THE GRIT GARAGE
ONE WORKSHOP. A NATIONAL PROBLEM.
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Henry was repairing gritters across the East Midlands. But contractors were having the same problems everywhere.
So I started thinking bigger.
THE OPPORTUNITY
THE OFFERS
PARTNERSHIPS
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01
THE OPPORTUNITY.
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ONE WORKSHOP. A NATIONAL PROBLEM.
The UK winter-maintenance industry is worth an estimated £750m–£1.15bn annually.
For six months, contractors work around the clock keeping roads, businesses and essential services moving.
When equipment breaks down, time matters.
Comix could help locally.
What would it take to offer that support nationally?
02
PACKAGING THE PROBLEM.
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TURNING PROBLEMS INTO PRODUCTS.
First, I turned recurring problems into services.
Emergency repairs. Collection and servicing. Technical support.
Each needed a clear offer, a price and a reason to buy.
That became The Grit Garage.
Not just another repair business.
A specialist service built around keeping contractors operational.
03
THE BUSINESS MODEL.
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The idea was simple.
Running it wasn't.
A national repair network meant organising both sides.
Contractors needed reliable support.
Engineers needed agreed rates, organised work and customers.
I developed a subscription model and built financial scenarios around fleet sizes, breakdown frequency, repair costs and pricing.
A good idea still needs to survive the numbers.
PROPOSED OPERATING MODEL
Contractors
→
The Grit Garage
→
Independent engineers
04
BEYOND THE CONTRACTOR.
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DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS. SAME PROBLEM.
Then I realised the customer wasn't necessarily the only buyer.
Manufacturers needed nationwide after-sales support.
National providers needed their contractors operational.
Both had reasons to work with a specialist repair network.
Different customers. Same underlying problem.
05
MAKING IT REAL.
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I developed the offers, commercial model, positioning and website.
The challenge now is testing whether the service works beyond one workshop.
There's a difference between building a convincing business model and proving one.
That's the next chapter.
