Focusing On Next Year.

[RonAlv]

This past summer, I started detailing as a part time side business. Now that my full time job is slowing down, and winter approaching, I am wanting to focus on next year.
This past summer, my business was strictly "word of mouth". I have been working on my web site, but I feel it needs revamping. I have looked at area detailer's sites, and think how do they make a profit and low rates?
I am just a 1 person crew doing it. On my site, I do have multiple packages for exterior and interior listed, but it was kind of thrown together. I have not advertised my site as of yet.
Is it better to offer packages for exterior only and interior? Or is it a good idea to have interior, exterior only, and add a combination package into the mix?
My objective is to keep it simple for both me and potential customers.
Any ideas is greatly appreciated.

eyecandyautodetail

[Cruzscarwash]

have a look


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-business.html

[OCDetails]

In 2006 my second child was born and we decided it was better for my wife to stay home with the kids. That was when my 'hobby' got really serious. I threw some money into some better tools and amped up my shaking of the bushes. I started advertising anything and everything instead of my usual 'all or nothing' type details. I thought if I could get in to do the engine detail then they would hire me to do the rest of the car. I priced out just interiors, just oxidation removal, just engines, just emblem removal, just headlight polishing... Anything I could piece out I did. It definitely kept me busy, but in the end I found I was spending more time away from home and wasn't really making any more money. In fact, some weeks I would have a gig every night after work and I made less money than if I would have just had one full detail on a Saturday. I did let that run for a couple years, but then the financial apocalypse of 2008 happened and I discovered that most of my clients were either in real estate or impacted by the economy in such a way that getting their car detailed wasn't a priority anymore. In 2009 I took a job that more than covered for Jennifer's income and I stopped advertising. I have subsisted ever since on word of mouth.

So my point is that piecing things out doesn't necessarily mean you are going to make more money. I do inside and outside and engine for $180 for cars and $220 for larger SUVs and vans. Ocassionally there is the real trainwreck that bumps it up to $300, but that seems to be the top of the mark in my world. I've branched out to aviation work and that is incredibly profitable. I can charge $1000 for 10 hours of work and they are happy to pay it. Sometimes even more. One of my larger jets takes 20 hours to do a full detail on and they are happy to pay $2500 for that. Trailers and boats are another high profit margin area. The little jobs will give you volume, but I never heard back from those jobs ever again. The ones I heard back from were the full details where they really saw what I could do. They told their friends and so on. You know how word of mouth goes. Another good way to get some steady business is to get into a community of drivers. Find someone in the local Subaru club. Subie guys love getting their cars shined up. My referals from that particular community lead me to RallySportDirect where I've done a couple of their shop vehicles and several of the employees' cars. I still do a few of them at least once a year. Considering I haven't posted an ad since at least 2008 I am pleased that my 24/7 hobby (24 hours a week, 7 days a month) nets me $1500 to $2000 per month April through October. I've got two retainer deals with aircraft where they pay me the same amount every month and I just come out a couple hours a week to clean the bugs off. Not bad for a 'hobby', eh?

I also want to point out that next May will be my 20th year detailing cars and my 18th year of being really serious about it. Don't look at established businesses and shops and try to get to where they are over night. Remember that when you see a man on top of a mountain that he didn't fall there. It takes a long time to build up a customer base and the word of mouth to really support this hobby more than a couple hundred bucks a month. I remember back when I was detailing for $40 bucks a car and thought I was making good money. Two or three of those per week was awesome date money when I was a newlywed and poor. You need to decide if this is going to be a business or a hobby. For me it is still a hobby and I don't take it very seriously. I don't sacrifice family time or take time off work just to make a new client. There was a time when I was running it like a business when I would do that in a heart beat, but now you won't even find my phone number or email address on my website. My customers know who I am and I know whenever my phone rings and someone is asking for a detail it is because someone who was happy with my work sent them to me. I'm satisfied with that. Good luck to you!

[RonAlv]

Awesome perspective OC Details. In all seriousness, I am looking at "Production Detail" to start out with. I guess what I'm looking for is what are fair price points for a particular service?
I do have a full time job working in Fiber Optic's and switch network configurations. So detailing is more of a way for me to have side money. I agree that word of mouth is the best advertising. It sounds like you are in the position in that I am wanting to get to in time. Thanks