Is it lucrative?

2K4CE

2K4CE

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Mobile service, that is.

The wife is totally not on board for even part time because she doesn't believe it can be. - And I know we're talking a ton of variables here. Volume, products, clientele, climate, and geographical factors.

The only information I have to go from is salary ranges for employees of detailing shops, but not the kind of income mobile brings to the single entrepreneur who is "reasonably successful" after having a setup for 2-3 years.


I'm not looking for the next get-rich-quick. Just a get-comfortable in a reasonable amount of time while doing something you enjoy kind of thing.

Feed back please
 
I can say that starting off with zero capital like I did is very difficult and not that lucrative but if you have a decent marketing budget and think creatively you can make some real good money being mobile. The hard part is finding your niche market in a sea of wash and wax detailers. You pretty much have to convince people that they need to pay for your service and have something to convince them with. Don't be afraid to do the dirty work. I rely on fleet work to fill the gaps between higher end correction jobs and that brings on some real dirty trucks, buses and just some real grunt type jobs. I think if I had it to do all over I would have set things up to do 90% wash and wax work and offered paint corrections from time to time.

Next Tuesday I begin gearing my van up for the spring season in where I will be marketing the wash and wax service. I suggest that you look at Renny Doyle and his "detailing success" forum, become a forum member and ask many questions. Don't be afraid to spend some money for his literature. This will be my next step as I have been convinced that it will be very helpful to me to do so. Good luck.
 
Do you have have spare time on your weekends? If so I think it might be more reasonable to start small. As small as you can get I suppose, and build a clientele base. Do that for awhile and see how things go. Then take things into consideration. The demand for the service in the area you will be working with and the profitability (your hourly charge less cost of products). Build a balance sheet or income statement. Use those two statements to project to your spouse the advantages of mobile detailing (or even out of your own home).
 
My weekends are nothing but spare time. I'll have to do more research on insurance and such to determine if the weekend details can even pay for the insurance... And figure out how to put detailing supplies in the back of a corvette! :rofl:
 
Insurance sure is a great idea when you get to the point where you have a bigger clientele. I think you should start within your social network, family, friends, or coworkers. In my opinion, that is your safe bet prior to moving onto clientele outside of your social network. After working withing your social network, you should be able to get an idea of where you stand financial (income, expense and time).
 
Thank you very much for your input.
 
No problem. I am planning to do the same starting next March. Except that I will be working and going to school. I will be trying to get a small clientele within my social network and possibly work through their social network by word of mouth. Oh! Before I forget mention, you should build a working portfolio of the Before and After shots. I think that (assuming that you don't have years of experience) it will be a good reference of your work. We all know that our hobby/profession is all about the visual. Good luck with your business!
 
I plan on it! I'm doing my first paid job this weekend on a 2004 Toyota Avalon that has been washed with nothing but a home depot orange sponge and dish detergent...

Hope I have enough 105 left.:buffing:
 
I worked for a very successful mobil detailer back in 2000 and 2001. Unfortunately, the way we made money was with high volume, and mostly washes. We would charge $25 for a hand wash, interior vacuum and wipedown, wheel wash and tire shine and windows. We started by going to local stock broker firms (this was during the end of the boom so it is much different now) and pitching to them. We would do about 10-20 cars at each location and we would try to upsell waxes, and full details. If we were lucky, we could stay at one place with 15 car washes and 1-2 details with a wax thrown in here and there. Fridays were the day to do it since everyone wanted thier cars cleaned for the weekend. If you are going to be going fromo house to house on a saturday, you would obviously have to be doing details in order to make any money. I think it owuld be much easier to have full service of washes and waxes as well as details in order to keep your business going. Making a maintenance program is a way to get a customer and KEEP a customer.
 
You need proper equipment, proper knowledge and a promotions budget. You need to get a vehicle wrap if you want to Launch Quick and create an image like you are an upstanding, well managed professional company that has had a business for awhile. We once changed are phone number and wrapped two vehcles the same weekend. By wed of the following week we had 46 inquiries (Double what we had ever had from doing Month Long Advertising buys).
 
My $0.02-
Make sure you have enough money for a significant initial investment if possible. When I started I bought:
- PC 7424
- Edge 2000 buffing kit
- Meguiar's 80's series
- a few other necessaries

I did not spend enough time promoting my business and working to KEEP customers. For this reason, I barely made enough money to pay off all my equipment and products. Therefore, I never really made anything.

