From mobile to fixed location shop

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Red Man

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I want to hear from the owners of fixed location, brick & mortar detail shops with years of experience of owning a shop (new shop owners or veteran shop owners). No disrespect but all I seem to hear from on this forum are mobile & in home shop owners. I just parted out my complete rig, fully set up, to open up a fixed location. I invested (wasted) thousands of dollars in my rig with all brand new top name brand equipment because its easier to start a mobile business, but,IT SUCKS!!!

Not just the problem with equipment mishaps, driving downtime, equipment maintenance downtime, gas for rig (& equipment), weather downtime, leaving products at home, rig breakdown etc. etc. ( I'm sure there is 10 more negatives to being mobile that you can add to this list.....

I don't live in the greatest neighborhoods so working from home limits me to dealing with lowlifes that rather have the guy with Palmolive and beach towels give them a "detail" for 10 or 15 bucks (wash with towel, dry with towel, & tire dressing).

Is bypassing the mobile business & opening a shop a good idea? Any feedback would be appreciated??? I have lost the desire of being mobile. I also spoke with a friend who owns a body shop and he mentioned that when customers hear mobile, they think cheap or bargain, where as a fixed location looks more professional and more top dollar worthy. I know from being mobile, we provide convenience, which should be able to charge more but customers don't see it that way unfortunately.

I'm in the process of closing a deal for a new nice looking warehouse with air conditioning for $1500 mo. in a very nice professional neighborhood so rather than having to give my detail services away for $20 to $100, I can get the $200 to $350 I think I'm worth and deserve for my hard work.

Sorry for long post but I wanted to paint a vivid picture of where I'm at and my situation..

Feed back please
 
I can guarantee you that being mobile does not mean cheap or bargain, it should be convenience and peace of mind. That is how I based my mobile business plan. Sale the customer on the convenience of being at home or office and the peace of mind that the car does not have to leave. I had clients with multiple vehicles in gated access areas that trusted me to come in when they were not there. The thing is, you have to project a professional appearance and that means, uniforms, a nice clean rig, be it a pulled trailer or a van, but either has to always be clean and things in there place. You cannot show up in a beat up old painters van that you got for a bargain with a 55 gallon drum connected with miss-matched hoses and some buckets and expect the client to view you as a professional. I know a man here in my area who runs a very successful mobile detailing business, and he stays busy with high end clients. He does complete correction detailing and also coatings. His van is in top condition, he has it wrapped with his company logo, and when he shows up, he is in khaki shorts and his company shirt.

That all being said, I perform my detailing at a shop now and much prefer it over mobile just in the sense of getting out of the elements, which allows me to focus on the work as opposed to the temps and heat. I do however think about establishing another trailer rig to allow me to go back and capture some of the clients that I previously had.

HUMP
 
I've had three brick and mortar detail shops and always offered mobile detailing because the types of cars I like to work on the owners won't always drive them to a shop, especially if the distance is great due to rock chips and road rash, etc.

As soon as you open a brick & mortar detail shop you become a production shop. The reason why is because you will take any car that pulls into your driveway or any customer that calls you on the phone because you will need X amount of cars or dollars each month to make just the overhead.

Mobile guys have overhead to but not like a fixed location.

Nothing wrong with doing production work as I have done this and still do it on occasion, in fact it's the bread & butter of the detail industry. Just understand all this moving forward.

The best scenario for a shop is the lowest rent possible or use your home garage if possible.

I'm sure others will chime in with their thoughts and suggestions.

Also, if you haven't bought and read Renny Doyle's book yet then by all means get it and read it.

Show Car Shine Detailing Book Combo


:xyxthumbs:
 
Red Man said:
I want to hear from the owners of fixed location, brick & mortar detail shops with years of experience of owning a shop (new shop owners or veteran shop owners). No disrespect but all I seem to hear from on this forum are mobile & in home shop owners. I just parted out my complete rig, fully set up, to open up a fixed location. I invested (wasted) thousands of dollars in my rig with all brand new top name brand equipment because its easier to start a mobile business, but,IT SUCKS!!!

Not just the problem with equipment mishaps, driving downtime, equipment maintenance downtime, gas for rig (& equipment), weather downtime, leaving products at home, rig breakdown etc. etc. ( I'm sure there is 10 more negatives to being mobile that you can add to this list.....

