Year 2 in Detailing - How to Make Money Detailing - B & B Detailing - Nashville TN

[Bates Detailing]

Hey guys - wanted to help out all those that want to start their own detailing company.

First off - It is NOT easy starting from scratch!

I started B & B Detailing in Middle Tn with absolutely now money! Just the vacuum I had, Makita, a few products, and KNOWLEDGE.

Second - QUALITY is number 1! Keep the customer happy by producing great quality and word of mouth alone will propel your company exponentially!

Third - Scrap all ideas of "advertising". Other than our website, advertising is null and void. Refer to step 2 and you will be just fine :dblthumb2:

Fourth - Charge accordingly to your ability. In the beginning of B & B, we charged very little to what our ability was. While I was assuming 125 bucks was amazing for what we did, come to find out - we actually spent 5 + hours on our details than most in our area! 5 + more hours with 2 or more guys! That showed us that we were on top of all other companies in Middle Tn when it came to quality! CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH!

Fifth - The Customer is ALWAYS right SOMETIMES - While this statement contradicts itself , it is very true. We always provide the customer with what he or she wants, but many times the customer is unaware of what is possible and/or within a detailers limits to fix. Also, sometimes a customer will notice an imperfection only when his/her detailer points it out. With that said - you are opening up your client's eyes to that of a detailer, which means they may see things that they have never seen before.... which could very well be a blessing or a curse. Either way, protect yourself with before and after pics.

Im sure I could write a kids book on this stuff, but am gonna leave it at this for now to get AGIANS opinions - hope this helps, or if you have different experiences, please ad on to this thread. Thanx guys and gals,


Anthony

 

[dwlinc23]

In my first year now and have already learned what is working and what isn't with each detail.

Sent from my DROID3 using AG Online

 

[Bates Detailing]

In my first year now and have already learned what is working and what isn't with each detail.

Sent from my DROID3 using AG Online

You just doing Autos? BIG difference from Clears to Gelcoats to Fiberglass, To Aircraft/Bus paint, to aluminum polishing - etc! In year one, you learned all this? That's SUPER impressive!

 

[dwlinc23]

Maybe that didn't sound right, I meant I'm in my first year of detailing, and with each client, I'm learning what works and what doesn't. Just trying to find ways to do it better and quicker.

 

[rider9195]

Good info Anthony. Thanks!

My business has not been going as I hoped. I haven't been getting any calls or anything. Just have to wait it out some.

 

[tuscarora dave]

It's pretty interesting the first time you have a very successful Pro Detailer share an afternoon with you. Allowing you to see what really goes on behind the scenes from day to day. Here on the discussion forums you learn a lot about what products to use, what tools are the best and the latest and greatest coatings etc. A lot of the necessary techniques, chemicals and applications can't be spoken of in one thread.

As you enter into the world of the pro detailer, there is often times not near enough time for taking photos and some of the effective techniques or chemicals used by the pros could cause serious damage if carried out by a new enthusiast detailer so they are just not posted on these forums, they can be more of a liability than a helpful tip.

If you can get into a real niche market of doing high end detailing, essentially eliminating a lot of the competition in your area then you can dictate your own pricing and justify it with the results that you provide. That's tough to do unless you have a lot of people who really understand what you do during a multiple step detail.

I think high end auto detailing is one of the most misunderstood professions out there and that is the cause of the importance that your clientele understand not only what steps must be taken to create the drastic turnaround that we do, but they must also understand and be willing to not undo the beauty we just created. It takes a lot of time and effort to bring into a client's mind with sufficient force, the care needed to keep their fresh paint correction in tip top shape. "We the Detailers" are responsible to educate them on how to do this and more so, "We" should be responsible for knowing if the customer is willing to change their washing habits BEFORE we perform the work. If we don't, and we do a multiple step paint correction, and the customer runs it through the automatic car wash with dirty brushes and destroys the finish they payed big money for, "we the detailers" get the bad word of mouth for it. They'll say to people something like this, "He does nice work but...It didn't last very long, so it's not worth the money." They simply don't know what we know, and how could they?

