How to pay employees?? Really no idea on this

[RMarkJr]

Ok, so I am a new business, I am not mobile. I am thinking about getting a mobile unit and letting someone else run it for jobs for me.

My question is how to do you pay someone that you employ?

My thoughts are .. if you do it hourly then what if there isnt many cars to do, be hard to keep someone around wouldnt it? If, hourly what typical is an hourly rate (yes I know it varies by place) min wage ..more than that? I mean each job is going to be a different cost, so if I have a 100 job that should take no more than two hours to do and say I do 10 an hour then he would get 20 and I would get 80. Maybe that seems low?

also if it is a percentage per car again what percent? Say they do a 250 job.. what do they keep out of that?

Should there be any type of bonus per car ... or I was thinking a bonus if they get a 5 star review to keep them trying hard.

soo why am I trying to hire someone to do mobile and me not do it? Well there are several reasons why. I would stay at the shop while I have a team covering the rest of town. Kind of an expansion. With the goal of hiring at least a few people to be mobile. I would probably go with here and there... but issues with overheating and my damn stomach almost make me unreliable driving to places or being there long.

I am not sure what the right way to pay someone would be for this ... percentage of each job? Hourly while on job .. which they could drag it out, so there's that.

What do you all think or do in this situation that have employees? Unfortunately this isnt one of those things I can call around to other detail shops and ask as a customer lol.

Thanks for the help!

 

[custmsprty]

Mobile set ups are not exspensive so why would anyone want to work for percentages or hourly wages when they can work for themselves and keep all the money. Once they figure the gig out they will just go out on their own and go after all the clients they brought in for you off the sweat of their brows, it's what I would do. Sorry, but it's the truth.

You'll need really good insurance too, as they are your employees and you are responsible for them.

If I were you I would focus on how I could drive more business to my shop and expand that. It's a controlled environment where you can over see the quality of your work.

This is a great success story recently posted by another member:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-make-money-detailing-cars/109713-our-1-million-year.html

 

[RMarkJr]

Mobile set ups are not exspensive so why would anyone want to work for percentages or hourly wages when they can work for themselves and keep all the money. Once they figure the gig out they will just go out on their own and go after all the clients they brought in for you off the sweat of their brows, it's what I would do. Sorry, but it's the truth.

You'll need really good insurance too, as they are your employees and you are responsible for them.

If I were you I would focus on how I could drive more business to my shop and expand that. It's a controlled environment where you can over see the quality of your work.

This is a great success story recently posted by another member:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-make-money-detailing-cars/109713-our-1-million-year.html

Thanks for the reply. I actually said to someone if they have all the stuff then they are probably doing it themselves. However not everyone has a van or truck with everything needed.. that can easily add up to thoughsands of dollars. Also there are plenty of places that have mobile services that arent just the owners doing it ... so somehow they have it figured out. I will check that link as well

 

[jsgntulok]

As I read your original post, all sorts of "red flags" went up in my mind. You say you are new in the business. Do you have an accountant? If not, I suggest you consider getting one. When you take on employees, you incur all manner of accounting/tax issues: tax withholding, employer taxes, quarterly reporting of tax withholding, annual issuance and reporting of W-2s, to name a few. Have you considered all this? Since you are new to this business and still building clientele, I agree with custmsprty, concentrate on building up business at your current shop.

 

[RMarkJr]

As I read your original post, all sorts of "red flags" went up in my mind. You say you are new in the business. Do you have an accountant? If not, I suggest you consider getting one. When you take on employees, you incur all manner of accounting/tax issues: tax withholding, employer taxes, quarterly reporting of tax withholding, annual issuance and reporting of W-2s, to name a few. Have you considered all this? Since you are new to this business and still building clientele, I agree with custmsprty, concentrate on building up business at your current shop.

Funny you should mention that ... my Girlfriend actually does accounting work, so I have that covered.

I know the business is new .. but I feel like I could get more business if I was mobile. I figure it would not only get more business but get me out there more and thus grow it more. Thats what I am thinking.

 

[Calendyr]

If your shop is running well, and you want to add a mobile unit, I think you should be the one doing the mobile work. You could hire helpers to do the jobs if there are too many but I would definatelly not give a mobile rig to someone I don't know and have him go to my clients. It is true that it can cost thousands for a van and all the equipment, but someone resourceful could do without it and simply use a car with minimum equipment and undercut you with your clients. I would never take that risk. As for pay, I don't hire people for detailing but if I did, I would very likelly start them off at minimum wage and tell them they would get pay increase as they get better and can do more work in less time. For most business, salary should be about 25% of what the employe generates in revenue. The rest will cover expenses like products, gas, insurrances, and leave you with some profit. If your expenses are super low, you could consider paying a larger share of the profit. It all depends and it's a case by case situation.

