Year 3.5 Mobile Business - Goods and Bads

**Bates Detailing** · 08-02-2013, 09:28 PM

Hey Agians - long time since being on here but I had an inkling to post. For those that don't know myself and my company - we are a predominately waterless wash company with the ability and knowledge to work on just about any surface : Auto, Bus, Bikes, Rvs, Boats, and Aircraft. We have truly become experts in all these fields. With all this said, we now have 11 crew members with great training and business is good but I would also like to point out the tough points of running a larger detailing business.

1 - Started from basically nothing, learned most auto related detailing facts from AG
2 - Came in already with extensive aviation detailing knowledge
3 - Have been able to obtain and maintain clients from year 1 through quality and professionalism
4 - Have had AMAZING crewmembers which helped growth
5 - Have learned everyday for the last 2 years how to adjust products and knowledge and make this business better
6 - Went through about 5 guys to find the right 1 guy
7 - To be legit is very expensive - taxes are the worst!
8 - Educate your clients and always produce the best results with a professional attitude.
9 - NEVER give up! This is huge! Ive wanted to MANY times in a three year spand. It is not easy to produce your best work job in and job out. But if you do, you are good to go.
10 - Doing what you love is not the key here - you will get burned out. Building a business from nothing to something great has been my drive.

I truly hope this helps those that are wanting to start a detailing company and/or have started a detailing company get on the same page with those that have experienced the goods and bads of running a detailing company. Any other seasoned companies out there that have anything to add to this thread?!?!?

**VP Mark** · 08-02-2013, 09:47 PM

Subscribed. Great thread idea and I will post some in depth thoughts tomorrow of my now 2 years doing this full time as a business and sole source of income.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online

**Calendyr** · 08-02-2013, 11:51 PM

Subscribed too. Hope to learn from your experience. I am a few days away from starting myself, just waiting on govenment to send me my business license so I can open the bank account and start.

**statusdetailing** · 08-03-2013, 12:52 AM

You're right about getting burned out. It absolutely happens. It can get to the point where a Porsche comes in and all you can think about is getting it done. Detailing is grueling, hard work. You'll have aches and pains. I'm only 28 and I wake up some mornings after a hard detail, and my hands hurt, my legs are sore. . .I feel like I got beat up.

I love detailing, but I wake up some days asking myself why? Like the OP said, it's not the love of detailing that keeps me going. It's my drive to succeed and make something of myself. To be the best and have the happiest customers. Even on those days when I feel like I hate my job, I give my 100% best effort. I never slack off under any circumstance.

To anybody thinking about getting into this line of work. You won't get rich, but you can build a business that will support a fun lifestyle. Think you're gonna make 250k? Think again. . . $30-100k and less starting out. There's only a few detailers in the world making $100k plus. It's Hard, Hard, Hard! But it's absolutely worth it!

**silverfox** · 08-03-2013, 05:33 AM

I could never do this as anything other than a weekend hobby. I would have to treat every car like it was my own, and I neither have the time nor the body anymore to put that kind of effort into it.

I'm pretty well spent after working on my own car. No way would I be able to duplicate such an effort day after day.

As you get older your free time becomes a lot more valuable than $$, so my advice is do it while you physically can and while working ridiculous hours is not taking away from things that matter most in life.

**Profits** · 08-03-2013, 05:59 AM

Originally Posted by statusdetailing

Think again. . . $30-100k and less starting out.

If you're the only one doing the work, sure. But being a one-man-band has never been how businesses realize maximum profitability.

Maximizing business potential is all about leveraging human capital. And the possibilities are without limits.

**statusdetailing** · 08-03-2013, 09:04 AM

I subscribe to Renny Doyle's way of thinking. Detailing is a lifestyle business, and I like the lifestyle it allows me to have. Running a big production shop is not my cup of tee. There's plenty of those in my town, and they look like a huge headache to run. They also do nothing but subpar work.

I have plans to piggyback some other business ideas off my detailing business, in the future, but expanding into a huge, production oriented franchise isn't in my plans. I don't subscribe to the WalMart mentality. My time is more important than anything to me.

**hernandez.art13** · 08-03-2013, 01:42 PM

I talked to my Dad (Manager) and also talked to my uncle (Estimator)

My Dad said you can't keep doing this forever, "keep going to school he said"

I also talked to my estimator uncle and he said "why don't you open up your own shop and manage it?"

**statusdetailing** · 08-03-2013, 06:26 PM

School is super important, even for a detailer. You learn more than facts. You make great connections, gain communication and networking skills. You learn to think critically and most importantly, express yourself. It's not the major that is important; it's simply finishing what you started, that really matters.

Renny Doyle talks about this in his book. He detailed on the side in college.

**VP Mark** · 08-03-2013, 06:53 PM

One of the toughest transitions I see in the future for my business is the transition from solo act to managing employees. It seems like this is where the rubber hits the road that keeps many detailers from getting very big. The question that so many of us need to ask is if we even WANT to transition to a larger business. Sure, the income growth potential is there, but so is the risk of mismanagement that could lead to huge issues in the future.

Here is some key points that I have learned and am continuing to learn:

1. Even if you like to detail, you still have to view it as a job and a business. Sure, polishing paint to perfection is fun... but is it the best way for your business to earn revenue and be profitable?

2. The products that you use are not near as important as how you use them. Designer products are only really useful if you are charging designer prices. Don't get caught up in the "this wax is more amazing than the last new wax" game, there is very little difference in most high end products. Use what you are comfortable with, and what works.

3. Learn how to sell. Your detailing services do not sell themselves, you are going to have to be the face of your services and learn how to read people, how to react to different situations, and how to offer the right service at the right price to the right market. Find out what works for you, and offer it the best way possible.

4. Producing great work is essential, but the other side of that is not giving away your time and energy on services your client is not paying for. If they are paying for your basic service, do an amazing job on your basic service. If they have a trashed vehicle and you know they are not going to be satisfied with your basic service, but don't want to pay more money, turn the job down. Do not allow yourself to be set up for failure on even the smallest jobs. Learn how to say NO when necessary.