Detailing feesable as a part time sporadic job?

**wizardofahs** · 04-26-2003, 01:01 PM

I know a lot of guys here do it on a regular basis, and are quite sucessfull, and there are some on the other end who maybe do a car or two a month for a friend. On one end you just need some products and time, the other you need the insurance, tax stuff, better equipment, forms, etc.

My question is, how feesable is it to be somewhere in the middle. ie officially doing it as a business, but not something that you are going to use as a main source of income. ie i have 3 months open during the summer, which i`ll try and detail everything i can, but once school starts i might do 8 cars a month, or zero, just depending on how time works out. Has anyone here sucessfully done it in this way? I figure at that point your still detailing for people you don`t necessarily already know, which makes it mandatory to have the business cards, advertising, forms and insurance and all that. What are the people who fall into this catigory using for that?

I will need to work this summer, and don`t want to get a real job, but i`m not sure if detailing will be totally feesable. If it was i`d love to do it.

**ByndCln** · 04-26-2003, 01:39 PM

I have started this way this year. Slow so far due to crappy washington weather. I am sure that nearly everyone on this forum would agree that most of you customers will be from repeat and referals. The one problem,or hard part, getting the first people in to spread the word of you work. For this I have made business cards,brochures, tear off (like seen at grocery stores), and window clings. I feel that if it is kept as a hobby or a love in which you also make money, you have a great chance for success. Once it becomes strictly something done for money, it will become noticeable in you work.

Good Luck With Your Venture.:wavey

**wizardofahs** · 04-26-2003, 01:46 PM

I don`t think getting customers will be too dificult. I`ve already done quite a bit of detailing for people around here, and i get lots of people wanting to come back. I also have people on other boards email me asking about prices and all that. So far when ever i`ve wanted to spend a weekend detailing it`s been no trouble at all to find someone.

My concerns just come with stuff like insurance and taxes. I assume the tax stuff is fairly straight forward, you just have to keep records about everything. But for insurance, i`m lost. The few places i`ve talked to about this before only do it for full time type businesses. I think it would be next to impossible to find a policy that would be cheap and support a vary flexable schedule. I`d rather not have to pay for the policy for that month that i`m so slamed at school i don`t do any work. Though if it was affordable i wouldn`t mind too much. What did you do to cover this?

**ByndCln** · 04-26-2003, 01:56 PM

I am in the same boat as you. I want security but I have a 40+ hour job and this is what I do for fun and extra money. Can`t afford the tax that a full fledged detailer pays. I only wish I couold detail for a living.

**Redcar GUY** · 04-26-2003, 01:59 PM

I do it as a part time job, not to make money... but because I love nice cars. I dont think I could do this for an income because I am to picky. If you are willing to detail someones junk and live with the not so fun parts of doing not so nice cars, you could make a lot of money.... Me on the other hand I would rather spend 4 hours detailing a NICE car for $50 that detail a POS that took 2 hours for 100$.... Just me

**wizardofahs** · 04-26-2003, 02:09 PM

I`m thinking that for the most part I can draw from the client base of people in local car clubs (old and new) and their friends. I like detailing for people who don`t just want to drop it off and pick it up later, but rather want to stay and see what the process is and ask questions about it.

**Redcar GUY** · 04-26-2003, 02:10 PM

Originally posted by Dr. Jones

I like detailing for people who don`t just want to drop it off and pick it up later, but rather want to stay and see what the process is and ask questions about it.

:up

**wizardofahs** · 04-26-2003, 02:24 PM

what do you part timers do (if anything) for insurance?

**loancoach** · 04-26-2003, 05:06 PM

Not to start a flame war and I`m not saying do anything illegal but it would be VERY hard to track one`s detaling activites for tax purposes especially if one only accepts cash for their work (wink,wink)

**wizardofahs** · 04-26-2003, 05:24 PM

Yea, I know that. However insurance is a bit harder to get around. I am guilty of detailing and not paying tax on what i earned, but it wasn`t really a business or professional thing. Just doing it for friends and family. Plus, the money i made didn`t really come as a profit, it all went back into new products and suplies and stuff. So i don`t really think it was `work` that would be charted for tax purposes.

