KEY POINTS:
MY JOB
Name: Goetz Neugebauer
Age: 39
Role: Scooter E-Motion owner and mechanic
Working hours: Tuesday to Friday 10am-5.30pm. Saturday 10am-4pm, as well as administration.
Average mechanic wage: About $30-$40 an hour.
Describe what you do
I own and run Scooter E-Motion, an official Piaggio dealer and Vespa service centre in central Auckland.
We sell Piaggio, Vespa and Gilera and provide a full service and warranty back-up.
We offer repairs, restoration, performance tuning and customisation of those models. I also sell accessories. And I also spend a couple of hours a week marketing through advertisements, flyers and updating the website.
Why Vespas?
It is hard to explain the freedom and independence a scooter gives you.
When you ride off on your scooter all the stress of the day falls away and you can feel so free.
People come to us not just to buy a scooter but to follow a lifestyle, so my wife, Mandy, and I try and bring that sense of freedom and passion and lifestyle into the business.
We also get involved in scooter events and rallies on the weekends and things like that. We live and breathe Vespas.
When did you get your first Vespa?
I've been mad on Vespas for 23 years. I am from Germany and you can't drive a car there until you're 18 but you can drive a moped or scooter and I ended up with my sister's discarded 80cc Vespa.
I was struck by the independence it gave me but I also really liked its style.
The Vespa is such an iconic brand.
I went through about a dozen scooters over the next four years, experimenting with them, getting bigger ones, restoring and building them up.
I became involved with a Vespa club and travelled around Europe with clubs. It was a social thing.
I'd be in Italy and not know anyone but see a Vespa parked outside a café and get talking to the owner about what they'd done to the exhaust.
How did you end up earning a living from Vespas?
When I finished school I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I did a tool-making apprenticeship. I learned a lot about earning respect, as well as learning about metals and how to use tools.
After I finished my apprenticeship, I still wasn't sure what to do next.
Being in Germany, I had to do compulsory military service or social service, so I spent a year volunteering on a programme helping people on the street into flats and jobs.
Late in 1989, I enrolled in sociology and psychology at university and financed myself through my study by working as a mechanic at the Piaggio Service Centre Pfaffenhuber.
I eventually opened my own workshop and bike shop where I repaired Vespas and sold accessories.
After four years at university, I realised that I couldn't see a future in psychology or sociology so I continued with my scooter business which I really enjoyed.
When did you come to New Zealand?
I moved to New Zealand in 1996. I worked as shop manager and chief mechanic at Euroscooter until I opened Scooter E-Motion in January 1998 helped by a $20,000 loan from my mother. I bought $5000 of tools, $10,000 of spare parts and put 10 of my scooters up for sale. That was about 10 years ago. I've since moved to this location.
What sort of training or experience do you need?
An apprenticeship if possible. (In New Zealand motorcycle apprentices can study a National Certificate in Motorcycle Engineering.) Definitely a practical attitude and passion for scooters. Right now I have two good mechanics.
Zareer is a 49-year-old motorbike mechanic who had his own shop in India and Damian has a fine arts background and no mechanical training but is a Vespa nutter.
Zareer has high technical skills but is learning the specifics of Vespas, while Damian has lots of Vespa knowledge but doesn't have the professional skills.
What skills or qualities do you need?
To run your own business, you need people skills and networking skills.
You need endurance and patience and belief in yourself. You also need the ability to focus and follow your dreams.
Advice to someone wanting to do similar?
If you want to make your dream a business, then think it through thoroughly first and ask yourself if there is a market. If you love rabbit breeding is there a market for rabbits? Is there an infrastructure? Are rabbits allowed in the city? Also, don't give up in the middle. You have to persevere.
Best part of the job?
The smile on people's faces when they come back the first time after buying a Vespa.
Most challenging part?
The challenge is now finding enough good staff to keep growing. We struggled to survive, worked hard to make it break even and now we need the right people to make it grow.
