10 Easy Steps to Detoxify Your Body and Improve Your Health

The environment we live in is full of toxins. We inhale them in the air we breathe, ingest them with our food and water, and absorb them through the pores in our skin. Even the personal care products and cleaning supplies that we take for granted are full of poisons that are harmful to our bodies. While we are surrounded by pollutants from the environment, the human body produces its own toxins. Our metabolic processes result in chemical wastes which can compromise our health. The accumulation of these harmful substances in the body is known as “toxic load” – sometimes referred to as “body burden.” Over time, the buildup of environmental toxins in our systems can lead to chronic or severe health problems. Some medical researchers estimate that nearly 75% of the diseases that afflict us are largely due to the toxicity of our systems. Headaches, chronic respiratory illness, cancer, and even autism have been linked to the accumulation of unsafe chemicals in the body. The good news is that, although it is impossible to completely isolate ourselves from these harmful substances, we can reduce our exposure to them and decrease their impact through a simple detoxification program. By following these 10 easy steps, you will rid your body of many harmful chemicals, putting yourself on the path to a healthful lifestyle and greater sense of well-being. 1. Get plenty of restorative sleep. Adequate rest is critical to your body’s ability to heal itself and perform its many biological functions properly. 2. Plan your meals with good nutrition in mind. Be sure to eat plenty of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables; avoid processed and pre-packaged foods, refined flour and sugar products, trans-fats, and red meats. Proper nutritional balance is important for maintaining healthy organ function, especially the excretion of toxic elements through the liver. * A cleansing diet designed to flush toxic matter from your digestive system may be incorporated into your detox program. Keep in mind that these diets are meant for the short term only, and people who are being treated for a medical condition should not undertake a restrictive diet without the approval of their physician. 3. Adapt a stress management technique that suits your lifestyle, such as yoga, meditation, or another soothing activity that you enjoy. Stress is responsible for the production of hormones which can be harmful, leading to heart disease and other severe illness; stress management reduces levels of these hormones and boosts your ability to cope with the challenges of life. 4. Physical activity heightens your body’s ability to excrete toxins, as well as providing an overall health benefit. Exercise is important to the success of your detoxification efforts, in addition to being necessary for a healthy lifestyle. 5. Avoid behaviors that are detrimental to your health, like smoking, drinking alcohol in excess, and recreational drug use; stay away from artificial stimulants like caffeine. These substances will inevitably slow down your detoxification progress. 6. Take herbal supplements. There are several detoxifying herbs which are available in either tea or capsule form. These include dandelion, milk thistle, burdock, and red clover. Ginger root and the popular acai berry are also known for their detoxifying properties, as is Vitamin C. 7. Purchase a body cleanse or liver and colon cleanse kit. These consist of natural detox products that flush toxins from your liver and colon, restoring optimal function. 8. Drink plenty of water. Adequate hydration is needed to remove toxic elements from your body. 8. Massage therapy is not only relaxing and restorative; it allows your body to excrete toxins up to 200 times faster than on its own. 9. Take a sauna or a hot bath regularly. The skin is a major excretory organ, and the heat of a sauna or bath opens the pores and increases your body’s rate of natural detoxification. 10. Reduce exposure to toxic elements. An air filter in your home will drastically improve the quality of the air you breathe; use natural cleaners and personal care products whenever possible to prevent the absorption of toxins through your skin. Sticking to organic foods lowers your risk of ingesting dangerous pesticides. Watch out for foods wrapped in plastic wrap; plastic contains chemicals called phthalates which are known to cause cancer and developmental problems, including early-onset puberty. While it is impossible to completely eliminate your exposure to dangerous chemicals in the environment, by following these steps you can greatly diminish their harmful impact on your health.

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As a large majority of the general public drives an automobile, it is important to have certain resources on hand which relate to the car. Things such as insurance companies, auto dealers and automotive parts stores are all important businesses to have close by should an individual need their assistance. However, perhaps the most important business contact an individual should have is an auto body shop. As a good auto body shop is important for your car repairs and pocketbook there are a few ways an individual should go about selecting the best auto body shop in their area.

