Heres how I started out...
I got my car in Feb. 2003. Pretty much my whole neighborhood knew I was obsessed with keeping my car clean. My whole school knew how OCD I was about it. The neighbors would see me out there washing it once a week. Then my mom met a lady who details cars full time. I forget when this was, probably in 04 or 05, but she said she would be willing to teach me some things and hire me to help her out. That didnt work out, but I did learn a lot. So I went from there and used what I learned on my own car. I basically just took care of my car and parents cars. Then I joined AG in 2006, learned even more, and bought some real products. At that time I also started detailing. My first summer starting the real "business" was last summer. I did my neighbors cars, they loved them and got me more business. My mom passed the word on to people she knew. They brought their cars to me and passed the word on. I passed out maybe 20 flyers in the neighborhood. In a little less then 3 months I had done 15 cars and averaged about $166 per car. Taking 2 days per car. Theres no reason for me to rush.
From day one, to my last car, my skills progressed amazingly. I learned new techniques and was introduced to new products that made the job so much easier. I didnt start out doing simple washes and waxes. I started out with the PC and good products.
For this summer Ive ordered probably another $400 worth of products, made a website, and will pass out more then 20 flyers. Im hoping to get twice as many cars in this summer.
My recommendation to you is do whatever you can to get the word around. Even if it means doing some cars for free. SHOW them, dont tell them why they should come to you. Be professional and do the job right, dont cut corners. You have no idea whos watching you while you detail someones car. It could be your next customer, or someone who will bad mouth you because of something they saw you do. Location also has A LOT to do with it. Its also important to keep your own car clean, thats the main reason I got started.