I didnt want to do this but....

[Beemerboy]

All true. Yes, I decided to open a shop because they can charge $300+ per car. If the money is there I am taking it, I don’t care what the business is.
Do the math:
$300 per piece @ 25 = $7500week
$7500 * 50 weeks = $375,000 annual
Monthly shop expenses at $12,000 per month
That’s a $255,000 pre tax profit. Not bad for a $100k investment!

Obviously the trick is to get the 25 clients per week to keep the place rolling. Now you know what you what your target is, your job now becomes hitting it. How can I generate 25 new clients per week? Or can I? This required demographics and a marketing team to analyze.

If you have the funding and plan anything is possible. Hence my investigations into these detailing forums. I have the funding and was developing a business plan with my accountant and attorney. I have spent approximately $10k and 3 months time already investigating the probability of opening a detailing business. At this point in time I think there are other businesses I could invest in and get a better return as an owner, not an owner/operator. I also considered opening this garage just to have it when I needed it, as long at it could pay its own bills and not cause a loss. Face it $100k to open a business is peanuts. Try to open or buy an automatic car wash in New York, you’ll be in it for $1 million + and years of city and county court time before you can make dollar one.
Keep in mind this shop is in a wealthy area, recently rated by Money to have the most millionaires per capita excluding their personal real estate of any county in the country. I think the average home price in my neighborhood, is up to $900k with $15k per year in property taxes, and I don’t live in the "best" area of this county. I`d also go as far to say that it is way overpopulated, my property is only 80` wide x 100’ deep and the house is just 2400 sq./ ft.
If a boutique service like this is going to make it anywhere, given these demographics, I think it can make it here, just who is the right guy to do it?

Where are you planning on opening up this business?

Maybe you have mentioned it and I passed it by....Thanks

[jdoria]

Where are you planning on opening up this business?

Maybe you have mentioned it and I passed it by....Thanks

Nassau County, New York. either Huntington, Muttontown, or Rosylyn.

[Brenton]

Obviously the trick is to get the 25 clients per week to keep the place rolling.

That is the trick, and it can take years to do. 100k is peanuts for a business, but lots of business have good turnaround with 100k in with real estate. You gotta get clients.

If you have the funding and plan anything is possible.

I just don`t buy this, but good luck.

[Beemerboy]

That is the trick, and it can take years to do. 100k is peanuts for a business, but lots of business have good turnaround with 100k in with real estate. You gotta get clients.



I just don`t buy this, but good luck.

PEI

I`m along with you on this one its taken me years to build my part time business...and I live in an area that is fairly high income, but just because people have money that means squat about whether they will shell out cash to have their cars detailed...most of the rich people that I see here are cheap in this area...that`s not saying that there are some that aren`t.....Anywho I wish this guy luck in finding the $300 details I`ve not found but a few in the last few years here and those have been big jobs

[Brenton]

Less than 5% of my customers when they first walk in will pay whatever I suggest. It just takes time, and it takes a growing customer list.
I needed some reality checks in my research process. So call me the bad guy (which if youlook at my posts overall, I`m not), but I`m telling the truth.

[Beemerboy]

Less than 5% of my customers when they first walk in will pay whatever I suggest. It just takes time, and it takes a growing customer list.
I needed some reality checks in my research process. So call me the bad guy (which if youlook at my posts overall, I`m not), but I`m telling the truth.

Mine will pay what I ask but almost all mine come as referrals...I also have looked at all the local shops to see what they are doing and charging....I`m right in there for a better job

[WindSwords]

I checked out their website. Very impressive. They have a section called Detailing 101. It has various articles on car care. Here is an excerpt from one called "Attention to Detail: The 7 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Detailing their Cars" (boldtype is my editing).

---------------
7. Getting advice from the internet chat rooms: This one I added recently due to the growing popularity of the internet. I now read the detailing chatrooms every chance I get; not for educational purposes, but for pure entertainment. I`ve previously heard it said that "The internet is the biggest source of misinformation" and in this case I must say it`s true. I especially enjoy reading the "professional" forums; after all these guys must know that they`re talking about. Ironically the top detailers in the country who I`ve had a chance to get to know over the years never contribute their knowledge to these chatrooms. I`ve found the advice on these forums to fall into (3) categories:

1. The correct/best solution to the question or problem at hand.
2. A mediocre/partial solution that although is not the best one will still not damage the car.
3. A completely wrong solution that will not solve the problem and damage the car.

The problem in most cases is that you don`t know who is on the other side of the keyboard. I remember some time ago on one "Professional" chatroom there was one user who was very helpful answering every question posted and offering advice to everyone who had a challenge. This went on for about (2) months after which he posted "Just did my first paid detail". My question is, what the heck was he doing for the previous months? Doing your mothers and uncle Tony`s car for free doesn`t qualify you to be a "Professional" detailer.


Here is the link so you can read it for yourself:

http://www.detailingdynamics.com/tipaug04.html

Just thought you would want to know what this guy thinks of you.

Frank

[jdoria]

I dont know if you got this from the last post, but the idea was abandoned this week. I will not be funding the opening of the detail business.

