Detailing Business Magazine Article

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

The following article is reprinted from the October 2004 edition of AMERICAâ€â„¢S CAR CARE BUSINESS magazine.

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AMERICAâ€â„¢S CAR CARE BUSINESS

Inside Detailing

October 2004



âہ“I believe that professional detailers need to concentrate on business principles even more than they concentrate on detailing principles.â€Â� âہ“When it comes to detailing, itâ€â„¢s not about price. Itâ€â„¢s more about offering a high-quality service.â€Â�

Frank Canna, Mirror Finish Detailing





MORE THAN JUST SMOKE AND MIRRORS

Mirror Finish offers more than just professional detailing. It also offers a chance to start your own business.



When it comes to starting your own business, not many entrepreneurs are willing to help their competition, let alone help to educate prospective opposition. However, that is exactly what Frank Canna, owner of Mirror Finish Detailing in Williamstown, N.J., has built his reputation on. It has been this openness with both prospective professional detailers and customers that allowed his mobile detailing operation to thrive.



Business Professionalism

Itâ€â„¢s not like Canna didnâ€â„¢t know what to expect when he opened Mirror Finish as a part-time mobile detailing business in 1986. For years he had worked as a quality assurance manager for a local car wash manufacturing firm. During that time he says he came upon two realizations that helped launch his business.



âہ“First, I began to realize that there was a growing need for specialized automobile detailing services,â€Â� he says. âہ“Second, I also began to realize that I could earn extra income doing something that I really enjoyed. Since I had always kept my own vehicles cleaned and polished, it was only natural to start to offer the same service for other people.â€Â�



When these thoughts started coming to Canna, he didnâ€â„¢t jump right into the detailing business--he got educated. Canna started with attending entrepreneur small business courses at Rutgers University in Camden, N.J., and followed that up with advertising and marketing seminars at Drexel University in Philadelphia.



âہ“One of the very first things I did after attending a few of these business courses was to write a business plan,â€Â� says Canna. âہ“I still write down everything. Every idea, every thought still gets documented. Actually the original mission of my business is still the same as I had written it back in 1986. I really believe that professional detailers need to concentrate on business principles even more than they concentrate on detailing principles. I would say that 80 percent of the educational effort should be focused on learning more about what it takes to own and operate a successful and profitable business. The other 20 percent should be learning more about the actual process of detailing.â€Â�



Canna says that too often, many detailing businesses fail because the owners are too busy taking care of the technical side of the business. âہ“These guys may be good detailers, however, that does not necessarily make them good business owners.â€Â�



Canna says that his detailing ability comes naturally from his father. âہ“My ability to do detailing was the result of my dad taking the time to teach me everything he knew about how to properly clean, polish and wax a vehicle,â€Â� he says. âہ“He always had a clean car and he always did all of the work himself. It was only natural for me to follow in his footsteps.â€Â�



Business Model

Canna operates strictly a mobile detailing operation where all of the cleaning, polishing and waxing is done at the customerâ€â„¢s business or home. And, even though automobile and boat detailing does take up a majority of his time, Canna is also taking advantage of a number of other business avenues.



"I also offer various instructional information about detailing,â€Â� he says. âہ“They include: Start Your Own Detailing Business Study Guides, Automobile & Boat Detailing Guides and Online Detailing Courses. These comprehensive plans all have their own niche. The Start Your Own Detailing Business Study Guides was developed to help interested clients start-up, own and operate their own detailing business.



The Automobile & Boat Detailing Guides are do-it-yourself guides designed to offer everyone an opportunity to learn more about how to clean, polish and wax their own car or boat, just like a professional.



Finally, the Online Detailing Courses allow students to complete their studies anytime, anywhere. The online classes are designed for busy people, including college students and working professionals who have limited access to traditional classroom activities. The online courses offer everyone an opportunity to learn the do-it-yourself approach to automobile and boat detailing.â€Â�



One of the reasons that Canna decided to offer these guides and online courses was in response to meeting the needs of prospective customers.