What are you charging now at your fixed location? How much are you paying your employees there?

 

[RMarkJr]

If your shop is running well, and you want to add a mobile unit, I think you should be the one doing the mobile work. You could hire helpers to do the jobs if there are too many but I would definatelly not give a mobile rig to someone I don't know and have him go to my clients. It is true that it can cost thousands for a van and all the equipment, but someone resourceful could do without it and simply use a car with minimum equipment and undercut you with your clients. I would never take that risk. As for pay, I don't hire people for detailing but if I did, I would very likelly start them off at minimum wage and tell them they would get pay increase as they get better and can do more work in less time. For most business, salary should be about 25% of what the employe generates in revenue. The rest will cover expenses like products, gas, insurrances, and leave you with some profit. If your expenses are super low, you could consider paying a larger share of the profit. It all depends and it's a case by case situation.

What are you charging now at your fixed location? How much are you paying your employees there?

ya thats true.. now I see that you mention you hire helpers? How to you go about that? do they get a set amount or byt he hour? are considered an employee and are avail when you need them?

also the Business is very very new. I have had so far three total customers within the last two weeks. The first one I waayy undercut myself for a very dirty interior with a spilled shake all over the console. I took it because I didnt have anything else to do and wanted to see if I could get it clean, that was for 100.. The next one I had was a few days ago. That one was a truck. I did a full detail inside and out which included paint decontamination, compound, polish, and sealant. took about 10 hours to do and charged 500 for that one.

as I was finishing up the truck a guy came by and dropped off a pilot for interior only which was really bad, dark stains everywhere. I did that for 250 .. which probably should have been 300.

annnd thats all so far .. I mean I get calls but I dont get a lot of set appointments as of now. I am hoping that the work I do snowballs into more. The guy with the truck I think is going to have me do his wifes car. inside and out ... inside isnt too bad and outside just needs a polish. I quoted 350 ..150 for the interior and 200 for the decontamination, polish, and sealant.

annnd its only me at the shop doing this.

The tough part is that I dont have enough right now to hire someone to be here all the time obviously. But I feel like if I could get out there to them I might be able to get more work. However I do only have a 2015 Honda Accord EXL...and getting a van or truck isnt really an option right now

I thought about seeing if there was any way to get what I needed to at least do the interior of a car loading into my accord ... which I need my steamer(vapor chief 100 refill) and vacuum (6hp). Which means I would need to get a generator. I did my first rinseless wash today on my car and it wasnt too bad .. thought about maybe premixing a rinesless wash and doing the wash on location that way ... I just wouldnt be compounding or polishing on location more than likely .. but again that all depends if I can get it all in my car.


I had a call today and he said location matters... Another call about a week ago that said didn't want to go that far.. Which is the next city over like 15 minutes away.

Also being just me I don't have a pick up and drop off service. I'm not sure how that would work. If I pick it up and work on it for 10 hours doing everything... Well I'm pretty sure they aren't working That long and I'm out of a car until I drop it back off.

 

[sportsfan]

ya thats true.. now I see that you mention you hire helpers? How to you go about that? do they get a set amount or byt he hour? are considered an employee and are avail when you need them?

also the Business is very very new. I have had so far three total customers within the last two weeks. The first one I waayy undercut myself for a very dirty interior with a spilled shake all over the console. I took it because I didnt have anything else to do and wanted to see if I could get it clean, that was for 100.. The next one I had was a few days ago. That one was a truck. I did a full detail inside and out which included paint decontamination, compound, polish, and sealant. took about 10 hours to do and charged 500 for that one.

as I was finishing up the truck a guy came by and dropped off a pilot for interior only which was really bad, dark stains everywhere. I did that for 250 .. which probably should have been 300.

annnd thats all so far .. I mean I get calls but I dont get a lot of set appointments as of now. I am hoping that the work I do snowballs into more. The guy with the truck I think is going to have me do his wifes car. inside and out ... inside isnt too bad and outside just needs a polish. I quoted 350 ..150 for the interior and 200 for the decontamination, polish, and sealant.

annnd its only me at the shop doing this.

