What's the biggest thing you're struggling with in your business?

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WashEngineer

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Hi Everyone,

Quick question as a survey to see if we can help eachother with our biggest struggles. What's the biggest thing you're struggling with your detailing business right now?
 
Capacity work load.I won't hire anyone,tried that deosnt work for me.so when people call it's 2 to 3 weeks wait.The ones who call from a referral will wait.People who call from the number on the van or gas station inquiries won't.IF my annual income number stays the same or around,I have no complaints.weather can be frustrating in the summer with rain.
 
WashEngineer said:
Do you have another detailer in your area who you trust or could sub-contract the work too? That way they're still "your" customers and you can retain them for the future when perhaps you're less busy...and you don't have to worry about employee wages, fees, etc. You can structure an agreement with them so they don't steal your customers AND you can make money from people that don't take up any of your time.
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Do you have another detailer in your area who you trust or could sub-contract the work too? That way they're still "your" customers and you can retain them for the future when perhaps you're less busy...and you don't have to worry about employee wages, fees, etc. You can structure an agreement with them so they don't steal your customers AND you can make money from people that don't take up any of your time.
 
For me(and for other mobile detailers in my area I guess) it's the darn Winter. I do not own a garage so I'm forced to work about 5 months per year. Then there is the rain that also prevents me from detailing. And this year, Spring doesn't seem to be in a hurry.
 
That can be very frustrating when doing this to put food on the table.Not so much if you are doing this for a few extra bucks on a sat or sun.
 
Establishing a steady client list. Granted, I'm in the worst possible location to have an upscale detailing salon. We will see if this move to Nashville next year will help. Has anyone used facebook ads? results? comments?
 
For me it's always getting new clients.

I have worked on my SEO for a while and will be using ads on Facebook and Google in about a week or two. So hopefully the combination of the 2 will improve the number of calls I get.

So far all the calls I have been getting this week is for things I do not do: One guys wanted me to work on his tramission LOL, an other guys called be because there is rust Inside his headlight??? Then this guy today wanted me to remove the water Inside his headlights. I have watched a few videos and removing water and condensation then sealing the headlight with a silicone product seems pretty easy, so I am thinking of adding that to my service list. My only worry is not being able to remove all the headlights, some might have complicated assembly to the vehicle... any of you guys do this?

Weather is almost ok to start taking clients, just a few more degrees and I will start scheduling. It's frustrating at this time of year when you are pretty much ready to start but can't :)
 
Weather currently. Being April in Canada, things are volatile but I have had to be flexible in scheduling etc to accommodate. Things should be turning though. Getting new clients is always a challenge... I went in to a local HIGHLY reputable mechanic and asked him if I could give him some cards. He said sure and had two vehicles ready for me to do. He is purchasing some retired security vehicles (2011 Escapes and Fiestas) and is fixing them and flipping them. I now do all of the detailing on them before sale. He also had me do his wife's grungy Hyundai and was floored at the results. I have had a few calls already on his referrals. I also connected with the local dent and tint guy for the same purpose. I have gotten about 10 cars just through them. Incredible and free.

Facebook has been interesting. I have not actually paid for advertising, but in my city, they have this "Free Stuff" and "Buy and Sell" forum where people look for things etc. Someone posted looking for a detailer and this mechanic mentioned my name on there. Fast forward and I have done a bunch of vehicles through that. I think customer acquisition is definitely number 1. After reading some threads on AG I have to start narrowing down my market I think.

A detailing business is always a work in progress and I am keeping track of what is working. One thing I can say is that you NEVER know who you will connect with. I had a dude come out to provide me a quote on a storm door. Simple enough. I was working on a car when he arrived and he mentioned he wanted to get his personal truck done. Wow ok thats great! Then he mentions they are doing a huge grand opening at the end of May and told me I could set up a table and a vehicle there so I could meet some potential clients. Who knows what will come of it but I never would have had the opportunity if I had not called them to give ME a quote. I guess what I am saying is that I have to constantly be wearing my company shirt and letting people know about the services. Have been really fortunate so far.

I look forward to reading what others have to say on the matter. I have been amazed at how much information is available and real life experiences shared. Thank you guys you have really helped!
 
Unfortunately, no one can change the weather...since you're in Canada it's much too cold to wash outdoors during winter...but light rain days perhaps you could use a tent?

Alternatively, you could try to barter with someone who has an autobody shop that isn't doing so well, and propose a revenue sharing rent structure...they way they only make money if you make money...which lowers the risk for you...if you get a lot of customers though, it could be more expensive in the short-term, but will keep your customers more engaged with you in the long run.

RangerDetails said:
For me(and for other mobile detailers in my area I guess) it's the darn Winter. I do not own a garage so I'm forced to work about 5 months per year. Then there is the rain that also prevents me from detailing. And this year, Spring doesn't seem to be in a hurry.
Click to expand...
 
Facebook ads can be successful if that's where your target customers are. If this is something you want to try out, then do a test run. The great thing about facebook, google, twitter ads is that you can set a cap on how much money you want to spend. Test out a couple different ad layouts and words at a time and really concentrate on who your target customers are.

Hope the move to Nashville proves successful. Keep us posted.

SKorch630 said:
Establishing a steady client list. Granted, I'm in the worst possible location to have an upscale detailing salon. We will see if this move to Nashville next year will help. Has anyone used facebook ads? results? comments?
Click to expand...
 
Calendyr said:
For me it's always getting new clients.

I have worked on my SEO for a while and will be using ads on Facebook and Google in about a week or two. So hopefully the combination of the 2 will improve the number of calls I get.

So far all the calls I have been getting this week is for things I do not do: One guys wanted me to work on his tramission LOL, an other guys called be because there is rust Inside his headlight??? Then this guy today wanted me to remove the water Inside his headlights. I have watched a few videos and removing water and condensation then sealing the headlight with a silicone product seems pretty easy, so I am thinking of adding that to my service list. My only worry is not being able to remove all the headlights, some might have complicated assembly to the vehicle... any of you guys do this?

Weather is almost ok to start taking clients, just a few more degrees and I will start scheduling. It's frustrating at this time of year when you are pretty much ready to start but can't :)
Click to expand...

To get more customers have you tried starting a referral program with the customers you already have? That's EASIEST and CHEAPEST way to get new customers.

For the headlights, I'd ask him the make, model, and year of the person's vehicle. Some headlights are easier than others like you said...but being able to look up videos beforehand for that SPECIFIC customer will make them more satisfied and your job much easier.
 
WashEngineer said:
Unfortunately, no one can change the weather...since you're in Canada it's much too cold to wash outdoors during winter...but light rain days perhaps you could use a tent?

Alternatively, you could try to barter with someone who has an autobody shop that isn't doing so well, and propose a revenue sharing rent structure...they way they only make money if you make money...which lowers the risk for you...if you get a lot of customers though, it could be more expensive in the short-term, but will keep your customers more engaged with you in the long run.
Click to expand...

Sharing a garage is a good idea to lower risk and expenses... but an autobody shop is probably not the best place to detail. They constantly sand paint, and body and the air is filled with contaminants in those shops. When I had my truck reprayed last year just sitting there for a few hours it was covered in white dust... you could barelly see the color through it and it's a dark perl blue !
 
Im not in auto detailing but in Marine boat detailing. Im super busy all the time and really do need an employee or who and get a crew going but i have a hard time trusting people to do the same work as me.
 
Obtaining, training, and retaining quality employees... managing people is my biggest challenge as I never had any experience before starting my business. I'm constantly learning though and I think I've got a good team of 3 people going into summer this year.
 
Coastalf350 said:
Im not in auto detailing but in Marine boat detailing. Im super busy all the time and really do need an employee or who and get a crew going but i have a hard time trusting people to do the same work as me.
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Trust is VERY important in a business like this. Perhaps you can bring someone on on a conditional basis for 30-days or so. And you promise them at the end of the 30-days, if they do good work, that you'll give them a raise or some other incentive that excites them. That worked with myself and my employees. I also invested a lot of time in teaching them to do things the right way. Having an employee is no easy feat, but having too many customers is a great problem.

Another tactic, is that you can ONLY have the employee work with you vs. doing vehicles on their own. If they exclusively work with you, you can check their work as you go to avoid mistakes, and do the detail twice as fast and increase the number of appointments you can do in a day. So instead of scheduling 2 cars (or boats) at the same time and sending the employee to 1 of the appointments, you bring them to your appointment and schedule the next one closer to the previous.
 
FinishingTouchA said:
Obtaining, training, and retaining quality employees... managing people is my biggest challenge as I never had any experience before starting my business. I'm constantly learning though and I think I've got a good team of 3 people going into summer this year.
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That's awesome that you belive in your team! Have you tried reading any books on management or leadership? Malcom Gladwell is a great author on the leadership and management forefront. I also learned a lot of lessons from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Andrew Carnegie. Here's a link to the audiobook on youtube (free of course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giauKlmDe60
 
I love this. As a business owner, employees will be the biggest headache of all. But employees are the only thing that will set you free from being self employed. Recruit them, build them, lead them, and finally develop them into leaders. Looks like you are on the right track FTA.
 
Just bumping this thread! I think it's been quite helpful for folks to post problems they're facing without having to create an entirely new thread on here. Keep the problems coming. :)
 
WashEngineer said:
That's awesome that you belive in your team! Have you tried reading any books on management or leadership? Malcom Gladwell is a great author on the leadership and management forefront. I also learned a lot of lessons from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Andrew Carnegie. Here's a link to the audiobook on youtube (free of course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giauKlmDe60
Click to expand...

+1 on Andrew Carnegies book. Amazing book I highly recommend any business owner to read it
 
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