Perkins Generator Repair Business: A generator is a handy item for many purposes.
These purposes include providing emergency power for your home.
Regulate life-support equipment, provide power in remote areas.
And it can even reduce your electricity costs (this is called peak-shaving).
Your generator does need regular maintenance checks.
However, to ensure that when you do actually need it, it will function as required.
Perkins Generator Repair Business
Perkins Generator Repair Business
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Perkins Generator Repair Business
1. Put your idea into writing.
It is important to take the ideas in your head and get them down on paper.
Most successful businesses offer a new product or service or fill an existing niche in the market.
Whatever your reasons may be for starting a small business.
Make sure to clearly and concisely put them in writing.
- It can be helpful to go through many drafts or iterations of your business plan.
- Include as many details as you can in your business plan. Overthinking the details is never as damaging as ignoring the details.
- It can also be useful to include questions in drafts of your business plan. Identifying what you don’t know is as helpful as listing things you are sure about. You do not want to present a business plan with unanswered questions to potential investors, but laying out relevant questions in your initial drafts will help you identify questions that require answering in your final business plan.
2. Identify your customer base.
In your business plan, you need to identify who you think will buy your product or service.
Why would these individuals need or want your product or service?
The answer to these questions should help to determine all other aspects of your business’ operations.
- Here, it useful to ask questions of your service or product. For example, you may want to ask questions like, does my product/service appeal to younger or older people? Is my product/service affordable for lower-income consumers or is it a high-end purchase? Does my product/service appeal to people in specific environments? You won’t be selling many snow tires in Hawaii or beach towels in Alaska, so be realistic about the appeal of your product.
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3. Outline your finances.
In your business plan, you need to address key questions about your business’ fiduciary situation.
- How will your product or service generate money? How much money will it generate?
- How much does it cost to produce your product or service?
- How do you intend to pay operational costs and employees?
- These, and others, are critical question you need to answer in planning your small business’ financial future.
Perkins Generator Repair Business
4. Project growth.
All successful small businesses need to grow their customer base.
And production capabilities over the first few years of operating.
Make sure you have identified how your business can and will respond to growth potential.
- Be realistic with your growth potential.
- Keep in mind that growing your business requires a growth in investment capital as well.
- Projecting too much growth in too short a time period can quickly deter potential investors.
5. Get your license.
Remember to register and acquire your small business license in the particular industry of your business.
This step is important to ensuring that you’re running your business legally.
And according to industry regulations.
Be sure to register for permits related to particular services you offer.
Like home repair or tax preparation, which could require registration and certification.
You will not be able to hire effective employees.
If your business is not operating with the appropriate licenses and permits.
- Not all businesses require licenses.
- Be sure to check with your local small business administration to see what your business requires.
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Perkins Generator Repair Business
6. Service the generator twice yearly.
Even if you’re not using the generator, it needs to be serviced.
Select dates that fall outside possible severe weather such as heat spells.
Cold snaps, windy and stormy periods, etc.
I generally tell customers to service their generators in the spring and fall times to keep it on a regular schedule (Rae Klepadlo).
If you keep pushing off the maintenance, chances are your generator will not work when the time comes.
An average service takes about an hour to complete, depending on what you find.
7. Create a generator maintenance record book.
Keep this updated with the dates of service and any issues found and fixed.
8. Start by checking the overall condition of the generator.
Look for corroded elements, loose wires, stuck buttons, etc.
Check for any loose connections and frayed wiring.
Make sure the area around the generator is clean.
And if the generator has sucked in any dirt or leaves make sure to clean out the area.
Debris getting into an alternator is the #1 way of destroying a perfectly good generator!
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9. Fix anything loose, stuck, or fraying.
Seek professional advice if you’re not sure what to do. It is best to be safe!
10. Check the distilled water in the battery; top up if needed.
Also check the battery’s voltage. It is generally best to replace your battery every 2-3 years.
11. Change the lubricant oil and filters (super, by-pass, etc.)
following the manufacturer’s instructions.
This doesn’t need to be done each 6 months.
Rather this is an annual task whether or not the generator has been operated.
Record the yearly change in the record book so that you are reminded each time when it is due.
Make sure that the oil level is adequate and top up if needed.
Air cooled machines should have their oil replaced every 30-40 hours of run time.
Liquid cooled machines should have their oil replaced every 100 hours of run time.
MAKE SURE TO USE SYNTHETIC OIL IN AIR COOLED MACHINES!
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12. Clean the spark plugs.
For the dollar fifty price tag of a spark plug.
It is generally best to just replace the spark plugs annually.
13. Check the bolts.
Note that bolts on the generator will tend to loosen after reasonable usage.
This is usual wear and tear caused by the vibrations.
Check the gasket head and piston for solid condition; replace if worn or cracked.
14. Check the fuel.
You have several alternatives here:
- Bleed the fuel and replace it; dispose of properly
- Keep regularly used fuel for general farm/household use in fuel suitable containers and top up when needed
- Add fuel stabilizer available from gas stations or hardware stores; follow manufacturer’s instructions
- If you are using a generator as a home standby solution, you should really consider a natural gas or liquid propane generator. These generators do not have any fuel maintenance, other than to make sure your LP tank has fuel in it!
