First day on site doing washings. What a day!

There we go!



As soon as the new cards are printed, I'll be out to go try some of those ideas.



It just takes a while to build everything up, and meanwhile theres bills to pay, so for now the 'company days' will have to stay.



The job situation here for my previous professional occupation is non-existant unfortunately, so I'm really starting from scratch.



I appreciate the assistance from someone who HAS been there and wants to share some of the trade secrets of how to 'make it'.



Being a good detailer doesnt necessarily make you a successful businessman!
 
Here's a tip for ya'll, Put your multipurpose cleaner for tires wheelwells etc., in a sprayer, like you spray round up in. I have a 2.5 gallon hudson, I think it is. Really speeds up the process, alot faster than cranking away on spray bottles. If you already do this, than disregard.
 
Guys,



Sounds like you are happy with what you're doing but it sounds as if pricing and what people are getting for their work is all over the board.



I live in Indianapolis, and recently started detailing cars out of neccessity, as selling major software products and living in Indy seems to be pretty mutually exclusive in todays economy. I've started a consulting business, specializing in Lean Manufacturing and Business Intelligence and it looks promising. However, I just started detailing as a business and I am surprised at how my experience with pricing seems to differ from yours.



In the last week, I've only done 2 cars, a Chevy Tahoe and a Cadillac DeVille, but I was paid $350 for the 2 of them, and didn't include an engine detail with either. I am doing a BMW X5 for $200 tomorrow and have a special edition Porsche 911 (German Tuner car) coming in next week for $250. I haven't really done anything but have people see me doing my car, or say something about it in a parking lot. Heck, I don't even have cards or a real price strategy set yet, but I am going to take Anthony's advice and do some marketing next week so I better have it put together tomorrow.!.



As for your business philosophy, far be it from me to tell anyone how to price or run their business, but if I take off my detailer hat and put on my business hat, I view time as our major constraint. Experience and continuas improvement/standardization of processes will improve my performance and reduce the time/effort to produce superior results. However, if I spend all day on a lower revenue opportunities, I am constrained in performing, or even uncovering the higher paying gigs Anthony is speaking of. This is classic Constraint Management theory. In effect, what you are selling is your ability to flush products (details) and cash through a system. Time spent on low margin impacts your ability to produce higher margin. It doesn't take many $200 details to make up for missing a day of $20 car washes. I see a better use of time marketing higher margin products, including freebies for people who can drive revenue to you, over dealing with low priced ventures that won't allow you the time to develop higher priced business. Maybe your Merc/boat customer is such a person, and maybe I am speaking out by rectum, but trying to raise your prices in the future will backfire, it always does, and you will need to go out and acquire new customers for your services.



That said, Anthony, I would be most appreciative of any tips you have for people starting up a business. I am trying to appeal to a more exclusive clientle and charge enough money to reinforce that exclusivity. What types of products would your recommend, any tips to drive cycle time out of the process? I don't want time spent to seem like the biggest driver, but I am still fairly slow, but found that better organization (prepacked kits for interior, exterior, etc) and a "flow philosophy" (doing door jamb for example and everything within reach while there (seats, carpets, dash, etc) , as opposed to doing carpets first, then the dash and vinyl, all seats, have made me more efficient.



Anyways, Anthony, any help would be greatly appreciated.



Good luck guys on your venture. I hope I haven't sound like a pompous butthead, just enjoy understanding everyone's business philosophy.



Sam
 
Sam,



Nice post. To the point and presented in a convincing manner.



Transfer that to your detailing, both business and hands on and you can't lose.



Also congrats on what seems to be an already busy "infant" business :)



As for any advice I can give......well I would have to say that in this type of business, which many see as "janitors for cars", you have to decide if you want to make tons of cash or decent money. The cash cow comes from having a fixed location and pounding out cars through a wash tunnel. The decent cash cow plan comes from doing most of the work yourself. Dealing directly with the clients, doing phone calls, appointments, ordering more products, etc.



If I wanted to make big money and cut corners I would be running a tunnel car wash. Hire some cute girls to work the place and sell car "trinkets" in the lobby. I would offer detailing but quality would take a back seat to quantity because it's very difficult perhaps even impossible to have both quantity and quality. In other words the type of work you do on a clients car for $200 would be very difficult to manage and keep up on 5 cars because "YOU" cannot touch every car.



