Anyone Set up Shop at a gas station?

B

B.G.

New member
I am currently still in the beginning stages of getting my detailing business off the ground. As any business owner knows, every day is a challenge. It seems as if every time something good happens, there are subsequently setbacks. With that being said, I am still pursuing this because it is my passion and I am determined to make it happen.



I recently have come across an opportunity to set up shop at a relatively busy gas station. It is located in the heart of my downtown and see's lots of traffic on a daily basis. Now I understand that is all irrelevant if I plan to set up and expect customers to come to me. But thats not the case. I just would like more exposure and to possibly shift the direction of my business plan slightly and start targeting the every day consumer. Yea, its nice to do a paint correction and get paid handsomely for it, but the truth of the matter is, I dont get those on the regular.



With all that being said, this spot at a gas station will enable me about 4-5 spots at any given time. My goal would be to offer an affordable $10 wash with the option of add ons. Everything strictly exterior with the max time that I am wanting to spend on a car 15 minutes. The landlord has no problem with me offering other services like headlight restoration and windshield repair. He is allowing me to give it a test trial (very rare of landlords) for 2months and enabling me to make my decision on whether to extend when done.



The space is going to be $550 (flat) a month. I am not necessarily expecting anyone to have the answer for me on whether or not I should do it, but I would like some insights. Has anyone ever gone down this route? I am really trying to be as patient and persevering with this business venture, but I am really needing a breakthrough!



Thanks for reading and your advice
 
It sounds like you have done some thinking, especially about your potential clientele. I just don't see you getting a wash done in 15 minutes. Even with a clean car and a pressure washer or ONR, that's pretty aggressive.
 
There would not an actual shop so to say. But I would have a good portion of the gas station space. I figured depending on how I set it up, coned drive through or pull into a spot, I have about 4-5 slots for cars. My only fear is that this could no way be something that takes an extensive amount of time or gets backed up to the point where there is a long line. That would be great if it does become like that, but I think there would be issues with space bc as I mentioned its a very busy area. With two people going at it, I think that 10minutes is relatively doable for a basic exterior wash and tire shine. Im heading over to the area today to show the wife and ill try to snap some pictures.
 
B.G. said:
I think that 10minutes is relatively doable for a basic exterior wash and tire shine. Im heading over to the area today to show the wife and ill try to snap some pictures.
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Two people changes everything, but it also means $5 each.
 
I say give it a shot for the two months and see how it goes. You could set up a couple big canopies to keep the sun off the cars and hang banners from the canopies for drive by advertising.
 
A few thoughts:



Check local regulations. My city only allows a mobile business to piggyback on a particular business location for 5 days per month. Run-off and others may be an issue, especially at a gas station.



Are you planning to do this every day? Weekends might be the best exposure while weekdays may not be busy enough. Find a local gas station with a mechanical carwash and observe the traffic flow of the wash. Weekdays many people are trying to get somewhere and won't want to wait for their car, while weekends people might have more free time.



I know of someone who does what you are looking to do very successfully at the local flea market on the weekends. People have something to do while their car is being washed.



$10 is a low price for a good wash. Increasing the price a bit might make it worth the extra person.



Don't forget insurance. You, and especially the gas station owner, do not want something to happen that his station could be liable for and not covered by his insurance.



Good signage with services offered: Your idea is good for exposure but doesn't lend itself well to time consuming add-ons. Stick to the washes on location and have photos of your work. Use the opportunity to sell additional services to keep busy during the week.



At $10/wash how many washes does it take to cover costs? $550+$~$100= 65 washes. What wage do you expect to make? $10/hr mininum? @ 8 hours per day times 20 days per month (weather and days off) = $1600. That's 225 washes per month by yourself to make what you could make at any other job. It would be mandatory that additional business come from this. You could not sustain this long term.



Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the insights. I have researched and checked into the water regulations in the area and I am clear to go. It also helps that I am the only one in my city at this time utilizing the Optima Steamer, so there is no waste water runoff whatsoever. I know that a lot of people are opposed to this method, but I live in a very "Green" city and this is something that people are always fascinated with.



I originally spoke to the landlord about just doing it on weekends at first, but he said whatever day/days I did it I would still have to pay the monthly $550. However, as mentioned, he was and is willing to give me a 2 month trial. Which I think is more than fair. I dont think adding simple add ons like tire shine and maybe a liquid spray wax would increase the time too much. It takes about 1 minute to apply tire shine and with two people you can go over a car w lsw in about 2 minutes max.



I agree with you on using this as an opportunity to sell my "real" detail packages to customers. But im still trying to figure out how I would go about that if I plan on setting up here 6 days a week. hmmmm
 
doesnt seem worth it! doesnt seem like it would be worth the time, or you will attract the right clientele who wants detailing services. I mean, if someone wants a $10 wash, you probably arent going to get a $100 detail out of them...IDK though, I just dont see it panning out, and like Nth pointed out, thats a lot of cars and a lot of time, product use, labor to make relatively peanuts compared to promoting and being mobile doing $150-$300 details daily. I would rather work 10 days a month and make $6000 rather than work 30 days a month and make $6000.
 
toyotaguy said:
doesnt seem worth it! doesnt seem like it would be worth the time, or you will attract the right clientele who wants detailing services. I mean, if someone wants a $10 wash, you probably arent going to get a $100 detail out of them...IDK though, I just dont see it panning out, and like Nth pointed out, thats a lot of cars and a lot of time, product use, labor to make relatively peanuts compared to promoting and being mobile doing $150-$300 details daily. I would rather work 10 days a month and make $6000 rather than work 30 days a month and make $6000.
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Oh I agree wholeheartedly about your last statement. When I initially set out on this venture my business plan was more geared to those who enjoy an up kept vehicle. I am sure that I am missing something in terms of how I go about getting business, but it just seems like nothing is working right now. I am a pretty resilient person and do believe that success cannot be achieved without hard work, but man....its tough!

I was once told by a college professor that when doing business if you "appeal to the masses, you ll live in the classes" and if you "appeal to the classes, you ll live in the masses".... Whether or not that statement is entirely true, idk, but when I reflect on it I do seem to find some truth in it..
 
I think a lot of Autopians get caught up with high end work and miss out on opportunities make some good money with volume work. Either way you go (volume or high end) will be a lot of work in the begining but the difference is that with volume work you are more likely to be able to delegate work to employees once things are rolling. With high end/correction work (I am guessing) that an owner has to be hands on for every job for quality control.



IDK, for me I would rather start with volume work and then once you have built a base and have good help you can pursue higher end jobs if that is what gets you excited. Barry Theal has got a good thing going...he has a crew taking care of the bread and butter jobs, and he can cherry pick the correction work he wants to do (if he wants to do any at all).
 
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