Anyone forum members here run a mobile detailing business without doing the actual work?

[eurotopia]

I've been reading up on some of Mike's "How To" tutorial threads on the forum about starting a detail business and I find them very helpful.

I am looking to start a mobile detailing business and I have several connections with major car clubs in my county who themselves are looking for a detailer.

I myself don't have the time (married and 60 hour work week) to actually do the labor but I would like to outsource/hire detailers to do the work for my business. Definitely looking at "production" work as opposed to "showcar".

Anyone here run a mobile detail business without actually doing the detail work? Did you outsource or hire detailers to do the jobs?

I didn't have much luck searching this forum for individuals in my position who would like to operate the business but have workers dedicated to the detailing side.

Your comments/suggestions are welcomed and I look forward to becoming an active member on this forum.

[thebamboo23]

To much headache.. That's why


It seems like you are barely learning how to detail.. So how would you judge the quality of an employee?

[statusdetailing]

I'd be nervous all the time, that the moron you hired for 9 bucks an hour, would screw up a $60k car. Better have top notch insurance, because it's going to happen.

[cardaddy]

If I were to want to venture into something along those lines I'd go EXACTLY at the show car, hi-line, exotic market. If you want to be the 'face' that sells the product, and you can back up your 'product' with qualified workers, then you should be going for the market that has the most money to spend.

Guys with collector cars have money. Guys with hi-line and exotic cars have money. And most of the time neither knows how, or likely has the time to, DETAIL their own cars.

If you go into the business saying all you want to do is production work you are limiting yourself to that work. I mean not completely, but you know what I'm saying.

Take a guy that wants to be a car salesman. Now he will at some point in his life have to start selling KIA's before he can sell Porsche's. But... take the guy that has sold Cadillac's, he'll easily be able to sell Mercedes. Once he's at that level he doesn't NEED to sell KIA's anymore. It's about deciding what you want to do, and removing yourself from the low-ball market.

When you start dealing exclusively with a certain type of customer (detailing or anything else) and they KNOW that you only deal with their 'kind' then they'll bring you more of their 'kind'. When you wear a $1500 suit to sell cars you will find that people expect to pay you more than if you are wearing slacks and a golf shirt.

It's (as has been put to me) a "state of mind". You decide up front that you just don't want to deal with people that are price shopping. You want people that WANT to spend money and they WANT the high priced guy. The same guy that did Biff's Lambo, or Skippy's Aston Martin and if you do it cheap-er (than say Bob would, or the other guy across town would) then they will not respect, nor EX-PECT the job that goes with that high of a price.

Now I'm not saying that is my business model. But it IS a viable business model. After all the years I was in the towing business and dealt with hi-line cars I know the 'type'. Have some guy with a SLS call you for a detail and you tell him it's $250 and he'll never show up, EVER. But tell him it's $495 and up, then explain to him WHY it's that much and he's yours for life! :xyxthumbs:

[eurotopia]

If I were to want to venture into something along those lines I'd go EXACTLY at the show car, hi-line, exotic market. If you want to be the 'face' that sells the product, and you can back up your 'product' with qualified workers, then you should be going for the market that has the most money to spend.

Guys with collector cars have money. Guys with hi-line and exotic cars have money. And most of the time neither knows how, or likely has the time to, DETAIL their own cars.

If you go into the business saying all you want to do is production work you are limiting yourself to that work. I mean not completely, but you know what I'm saying.

Take a guy that wants to be a car salesman. Now he will at some point in his life have to start selling KIA's before he can sell Porsche's. But... take the guy that has sold Cadillac's, he'll easily be able to sell Mercedes. Once he's at that level he doesn't NEED to sell KIA's anymore. It's about deciding what you want to do, and removing yourself from the low-ball market.

When you start dealing exclusively with a certain type of customer (detailing or anything else) and they KNOW that you only deal with their 'kind' then they'll bring you more of their 'kind'. When you wear a $1500 suit to sell cars you will find that people expect to pay you more than if you are wearing slacks and a golf shirt.