This is where many detailers fail when growing their business. The problem goes like this. Joe is a fantastic detailer. Everyone loves his work and pretty soon he has more work than hours in the day or week. He must hire a helper and his thinking is that he can train another person to do the work he is doing. Joe thinks that he can clone himself and that everyone he hires and trains will care for the cars just as he does. Soon though the quality suffers because quantity takes precedent. Not everyone Joe, you or I, hire is going to have that same commitment to excellance because to them it is a job and to you and I we have a self interest in it.



OR you can choose to do quality over quantity. The money will not be as big BUT to me the rewards of knowing you have done a great job make up for that. People don't come to me because I am cheap or offer coupons in the mail but because they know I do good work. They know that they can leave their personal items in the car and when they return for the car nothing is missing. When they open their trunk water will not come pouring out of the seals. When they drive off water does not drain out from their tail lights or side view mirrors.



Their seat belts are straight and their favorite radio preset has not been changed. These little things are in reality huge things because if they take their cars elsewhere and these little things are not done they will notice. These "quality control" things would be very difficult to do if I had to oversee 5 cars being detailed plus 10 more being washed.



Making oneself efficient is knowing your products and also your limits. Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry said it best, "Everyman has got to know his limitations"



I am constantly testing products and trying different things BUT I also have my tried and true products. I know what does and doesn't work and also what they can and can't do. I have my stuff organized so I am not running around looking for something. A place for everything and everything in its place. I have my towels seperated in ziplock baggies and labeled. Car drying towels, polish removal towels, window towels and my interior towels. I have two rotaries that I set up when buffing. One for cutting and the other for polishing. This saves me time changing out pads.



Also, each part of the car is a seperate detail. In other words the whole detail is made up of many smaller details. That is my detailing philosophy. When I clean and polish a wheel for instance, then that wheel is a seperate detail afixed to the greater detail. Same thought for the rear of a BMW. The tail lights, emblems and plate area are again small details within a larger one. This method helps ensure a thorough detailing of every nook and cranny.



I always start my interiors from the back forward and hit sections or areas of the car as I exit. So the rear area of the headliner is first to be cleaned if needed, rear window is next then rear area gets vacuumed, seats cleaned, back of seats cleaned, carpets cleaned and as I exit the door jambs are cleaned.



Exteriors are done from the top down and I seek the least abrasive method first. As for products, email me for that as this post has dragged on long enough.



Thanks for the kind words and for allowing me to be of help,

Anthony
 
I understand exactly where your coming from, and the ideal end result is 2 a day details, every day @ $200 bucks plus a pop.



The difficult bit is getting there.



No-one phones and offers that sorta money here.

Wether its a Utah thing I dunno ... or wether it just takes time for folks to see our standard of work.

I know I make a car look as good as possible, its convincing people, the RIGHT people to part with serious cash so I can look after their cars.



Thats the hard bit.



To be perfectly honest tho, I dont care if I make the money from washing 10 cars a day or fully detailing 2.



As long I can pay the bills, enjoy myself and get to be around beautiful vehicles while running my own business I'll be one damn happy camper!



I come from a career where $500 a day for sitting around waiting for something to break was pretty common.



It was the sitting around wasting your life in some foreign POS country that got to me in the end.



Hands up whos been to Algeria... Egypt ... Azerbaijahn ?
 
A bit off topic, but were you in petroleum, by any chance, Smoker?



I've been to Venezuela, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya. Gold exploration geologist in a past life. :)
 
Anthony Orosco said:
When they open their trunk water will not come pouring out of the seals. When they drive off water does not drain out from their tail lights or side view mirrors.
Click to expand...



Anthony, these items are a continually headache for me. You sound like you got this nailed. I don't have a problem when it's a full out detail, as I can spend the time to get everything completed dried out, as I am doing other things. It's for that quick wash and wax that I have a problem with. What do you do, bring a leaf blower with you?
 
I use a leaf blower and my wet dry vac.



I hit it with the leaf blower while the trunk is open. Start from the top and work your way down the sides then blow out the bottom rear section first and follow "gutter" out to the front area.