Have you ever seen the "Staples" commercial where "Dave" walks into his small business and is met by all the panicking employees? "I'm calling Dave!!" It's all you. The detailer, the sales guy, the janitor, the accountant, the IT guy, the loss prevention guy, the public spokesman, the shipping and recieving guy etc. etc. and on top of all that you have to be the guy who helps the customer determine which one of your services is best for them. You do this by first knowing the ins and outs of every level of detailing job there is, then targeting the right market, then educating and discussing with the perspective client what you can do for them and what might be best in their case and also dealing with the walk ins who know nothing about car care at all.

I bring all of this up because I know for fact that Anthony is dealing with all of this on the side of what he allows us to see here on these forums.

Kudos to you Anthony!!

This kind of insight also helps to prepare the new members "who want to start a detailing business" to see the other side of things, and I have only touched on the tip of the iceberg. I have been somewhat "auditioning" several perspective assistant detailers over the past few months and this process is very distracting to say the least. I've boiled it down to 2 outside independent contractors who are willing to come in from time to time to help me get out of a serious backlog of work.

There are a ton of decisions to make as you gain in workload and reputation, all of which will effect your future earnings as a detailing business. Good luck to all of you who are taking the leap into becoming a pro detailer. You thought you've learned a lot here at AG? That's just the first half of your education.

Thanks Anthony for the posting and inspiration in your time here at AG, it's been instrumental in helping me to make some of my own decisions as a pro detailer. TD

 

[Beavis]

Nice write up. I have learned quite a bit from the years I have been doing this. Just from my own info because I have never found a forum like this. When I found this place found all kinds of more help on here. I have been detailing since 2005. From 2005 to end of 2011 was part time 2 days a week. Then went full time at it 2012. Like B&B said word of mouth is great advertising. I have not advertised yet and have been very luckily that I have been real busy. I have never got to do an RV or a small Airplane until I went full time and had lots of fun doing something different.

You are right when you say GEL is way different than clear.. You can get away with alot more on gel coat. I work for Sea Ray Boats at there Sport Yacht plant buffing and spraying gel boats for 9 years. I was amazed with what you could get way with on gel coat.

 

[steve swafford]

:dblthumb2:Thanks Anthony! I appreciate your comments and taking the time to share it with others. You have been very helpful to me. There are PRO'S on this forum who I gain knowledge from just about every day.We have never met but I respect the knowledge and sincerity of your approach to detailing. It's just a hobby for me but maybe one day with the help of this forum I will be able to take it a step further.

 

[Billand]

I live in Denver Colorado and it's hard to find new clients. I have been detailing for money for almost a year last month was my best month at just over 2 k in 7 cars. Most of my business is word of mouth but some people get freaked out when I tell them how much. My skills and ability justify the prices I am asking. How do you guys get new clients that are not from word of mouth.

Another problem I have is there's a new shop that opened up and the guy running it has a bunch of invested money to blow in order to get business. I have seen there work it's not even good they are hit and miss on the quality side of things the leave wax and polish residue all over cars. They tell customers what they want to hear not what is actually possible.

How do you guys Handel people like this.

 

[tuscarora dave]

How do you guys get new clients that are not from word of mouth.

I start talking to whoever will listen and hand out lots of cards. I try working with car repair establishments, servicing their cars and their clientele. It's good for both their establishment and mine. Their clientele begin talking.

How do you guys Handel people like this.

Guys like this are a dime a dozen, They handle themselves and I handle my own standard of quality. I tell my clientele that I have no competition in this area because I provide a real customized and specialized service that changes from car to car and client to client, that I don't just throw the word "custom" around for marketing purposes.

I let them know that a large percentage of the detail center owners are managers that pay lower scale pay to a work force with a high turnover rate so they rarely get an expert working on their car, but rather inexperienced cheap labor payed to perform cookie cutter services to all cars regardless of the true need of the car or owner. This is absolutely true of a lot of detail centers and my clientele know it's true. Not just because I said it, but because they were there before they met me and started getting the custom, as needed service I provide.

It all works out through word of mouth but you have to sell what you do and if you believe in what you're selling, it practically sells itself.

 

[Bates Detailing]

Just trying to find ways to do it better and quicker.

Better and quicker is huge - quicker I never really focused on till lately but finding the equilibrium of both is a definite must.

Good info Anthony. Thanks!

My business has not been going as I hoped. I haven't been getting any calls or anything. Just have to wait it out some.

The calls will come man - it seems that last year there were a few months of next to nothing.... scared the crap out of me! BUT, those calls you do get definitely knock them out of their socks and it will all work out :dblthumb2:.

It's pretty interesting the first time you have a very successful Pro Detailer share an afternoon with you. Allowing you to see what really goes on behind the scenes from day to day. Here on the discussion forums you learn a lot about what products to use, what tools are the best and the latest and greatest coatings etc. A lot of the necessary techniques, chemicals and applications can't be spoken of in one thread.

As you enter into the world of the pro detailer, there is often times not near enough time for taking photos and some of the effective techniques or chemicals used by the pros could cause serious damage if carried out by a new enthusiast detailer so they are just not posted on these forums, they can be more of a liability than a helpful tip.

If you can get into a real niche market of doing high end detailing, essentially eliminating a lot of the competition in your area then you can dictate your own pricing and justify it with the results that you provide. That's tough to do unless you have a lot of people who really understand what you do during a multiple step detail.

I think high end auto detailing is one of the most misunderstood professions out there and that is the cause of the importance that your clientele understand not only what steps must be taken to create the drastic turnaround that we do, but they must also understand and be willing to not undo the beauty we just created. It takes a lot of time and effort to bring into a client's mind with sufficient force, the care needed to keep their fresh paint correction in tip top shape. "We the Detailers" are responsible to educate them on how to do this and more so, "We" should be responsible for knowing if the customer is willing to change their washing habits BEFORE we perform the work. If we don't, and we do a multiple step paint correction, and the customer runs it through the automatic car wash with dirty brushes and destroys the finish they payed big money for, "we the detailers" get the bad word of mouth for it. They'll say to people something like this, "He does nice work but...It didn't last very long, so it's not worth the money." They simply don't know what we know, and how could they?

Have you ever seen the "Staples" commercial where "Dave" walks into his small business and is met by all the panicking employees? "I'm calling Dave!!" It's all you. The detailer, the sales guy, the janitor, the accountant, the IT guy, the loss prevention guy, the public spokesman, the shipping and recieving guy etc. etc. and on top of all that you have to be the guy who helps the customer determine which one of your services is best for them. You do this by first knowing the ins and outs of every level of detailing job there is, then targeting the right market, then educating and discussing with the perspective client what you can do for them and what might be best in their case and also dealing with the walk ins who know nothing about car care at all.

I bring all of this up because I know for fact that Anthony is dealing with all of this on the side of what he allows us to see here on these forums.

Kudos to you Anthony!!

This kind of insight also helps to prepare the new members "who want to start a detailing business" to see the other side of things, and I have only touched on the tip of the iceberg. I have been somewhat "auditioning" several perspective assistant detailers over the past few months and this process is very distracting to say the least. I've boiled it down to 2 outside independent contractors who are willing to come in from time to time to help me get out of a serious backlog of work.

There are a ton of decisions to make as you gain in workload and reputation, all of which will effect your future earnings as a detailing business. Good luck to all of you who are taking the leap into becoming a pro detailer. You thought you've learned a lot here at AG? That's just the first half of your education.

Thanks Anthony for the posting and inspiration in your time here at AG, it's been instrumental in helping me to make some of my own decisions as a pro detailer. TD

Good stuff Dave - Thanx man :dblthumb2: Definitely tons of behind the scenes work - just have to stay driven!

Nice write up. I have learned quite a bit from the years I have been doing this. Just from my own info because I have never found a forum like this. When I found this place found all kinds of more help on here. I have been detailing since 2005. From 2005 to end of 2011 was part time 2 days a week. Then went full time at it 2012. Like B&B said word of mouth is great advertising. I have not advertised yet and have been very luckily that I have been real busy. I have never got to do an RV or a small Airplane until I went full time and had lots of fun doing something different.

You are right when you say GEL is way different than clear.. You can get away with alot more on gel coat. I work for Sea Ray Boats at there Sport Yacht plant buffing and spraying gel boats for 9 years. I was amazed with what you could get way with on gel coat.

Its kind of funny man - went from buffing a boat for a couple of days to buffing a couple of buses, then to correcting a car...... with that said, we had to sit back and almost try to remember the technique for clear lol - only because we were able to get away with much more on these other surfaces...... I love gel coat :xyxthumbs:

:dblthumb2:Thanks Anthony! I appreciate your comments and taking the time to share it with others. You have been very helpful to me. There are PRO'S on this forum who I gain knowledge from just about every day.We have never met but I respect the knowledge and sincerity of your approach to detailing. It's just a hobby for me but maybe one day with the help of this forum I will be able to take it a step further.

Cool man - This is a great place to start if you decide to take that leap.

I live in Denver Colorado and it's hard to find new clients. I have been detailing for money for almost a year last month was my best month at just over 2 k in 7 cars. Most of my business is word of mouth but some people get freaked out when I tell them how much. My skills and ability justify the prices I am asking. How do you guys get new clients that are not from word of mouth.

Another problem I have is there's a new shop that opened up and the guy running it has a bunch of invested money to blow in order to get business. I have seen there work it's not even good they are hit and miss on the quality side of things the leave wax and polish residue all over cars. They tell customers what they want to hear not what is actually possible.

How do you guys Handel people like this.

There are tunnel washes, detail shops, mobile detailing companies, etc ALL around Middle TN - I don't consider any of them competition honestly. Im not saying that because I think we are better than them and/or that we are busier than them, I say that because we have tapped into an extremely small percentage (like .1%) of the actually business that can be acquired..... I have met the owners of a few of these companies out here and talk to them and see how everything is going on their end and they do the same. This is a tough job and we all seem to respect each other in that aspect out here instead of giving each other the evil eye lol.


I wouldn't look at it as "handling" a situation - you could take the knowledge, products, and tools that you have and explain to potential clients why you are the best. There is no reason to make the other company look bad either IMO - There is a local company out this way that "polishes" cars for 35 or 45 bucks or something along those lines..... they just use a detail spray as their "polish" - well we have a very good client now that I educated that was a religious user of that company - pointed out that we work the polish into the paint every 2 ft by 2 ft area and that we put alot of time into our details. I never had to bash the other company, just had to educate the customer on why our prices are not as low as they are use to and why we take longer. He is a great client of ours now.

Also, large capital is nice - but not necessary, started this company with very little to next to nothing in capital..... but it all comes together :dblthumb2:

 

[Toy_Cam_Ed]

Also, large capital is nice - but not necessary, started this company with very little to next to nothing in capital

I know the feeling well. I have next to nothing as far as extra money. What little money I'm making from my part time grocery store job is going towards supplies. I'm going to start with friends and family to make a few bucks so I can get a backup machine and some more pads.

Thanks Anthony, and keep up the good work.

 

[Bates Detailing]

I know the feeling well. I have next to nothing as far as extra money. What little money I'm making from my part time grocery store job is going towards supplies. I'm going to start with friends and family to make a few bucks so I can get a backup machine and some more pads.

Thanks Anthony, and keep up the good work.

Thanx man and keep it up!









Another BIG thing I do is ask any client that we deal with that started their own business from scratch every question possible. I keep mentors from all types of companies and they keep me going! Year three tends to be the most common when it comes to success from my clients. Here is a quick video I took the other night :dblthumb2::


VIDEO0004.mp4 video by ourstar70 - Photobucket

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

First, excellent post Anthony, I'm confident there will be many that read this thread into the future and will be inspired and invigorated from the information you have shared...

:dblthumb2:

It's pretty interesting the first time you have a very successful Pro Detailer share an afternoon with you. Allowing you to see what really goes on behind the scenes from day to day. Here on the discussion forums you learn a lot about what products to use, what tools are the best and the latest and greatest coatings etc. A lot of the necessary techniques, chemicals and applications can't be spoken of in one thread.

I would agree strongly with the above. Walking the walk in a real detail business is a lot different than typing about it or reading about it on a forum. I would use the same analogy for hands-on training.

If a person is new to detailing, you can learn a lot from reading and watching videos but nothing compares to actually spending hands-on time with someone that already knows what to do with the products and tools and shows you first-hand, the ins and outs as well as tips and techniques learned over a lifetime.

I paid my dues buffing out thousands of cars and everything else under the sun, for example helicopter windows and sky lights on roofs of houses, been there done that all my life. Now I'm able to take what I've learned and share it with others in a helpful and friendly way, never demeaning people wanting to learn. Teaching others is just as rewarding as buffing out cars, they both have their merits.