Consider Recommendations

Since many individuals use auto body shops, it is highly likely that one will know someone else who has also used a local auto body shop. As a result, asking for recommendations from friends and family members is a great way to select the perfect auto body shop. There are a few different reasons why considering recommendations is a good step to take prior to settling on a particular body shop. First, friends and family members will be able to state whether they have had a favorable experience with a particular auto body shop or not. Not only will they be able to comment on the overall cost of services but how the staff handled their automobile situation as well. This is a great point of reference when you are trying to find a shop that does good body work while charging a fair price.

Another reason to consider asking for recommendations from friends and family members with regard to choosing an auto body shop is to make sure that the company you are considering dealing with will treat the customer in an honest and fair manner. As any individual who has to put their car in the shop wants it to go as smoothly as possible, asking for recommendations with regard to auto body shops will help because you will be able to find a good shop with reasonable prices.

Have an Auto Body Shop Picked Out Before it is Necessary to Use One

Because an inoperative car, due to an accident or otherwise, is already a stressful situation, one does not want to face any additional stress by having to find an auto body shop to fix their car at the last minute. For this reason, it is a good idea to have an auto body shop picked out before one even needs the assistance of one. This is also beneficial as the individual can check out the shop beforehand and ask questions of the staff, such as do they offer towing to their facility, for example, and receive answers to other important questions.

Warranties

Another factor to consider when wondering how to choose an auto body shop is whether or not the auto body shop offers warranty on any of its parts or services. Since warranties are frequently offered in auto body shops, if one shop doesn’t offer many warranties or any warranties at all, then that prospective customer may very well wish to keep looking for an auto body shop that does offer warranties on its parts and/or services. When a shop offers warranties it makes the customer feel as if the shop is confident in their work and will do a good job.

Payment Accepted

Another factor which may be a determining one when choosing an auto body shop is what types of payment the shop accepts for auto body repair. If the auto body shop only accepts cash and checks in limited instances which must be paid up front, then perhaps considering another auto body shop which accepts many different forms of payment, such as a variety of credit cards, may be the best bet. In addition, auto body shops may sometimes offer installment plans which can work out well for those who are on a strict budget yet need to have their automobile repaired as soon as possible.

Choosing the right auto body shop is a very important decision to make. By considering the previously mentioned tips when choosing an auto body shop, it may just help the individual choose the best possible one.

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Have you ever asked yourself the question? “Is this a good time to sell my business?” That is a question every business owner asks himself, every time he has a bad day. I once received e-mail from the editor of the Auto Body News, asking me that key question. “What is happening in the market today? Is this a good time to sell? ” My quick answer was “These are very interesting times.”

Of course that answer doesn’t tell you anything that you can get your teeth into. So! Let me clarify my answer. Since I have been selling body shops for 10 years, I have seen many changes in the body shop industry. One thing that hasn’t changed is that there have always been an abundance of both sellers and buyers. The buyers have always been, and still are picky about what they were looking for.

The perfect shop in the eyes to the buyers is (A) one that has a customer base and a revenue stream that is reliable and isn’t dependent on the owner being there to retain each individual customer, and. (B) doing a volume of at least $100,000 per month, but really much more. Large volume sellers think that if they have a DRP (Direct Repair Program,) they have what body shop buyers’ want. A DRP is where the insurance companies set up a relationship with the body shop to do all insured’s body shop business, much like an HMO in the health insurance field.

This may be what buyers want, but the DRP contracts are not automatically transferable, and a buyer will be very unhappy if the DRP leaves, the buyer, after they have paid a lot money for this “reliable revenue stream.” Smaller volume sellers, on the other-hand, not having corporate accounts, dealerships or other contracts still have hope for getting lots of money for their shops. The average shop I run across is only doing about $300,000-$500,000 annual gross income. So what we have is a situation where a lot of buyers are looking to buy a shop, but there are not a lot of shops available, which fit what they are, interested in-$1,500,000 annual gross income or more.

This year, one change has occurred. There are fewer shops available than at any time in my career. Not fewer of the large volume shops for sale, that is fairly stable, but fewer of the small mom and pop repair shops that have not been in heavy demand. The reason, I believe this has happened is because of the booming economy. Low volume shops are doing better than they have in years. They are making money, and do not feel as much pressure to close down. They still would like to get out, but when they find out that their 5,000 sq. foot shop which is making them a $100,000 net profit, is only worth $100,000 on the open market they decide to keep on working.