However if i was more official (ie had business cards and all that), i would do the tax stuff. It`s so easy to keep track of anyway, and it doesn`t seem like it is all that big of a deal. Even taking out a somewhat large portion for taxes, it`s still much much more profitable than anything else i could be doing There is software and stuff out that makes it really easy to keep track of.

**Turbonator** · 04-26-2003, 06:49 PM

hello doc jones. i started out 8 years ago just doing jobs on weekends or after work only. for my 1st 6 1/2yrs i didn`t carry any insurance. i was very careful and lucky, but all of my clientel were well-to-do types. i never used anything that could possibly damage their vehicle - interior or exterior. i never even used to shampoo carpets up until a couple years ago. actually, the only reason i went out and got insurance was because 1 - i turned it into a full-time business now and 2 - i got a deal to detail the local Ferrari Club. i figured i had to get it then `cuz most of those cars cost more than my house. however, getting back to the insurance thing on a part-time basis. doing it the way you`re talking about would likely fall into the "Hobby" category. much like someone who collects and trades stamps or baseball cards. it`s a hobby that they make money from and doesn`t qualify as you`re only means of income. your doing it during the summer would put you in this category. it`s very risky to go without insurance, but if you`re very careful about what you`re doing it could be done. i`m not necessarily recommending this to anyone, i`m just saying what worked for me. good luck.

**Stealthman** · 05-02-2003, 05:23 PM

Well I would ask why do you not want to file taxs on this. Is it a income. I had a Photography studio for 12 years. For the first 8 years when not making that much money I thought oh well not really a big deal even if I get caught so I didn`t file nothing. Then one year when I messed up a w4 at my job and had to pay in I whent to a CPA. And he ask me if I had done my bussiness taxs yet. (I did his sons wedding pics) I told oh no I have never done them. He was shocked and said why not. Then I told no real $. Well we talked for hours and he did his magic and in the in I got back $2,000. And he told me that was a low fig cause of bad book keeping and if I got autid (SP) he would pay the dif. So for the next 4 years I did my bussiness taxes and always got money back. A bussiness cost more than you think if you fig out all the $ you spend doing it. And when you do it part time sometimes it cost you 2x`s what your making.

**marvin salud** · 05-03-2003, 08:28 PM

I started detailing as a part time business about 3 months ago. So far I`m on my way to averaging about 1-2 details a week with a couple of wash and waxes thrown in. Thats about where I want to be. I really like detailing, but I`m not sure if this is somehting I want to do on a full time basis. I have a fair amount of equiptment that I keep on my truck at all times. This is because I live in an apartment.

**Green Monster** · 05-09-2003, 07:05 AM

I have always done cars for friends and family for years just for fun, dinner, a few beers, an once in awhile a couple of bucks.

The last year and starting again this year I step up to the plate.

I made a flyer with different packages and bought alot of supplies.

Last year I did about 30 cars and made about $3000 (could have been $4000 but too many discounts and freebies). I spent about half of that on supplies.

This year I have already booked about 20 cars and more coming. I am looking to do $5000 this year because I have cut down to a 4-day work week at my full-time job so that gives me an extra day to detail.

I work full time as a cad draftmans(12 yrs) and part time caretaker (landscaping/lawn moving lawns)(15yrs) so I only do cars on the weekend. I am a "Weekend Warrior". Where I caretake we have a three car garage that the owner allows me to work out of. He does not live there full time so I have the place to myself most of the time.

I do not have insurance and is a cash only business. I only do cars of freinds of family and freinds of freinds. So they all know what the deal is.

So finally the answer to your question is YES it is feesable!

At least I have found a way and many some day take it to the next level.

Alot of thanks to Autopia for all the knowledge and help.

Couldn`t have done as good as I have with out this place.

:xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs