Getting part time up and running again!

[ShaniV]

Hello fellow professionals, I hope everyone is doing well.

I posted not too long ago about how other people proceed with part time detailing and received several replies giving me great ideas and advice. Not to mention also hope that it is indeed possible. So as I slowly try to get everything sorted here and there I want to look very professional as anyone would. I would greatly appreciate your opinions, advice, and criticism on my website; HD Auto Detailing - Professional Detailing Services and although not really critical but my facebook page has also been linked to my website. I am thinking about starting an instagram account as well so I can really take advantage of social media marketing. On top of that I'm thinking of using Fiverr to get a logo made(seen that mentioned on this forum) so I can implement that on clothing and such. Any other advice is greatly appreciated as well. Thanks in advance I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

 

[GSKR]

How many hours in a week are dedicated to detailing besides your full time job?

 

[ShaniV]

How many hours in a week are dedicated to detailing besides your full time job?

I'm looking mostly weekends with some smaller jobs during the week, 10-20 hours.

 

[GSKR]

That's great ,I would start off by doing production work and realistic prices and build from that.Being mobile will help tremendously.

 

[GSKR]

Invest in some products and tools.word of mouth is free and comes quickly.also skip the shirts and get some menu cards made.not that vista print stuff.menu cards are simple but make a major impact on the professionalism of your business.There is no impact on company shirts,and it's money wasted.Till this day never ordered co shirts.If your gonna be mobile invest in the vehicle with some professional equipment.

 

[ShaniV]

That's great ,I would start off by doing production work and realistic prices and build from that.Being mobile will help tremendously.

Yes I agree, as much as I want to produce showroom results it just isn't feasible with my time constraints. When you say realistic prices are you thinking I might be a little bit on the high side as far as pricing goes? I do get hassled here and there for my pricing.

 

[ShaniV]

Invest in some products and tools.word of mouth is free and comes quickly.also skip the shirts and get some menu cards made.not that vista print stuff.menu cards are simple but make a major impact on the professionalism of your business.There is no impact on company shirts,and it's money wasted.Till this day never ordered co shirts.If your gonna be mobile invest in the vehicle with some professional equipment.

Right, I have all my necessary tools and products already which all fit in my vehicle nicely, gotta love hatchbacks. Only thing I'm missing right now is a good air compressor as I got rid of my other one I didn't like. I like your idea about menu cards and I will hold off on the company clothing. I have business cards but not menu cards, I guess both have their time and place?

 

[GSKR]

Doing it partime,make it worth your time and charge .people are always gonna look for a bargain,they want a steak but want to pay for a burger.your full time job will let you pass on certain jobs at mediocre compensation.good luck and wish you the best.

 

[SKorch630]

Doing it partime,make it worth your time and charge .people are always gonna look for a bargain,they want a steak but want to pay for a burger.your full time job will let you pass on certain jobs at mediocre compensation.good luck and wish you the best.

I wish more people knew this lol. They'll ALWAYS want steak at burger prices. Excellent advice.

My $.02, if you care to consider it, is to build your part-time work around a certain demographic. Don't just take each, and every, job that comes your way. You'll burn out quickly, get frustrated, and you'll lose interest. Building a successful business is about passion, dedication, hard work, and persistence. I say choose a certain demographic because you'll have a much easier time turning that into a full time gig once you build a solid client list. Even if you don't decide to go full time, you'll have this nice client list to fall back on for those weekend jobs. Things won't take off over night. It'll take some time, but go at a pace you feel comfortable with. You don't have to become a millionaire tomorrow, next week is fine

 

[ShaniV]

Doing it partime,make it worth your time and charge .people are always gonna look for a bargain,they want a steak but want to pay for a burger.your full time job will let you pass on certain jobs at mediocre compensation.good luck and wish you the best.

Yes I agree, I set my price and the customer either takes it or leaves it, sometimes though I wonder if there's something on my end that's scaring them away. Anyways thanks for your advice I really like the menu card idea. I appreciate it, thank you and take care.

 

[swanicyouth]

Doing it partime,make it worth your time and charge .people are always gonna look for a bargain,they want a steak but want to pay for a burger.your full time job will let you pass on certain jobs at mediocre compensation.good luck and wish you the best.

Can you put a capitol letter at the beginning of your sentences?

Sorry. Your posts are pretty good - but this bothers me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ShaniV]

I wish more people knew this lol. They'll ALWAYS want steak at burger prices. Excellent advice.

My $.02, if you care to consider it, is to build your part-time work around a certain demographic. Don't just take each, and every, job that comes your way. You'll burn out quickly, get frustrated, and you'll lose interest. Building a successful business is about passion, dedication, hard work, and persistence. I say choose a certain demographic because you'll have a much easier time turning that into a full time gig once you build a solid client list. Even if you don't decide to go full time, you'll have this nice client list to fall back on for those weekend jobs. Things won't take off over night. It'll take some time, but go at a pace you feel comfortable with. You don't have to become a millionaire tomorrow, next week is fine

Hmm I think I understand what your saying, although if I'm going to be doing production type of detailing that does limit my options. So within that field what certain demographics do I have to choose from? I mean I would like to target higher end vehicles, that require more time for the showroom finish and a customer base that cares more about the quality of the job as opposed to the price. But I feel like that might be difficult to do given my situation.