I read posts by a lot of online personalities, (that's being nice), and one major thing they're lacking is professionalism in the way they present themselves in their online personality, simply read their posting history and they reveal their true character in their words and style.

As you enter into the world of the pro detailer, there is often times not near enough time for taking photos

I agree. And to your point, if anyone reads enough of my replies to other detailer's write-ups, if they have written a great write-up with great pictures all resized, inserted, (not attached), and their write-up documents what they did in a way that will help others to pattern themselves after them, then I start out my reply with thanking them for,

• Taking the time to put the buffer down, pick up the camera and take great pictures. I know for a fact it's a lot easier to just keep on working.

• Taking the time after the job, when they are tired and sore to process the pictures, that is go through and pick out the pictures that are in focus and tell a story and the cropping out the fluff, resizing to a "normal" size and then uploading them to a gallery somewhere so they can then be inserted into a thread.

• Taking the time to create the thread, that's adding all the words to the pictures to educate the reader.

I do it and I know how much time is involved so I'm especially thankful to pros and newbies alike when they do this.

If you can get into a real niche market of doing high end detailing, essentially eliminating a lot of the competition in your area then you can dictate your own pricing and justify it with the results that you provide. That's tough to do unless you have a lot of people who really understand what you do during a multiple step detail.

I strongly agree with the above and going after the SIV market all comes down to educating the customer so they understand what it is you're going to do to their baby and what it is the other guy would do to their baby. Education takes time but pays off if that's the market you want to go after.

I think high end auto detailing is one of the most misunderstood professions out there and that is the cause of the importance that your clientèle understand not only what steps must be taken to create the drastic turnaround that we do, but they must also understand and be willing to not undo the beauty we just created.

Again I agree.

Believe it or not, if you don't educate your customer about how the paint on their car is thin and scratch-sensitive, a lot of people will think that because they paid a LOT OF MONEY to have their car detailed that now they can do whatever they like and the finish will stay nice. That's simply not true.


In fact, the nicer you make the finish, the more easily ANY DEFECT will now stand out like a sore thumb.

Anyone that's ever put a show car finish on a black car understands this and it's your duty to now make your customer, the owner of the show car finish understand this.

It takes a lot of time and effort to bring into a client's mind with sufficient force, the care needed to keep their fresh paint correction in tip top shape.

"We the Detailers" are responsible to educate them on how to do this and more so, "We" should be responsible for knowing if the customer is willing to change their washing habits BEFORE we perform the work.

Bingo!

Man you just hit the nail on the head. And this is why I refer so many people to this article about matching your services to you customer.

A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business
Match your services to your customer


The reason this is so important is because after a Pro Detailer creates a show car finish, EVERYTHING that touches the paint has to be the highest quality products the owner can obtain.

The owner also can't SCRUB the paint. I cover this in my how-to book because my how-to book teaches people how to create a show car finish, but it's all for nothing if they're going to wash their car haphazardly or take it to a car wash. If you have a copy of my book you'll see this on page 12 and 13 plus references throughout the book on why you need to be careful anytime you're touching the paint.

I can't count how many times someone has told me after I buff out their car they'll only take it to a 100% Hand Car Wash.

What?

That's not going to help. The workers at the car wash will simply use the same mitt, brush or sponge they've washed a million cars with and dropped on the ground a million times to wash your car. I cover this topic here,

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash


And a related article here,

Scratch your car for $5.00




The only way to do show car detailing for any customer is to FIRST educate them on what they are getting into and then confirm with them that they are going to,

Take ownership of the car washing process


This is something I also cover in all my classes. I also share a real world story here,

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

If we don't, and we do a multiple step paint correction, and the customer runs it through the automatic car wash with dirty brushes and destroys the finish they payed big money for, "we the detailers" get the bad word of mouth for it.

They'll say to people something like this, "He does nice work but...It didn't last very long, so it's not worth the money." They simply don't know what we know, and how could they?

Exactly and what you described above is what my real world story is about to the T in this article. It talks about paint, people education and ties it all together.

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

Have you ever seen the "Staples" commercial where "Dave" walks into his small business and is met by all the panicking employees? "I'm calling Dave!!"

It's all you.

