Thinking of doing mobile detailing

[95gt302]

As the topic states i'm thinking of getting into mobile detailing I have variety of supplies. My question is how should I go about this ie. getting the word out what should I charge and will there be anything specific needed

[tuscarora dave]

Got a truck or a van?
What supplies do you have now?
What equipment do you have now?
How much experience do you have with detailing now?

I started with a bunch of stuff from walmart like turtle wax polish, Meguiars NXT 2.0, some touch free tire shine, some Tuff Stuff cleaner, some dollar store micro fiber towels and a crappy wax spreader polisher. I had a digital camera and some Avery business card paper from wally world. Made up a cheapo sign with magic marker and started shining cars for money. I quickly learned that I would need to invest some money in some real equipment but I had no money, just a desire to succeed and a willingness to work 2 full time jobs. My day job and waxing cars until I got enough for my first polisher. I put 50% of all my earnings back into growing my tools and products/supplies. I took pictures before and after along the way so I would have something to show potential customers what I could do. As I gained experience I was better suited to speak intelligently and confidently about what I was trying to sell. People said "you'll never be able to make this work" And "you aren't charging enough, you couldn't be a professional." I learned from all the hurdles I had to overcome growing this venture with no working capital and made adjustments along the way. 5 years later I still have no working capital but I have a fictitious name, business insurance, a mobile rig, a brand new to me fixed location shop and a ton of money spent on a ton of products and tools that didn't work out in the end. I have a lot of tools that do work out though and have weeded out the products that didn't work and have settled on a few staple products.

I did all this and continue to do this while working a full time day job. This is the hard way but the scoffers said it was impossible. I guess they were wrong.

Give us some insight as to where you are presently with your desire, tools and products and you'll probably get better feedback.

[95gt302]

I have an 06 ram 1500. i have megs nxt wash and wax eagle one tire shine megs ultimate compound a cornwell rotary buffer assorted mothers products (don't remember everything off the top of my head but its alot) . I have been detailing for a while ive been into everything anything cars since i was 3 im 24 now but i think ive gotten pretty good in the last 5-6 year ie. learning about paint correction and some i guess you could say more advanced detailing

[tuscarora dave]

Sounds like you're off to a good start then. I'd suggest searching all the mobile rig setups on this forum and all other forums and study what other guys are doing in order to decide how you want to set your rig up. It would probably be a good idea to have liability and/or a garage policy in effect especially if you are going to be moving or driving customer cars at all. We all have started at the same place, the beginning. You could either throw a ton of money up front into this or build it as you go. If you have the money to spend I'd suggest looking into what Renny Doyle has to offer in the way of a business setup for detailing. You'll pay through the nose but from what I have seen and read that would be a good way to ensure a reasonable chance at succeeding.

If you don't have that kind of money then I guess you'll have to start with the basics like a lot of us do. A few good polishers, a good shop vac or extractor, maybe a DA with a carpet/upholstery brush setup, some bins or tool boxes to keep your towels and pads etc. clean`and just start doing it and save a percentage of your profits to dump back in to your business. You'll want to look into water reclamation enforcement where you'll be working. Do some demographic studying and feasibility planning to see whether you have a market to work with, learn how to market your services, make up flyers and or brochures or at least a portfolio with business cards and lots of photos. There's really a ton of stuff that you need to do to make a business work. I am learning as I go and it can be quite discouraging at times to tell you the truth. Just plan ahead as to how you will survive and keep your business name out there year after year. If a business is still functioning year after year it's usually because they are doing something right.

Talk to other business owners (any kind of business) and ask for help if you are confused about something. Maybe talk to OVR (Occupational Vocational Rehabilitation) to see if they can help you in any way. Network with other businesses as much as you can, build or have a website built for you and find a good SEO company, pound the crap out of Facebook and twitter etc. to get you name out there and keep it out there. Google "starting a small business" and read all you can about the tips and pitfalls. This is a lot of stuff to do, are you up for it?

[Cosmin]

a lot of work , have a plan , reinvest , market in the right places ,listen and execute what the clients wants , know your job.....


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