Who started from home?

Johnnyboy

Johnnyboy

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I'm aware of new potential customers being a little weary about going to someones home to get their cars worked and that can be a major downfall for someone trying to get started in this business even if its a weekend thing.

For those of you that started from home......how was that experience?

What did you do to bring them in?

I'm thinking that word of mouth is my friend in this case but we can't just always rely on this......right?
 
I did a few cars for my friends to get my work seen, they constantly got asked about it so it brought me a lot of work. word of mouth is my favorite way to get my name out, and doesn't cost u a dime, but also having a portfolio of past work/projects also helps. Just my .02, but then again I don't detail for the money, more of the fun of it so I don't worry too much about advertising

Another way is to target ur prospective customers.. Im a car guy so I go to a lot of car meets and bring my Trans Am, which I keep as swirl free as possible, people ask who did all the work and I say, "me" it always starts a good conversation and leads to quite a bit of work, hope any of this helps, just stay positive
 
I am starting from home, weekend detailer, registered the businesss with the county, have businesss cars and a website, mostly friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and word of mouth.

So far I have done about 15 cars in the last 5 months. I am not looking to do more than 2 or 3 a month. Businesss has slowed since the holidays and winter, but I have a few lined up for the spring.

I post pics of the cars I do on my website and the webiste is a free domain, so that doesn't cost me anything either.

We have a car meet by my house every Sunday and I detailed my friend 11 Shelby GT500 with the Megs DA MF System and it came out awesome, so now I have at least 3 other cars lined up from that one detail.
 
My business started as a part time (weekends and evenings) working out of my home.

I got a lot of business by word of mouth. I also put an ad up on craigslist and put brochures/business cards in local sub shops and any where that would let me.

To help increase my customer base I started offering mobile detailing if a water spigot and electrical outlet could be supplied. This really took off.

I was laid off from my full time job in June and decided to run full time with my detailing. I now operate 7 days a week and about 90% of my business is mobile detailing.

Having a website and signing up for sites like google places, angie's list, etc make it easier for people to find you in a search as well.
 
I have done friends and family for a few years at my home. Retired back at the end of September from my former career and started with paying customers right away. Word of mouth is the best advertisement to start out with IMO. The price is right and the customers have seen your work and know you work out of your home. If I can stay with 1-2 cars a week then I'm more then pleased. My next step is to attend a couple of car club meeting and shows this spring and try and spread the word. Thing are going as planned so far except I didn't know that 4 out of 5 cars seem to be black. LOL.
 
I started at home and still currently work ouut of my home. I tell new customers up front what to expect, and so far (over 5 years) no one has had any issues with it. I think as long as you are up front and don't try to hide the fact, you should be fine.
 
Flannigan said:
I started at home and still currently work ouut of my home. I tell new customers up front what to expect, and so far (over 5 years) no one has had any issues with it. I think as long as you are up front and don't try to hide the fact, you should be fine.
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I agree with the above.

Actually there's nothing wrong with working from your home, obviously you can keep more profit as you have no overhead.

As you build a good reputation it won't be an issue at all.

The transmission in my truck was built by Dana Sniff and he works out of his garage. He owned a Transmission Shop in SoCal for 30 plus years and then retired, sold the shop and then started again out of his garage. Keeps most of the money for himself now.

He builds transmission for people around the world and none of his customers care where he works from, all they care about is a grenade-proof transmission.

Here's a tip though...

Clean your garage and organize it so it reflects well on you...


:)
 
Mike, well said.

I currently work at home but I don't do it as a full time job. With that being said, I can say that in order to get your name out, word of mouth from previous customers has worked the best for me. However, I have also posted some cards on bulletin boards at various locations (restaurants, stores, the local VFW). Just be sure to ask the owner/manager first. Another option that I have done is advertising on local forums.
 
Good stuff reading those experiences and tips. I will be a weekend warrior for this and I am working on the website as we speak and of course one of the main things would be that this is by appointment and I would be up front about the location. I've always thought that I myself would feel more comfortable having my car taken care of at someones private home but not everyone thinks alike!
 
Johnnyboy said:
Good stuff reading those experiences and tips. I will be a weekend warrior for this and I am working on the website as we speak and of course one of the main things would be that this is by appointment and I would be up front about the location. I've always thought that I myself would feel more comfortable having my car taken care of at someones private home but not everyone thinks alike!
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It's funny when I first started out I got a lot of "Don't you feel weird having random strangers at your home?". My answer always was no not at all. I never let anyone in my home. All business was conducted outside.

I always look as it as they are leaving me their vehicle, therefore trusting that I will perform the said task and return their vehicle to them in better shape (appearance wise) than they brought it to me in. That I won't be out joy riding in their vehicle or abusing it while it's in my possession. So in turn I have no problem letting them come to my home.
 
I'm not planning on starting a detailing business, but as a person who's started several business's I have a question and a comment.

As a detailer do you carry liability insurance in case of some unexpected damage to a clients car?

When my wife and I had our photo studio the best bang for the buck advertising we had were magnetic signs on our always clean and polished car. If the thought of a magnetic sign on your car gives you the chills you could have custom vinyl lettering cut at the quick sign shop and out it on your side and rear windows. Then make sure your ride speaks for your talents. Spiney
 
Spiney said:
As a detailer do you carry liability insurance in case of some unexpected damage to a clients car?
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Insurance? Whats that?























J/K..... A 100k garage keepers policy with a 5k deductible will keep you out of trouble for cheap
 
Been working out of my garage for a decade now; never once had a problem with a customer not liking that fact.
 
Spiney said:
the best bang for the buck advertising we had were magnetic signs on our always clean and polished car. If the thought of a magnetic sign on your car gives you the chills you could have custom vinyl lettering cut at the quick sign shop and out it on your side and rear windows. Then make sure your ride speaks for your talents. Spiney
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Great advice.

I had custom lettering done on my 1969 CST Blazer when I had a brick and mortar detail shop in Albany, Oregon and always kept my Blazer shined to the max and it always started a conversation wherever I went.

About a year ago I was in a local mall parking lot and there was a Mobil Detailer washing a BMW in the parking lot. His van was white and the paint was not only oxidized to the point of looking chalky it had dirt stain in the paint. Considering he was presenting himself as a professional detailer his van gave me the impression he didn't know what he was doing.


:)
 
I do attend quite a few car shows a year, all types of car shows, as I am a big car guy and previously I was running a Powder coating company and I had custom vinyls done for my car that would be on the side windows on my car and no more than 10" in length and those things made a difference in my business.

I'm in the stages of finalizing the website and logo but I do got those covered! Thanks for all the info!
 
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