Grand Opening Today!

So lucky! Good Luck man. It's so nice to see others taking the next step. I've been looking for a warehouse space for a very long time and no lucky yet. Stuff is really limited out here and 95% of the landlords don't want detailers in there because of the water usage etc . . . .

How much is that nice little spot you got?
 
FinishingTouchA said:
So many reasons...
The biggest being exposure, Trying to market to this tiny community has always been a little issue of mine. Yeah Adwords and word of mouth are a good start, but having a storefront on the corner of the second busiest 4 way stop in town changes the whole game of advertising.
The next reason is now that I have an indoor shop with plenty of space, I can schedule people any day of the year without worrying about the weather interfering. Many of my customers do not have garages and therefore decided to cancel their appointments when the weather wasn't prime. (Here in Oregon it rains 2/3 of the year)
The third reason is more of a personal thing than one that has a huge influence on the business itself. But I always found the time spent packing up my supplies, driving to the customer, unpacking, setting up, packing everything back up, and unpacking again a huge waste of time. And also I hated working on paint in the sun and trying to wash a car in a muddy driveway.
With the shop I was also able to get a large extractor, a pressure washer, a big shop vac, an air compressor, a tornador, and lots of other supplies. Having everything with me at every detail job allows me to upsell extra services and work quickly with everything organized. Also I find my quality to be a lot better. And on top of all that I feel that my business image is a lot more professional.
Like I said in the beginning though, the most important thing to me is the built in marketing that the location provides. That alone more than covers my cost of rent.

Everyone makes such a huge deal about overhead, it's just a cost of doing business. Most mobile guys are mobile because they want to be self employed and keep the money they make. I want to make it clear that I did not start my detailing business so that I could work for myself. My goal is to make money without doing the labor, it's called "owning a business" for those of you who are self employed. (yes, right now I'm an employee of the business) I pay myself bi-weekly paychecks and count myself as a liability of the business. I don't see the money that comes from each job as money in my pocket, rather divide it into expenses of running the business and profit to be reinvested. My goal is to hire employees to do the labor while I work on marketing and other business tasks. Most of you won't ever hire someone because "it'll cut into your profits." What you're not seeing is that while your profit per job isn't as large, you are increasing your total profit. I know that if I were to try and put in 10 hour detail days for 10 years my body would be 25 years older. I'd prefer to take the "easy" route. (bedtime, will continue later)
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree with you more. Being mobile (which i currently am) is great. Being able to see million dollar homes, views and properties etc that i would normally never be able tos ee has been great. My biggest thing about wanting a shop is the controlled environment. You can shut the bay doors tom do your polishing if you have big jobs like that and coatings, you can work late at night if you want to etc . . . . it really is endless with a work space vs starting to early at a clients house or being there to late or never knowing if you are working on a paved area, or in a pile of dirt and gravel or even if the landscapers will be there while you are trying to details. I can't wait for the day i get the opportunity to open a shop. Best of luck to you
 
The location has made the biggest difference in my business! On average I have 5 people stop by to ask about my services. That alone is worth the $800 in rent. If you use a pressure washer your water usage is much lower. And I use ONR for about half my washes. My average ticket when I was mobile was $100, now I average 200-300. My goal for summer is to increase my repeat customers and maintenance washes/details. So far though most of my customers tell me they prefer to wash and vacuum their own vehicles, I guess 40-50 for a wash is too much for my area. Trying to figure out what type of loyalty system I should use is a lot of work. Should have it figured out before summer though.
 
So the owner of the local tunnel-o-swirls came by today to introduce himself and ask about my pricing. He asked me where I washed my cars and I showed him my wash area and said I also use rinseless and waterless wash. He gave a chuckle and said he thought the waterless wash had come and gone. He gave me a card for a free wash LOL and told me I could set up an account with him to bring customer cars in. Funny right before he stopped by I was polishing a vehicle and thinking to myself how could I spread the information that the automatic washes DESTROY paint. I feel like the world is trying to push me to production detailing. I'm having a hard time seeing a reason to even be a quality detailer when nobody around truly appreciates decent paint.
 
FinishingTouchA said:
So the owner of the local tunnel-o-swirls came by today to introduce himself and ask about my pricing. He asked me where I washed my cars and I showed him my wash area and said I also use rinseless and waterless wash. He gave a chuckle and said he thought the waterless wash had come and gone. He gave me a card for a free wash LOL and told me I could set up an account with him to bring customer cars in. Funny right before he stopped by I was polishing a vehicle and thinking to myself how could I spread the information that the automatic washes DESTROY paint. I feel like the world is trying to push me to production detailing. I'm having a hard time seeing a reason to even be a quality detailer when nobody around truly appreciates decent paint.
Click to expand...

As much as I don't want to accept it it's a rough market out there. Though it isn't impossible to do what you love doing. Don't give up until you exhaust ll your options. Sometimes it's just the market as your area may not have the type of clientele needed to support paint correction. I'm facing similar issues where I love that type of work and not for the $ however because I can see the change in the vehicle and I feel like I'm accomplishing something and providing value.
David Fermani knows about bulk detailing. He turned his business into a million dollar one and sold it, smart business and now does correction work. There is tons of money to be made in the bulk area and you can still do a some what proper job however if you're anything like me you would have a hard time swallowing that. At the end of the day you have a shop to pay for so it's hard to let money walk out the door but don't give up, some education goes a long way and it might mean offering the higher end services at a fraction of the cost or even offering a deal on them just to help get the word out and the buzz going, then you get ride of the introductory rate.
 