It's (as has been put to me) a "state of mind". You decide up front that you just don't want to deal with people that are price shopping. You want people that WANT to spend money and they WANT the high priced guy. The same guy that did Biff's Lambo, or Skippy's Aston Martin and if you do it cheap-er (than say Bob would, or the other guy across town would) then they will not respect, nor EX-PECT the job that goes with that high of a price.

Now I'm not saying that is my business model. But it IS a viable business model. After all the years I was in the towing business and dealt with hi-line cars I know the 'type'. Have some guy with a SLS call you for a detail and you tell him it's $250 and he'll never show up, EVER. But tell him it's $495 and up, then explain to him WHY it's that much and he's yours for life! :xyxthumbs:

cardaddy, thanks for the advice. I do have access to mid to high end clientele (BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, pretty much all Euros). My only concern is whether outsourcing with contractor detailers or hiring detailers would make sense. I would love to dedicate time to learning the detailing trade but have no time and don't plan on leaving my line of work (I'm a Linux developer).

[Kevin Cullen]

Would you be the silent partner or the head of the complaint department? It you are going to be the face of the company you need to know your product inside and out. Not saying your business plan may not work just saying that there will be complaints to deal with from people that will have some detailing experience from past details they may have had.

If you are the silent partner or money man you can hire someone to manage the business and you take the left overs. This would be a great passive income source then.

[cardaddy]

There would be no way to be the 'face' of the business and not know detailing. To a point, if say you were only dealing with the principles (owners) of various shops you *may* be able to get away with it, but it'd be hard if you don't have a FANTASTIC General Manager standing by your side.

You would need a well versed GM that could not only liaison with various account holders, but knows how to manage a shop of detailers.

If you subcontract to existing hi-line detailers you better darned well have a iron clad non-compete clause with any and all arms of your account holders.

Having a money making, high volume, hi-line and exotic account will make your contractors stay up nights trying to figure out a way to steal it from you!

Either they'll be getting paid what they would have normally charged, or somebody will be trying to get the account for less.

The one saving grace with exotic and hi-line accounts is generally (although its not carved in stone) once they find the right service, and it's a PROVEN service, they will tend to stick with it. They've come to realize through the years that many out there will try, but few are actually able to provide a consistent level of service commensurate with their day to day needs and those of their highly regarded clientele.

When I was towing MB (for a factory dealership) then Rolls & Bentley (for another MB dealership that was also a factory Rolls & Bentley store) they wouldn't talk to other towing companies because they didn't trust them as the face of their business. (Myself and all my guys didn't work crash sites, always had clean clothes, golf shirts, etc. and had the cleanest and most chromed out trucks in town.) It wasn't uncommon to tack on $1000 towing bill to a $5000 Bentley service, (considering I might have to go to the Carolina's to get it, then deliver it back after the service).

Same thing would hold true for detailers in that world. Once you're in.... you're in. Just don't know how much extra there would be left at the top to make it worth your time.

I mean when starting up it's going to be hard to get there. Likely 2~3 years before you have enough cash flow year round to keep a crew and a GM busy. If it's just the GM, with the promise that one day he'll have a crew, and he's say a partner in the business then the incentive may be enough. If he's just another employee... all bets are off.

Might have a talk with Anthony @ B&B. He's recently hired a new GM, and is paying him well. And of course they are expanding so he'll have some valuable insight. But where he comes from here is HE DID THE WORK HIMSELF. Were it not for all the hard work he did, and knowing the business, learning the business, LIVING the business, it'd be a different story.

[Cosmin]

if you are lucky to find someone who detail before and give him the right hand/GM , than you may have chance to run a business without doing the work , be ready to shovel some cash and sustain the business for couple month or 1-2 years till you get some clients flow.

