2015 Detailing Seaon Starting! What are your goals?

VP Mark

VP Mark

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Well folks, March is here and for those who operate as a business it is about to get super busy. My phone has already been lighting up with inquiries and it is sleeting and snowing outside right now.

What are your goals for 2015?

What do you want to do differently or better?

Some of my goals include:

1. Increase overall revenue by 20%. Much of the increase is going to come from focusing on up sells. Never assume that a client does not want one of your extra services. If you don't ask you are making the decision for them.

2. Boost my mobile operations dramatically. Last year I did about 50/50 mobile to home based work. This year I want to get out mobile much more often as it is generally higher profit margin work and has increased visibility.

3. Consolidate my product usage, while dramatically improving it. Even though it is more pricy, I've been stocking up on a lot of CarPro products this year. I'm looking for efficiency, effectiveness, and quality.

4. Brand my business better. I get a lot of new customers that are thrilled to hire me and thrilled with the results, who simply state "I did not know you existed!". This is an issue. I'm going to be doing my usual Google Adwords spending but supplementing it with a LOT of Facebook ads. I have got excellent results from Facebook ads, and it really seems like a very cost effective way to "share" your business with your local communities and those you are hoping to target as potential clients.

Well, what are you doing this year??

Share so others can benefit!
 
Most likely get back into detailing after ending my business after 7 years to finish school. Now that I have my bachelors, I hate my professional life and really want to pick up my tools.

I thought I'd start off by giving you some suggestions.

1. Have something that can really sell them on the up-sell. Once they see the steam coming out of my steamer, carpet and seat packages get signed, sealed, and delivered right there. Similar effect with compressed air tools, etc.

2. Good signage and/or Vinyl with a nice logo works great.

3. I started out with surfing the product wave around the forum. After years of practice, I really learned to appreciate the Meguiars Detailers Products in gallons. I use some of the PBMA brands such as DP and Pinnacle as well for a few products that really just do outperform anything else.

4. Really a good graphics guy is worth their weight in gold. I'd advise you to pull your rig to car club meets and hand out placards. In addition to Facebook, don't underestimate free alternatives like Craigslist. Make up say 5 ads per week showing your specialities and product superiority in detail. Monday = Steam Tuesday = Extraction Wed = Paint correction Thur = Sealant, Fri = Paint Cleansing, etc. Pics, formatted text etc. Odesk is good to have these CL-compatible template things made up. Really helps.

For me, I plan on finishing the designs on my mobile rig that will fit inside my 4x6" covered trailer pulled by my Civic. Yep. I'm fairly sure people will stop and look :)
 
VP Mark said:
Got that part covered good!
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One thing I'm working on selling more correction. I'm really wanting to settle on a set of machines / product by detail fest. I love my rotary but due to the high amount of rotary abuse put into people's paint around here, people specifically ask for "paint safe" buffing. Makes my blood boil but w/e. Looking at Rupes system and I really want to have "levels" of correction being sold in a system and Rupes looks like the best fit.

Also playing with some ideas on compressed air utilities. We will see.
 
I don't detail as my job, but I like getting some small jobs on the weekends.

My goal is to continue to learn from you guys and get a few more jobs :dblthumb2:
 
DetailKitty said:
I don't detail as my job, but I like getting some small jobs on the weekends.

My goal is to continue to learn from you guys and get a few more jobs :dblthumb2:
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This is where I am at. But to add to this, I like the couple post above am not happy in my professional job and if I can get my skills where I feel comfortable enough starting my own detail business, I just might try it :buffing:

I look to get better with every job I do and learn from every job I do and every post I read.
 