The tough part is that I dont have enough right now to hire someone to be here all the time obviously. But I feel like if I could get out there to them I might be able to get more work. However I do only have a 2015 Honda Accord EXL...and getting a van or truck isnt really an option right now

I thought about seeing if there was any way to get what I needed to at least do the interior of a car loading into my accord ... which I need my steamer(vapor chief 100 refill) and vacuum (6hp). Which means I would need to get a generator. I did my first rinseless wash today on my car and it wasnt too bad .. thought about maybe premixing a rinesless wash and doing the wash on location that way ... I just wouldnt be compounding or polishing on location more than likely .. but again that all depends if I can get it all in my car.


I had a call today and he said location matters... Another call about a week ago that said didn't want to go that far.. Which is the next city over like 15 minutes away.

Also being just me I don't have a pick up and drop off service. I'm not sure how that would work. If I pick it up and work on it for 10 hours doing everything... Well I'm pretty sure they aren't working That long and I'm out of a car until I drop it back off.

I'm confused:
A. You just started a business.
B. You've had 3 customers total from the LAST 2 WEEKS!
C. And now you want start a new mobile unit business.
D. But you don't have a truck/van and you don't have the cash flow needed to buy one? So I'm assuming your going to use your personal vehicle?
E. Also, everyone tried to steered you away from hiring someone to do mobile because they could run off with your clients. But you said that they wouldn't because it would take thousands to set up a truck/van...although you currently don't have a truck/van to use.
F. Lastly, a question. Do you have at least two sets of everything? Considering that you will have a mobile truck and you will be at the shop.

Also, why are you so interested in hiring someone?? You don't have enough work. I noticed Calendyr's post picked your interest by using a "helper" instead of having a permanent employee.

I'm sorry if I came across as rude. It is not my intention. I tried to word things differently but I can see that I probably failed miserably. Again I'm sorry!

Maybe I'm missing something. But based on my quick summary above it doesn't make any sense to start a mobile unit or hire anyone for that matter. Everyone hit the nail on the head. Just concentrate on your current business venture grow. You are small business owner... you have to be super laser focus on your current business strategy.

I know working for your own is VERY SCARY and Overwhelming! But I feel like you should concentrate on your current "shop" strategy.

if after a few months this strategy is not working out then try the mobile side of it. Build yourself a good customer base and then set up a shop after you have a good customer base. Obviously you'll have customers that will not follow you to the shop and would prefer the convince of having someone come to them. Then you could hire someone to do those customers by having a mobile unit. Just a thought.

 

[Heisenberg]

Do you work a 9-5 or anything in addition to this or is it your primary source of income? You said you have a shop? If you've only had 3 customers in the last two weeks what has stopped you from just taking the mobile appointments and going to them anyway?

 

[RMarkJr]

Do you work a 9-5 or anything in addition to this or is it your primary source of income? You said you have a shop? If you've only had 3 customers in the last two weeks what has stopped you from just taking the mobile appointments and going to them anyway?

Right now I am on a leave till August 1st.

I guess whats stopped me is that I started off thinking I was going to do the shop for a bit and then grow into the mobile. However weeks of advertising isnt really paying off. So now I am thinking that mobile might make me a little more accessible and get more jobs.

Second part to that is that I really only have a honda accord right now. I am trying to decide if I have room for my rigid 4 gal vacuum and a generator needed. If I could get my steamer in there that would be great. I could get the rest of the chemicals and bottles in there easily.... but thats only if I want to do interiors only

If I was going to do the outside of the car then I would have no choice but to do a rinesless wash .. so now I would need to have two 5 gallon buckets of water to fit in the car with the other stuff... that might be pushing it for space.

just trying logistics out a little bit and thinking what I can do to get more business, either by me doing it or someone else doing it... if i could do it for a bit .. fine I`ll do that. Just something to get me out there more and to get known and more customers.

 

[RMarkJr]

I'm confused:
A. You just started a business.
B. You've had 3 customers total from the LAST 2 WEEKS!
C. And now you want start a new mobile unit business.
D. But you don't have a truck/van and you don't have the cash flow needed to buy one? So I'm assuming your going to use your personal vehicle?
E. Also, everyone tried to steered you away from hiring someone to do mobile because they could run off with your clients. But you said that they wouldn't because it would take thousands to set up a truck/van...although you currently don't have a truck/van to use.
F. Lastly, a question. Do you have at least two sets of everything? Considering that you will have a mobile truck and you will be at the shop.

