Need a little advice from the pros

Jesstzn

Jesstzn

New member
I don't know if any of you have followed some of my postings in *Click & Brag* but the detailing of the Bimmer I did has lead to a few other detailing requests. Well the owner of the Bimmer is a business man and he passed on to a few others what I did for him and the end result is he is suggesting that I set up an "Elite Detailing Service"



Basically catering to local business men who have top end cars but no time to maintain them. Most of these cars are physically in great shape and just need a little swirl removal and then wax/sealant of choise. These are all mostly 4/5 hour details and would net +/- $125.



He also suggested I set up a wash service .. wash/ vac/ interior cleanup / tire dressing ( 2 hours) $30.



I have most of the chemicals needed and I wouldn't take on more than 1 detail a week with a couple of washes ..



Question is .. is it worth it? I am currently self employed and fortunatly I have a good crew and my day is usually 5 AM to 8 AM then the day is mine outside the odd scheduled meeting.



I don't need the money .. I enjoy doing the detailing for the self satisfaction .. the money is a freebie ..



I have no ambition to do this professionally and we already have 2 detailing shops in town that do what I would call sh*tty run of the mill work that keeps the average lazy Joe happy. More to provide an upper end service they don't provide. I should also note the town is small and the business core is withing walking distance .. I'd just walk down and pick up the cars.



Comments..
 
To be honest, I don't need the money when I detail either. I am well cared for by my parents bountiful income, but I do like making other people happy when they see their car rejuvinated. It makes them soo extatic, that I get a sort of high off of it.



Also, since all your business is local, and easily accessable, it makes it all the more easy. Just jump in their car ( with permission of course ) and take it back home for the detailing session.
 
Yeah man do it! Like you I am self employed and I'm done usually by 11AM on days I do work, I do business mainly with car dealerships and they don't like to be called upon after 11 because thats when customers start to roll in. I do at least one full detail a week and do a couple washes. I have to turn business away! I'm allergic to turning down business so I'm considering making something more out of it...
 
Jesstzn you said something that is very imorptatnt to me "self satisfaction". Your only work 3 hours a day right now. How much satisfactin do you get from your job? Since you are self employed I would guess that you really enjoy your current job and are doing exactly what you want to do. Having your day free to do what ever you want is nice. Detailing more cars would bring you more self satisfaction. It's also a plus that you would be dealing with the higher end cars and not the family wagon.

Detailing is something that you really enjoy doing. I say go for it. You won't be relying on that money to put food on the table. If it ever gets to the point that you are starting to get aggrivated with a customer or you are not enjoying doing the work you can chose to stop doing business with him/her or just go back to maintaining your own cars.



Thanks for letting me ramble:)
 
How about just starting with a very small, select client base as a test. If you like it, you can expand. If not, close down.

Doing it this way may also work to your benefit if you decide to keep going with more clients. Since you start with a very select few, other people will quickly want your services so they can "keep up with the Jones's". It becomes a status symbol type thing.

If you really enjoy detailing, this would be a win-win situation for you. You get to do something you really enjoy, and make money that you don't count on for living expenses. Like ncal said, you feed the addiction for free.



Just my thoughts.



Dave
 
I wish I was in a position to do something like that. :) It'd beat the whole lack of summer jobs for college students! It sounds like a great idea, and Dave's advice sounds the most logical. Start with a small client base and see how it goes.
 
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