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15. Check that the following items are properly calibrated annually or biannually, depending on usage patterns.
It is best if a certified generator technician makes these checks:
- Fuel pump
- Turbocharger
- Injectors
- Automatic voltage regulator
16. Start up the generator regularly.
Perkins Generator Repair Business
17. Always clean the generator post-use.
Perkins Generator Repair Business
18. Store the generator properly.
19. Stay organized.
- Organizing weekly, bi-weekly or monthly meetings between you and your staff can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and will help you avoid wasted time or overlap in the various responsibilities of your team members. Meetings can also help you analyze who is and who is not adequately performing the duties assigned to them.
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20. Delegate responsibilities.
You can’t do everything yourself.
So delegate the various jobs and responsibilities to qualified employees.
Small businesses often require employees to take on many tasks.
And responsibilities that may not fall firmly in their areas of expertise.
- It is often helpful to break your business’ overall operations down into specific functions and delegate those functions to various employees or members of your team.
- Also, when delegating responsibilities, make sure you are assigning oversight of a specific function to a qualified individual.
- For example, you would not want an accountant representing you in a legal matter or a lawyer balancing your financial books.
- Thinking of your business functions in this way should also help you identify your needs when you are in the process of hiring employees.
Perkins Generator Repair Business
21. Be involved.
Once you have decided who should be responsible for the duties in your business.
You need to remain involved to make sure all of your employees are following through with the tasks that have been assigned to them.
Also, you need to be responsive to the needs of your customers.
Make sure you are aware of customer needs and feedback.
And don’t back away from engaging with your customer base.
Even if that duty has been assigned to an employee.
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22. Perkins Generator Repair Business
From time to time you will need to hire or fire an employee.
Make sure you are aware of all state and federal laws that deal with employment equality and anti-discrimination laws in your area as they pertain to the hiring, firing, disciplining and treatment of employees.
Leaving customer feedback strictly in the hands of your employees is a dangerous managerial tactic.
Employees may benefit from presenting you with skewed information about customer satisfaction or product usefulness.
Perkins Generator Repair Business
Which, in turn, will lead you to make bad managerial decisions for the company as a whole.
As such, do not simply accept what your employees tell you about your business without seeing evidence of their claims.
It is your company and you have put yourself in a position of risk.
So be proactive in overseeing business results.
23. Employ targeted promotional and marketing campaigns.
It is important to get the word out about your company.
Make sure the money you set aside for marketing is well-spent by conducting demographic research.
This will help you tailor your marketing plan to be as effective as possible.
- It is helpful to think of promotions and marketing relative to the capacity of your business.
- Paying to run a commercial on a national network does you little good if your business is only designed to operate at the local level.
- Think about who is most likely to buy your product and why they would buy it.
- For example, if you are selling dentures, it makes little sense to include younger people in your marketing considerations.
24. Network as much as possible.
Gain the support of other local small businesses by networking with other small business owners.
Join small business associations and participate in community events to raise awareness of your business.
Participate in community functions so potential clients will be aware of the services you offer.
25. Know your business.
Stay on top of what’s new or trendy in your business so your small business can stay competitive within the industry.
Subscribe to periodicals or online newsletters to stay informed about current events in your small business’ industry.
Staying at the cutting edge of your industry will help you draw customers away from competing businesses.
26. Be accessible.
Make sure potential clients and customers can get in touch with you and your business whenever they may need to. The best way to grow your reputation as a respectable business is to be responsive to your customers’ needs.
- Large businesses can afford to be unresponsive and lose a handful of customers from time to time. Small businesses cannot.
- As a small business owner, it is up to you to make yourself and your company accessible to potential clients and your customer base.
- This may require you to make your personal cell phone number or email address accessible to clients as you attempt to grow your business.
27. Deliver what you promise.
Your small business will need to offer a product or service of some kind to be successful.
However, if you want to grow your business by growing your customer base.
You have to give people not only what they want.
But what you promised them.
If your product or service does not match what you advertise consistently.
You will have incredible difficulty in growing your customer base.
- Delivering what you promise begins with how you tailor your approach to sales.
- If you or your sales team is offering or promising too much, your customers will be understandably disappointed when they receive or use your product or service, leading to negative reviews and bad word-of-mouth about your business.
- Remember, good sales tactics should be centered around identifying and understanding your customer’s needs and making them see the realized benefits that your product has.
- Not lying to your customers and clients about the potential of your product.
28. More tips
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If this all seems too hard, your generator retailer will probably be happy to run the checks for you, or suggest somebody else who can.
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Purchase heavy duty extension cords and keep these close to the generator.
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Find the ones that lock in the connecting cords and can take high voltage power, endure wet conditions, etc.
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They cost more but they are definitely worth it.
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Hang these up near the generator to prevent tangling or dampness.
- Have an additional supply of generator oil, filters, fuel, spark plugs, electrical tape, etc.
- If anything does go wrong when you need to use the generator, these items will be there for you, no panic!