I then take a MF towel and dry up any drips and stuff. Close the trunk and then use the wet/dry vac along the tail light areas.



This should just about eliminate all water run off. The same goes for side view mirrors.



Hope that helps,

Anthony
 
2wheels,



A quick word of advice. If you get a leaf blower that also acts as a mulcher never....NEVER use it as such! This will then trap small particles of leaves, grass and dust inside and they will come hurling out like minute missles towards the car when you use it again as a blower.



The same goes for a wet/dry vac that doubles as a blower. Use it as one or the other but never both. Vacuuming a few cars with all that sand and grit will eventually blow out when used as a blower.



Happy Detailing,

Anthony
 
2wheelsx2 said:
A bit off topic, but were you in petroleum, by any chance, Smoker?



I've been to Venezuela, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya. Gold exploration geologist in a past life. :)
Click to expand...



Yeah, Conoco, then Ciba-Geigy doing Pharmas followed by a host of contracting for KBR and AMEC back in fossils.



Sure pays well, but man its a life-waster.



My buddy is working his socks off right now in Ireland sorting out an Intel site they've FUBARRED.



Brings the luxuries of the States into perspective tho, at least now I dont have to check every unopened bottle of Coke for dead insects before I drink it.



I still shake my sneakers out before putting em on.

Force of habit I spose.
 
I've been detailing for 5 years and find boat to be cake compared to cars. New boats by hand old boats by high speed rotary. Where sunglasses or you will be sorry as you will miss and make mistakes because of how the sunlight affects your optics.3M Cleaner Wax is a great product for removing oxidation as well as

leaving a decent coat of wax. :xyxthumbs
 
So how do you go about getting car wash customers from a single office building. Do you go into the buildling and go to every person in every office and ask them if they are interested? Or do you just put up sign-up sheet in the lobby or something. Also how do you bill people. Do you go around to every person to collect the money?
 
They have it posted on their company intranet site and also have emailed everybody with our price sheet with services. We take payment when we take back their keys to them. Its been a pretty smooth operation so far. We go on Mondays and Wednesdays for normal washes and then pick up the special jobs for them on Fridays. We can also accept paypal so they can make their payment that way if they want. I would rather do it that way than risk a bounced check. Of course, based on the people's cars we've done so far, I'm not worried about checks bouncing.
 
Do you only do washes for one building or for multiple buildings? Also do you do one car at a time or multiple? How did you get the hook up to have it posted on their company intranet, did you detail someones car for free?
 
Its just a one building complex. Its a service that they have offered their employees in the past and they lost their last detailers when they moved out of state. Someone who details the cars for the office in Vegas told me about it and I sent them an email and they called me a couple months later. Actually, I had forgotten all about them till I got the phone call. They have been pretty accomadating. They said that they would send out a company wide email letting their employees know when we would be there and they would send them our price list. Its been kind of a dream gig. I don't expect them all to go like this.



We now line them up after taking the advice from some Autopians who know better. We do two or three at a time and it seems to go faster. We were there for a total of 3 hours today and that included rounding up the cars, sorting out what we were going to need to do to them, doing 3 total including a nasty engine bay, speaking with one of the owners, packing up and pulling out. It was really quick. We probably only had to spend maybe 2 hours actually working. Doing them together saves a lot of time.
 
And I not only managed to steal his Invisible Glass I got his Prestone today too.



Ya think he'll notice ?



;)



Oooops sry Tony I'll give you it back wednesday.



Today was a bit of a fubar as the 6 cars they had waiting on friday got sone over the weekend by the local scrub n scratch.



DAMMIT.





On the plus side a little detailing idea one of the nice Autopians let me in on seemed to be pretty popular with our regular customers.



Cheers Mr Orosco!



That and Jngr buffed out one door of a side-long set of brush scratches on a Taho.



Looked kinda peculiar the way they just stopped at the door edge but it was just to show the owner we could get em out easy.



:xyxthumbs
 
That's ok because I have one of your microfibers and I nearly walked off with your Eagle One Wet. I didn't though because IT'S NOT RIGHT TO STEAL FROM YOUR BUSINESS PARTNERS. :D Actually, I wouldn't even miss it till Wednesday anyway. Its not like I'll have time to do any other cars tomorrow.
 
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