The detailer, the sales guy, the janitor, the accountant, the IT guy, the loss prevention guy, the public spokesman, the shipping and receiving guy etc. etc. and on top of all that you have to be the guy who helps the customer determine which one of your services is best for them. You do this by first knowing the ins and outs of every level of detailing job there is, then targeting the right market, then educating and discussing with the perspective client what you can do for them and what might be best in their case and also dealing with the walk ins who know nothing about car care at all.

I couldn't have said it any better myself, nice summary of all the hats a person has to wear if they want to be successful.

I let them know that a large percentage of the detail center owners are managers that pay lower scale pay to a work force with a high turnover rate so they rarely get an expert working on their car, but rather inexperienced cheap labor payed to perform cookie cutter services to all cars regardless of the true need of the car or owner.

This is absolutely true of a lot of detail centers and my clientèle know it's true. Not just because I said it, but because they were there before they met me and started getting the custom, as needed service I provide.

Well said. I actually covered the above in this article but I wrote it very carefully because I know from personal experience that a lot of Hack Detailers don't have any control over the products they use, the pads they use the tools they use or the time they can spend on a customer's car.

Their passion might be to do stellar work but they can't. People like this start out working for someone else and then leave to start their own business so they practice their passion. This is the good part of the turnover rate.

The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers...

It all works out through word of mouth but you have to sell what you do and if you believe in what you're selling, it practically sells itself.

Again, very well said.

Hard work and integrity wins over time. The lesson is, never give up. Make the definition of the word tenacity a characteristic of yourself.

Nice additional follow-ups to Anthony's thread Dave. Together you and Anthony have created a very informative thread that will help others into the future.

 

[Bates Detailing]

First, excellent post Anthony, I'm confident there will be many that read this thread into the future and will be inspired and invigorated from the information you have shared...

:dblthumb2:





I would agree strongly with the above. Walking the walk in a real detail business is a lot different than typing about it or reading about it on a forum. I would use the same analogy for hands-on training.

If a person is new to detailing, you can learn a lot from reading and watching videos but nothing compares to actually spending hands-on time with someone that already knows what to do with the products and tools and shows you first-hand, the ins and outs as well as tips and techniques learned over a lifetime.

I paid my dues buffing out thousands of cars and everything else under the sun, for example helicopter windows and sky lights on roofs of houses, been there done that all my life. Now I'm able to take what I've learned and share it with others in a helpful and friendly way, never demeaning people wanting to learn. Teaching others is just as rewarding as buffing out cars, they both have their merits.

I read posts by a lot of online personalities, (that's being nice), and one major thing they're lacking is professionalism in the way they present themselves in their online personality, simply read their posting history and they reveal their true character in their words and style.





I agree. And to your point, if anyone reads enough of my replies to other detailer's write-ups, if they have written a great write-up with great pictures all resized, inserted, (not attached), and their write-up documents what they did in a way that will help others to pattern themselves after them, then I start out my reply with thanking them for,

• Taking the time to put the buffer down, pick up the camera and take great pictures. I know for a fact it's a lot easier to just keep on working.

• Taking the time after the job, when they are tired and sore to process the pictures, that is go through and pick out the pictures that are in focus and tell a story and the cropping out the fluff, resizing to a "normal" size and then uploading them to a gallery somewhere so they can then be inserted into a thread.

• Taking the time to create the thread, that's adding all the words to the pictures to educate the reader.

I do it and I know how much time is involved so I'm especially thankful to pros and newbies alike when they do this.





I strongly agree with the above and going after the SIV market all comes down to educating the customer so they understand what it is you're going to do to their baby and what it is the other guy would do to their baby. Education takes time but pays off if that's the market you want to go after.





Again I agree.

Believe it or not, if you don't educate your customer about how the paint on their car is thin and scratch-sensitive, a lot of people will think that because they paid a LOT OF MONEY to have their car detailed that now they can do whatever they like and the finish will stay nice. That's simply not true.


In fact, the nicer you make the finish, the more easily ANY DEFECT will now stand out like a sore thumb.

Anyone that's ever put a show car finish on a black car understands this and it's your duty to now make your customer, the owner of the show car finish understand this.





Bingo!

Man you just hit the nail on the head. And this is why I refer so many people to this article about matching your services to you customer.