Also, why are you so interested in hiring someone?? You don't have enough work. I noticed Calendyr's post picked your interest by using a "helper" instead of having a permanent employee.

I'm sorry if I came across as rude. It is not my intention. I tried to word things differently but I can see that I probably failed miserably. Again I'm sorry!

Maybe I'm missing something. But based on my quick summary above it doesn't make any sense to start a mobile unit or hire anyone for that matter. Everyone hit the nail on the head. Just concentrate on your current business venture grow. You are small business owner... you have to be super laser focus on your current business strategy.

I know working for your own is VERY SCARY and Overwhelming! But I feel like you should concentrate on your current "shop" strategy.

if after a few months this strategy is not working out then try the mobile side of it. Build yourself a good customer base and then set up a shop after you have a good customer base. Obviously you'll have customers that will not follow you to the shop and would prefer the convince of having someone come to them. Then you could hire someone to do those customers by having a mobile unit. Just a thought.

A. You just started a business.
yep

B. You've had 3 customers total from the LAST 2 WEEKS!
thats true and thats what I want to improve on and get out there more.

C. And now you want start a new mobile unit business.
Well more of an extension of the current business, again to get out there more and be more accessible

D. But you don't have a truck/van and you don't have the cash flow needed to buy one? So I'm assuming your going to use your personal vehicle?
If thats an option with an accord then yes thats how I will have to start out until I can work up to a small a van or truck.

E. Also, everyone tried to steered you away from hiring someone to do mobile because they could run off with your clients. But you said that they wouldn't because it would take thousands to set up a truck/van...although you currently don't have a truck/van to use.
If I really really had to or wanted to I guess I could get another loan and get something to go mobile with. however that would really only be if I hired someone to do that side of it. If its just going to be me I am going to have to try and figure out a way to do it out of the accord for the time being.

F. Lastly, a question. Do you have at least two sets of everything? Considering that you will have a mobile truck and you will be at the shop.
at the moment no.. but can I get another vacuum, brushes, bottles, towels, and etc? yes. Those I could get real soon and the cost wouldnt be all that much. I probably wouldnt get a second steamer until it picked up enough to know that I needed two of them. Again thats if I found someone to do the mobile side. If its just me .. I got everything I need to do a car. All 10 grand worth of stuff.

 

[Heisenberg]

I do this part-time; I schedule everything around my normal job. If someone asks if I'm mobile, I tell them sure, as long as you have water and power available. IMO, you're hurting yourself a lot by not taking jobs if you already have the time and the availability. I can pack 3 buckets, the same rigid vacuum, my pressure washer, my four polishers and all my interior/exterior tools/chemicals/towels in an Acura TSX, which I believe has roughly the same space as an Accord.

I think you should focus on getting customers and building a client base with your current setup before you consider hiring anyone. It will be extremely difficult to find a quality employee that is willing to deal with the growing pains of a startup business. Plus, you would really be walking a razor thin line if you expect to find a quality employee, train them, get set up for mobile work and also somehow find enough jobs to fill both of your schedules immediately. But that's just my take on it. I'm a pretty risk-averse person.

 

[custmsprty]

:iagree: :dblthumb2:

With no revenue stream how can you afford to hire an employee? What about benefits for them?

You would need enough work in the pipeline to keep them busy 5 days a week on mobile jobs.

The attraction of a mobile set up is the low cost to entry vs a shop where you have rent, utilities etc which are fixed costs.

My observation over the years on this forum is that most of the people who have built successful detailing business started off with mobile vs a shop with the associated costs that comes with it.

And let's not forget a lot of blood sweat an tears.

It takes years to develop a reputation like many of the amazing full time professional detailers who post here. I won't mention them by name so as not to forget someone.

 

[Calendyr]

ya thats true.. now I see that you mention you hire helpers? How to you go about that? do they get a set amount or byt he hour? are considered an employee and are avail when you need them?

also the Business is very very new. I have had so far three total customers within the last two weeks. The first one I waayy undercut myself for a very dirty interior with a spilled shake all over the console. I took it because I didnt have anything else to do and wanted to see if I could get it clean, that was for 100.. The next one I had was a few days ago. That one was a truck. I did a full detail inside and out which included paint decontamination, compound, polish, and sealant. took about 10 hours to do and charged 500 for that one.

as I was finishing up the truck a guy came by and dropped off a pilot for interior only which was really bad, dark stains everywhere. I did that for 250 .. which probably should have been 300.

annnd thats all so far .. I mean I get calls but I dont get a lot of set appointments as of now. I am hoping that the work I do snowballs into more. The guy with the truck I think is going to have me do his wifes car. inside and out ... inside isnt too bad and outside just needs a polish. I quoted 350 ..150 for the interior and 200 for the decontamination, polish, and sealant.

annnd its only me at the shop doing this.

