Year 3.5 Mobile Business - Goods and Bads

Bates Detailing

Bates Detailing

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Hey Agians - long time since being on here but I had an inkling to post. For those that don't know myself and my company - we are a predominately waterless wash company with the ability and knowledge to work on just about any surface : Auto, Bus, Bikes, Rvs, Boats, and Aircraft. We have truly become experts in all these fields. With all this said, we now have 11 crew members with great training and business is good but I would also like to point out the tough points of running a larger detailing business.


1 - Started from basically nothing, learned most auto related detailing facts from AG
2 - Came in already with extensive aviation detailing knowledge
3 - Have been able to obtain and maintain clients from year 1 through quality and professionalism
4 - Have had AMAZING crewmembers which helped growth
5 - Have learned everyday for the last 2 years how to adjust products and knowledge and make this business better
6 - Went through about 5 guys to find the right 1 guy
7 - To be legit is very expensive - taxes are the worst!
8 - Educate your clients and always produce the best results with a professional attitude.
9 - NEVER give up! This is huge! Ive wanted to MANY times in a three year spand. It is not easy to produce your best work job in and job out. But if you do, you are good to go.
10 - Doing what you love is not the key here - you will get burned out. Building a business from nothing to something great has been my drive.



I truly hope this helps those that are wanting to start a detailing company and/or have started a detailing company get on the same page with those that have experienced the goods and bads of running a detailing company. Any other seasoned companies out there that have anything to add to this thread?!?!?
 
Subscribed. Great thread idea and I will post some in depth thoughts tomorrow of my now 2 years doing this full time as a business and sole source of income.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
Subscribed too. Hope to learn from your experience. I am a few days away from starting myself, just waiting on govenment to send me my business license so I can open the bank account and start.
 
You're right about getting burned out. It absolutely happens. It can get to the point where a Porsche comes in and all you can think about is getting it done. Detailing is grueling, hard work. You'll have aches and pains. I'm only 28 and I wake up some mornings after a hard detail, and my hands hurt, my legs are sore. . .I feel like I got beat up.

I love detailing, but I wake up some days asking myself why? Like the OP said, it's not the love of detailing that keeps me going. It's my drive to succeed and make something of myself. To be the best and have the happiest customers. Even on those days when I feel like I hate my job, I give my 100% best effort. I never slack off under any circumstance.

To anybody thinking about getting into this line of work. You won't get rich, but you can build a business that will support a fun lifestyle. Think you're gonna make 250k? Think again. . . $30-100k and less starting out. There's only a few detailers in the world making $100k plus. It's Hard, Hard, Hard! But it's absolutely worth it!
 
I could never do this as anything other than a weekend hobby. I would have to treat every car like it was my own, and I neither have the time nor the body anymore to put that kind of effort into it.

I'm pretty well spent after working on my own car. No way would I be able to duplicate such an effort day after day.

As you get older your free time becomes a lot more valuable than $$, so my advice is do it while you physically can and while working ridiculous hours is not taking away from things that matter most in life.
 
statusdetailing said:
Think again. . . $30-100k and less starting out.
Click to expand...

If you're the only one doing the work, sure. But being a one-man-band has never been how businesses realize maximum profitability.

Maximizing business potential is all about leveraging human capital. And the possibilities are without limits.
 
I subscribe to Renny Doyle's way of thinking. Detailing is a lifestyle business, and I like the lifestyle it allows me to have. Running a big production shop is not my cup of tee. There's plenty of those in my town, and they look like a huge headache to run. They also do nothing but subpar work.

I have plans to piggyback some other business ideas off my detailing business, in the future, but expanding into a huge, production oriented franchise isn't in my plans. I don't subscribe to the WalMart mentality. My time is more important than anything to me.
 
I talked to my Dad (Manager) and also talked to my uncle (Estimator)

My Dad said you can't keep doing this forever, "keep going to school he said"

I also talked to my estimator uncle and he said "why don't you open up your own shop and manage it?"
 
