Hello - Newb to detailing

[kzyman13]

I've owned a self serve wash for about 5 years. Somehow I found myself interested in making some extra cash detailing. It gives me the opportunity to spend more time at my wash and make myself more available to customers.

Mainly I have very little experience and almost everything I know, I've learned online.

I've done about 15 details and put out a bunch of flyers with my low low prices to kick off my business. I've been getting 1 or 2 per week on average.

I've been making roughly 15 to 20 an hour so far which is ok. I'm goin to increase my prices when I start getting more work than I can deal with. I have another part time job and go to school as well so I haven't completely committed myself full time to detailing.

I'm learning as fast as I can. I've found a few mistakes I've been making. Overall my customers have been happy to ecstatic about my work, so I must be doing something right.

One problem I have is spending more time on a car than what I'm charging for. I find myself polishing rims when the customer hasn't paid for it. I have a hard time doing an ok job. Overall though I do interior and exterior in between 4 to 8 hours with just one wax.

I have a cheap da buffer. No rotary yet. I've been scared to get into removing swirls, etc... I'm guessing I need to be using professional products. I was using the detailer line stuff and a bunch of misc. **** I picked up here and there.

Any comments or advice for the newb would be very welcomed.

[Murr1525]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

Here are some basic links... you'll certainly want to pay attention to the G100/110 links.

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
Step 1 Wash
Step 2 Clean
Step 3 Polish
Step 4 Protect
Step 5 Maintain

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

How to Wash Your Car (ShowCar style!)

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

[kzyman13]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

Wow thanks! Great links and so many of what I need in one spot. That will definitely save me some time. I will be asking a lot of questions soon.

Right now I have too many to list. I'm just gonna stick to the most important ones as I come across them.

1st one is what are you guys using to clean dashboards and interior trims? I was using simple green for this, then I heard that could cause problems. Is there a cleaner that doesn't require removal or drying?

Thanks for your help!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

Good luck in your new business. There are two products I like to use on the interior. Not at the same time. I change off depending how filthy the interior is. They are; All Purpose Cleaner, #39. They both do a great job for me.

[Murr1525]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

Yes, a jug of APC or APC+ is a must for a detailer....

Those would just be a cleaner, then you would likely want ot have some sort of dressing around as well to use after. There are quite a few to choose from, but #40 would be popular.

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

I've done about 15 details and put out a bunch of flyers with my low low prices to kick off my business. I've been getting 1 or 2 per week on average.

I've been making roughly 15 to 20 an hour so far which is ok. I'm goin to increase my prices when I start getting more work than I can deal with.

One problem I have is spending more time on a car than what I'm charging for. I find myself polishing rims when the customer hasn't paid for it.

Kevin,

As you can see from the responses, you really can become a great detailer, use great techniques and great products, however, what is the point of all of that when you are only going to make $15 to $20 per hour?

If you are truly 'detailing for dollars' then you may want to begin to think about figuring out an entirely different appoach to detailing for profit.

Personally, I think kicking off your new detailing business with low low prices was a big big mistake. Basically, what you have done is gone out there and postioned yourself in the marketplace as a cheap low priced service. Do you really think anyone is going to look at your detailing service as a high quality operation when the price is so low? The sad part is that it really sounds like you strive to provide top quality service.

Maybe the answer would be to offer a higher priced full service package, with all of the bells and whistles and then a basic package. That way you would at least begin to attract people who fit into the market it sounds like you are trying to reach.

Any way you look at it, you still need to put together a pricing plan that allows you to make an hourly rate based on covering your expenses and making a reasonable profit.

Just a few well intentioned thoughts.

[kzyman13]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

Thats a good point Frank. I guess I was looking at it from a perspective I took while I was in Florida.

I was down there on vacation with my girlfriend and we were thinking about getting tattoos. We went to all the places right nearby the hotel which is a higher market probably. What I found is that all these guys wanted a ton of money (compared to what I normally would pay back home) yet NONE of them were actually tattooing anyone. And this shopping entailed visiting at least 10 artists. Needless to say, all I could think was these guys all want premium money but they're all sitting on their *** doing nothing. I felt like I'd rather do something for less than nothing for nothing.

You do make a very good point though Frank that I hadn't thought of. I'm new and I was looking to pick up business and get attention. But (even though I'm a business major) it really hadn't occurred to me that some people might not patronize my business, because they'll believe I'll do a cheap job because I'm priced low.

A few of my customers have sworn to bring me business because they were so happy with the job they got. I think I will finish out this year where I'm at and offer some upgrades like you said. My phonebook listings will hit this fall/winter which is unfortunately a very bad time, but I think next year I will be able to up my prices. People are going to be more aware that my services are available going into the detailing season next year.

Plus this year my detailing is all just extra cash. Whereas I might be relying more on this income next year and need to stockpile a little for winter.

Anyways, thanks for the help!

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: Hello - Newb to detailing

Kevin,

Thanks for that good reply! You may want to consider mailing out a 'Twenty Dollars Off' Rewards (to be used towards their next detailing) to any customer who sends you a new client. I have use this approach for a number of years and it has worked out very well.

Some people who send me two or three clients a year save $40 to $60 off their next detailing, while other clients appreciate the gesture and do not even use the certificate.

What any type of incentive does is at the very least is let your customers know that you would like them to tell their friends and family about your services. That is the primary goal.

Keep up the good work!