Things have changed here.....

Justin Murphy said:
Who has some major plans/changes for 2012? What new services will you be adding? What about marketing?
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Going nuts with the marketing. Sales were a month to month record for us every month this year since May with some months beating the previous record by almost 50%. I honestly can't believe it. Weather here is really helping us right now so I'm hoping to keep this going through February which will pull us out of the 3 slowest months for us. I'm looking to at least match what we did last year. On tap for us is a website overhaul and more viral marketing. Hope everyone else sees similar results.
 
ShineShop said:
Going nuts with the marketing. Sales were a month to month record for us every month this year since May with some months beating the previous record by almost 50%. I honestly can't believe it. Weather here is really helping us right now so I'm hoping to keep this going through February which will pull us out of the 3 slowest months for us. I'm looking to at least match what we did last year. On tap for us is a website overhaul and more viral marketing. Hope everyone else sees similar results.
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Can you pinpoint why you've been so much more productive this year? Is it reputation?

Thanks for the post!
 
Justin Murphy said:
Can you pinpoint why you've been so much more productive this year? Is it reputation?

Thanks for the post!
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I'm sure that has something to do with it - we had our 18 year anniversary this fall. I've made a huge effort to make sure we are positioned as #1 on google places, frequent updates to the website (which is going to get another refresh after 2 years), frequent updates to the Facebook fan page, a complete redesign of our business cards/letterhead etc, 6 different post cards to send out to customers and put on cars in parking lots and daily ads placed on kijiji. We really focus on customer service and making sure people are happy with what we did for them too. Thankfully it's all been paying off
 
ShineShop said:
I'm sure that has something to do with it - we had our 18 year anniversary this fall. I've made a huge effort to make sure we are positioned as #1 on google places, frequent updates to the website (which is going to get another refresh after 2 years), frequent updates to the Facebook fan page, a complete redesign of our business cards/letterhead etc, 6 different post cards to send out to customers and put on cars in parking lots and daily ads placed on kijiji. We really focus on customer service and making sure people are happy with what we did for them too. Thankfully it's all been paying off
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You are being so damn proactive! Love to hear it and see your business growing. I appreciate you sharing your strategies with us all.
 
Justin Murphy said:
Who has some major plans/changes for 2012? What new services will you be adding? What about marketing?
Click to expand...



We purchased a mobile hot water pressure washer with all the bells and whistles and have started a truck/trailer washing division. We will probably look at additional pressure washing services too if we have the man power.
 
major plans: Express business

launch the express business under the new name

train someone throughout January on every job I do between january and February

send that person on his own starting in late february/march

push and market to volume locations, try to get into some office buildings

push more of the simpler/faster details for the everyday drivers



Major Plans: wholesaling business

market everywhere and anywhere

promote withing both envious detailing and express business

sell for volume and fast turn around, dropship, sell in bulk with group buys

use money from this for retirement account



Major Plans: Envious detailing

get in with a few more tuner shops

market the charity deal like crazy

attend more cars and coffee type events and promote

bring more cars home for multi-day reconditioning jobs

possibly set up a shop location, join up with another business to cross promote

offer only one step jobs or full corrections

get back into doing more writeups! Last year, I seriously slacked and just didnt have the time for them like in previous years!



Basically, its going to be a HUGE undertaking for me in 2012 with the start up of two more business ventures, while still performing higher end work under envious detailing, AND trying to buy a house in the next few months so I can be ready for summer with a pool!
 
toyotaguy said:
major plans: Express business

launch the express business under the new name

train someone throughout January on every job I do between january and February

send that person on his own starting in late february/march

push and market to volume locations, try to get into some office buildings

push more of the simpler/faster details for the everyday drivers



Major Plans: wholesaling business

market everywhere and anywhere

promote withing both envious detailing and express business

sell for volume and fast turn around, dropship, sell in bulk with group buys

use money from this for retirement account



Major Plans: Envious detailing

get in with a few more tuner shops

market the charity deal like crazy

attend more cars and coffee type events and promote

bring more cars home for multi-day reconditioning jobs

possibly set up a shop location, join up with another business to cross promote

offer only one step jobs or full corrections

get back into doing more writeups! Last year, I seriously slacked and just didnt have the time for them like in previous years!



Basically, its going to be a HUGE undertaking for me in 2012 with the start up of two more business ventures, while still performing higher end work under envious detailing, AND trying to buy a house in the next few months so I can be ready for summer with a pool!
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Excellent plans! Nice to see you're taking on the volume work. It as almost doubled my income from two years ago.
 
Yeah, I cant see myself doing the volume work, but I wont mind hiring someone to handle it for me. I would rather work on 10 cars a month for 2-3 days each compared to touching 100 cars a month for the same money. Its just more gratifying for me. BUT, I do know and realize there is a much larger market for volume type detailing, so I want a piece of that pie too!!!
 
toyotaguy said:
Yeah, I cant see myself doing the volume work, but I wont mind hiring someone to handle it for me. I would rather work on 10 cars a month for 2-3 days each compared to touching 100 cars a month for the same money. Its just more gratifying for me. BUT, I do know and realize there is a much larger market for volume type detailing, so I want a piece of that pie too!!!
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And this is my attitude towards it as well.

Just think of much advertising those 100 volume customers will do for you!
 
Justin Murphy said:
And this is my attitude towards it as well.

Just think of much advertising those 100 volume customers will do for you!
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right, !!!!!!!!!!!



100 people telling 100 more people about cheaper detailing work who dont care about swirl marks, proper way to clean things, non acidic chemicals used, etc....its a gold mine and thats what I am starting to understand. I get people asking all the time if Ill do things for 1/2 the cost with half the work. My response, NO. There is a right way to do things and thats what i pride my business on.
 
JPostal said:
We purchased a mobile hot water pressure washer with all the bells and whistles and have started a truck/trailer washing division. We will probably look at additional pressure washing services too if we have the man power.
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This is a major income source. I power wash a ton of homes now. I have also picked up several businesses.

You need to look into soft washing if you haven't already.
 
Hey all!

I've been slammed the last few months and wanted to check in on everyone. I've actually added a second truck that is for the home power washing side of my business. I've expanded my mini wash and vacs to two of the nearby cities. I now have two months of rotating business.



Just wanted to say hi and hope everyone is ok.
 
Glad to hear its going well for you. I like that you diversified your business and have made it work. Have you ever thought about fleet washing? There can be good money in that too if you get the right set up. I dabbled in it but without the right equipment and right staff it was a nightmare. Since you are already doing a lot of pressure washing it could be a natural fit with your business. Truckers will also pay a premium for on-site interior detailing if you can minimize their downtime.
 
Still look at this thread for inspiration to this day. Any updates from everyone with what they're doing these days and what's working for them?
 
Hey all!

I have been busy. Weather has sucked and now EVERYONE wants their car done. I've picked up two dealerships as well. They sell everything from motorhomes to ATVs. I pick up the slack where their detail crew leaves off. We negotiated a really good deal so now I have steady, but repetitive work for my two guys.



Still doing tons of the basics. Washes, wash and waxes, and simple interior stuff. We never spend longer than 90 mins on a car.



I've picked up a lot of homes to power wash also. This is very good money. I live in the mountains so the cabin rental biz is crazy here. I have 60 cabins that get washed and windows cleaned twice a year.



Thanks to all that contributed to this thread! I'll try to be on more!
 
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