FinishingTouchA said:
So the owner of the local tunnel-o-swirls came by today to introduce himself and ask about my pricing. He asked me where I washed my cars and I showed him my wash area and said I also use rinseless and waterless wash. He gave a chuckle and said he thought the waterless wash had come and gone. He gave me a card for a free wash LOL and told me I could set up an account with him to bring customer cars in. Funny right before he stopped by I was polishing a vehicle and thinking to myself how could I spread the information that the automatic washes DESTROY paint. I feel like the world is trying to push me to production detailing. I'm having a hard time seeing a reason to even be a quality detailer when nobody around truly appreciates decent paint.
Click to expand...

Interesting that he stopped by, but hey, he could be useful. Maybe he will refer people to you? As long as he keeps installing swirls, you will have potential business LOL

I completely understand your frustration and am glad it's not what I do full-time. Even on a daily basis for me I hear people at work saying they are gonna take their vehicle thru the car wash at lunchtime. I try and tell them not to but, but they usually say it doesn't matter or they don't care.... sigh.
Yet these are the same people who tell me my car looks fantastic every day! Yes! Because I don't take it to a car wash!!!!! :bash:
 
To be honest it wouldn't kill me to do more production detailing, because I know that's what the majority of the customers want and I know that's what will grow my business bottom line. The problem lies in the type of work I would build a reputation for. There are lots of classic car owners in this area who could use my help but I wont have a chance in hell if I start aiming towards production over quality. I think maybe I should build my marketing campaign around interior detailing so that I'm booked out with interiors and put my exterior efforts towards show vehicles.
 
FinishingTouchA said:
To be honest it wouldn't kill me to do more production detailing, because I know that's what the majority of the customers want and I know that's what will grow my business bottom line. The problem lies in the type of work I would build a reputation for. There are lots of classic car owners in this area who could use my help but I wont have a chance in hell if I start aiming towards production over quality. I think maybe I should build my marketing campaign around interior detailing so that I'm booked out with interiors and put my exterior efforts towards show vehicles.
Click to expand...

You seem to be well thought out in the decisions you are making. It is awesome you took the plunge and took on that responsibility. Good luck and send across some pics of your set up.
 
Following this thread has been like reading a personal journal, great work! Would love to see some pictures of the work area!

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk
 
FinishingTouchA said:
I think maybe I should build my marketing campaign around interior detailing so that I'm booked out with interiors and put my exterior efforts towards show vehicles.
Click to expand...


That is actually a brilliant idea that I'm going to borrow and improve on, thanks!

I live in Southern Illinois though, so no worries about it hurting your bottom line! :xyxthumbs:
 
Best of luck and prosperity to your new business endeavor
 
FinishingTouchA said:
To be honest it wouldn't kill me to do more production detailing, because I know that's what the majority of the customers want and I know that's what will grow my business bottom line. The problem lies in the type of work I would build a reputation for. There are lots of classic car owners in this area who could use my help but I wont have a chance in hell if I start aiming towards production over quality. I think maybe I should build my marketing campaign around interior detailing so that I'm booked out with interiors and put my exterior efforts towards show vehicles.
Click to expand...

I'm faced with a similar decision myself. Production work or general cleaning work is what pays the bills mostly. My girlfriend views things differently then my stubborn self and tries to get me to understand that you gotta give the customer what they want and are willing to pay for. We can only educate them on what we feel is proper, paint correction and coatings etc however at the end of the day it's their car and their money. If they don't want to spend $500 and only have a $250 budget do you explain to them what you are willing to do for that price or do you kindly refuse service?

I dislike doing interiors. I don't feel like I can charge enough for the amount of work they take up however if I had better tools and techniques that would make the job quicker with better results then maybe I wouldn't mind doing them as much. Just some food for thought. I love paint correction not for the $ but for the gratification I get from it and I don't want to be known for being a hack etc however it's hard to turn down a $200 bill.
 
View attachment 34379 here's what you've all been waiting for. I'll take some more pictures soon, just been crazy busy putting in 12 hour days 7 days a week. I'm booked out a month and it grows every day. Tomorrow I have a meeting with a bookkeeper to get everything organized to hire an employee.
 
Congratulations, Sir, that you finally made it! I remember reading one of your earlier posts, when you were about to rent it, your doubts etc, and I'm glad you went it all the way.
What I humbly advice, from my own experience, it to treat anybody well, explain your proceedings, stop what you are doing a bit to explain, in a gentle, friendly manner, show how a DA works, difference of pad densities, the array of products, sealant&coatings, one step, two steps how to properly clean and maintain afterwards, and treat the poor as you would treat the rich. Sometimes the poor doesn't have the cash to do it, but liked the way he was treated, with respect, and send somebody who will do the job.
And don't worry about your competitors. Just keep the price between the regional range, and show your talent. All the best!
 
I just caught this thread, and it's been a pleasure reading it from start to finish. Congratulations on your move, and it looks like you've got a nice setup and that things are growing.

Keep posting pictures!

:Picture:

Your FB page is also great.
 
VP Mark said:
That is actually a brilliant idea that I'm going to borrow and improve on, thanks!

I live in Southern Illinois though, so no worries about it hurting your bottom line! :xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

That's what I do.

These multi-stage show and shine multi-day jobs look nice but realistically, I make more on inside jobs, clay, wax, and maybe a light polish. You can only price a buffing job so high before the customer walks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top