Questions about equipment/supplies.

[bwalker25]

If you can get your business started with the cash on hand that you have, DO IT! Slow times are going to come and go no matter if you have $6000 or $20,000. However, if you borrow a sum of money, that's just one more bill (and a potentially large bill) that you have to pay, even during those slow times. The less bills, the better. Anytime you can do something without borrowing money, you'll be better off (big Dave Ramsey fan here if you couldn't tell).



Another thing I would suggest is to start simple. Don't attempt to "do it all" right from the start. Focus on basic services (ie - wash, clay, wax or sealant, interiors). These are the services that will allow you to "get your foot in the door" with a lot of people. They are also services that a) don't take as long to perform b) require less "work" for the money and c) keep prices reasonable for more customers. Offering basic services like this in the beginning will allow you to focus your efforts on quality and service from the get-go.



Remember that for most of us, it's the non-enthusiast type customers that are going to keep the bills paid. As you do these types of basic services, you can build up your reserves of money to purchase professional equipment, etc., allowing you to offer higher-level services (while still keeping the basic services available). When a customer with a nice car comes around, looking to spend some bucks on your best work, it's just an added bonus.



Since you have a full-size crew cab truck, you should have no problems fitting your tools and products into your vehicle. Everyone here knows what Scottwax can cram into his 4-door Maxima.



Another piece of advice I can give is to get a business plan written before you even start your business. Even if it's just something short and simple, you need to have a plan of action and goals that you're trying to reach. Otherwise, you are operating for the present, and not the future. As the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."



Lastly, good luck with your business. Have fun with it! That's why most of us here are in this business. We love what we do!

very well said solid advise! +1

 

[Driven Auto Detail]

I would recommend buying high quality products like Lake Country, Menzerna, and Zymol. They give an excellent finished product, and can save time. Unfortunately the detailing industry is not what is used to be, and people are more price conscious than ever. Start off with a high quality product at a low cost, and people will be very happy with your services. Then you can raise prices gradually. Good luck with your venture.



John

I will respectfully disagree with statements above.



IMO, it's not in the OP's best interest to purchase these types of expensive products. Yes, the quality is high, however, the average customer does not care if you use Menzerna or Meguiar's products. There are plenty of reasonably priced products that perform beautifully. Products don't make the detail, the detailer does. Customers want a) their car to look good, b) receive good service, and c) pay a fair price for the quality of work and service they received, which brings me to my next point.



I would not suggest charging low prices, ESPECIALLY when buying expensive products. IMO, to charge low prices and then raise them to where they should have been in the first place is almost like the old "bait and switch". What's going to happen to those bargain-basement customers when you decide to raise your prices? Cheap customers are only loyal to the cheapest prices! You may get lots of business in the beginning if you're cheap, but once you raise your prices, you're back to little to no business. It would be smarter to charge what your service is worth from the get-go.



Lastly, while a pressure washer is a nice commodity, it is not a must-have when you're just getting started. Having a PW is just like having an extractor, steamer, etc. Yes, they are great to have and help the process (some equipment more than others), but it's not a necessary expense to get started in this business. I'll once again refer to Scottwax. How long has he been in the mobile detailing business and he's never had a pressure washer.



To coincide with the cheap prices part of this discussion, here's a great article from Auto Laundry News about the pitfalls of being the "cheaper" detailer.

Focus on your Customer - September 2005



Lowest Price Loses

By Joseph Rosales



I have had many requests to address the subject of pricing and specifically the impact of lowering prices, so this month I am going to revisit a subject that we first addressed in this magazine about three years ago.



The question about where you should price your services in relation to the competition is a question that virtually every operator will ask at some point. Should you be the highest-price provider in your market, or should you offer the cheapest price in the market and try to make it up on volume?



Having had the opportunity to evaluate many hundreds of car care businesses over the years, it stands out in my experience that the most successful businesses in the country almost always have the highest price in their marketplace. However, before you go out and raise your prices, let's first understand that "most successful" does not simply mean making the most money. The term also relates to having the best employees, the lowest turnover, the most loyal customers, and yes, averaging above the national averages in both car counts and revenue per car.



