodically throughout the day. Any thoughts or direction is appreciated.