Starting a Business

[SL1CK]

Hey guys, I haven't posted in a looooong time but don't know if yall remember I was a very frequent poster before MOL was upgraded. I have a question on starting a detailing business.

I'm currently an 18 yr old undergraduate in college and I want to start a detailing business on the side. I have about 2 years experience and I'm confident my skills are worth paying for. I've detailed many vehicles, and have received some business from some advertising I did on Craigslist.

Now, I wanna get even more serious.

My first question is:

Would you agree that, at a young age, it is better to start out a mobile detailer rather than a stationary one? I say that because sometimes you don't want customers thinking the guy detailing the car is just some kid @ his parents house. How do you decide what to pick? Many customers enjoy the convenience of having someone come to them, but what's yall's input?

My second question is:

I've read much about how consistently charging a low price for your customers can corner you in a market where you charge very low prices, and an increase in price will lose many of your clientèle. Therefore, how does one go about initially charging a "high" (but very much worth it) price and actually acquire business? I understand you must market yourself to those who truly want a car perfectly free of defects and would pay top-dollar for it.
The thing is, how do you break into that market? If you are going to respond with, "Well, start out with low prices...", that would essentially defeat the purpose, no? Because I would be doing what I did not want to do:back myself into a corner of low prices that yield little to no profit.

As you post, I'm sure your responses will arouse more questions from me, but for now that's all I have (above). I would appreciate any input/responses, thanks.

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Starting a Business

Hey SL1CK,

Yeah, it seems some members disappeared in the transfer - not sure what happened...

Anyways, I'm almost in the same boat as you - 19, undergrad, and detailer.

Personally, mobile detailing is the way to go for starting businesses. Whenever I go to a client's house, I leave the garage open while I work. That way, the whole neighborhood has the opportunity to see what I've done. Believe me, it does attract more customers!

It is also very true that charging a bargain price will get you more bargain customers. Quick story... I detailed a friend's car that he was going to sell (absolutely horrible condition with plenty of cc failure - took a rotary, wool pad, and M84 to remove the swirls). I thought I was just doing a friend a favor and he just 'tipped' me $30. Two months later, I get a call from the same person claiming that he'll "Pay me well" to detail his sister's car - "Pay me well" = $60. So yes, doing cheap details can hurt you.

My little business started out as an email thing. I'd detail a car and take pics and email them to friends and show them what I did that weekend. They'd ask me to detail their car and then neighbors would follow suit.

The market around here is also junk. Nobody wants to pay what Joe or Mike charges. I'm lucky if I get $150 a vehicle. My average price is about $120.

The prices really depend on your target market. If you want to detail daily drivers, don't charge much. If you want to detail higher end vehicles, you can sorta raise the price. Remember that there will always be more daily drivers than higher end cars.

I've heard of people sticking business cards under wipers and getting jobs.

Detailing has really worked for me, though. I can't detail all the time (college), but three or four a month is about the norm. There is definately money to be made!!!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Starting a Business

My first question is:

Would you agree that, at a young age, it is better to start out a mobile detailer rather than a stationary one?

Mobile is less costly to start and maintain for most people unless you can fall into a good shop for a reasonable price.

Having a brick & mortar shop tends to turn you into a production oriented shop, (nothing wrong with that if that's the kind of work you like to do) because you'll have to detail a certain amount of cars just to pay for all the overhead.

Somewhere on this forum is a pretty good thread on this topic. Take some SE work to find it.

[SL1CK]

Re: Starting a Business

Hey SL1CK,

The market around here is also junk. Nobody wants to pay what Joe or Mike charges. I'm lucky if I get $150 a vehicle. My average price is about $120.

Exactly. The problem lies in educating the market I guess you could say. Around here (Houston, TX), there is so much "detailing" (emphasis on the quotations) going on that people/customers don't know how to differentiate between the two. What I offer is essentially "high-class, professional detailing," as opposed to some two guys on the corner washing with regular sponges and drying the car with towels and newspaper who end up calling it "detailing." So if a customer approaches me and says, "I would like my car detailed", the "low-class" competition has basically sullied the true idea of what detailing is. And so when I give them a price, they are greatly taken aback, expecting prices of 30-50$ max, which is crazy for the skills I offer.

The prices really depend on your target market. If you want to detail daily drivers, don't charge much. If you want to detail higher end vehicles, you can sorta raise the price. Remember that there will always be more daily drivers than higher end cars.

The thing with this is that, if I'm going to detail daily drivers, and they expect a lesser price, they should expect the same amount of work done to their car, less. Top-notch dollar will get you 110% out of me (out of anyone actually), but if you want a cheap price, expect less done. And when I say less, I definitely do not mean it in terms of quality, I mean it quantitatively. I will always give the same great quality, regardless of how much the customer wants.

There is definitely money to be made!!!

Definitely! Thanks for the input!


And Mike, I understand the reasoning now, obviously it makes more sense. Thanks!

Anyone else car to offer some input?

[AeroCleanse]

Re: Starting a Business

As you have done detailing in the past, you should see if you can use those people as references. If you have some really cool before and after photographs, turn that into a portfolio you can show your prospects.

Detailing business that compete on price are doomed to fail, because there will always be someone cheaper. Price your service based on the quality of your work. Also, never give out a price quote before seeing the vehicle.

I found the book : Start Your Own Automobile Detailing Business (ISBN 1-932531-41-6) to be a great place to learn how to run it as a business. It doesn't tell you things like which products to use, rather it explains how to turn it into a business.

[shamrock]

Re: Starting a Business

Hey SL1CK you're in H-Town? Where at, dude? Gotta get together and hang or something. Just got started in detailling and would love to have some sort of support or someone I can go to locally and watch and learn. Email me at smoke_nightshade@yahoo.com


Shamrock