The tough part is that I dont have enough right now to hire someone to be here all the time obviously. But I feel like if I could get out there to them I might be able to get more work. However I do only have a 2015 Honda Accord EXL...and getting a van or truck isnt really an option right now

I thought about seeing if there was any way to get what I needed to at least do the interior of a car loading into my accord ... which I need my steamer(vapor chief 100 refill) and vacuum (6hp). Which means I would need to get a generator. I did my first rinseless wash today on my car and it wasnt too bad .. thought about maybe premixing a rinesless wash and doing the wash on location that way ... I just wouldnt be compounding or polishing on location more than likely .. but again that all depends if I can get it all in my car.


I had a call today and he said location matters... Another call about a week ago that said didn't want to go that far.. Which is the next city over like 15 minutes away.

Also being just me I don't have a pick up and drop off service. I'm not sure how that would work. If I pick it up and work on it for 10 hours doing everything... Well I'm pretty sure they aren't working That long and I'm out of a car until I drop it back off.

Ok... where to start?

First off, it is very difficult in this business to get clients. Are you renting a commercial space or are you doing this out of your home garage? Because if you are renting a commercial space and on only have had a handful of clients so far, you definatelly can't afford to pay employes, nor be on the road with a mobile unit.

If you are doing this out of your own home garage, then yes, a mobile unit would give you flexibility. Many detailers have started out of a car. So the trick here is to only bring what you need for the detail. It's harder than using a van but it can definatelly be done.

If I were you, I would forget about hiring someone. You will need every penny you can make until you have a good amount of customers coming in. I would only think about hiring someone went you feel you are getting more work than you can handle, or if people are complaining about you taking too long to do the work.

What I can tell you about being mobile is that it's not such an advantage. Regardless of the fact it is said pretty much everywhere on my website that I offer a mobile service, people call me wanting to bring me their car. And when I say to them that I do not have a garage and that my service is mobile, I would say that about 75% of them don't want this. Now this might be a specific problem to the city I live in. Most people park on the streets and have neither a private parking or a garage. But still, it's fricking annoying to me. So be happy you have a garage, it's much easier to get customers that way. And you can control the environment to do the work in.

You will have to concentrate on getting calls for now. So anything you can do to increase exposure of your business is good. You might want to distribute business cards, make promotionnal leaflets for the area close to your shop and so on. If you don't have a website that should be your top priority.

 

[Calendyr]

Right now I am on a leave till August 1st.

I guess whats stopped me is that I started off thinking I was going to do the shop for a bit and then grow into the mobile. However weeks of advertising isnt really paying off. So now I am thinking that mobile might make me a little more accessible and get more jobs.

Second part to that is that I really only have a honda accord right now. I am trying to decide if I have room for my rigid 4 gal vacuum and a generator needed. If I could get my steamer in there that would be great. I could get the rest of the chemicals and bottles in there easily.... but thats only if I want to do interiors only

If I was going to do the outside of the car then I would have no choice but to do a rinesless wash .. so now I would need to have two 5 gallon buckets of water to fit in the car with the other stuff... that might be pushing it for space.

just trying logistics out a little bit and thinking what I can do to get more business, either by me doing it or someone else doing it... if i could do it for a bit .. fine I`ll do that. Just something to get me out there more and to get known and more customers.

When I started out, I used my Hyundai Accent Hatchback for the first year. I could fit all I needed in there. It was a very tight fit but it's possible. First, you don't need a generator. You need a long extension cord or two. I suggest a 100 foot extension and a 50 foot extension as your basic setup. With that you can hook up to the client's house in 99% of cases.

Second, you don"t need 5 gallons bucket. They are nice but if you have to do it out of a car, 2 or 3 gallons bucket are much smaller and will do the job. If you do want to use 5 gallon buckets, you can stack them and fill the top one with tools and products, they become a storage unit while you are in transit.

