Work For Yourself & Earn More
Gear Head, Spanner Wanker, Lube Tech, Herr Doctor, Parts Cannon, Knuckle Dragger, Nippledicks (we’re looking at you Wrenching Network) — no matter which one of these adjectives applies to you, two things are for certain. You make your living with your brains and your tools, and you help keep over 260 million cars on American roads running.
This is an incredible proposition, considering recent reports indicate that there are less than 5 million of you in the United States. While this seems like a losing battle, you now have a massive ace in the hole: the ability to work on the jobs that you want, when you want to work on them, and for a rate that you agree upon with the person who needs their car fixed.
What? Setting your own labor rate? Inconceivable!
Yeah, it’s totally happening, thanks to a little website and app called Surfwrench. See, Surfwrench is where people post their repair needs and technicians like yourself bid on their jobs. We don’t take 90% of the money that changes hands, unlike your current bosses. We take a few dollars a month, and we give quite a few of them back when you leave feedback on your customers. That’s right, you get to give feedback on your customers! Customer Service Index just got the ability to fight back.
Who:
Skilled auto technicians, of all makes and models. From the level 5 Master Technicians who turn hundreds of hours at the dealership, to a novice who specializes in one make, model and year. Literally, anything and everything in between. You tell us a little bit about your skill set, what you’re like working on, and we let you choose what you want to work on.
We also serve small independent shops who are looking to get more work. We support these small businesses as a valuable part of the automotive economy by giving them access to the same pool of jobs individual technicians can bid on. We let the open market, meaning people with the broken cars, decide who is going to fix their vehicle, for how much, and when.
Techs and shops in our network work for themselves: they do the work, so they reap the reward.
What:
Our techs fix anything and everything: 1999 Toyota Corolla, we fix it. 1934 Bugatti Type C, we fix it (After taking several thousand selfies with it). We do everything from simple oil changes, to engine rebuilds, to customization work, to used car checks. If people have a problem with their car, they are going to put it on Surfwrench. So far, a lot of the vehicles that have been posted are fairly late model, and have had problems ranging from 4 wheel brake jobs to full engine replacement.
Specifically, we are targeting younger consumers because they are the least likely to be able to fix their cars. With that being said, expect a lot of beaters that just need a few thousand more miles, or just to get them home one more time.
Electrical
Used Car Check
Customization
Auto Restoration
Emergency Services
FUBAR is not a job category, sadly.
Where:
Another Casualty of the NYS Parkway
Right now, it is mostly in the Northeast, around our headquarters in Rochester, NY. We have seen jobs filled in Buffalo, Syracuse and Central New York, as well as the Adirondack region. However, with our current rate of expansion and some of our more concentrated marketing efforts, we are aiming to be nationwide by 2020, and international not much after that. So if you’re abroad and need some extra cash, you’ll be able to hit us up for side jobs no matter where you go.
In addition, if you’re near a college campus, you are going to get more jobs. We are focusing our marketing efforts around SUNY and private colleges in New York State because these are the customers that need us the most. Also, having a toolbox in your vehicle is going to allow you to get more jobs, because let’s be real, there are a lot of jobs that can be done in a parking lot.
When:
Whenever you want. Cars don’t break between 9 and 5. You know this, we know this, and our customers know this. After hours work is encouraged, and emergency services are another important facet of what we do.
We are expanding throughout the state over the next few months, starting in Buffalo and Rochester, and moving east towards Syracuse, Albany, the Adirondacks, and Downstate. Right now the majority of our jobs are being posted around Rochester, but we are expanding operations daily.
Why:
Set your hours, set your pay
Our company was founded by a technician who understood the value of his labor to his employer versus what he was getting paid for. All technicians know that they are getting used and abused when it comes to their employment, so we want to help with that. You source your own jobs, you take all of the profit. We take a small membership fee that can be paid by a single job, and a few dollars per repair job that you have accepted. We are car guys and girls, we understand the industry and we are willing to do what it takes to bring a new paradigm for the people involved with it.
We don’t want to take your money. We see the dealerships doing this enough. So we take a small fee for membership to keep our lights on and get our marketing people out there getting more broken cars onto our site for you to fix. We know that no matter what you charge, it will be less than the dealers and chain shops.
How:
Surfwrench.com, and if you want a month or so free, like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. This will also be able to keep you in the loop with what’s going on in the industry without all of the spin. Sign up for the site, upgrade your profile to technician status and begin working.
We’re serious about the social media bit. If you get on our social networks, we will give you free membership periods. Hit us up here:
At the end of the day, we want to help our consumers by helping the auto technicians of the world. By giving you all the means to find your own jobs, decide what you want to work on, and decide what you are going to get paid, we know that the paradigm is going to shift. In the economy of you, there is no reason that highly technical skilled people need service advisers, sales people, or other unnecessary levels of management that get between you and the customers. Because at the end of the day, every single salary that is between you and the customers is costing you money, and we want to change that.