starting detailing for money, some questions

sunstealth

sunstealth

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I am starting a little business (i hope to get growing) but i still have a couple questions like:

I would like to be able to do some kind of mobile service, would it be better to inform the customer I would need to use a water tap and electricity from them or should i use my own ( keeping in mind I drive a convertible car for supply transport)

what do you think about giving the option to come at my home garage for more in depth correction ?

lastly it will not be a full blown business but a one or 2 cars a week (good week i MAY do 3) thing since i already work 7 days a week at my job (but only 40 hours)

thank you for the answers!

Mario.
 
It's going be very hard for you to supply water and electricity with a convertible. Since your only going 2-3 car a week, I would suggest they either drop it off at your place. Or you can tell them I can go to you but I need water and electricity. A lot of people don't mind you using their elec/water. I would only buy a water tank or power supply if you have a lot of client.

I'm trying to start my own detailing business this year. I already have a few people waiting till the weather is nice, for me to detail their cars. Best thing for us starting is word of mouth. If you provide excellent work, you should be able to be busy all week.

Good luck with your side gig!
 
I have my own side business as well and I offer mobile detailing but I let them know that water and electricity needs to be supplied. I do not have a water tank set up or a generator. Of course with the rinseless washes that are out there now such as ONR you can get away with (most of the time) not having running water. You'd just need to pick up a couple gallons of distilled water at your local store for your 2 bucket method with ONR. Or you can go with a completely waterless system which has come up in discussions a lot lately (I've yet to try this method out). But I always ensure there is at least electricity.

Like slick said most people don't mind you using their water and electricity as your doing them a favor by coming to their home.
 
I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but just something you might think about if you are detailing at your house. I don't know where you live, but in some places you can get in a lot of trouble for operating a business out of your home. This can vary from zoning to licensing to EPA issues. You can also run into similar issues if you are doing mobile detailing. Just something to think about...I personally dislike visits from Code Enforcement officials....
 
First I personally think that having your own water tank and generator is overkill, at least for most detailers. Unless you are going to a business to detail, which from my research a lot of businesses don't want to let you do this, there is just no need. I don't do a ton of mobile work, but I have never had a customer have an issue with me using their water and electricity. Yes you need to tell them up front, but I can't think of why it would be an issue, unless of course you are going to an apartment complex. Like I said thats just my opinion and my experiences.

As far as taking the car to your home that is perfectly fine. Thats how I do almost all of my details. At my house in my garage. Just make sure that a customer understands that you are working out of your home so they are not surprised or upset if they find out without you telling them. However if you do work out of your house take a few things into consideration. 1. If you let customers drop their vehicles off they now know where you live. Probably not a big deal, but you never know with some people. I personally try to get people to let me pick up their vehicles, or at least meet me somewhere else. Call me paranoid, but it makes me feel better. 2. If you do drive the vehicles make sure you have the insurance for it. I can't think of anything worse than driving a customer’s high dollar car and crashing it without insurance. Hope that helps.
 
I personally prefer to have the customer's drop their car off at my home if they can. I don't care about them knowing where I live as my home address is the address listed for my business. I'm not paranoid though. lol no offense Spicy!

I think of it like this, the less I drive their car the less likely an accident is. I do have insurance to cover myself, so in the even that something happened it would be covered, but if I can limit the possibility of it happening that's what I'm going to do.
 
SeaJay's said:
I personally prefer to have the customer's drop their car off at my home if they can. I don't care about them knowing where I live as my home address is the address listed for my business. I'm not paranoid though. lol no offense Spicy!

I think of it like this, the less I drive their car the less likely an accident is. I do have insurance to cover myself, so in the even that something happened it would be covered, but if I can limit the possibility of it happening that's what I'm going to do.
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You would be hard pressed to offend me, but thank you. I'm not so paranoid that I won't let someone drop off at my house, especialy since most of my business is from referals. It just makes me feel better. I don't have my address listed on my website mostly because I don't want people just showing up at my house thinking I'm open all the time. I make it very clear that I work by appointment only, and so far I haven't had any issues.
 
