Hey All,
I am "E", I have been lurking on the site for serveral days now and decided to join due to the vast knownledge and experience so many here bring to the table. Back through 2003-2007 I was a lot tech earning a wage to put me through college and we had a on-scene detailer who really knew his stuff. So here and there, little by little he would show me a think or too so I had a tiny piece of what detailing was really about.
Well, 5 years later my friend and I are talking about our careers and we both agreed that we were happiest when we were washing and "detailing" cars (friend worked at a valet lot in the city where they also washed and detailed). No college education, fancy piece of paper, money spent, just simply washing cars. So, from that point I thought why not do it again and that is how I landed here.
The other day I told a couple co-workers how I was getting back into detailing. Mind you, I should have said thorough cleaning, but detailing sounds better and from there something from nothing took off. I think I have 17 "customers" who have approached me about detailing their car in a matter of a few days.
So my initial reason for viewing the forum, gain some tips in buffing, proper way to clean a car for my own, family and friends turned into a full blown information bound bandit soaking up as much information as I possilbe could about products, polishers, techinques, tips, methods, pricing etc.
With that being said, I am not getting ahead of myself. I am not going to go and spend 500-1000 dollars. I do want to purchase a nice polisher and some quality products to do my general cleaning and incoorporate the proper methods I have learned but that was my intentions in the beginning. But, I figure if I do right by these 17 people who knows whats to come. Maybe I can land a deal with the company and detail their 20 plus vehicles someday.
Sorry for the rumble.
Take Care,
E
I am "E", I have been lurking on the site for serveral days now and decided to join due to the vast knownledge and experience so many here bring to the table. Back through 2003-2007 I was a lot tech earning a wage to put me through college and we had a on-scene detailer who really knew his stuff. So here and there, little by little he would show me a think or too so I had a tiny piece of what detailing was really about.
Well, 5 years later my friend and I are talking about our careers and we both agreed that we were happiest when we were washing and "detailing" cars (friend worked at a valet lot in the city where they also washed and detailed). No college education, fancy piece of paper, money spent, just simply washing cars. So, from that point I thought why not do it again and that is how I landed here.
The other day I told a couple co-workers how I was getting back into detailing. Mind you, I should have said thorough cleaning, but detailing sounds better and from there something from nothing took off. I think I have 17 "customers" who have approached me about detailing their car in a matter of a few days.
So my initial reason for viewing the forum, gain some tips in buffing, proper way to clean a car for my own, family and friends turned into a full blown information bound bandit soaking up as much information as I possilbe could about products, polishers, techinques, tips, methods, pricing etc.
With that being said, I am not getting ahead of myself. I am not going to go and spend 500-1000 dollars. I do want to purchase a nice polisher and some quality products to do my general cleaning and incoorporate the proper methods I have learned but that was my intentions in the beginning. But, I figure if I do right by these 17 people who knows whats to come. Maybe I can land a deal with the company and detail their 20 plus vehicles someday.
Sorry for the rumble.
Take Care,
E
rops: Good luck on the "business" side of running your own car detailing place. Sometimes doing something we enjoy for profit can take the fun out of it, unless we manage the business side correctly to make enough profit to live on. As a CPA who has worked with many businesses, remember to let your customers know what you plan to do for them (they may not appreciate or understand all that goes into it). Let them know about the costs up front, and when you calculate a fair price, assume a little oops factor in the job. Also, remember to factor in a piece of your overhead costs not specifically assigned to the job -- which might include some downtime. (You should determine those overhead costs in advance, and allocate a cost for each hour you realistically expect to charge on customer jobs.) The thing I find is that most business people are savvy enough to charge enough to make a profit on each job; but they don't plan enough profit to cover their other expenses, and end up having to go out of business. 
If you are can't or are afriad to charge what you need to survive, you might as well not do it, because you already know the result. Also, remember your biggest cost is probably your taxes. 
You should find out about whether you will pay both income taxes AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAXES, WHICH IS ANOTHER 15% ON TOP OF INCOME TAXES for your first $110,000 of NET taxable income (= taxable income less legitimate deductions). Final thought -- keep your integrity throughout the process -- with your customers, employees, vendors, and yes, even with your taxes (Matthew 22:21).