Things have changed here.....

Justin Murphy said:
It's all about the chemicals. I mix the chemicals into a 5 gallon bucket and it gets injected inline between the pressure washer and high pressure hose. I have a high soap and high rinse tip for the upper levels.......up to 45 feet......so there is no need for ladders. I then use a low soap and low rinse for lower levels. Spray on the soap, let sit, and rinse......not blast. It's not really "pressure washing" as most (and even I) think. It's about letting the chemicals work and then using water volume, rinse. I can do a 2000 square foot home with some decks in 4-5 hours. Average pay is 400-500.00 per house. I know of some guys that can do it in 2 hours.....by themselves! See why I'm adding it to my services?



I have a cabin rental company just wanting me to wash of the decks and fronts with no chemicals. 20 at 75.00 a piece. It's not glorious and it's kinda boring but it's money.



PM me with any questions about this and I will help. This is a car care forum. LOL!
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I appreciate the input. Thanks.
 
I can really appreciate the "out side the box" approach. Sure everyone would love to get paid lots of money to work on amazing cars, but the market for that is so small that there's not enough room for everyone.

I wish everyone luck and hope the auto world can treat us all well.
 
impulse922 said:
find yourself a 1.5 or 2.0 gpm pressure washer :bigups
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I used to run a residential pressure washer..... burned up 2 pumps by letting the washer run with the nozzle off :grrr



I'll start a new thread on pressure washer recommendations......
 
Update:



Over the last two weeks, I've not opened a door on a vehicle to clean it. I've raised my wash and wax packages to 25.00 from 20.00. I'm averaging out 8 a day 5 days a week. I'm taking care of customers that I have never seen before. I did one for a local grocery store manager yesterday that landed me 6 weekly customers at this price......and one house to clean.



Oh yeah......the houses.......



My Saturdays are devoted entirely to exterior home cleaning. If I see rain in the forecast, I will also schedule one in for that day. I have done 4 homes in the last 14 days averaging out 400.00 per home and have the next 7 Saturdays booked. I can do a home's exterior at an average of 3 hours per home. It's all about having the right equipment and process. Next up is learning more about roof cleaning.



If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
 
advs1 said:
unfortunately, in this business, as soon as you train some one, they will split and take some of your business with them. i have seen it happen too many times. as soon as some one sees the money you make for the work they do, its over if they have half a brain
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That's the nature of business.
 
I did a house job for a customer on a rainy day. It was nice money for not a lot of work. Just messy is all.
 
Here in Chicago and also in Michigan, there are guys doing $3 tunnel washes. Watch out as they may start heading your way. Our water here is relatively cheap but at $3 the wash is basically at cost and they make all their money on upgrades.



I was looking into doing this type of car wash. At a $5 average, with the loans/land everything, break-even can be about 50,000 cars. You gotta be careful marketing this idea and educate your customers about the value of a hand wash. Here in Chicago we have alot of busy roads that can support these operations so $15 car washes are getting on the expensive side.



Just food for thought.
 
LX1 said:
Here in Chicago and also in Michigan, there are guys doing $3 tunnel washes. Watch out as they may start heading your way. Our water here is relatively cheap but at $3 the wash is basically at cost and they make all their money on upgrades.



I was looking into doing this type of car wash. At a $5 average, with the loans/land everything, break-even can be about 50,000 cars. You gotta be careful marketing this idea and educate your customers about the value of a hand wash. Here in Chicago we have alot of busy roads that can support these operations so $15 car washes are getting on the expensive side.



Just food for thought.
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Correction: Over the last decade they have gone to as low as $1, but are at $2 now. Interesting read about discount car washing: Professional Carwashing & Detailing Online :: Brought to you by Grand View Media
 
the $3 tunnel wash is what everyone here does. It also includes a couple minutes for free vacuum to make the deal even sweeter. It has been up a year and i would find it hard to believe if it hasn't served 50k people.
 
We have one of those tunnel washes. I've had several customers tell me they will pay the difference for what I offer. They get so pissed because they are throwing money away for the crappy job they get there.



I just ordered some customer appreciation cards. You know, the ones that have 5 boxes. If they do 5 wash and waxes with me for 25.00, the sixth is on me. They have number and website, including my home power washing business. My goal is for them to keep looking at so much that they will remember me for anything they need cleaned. I'll give up 25.00 to keep them consistently coming back.
 
A tunnel with all autopian members in it. It would be a drive through paint correction facility. Man the noise of rotaries and orbitals would be deafening.
 
David Fermani said:
Good luck enforcing a no-compete when it's the only skill that person has.
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You always have something negative to say. You are just a BIG hater. Get a life and stop challenging everything everyone else does. What have you done other than run a shop 15 years ago in Michigan? What difference does it make what skills a person has or doesn't have. If it is worded properly it can be enforced legally.
 
brwill2005 said:
I guess you are also a law expert, in addition to being a business expert.
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Why do you constantly feel the need to take cheap shots at me Brad? I almost find it somewhat flattering and pathetic at the same time.



When I post something, I speak from direct experience from my many years of running a successfully thriving detail business as well as my extensive knowledge/background in multiple areas of the automotive industry. In regards to Non-Compete agreements, I’ve completed several. Both with the people that worked for me and with the individual to whom I sold my business to for a very generous amount. I had my Attorney draft and explain the limitations of them and how they are realistically enforceable. I also had a close friend unsuccessfully fail at his attempt at enforcing the one his company had in place. Case in point, my friend was a distributor for a very large auto detailing chemical manufacturer. He had an employee he hired to cover his route that he could no longer take care of. They had a non-compete contract drafted by their corporate Attorney. This person, after many years with this company, left to go work for another large auto detail chemical distributor which consequentially was a direct competitor of my friend’s company. They filed suit for money damages and an injunction to cease and desist. Ultimately, the judge decided that this agreement was too broad and it blocked this person from earning a living seeing that he had worked within this segment for most of his professional life. Just because you have a contract in place, doesn’t make it enforceable. You can try, but that might mean gambling away 10’s of thousands of dollars. It might not be worth it in the detailing world. Don’t you think??
 
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