How Nice of a Living Can Be Made in Detailing?

[brwill2005]

Wanna Bet? That`s the only way to make big money in this business.

That is not true. Obviously you had success with this model, but there are other ways.

[Less]

I would say that making $200K per year (take home) is probably going to be next to impossible. ALOT of things have to go absolutely perfectly for that to happen. You have to have the detailing skill, the marketing skill, the business skill, and a whole sh*tload of luck. And even IF all those things happen, it will most likely take you years, or possibly decades before you achieve your $200k/year goal.



You need to make a decision. How important is money to you?



Can you be happy on $30K per year? If so, detailing might work for you



Maybe you need $50K? Detailing is still viable, but it will take a little more hard work, education, skill, etc.



75K? You`re still in the range of possibility, but again, it`s alot harder to get there.



Six figure detailers are out there. It`s not impossible, but they are certainly the exception and not the rule.



If having a giant salary is that important to you, I would recommend that you drop professional detailing as a career option.



Or, at least, do it on the side to augment your income. But even then, it`s tough to make enough money to make things worth the effort. Let`s say you have a job that pays $150K. It`s probably a pretty demanding, 50-60 hour per week gig. You`ll need to make an extra ~$1,000 per week detailing in order to get to your $200K goal. That`s at least four cars on top of your regular job! If you do that, you won`t have time to enjoy any of the money you make or the family you provide for.

[Setec Astronomy]

That is not true. Obviously you had success with this model, but there are other ways.

Yeah, but...the biggest bucks are pretty much going to come from the biggest business. If you`re Paul Dalton or Todd Helme, and you make $2500 a car (let`s just talk gross here), and you do 2 cars a week, maybe you can get to 2.5 cars a week by hiring a helper to schlep your buckets and your extension cords, but you`re not going to let the helper do the car because they are paying for you to do it and if the helper does it you`re not going to get $2500 a car.



So maybe you can make $6250 a week, if you don`t saturate your market for $2500 details. If you have a huge volume business, as noted you could take in $10,000 a week...maybe your net would be less, etc, but you get the idea...there`s no limit to the volume business...maybe you open another location some distance away and bring in another 10 a week.



It`s the same concept the MBA CEO`s use, buy up other companies...if you buy up nine other companies that are similar size, now you have a company 10 times the size...but with only one CEO...it`s a lot easier to get your outlandish salary and bonus from the board of directors when you come to them as the CEO of a $50 billion company as opposed to a $5 billion.

[brwill2005]

Yeah, but...the biggest bucks are pretty much going to come from the biggest business. If you`re Paul Dalton or Todd Helme, and you make $2500 a car (let`s just talk gross here), and you do 2 cars a week, maybe you can get to 2.5 cars a week by hiring a helper to schlep your buckets and your extension cords, but you`re not going to let the helper do the car because they are paying for you to do it and if the helper does it you`re not going to get $2500 a car.



So maybe you can make $6250 a week, if you don`t saturate your market for $2500 details. If you have a huge volume business, as noted you could take in $10,000 a week...maybe your net would be less, etc, but you get the idea...there`s no limit to the volume business...maybe you open another location some distance away and bring in another 10 a week.



It`s the same concept the MBA CEO`s use, buy up other companies...if you buy up nine other companies that are similar size, now you have a company 10 times the size...but with only one CEO...it`s a lot easier to get your outlandish salary and bonus from the board of directors when you come to them as the CEO of a $50 billion company as opposed to a $5 billion.

OK, I guess. I am not really sure what your point is. I was just referring to David`s Point that the ONLY way to make it in this business is to do dealership work. I think achieving economies of scale is very important here. If your team can do enough cars, at an attractive price and very efficiently, it can make big money. I am not really talking about high end details, but rather an express type service that takes an hour or two at the most.

[Envious Eric]

I detail for a guy up in simi valley doing the major detail work. This guy has a car wash "detailer" who will cruise by every saturday and wash cars, well his employees will. He has 8 teams of two who all they do is wash cars 6 days a week! at 15-20-25 bucks a car, they have to turn out a lot of cars! Wash, wax, and interior cleaning is all they offer, no clay, no polishing, no compounding...your basic express type mobile detail company!



long story short, last year after paying all his employees, taxes and fees, expenses, etc, he cleared the 150K mark and all he does is work the phones and emails with occasionally hitting the field when someone calls in sick....

[Envious Eric]

most high dollar markets will be the dealership type express type work IMO

the luxury 500 details are far and few between and not bankable on an every day basis. I have been asked 3 times this week already how much for a job like the BMW I just did and it too 16 hours...so when I say it ran a hourly rate of $60/hr, and came out to 960, the jaw dropped "who spends that much on a car" its worth it to some, and not to others...its not the norm!



Needless to say, you have to hit the market right if you want to do 200 cars a year at 1000 each (working your own butt off). Or you can hit the volume market and open up a shop and hit 2000 cars at 150 each with employees (working less technical side, and more business side).

[RaskyR1]

As others have said, that`s a very open ended question with many variables.