School is super important, even for a detailer. You learn more than facts. You make great connections, gain communication and networking skills. You learn to think critically and most importantly, express yourself. It's not the major that is important; it's simply finishing what you started, that really matters.

Renny Doyle talks about this in his book. He detailed on the side in college.
 
One of the toughest transitions I see in the future for my business is the transition from solo act to managing employees. It seems like this is where the rubber hits the road that keeps many detailers from getting very big. The question that so many of us need to ask is if we even WANT to transition to a larger business. Sure, the income growth potential is there, but so is the risk of mismanagement that could lead to huge issues in the future.

Here is some key points that I have learned and am continuing to learn:

1. Even if you like to detail, you still have to view it as a job and a business. Sure, polishing paint to perfection is fun... but is it the best way for your business to earn revenue and be profitable?

2. The products that you use are not near as important as how you use them. Designer products are only really useful if you are charging designer prices. Don't get caught up in the "this wax is more amazing than the last new wax" game, there is very little difference in most high end products. Use what you are comfortable with, and what works.

3. Learn how to sell. Your detailing services do not sell themselves, you are going to have to be the face of your services and learn how to read people, how to react to different situations, and how to offer the right service at the right price to the right market. Find out what works for you, and offer it the best way possible.

4. Producing great work is essential, but the other side of that is not giving away your time and energy on services your client is not paying for. If they are paying for your basic service, do an amazing job on your basic service. If they have a trashed vehicle and you know they are not going to be satisfied with your basic service, but don't want to pay more money, turn the job down. Do not allow yourself to be set up for failure on even the smallest jobs. Learn how to say NO when necessary.
 
Full time detailing as your sole source of income. That is a scary thought. I find that detailing only produces a certain amount of dollars per hour. After business expenses there is not much left. I could not imagine supporting my family and lifestyle by detailing. My hat goes off to those of you that are making a living and still enjoying what you do.
 
Great thoughts and additions to this thread. I can say ANY business will be a headache. With that said, this business is awesome to meet great people and to see your results at the end of the day :dblthumb2: The money isn't bad but it isn't great either (at this point). I believe that to produce quantity details through multiple locations and by satisfied employees can very well produce financial results that are appeasing to any individual. But when those details start to lack quality (which hasn't happened yet thank God) - then the foundation may start cracking and a new business is formed - quality cleanings. My goal is to produce a large scaled DETAILING company which crew members that care about their work day in and day out. Am I blind to the fact that this will be very difficult? Not at all! I can start multiple tunnel wash systems and make tons more money Im sure, but my goal is to create a large company that cares about the true quality of their work. I feel this is doable with hard work and determination!
 
Thanks for your info.
Here's a bit of my story;
I officially registered my business on Aug 11, 2011.
October 31, 2011 was my last official end of my Union job due to non payment, ie: I quit my job.

So two years of official business.
I've made sure not to grow to fast. I grew up in small business and have had a few little businesses in my life so I knew what to do.
First I trained and shadowed with Jose F. for 3 years and learned how to run a Detailing Business the right way. And I still work with him and consult him on anything that I don't quite understand and Meguiar's is always a phone call away too.
And the forums are a great feedback source when I post my details so thanks to AG and Meg's.
So support is a big deal and has made my endeavor easy.

My goal is to do one car a day, ie: 356 a year.
This makes for and easy work day and I still love my job. Granted I don't have a family to support, I have a simple life and a great business.

So my advise to people is to shadow a detailer in your area. I also worked for a few hack detailers to how not to do it, too.
Don't grow to fast.
Buy what equipment you can and upgrade when you can.
Learn by doing, so grab cars and do them for cheep to hone your skills and work flow. Stupid Yelp deals helped me out with this but I soon put a stop to "those" kinds of customers. But cheap details are a canvas for you to become a "Corrector of Paint Imperfections"
 
I am just starting out in the detailing business so what I am about to say doesn't come from this business but from other business I have worked in or ran.

Having employes should come naturally. You work solo until the time where you would have to either work overtime or refuse work. At that point, getting a helper would be a much better idea than refusing work or burning yourself working overtime.

