Autopia.org - View Single Post - Thinking of starting a detailing business

bretfraz · 05-28-02, 08:43

From SLP - yeah - best thing to do is figure out how much you want to be making in profit per job on each car, then add on the overhead costs of water bill, electric bill (figure out how much each costs to do the job), supplies, equipment, etc.

Actually, I believe SLP has it backwards here but he's headed in the right direction.

You need to determine the cost of doing business first then calculate how much profit you'll need to make to cover fixed costs, estimated variable costs, then net profit.

It's easy and seems sensible to first think of how much money you can make and worry later about how much doing business will cost. But I'll tell ya, that's an almost sure-fire path to failure.

Bottom line is that you are going to have to spend $$ upfront before ever seeing Paying Customer #1. How much $$ depends on many variables. If I were serious about starting a detailing business, first thing I'd do a develop a business plan. If nothing else, it'll get you head screwed on straight about the costs of doing business. From there you can decide if its even worth pursuing.

Hope this helps. Good luck. Oh, and read every post in the Professional Detailers section. You're not the only one here interested in this. Might be a good networking opportunity for you.

05-28-02, 08:43	#5 (permalink)
bretfraz Banned bretfraz is offline Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Subhuman ATL Posts: 3,370	From SLP - yeah - best thing to do is figure out how much you want to be making in profit per job on each car, then add on the overhead costs of water bill, electric bill (figure out how much each costs to do the job), supplies, equipment, etc. Actually, I believe SLP has it backwards here but he's headed in the right direction. You need to determine the cost of doing business first then calculate how much profit you'll need to make to cover fixed costs, estimated variable costs, then net profit. It's easy and seems sensible to first think of how much money you can make and worry later about how much doing business will cost. But I'll tell ya, that's an almost sure-fire path to failure. Bottom line is that you are going to have to spend $$ upfront before ever seeing Paying Customer #1. How much $$ depends on many variables. If I were serious about starting a detailing business, first thing I'd do a develop a business plan. If nothing else, it'll get you head screwed on straight about the costs of doing business. From there you can decide if its even worth pursuing. Hope this helps. Good luck. Oh, and read every post in the Professional Detailers section. You're not the only one here interested in this. Might be a good networking opportunity for you.