Very worried about detailing in my area. Is it worth to even start it up, im having?

quamen · 01-09-04, 08:44

Im very worried about detailing in the state my family has located to not very long ago. I used to live in North Jersey, a very wealthy state with many nice cars.
I now live in Pa about 1 hour from where I used to live. The pay scale is alot less here in this state and I see alot more beater cars. It is a big mix that I see on a everyday basis. Alot of nice cars and alot of crap cars.

I know many people that live in this state,actually drive to New Jersey to work or New York and then drive home and save some money to live here.
Im wondering If I can make it in my area. There was a detailer just down the road from my house, and I already see his sign is gone after 1 summer!!!

I want to do mobile detailing, but I dont know if I can pull in the clients. I dont see the cars like I did in New Jeresey. BMW, Benz and other high profile cars. They are few and far between. Im thinking of actually commuting back and forth to Jersey to Pa to make it work, but that is 60 miles each way.

They are though alot of nice developments around here that indeed have nice cars. But, it just seems those with nice cars, ill have to get all them as clients to make it work. i just dont see many people living in my area even with nice cars wanting them to get detailed when they moved here to save money in the first place.

This is my biggest obstacle is finding the cars to detail if at all possible. What do you guys make of this?

luke667 · 01-10-04, 04:32

i reckon you should conduct some form of market survey, see if there is a demand for detailing in yo city. don't just set up shop without any research! find otu why the other detailer closed down....you might be able to buy stuff at discounted prices from him

K_Csaxo · 01-10-04, 05:34

yup the best thing to do is get some research down and get some answers. starting any type of business is a big step especially when what you see around you may not bring in the best visions of prosperity. commuting 60 miles each way sounds like a hell of a journey, so do think about. hope all goes well.

quamen · 01-10-04, 06:28

Yeah I have actually done research, or tried but many shops it is hard to get answers. I see some shops around that seem to keep busy, but I tried to ask them how busy and they know im up to something.

I live not to far from a big city, with alot of business that is a good thing though. What do you guys think about just investing money in just getting flyers out there?

If i get a big response I can then just buy all the equipment I need to make it happen. I plan on doing mobile detailing and the only good thing I have on my side is that there are no mobile detailers except one

Avalanche · 01-10-04, 06:29

If you talking about the Easton PA area, I would say no, there is no real lucrative detailing market in that area. That being said, there are poeple who care about their cars, people who own very nice cars, no matter where you live. The challenge out there will be getting known and making a name for yourself becuase any business you get will have to be by word of mouth. I would say you have to decide on what kind of detailing you want to do, if you want a nice low volume, average side business detailing decent vehicles you may be able to pull it off. If you want a high level exotic concours show car detailing business I'd say you need to think about it a little.

ajbarnes · 01-10-04, 10:14

It really depends on what area of Pa you are in. Higher up north has a slightly better advantage.

KB77 · 01-10-04, 10:21

What area of Pa do you live in?

Jimmy Buffit · 01-10-04, 05:57

Key search words would be "per capita household income by zipcode".

Try this link:
http://www.mc-mncppc.org/research/da...ome/ipc05.shtm

Where is Montgomery County, PA?

My shop is in Hamilton County, IN (on the same list). Things are working out just fine over here...

It's all about location...

Go where the money is.

Jim

Auto Care USA · 01-10-04, 07:40

Stop the defeatest attitude. Ya gotta believe not only in yourself but every aspect of your business. Anyone who has ever failed in life did so because of excuses. If you seriously want to detail no matter what area you live in and you believe without a shadow of a doubt that you will succeed then you will. Just start with 1 vehicle at a time Now go for it and good luck.

quamen · 01-10-04, 08:52

Damn auto care USA you got me moving with that comment. Yeah I felt that today and got all happy when I was really thinkiing about it. I was like what the hell am I thinking. I live in the Pocono area only 30 mintues from the jersey border. There are pleny of development areas around. There are thousands of nice cars al around, but alot of junks to. If I apply myself to the low volume of cars, and do them well word will spread and ill keep busy. Plus, I only have to invest very little money in equipment, I have alot of it already. If I dont try ill never know. I live in the eastern part of Pa, Monroe county. 30 Mintues from the delaware water gap, and about 40 miles from Easton. I live near a city called Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Broadheadsville, Effort, If you heard of any of those.

Thanks Auto Care USA for the encouragement.

Lynn · 01-10-04, 11:00

quamen, it would be helpful if you would edit your profile so that folks always can see where you are. You'd be surprised: Sometimes a person talks about having a problem, and somebody else can see their location, lives in the area, and offers to help. Similarly, once I saw a thread by a guy in St Louis who desperately needed Klasse SG that very weekend, and I volunteered to bring him some. So ... if you want to do this … click on "user cp" at the top of the page, then click on "Edit Profile," then (under the Additional Information section) put something in the "Location" box -- something as specific as your town name or as general as what state you live in.

wfmiller · 01-11-04, 06:38

Actually I am somewhat familiar with the area that you are in as a Brother of mine lives in E-Stroudsburg. There are a lot of summer/winter vacation communities up there in the Poconos. I used to go to Lake Naomi a few years back where the In-laws had a vacation home.

You will find that there at these vacation communities a lot of folks from NYC and North Jersey with some really nice wheels. If you don't mind traveling a little distance then I can that area as being quite lucrative. Just need to get around and get known.