I don't live in the greatest neighborhoods so working from home limits me to dealing with lowlifes that rather have the guy with Palmolive and beach towels give them a "detail" for 10 or 15 bucks (wash with towel, dry with towel, & tire dressing).

Is bypassing the mobile business & opening a shop a good idea? Any feedback would be appreciated??? I have lost the desire of being mobile. I also spoke with a friend who owns a body shop and he mentioned that when customers hear mobile, they think cheap or bargain, where as a fixed location looks more professional and more top dollar worthy. I know from being mobile, we provide convenience, which should be able to charge more but customers don't see it that way unfortunately.

I'm in the process of closing a deal for a new nice looking warehouse with air conditioning for $1500 mo. in a very nice professional neighborhood so rather than having to give my detail services away for $20 to $100, I can get the $200 to $350 I think I'm worth and deserve for my hard work.

Sorry for long post but I wanted to paint a vivid picture of where I'm at and my situation..

Feed back please
Click to expand...

No disrespect to your friend, but he is a body shop not a detailer and he may think cheap, not most people. Mobile painter yeah, probably not best quality. I would much rather have someone come to my garage and clean my show car than to drive it, leave it, and have who knows who work on it. I won't even take it to get the wheels balanced for fear of mishaps.

Also, the RIGHT customers will see value and pay, screen them and walk from certain jobs if they don't pay your fee.

But good luck with your venture, I personally would find it difficult to go from the quality of details I do, to production detailing and loosing the quality I expect. Shop overhead will be tough, (5-$300) details just to pay for shop rent.
 
Red Man said:
I want to hear from the owners of fixed location, brick & mortar detail shops with years of experience of owning a shop (new shop owners or veteran shop owners). No disrespect but all I seem to hear from on this forum are mobile & in home shop owners. I just parted out my complete rig, fully set up, to open up a fixed location. I invested (wasted) thousands of dollars in my rig with all brand new top name brand equipment because its easier to start a mobile business, but,IT SUCKS!!!

Not just the problem with equipment mishaps, driving downtime, equipment maintenance downtime, gas for rig (& equipment), weather downtime, leaving products at home, rig breakdown etc. etc. ( I'm sure there is 10 more negatives to being mobile that you can add to this list.....

I don't live in the greatest neighborhoods so working from home limits me to dealing with lowlifes that rather have the guy with Palmolive and beach towels give them a "detail" for 10 or 15 bucks (wash with towel, dry with towel, & tire dressing).

Is bypassing the mobile business & opening a shop a good idea? Any feedback would be appreciated??? I have lost the desire of being mobile. I also spoke with a friend who owns a body shop and he mentioned that when customers hear mobile, they think cheap or bargain, where as a fixed location looks more professional and more top dollar worthy. I know from being mobile, we provide convenience, which should be able to charge more but customers don't see it that way unfortunately.

I'm in the process of closing a deal for a new nice looking warehouse with air conditioning for $1500 mo. in a very nice professional neighborhood so rather than having to give my detail services away for $20 to $100, I can get the $200 to $350 I think I'm worth and deserve for my hard work.

Sorry for long post but I wanted to paint a vivid picture of where I'm at and my situation..

Feed back please
Click to expand...


I think the problem was you invested SO much money with 'top-of-the-line' equipment and products thinking that's what you needed to be a 'professional mobile detailer'

What were you hauling? what generator/pressure washer?

People make it seem like you need SO MUCH STUFF to be a mobile detailer....which you absolutely DON'T need


I'm in the process of closing a deal for a new nice looking warehouse with air conditioning for $1500
Click to expand...
Does that include water/power? whats the sqft? how long will the lease be?
insurance, security, lobby, restroom, etc..

You will have A LOT more overhead

You'll most likely need employees to knock out more cars

Do you even have a lot of cars coming in at this time?

If not, how will you get more cars coming in without spending on marketing?


......see where im going with this?

you DONT need to KEEP BUYING THINGS... work on what BRINGS YOU CUSTOMERS while making $$$$:xyxthumbs:
 
The thing that has always KEPT me from opening up a physical shop is the overhead. It really is a brutal weight on any business owners shoulders.