As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.

Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there. Why? The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that the buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get new business and therefore are too careful.

To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired about moving in to the So California market. Consolidators want shops that fit their model. That model sometimes changes but basically they will buy a shop if it fits their model.

If it doesn’t, they will not touch it. The price by itself doesn’t turn their interest on or off. We do not have enough space to discuss what this group will buy, in this article. It is enough to say, “ If your shop fits their criteria they would have contacted you and expressed interest. If they haven’t contacted you, they are not interested.” Period! They know their market place and who is in it.

By the way, if I owned a shop that a consolidator wanted, I would never sell to them. Being a professional negotiator for 20 years, I find the requested seller financing terms totally unacceptable. When I have discovered what the terms of the sale are, after the fact, amazed me. I had buyers for the same money, or more, without the seller being at risk, but no one asked me.

The second category is the multiple location shop owners. Usually with one or more DRP contracts shop that wants to expand into more areas. They are very interested in the sq. footage of the shop, and its ability to handle over $2 Million Gross Income per year. This buyer only looks in limited areas. The areas being where they have been offered a DRP contract. When they are looking, they need it now, while the window of opportunity is open to them. If they can’t find it quick, they will not need it at all. Recently I had a multiple shop buyer who had made an offer and was negotiating on a shop in West Los Angeles. By the time we finished the negotiations, the DRP contract was gone and consequentially, so was the buyer.

The third category is the buyers who have worked in the industry before, but do not currently own a shop. Also in this group are the buyers who have family in the industry; money is no problem. This buyer believes “ If it doesn’t have a DRP, forget it. If it has a DRP and isn’t making much money, also forget it”. If it has a DRP, and it is making money, they are interested but only at what they consider is a fair price (In their eyes). This group I have successfully changed their mind as to how they analyze what a good shop looks like and on occasion they have bought shops with “a steady reliable income”, instead of trying to find a shop with only a DRP insurance contract.

The fourth category is the person that just wants a shop. They will do what they have to, to afford a shop-that will work for them. This group is the working body man or auto repair shop mechanic. Because of their limited funds, this buyer will only pay what he or she feels the equipment is worth. They will pay nothing for goodwill because they believe that the seller’s customers are not stable and will leave when the ownership changes. Are they wrong?

In Conclusion: There are a lot of buyers out there. My database has over 250 current names of body shop buyers. There is currently a shortage of shops for sale but mostly in the properly priced category. Most days I feel like a marriage broker with a lot of plain brides and a few beauties. The dowry for the beauties is more than most good-looking boys will pay. The balance of the girls may not be pretty, but some of them can sure cook. Anyone want to get married? “Have I got a girl for you”

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So you think you want to buy a body shop? A body shop can be a great investment if you have the skills necessary to make it work, and are willing to do the business actions necessary to bring in the business and keep the business profitable. I would like to help you work out if you really want to buy a body shop and, if you do, what kind of shop would be best for you.

Do you have the skills to buy a body Shop?

Most successful body shop owners come from inside the industry. They are occasionally body and/or paint men who worked in the production area as a teenager or as a young adult. This education is extremely valuable and, if you are buying a shop doing less than $1,000,000 in sales per year, is an absolute necessity.

Some owners learned the business as an estimator, working for a body shop or as an insurance adjuster out in the field for an insurance company. Another group of buyers have had no body shop experience but they grew up around cars and love them. This buyer should only buy a shop where he has a family member with experience, in the business that will be working with him or where the seller agrees to stay for 1 year and teach the buyer every part of the business.

Towing company owners sometimes want to expand into a body shop. This type of buyer has a lot of understanding about the business but needs a shop where experienced staff is staying with the company. The last group is composed of business people who figure they can run any kind of business. This type of buyer can make if he has at least one family member with experience and the buyer is a very good sales person.

Are you willing to do the business actions necessary to do the business?

In this section I would like to discuss which actions are absolutely necessary to be successful in running a body shop and if not done will guarantee failure.

