Pikeen
11-19-2008, 12:48 PM
i have been considering the detailing field but one thing concearns me. how is business in the winter time? i can imagine it slows down alot and doubt there would be much work for a mobile detailing business. am i wrong?
BigAl3
11-19-2008, 01:00 PM
mobile detailers - Autopia.org (http://autopia.org/forum/professional-detailer-general-discussion/101820-mobile-detailers.html)
Pikeen
11-19-2008, 01:12 PM
mobile detailers - Autopia.org (http://autopia.org/forum/professional-detailer-general-discussion/101820-mobile-detailers.html)
thanks :up
This probably belongs in one of the pro-detail forums.
I`m not a pro, but I`ve thought about this, and this is my theory. I would invite the actual pros to correct me if I`m wrong.
Detail customers fall into 3 categories.
1) The non-daily driver garage queens. These are usually very high-end or collector`s cars. Due to their low-usage, these usually require less frequent attention. If you`re a mobile detailer, you shouldnt` see any slowdown in this business because you can always work in the car`s garage. If people have to bring the car to you, don`t expect these customers to visit you in the winter.
2) Daily driver cars with owners who will do most of the weekly washing, dressing, and interior cleanup themselves. They only bring the car in once or twice a year to get detailed and then they do the maintenance themselves. this business will decline in the winter months because the cold weather will prevent the owners from doing proper maintenance on the car. No sense spending money cleaning the car just so it can get filthy again within a week.
3) Daily drivers with owners who don`t want to do anything to their cars. These are customers that you will see weekly or at least once per month for a wash, or a wash n wax. This business should be stable. These customers are people who want, and are willing to pay, to have a clean car all the time. Why would that want deminish just because it`s cold outside. All it means is that it`s going to be a PIA for you because you have to work in frigid temperatures.
So with a solid, well-rounded customer base, proper marketing, and consistent service, you should slow down in the winter. But your business should not be dead.
This is where you`ll need some good business skills. You will need to be able to create, and follow a careful budget through these times. You will need to accurately project all of your costs, estimate your revenues, and balance your cash flow so that you can get through the slow period.
I`m working for a company right now that is going through one of these slow times. We need to purchase raw materials, pay employees, and cover our overhead expenses to the tune of $1.5 million per month. And at any given time I only have about $200K in available working capital. It`s difficult, but not impossible. It just requires some careful budgeting and good common sense. I have to be able to identify how much I`m going to sell, what I need to buy, and when I`m going to get paid from my customers. Careful planning and scheduling of cash receipts/payments is key. And it`s a principle you can apply to just about any business.