Maybe before doing this you should do some market research, have some successful mobile detailers give your operation and business plan a thorough overlook, then make your decision.

I do about 50/50 mobile service and home garage service, and can tell you for a fact that even if you have a shop people will still cancel for bad weather.

Just make sure you haven't convinced yourself that the grass is greener on the other side.

I do not claim to be the most successful or experienced mobile operator in the land but I would be more than happy to give your mobile operation an overlook, especially the marketing aspect.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AG Online
 
I'm just starting my business. I'm in NY but my rent is less than 400 a month because I got a great deal from a friend. However, I spent a good deal of money making the space look professional- proper lighting, floor, lockable storage cabinets, painting etc.. As others have said factor lights and insurance too.
 
I guess I should ask my question in a more direct way so here it is......

I want to hear success or failure stories from business owners that went from mobile to fixed location (shop). If you went from mobile to fixed location, was it better or worst? Do you regret it or not?

Mobile for me is just not an option anymore. I don't like dealing with too HOT or too COLD weather, (California weather is unpredictable) or finding shade for waxing/ polishing etc... so I saved thousands of dollars sold my rig & now have a nice amount of capital saved for advertising & rent to last me through my first year.

My goal is to work by myself ( a little help from 17yo son) with an income of $300-$700 per day (1-3 cars max).
I want to keep my operation small and focus on paying attention to detail one customer at a time & charge for my one on one service. I plan to charge a little high but provide convenience of free pick up & drop off, or even free loaner car to my clients. (None of this is really free, its just marketing strategy)..

Can anyone give me their story or experience going from mobile to solely fixed location shop??
 
Red Man said:
Mobile for me is just not an option anymore. I don't like dealing with too HOT or too COLD weather, (California weather is unpredictable)
Click to expand...

I used to live in the Bay Area, and my mom lives down between L.A. and S.D. Where in California is the weather so bad?! I wish Virginia was as temperate as California!
 
Just curious, but what would the car insurance premiums be for providing a customer with a loaner car? Anyone do this now? You'd have to insure it as a loaner for your business as the liabilities would be huge.
 
Red Man said:
I want to hear success or failure stories from business owners that went from mobile to fixed location (shop). If you went from mobile to fixed location, was it better or worst? Do you regret it or not? you can search for it too.. or google it

Mobile for me is just not an option anymore. I don't like dealing with too HOT or too COLD weather, (California weather is unpredictable) or finding shade for waxing/ polishing etc... so I saved thousands of dollars sold my rig & now have a nice amount of capital saved for advertising & rent to last me through my first year. how long did you give mobile detailing a try?

My goal is to work by myself ( a little help from 17yo son) with an income of $300-$700 per day (1-3 cars max).
I want to keep my operation small and focus on paying attention to detail one customer at a time & charge for my one on one service. I plan to charge a little high but provide convenience of free pick up & drop off, or even free loaner car to my clients. (None of this is really free, its just marketing strategy).. how do you plan on offering pick up/drop off if it's just you (and you're trying to do 3 cars a day)?

Can anyone give me their story or experience going from mobile to solely fixed location shop??
Click to expand...


usually those that go from mobile to shop have been doing mobile for 3-10 years. they build there clientele base... so when they move into a shop, they already have a bunch of customers rolling through

no one is gonna say "YEAH MAN, THERE'S NO WAY A SHOP CAN FAIL.. DO IT!!"

if you dont prepare correctly and have everything in order.. you'll fail regardless with a shop or mobile

having a shop you can add SO MANY other services/strategy methods to do well
 
Also, the RIGHT customers will see value and pay, screen them and walk from certain jobs if they don't pay your fee.

But good luck with your venture, I personally would find it difficult to go from the quality of details I do, to production detailing and loosing the quality I expect. Shop overhead will be tough, (5-$300) details just to pay for shop rent.[/QUOTE]


Yeah just take a look at the work John does at advanced detailing and he's mobile and it's HOT in South Florida atleast 8 months out of the year. He's working his magic on some serious cars. I doubt many of those owners of exotics are going to drive them to a shop and leave them, also his recent post at the Porsche Dealership wow!

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...nt-jobs-advanced-detailing-south-florida.html
 
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