I inherited my custom bike shop from my father, and he inherited the building from my grandfather. The two of them still work with me on most weeks; my dad’s there almost every day and my grandfather at least once or twice a week (despite being forbidden by my grandmother). These guys know their motorcycles, but have been a little lax about keeping the facilities clean. At various times during the years, the floors in the work area had been painted over again and again to cover the oil stains and wear and tear left behind by the engine work that’s been done here for forty years. My grandfather went into business servicing and repairing the farm equipment for the local farmers, and when it came time for my dad to run the place, he had the good sense to see the changing population around our little town, so he switched from the shrinking farm repair business to the booming motorcycle customization business. Though dad had a great business sense, he was cheap when it came to the look of the place, and he just kept on painting the floors or ignoring the mess. When I took charge of the whole shooting match, I wanted to put my stamp on things. Sure, the shop was where we did all the heavy mechanical fabrication, but it was also a place where clients came in to check up on their orders. I wasn’t going to turn away a customer just because I didn’t want them seeing my shabby back room, so I went looking for a solution. I thought about just tearing the whole building down and starting from scratch, but I got the cold shoulder from my whole family at Thanksgiving after I mentioned the idea to them, so I’ve given up on that. Instead, I went the traditional route and had the walls repainted, the doors fixed up, the leaky bathroom taps repaired, but the ugliest thing in the room kept making fun of me when I walked into the building. Finally, I called around and located a business that came in, stripped the paint away, and polished up the concrete until it sparkled. It’s better than new and much easier to keep clean. I love bringing clients back into the shop now! Business is better than ever, and I bought the property next door and used epoxy floors for its flooring; it’s now our new garage and showroom.
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