For the pressure washer, you can get very small units that fit easilly in cars. My first PW was from Walmart, I think the brand was greenworks, I can't recall.... anyway it was about 1/3 the size of my current unit. 1600 PSI and it worked great for 2 years. I would probably still have it if I had not left it in the truck on a night where temperature went bellow freezing and the next morning it had a huge leak anytime I hooked up a hose to it so I had to throw it away. But since I had purchased it for 48$ on special (half price), it wasn't a huge hit on the wallet

So, all and all, I still don't know if you have a commercial shop or home garage but going to customer's houses is not as complicated as you seems to think. Just needs a little planning for the room in the car. Remember you can put equipment and products in the trunk, backseats and frontseat. So there is plenty of room in there.

 

[RMarkJr]

Ok... where to start?

First off, it is very difficult in this business to get clients. Are you renting a commercial space or are you doing this out of your home garage? Because if you are renting a commercial space and on only have had a handful of clients so far, you definatelly can't afford to pay employes, nor be on the road with a mobile unit.

If you are doing this out of your own home garage, then yes, a mobile unit would give you flexibility. Many detailers have started out of a car. So the trick here is to only bring what you need for the detail. It's harder than using a van but it can definatelly be done.

If I were you, I would forget about hiring someone. You will need every penny you can make until you have a good amount of customers coming in. I would only think about hiring someone went you feel you are getting more work than you can handle, or if people are complaining about you taking too long to do the work.

What I can tell you about being mobile is that it's not such an advantage. Regardless of the fact it is said pretty much everywhere on my website that I offer a mobile service, people call me wanting to bring me their car. And when I say to them that I do not have a garage and that my service is mobile, I would say that about 75% of them don't want this. Now this might be a specific problem to the city I live in. Most people park on the streets and have neither a private parking or a garage. But still, it's fricking annoying to me. So be happy you have a garage, it's much easier to get customers that way. And you can control the environment to do the work in.

You will have to concentrate on getting calls for now. So anything you can do to increase exposure of your business is good. You might want to distribute business cards, make promotionnal leaflets for the area close to your shop and so on. If you don't have a website that should be your top priority.

Thanks for the reply.

I should have been a bit clearer .. shop is a 3 car garage here at the house. The plus side is that its a nice house in a real nice neighborhood. Then down side is that no one is really driving by and seeing that its a business.

I have business cards and a website up along with google adwords express. I have not done flyers or leaflets.

 

[RMarkJr]

When I started out, I used my Hyundai Accent Hatchback for the first year. I could fit all I needed in there. It was a very tight fit but it's possible. First, you don't need a generator. You need a long extension cord or two. I suggest a 100 foot extension and a 50 foot extension as your basic setup. With that you can hook up to the client's house in 99% of cases.

Second, you don"t need 5 gallons bucket. They are nice but if you have to do it out of a car, 2 or 3 gallons bucket are much smaller and will do the job. If you do want to use 5 gallon buckets, you can stack them and fill the top one with tools and products, they become a storage unit while you are in transit.

For the pressure washer, you can get very small units that fit easilly in cars. My first PW was from Walmart, I think the brand was greenworks, I can't recall.... anyway it was about 1/3 the size of my current unit. 1600 PSI and it worked great for 2 years. I would probably still have it if I had not left it in the truck on a night where temperature went bellow freezing and the next morning it had a huge leak anytime I hooked up a hose to it so I had to throw it away. But since I had purchased it for 48$ on special (half price), it wasn't a huge hit on the wallet

So, all and all, I still don't know if you have a commercial shop or home garage but going to customer's houses is not as complicated as you seems to think. Just needs a little planning for the room in the car. Remember you can put equipment and products in the trunk, backseats and frontseat. So there is plenty of room in there.

today I went to lowes and I bought a greenworks electric 1600 psi pressure washer that is small enough to fit on the floor board. Probably the same one you had actually from what it sounds like.

I also fit my vacuum, and three 5 gallon buckets of water in the trunk and went on a test drive to see how stable it was. It seemed pretty good. I filled them with water just to see about how it would be because I am sure that there are going to times where I dont have access to a water spout and will use the water in the buckets for a rinesless wash.

I do have a few extension cords I could take with me.

In my area there are a lot of houses/apartments. There isn't really a lot of places where people park on the streets like in bigger cities, except downtown .. but that's a pretty small area.

I am in Springfield Mo. So its not a big city feel like New York or anything.

I have thought about flyers ... but I am not real sure where I would put them or what to do with them honestly.