[thebamboo23]

Even if he would find the right guy, over time the guy will learn the ends and out, and would actually wanna do show cars rather than production.. There's just to many cons to go with pros

[statusdetailing]

The most successful business owners and enrepreneurs i can think were masters at whatever service or product they offered. Guys like Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Henry Ford worked their butts off and knew their products and services in and out. They had a vision. What you are attempting to do, makes you the complete opposite of these guys. Figure out what you love and get good at it. Leave the detailing to us. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into my business, and I'm sure i'ts the same for a lot of other guys on here. Hate to tell you man, but what you are attempting to do is unimaginative, boring and frankly offensive. Take that extra money that you have to burn and invest in some stocks or just go relax at the country club while your having your mercedes detailed by one of us.

[parkerslade]

The most successful business owners and enrepreneurs i can think were masters at whatever service or product they offered. Guys like Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Henry Ford worked their butts off and knew their products and services in and out. They had a vision. What you are attempting to do, makes you the complete opposite of these guys. Figure out what you love and get good at it. Leave the detailing to us. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into my business, and I'm sure i'ts the same for a lot of other guys on here. Hate to tell you man, but what you are attempting to do is unimaginative, boring and frankly offensive. Take that extra money that you have to burn and invest in some stocks or just go relax at the country club while your having your mercedes detailed by one of us.

:whs::cheers:

[statusdetailing]

Sorry for getting so upset. You have to understand that your coming into a community full of some of the most passionate detailers in the world and telling your going to start a business without knowing the first thing about it. My intent wasnt to offend you but to show you how that probably makes a lot of the guys on here feel.

[TCFatboy]

I don´t think is a good Idea to start a business were You won´t have the time to check the work you are offering

Helper´s, another detail with out been supervised by you? Don´t think is a good Idea.

You don´t have the Experience, is not something you just read and then you are ready to roll like this. Is not that you can´t. is just that will be a blind bet, for you

I have a shop, I´m training my Partner, And the new guy. I´m here 12hrs, up to 16hrs a day, every day. And still is a Pain in the ...!!!!

Not easy task, I´m here cause is my Business, I´m a full time And Overtime Detailer. And still learning!!!!!!

[cardaddy]

Our old friends Mike Phillips and Tuscarora Dave have both so eloquently said, time and time again, that there sometimes comes a time when its better to "push away from the keyboard" than to put something out there that may not be the message we would like to say.

Dave said it this way:

Besides the auto detailing in itself I have learned and observed patience, an ability to "push away from the keyboard" when patience is at a minimum, friendliness, an ability to "push away from the keyboard" when I'm not feeling so friendly, teachability, an ability to "push away from the keyboard" when I'm not feeling so teachable, humility, an ability to "push away from the keyboard" when I'm not feeling so humble.

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Also, from Mike there have been pearls of wisdom such as this:

It's just as easy to do things the right way the first time as it is to do things wrong all the time. Like I always say,

"Detailers that hang out on discussion forums like AGO know more than detailers that don't hang out on forums at all"

A great detailer brings four things to the table...


Knowledge
Skill
Experience
Passion

Knowledge is shared, transfered and obtained via detailing discussion forums better and faster than any other media.

For the full thread click here. (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/56643-detailers-hang-out-discussion-forums-know-more-than-detailers-don-t.html)
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What the OP is *thinking* about *wanting* to do *is* possible. For instance, I had years of experience, including studying architecture in school. So back in the late 90's I started doing Home Theater design and consulting, which of course included sales and installation. Figured why not, the economy was good, I was looking to get away from the towing business, and the money was VERY GOOD. (at the time) So several years go by and it's a decent alternative to driving all the time, plus the fact that the average client was $55K. Really didn't need but a couple of jobs a year to change tax brackets. ;)

Anyhow, I had this one client that kept doing upgrades. Married couple, 5 year old son, between the two of them they're knocking down half a mil annually.

The first time I met him he had just built a dedicated theater room, plain, but it was a dedicated room. Finished it out and put a nice system in it. About a year goes by and he decided to REALLY go for the gusto. So we started over with all the speakers, equipment, acoustical treatments, even a new interior decorator :rolleyes: that ordered up $5500 worth of custom drapes to put on the screen end of the room. (That's over five grand for drapes on a wall with no windows.) :)

So we are going through his home putting surround in 5 rooms and 2-channel in 10 more locations, doing upgrades everywhere. OK, surely he's now had enough and will be set for some time now.

