Reality on a Stick

My dad retired from a 20-year stint at (was TRW) Northrop Grumman a few years ago. When deciding what he wanted to do next, the choice became clear: He wanted to run his own business. So Dad went researching and investigating, to identify the right business to buy…one that he understands and can get excited about working on everyday.

He originally wanted to open a Mexican restaurant, but several of us talked him out of it. I think there’s a reason that there aren’t so many great Mexican restaurants, even in southern California…Mexican families can cook for themselves, and non-Mexican families don’t eat out at a Mexican restaurant more than once a week (and most a lot less than that).

The business my dad settled on was an auto repair shop that has been in business at the same located since 1974. It’s established, it’s got a great location, it’s got reliable staff, and it’s in Lawndale, very near my parents’ house with easy access from Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, and Inglewood (woo-woo). We all backed my dad’s decision to buy the shop and my mom and our family friends do what they can to help out. We are really happy with his veteran mechanics. Their contributions are invaluable.

Unfortunately, despite having a great reputation and reasonable prices, business has been up and down since Dad bought the shop. People are fickle about getting maintenance on their cars, and those who take good care of their cars generally have service plans with the dealership that sold them their vehicle.

What this means: Dad needs a lot of new business every month to fill in those times when regular customers slack on bringing their cars in. Advertising in traditional media can be prohibitively expensive, so I suggested a website optimized for search engine performance. A soon as I mentioned it, I knew it would become my project. My parents really looked after me as I was setting up my school, so it was time to start paying back. I set out to hire a solid web designer and worked with friends and family to gather the content.

Let me know what you think. Feedback is always good. The web designer was incredibly patient, perceptive, and nimble in his problem solving. He created exactly the site we were looking for, at a price I could afford.

Click logo here: 

or on the images above to visit the site. And, if you live in LA, go visit the shop and have some work done! The whole Nishida clan will love you for it:-D