 

[garyg7133]

My business is about as part-time as it gets. I only do it 2 days per week and literally only take the jobs that come from referrals from previous customers. DO NOT budge on your price. While most of us here really enjoy detailing, doing it part time takes away from doing other things that you would like to do. For me, it takes away part of my family time and I have to price that accordingly. If I'm not sitting having coffee with my wife on a sunday morning because your car needs a detail, be prepared to pay for it. In the 6 or so years that I have been a part time business, I have only had 2 people question my pricing and I no longer take their phone calls. DO NOT undervalue your time. While my pricing is reasonable, I do not budge just to get a job. You should feel the same about your time.

 

[ShaniV]

My business is about as part-time as it gets. I only do it 2 days per week and literally only take the jobs that come from referrals from previous customers. DO NOT budge on your price. While most of us here really enjoy detailing, doing it part time takes away from doing other things that you would like to do. For me, it takes away part of my family time and I have to price that accordingly. If I'm not sitting having coffee with my wife on a sunday morning because your car needs a detail, be prepared to pay for it. In the 6 or so years that I have been a part time business, I have only had 2 people question my pricing and I no longer take their phone calls. DO NOT undervalue your time. While my pricing is reasonable, I do not budge just to get a job. You should feel the same about your time.

Very well said and a very good point. Thank you for the advice!

 

[NotoriouswithaG]

My business is about as part-time as it gets. I only do it 2 days per week and literally only take the jobs that come from referrals from previous customers. DO NOT budge on your price. While most of us here really enjoy detailing, doing it part time takes away from doing other things that you would like to do. For me, it takes away part of my family time and I have to price that accordingly. If I'm not sitting having coffee with my wife on a sunday morning because your car needs a detail, be prepared to pay for it. In the 6 or so years that I have been a part time business, I have only had 2 people question my pricing and I no longer take their phone calls. DO NOT undervalue your time. While my pricing is reasonable, I do not budge just to get a job. You should feel the same about your time.

Great advice here. I also only limit myself to part time(mainly during the week, and maybe a day on the weekend). I have started out small and plan to keep it small. I started out doing friend's cars and posting my progress pictures to my facebook. This has helped spread the word among my friends and have been having a steady stream of request to do work from their friends/family members as well(all sorts of interior.exterior jobs ranging from AIO, to paint correction). They all know the quality of my work and know that I only do it part time inbetween my full time(personal trainer+tennis instructor) and my schedule can be quite hectic. I also explain the process behidn the cost if they try to bargain it and if they feel it's high then I simply tell them they can gladly find another place to go. Dont be afraid to turn down work.



Regardless I have to turn down jobs or push them back due to my schedule constraints, but I as well as them are okay with it. Also for what its worth, almsot all of my jobs(~85% are production details with ~5-10% being upper end paint correction/ multiple step jobs)

 

[LEDetailing]

I like your website, very nice looking. I would change the cursive font to something easier to read. Cursive looks fancy, but when have you seen it used on a company's website. Not very often. I like your photo banner that is changing, but don't like the tiles. Maybe just a simple fade or something less busy. My moto with websites from a consumer standpoint is, "simpler is better".

 

[ShaniV]

Great advice here. I also only limit myself to part time(mainly during the week, and maybe a day on the weekend). I have started out small and plan to keep it small. I started out doing friend's cars and posting my progress pictures to my facebook. This has helped spread the word among my friends and have been having a steady stream of request to do work from their friends/family members as well(all sorts of interior.exterior jobs ranging from AIO, to paint correction). They all know the quality of my work and know that I only do it part time inbetween my full time(personal trainer+tennis instructor) and my schedule can be quite hectic. I also explain the process behidn the cost if they try to bargain it and if they feel it's high then I simply tell them they can gladly find another place to go. Dont be afraid to turn down work.



Regardless I have to turn down jobs or push them back due to my schedule constraints, but I as well as them are okay with it. Also for what its worth, almsot all of my jobs(~85% are production details with ~5-10% being upper end paint correction/ multiple step jobs)

Thanks once again this is a similar approach I would like to follow. Always appreciate good insight and advice. I also have a Facebook page but it has not worked to my advantage as far as getting new clientèle, mainly just showcasing my work if anyone is curious. But I suppose it will get better if I keep at it. Thanks again.

 

[ShaniV]

I like your website, very nice looking. I would change the cursive font to something easier to read. Cursive looks fancy, but when have you seen it used on a company's website. Not very often. I like your photo banner that is changing, but don't like the tiles. Maybe just a simple fade or something less busy. My moto with websites from a consumer standpoint is, "simpler is better".

Thanks for your input I will change my banner to a simple fade I think that will simple things out. Although I really really like the cursive look I thought the same thing when I was making it, but haven't got feedback about the font itself. You do have a point though I rarely see other websites with cursive so I will look into trying to find a simple print that also has a nice look to it. Thank you I appreciate your help.