Southern California's Premium Stick Shift Driving School
Business Description
After establishing SHIFTR as the go-to source for premium quality stick shift lessons throughout Southern California, we're offering you the opportunity to purchase our business and continue to succeed with our proven operating model. With low operating costs, high margins, and a flexible work schedule this opportunity is perfect for a first time business owner or for an entrepreneur who wants to continue to grow the business and expand it further. Even if you prefer to run this business on a part-time basis, this would be an excellent opportunity to yield high margins from our unique operating model.
We started our journey 7 years ago when we opened a stick shift driving school in the San Francisco Bay Area called Shift Bay Area. Our style of teaching and our way of operating enabled us to be extremely successful in 2018, and within a year we went from offering stick shift lessons at 1 training location in the San Francisco Bay Area to 6 different training locations. Over the next 4 years we dominated our market and became the leading stick shift driving school.
In 2020 we took the same model that we created in the San Francisco Bay Area and applied it to the Sacramento area by opening Shift NorCal. As a result we saw success and market dominance, and we grew to operating in 10 different training locations across the Sacramento area as well.
Over the years our business continued to grow and we knew we had to expand beyond Northern California, and that's when we created SHIFTR. As a test of our business model we sold the Shift Bay Area business at the end of 2023 and opened 12 training locations across the Los Angeles and San Diego areas under SHIFTR. In 2024 and 2025 we've seen steady business growth and market dominance across these areas, and we're confident in our business model. As a test of our expansion capabilities outside of California, in early 2025 we expanded into the Seattle area and our model worked there as well.
SHIFTR's lessons are very different from our competition in the way we operate:
1. We perform all lessons on quiet open roads instead of parking lots, which means that our lessons are more premium, fun and educational.
2. We don't have any age restrictions on our customers (the competition requires customers to be 18 years or older), and we don't force the customer to provide automobile insurance (we provide insurance for the lesson). This enables SHIFTR to dramatically increase our customer base by including customers who are licensed and are under 18 years of age, and we can provide services to customers who don't currently own a car (and as a result they don't carry any personal automobile insurance).
3. We offer a convenient way for customers to quickly book their lesson online based on the availability of our instructors. The competition has customers pay for a lesson without the customer knowing when their lesson is going to take place, with which instructor they'll be taking the lesson, and in what type of car they'll be learning. We offer transparency that the competition doesn't, and this builds customer trust.
Our customers understand that with us they are receiving a superior experience, and we currently offer the following lessons:
- End-to-End Stick Shift Lesson: a 2 hour lesson that costs $299
- Custom Stick Shift Lesson: a 1 hour lesson that costs $199
Learn more about SHIFTR, our lessons, and how we operate at https://www.helloshiftr.com
We've also been featured in The Wall Street Journal.
We developed the Southern California market and have a consistent revenue stream. We're continuing to grow, and throughout California we experienced 31% YOY revenue growth between FY 2024 and FY 2025! The owner is selling SHIFTR to focus on Shift NorCal (his Northern California stick shift business), and the only limitation to this sale would be a non-compete in the Northern California market. Otherwise, anywhere else in California and outside of California is open to more expansion.
We started our journey 7 years ago when we opened a stick shift driving school in the San Francisco Bay Area called Shift Bay Area. Our style of teaching and our way of operating enabled us to be extremely successful in 2018, and within a year we went from offering stick shift lessons at 1 training location in the San Francisco Bay Area to 6 different training locations. Over the next 4 years we dominated our market and became the leading stick shift driving school.
In 2020 we took the same model that we created in the San Francisco Bay Area and applied it to the Sacramento area by opening Shift NorCal. As a result we saw success and market dominance, and we grew to operating in 10 different training locations across the Sacramento area as well.
Over the years our business continued to grow and we knew we had to expand beyond Northern California, and that's when we created SHIFTR. As a test of our business model we sold the Shift Bay Area business at the end of 2023 and opened 12 training locations across the Los Angeles and San Diego areas under SHIFTR. In 2024 and 2025 we've seen steady business growth and market dominance across these areas, and we're confident in our business model. As a test of our expansion capabilities outside of California, in early 2025 we expanded into the Seattle area and our model worked there as well.
SHIFTR's lessons are very different from our competition in the way we operate:
1. We perform all lessons on quiet open roads instead of parking lots, which means that our lessons are more premium, fun and educational.
2. We don't have any age restrictions on our customers (the competition requires customers to be 18 years or older), and we don't force the customer to provide automobile insurance (we provide insurance for the lesson). This enables SHIFTR to dramatically increase our customer base by including customers who are licensed and are under 18 years of age, and we can provide services to customers who don't currently own a car (and as a result they don't carry any personal automobile insurance).
3. We offer a convenient way for customers to quickly book their lesson online based on the availability of our instructors. The competition has customers pay for a lesson without the customer knowing when their lesson is going to take place, with which instructor they'll be taking the lesson, and in what type of car they'll be learning. We offer transparency that the competition doesn't, and this builds customer trust.
Our customers understand that with us they are receiving a superior experience, and we currently offer the following lessons:
- End-to-End Stick Shift Lesson: a 2 hour lesson that costs $299
- Custom Stick Shift Lesson: a 1 hour lesson that costs $199
Learn more about SHIFTR, our lessons, and how we operate at https://www.helloshiftr.com
We've also been featured in The Wall Street Journal.
We developed the Southern California market and have a consistent revenue stream. We're continuing to grow, and throughout California we experienced 31% YOY revenue growth between FY 2024 and FY 2025! The owner is selling SHIFTR to focus on Shift NorCal (his Northern California stick shift business), and the only limitation to this sale would be a non-compete in the Northern California market. Otherwise, anywhere else in California and outside of California is open to more expansion.
About the Business
- Years in Operation
- 2
- Employees
- 1 Contractor
3 contractors are on the roster with 1 currently conducting lessons. - Facilities & Assets
- SHIFTR's website, marketing toolkit, and the booking system are part of the sale. We're also including a 2011 MINI Cooper S (pictured above) in the sale so that the new owner can seamlessly take over customer bookings. This is the only asset necessary to successfully run your operation. If you already own a manual transmission car that you would also like to use for business purposes, then you can easily add your car to the insurance policy. Current contractor(s) use their own vehicles for lessons.
- Website
- https://www.helloshiftr.com
- Market Outlook / Competition
- SHIFTR is unique since we operate very differently from our competition (namely businesses like Stick Shift Driving Academy). The competitors can be a little cheaper, and with them you get what you pay for. For example, they have restrictions such as providing lessons only in parking lots, customers must be 18 or older and currently carry insurance, etc. This dramatically narrows the competition's customer base. SHIFTR conducts lessons on quiet open roads, we don't have any age restrictions on customers, and we provide insurance for the customer.
- Opportunities for Growth
- We started in the Southern California market in 2024 and have seen consistent growth and a steady revenue stream. Expanding across more locations in the Los Angeles and the San Diego areas is very simple since the overhead is low, and this expansion can yield a high return on investment since you'll be able to offer lessons in a bigger geographical area. Our model is easy to replicate and expand outside of California, and we already proved this by experimenting in the Seattle area in early 2025.
About the Sale
- Seller Motivation
- The owner is focusing on Shift NorCal (owner's Northern California business).
- Transition Support
- We offer full support to get you up and running in as little as 2 weeks. This includes filing the necessary state paperwork to transition the business, transitioning the insurance coverage for your operation, training on marketing and customer acquisition, as well as in-person training on safety, operating procedures, and how to properly conduct stick shift lessons.
- Financing Options
- We can offer up to 50% Seller Financing. We strongly believe in our business.
Listing Info
- ID
- 2465787
- Listing Views
- 12
Listing ID: 2465787 The information on this listing has been provided by either the seller or a business broker representing the seller. BizQuest has no interest or stake in the sale of this business and has not verified any of the information and assumes no responsibility for its accuracy, veracity, or completeness. See our full Terms of Use. Learn how to avoid scams.
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