Choosing the right person is a process. Sometimes you have to go through several people before you find the one that is right for the job. My advice, look for attitude more than knowledge and skills. You can teach someone how to do things, but if you have someone with the wrong attitude it's very hard to change that. What I mean by attitude is you want someone positive, driven and willing to learn and do a good job.

Once you find that person, you can start teaching them the various things they need to know, starting with the easy stuff and then the more complicated things.

The advantage of having a helper is that you are making more money than working alone as long as you have enough job to keep you both busy. So I would start by hiring the person part time with a flexible Schedule then gradually ramping up till he is full time. At that point if you are still getting more contracts you can start looking for a second helper.

Just go with the flow, your team should grow with demand for your work. Also if you can, find people who have skills that cover your weaknesses. So for example, if you are not good at taking phone calls, try to find someone who is. If you are bad at managing your time, find someone who can plan the work for the clients... etc.
 
Don't know there. I know a lot of guys that get to the point of having too much work then use it as an opportunity to raise prices and drop unwanted services. I'm leaning towards that road myself because once I get to that point I can focus on the highest profit margin work, not have to deal with the hassle and expense of employees, and keep the business standards very high. I don't know just a thought.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
That is an other way to go about it.

Rising price is dangerous, you can loose customers. Having a helper automatically rise how much money you make. Let me explain...

Say you charge 40$ per hour for your work. With a helper you can technically do twice as much work, doesn't exactly come to that but let's say you can do 75% more work than working alone. So for a full day of work instead of doing 8 hours of work you are now doing 14 hours of work.

Your revenue is now 560$ instead of 320$. Out of that you must pay your helper. To start with, I would go with a low salary and raise gradually if the guy works out and is good. So at start let's say you pay him 10$ per hour, that's 80$ per day out of the 560$. That leave you with an extra 160$ more than working by yourself. You are now making 60$ per hour instead of 40$. That's a 50% increase in salary. If you raise your prices by 50%, you will very likelly loose all your clients.

Even after a while if you get your helper on a 20$ per hour salary, you are still making more money than working alone. And by that point he should be doing as good a job as you are because you taught him everything you know.
 
B&B you guys are an inspiration to many. I detail as a side job on top of school and it is had to juggle customers needs and my own some times it takes missing class or studying to get new customers and make them repeats. I hope to grow like you have once I have the time. Keep the great advice coming. Good luck in the years to come.
 
If you hire someone and tell them you are going to pay them $10 an hour it would cost a lot more than $80 of your total gross for the day. Making payroll is the biggest expense in most business.

Sent from my SGH-T889 using AG Online
 
VP Mark said:
One of the toughest transitions I see in the future for my business is the transition from solo act to managing employees. It seems like this is where the rubber hits the road that keeps many detailers from getting very big. The question that so many of us need to ask is if we even WANT to transition to a larger business. Sure, the income growth potential is there, but so is the risk of mismanagement that could lead to huge issues in the future.

Here is some key points that I have learned and am continuing to learn:

1. Even if you like to detail, you still have to view it as a job and a business. Sure, polishing paint to perfection is fun... but is it the best way for your business to earn revenue and be profitable?

2. The products that you use are not near as important as how you use them. Designer products are only really useful if you are charging designer prices. Don't get caught up in the "this wax is more amazing than the last new wax" game, there is very little difference in most high end products. Use what you are comfortable with, and what works.

3. Learn how to sell. Your detailing services do not sell themselves, you are going to have to be the face of your services and learn how to read people, how to react to different situations, and how to offer the right service at the right price to the right market. Find out what works for you, and offer it the best way possible.

4. Producing great work is essential, but the other side of that is not giving away your time and energy on services your client is not paying for. If they are paying for your basic service, do an amazing job on your basic service. If they have a trashed vehicle and you know they are not going to be satisfied with your basic service, but don't want to pay more money, turn the job down. Do not allow yourself to be set up for failure on even the smallest jobs. Learn how to say NO when necessary.
Click to expand...


You said it bruther! I am listening and learning from your words of wisdom as it all seems to fit.:iagree:
 
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