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Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Originally Posted by Cosmin
this post is exclusive to autogeek community.
Hi Mike , got your advice to write this up...
Hi Cosmin,
Thank you so much for both your friendship and your taking the time to share your story... it would have been easier to have kept all this information to yourself so I appreciate your willingness to share with others.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
i hope it will inspire new detailers and new business detailers , and the old one`s too.
i move to Austin , TX in February 2010. i was jobless for 2 months, new city , no income and trash by some POS company where i had 2 interviews and they not even told me they got someone else.
I'm confident this will inspire many of our forum members for years to come... I'm going to add this to my list of articles under "Success Stories".
Originally Posted by Cosmin
after 8 months of detailing as a business i rich and beat my goal every time , got from jobless to $5200 a month. and i know i can pull 6-7 by myself and have Sunday and maybe some Saturdays off.
Cha Ching!
I remember you shared this with me at the GTG at Anthony and Bill's Shop in San Antonio, Texas... and this is both inspiring and incredible!
GTG in San Antonio, Texas Thursday, October 14th at the Concours Auto Salon
Originally Posted by Cosmin
as cars.... i work on dream cars: 55 Ferrari ( Formula F1 , Enzo , 458 ,California , 599, f430 , 360 , 612 scaglietti, testarossa , maranello, 355) , 12 porsche , 2 bentley , 1 aston martin , 1 rolls royce and a lot more bmw, mercedes etc. wasn`t all of them corrections or polish involved , but not everyone want the full deal. u have to adapt your service to get the most out of it.
Cool. Very cool.
Most people new to detailing want to get into "Show Car Detailing" and you've demonstrated that this can be done and in this post you even share some of your secrets to your success. But even doing show car detailing, you have to match your services to your customer, great insight that others will benefit from.
Most people starting out start out by working on daily drivers but try to do show car detailing process instead of production type processes, while this is a great way to get experience doing multiple step procedures, in most cases, matching your services to your customer would mean doing one-steps using a cleaner/wax. I touch on this topic here in this article,
A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business
Originally Posted by Cosmin
my future plans is get a helper in 3-4 mo from now and push to 10k a month. i know is possible , is just have to get the right ingredients... and i will have them.
This is probably the hardest part of growing a detail business and that's bringing on help while maintaining a high level of professionalism. If anyone can do it... I'm confident it will be you and I hope to see an article about this in the future.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
about dealer work , is good to have an account if they can afford your service. of course i try get a deal from there , i do give a deal price in exchange of giving out some business cards.
as soon as i start as a business i realize that getting regular clients is a big step. monthly or weekly is just great.
Setting clients up on a "Maintenance Plan" where you can bill them monthly is the best way to create a regular monthly income for yourself that you can count on at the beginning of each month. Another gold nugget of advice.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
when i have a new client i usually go to see the car first , inspected , talk with the owner and after that i shoot an email with few quotes based of what needs to be done and what i think will help to get a better condition of the paint /interior.
when i email a quote i always put 30 days expiration , i give available days to be choose.
This is called instilling a sense of urgency and a call to action.
GREAT ADVICE and a SUPER TIP for others to follow.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
if the client is serious about getting the car detailed is all set , the day time , and the process. i focus on 1 -2 cars a day , but if light maintenance as wash wax , i can pull few cars a day.
And this is the benefit to a maintenance program, after "you" detail your customer's car at the level of expertise you provide, doing the follow-up maintenance steps is fast and easy! This maximizes your time thus maximizes your profit over a long time. Plus... it makes your customers happy and this leads to referrals.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
talking about competition.... my first words was... "i don`t care". are a lot of cars in this town and is up to each one to get the best out of it. so i see my things and they see theirs...i am friendly and open to any detailers gtg , or similar things .
I have made so many good friends in the online car world via teaching detailing classes, roadshow classes and Get Togethers, or GTG's, in fact... that's how we met.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
i don`t see competition as competition. i know they are there they do good /great jobs but i have other things to focus on than waste time what A or B does. i have my own plans and rules and i follow them.
This is a very healthy attitude to have in the business world, it's part of the win/win idea of doing business so that everyone wins. In most cases, competition doesn't hurt business, it helps business especially when iron sharpens iron, that is when your attitude and approach helps to bring others up to your level and your peers help to make you better.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
in the last few mo , 1/2 from each mo income went back to marketing. if u are superman and no one knows , u are nothing! so get your word out.
Dang! This one little gold nugget of wisdom based upon experience is priceless.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
if u plan make profit from detailing think it as a business , is more important. if u focus on detailing u may loose some bucks , clients , time and energy.
i see few post here and there of "how" a detail should be... well when u detail for living things change, u don`t have time for 200 pictures from 20 angles each wheel.
More great advice but I do have to say that anytime someone takes the time to stop working, take some before and after pictures and then share a write-up, it benefits and inspires others. It builds the reputation of the person posting the write-up and inspires others. Balance, or temperance is the key.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
what`s on my schedule: correction on black porsche 911 , correction on black GTR`s, 2011 white bentley correction , maybe a light polish GT40 to get it ready for sale - pending.
Good old fashioned, nose to the grinding wheel hard work with tenacity and passion, a winning recipe.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
english is my second language so don`t be mean.
Time is Money!
Think first , Money after!
Cosmin
You're doing great! Content is more important than anything else and the content you've shared in this thread is again... priceless.
Originally Posted by Cosmin
as you can see the winter affect me a little , but spring and summer is where my plans are.
That is impressive... again.. thank you for sharing all this with our forum!
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Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Sometimes it's easy to glance over typed text... in case anyone missed two of the key highlights...
- $5200.00 in the month of September!
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Super Member
Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Awesome story, sounds like you really found it, congrats!
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Super Member
Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Great Job! I'm sure the quality of your work will speak for itself and will get you even more clients this coming season.
I'm fairly new to the detailing business and have done fairly well my first year. Granted, not $5200.00 in September, but I can't complain for the fact I live in a rather small community.
Early in the year, I attended as many cars shows as I could. Mostly local shows, but here in Southern Oregon, it's a pretty big thing around here. I wanted to promote my detailing business to the owners these cars. Well, my plan was to talk with the owners of the cars that didn't win any trophys. I introduced myself and my business and asked them point blank.... "How would you like to be in the winners circle next year?" Well, the first big car show is scheduled for February and I've already gotten 2 confirmed details for cars being entered in the show. Both have mentioned they kept my card for last years show and they want me to do their cars. It's starting off to be a good year and it's not even here yet...
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Super Member
Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Great post Cos. I've had my eye on you and have really noticed how far you have come in such a short time
Maybe I should make a thread like this.....
55 Filthy Suburbans, 12 Ragged out Tahoes & 2 Discusting Expeditions
Keep up the good work Cos
“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
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Newbie Member
Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Wow Cosmin !!! You and Paul Dalton from Miracle Detail are my inspiration to start detailing cars . Thank you for helping me out deciding on the products ! I hope i meet you one day!
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Super Member
Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Originally Posted by tfullercdi
The part where you say if you want to work on high end and exotics you have to plan it. Can you elaborate on that?
Technical in the sense that you need to think about who the customer is that you want.
What I mean to say is I want that work, so what would be my first step in the right direction to obtaining it? I don't have Alot of money to spend on advertising right now.
Originally Posted by Flash Gordon
Maybe I should make a thread like this.....55 Filthy Suburbans, 12 Ragged out Tahoes & 2 Discusting Expeditions
i start with tahoe and 15 years old acura , but i didn`t stop there. even now i get trash interiors and i deal with it , but get`s charged.
when i start i set my mind that if i detail i should detail hi-end , my goal was 1 ferrari and 10 porsche this year. : )
if u advertise , and u have to! than hit the target u are interested in , target marketing can bring u clients from the area or car owners u want.
of course you have to have and project the image that u do professional work. also trust is one of the main ingredient when u meet a new client.
if u on budget than try marketing that don`t take a lot , to leave some b-cards at an office building , or something similar... is $0.
Originally Posted by hyu
Mind if you post a portfolio of your work? I love seeing 50/50 shots
proreflection.com , also 50/50 u may see 2 examples of 2010 Ferrari : Holograms on Black Ferrari California , correction
a lot of people stuck to the questions: should i wash with pressure washer , soap , onr? what wax should i use on..? well if u want a business u should ask how to make money out of detail , how to cut my time in half, how to use the products to the best out of them , and how to generate continous profit by detailing.
as far as u still ask what wax to use ( similar questions)... u far.. far away from having success or to get the best profit from your work.
Mike , the R1 bike i got it in 07 when i had 2 jobs , but things change and i just got feed up working for others and is how i choose detailing. even more now i study when i have slow days , so i can put the profit from detail to make money , but that will be another treat when time comes.
agree on pictures to be taken , but not every post u do 200 pictures , i detail every day if i have to do that i may end up charging for pictures.
also i got some comments here and there on my post people ask why not full correction? simple: if i can charge for 1 step like u full correction , than why not, u should look into your prices before asking me that. plus 99% of the people see only shine.
Cosmin
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Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
Originally Posted by Cosmin
plus 99% of the people see only shine.
Cosmin
Kind of like this...
The difference between a swirl and squirrel
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Super Member
Re: 55 Ferraris , 12 Porsches , 2 Bentleys + .. in 8 months!
makes me want to quit working the restraunt business and pick up Absolute Perfection Auto Detailing full time! quite the inspiration!
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