Most detailers work for themselves and are not on salary to where they are guaranteed a certain income each week, they work hard for their money and to retain and gain clients everyday.



You`re young...if detailing appeals to you take it up as a side job or hobby. Go to school, get an education and then make a decision later on in life to determine what makes you happy and can support your lifestyle.

+1



Detailing is hard work and hard on the body. There are several detailers out there making good money but $200,000 a year is a stretch unless you have several employee`s/shops. There are also a lot of headaches that come with having employees and working on cars. More and more detailers are popping up and competition can be tough too depending on where you live.



I detailed full time for almost 10 years before going back to school. Now I work full time and detail on the side, best move I ever made.

[David Fermani]

That is not true. Obviously you had success with this model, but there are other ways.

I was just referring to David`s Point that the ONLY way to make it in this business is to do dealership work. I think achieving economies of scale is very important here. If your team can do enough cars, at an attractive price and very efficiently, it can make big money. I am not really talking about high end details, but rather an express type service that takes an hour or two at the most.

I would say that making $200K per year (take home) is probably going to be next to impossible. ALOT of things have to go absolutely perfectly for that to happen. You have to have the detailing skill, the marketing skill, the business skill, and a whole sh*tload of luck. And even IF all those things happen, it will most likely take you years, or possibly decades before you achieve your $200k/year goal.

I don`t know any fixed detail shops that don`t do dealer work (at some capacity) that can net $500,000 or alot more per year. Does anyone?



I do know a few people in S. Florida that have multiple mobile wash crews that do that. It`s not really a matter of luck either. I also know several detail shop owners that do that too, but they are dealer centric. It`s not too difficult and it *can* be replicated with the right vision and experience. Pay me enough consulting fees and I would be more than happy to show you. The majority of detail shop owners aren`t too business savvy and aren`t well versed on growing a business. They are happy doing $100-200K and having just enough employees to get them through their day. In my opinion, they are the most vulnerable to loosing market share. The key is volume and being able to do it efficiently and with the lowest overhead. Completely opposite of what Autopia is about.

[Less]

David F. - If you think that business model can be replicated, and you have the know-how and experience to consult people into making it happen. Why don`t you do it? Seriously. I`m not trying to dispute what you`re saying, and I`m not trying to start an argument. i`m just asking why you don`t do that? If it`s that easy, you could just travel the country selling detail franchises and make a TON of money.



And luck is a major factor in ANY business success. I doubt you can find one single business owner who didn`t have a door opened for him, or find the right customer at the right time, or have his competitor hit by a bus, or some other random occurence that helped him gain momentum and bring the business to the next level.



I`ll use an analogy that I`m pretty familiar with. Poker Winning a major tournament takes countless hours of practice, determination, incredible talent, and skill. However, even if you have all of those things, you`ll never win without getting lucky. Your kings have to crack aces, and you need to hit your draws at the right time. You just don`t plow through 5,000 other players on skill.



The same goes for business. For every aspiring detailer, there are hundreds of other people just like you. You can work harder, have more skill, etc., and that`s usually enough to build a decent business. But to really elevate yourself to the next level and put yourself in the top tier of businesses it does take some amount of luck. You have to be at the right place, and the right time, find the right customer, and take advantage of the right opportunities to really break out and be exceptionally successful.

[brwill2005]

Well at least we have good dialogue going on. There is an express type operation near here that probably nets close to $500,000 per year. As far as I can tell they do zero dealer work. Granted, I have not seen their balance sheets though. They are always busy and have a very prime location. I can definitely agree that it would be very hard to net big bucks doing luxury Autopian type details. There is simply not enough of a demand. I can not count how many potential customer`s I turned down because they did not want to pay my price or wanted a low level of service that I do not provide on a one time basis.

[imported_Detailing Technology]

Think of dealership work like the guys with city/state jobs that detail part time look at their F/T jobs.



The dealership work will pay your taxes, insurance, rent, and salaries. The retail detailing work is the gravy.

[Got More Wax]

Yeah all that is great, and trying to rain on somebody`s parade, telling everyone they are wrong, blah, blah, blah!!! :aww: If you want to spend your days at dealerships washing and drying cars, destroying the finish, knock yourself out! I have margins to satisfy and there is no way I`m going to do that at $3.00 per car!



If you are thinking of applying an M.B.A. to this industry seems to me you should be looking more at the analytical component and how your numbers will facilitate, IF they will facilitate your fiscal goals and objectives. Because, at the end of the day, after all the gross vs. net nonsense has been beaten to death, the only way you are going to accurately determine if you are capable of meeting your fiscal objective(s) is to perform a thorough demographic analysis. You might just walk into your local neighborhood with a median household income of $10m and get every car in the neighborhood and still gross only $1000.00 per week - maybe, there`s only two homes in the neighborhood?



And, as far as getting a roadmap here, as both Eric and Jake have eluded to here and in previous threads, nobody here is going to 100% share with you their income or their strategies about how they go about realizing that income. Fact is, some probably don`t know. Venture a guess that many don`t accurately track their marketing efforts.



