To be a pro?

I

imported_Indy YZF

New member
I hope you dont think me to nosey by asking this question, but, what kind of living can you expect to make with a detailing business? Im not talking about anything fancy.......But if someone wanted to start a part time, or even full time detailing business, how much could he expect to make, both short term, and long? It seems a shame to have all this Autopia type knowledge, and limit it to just my own vehicles. There's talk of a layoff coming in my 'real' career, and rather than plow back into the rat race of the fortune 500 corporate world again with another job, Im toying with the detailing idea. Thanks for your input.
 
This would greatly depend. Mainly on prices, products, and who you detail for.



If you charge little, and products cost alot, then your not going to make much income. Everything will be in your products. (products as in wax, cleaners used ect.)



Who you detail for will greatly effect pricec. Joe Dirt will not give you a $100 tip, as a sports star who you detail for regular, probobly will.



Just my take on this. Many other things come into play.
 
This would greatly depend. Mainly on prices, products, and who you detail for.
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As a very wide ballpark figure I was thinking some thing like 2 cars a day, averaging 120 dollars each for full exterior detail would earn 60 grand per year. Real results could probablyl exceed this considerably.....This doesnt seem like pie in the sky to me, but you pros already doing it would be the better judges.
 
gotta add in winter. I forgot that.



All I detial for is satisfaction. I have been offered $$ but I only take tips. Not set prices.
 
Can make $100 to $400 a day. Get more employees and you can make even more. Just depends on how far you wanna go.



I'd say to test the market say only do detail on weekends and see if you like it. Will also let you test the market.
 
Detailing takes PASSION. Never look at detailing as a job.I have been in this business for over 30 years. Not one day in my life did I feel like I had to go to work. There was never enough hours in a day for my PASSION. I have always tried to be the best. I felt that I owe it to my customers, to use the best products, the best service and a quality of work second to none. This is a very unique business. When I first got in this business 30 years ago, detailing was never heard of. Matter a fact people thought that detailers were pinstripers. Today you find detailers on every corner. The winners in this business are the ones who go over and beyond what the customer expects. Your question was can you make a living at detailing, and can you make a good living the answer is yes. Like anything else though it will depend on weather you are willing to pay the price that it will take to make it. Here are 10 pointers that you will need if you are going to be a success in detailing or anything else that you do. 1.Be yourself. Do what you do best and cultivate it. 2. Be alert. Watch what the competition is doing. Then out smart, out polish and out service them. 3. Be positive.27-7. Determine your goal and the route to it. 4. Be systematic. Take one step at a time. 5. Be persistent. Hold to your course. 6. Be a worker. Work your brain first, then your body.. 7Be a student. Know your job and know it better than anyone else.8.Be fair with your employees and your customers the payback is GREAT. 9. Be temperate. Avoid excess in anything. 10 This is the most important. BE CONFIDENT. Have a faith in yourself that cannot be weakend. Now go for it as if you would never fail. You will be a success like you never of could of imagined. Best of luck
 
I detail very very part time. It is pretty much a weekend thing or whenever I can fit one in. I keep pretty busy this time of the year and make probably around 2 or 3 hundred dollars a week. I have another full time job and I go to school full time too. Its a little hard to get too many appointments in. If I were to average out an hourly rate that I make detailing then I could say that I make more money detailing than I do at my full time job. Right now its just a hobby but I fully intend on going legit as soon as I can. Not in Utah though. Summer is too short and people are too cheap. Wait till I get back down to Dallas so I can give Scottwax some competition. ;) heh heh heh :p
 
auto care usa said:
Detailing takes PASSION. Never look at detailing as a job.I have been in this business for over 30 years. Not one day in my life did I feel like I had to go to work. There was never enough hours in a day for my PASSION. I have always tried to be the best. I felt that I owe it to my customers, to use the best products, the best service and a quality of work second to none. This is a very unique business. When I first got in this business 30 years ago, detailing was never heard of. Matter a fact people thought that detailers were pinstripers. Today you find detailers on every corner. The winners in this business are the ones who go over and beyond what the customer expects. Your question was can you make a living at detailing, and can you make a good living the answer is yes. Like anything else though it will depend on weather you are willing to pay the price that it will take to make it. Here are 10 pointers that you will need if you are going to be a success in detailing or anything else that you do. 1.Be yourself. Do what you do best and cultivate it. 2. Be alert. Watch what the competition is doing. Then out smart, out polish and out service them. 3. Be positive.27-7. Determine your goal and the route to it. 4. Be systematic. Take one step at a time. 5. Be persistent. Hold to your course. 6. Be a worker. Work your brain first, then your body.. 7Be a student. Know your job and know it better than anyone else.8.Be fair with your employees and your customers the payback is GREAT. 9. Be temperate. Avoid excess in anything. 10 This is the most important. BE CONFIDENT. Have a faith in yourself that cannot be weakend. Now go for it as if you would never fail. You will be a success like you never of could of imagined. Best of luck
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To be a pro, you have to be willing to do the best job you can in as little time as possible. The customers want results, not to leave their cars with you forever.