 

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Mobile set ups are not exspensive so why would anyone want to work for percentages or hourly wages when they can work for themselves and keep all the money. Once they figure the gig out they will just go out on their own and go after all the clients they brought in for you off the sweat of their brows, it's what I would do. Sorry, but it's the truth.

You'll need really good insurance too, as they are your employees and you are responsible for them.

If I were you I would focus on how I could drive more business to my shop and expand that. It's a controlled environment where you can over see the quality of your work.

This is a great success story recently posted by another member:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-make-money-detailing-cars/109713-our-1-million-year.html

Id have to say mobile set up expense would definitely be relative. A 10k full set up to some isn't bad where a $500 bare minimum set up to others may be something they have to go borrow money for. I can see how it can be argued they could take their first couple pay checks and buy a bare minimum set up - but theres SO much more behind actually running a business, or being self employed. That being said, selecting the right person/people is super important.

After having read this whole thread though - I definitely agree an employee isn't what is needed for the OP at this point in time and focusing on actually having some cars to work on should be the goal.

BTW, thanks for posting that link to the success story. Thats great to see and I'm in a very similar situation as that poster. I'm not to the 7 figure mark like he is, but we're sure as hell pushing for it!

:iagree: :dblthumb2:

With no revenue stream how can you afford to hire an employee? What about benefits for them?

You would need enough work in the pipeline to keep them busy 5 days a week on mobile jobs.

The attraction of a mobile set up is the low cost to entry vs a shop where you have rent, utilities etc which are fixed costs.

My observation over the years on this forum is that most of the people who have built successful detailing business started off with mobile vs a shop with the associated costs that comes with it.

And let's not forget a lot of blood sweat an tears.

It takes years to develop a reputation like many of the amazing full time professional detailers who post here. I won't mention them by name so as not to forget someone.

All this is very true. We started mobile, with a beat up 96' Ford Taurus, cramming all our gear into it trying to just make a few bucks. As you stated, it took a long time to build a client base (and realize how important things like keeping their info, keeping in contact with them and repeat business is!) It also took us a long time to be able to charge a premium. While Im all for detailers charging their worth - I do have a bit of an issue with brand new detailers wanting to charge premium prices. I think you build up to that and as your skill builds so does your billing.

The blood sweat and tears part....bro, no lie there! That's all a part of the life and anything you're passionate about though.

Ok, so I am a new business, I am not mobile. I am thinking about getting a mobile unit and letting someone else run it for jobs for me.

My question is how to do you pay someone that you employ?

My thoughts are .. if you do it hourly then what if there isnt many cars to do, be hard to keep someone around wouldnt it? If, hourly what typical is an hourly rate (yes I know it varies by place) min wage ..more than that? I mean each job is going to be a different cost, so if I have a 100 job that should take no more than two hours to do and say I do 10 an hour then he would get 20 and I would get 80. Maybe that seems low?

also if it is a percentage per car again what percent? Say they do a 250 job.. what do they keep out of that?

Should there be any type of bonus per car ... or I was thinking a bonus if they get a 5 star review to keep them trying hard.

soo why am I trying to hire someone to do mobile and me not do it? Well there are several reasons why. I would stay at the shop while I have a team covering the rest of town. Kind of an expansion. With the goal of hiring at least a few people to be mobile. I would probably go with here and there... but issues with overheating and my damn stomach almost make me unreliable driving to places or being there long.

I am not sure what the right way to pay someone would be for this ... percentage of each job? Hourly while on job .. which they could drag it out, so there's that.

What do you all think or do in this situation that have employees? Unfortunately this isnt one of those things I can call around to other detail shops and ask as a customer lol.

Thanks for the help!

As many others have said - I definitely think your focus should be on building a client base right now. A lot of detailers make the mistake of pushing their money into a new polisher or new product when they should be either saving it or pushing it into marketing. You should also work on a marketing strategy - not just throwing your money into ad's and hoping it works.

Detailing is kinda nice and gives instant gratification. Building a business isn't quite that simple though. It takes a lot of mental work, focus, planning, PRIORITIZING and dedication. You may not see results in a week or a month or you may just tread water even - but it has to be consistent. Where I use to watch videos on detailing I now watch videos on marketing and business. Its not as fun admittedly, but it's necessary if i want to continue to move forward.

 

[PouncingPanzer]

Flat rate takes people's souls, if I wasn't hourly I wouldn't detail. What if there isn't any cars?