Equipment vs advertising

[Donavin629]

Cant you get buy without a extractor or steamer at this point and do the interior cleaning the old fashion way, scrubbing it down with a good cleaner and then shop vac it out? I know it will take a bit more time but then you can get the machine of your dreams when you have money coming in. Just a thought.......

i have gotten buy so far without an extractor... i just use the brushes on my cyclo machine to get the stains out.. been working so far.. i been pretty busy just from word of mouth and free online classifieds.

looking into marketing avenues as we speak.

[mark80z28]

Does anyone know if there are brushes available in a larger size, specifically to use with the Flex 3401? Maybe that isn`t even practical, considering that it might be harder to get into smaller spots with a larger brush.

[Mr. Clean]

Cant you get buy without a extractor or steamer at this point and do the interior cleaning the old fashion way, scrubbing it down with a good cleaner and then shop vac it out? I know it will take a bit more time but then you can get the machine of your dreams when you have money coming in. Just a thought.......

And a very good thought IMO. My thoughts are:

• Not every vehicle you detail will need the use of a full on extractor. And some of those that may need to be extracted, the customer may be unwilling to pay out the added expense for doing so. TexasTB has an extractor, but you should note that with his current primary client (wholesale via a car dealer), a full-blown interior detail is probably required to bring the vehicles into a retail sale condition. Tex, chime in here if I am wrong on this.

• The idea of buying a LGM just doesn`t thrill me. It appears to be a pretty weak machine with a limited lifespan and placing it under the conditions of being operated in a commercial environment just seems wasteful use of capital (which I assume is limited). Some of the issues I see with the machine:
  - Flimsy construction "feel"
  - Limited tank capacity
  - Weak pump for injecting cleaning liquids
  - Lesser amount of "lift" than a quality wet/dry vac - note this is also true about some of the even more expensive spotter units. Make sure you compare.
  
  If you buy a heated version, I believe you will have to get one with a turbo brush head and from what I have read, there is no "power" much less "turbo" associated with the rotating brush head.
  
  Instead you could spend that money and buy 2 bucket heaters and have lots of hot water to work with. Hand spray your carpet/upholstery cleaning products, agitate, dwell, "extract" with you wet/dry vac. Apply your rinse agent and "extract" again.

IME you can get pretty far down the road w/o and extractor. If you get started and find this not to be true, then by all means make the investment in a commercial grade machine. There have been a couple of vehicles when I really wished I had an extractor, but in the overall scheme of things the lack of a unit has not hampered my operation. There have been more times where I wanted one for the home carpeting as GearHead mentioned earlier. There is no one right or wrong answer on this topic. Only your own experience will be the deciding factor.


Business cards - I don`t see the need for the upper high end of business cards. I want a nice clean card that effectively broadcasts 1) who I am 2) what I do 3) how to contact me. I don`t just hand these out. Never assume that someone wants your card -- no quicker way to find your card in a trash can than by placing these in doors on cars etc. Hopefully they will ask for a card after an introductory conversation, or you can ask if you can provide them with a card.

Flyers - Not a fan

Telephone directories - See above