Almost a year later he calls me and wants to meet me for lunch, his treat. SURE... I'll be in the area next Tuesday. Get there and after we order he whips out his NEW business card. Was it for a software company, like after all... that's what he DOES. But NOOOOOOOO.... it was HIS new Home Theater business. He knew NOTHING about the business other than what he had done in his own home. BUT (and this is the part that makes it work) he runs in circles of OTHER people that have as much, (and quite often) MORE disposable income than he did at the time.

He didn't mind hiring me or my partner at our going rate of $65 an hour (full day) or $350 half day. He also sold jobs that HE NEVER TOUCHED. His only driving motivation was that he wanted some new speakers that he didn't want to pay retail for. Figured as a 'dealer' he could buy wholesale and have the best of everything. He'd sell the jobs, I'd do the work (and most of the sales of equipment would go through my company) and he'd collect the money, make a profit and roll the rest into his "upgrade fund".

Long story short, he/we redid his Theater a THIRD time, and it was awesome, really awesome. Had it been built from scratch in the basement, including framing, electrical, acoustical treatment, carpet, furniture, custom cabinets, ANOTHER Interior Decorator, the whole works, including equipment... it'd have been a $150,000 Home Theater.

It happened because he was around people with money. Didn't know JACK about the business, but he had connections that could make sales that we didn't have. It helped my sales, and obviously helped him attain his goals of a truly first rate home theater.

But what happens when people get greedy?
Well about a month after we got EVERYTHING in the house done that final time, his wife told him she wanted a divorce!!!!!!!!!!!!:awman:
He called in a panic and wanted me to sell his new $35,000 speakers. The SAME speakers HE ordered from the manufacturer and had them custom built. The same speakers that HE agreed not to sell on the internet. But he knew that I DID sell some products, and trade-ins on Audiogon (the internet). So I just happened to have plenty of photos of his stuff, so I told him for 10% plus listing fees I'd sell them, (which was at least 25% less than you make on speakers any other time). I put the ad up and about 2 days later he called in a panic again. I was so over it by then but he was crying and saying the *manufacturer* was going to file suit against him for violating his dealer agreement and to get the speakers off the internet. Told them he sold them to me, was getting a divorce and was out of business. THEY DIDN'T CARE! :laughing:

I said I'd go ahead and sell them anyhow, what could they do to me? After all, I'm not their dealer. ;) Then they called ME! Told me how angry they were. "Not my problem I , I bought these speakers from a guy used", I said. Their reply was they knew EXACTLY where I bought them, they were custom built for him and THE ONLY ONES IN NORTH AMERICA!

Ruh-Row...... I took the ad down that day. ;)

Called the dude and told him he owed me $500, which was a fraction of what he'd paid had I sold them, and nowhere NEAR what he'd paid if they sued him. :eek:

Moral of the story is, if you run in circles with money, you can make money. But don't get ahead of yourself, or your wife may kick you out, your company go belly up, and your vendors may sue you.

[TCFatboy]

It´s like me, I like different cleaning service´s I don´t perform all.
But I do several service´s other than just AutoDetail.

And the One service that really interest me, is the Commercial Air Duct Cleaning.
I have done a lot of research, but that´s not all. even a 2, 3day course, will just give me the 1st very basic´s.

I got my old email blocked, that´s why I stopped searching on Truck Mount Forums, great great forum for all those Carpet, Upholstery,leather, all you can imagine in the Cleaning Industry Professional.

There I learn a lot about this service. But I´m a tottally beginer on that service. Had the contacts for the Commercial Jobs. But if I´m not there to watch,Learn, and dedicate time. Hell no I won´t just use my Co. Name, Pay my Business taxes to be register. And not be at the job
Not a good Idea. is the same for you in a way

I work and Open the Detail Shop, everyday. And is rare that I feel bored at the shop. I love what I do. And I´m deam good at it!!!!!