âہ“I learned early on that in order to become successful you must constantly be focused on meeting the needs of your customers,â€Â� he says. âہ“My customers are now like family and friends. Our mutual respect for one and other goes well beyond the scope of detailing. These courses are just one way in which I respond to my customers needs.â€Â�



This brings us to professionalism, which Canna says is the reason he has been so successful. âہ“Professionalism is the key to operating a successful and profitable detailing business,â€Â� he notes. âہ“Of course, customers expect to see good results; however, they are equally concerned with all of the things that you do that adds up to creating an overall good experience. For example, since I operate a mobile detailing business it is very important that I arrive on the job at the agreed time of the appointment. I also dress in clean, professional-looking, color-coordinated work cloths. Matching work hat with embroidered company name, etc. All of this makes a statement with the customer.â€Â�



Another reason that Canna believes he has been successful is his viewpoint. âہ“I constantly try to look at everything from the customerâ€â„¢s prospective,â€Â� he says. âہ“I treat my customers the same way I like to be treated. I use only the finest professional products because that is what I would use on my own cars. However, the single most important reason why I have remained so successful is because I understand that my customers are not interested in just getting the lowest price. They are much more interested in knowing they are receiving high-quality service and getting their moneyâ€â„¢s worth.



âہ“Too often, detailing businesses fail because they are constantly trying to compete with other detailers and constantly lowering their prices,â€Â� adds Canna. âہ“In the detailing business, that is simply a mistake. A low price may matter when youâ€â„¢re doing wholesale restoration work for a dealership; however, most retail customers care more about getting a high-quality job and they are not afraid to pay a much higher price for that kind of service.â€Â�



As with most small businesses, Canna has experimented with a number of marketing avenues before finding something that worked for him. In his case, customer referrals are what worked the best. âہ“My customers just love telling their family and friends about my detailing service,â€Â� he says. âہ“They are constantly sending me new customer referrals. I have also found that just talking with people who own an expensive car often yields good results too. That is why I always carry a couple of business cards with me. You never know when someone is going to ask about my detailing services.â€Â�



Tips For Others

Canna says the main thing to becoming successful is to learn how to operate a business. âہ“You have to create a strategic plan that will help to identify the customer and why that customer needs the service being offered,â€Â� he says. âہ“Remember, when it comes to detailing, itâ€â„¢s not about price. Itâ€â„¢s more about offering a high-quality service. Finally, always remain focused on meeting the needs of your customer. If everything else fails just providing professional services and meeting the needs of your customer can make you a success.



âہ“Too many detailers spend way too much time worrying about the competition and how everything relates to their own personal needs,â€Â� says Canna. âہ“Doing that is a sure recipe for failure. For a detailer to be successful they must remain focused on constantly giving the customer much more than they expect. They must remain focused on meeting and exceeding the needs of their customer. To be successful the customer must truly come first.



Where does Canna see his business going over the next couple of years? He says the major growth of his detailing business will continue to come from specializing in the care and appearance maintenance of more and more high-end vehicles, such as exotic sports cars, antique and classic cars.



âہ“I have also found that there are plenty of people who have a basic need to learn more about how they can clean, polish and wax their own car, just like a professional,â€Â� he says. âہ“Since I am currently offering instructional information about detailing, I am now beginning to offer a unique hands-on training course for people here in South Jersey.â€Â�



Source:

AMERICAâ€â„¢S CAR CARE BUSINESS

PO Box 25310

Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998

Phone: 480-585-0455

Fax: 480-585-0456

[stilez]

Frank: Excellent article!



I really couldn`t agree more.



The business section is what really grabbed me. I am currently a Junior Business Management Student at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. With each business class taken, I feel myself contributing more and more to my business.



Thanks for taking the time to post this

[scottabir]

:up great advice, and very well said!

[Scottwax]

Great article, Frank. Really good points about not being so focused on the actual detailing that you forget you are running a business.



I also like the idea about training classes. Towards the end of January, I want to guage the interest in setting up classes a couple times a month where I would teach the detailing basics. Probably something I wouldn`t be able to do until it got warmer but if I can build up interest for a couple of months, it should give me an idea how many people would really want something like this.

[TN9thSi]

Great article. I am planning on starting my own mobile detailing business this spring. I think your detailing business course would be very beneficial. thanks for being such a great resource.

[imported_Terry]

Very good things going on Frank.....way to go:xyxthumbs

[imported_ajbarnes]

Great article Frank.:up That`s what I`ve came to the conclusion with a little while ago...I need to focus more on the business end and a little less on the technical end.

[Superior Shine]

Don`t hurt yourself patting yourself on your back!

LOL

[Scottwax]

Originally posted by Superior Shine

Don`t hurt yourself patting yourself on your back!

LOL

Not Frank!



Sure, he likes to toot his own horn but he usually does give some pretty sound advise.



BTW, how is business Joe? Did the rain out there finally stop?

[NEW AGAIN]

These two site can help with the business part of detailing



www.score.org / www.web-cars/detail/phorum/list.php?f=1