The single most important action that must be taken by any new body shop owner is to bring in new business. This is twofold. 1. Everyone wants more volume and you bought the shop based on your belief you can do more volume than the last owner. 2. You must replace the volume that will be lost by the transfer to you the new owner.

You get this new volume from several sources:

1. One of them is not DRP Contracts. DO NOT BUY A SHOP BASED ON THE BELIEF THAT YOU WILL GET DRP CONTRACTS IN THE SHOP UNLESS YOU HAVE AN AGREEMENT BEFORE THE PURCHASE TO GIVE YOU SUCH BUSINESS.

2. Rental car companies. This business is relatively easy to get but you do not want to rely on this business over the long term. It is not profitable enough to cover all your fixed costs, even though it will contribute to covering the rent.

3. New Car Dealerships. This is full retail price business but the dealership will expect you to buy their business by giving them a few thousands of dollars a month or some other compensation. Remember if you can steal the business from someone else, then someone else can steal the business from you.

4. Used car dealers and auction cars. This is a good source of business with most of the money being made on buying and selling cars. This tends to be stable business if you like this kind of work.

5. Referral business. These are national body shop groups that make national deals and for 10-15% of the income will send you car work. This is a very expensive way to get business and in the end is not profitable.

6. Corporation Accounts/Fleet Accounts. This is one of the two best ways to get business. Some companies do self-insurance. Others have insurance. Regardless, a salesman can get them to send you all their business by offering good service or other remuneration (Compensation.) Corporation accounts are quite often at full price or some reasonable discount. Some people offer to drop the deductible or give some other kind of a discount.

7. Off the street. This is the best business is the whole world if you can get them in the door and keep them in the door. This is where location plays an important part in getting the business. Visiting all the businesses in the neighborhood and offering discounts to their employees or other employee benefit for coming to you can get this business. This type of business is what a good salesperson dreams of. Most established businesses tell me they did this originally but stopped going out and selling when they got busy. Funny isn’t it? The action that made you busy cannot be done any more because you are too busy. This is how you build a shop’s volume without DRP contracts. This is a profitable business for the man who doesn’t mind selling and making friends with people.

Do I really want to buy a body shop?

If you are an adjustor and feel that your employer insurance company will give you a DRP contract in a specific area, you might have a high motivation to buy a shop in that area, even if its current volume is low. If you are expecting the existing clients to stay with you, after the sale, you have to do some research on this. If the clients are from corporate accounts, car rental companies, or just off the street, you are probably correct. If the clients come from personal relationships of the seller then forget it. People of like nationality have a greater chance of turning over personal relationships.

If you are buying a shop with DRP contracts currently, do not assume that you can keep them. In fact, you must assume you will loose them the day escrow closes. Do not buy a shop that has DRP contracts unless you already have a relationship with those same insurance companies at another shop you currently own. If you are reading my article, I can safely assume you are not a multiple shop owner currently. There are a few ways to buy a DRP shop and not loose the contracts but I cannot publish this information, in as much as the insurance companies will prevent my approach from working in the future.

If you do not want to do the marketing, then do not buy a body shop. PERIOD!

What kind of shop would works best for you?

Of course you want to decide based on the estimated volume that you expect to do, what size shop you need. If you expect the volume to remain the same then you figure the rent and profit based on that number. If you know you can bring in corporate accounts, dealerships and other business then you can use a bigger shop. If you expect to only have new business that you yourself bring in then a smaller shop may work perfectly.

If you get too big a shop the rent will kill you. If you get too small you will limit your possible volume unless you put in a second shift and keep an eye on that 2nd shift. There are larger capacity shops doing small volume that can be bought very cheap or reasonably.

There are smaller, very inexpensive shops available to use as a first time shop. Then after you learn the business and prove you can bring in volume, you can buy a bigger shop and sell off the smaller one. The best guarantee of success is to start small and grow bigger.

What you do not want is to buy a large shop that you cannot fill, thereby working for the landlord.

Conclusion

Keeping all of the above in mind and to not take on more than you can chew. Buy a shop that fits your personality and ability and then move up to the bigger shop when you have proven to yourself that you have done it and can do it again. If I can be of any assistance, I am here to help.

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