Let's review the two opposite strategies, low price and high price:



LOWEST-PRICE STRATEGY



Our experience has taught us that it is most often not effective to compete with the low-price providers on price. Generally, any low-price provider - whether it is a car wash, tire store, car dealership, or mass retailer - that is offering a low price on a service as a loss leader is generally not basing its strategy on making money on the primary service offering. For example, the low-price oil change is designed to get customers in the door so they can identify other service needs on the vehicle and make their money on the additional services. No one can really make money on a $12 to $18 oil change.



However, the loss-leader strategy does have some merit in a facility like a car dealership, which offers a very wide range of services. In fact, with so many other services to offer once the customer is in the shop, it almost pays to give away the oil change. As you can see in today's market, many car dealerships are in fact giving the oil changes away to keep their customers coming to the dealership. Bear in mind, however, that a very large part of the car dealership's revenue is derived from services other than oil changes. We always counsel our car dealership clients, though, to charge market price for oil changes, because that is what the service is worth.



Trying to compete on price is almost always a losing proposition. Once you have lowered your price to be the low price leader, you have engaged in a battle that you most likely can't and don't want to win. Quite simply, all your competitor has to do to counter your lowest price is lower his price again, and now you are right back where you started in the pricing matrix - but now both of you are making less money. I once heard someone say, "There is always someone smarter than you that will figure out a way to sell it for less, or dumb enough to sell it for less than it cost." Oh, how true this is! It's a vicious downward spiral of pricing that no one wins.



Customers perceive value based in part on the price that you charge. If you are the lowest price in your market, how can you also be the best? There are exceptions - take Wal-Mart as an example. They have won the pricing war with many of their competitors. If you study their business model, though, you'll find it is not based on simply lower prices. It is based on a comprehensive business model that allows them to sell at a lower price on many items and yet maintain high margins on others. Their model's success is due, in part, to their incredible ability to get the very best pricing from their vendors, build their stores cheaply, maintain a high in-stock capacity, and massively reduce overall inventory handling and distribution cost. Can a low-price strategy work in the car care industry? I think yes - but it takes a strategy that includes all of the above-noted components and the ability to service cars efficiently while maintaining a high revenue-per-car with the ancillary services. From personal experience, Wal-Mart isn't the cheapest on every item - just the ones that will get you in and keep you coming back. In many ways, the Wal-Marts of the world have isolated themselves from having to give good service, because they are all about price. Think about it - do you go to Wal-Mart for low price, or great service?



HIGHEST-PRICE STRATEGY



Most will agree that you should definitely not be looking to attract the low-price customer whom the discounters are chasing. Most of our clients tell us that the low-price coupon shoppers only buy the discounted service and do not normally purchase any additional service for their car. Most want the same level of service and quality that your full-price customers expect, but they want to pay less. If your facility and personnel are top notch, then you ought to be able to attract the customer that is looking for service that is convenient and delivered with the highest levels of quality, professionalism, and trust. Most customers are willing to pay a small premium for that level of service.



Think about it - even if you ask $3 to $5 more than the medium providers in your market, that is only $9 to $15 more per year for the average customer. Are you not worth a few dollars more per year? The question everyone should ask themselves is not, "How can I lower my price?" but, "How can we increase the value of our service to our customer?"



You can win the game on highest price. You can hire the best staff, train them well, keep them longer, present a professional facility to your customer, and offer top-quality products and services.



In service-intensive businesses like fast-lube centers, almost without exception, the lowest price loses in the end. The low-cost provider may get car counts up for a while, but eventually the fact that they aren't making any money will show up in the quality of the employees they can hire, the facility they can maintain, and the service they can deliver to the customer.



Rest assured, someone is always going to try and be the low-cost provider, it is the nature of retailing. You need to pick your strategy and build your business model to support the strategy you choose.



Low-cost provider, or highest-price provider. The choice is yours - and so are the results of your choice.



Joseph Rosales is the president of Customer Service Solutions, Inc. and author of the book Customer Service Is a Contact Sportâ„¢. CSS is also the developer of CarCare TV, the car care industry's first DVD-based program designed to inform and educate customers about services you offer while it entertains them in the process. To learn more, visit the company's web site at www.customerservicesolutions.com or call (800) 268-9899. You can also e-mail Joseph personally at [email protected].