Gotta make this a Success!!!

[cutter]

In the past week I've spent around $1500.00 with AG...I quit my regular job yesterday and I'm going full time in Detailing!!! I hope this is a good move, it keeps me up at night wondering...lol...That's when I spend the most money, I know my wife wishes I could sleep!!! Anyway, I've got a Flex and a Cyclo on the way and I can't wait to get my hands on them!!!:dblthumb2:

[DaHen]

Hey, good luck on your new venture. Sounds like you got support from the wife.

Have you any clients lined up yet?

[tuscarora dave]

If I were you I would spend some time trying to get some fleet accounts cleaning vans, taxi cabs, real estate agencies etc. just to cover your steady income needs and then market yourself as aggressively as you can. Create profiles with google places, yahoo business, local newspaper websites, facebook etc. in the after dark hours.

Do you have liability insurance and business licensing yet? What other tools, equipment, supplies do you have other than a few polishers? Will you be mobile or do you have a shop to work out of? Do you have a budget for professional marketing? How will you get your business noticed and what makes you better than the next detailer in your area?

Do you have a plan B and plan C in effect? Does the wife work? Moral support is nice but do you have financial support? What will you do if you don't get any customers right away? If you buy it... they will not come. You will have to put your business information along with something to convince your prospective clients to go with you right in front of them. How will you do this if you haven't already.You will have to make all of this happen, mind sharing some of your ideas on the actions you will take to make this succeed?

These are just some things that came to mind when I read your post.

[Transcendent]

It's hard dude i did the same thing about 6 months ago. I was doing pretty well but there are weeks when u don't get a single call. The two best things i did for my business was 1. Make a damn good website. I used Vistaprint's site builder it's cheap and easy and looks really good. 2. Hire a advertising agency. This may seem like a waste of money but it really isn't. I was Paying $70 a month and they put my business in the top five of like 100 website for local searches and they put me in the phone book. I used AT&T Advertising and it worked well. I noticed a heavy increase in customers within the first month. Craigslist is also very very good post every day. Make two ads with different wording (u can only post the same ad once every 3 days so the different wording makes it so u can post the ad everyday if u alternate between the two ads).

Also dont spend every dime you make put like 1/3 or so into a business account to save for chemicals because you will start going through them fast and if you dont put cash away for this it will seem like you are spending every dime u make on stuff u need.:cruisin:

The Most important thing is you have to understand that it will be slow at first but if you take good care of your customers and do your best job every single time they will come back and their friends will hear about you. I wish you the best man. I my self made the choice to get a full time job detailing at a dealership (awesome job BTW) its less money and i work for someone but i need a steady pay check to take care of my munchkin, so as of yesterday I ended my business. Plus im a blue collar work my knuckles to the bone type of guy running a business is to much thinking for me. :buffing:

Once again good luck man.

[Flash Gordon]

Call your former boss and plead insanity ;)

[BobbyG]

Call your former boss and plead insanity ;)

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Cutter,

How much previous experience in detailing vehicles do you have?

[Flash Gordon]

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Cutter,

How much previous experience in detailing vehicles do you have?

I didn't really mean that to be funny. This is a super tough business with many obstacles to overcome

If your marriage is on a rocky foundation already, expect major issues.

Seriously, I would call your boss this morning and tell him/her you had a terrible day yesterday and see if they will retract your resignation. At least build up enough clientle to be able to cover your monthly expenses before quitting a current job

This message I speak comes from personal expierence

Good luck

Flash

[rwright]

Aw come on Flash, detailing is not a tough business. Everyone owns a waterhose, soap, and wash mitts and even know a few people with cars to wash. How hard can it be? :poke:

[CEE DOG]

I didn't really mean that to be funny. This is a super tough business with many obstacles to overcome

If your marriage is on a rocky foundation already, expect major issues.

Seriously, I would call your boss this morning and tell him/her you had a terrible day yesterday and see if they will retract your resignation. At least build up enough clientle to be able to cover your monthly expenses before quitting a current job

This message I speak comes from personal expierence

Good luck

Flash

In all honestly I completely agree. I'm not the type to jump from a bridge without seeing water first. Just not a responsible thing to do in my opinion. Having said that there are times I wish I could be more of a risk taker. Either way, good luck.

[Flash Gordon]

Just show back up to work today and act like nothing ever happened :)

[ALLN1WASH]

I wish you the best. Like others have already stated it can be very difficult getting your business to succeed initially, but with you being as serious as you are, keep pushing and you'll be alright.

And Flash Gordon, you are a dang fool, where do you come up with some if this stuff my man.??.??...

[VIP Reflections]

The best decision i made in my life was to NOT quit my FT job and slowly but hopefully surely grow my PT detail Biz into something FT. I feel loads of pressure for this to work as it is just doing it PT, i can imagine how i would feel if i quit my job. I feel like you should always inch into a business rather than diving in, unless you already owned a Biz and know what it takes or have tons of capital to spend right out of the gate. I wish you the best of luck... Remember, strong marketing is the key to your success and a good business plan is your map to get you there.

[BobbyG]

What these guys are saying is true. Detailing when done correctly is allot of work and takes allot of time.

When transitioning from one profession to another it's important not to have it impact your current lifestyle or standard of living. What this means is your new income will provide you with equal to or hopefully better than your old one.

Typically when starting off a new business the newer one starts off slowly and builds up over time. Detailing is one of those businesses that require some time to probably establish your name, the quality of your work, and the pricing is also important.

Building a reliable clientèle takes time and normally does not happen overnight.

Before jumping ship you need to ask yourself a few questions...

Do you have the necessary experience to properly detail a car?
How will I build a customer base?
Can I afford it?
Will this provide a steady income?
Will it provide benefits like medical insurance?
How much will licensing and liability insurance cost?

A few tips by Mike Phillips

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-make-money-detailing-cars/27827-few-tips-starting-part-time-detailing-business.html

[Flash Gordon]

And Flash Gordon, you are a dang fool, where do you come up with some if this stuff my man.??.??...

Thanks for letting me know how you feel about me. Most don't have the guts

I get my info through wisdom? Where do you recieve your info?

[ALLN1WASH]

Thanks for letting me know how you feel about me. Most don't have the guts

I get my info through wisdom? Where do you recieve your info?

Now I know your not taking my comment the wrong way! As I wrote it, I was actually rubbing my stomach, trying to stop if from hurting because I had been laughing so dang hard @ your comments.

I guess I could've said, you are dang FUNNY, or dang Hilarious, or dang comical, or heck maybe ond of these guys :haha: but to Be honest I type the way I talk. No hard feeling FLASH. :bowdown::cheers:

As far as my info, I've gotten some of it from experience, some from watching others, some from here and some from there. Pretty much the same as everyone else...