Testing out the market

whtmustangt99 · 05-12-09, 04:52

I recently relocated here to salt lake city, utah. I Was in Tampa, Fl previously .While in tampa the mobile detailing guys were a dime a dozen. I never would have even though twice about making it a career because of the amount of competition but since I have came here. I havent seen one legitimate company out there yet EVERY time I take my car to the car wash I am waiting in line to get it cleaned (and there are carwashes on every corner here).

My question is, How did you guys go about getting started? Did you start by offering more basic packages and move up to more in depth detailing?
My ultimate goal is to be doing paint correction and higher end detailing but I dont have experience in doing that high end of work yet so I would like to start slower, gain experience and step into that gradually so I can offer the results that I expect to get.
I honestly dont even know if there is much of a market here for this kind of detailing. I do see quite a few nice high end cars that look to be well taken care of so im sure I can get SOME business.
My plan was to stay working where I am ( i have monday tuesday and wednesday off) and start doing some detailing on those days. If work gets busy enough and I can build up a clientel and have steady work I would leave my normal full time job. Sound like a good plan to you?
What kind of pricing and products would start out with? I dont need to make a HUGE proffit on every job but obviously I would like to make it worth my time. Im also not afraid to get "burned" on a few to get my name and reputation out there for people.

Basically I would just like input on how you guys started your successful business as far as marketing (the lower the start up cost the better), products and the way to do business

bufferbarry · 05-12-09, 07:04

i got started all from word of mouth, but in my area i always had a good rep it was a matter of getting off my *** and making it happen!

PTRon · 05-13-09, 05:46

Marketing - Chamber of Commerce, local Cruise-In Night, any local organization; PTA, Elks, KofC, etc. Give them a free wash-n-wax to raffle off. Local charities too.
You must choose who you want your customers to be and target them. Higher pricing tends to be slower in the start but you end up with higher-end customers. Caveat - Higher-end customers tend to be alot fussier about the work you do so unless you're up to it stick with daily drivers.
Products - Your choice. Search all the detailing sites and you'll get lots of ideas/opinions from what you should wear to what you should use.
Way to do business - Licensed & Insured! Eco-friendly (?).
Disclaimer - Just my 2 cents.

whtmustangt99 · 05-13-09, 03:09

thanks I appreciate your 2 cents. Unfortunatly from what I have found there isnt a huge car scene as far as doing car shows and stuff. maybe as sumer comes more people start getting into it? not sure but well see. the raffle thing is a good idea though