Spicy McHaggis said:
You would be hard pressed to offend me, but thank you. I'm not so paranoid that I won't let someone drop off at my house, especialy since most of my business is from referals. It just makes me feel better. I don't have my address listed on my website mostly because I don't want people just showing up at my house thinking I'm open all the time. I make it very clear that I work by appointment only, and so far I haven't had any issues.
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Sorry I think I mixed myself up there. On my business documents it lists my home address as my business address. But as for my advertising and website it just states that I'm located in Chelmsford. Doesn't mention my exact address. For the same reason you stated, don't need people just showing up at my home thinking I'm open.
 
If your just planning to do three cars a week you can work out of your car. The perception of you working out of the trunk of your convertible may turn some people away. The higher end car owner may question your professionalism. Also what have you done about insurance? Three cars a week won't pay the premium.
 
Cruiser57 said:
If your just planning to do three cars a week you can work out of your car. The perception of you working out of the trunk of your convertible may turn some people away. The higher end car owner may question your professionalism. Also what have you done about insurance? Three cars a week won't pay the premium.
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I work out of my personal vehicle, it's a bit biger than a convertible, but when I go do a mobile job I have magnetic signs with my business logo on them I can put on. I can't justify the cost to have a dedicated mobile detail rig.

Also what sort of insurance are you refering to? For dirving or working on the vehicle? IMO having insurance for working on the vehicle is a waste, if you know what you are doing. Just my .02
 
My guess is that he's not concerned about insurance right now. It seems as though he's working as a side job to just put some extra cash in his pocket. I did this last year before getting my LLC. I am still shopping around for insurance. Obviously there are risks involved operating with out insurance. He just needs to ensure he realizes this.
 
its pretty much a side job for now but I am opening the company as a parcel of my dad's company so we already have the whole insurance thing covered! I will propose the mobile service and tell people im comming with my car, and that I also offer the possibility for people to come to my dads garage, my home or my girlfriends place when I live there in the summer.
 
A line of credit or some cash set aside does help cover if you have no insurance. What you have to watch out for are the people who are waiting to sue someone for anything. They want a new paint job because they think you left a scratch that was already there. But if your careful about the type of people you work for, you can make some quick cash to help you out. Since your working out of your car you may want to try some of the waterless or low water products. They will save you room, you show how you embrace modern technology and they do work. We use them most of the time. Wish you luck on your new venture!
 
Cruiser57 said:
A line of credit or some cash set aside does help cover if you have no insurance. What you have to watch out for are the people who are waiting to sue someone for anything. They want a new paint job because they think you left a scratch that was already there. But if your careful about the type of people you work for, you can make some quick cash to help you out. Since your working out of your car you may want to try some of the waterless or low water products. They will save you room, you show how you embrace modern technology and they do work. We use them most of the time. Wish you luck on your new venture!
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I agree ........ before I had insurance I would always put at the very minimum 10% of every job in an envelope.... but most of the time 20 to 30 %... this envelope was my business account for backup, sounds weak but it worked. And drywashing is the way to go for mobile in my opinion - but that has also been a huge debate on here lol!
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but just something you might think about if you are detailing at your house. I don't know where you live, but in some places you can get in a lot of trouble for operating a business out of your home. This can vary from zoning to licensing to EPA issues. You can also run into similar issues if you are doing mobile detailing. Just something to think about...I personally dislike visits from Code Enforcement officials....
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Yup. I live in a suburb north of Detroit... and of course, City of Ferndale Code Enforcement rolls by.... "Whatcha doing???" So I got an earful of how our storm drains empty directly to local rivers and such... I kindly explained to him that I use a No-Rinse wash solution. Not a drop even touches the ground. And when I do wash, I do it near my garage which has a trough-type drain that is connected to a sanitary sewer. He was speechless.
 
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