Hello from Charlotte, NC!

[C&LDetail]

Hi, My name is Cameron I recently started my own detailing company in Charlotte with a very good friend. Seeing as how I am a business major and really enjoy detailing I thought it would be a good idea to combine the two and try to make a little money. Our company is called C&L Detailing. C&L Auto and Boat Detailing (http://www.cl-detailing.com) So far things have been going well but most definitely the hardest part for us has been advertising and finding a way that consistently works so any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. While shopping for supplies one day on the internet I came across AG.net and have pretty much been hooked since then. I thought I knew a decent amount about detailng but AG has taught me show much more and I look forward to reading all the new posts everyday. The picture is of a 1978 Porsche 911SC it only has about 46K original miles on it. The pictures were taken after using Ultimate Compound then Wolfgang Polish Enhancer and topped off wth Pinnacle Souveran.

[jdrumstik]

I like the movie on your website, very good idea (although for some reason it was smashed up so it was too tall of a screen, Using Firefox 3.5, Windows Vista, 1280X1024 if that helps any)

Also you seem to have great prices, how long does it take you to do a car? Doesn't seem like at that price with two people it would be worth it, but what do I know I don't have my own business.

Also, with many business and I suspect this type as well, your primary source of new business will end up being referrals. You could offer something like 2 follow up exterior washes for every referall they give you. meaning that a friend of their's actually sets up an appointment. Just an idea.

Also perhaps some magnetic signage to slap on you car would be good so curious naibors know your a professional and not just some random person.

I think it would be cool to buy a black Van for a detailing truck and always keep the right half fully clayed, polished, waxed and cleaned with the words "our Pro Detail on the side and that side of the hood. And then the Left half NEVER done anything except washed with towels and dish soap and tons of swirls with the words, 'what your car looks like'

Just some ideas for you. And if you see someone with a nicer upscale car with swirls just compliment their car (most guys like this) and then tell them your a professional detailer and you can get all those swirls out of their paint and make it look way better. And also instead of asking "if your interested" or "if you want" say "We could setup an appointment right now" And then either way give them a business card, you can get them way cheap from vistaprint.com. And for some reason most people have a really hard time choosing a time for their appointment (I learned this in the insurance business). The easist way is to offer them 2 or 3 choices at a time till they have an appointment, and if at any time they want a specific time just give it to them.

[C&LDetail]

Thanks for the compliment on the website and ill have to look into the smashed up view. As far as time goes the Porsche took us about 3.5hrs from start to finish. I did alot of research in the Charlotte area as far as pricing and I am pretty sure I am lower then at least 75 to 80% of the competition but I didn't want to price it so low that it gave the impression of low quality work because me and my partner work very hard and take alot of pride in our work! Those are some pretty creative ideas for sure! haha. The free wash with referal is an excelent idea I'll most likely try that! The hardest part for me has been the getting the initial customer but after that they are always very pleased with the result.

[jdrumstik]

Thanks for the compliment on the website and ill have to look into the smashed up view. As far as time goes the Porsche took us about 3.5hrs from start to finish. I did alot of research in the Charlotte area as far as pricing and I am pretty sure I am lower then at least 75 to 80% of the competition but I didn't want to price it so low that it gave the impression of low quality work because me and my partner work very hard and take alot of pride in our work! Those are some pretty creative ideas for sure! haha. The free wash with referal is an excelent idea I'll most likely try that! The hardest part for me has been the getting the initial customer but after that they are always very pleased with the result.

Well, if you can get through the cars that fast then I suppose that is pretty good. I really don't know how much most detailers charge, I just detail as a hobby.

Yeah, I commute about 2 hours a day and I think about business all day long: flaws in business, stocks, businesss I could start up. Im obsessed, I read the Wal-Street journal every day - so Im glad that you like my ideas cause that's what fuels businesses. I hope to get back to school for my BS in Accounting soon.

Another interesting idea is to charge people who are selling their car to detail it, and maybe offer them 50% off the detail if their car doesn't sell in the next week or 2 weeks. That idea is a lot more risky, but you'd still collect 50% of the revenue, write the other 50% off as a loss (refund), and hopefully they will be buying a newer nicer car and want you to detail that in the future anyways.

Or maybe to encourage people to get the most expensive option offer a free exterior only wash on another vehicle of theirs (really doesn't take that long, most people have at least 2 cars) when they choose option 3 and then they have two clean cars and maybe it will highlight the difference between just washing and the full service.

And since some people really dig environmental stuff these days perhaps you could give them the option to wash the car on their Lawn, so the water trickles down and waters the lawn. Seems to me the chemicals might kill the grass, but when I lived in Salt Lake City Utah for 2 years everyone used to do that. I know they had water restrictions (no watering the grass during the day) so maybe it was a law but either way some people might appreciate it. I'm from SoCal so we try not to waste too much water, but probably not as much of a problem where you are. Also, perhaps you should advertise that you use VOC products, I don't know what that means but I see it on AGs store.

Also a cool idea to keep your contact info with the people is maybe get some of those oil change stickers made up but have it say YOUR NEXT DETAIL IS DUE IN, or perhaps you could get custom print Air Fresheners with you name and # on it that says this car was detailed by: I think those last two are my worst ideas but maybe it will inspire you with a real money maker. Maybe you could offer to install a free license plate cover with your name and number on it if they don't have one or theirs is gross. If you got 100 made up it might not cost that much and it is advertising, although I doubt its effective.

[sal329]

Welcome to AG

[id-type-s]

Cool! some more local guys