And, what about follow up/satisfaction?? Do you just go about the day with the honky-dorey "How did we do"? Or, do you perform a Gap Analysis so that you can not only determine where you are strong or weak but also how important those respective features are or are not to your client base???!!! And, unless and until they do, they will never truly realize how much $ they may be tossing out the window. Thus far, I have been the only one forthcoming and freely sharing with you that last year, I grossed $8 Billion Dollars!!



At 17 years old - I think that`s what you said?? - you should be thinking more in terms of making a few bucks washing and waxing cars that belong to friends, family, neighbors, etc. A few years down the road, you may find yourself sitting behind a desk and looking out your office window at the poor schmuck - maybe one of us?? - washing your Ferrari in the 90 degree heat thinking to yourself, "Self, what the hell was I thinking??!!" As Rasky said, this is hard work and at 17, it sounds all lovely and wonderful. Spend a few years bent over some hood with a buffer in hand and your view may change??



Hey, corn on the cob is in season! :spot



Andy

[Justin A.]

I have no doubt that you could make $200,000 a year or more detailing cars. As the proprietor of a small detailing business already, you should be able to see fairly clearly what would be required to bring you from your current income to your goal income - obviously it will either be increased volume or inflated prices.

I think probably the best way of going about making detailing into a very lucrative business would be to adopt an Applebees-style approach - low to mid range prices being sold to alot of people.

It will take ALOT of work and dedication to reach that kind of goal though because as others have said in this thread - you`re talking about alot of $100 details to get to that figure 5.5 cars a day, every day, to be precise.



I`m a college student (Biochemistry Major w/ Pre-Med, and Psychology minor) and unlike others, I have no problem finding time for detailing, and I pulled a 4.0 in the last term. I`m also a new father. The time is there if you know how to schedule yourself properly and you know what you want and are willing to work hard for it.



Focus on school first, money will come later. I detail to make money to pay for gas to get to school and detailing stuff for my car.



Don`t even think about going into medicine for the money - it WILL destroy you, if you even manage to make it past the Med School admissions boards. WAAAAYYYY too much work if you think it`s a good way to make a quick buck. Doctors get paid well, but it reflects the amount of time and energy that they put into their degrees - I`m 21 now and I won`t be getting a real paycheck again until I`m AT LEAST 32 because I`ll be in school all that time. Meanwhile, my friends who went for MBAs, JDs, etc, are showing up in their new BMWs and Omega watches while I`m eating Mac and Cheese, Tuna sandwiches, and Ramen noodles.

[Got More Wax]

So, what, Justin...since I`m 48 and thinking of going to Med School for some extra $ as a part-time cardio-thoracic surgeon, you don`t want me to compete with you???LOL. Welcome to the forum! You picked a gbreat thread to make your first post!!

I have no doubt that you could make $200,000 a year or more detailing cars. As the proprietor of a small detailing business already, you should be able to see fairly clearly what would be required to bring you from your current income to your goal income - obviously it will either be increased volume or inflated prices.

I think probably the best way of going about making detailing into a very lucrative business would be to adopt an Applebees-style approach - low to mid range prices being sold to alot of people.

It will take ALOT of work and dedication to reach that kind of goal though because as others have said in this thread - you`re talking about alot of $100 details to get to that figure 5.5 cars a day, every day, to be precise.



I`m a college student (Biochemistry Major w/ Pre-Med, and Psychology minor) and unlike others, I have no problem finding time for detailing, and I pulled a 4.0 in the last term. I`m also a new father. The time is there if you know how to schedule yourself properly and you know what you want and are willing to work hard for it.



Focus on school first, money will come later. I detail to make money to pay for gas to get to school and detailing stuff for my car.



Don`t even think about going into medicine for the money - it WILL destroy you, if you even manage to make it past the Med School admissions boards. WAAAAYYYY too much work if you think it`s a good way to make a quick buck. Doctors get paid well, but it reflects the amount of time and energy that they put into their degrees - I`m 21 now and I won`t be getting a real paycheck again until I`m AT LEAST 32 because I`ll be in school all that time. Meanwhile, my friends who went for MBAs, JDs, etc, are showing up in their new BMWs and Omega watches while I`m eating Mac and Cheese, Tuna sandwiches, and Ramen noodles.

[ten39]

Unless you`re wanting to work your way up a corporate structure of some sort, then don`t waste your time on an MBA. That`s really the ONLY context in which an MBA has any dollar value, and that value gets smaller every year with the advent and increased growth of the "online" and "adult-accelerated" MBA "programs". An MBA without professional experience and/or outside a corporate structure is essentially worthless.



As for a private business owner- the utility of an MBA would again be near zero. However, IMO a business bachelors of some sort could be of use for no other reason than something to fall back upon if the venture fails. A degree concentrating in finance, accounting, or economics is always a fairly strong feather to have in your hat. But if you enjoy math and have some skill there, I`d seriously consider engineering. The demand for engineers right now is insane.



The bottomline is that there`s really nothing about running a small business that requires a college education- just common sense and some wise people to fall back upon for sage advice.



This is all just my $.02, so YMMV.



:work: