I would really like to know if it`s possible for someone to net (as in: take home) north of $200K by detailing. You don`t have to tell me your exact salary, or anything like that. Just tell me, yes or no, is your gross compensation over $200K.
You can PM me and tell me if you want. I will not share any names or information. i will just post "X number of people PM`d me and claim to make $200K or more"
I know a guy who has a consulting business and bills himself out at $250 per hour. In a good year he`ll make $200 - $300K. But he doesn`t have anywhere near the kind of expenses that a detailer does. His product is his brain. He doesn`t have to rent a shop, he works out of his house. He doesn`t have to buy equipment, supplies, tools, or anything like that. He doesn`t need any kind of property insurance or any of those other incidental expenses that come with working on cars. So here`s a guy billing himself out at 4-5x what a detailer charges per hour with 1/10th of the expenses. And even for him, $200k is a really good year.
Keep in mind, being self-employed, the government nails you for the employer`s half of Social Security taxes. Which means your tax rate is 15+% instead of the 7% that everyone else pays. And that`s all before you pay income tax, health insurance, dental, and state taxes. Then you have to pay all of that for your employees if you have any. Then you have rent, utilities, insurance, supplies, equipment, and many other expenses you`ll have to pay.
So to the folks raving about shops who pull in $500K per year, please understand, that translates into a modest living, at best, for the owner.
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