:iagree:I'm with yous guys:dblthumb2:

Figurative not literal DK :xyxthumbs:
 
I just want to go a week with a clean car. Tonight we are expecting another snow storm with ice. Next week they are saying 60*F weather for us so my goal is a complete correction and wax

Ed
 
Get my part-time business started in May. Been practicing, ordering products, materials, and tools, and putting together a solid business plan. Also going continue reading and educating myself about detailing as well as business and life in general. I go to college but self education is a great thing. I could elaborate more on my goals but I'll keep it simple with that.
 
run an excel chart on my supplies and reduce overall costs to my hobby

keep a very clean car

teach the craft to others
 
Continue my multi year run of detailing as a hobby and ignoring every new product and staying with what actually works everytime on every paint in any weather.
 
silverfox said:
Continue my multi year run of detailing as a hobby and ignoring every new product and staying with what actually works everytime on every paint in any weather.
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May i ask what is your choice for LSP and how you maintain it?
Thank you

Regards
 
silverfox said:
Continue my multi year run of detailing as a hobby and ignoring every new product and staying with what actually works everytime on every paint in any weather.
Click to expand...

Same here silverfox!!

My biggest, most serious goals are to just say no to auto detailing calls more this year than what I did last year, focusing more on providing mobile wheelchair lift and mobility ramp van servicing and repair.

Doing this, the use of my detailing skills naturally can be integrated into what I'm doing anyways as a lot of these clients are not too much into detailing, and their vans often show it.

Another goal is to be more organized with my paperwork as I go through the year, instead of letting things pile up and scrambling around at tax time to straighten everything out.
 
Great post!

This year, ive been working on simplifying our services to give the people around me what they want.. washes, waxes, clean interiors and all at a good price. So basically less polishing and extracting so we can be in and out and ready to move on to the next

I dont have specific numbers, but i want more this year. Last year was our first year, and it was part time. Thjs year is full time and im ready to take the next step.

I hope to run this small area while we still live here (which may or may not be this year), but we're planning on moving 40 minutes south to sacramento so we can reach more people
 
My goals are similar to many of those that other part-timers have revealed above: find a few more good clients, reduce the huge variety in my inventory, reduce costs and product duplication, run a more efficient operation, introduce others to the hobby and teach them some of what I've learned. Most of all, I want to keep having fun doing it.
 
My choice of LSP is very inexpensive, easy to use, looks great, and lasts several months. Duragloss 105. For winter I top it with Collinite 845. Once a month I hit it with megs D156. Wash is either Duragloss rinseless or Duragloss 902. The trick however is paint prep. I clay and polish with a finishing polish twice a year, then hit it with Duragloss squeaky clean before applying the sealant. I like staying within families of products primarily because I know they work as a system. Being a hobbyist I rotate families...Meguiars, Duragloss primarily. I can get most of these within 5 minutes of my house.
 
silverfox said:
My choice of LSP is very inexpensive, easy to use, looks great, and lasts several months. Duragloss 105. For winter I top it with Collinite 845. Once a month I hit it with megs D156. Wash is either Duragloss rinseless or Duragloss 902. The trick however is paint prep. I clay and polish with a finishing polish twice a year, then hit it with Duragloss squeaky clean before applying the sealant. I like staying within families of products primarily because I know they work as a system. Being a hobbyist I rotate families...Meguiars, Duragloss primarily. I can get most of these within 5 minutes of my house.
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Thank you Sir for the information :)
 
silverfox said:
My choice of LSP is very inexpensive, easy to use, looks great, and lasts several months. Duragloss 105. For winter I top it with Collinite 845. Once a month I hit it with megs D156. Wash is either Duragloss rinseless or Duragloss 902. The trick however is paint prep. I clay and polish with a finishing polish twice a year, then hit it with Duragloss squeaky clean before applying the sealant. I like staying within families of products primarily because I know they work as a system. Being a hobbyist I rotate families...Meguiars, Duragloss primarily. I can get most of these within 5 minutes of my house.
Click to expand...

I'm with you. I've gone all over and have settled on Meguiars 21 yellow paste for my monthly wax and it's a tossup between DP and DG 105 for sealant.

Started out with 1-3 Meguiars products and as I go on, that number goes up. Fair priced products that dilute well, are priced for detailers, and just work.
 
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