HELP: Starting a LEGIT Detailing business!!!

[Derek Short]

I didn't know where else to post this so I hope its ok to post here.....
I am looking to start a LEGIT detailing business and needing help knowing the steps in order to do so...
I plan to do my detailing as a side business on my days off which are fri, sat, sun.

Ive got in contact with a insurance company and it looks to be $650 a year for a 1mil. liability, and 30K property.

Still working on a company name...

But here is where I am lost....

Once I get a company name what do I do about getting it registered and set up for taxes etc...

From the guy I spoke with about the insurance he mentioned I don't need to do all that in order to have insurance for the company...

Here is what I am thinking....

I want to have a website... And don't want there to be an issue down the road where if something happened to a customers car they report me for not being a legit detailing company etc... what do I do about that?

Kinda lost here and would really appreciate the help on the detailing weighing in on my situation...

Thanks!

[David Hayward]

I'm not an expert but I think the best start is to register a tax ID number and create an llc

[af90]

You'll contact your local department of commerce or clerk's office usually and register with the state for you specific business (costs are determined by type of business).

Here in NV it's roughly $120 a year, contact the IRS to get setup with an EIN tax number, then research forming an LLC which will allow you in the event of being sued to not worry about them going after your personal holdings. Insurance you seem to have set, just ensure you are carrying enough coverage and you understand the terms. Does it cover only cars in your garage, are you planning on picking up cars and driving them? If so ensure you're covered in the event of an accident out on the road with a customer's car.

With the website look up regular domain holders about creating your own website. Initially most have templates setup to assist you, last year I was lucky that Nevada offers one year free website hosting for new businesses but I decided to forego that (although now I've got the bug again). A basic template with plenty of photos and business pricing is needed, you can work on it and tweak it to your liking. I am no expert on HTML so I used a basic template and tweaked it to my satisfaction.

For marketing start with friends and such, move on to local car clubs, Cars and Coffee events, etc... Add your business to Google Maps so you can be added, preferably have a few clients that can give reviews initially once you start it up. Vistaprint has pretty solid deals on business cards, roughly 250 for $10. Also start expanding onto social media, craigslist if you wish.

I would also look into something akin to a Square reader so you can take credit cards and it gives you a receipt for every customer.

[jarred767]

^^ +1 to all of that; great advice af90. Reviews, a website, square reader, proper insurance, decals on your truck (especially if mobile) t-shirts with your logo, business cards, a work email address, listings on google maps each add to your credibility. Just work on one a time and slowly continue to add to the credibility as you build.

Looking back 9 years to when I started, my business looked pathetic lol. But I have slowly improved it, and contine to try a do so even more, and I feel like it's turned out alright now. Just don't try doing everything all at once or else you can easily get overwhelmed and end up not getting near as much accomplished, or possibly even give up because it feels like too much.

Depending on what your working on and how you center your biz, you may be able to just open it as a sole proprietorship and save some $$$. There are different variables that go into that decision though, so be sure to do your research on that stuff. Good luck!

[Kengo123]

How can you insure a detailing business that's not a legit detail business?

Start there first

Go to the county clerk and register your ficticious business name. For me it was $30.
I then had to go to the local paper to have my business name published. That was around $200

You can bypass the first part by just using your actual name as your business name.

Then go to your city hall to get your business license. For me I paid $50 initially, but I have to pay a yearly renewal fee based on our revenue

Then you're legit

You can get insurance, get a business bank account, do your online marketing (facebook, google plus, youtube, Instagram, yelp, google places for business aka google maps, make a website (drag and drops are cool if you're a little creative. I used weebly), search engine optimization, google webmaster tools, google analytics), etc etc

[Kengo123]

If you plan on incorporating, there's more that goes into it, but im not speaking from experience

[808_detail_nut]

Next buy Renny Doyle's book. I got it on Kindle, it's awesome. I just did all this in my state and am now a legit business. Have fun and good luck. Remember, enjoy it and don't let it discourage you. I feel if I get frustrated my quality of work go down. Just always keep a positive attitude and work hard.

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[BillE]

Start asking at the 'local' level what is required. It is possible that is as far as you need to go. They should be able to tell you about any county and state requirements you will need to address.

Check your states web site under (usually) "Department of State" there well may be a lot on info for opening/operating a business.

Good luck...

Bill

[thebamboo23]

I wouldn't do anything you just mentioned

Get 10 people to pay you $150 for your detailing services and then look into all that "business" stuff

[VP Mark]

I wouldn't do anything you just mentioned

Get 10 people to pay you $150 for your detailing services and then look into all that "business" stuff

Bah. He isn't doing anything drastic or overly costly. Why should he not create a proper foundation before starting a business? It's like telling a resteraunt to not put a sign up front until they have started serving diners.

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