OK, how do I get work?

The dealer cars are new, either salesman demo or loaned to customer while theirs is serviced, so they are not in bad shape. Now my customer cars I spend 5-7 hours on.
 
You gotta get accounts. That's the best way to jump start. If you only want 1 a week....then maybe that's not the best method for you. 1 a week should be obtainable through friends, family, etc. Sometimes it's not.

If you really want to kick start your business...I say hit up dealerships, auction guys, or any business with a large amount of vehicles. Offer a good discount, and let them keep you busy. Personal vehicles will come with time.

I started out with government accounts, local police, dealerships, etc. That was years ago. Now I'm strictly retail.
 
Hey guys been a while since i last posted!!! But its because i been super busy with my new detailing business !! Its been quite successful in a short amount of time. I do at least 3 complete details at my shop per day with 1 helper . Not to mention the quick washes and wax jobs that come in. I figured this post was the perfect one to chime in on. Heres what i did to spread the word.

FB Page

Website

Ad in local smart shopper

I also leave 5 business cards in every car i detail... i usually write on the back of one " Thank you for the business" Then sign it .

I detailed 3 friends cars for 10.00 per hour . I did it cheap for them so that they could spread the word for me and and review me on yelp.com and some other local search sites.

Look professional , tuck in your shirt , speak with confidence , YOU are the expert. Sorry for the ramble but i thought it could be helpful.
 
if you have about $50 for advertising, use that and start an Adwords account. You can set a daily budget. It will definitely get your phone ringing.
 
david11g35 said:
Word of Mouth.
I do this as a hobby on the weekends and I been busy for the last 2months. I just posted my work on FB then friends contacted me then they refer other people. For me one or two cars per weekend is good since its a hobby I like the challenge and the extra cash never hurts.
Click to expand...

this is exactly what i have, i am fortunate to work in sales so doing my coworkers cars at a little bit of a discount spreads word really fast. i am booked through august with 1-2 cars a weekend, and its a mixed bag of work, some cars are 2-3 hours others are 2 full days. Website is next for me but i havent had the time to build it
 
tampatopless said:
Word of mouth is the best marketing. This works well at office buildings, especially when you are set up and people come by and notice your work. Be careful of dealing with landlords and management companies. We don't allow it on any of our properties.

I would also go into rich neighborhoods, look for people with dirty cars and knock on doors.

Neither one of these costs a thing, except time.

Lastly, a one-page website will cost you about $50 a year. Just make it one page with a few pix, phone number, email and packages menu.

If AutoGeek were really saavy, it would host a domain service for detailers. Servers are so cheap these days. If AutoGeek didn't want to partition off part of its existing IS infrastructure, it could buy a separate server. Hell, that's all residual income and pure profit after a couple of months.

Many of these domain-hosting services are such rip-offs. My sister has a lawn-care company and both Verizon and ATT took her to the cleaners. This would be a service and company that auto detailers could trust. I bet that all most of the detailers want is an Internet presence that doesn't cost a whole lot.
Click to expand...

I like that idea of hosting detail websites- :xyxthumbs:
 
business is business
and u can never start from 100%
u start from 0%
which is when u still dont have anything
then u start buying items u need for this business
and make sure first u have the right place to put cars for polishing a garage that is only for you

then have a big organised closet to put all products
then purchase all products u think u need them for detailing
after that u can start by first doing some few cars like yours your friends cars (and thats before ads)
when u get to know and work on most types of paint and remove defects from all of them - here u got the experience

then start spreading fliers and ads through the net or car shows and anywhere

of course once u get known people will start calling and u need to schedule for services at this moment u will need a co worker helping u - u can get a co worker from the beggining if u can afford it

and thats it with time goes by your business will grow more and more
 
Just to chime in, I started doing friends and family's cars then when they know someone who was looking to have their car detailed the said "Hey I know someone who does great work" and either they call me or I get the phone number to contact that person. It's just snowballed from there.
 
Easiest thing to do is the following. Facebook page free. Make a good logo and business name then plaster iit everywhere. I did this for the first company I started and found it is cheaper to pay a fine than advertising :D. I would make up price lists. Approach local rental car agencies car dealerships are a huge must and fleet companies offer to do a free vehicle to anyone who shows interest. Pm me if you want ore help
 
As a follow up to my thread, it seems my ads on Craigslist are working. I'm averaging 1 car a week, (which is what I want) but would do 2 if need be.

I'm finding out how hard the work actually is, and really don't want to do more than 1-2 per week. I don't think my body could withstand much more. (I'm 49 with a questionable back and shoulder)

So for now I'm happy, and it can hopefully I can maintain 1-2 cars per week for extra cash. I work a night job at a grocery store, so doing this full time is out of the question.

Most of my jobs need to be done before I go into work at night, so needless to say, I'm extremely tired by the end of the day. Anyway, thanks for all of the suggestions so far.
 
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