You'll have to be friendly, attentive, and good with the customers as well. Alot of them want to know what you're doing to their car, and you need to tell them exactly. Not only tell them WHAT you're doing, but WHY, and HOW. Sometimes the HOW will confuse them. DO take time to explain what it does, and that it won't harm the vehicle. Explain that even they could do it themselves if they wanted to learn (most of the customers you will find don't want to do it themselves, so its not like you're loosing yourself business by telling this).



Most of all - Have Fun!! :xyxthumbs
 
These responses are really spot on..I cant thank you enough...After several years in business, Ive just found out that after 4 years at GE Capital, my position in IT is being eliminated...Im ok financially so I dont need to jump into anything right away...But Id love it if I coud find something to do which I really loved...Im nuts about cars, and a fanatic about keeping my '99 Supercharged M3 in tip top shape....Im afraid its a bit of a leap between loving to keep my pride and joy in tip top shape, and detailing customers' bombs. I only put it like that to emphasize the difference. I think that aside from loving cars, its the desire to earn the customer's respect and praise which might make up for some of the notion that the car we're sweating over isnt ours. So Im thinking about this in a number of ways.



Do many of you guys find that the customer's would rather have you come to their place to do the work? I live in a hi rise condo, so for me, Id either have to be a mobile kind of detailer, or, rent a garage out and charge it to the business....Being mobile, Id supply everything but the water which theyd have to arrange for....Is this feasible?
 
Paul,



Sorry to hear that you're losing your job. Hope everything turns out well for you and best of luck! I too am in IT, and the monotony of my job gets to me at times. Funny thing, just this week I was considering doing a few cars per weekend for kicks and a little extra cash. I loved the feeling of gratification I got after bringing my friend's audi back to a better than new finish. He thought it was unrecoverable. Autopia proved him wrong!



Honestly, if you have a real passion for it, go for it. I love cars and I love everything that has to do with them, to me and I'm sure most people here, it's not work. It's a labor of love.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:




and lest we not forget:



11) Learn how to type so people actually WANT TO READ YOUR POSTS!!! (i.e. not in a big long blob that goes on like a run on sentence.)
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You've got some balls to be talking trash to someone like that. If you don't like the way he types then don't read it and leave it up to ME if I want to read it or not, I don't need your help.



Auto Care USA - I read your post and it was great advice.
 
paul e said:
These responses are really spot on..I cant thank you enough...After several years in business, Ive just found out that after 4 years at GE Capital, my position in IT is being eliminated...But Id love it if I coud find something to do which I really loved...
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I hear ya man. I left WorldCom in St. Louis back in '95 to take a job with Intermedia in Tampa FL. Now WorldCom owns Intermedia, and there's a 99.99% chance that this Friday will be my last day. We'll get 60 days notice, and I'm hoping that they'll send us home right away, while still being on the pay roll. I'd love to detail cars on the side and make some cash as well. Gotta love this forum:xyxthumbs
 
Don't consider myself a pro, more of a hobbyist that gets small compensation. :) But, what I have observed is what is really important to most customers is your attitude towards their car. They care about their car enough where they are willing to spend a substantial amount of money on its appearance. If you act like its just another car to slap some wax on to get a check, its going to be a quite discouraging.



On the other hand, if you feel and act like their car was your own, its very reassuring and satisfying. Customers, especially car enthusiasts, want you to baby their car at least as much as they do, if not more.



Anyone can use a thick oily glaze, and slap on a Carnauba and get a car a good shine for a few weeks.. but if your attitude is that you treat all cars you detail, like they were your own, chances are you are going to do a lot more quality work on it. Its something people look for even if they don't totally realize it.



Just as a brief example, I don't take my car to the dealership because I feel like they just want to get it in and out. I take it to a independent mechanics because I feel like they baby my car the same way I do :)
 
joed1228 said:




You've got some balls to be talking trash to someone like that. If you don't like the way he types then don't read it and leave it up to ME if I want to read it or not, I don't need your help.



Auto Care USA - I read your post and it was great advice.
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joe - sorry, I was just having a bad day.... ;)
 
I do it only on weekends, usually have a car a weekend. YOu really have to LOVE the job, as it requires a special touch. You must put more in than an wax job! If you have the iniciative(sp?) then go for it. People always need their car done! And there are lots of cars.........Just get the name out and the business will pour in.



alex
 
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