Let me adjust:
If you have funding, a plan, and "time", anything is possible. If you doubt that, you have lost the game before it started. Like Beemerboy said, it took him years to build a part-time business. (plan, money, time) Referrals are the key to success. Were you under the impression that I thought I was going to get 25 cars per week from opening day? I was going to open an operation capable of handling that volume though. (plan, funding)

I own 2 successful business that net what I think are excellent incomes. One is construction, and I have never touched a tool in my life. The other is an IT recruiting firm, which I have plenty of experience doing. The funny thing about that is the construction business generates a more profit than the recruiting operation, lower overhead.

I agree, there are people with higher than standard earnings and a mass of wealth that do not part with a dollar so easily, they are everywhere, thats jsut how it is. I am sure someone would call me cheap, but I wouldnt call myself rich.

Beemerboy - Your area has a very high income, the price of a house in your area of the country is RIDICULOUS. The advantage you have is the climate. In NY we are lucky to have 7 months in our favor. I tried to move to San Francisco last year before I moved to my current house, I was looking at houses with basically street parking for $1 million in Noe Valley, Marina area, Marin. They were also smaller than the small house I have now, and needed the usual work. It is justified by the weather, you can do more outside in CA than you do in NY.

[RAYJAY]

I really didnt want to do this. But I think I need to share where I got the idea of opening a detail garage. I recently took my car there and had it detailed for $300.00

Good luck to you all.



http://www.detailingdynamics.com/

EVERY ONE READ THE LIST ON THIS PAGE FROM SITE ABOVE

MAKE SURE YOU READ #7 ON THE LIST.....

http://www.detailingdynamics.com/tipaug04.html

[jdoria]

EVERY ONE READ THE LIST ON THIS PAGE FROM SITE ABOVE

MAKE SURE YOU READ #7 ON THE LIST.....

http://www.detailingdynamics.com/tipaug04.html

Thats a good one. I have to agree.

[WindSwords]

Thats a good one. I have to agree.

If you think our advice is wrong or not "professional" enough why are you here posting on this board? If you think this guy is so great and and believe that his assessment of "professional" detail forums is correct (see #22 above) then keep taking your car to him and pay the $400 or whatever for it.

Frank

[jdoria]

If you think our advice is wrong or not "professional" enough why are you here posting on this board? If you think this guy is so great and and believe that his assessment of "professional" detail forums is correct (see #22 above) then keep taking your car to him and pay the $400 or whatever for it.

Frank

I was being sarcastic. Dont open yourself up for abuse so easily.

You have give the guy some credit, he has this business down cold, regardless if he is doing a "professional" job or not.

[Beemerboy]

If you think our advice is wrong or not "professional" enough why are you here posting on this board? If you think this guy is so great and and believe that his assessment of "professional" detail forums is correct (see #22 above) then keep taking your car to him and pay the $400 or whatever for it.

Frank

in part about online advice I can agree with this Dynamics guy...some of the forums that I have read threw non-detail and detail forums have given some real dozzy advice....I`ve always found that DC has given straight up advice for the most part...this Dynamic guy has a web site not to give out advice about how to do something but to point out better to use him....I`d bet that he dose a great job...but plays to a very small percentage of people with higher incomes...not a real bad idea...but getting someone with a 100K plus car to trust you is another thing.....I have a neighbor with a 308 Ferrari that needs some work and has just recently asked me about doing some work....this is after looking at me every weekend working on all kinds of cars....trust is the key word

[Beemerboy]

I was being sarcastic. Dont open yourself up for abuse so easily.

You have give the guy some credit, he has this business down cold, regardless if he is doing a "professional" job or not.

Having the business down cold is one thing that is important....but turning out a less than great / professional job at the prices he is charging will be the end to his business not matter how well its run....I don`t care how flashily your shop is or the slick private product line he has or what his web site says....you won`t last doing a crappy job or less than professional job for your customers...This business is built from word of mouth and this subject has been discussed many times here...I do this as a weekend business only and JUST this year I have been busy every weekend, just last month we broke a 100 year old record for rain fall here in Sonoma County...I also understand how to run a business very well....I`m self employed and I do alright!

I think that some can look at this as an easy business...."its just washing and waxing cars" everyone has done this in their driveways right? I`m sure you understand the overhead of the a business....just like in construction you have to find people that have talent that doesnt come cheap I`m sure.....the same is true of this business, your giong to find all kinds of people that want a job but experenceed people do not come cheap...I don`t..trying find someone that YOU are going to feel comfortable letting them use a rotary buffer with a cutting agent on a 100K car....you better carry some real good liability insurance for that....and hope you don`t have to use it

I`m not saying what you want to do is not possible..it is! but the start-up costs and time for that are long and tedious...they have been for me.

[WindSwords]

I was being sarcastic. Dont open yourself up for abuse so easily.

You have give the guy some credit, he has this business down cold, regardless if he is doing a "professional" job or not.

I couldn`t detect any sarcasm in your post. My question is still valid. What do you want with us?

As for his website/business, I already said I was impressed (actually I said very impressed).

What I don`t like is what he said about professional detail forums. Why? Because he impugned all professional detailers in his article. He could have said "Be careful, there are many knowledgeble pros out there but there are also some who don`t know what they are doing". And that is the truth, I`ve seen some bad advice given too but I would never lump all of us into one big stinking pile. This guy gets no respect from me as a pro.