A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business
Match your services to your customer


The reason this is so important is because after a Pro Detailer creates a show car finish, EVERYTHING that touches the paint has to be the highest quality products the owner can obtain.

The owner also can't SCRUB the paint. I cover this in my how-to book because my how-to book teaches people how to create a show car finish, but it's all for nothing if they're going to wash their car haphazardly or take it to a car wash. If you have a copy of my book you'll see this on page 12 and 13 plus references throughout the book on why you need to be careful anytime you're touching the paint.

I can't count how many times someone has told me after I buff out their car they'll only take it to a 100% Hand Car Wash.

What?

That's not going to help. The workers at the car wash will simply use the same mitt, brush or sponge they've washed a million cars with and dropped on the ground a million times to wash your car. I cover this topic here,

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash


And a related article here,

Scratch your car for $5.00




The only way to do show car detailing for any customer is to FIRST educate them on what they are getting into and then confirm with them that they are going to,

Take ownership of the car washing process


This is something I also cover in all my classes. I also share a real world story here,

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash





Exactly and what you described above is what my real world story is about to the T in this article. It talks about paint, people education and ties it all together.

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash





I couldn't have said it any better myself, nice summary of all the hats a person has to wear if they want to be successful.





Well said. I actually covered the above in this article but I wrote it very carefully because I know from personal experience that a lot of Hack Detailers don't have any control over the products they use, the pads they use the tools they use or the time they can spend on a customer's car.

Their passion might be to do stellar work but they can't. People like this start out working for someone else and then leave to start their own business so they practice their passion. This is the good part of the turnover rate.

The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers...





Again, very well said.

Hard work and integrity wins over time. The lesson is, never give up. Make the definition of the word tenacity a characteristic of yourself.

Nice additional follow-ups to Anthony's thread Dave. Together you and Anthony have created a very informative thread that will help others into the future.

Wow Mike - you put alot into this thread - Thank you! I feel that Dave will succeed for sure after talking with him and reading his thread remarks. I actually wanted to call Dave and see how he was doing but lost his number :/ Well Thanks for the wonderful thoughts tossed out there guys - hope lurkers can learn alot from this thread :dblthumb2:

 

[A.P.A.D.]

Thanks Anthony for this post, I am inspired!

My business has grown a lot since last year. as of last month i had more profit YTD then last year total. Still have a long ways to go to make this my only source of income, but it will come.

I have my first employee starting tomorrow. i am hoping to train him to be as picky as me.

once again, thank you for sharing your experiences and best of luck to you!

 

[Bates Detailing]

Thanks Anthony for this post, I am inspired!

My business has grown a lot since last year. as of last month i had more profit YTD then last year total. Still have a long ways to go to make this my only source of income, but it will come.

I have my first employee starting tomorrow. i am hoping to train him to be as picky as me.

once again, thank you for sharing your experiences and best of luck to you!

Yeah man - I see alot of your work on Facebook bro :dblthumb2: - good stuff. Tough it out man, the capital will come - just takes time and dedication!

 

[A.P.A.D.]

Yeah man - I see alot of your work on Facebook bro :dblthumb2: - good stuff. Tough it out man, the capital will come - just takes time and dedication!

Thanks Anthony! I think half the fun for me is editing pictures to be posted on FB.

Keep up the great work!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Wow Mike - you put a lot into this thread - Thank you!

Posting a reply like I wrote took a little time, you, Dave and others that know how to dissect a thread using the edit mode and the ]quote[ feature understand that.

I know this thread will be around for years to come and when others read it I want them to get the most bang for their buck so it was worth it to me to chime in and thank you and back-up what Dave wrote and include some links in the process.


I think the in-depth replies, insights and information presented in this thread is typical of all threads on AutogeekOnline.net and something that separates us from all the rest of the detailing discussion forums. Just my opinion...

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Seth@NWCDetailing]

Wow!...
I feel like I'm in an actual detailing class. All the little things that go into this business is more than I anticipated. I never knew what it actually takes to run a successful business. That being said reading this has given me an extra boost.
I'm only in month 3 of running my mobile service, been pretty slow, but given the knowledge I have gained from being apart of this forum, I'm pretty optimistic about this year.
Thanks guys, keep the knowledge rollin'


-DetailedtoInsanity-
:righton: