Back after 20+ years

[Studdabaker]

Hello,

I put myself through college by detailing cars back in the early 90's. I found it to be an excellent match for any young man as it is lucrative and instantly gratifying, with the occasional drive in an expensive sports car.

My son is now 16 yrs old and i would like to have him start a Detailing business along with a friend. My niche market is the "production" detail for cars that are used in commuting and everyday life. I have done a small sample sized market survey and found that most of the people that fall into this category have never had their vehicles professionally machine buffed and cleaned. There seems to be three main drivers; 1) Don't recognize benefits, low priority 2) convenience 3) High cost

I believe there is an unmet need lurking in that data. My idea is to offer a mobile detailing service in a small geographical area that would be done in their driveway to counter the inconvenience factor and lower overhead costs would enable me to undercut the brick and mortar shops on price. Now the biggest hurdle is getting people to understand the benefits. That part I am still working on.

I would like to hear from anyone with an opinion on any ideas or hurdles to overcome with a mobile detailing service.

Thanks.

Jerry

[dcjredline]

Welcome to AG. Im sure you could search and find tons. But someone will surely come in here and help you out too.

[jarred767]

Welcome to AG! Great to hear that your interested in starting this business, it is a great industry to be in. A TON has changed in 20 years though, so make sure to do plenty of research - this site and forum are great tools for that.

A mobile detailing business is awesome, I've done it for ten years and love it! However, and this is VERY important, don't just try to find a way to undercut other places on price, it only hurts everyone involved, including yourself. Offer a superior product than your competitors and you should be able to charge MORE than them.

I have found that people will actually pay more for mobile detailing because of the exact convenience you mentioned (they don't care how it affects your overhead, they just love the convenience - especially if you're mostly concerned with DD's and first time detailing clients).

Check out the sub-forum How to make money detailing cars - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum and Renny Doyle's book How to Start a Home-based Car Detailing Business, car detailing book, best auto detailing books. Both will be super valuable if you're really serious in this venture!