The other problem: I invested only enough money for a small amount of a few of the products I really needed. Therefore, the more details I do the more money I have to spend to keep my supply of products replenished.

Fast forward 2 years: Besides for in-laws, I currently have 1 (count them: 1) regular customer. From what I learned I am doing everything I can to keep this customer and promote my business through word of mouth. Hopefully I will soon gain a few customers and be able to actually make some money using what I learned here.

However you decide to do it, be passionate about it! Hopefully you won't make the same mistakes I did. Mike Phillips has created a great resource here in How-To articles for making money detailing. Use them. I wish I had his advice when I started.
 
I just started three months ago. I had to convince my wife also. It wasn't easy and I still have days that she questions what I'm doing.

My setup is very basic for wash, vac and wax at any location. I bring my own water and power supply and when I approach a customer I'm professional looking and acting. I do a very comprehensive job for every customer and that has inturn kept them as repeat customers that tell their friends about me. I'm making about $500 a week busting my butt and working it like a full time job. I usually get about 30 hours a week worth of work. The other 10 hours is spent knocking on business doors or maintaining my equipment and such. I take sundays and mondays off but thats about to change. I'm trying to get in a spot at a local golf course for sunday mornings. Potentially my biggest day of the week, excluding the bigger wax jobs, since I don't have to break down and move to a different location after every car. My short term goal is a regular $700 a week paycheck after expenses. My hard work has proven to my wife this is a good job for me with ample opportunity to grow even more. I haven't missed a soccor game this year and I'm always available for family functions. Something that wasn't true when I worked in management for corporate America. I'm a much nicer person to be around since I've become self employed and got rid of the work related stress in my life.

One more thing about the amount I make each week. $500 to 700 a week might not seem like much to some of you but where I live, the amount of bills we have and the size town I'm working in has alot to do with that. $500 a week pays the bills and there is a little left over for eating out or putting back some for Christmas. YMMV. Long term goal Is $1000 a week working 40-45 hours maybe a little more.

Go for it dude. If you want it you can make it happen but it does require hard work and probably a truck or van to be self sufficient and truely mobile.
 
mpm said:
I just started three months ago. I had to convince my wife also. It wasn't easy and I still have days that she questions what I'm doing.

My setup is very basic for wash, vac and wax at any location. I bring my own water and power supply and when I approach a customer I'm professional looking and acting. I do a very comprehensive job for every customer and that has inturn kept them as repeat customers that tell their friends about me. I'm making about $500 a week busting my butt and working it like a full time job. I usually get about 30 hours a week worth of work. The other 10 hours is spent knocking on business doors or maintaining my equipment and such. I take sundays and mondays off but thats about to change. I'm trying to get in a spot at a local golf course for sunday mornings. Potentially my biggest day of the week, excluding the bigger wax jobs, since I don't have to break down and move to a different location after every car. My short term goal is a regular $700 a week paycheck after expenses. My hard work has proven to my wife this is a good job for me with ample opportunity to grow even more. I haven't missed a soccor game this year and I'm always available for family functions. Something that wasn't true when I worked in management for corporate America. I'm a much nicer person to be around since I've become self employed and got rid of the work related stress in my life.

One more thing about the amount I make each week. $500 to 700 a week might not seem like much to some of you but where I live, the amount of bills we have and the size town I'm working in has alot to do with that. $500 a week pays the bills and there is a little left over for eating out or putting back some for Christmas. YMMV. Long term goal Is $1000 a week working 40-45 hours maybe a little more.

Go for it dude. If you want it you can make it happen but it does require hard work and probably a truck or van to be self sufficient and truely mobile.
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I'd say that you are doing well for only being in it for 3 months. Do you live in a warm climate where winter won't be an issue? Keep up the good work and I'm glad to read that your life has improved so much. Good job keeping with what's most important. Inspiring reply!!
 
I live just east of Birmingham in Alabama. Winters will cause some issues but I feel I can work thru them. ONR will be my new best friend.

I have come to realize that you can accomplish most anything you want to as long as your reasonable and practical about what you want to accomplish. Once you reach those goals you can set some more.
 
I just started a mobile detailing business here in portland oregon. I'm lucky that my wife supports me. It's hard no doubt about that but if you want it enough you can get it. Well... and if you work hard enough. I figure if I can make it through the winter cold months and make money doing it then I can make anytime and anywhere. I started it all with 1000 and haven't borrowed anymore. Wish you and me luck man!
 
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