It is said that if you want to make money, you should start your own business. Even though working for someone else brings you security and fewer headaches, you still won’t get all the profits you can. Our bosses may give us a raise once in a while, and they may thank us for a job well done, but we will never get as much as we deserve. Because of that, you may be thinking about starting something on your own, and choosing the right industry and niche is a difficult thing to do. It is said that everything that’s got something with cars, is going to be profitable, and if you are not interested in becoming a mechanic or starting your own dealership, then we have an amazing idea! Why don’t you try your luck by starting a mobile car wash?
The difference between a traditional auto wash and mobile detailing is that in the first case, you bring your auto to the service, and in the second one, the professionals will bring all their equipment to the home of the clients and do the cleaning there. It is something that is relatively new, and most users say that they prefer when the service comes to their home than when they have to put everything on pause and take their vehicle to be cleaned. It is said that it is a really profitable business, so you should take your chance now when there are not too many places that offer these services. In this article, we are going to give you some tips on how to start this business from scratch, and we will mention some of the most common mistakes you need to avoid.
Table of Contents
1. Know what you should do
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The first thing we are going to talk about is training. Yes, we all have experience washing our vehicles and we know some of the basics of the job, but it is not the same when you have all the time in the world to wash your own auto and to have it done for paying customer that cannot wait for hours for you to finish.
Because of that, you need to have proper training and learn all the things you should do. The best thing you can do is find a part-time job in a car wash, or at least be an apprentice for someone who’s done it. If you plan on hiring people to do this for you, then you need to find a person who has the needed knowledge and experience.
2. Do you have the right equipment?
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Now let’s talk about the things that you are going to need. It is a lot more than just a vacuum cleaner and some products, you need to get all the right things that will help you get the job done. You will need to bring your own hoses and additional things because not all of your customers will be able to provide that.
Start by making a list of all the things you plan on doing, and how much it is going to cost. If needed, start with a smaller list so you can get things that are going to be of high quality and durable, instead of investing in something that is going to break after the second month.
Know that you will also need a van, or at least a bigger vehicle that is going to fit all of the things you should carry, along with the employees.
3. Start at your own pace
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The next thing we are going to talk about is the pace you will be working on. Many people make the mistakes of starting with too many offers, discounts and they try to get as many clients as possible. Even though this is great for your business, are you sure that you are up for it? The best thing you can do is start slowly, so you have some idea about the Mobile Car Detailing. On this website, you can see that there are several parts of car detailing that can include interior wash, exterior, and full mobile car wash. Some clients will ask for just one or all of them, and you need to be ready for all the challenges.
Unless you start with 20 people and at least 5 different fully equipped vans, you should start with no more than 3 clients per day, so you learn your limits, find out what you need to upgrade, and go from there.
4. Marketing
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Car detailing is just like every other business, and you need to follow the basic rules. You need to register your company, find the people you want to work for you, get the needed equipment, learn something new, and focus on the marketing. How you present yourself on social media will make the biggest difference between you having a line of customers waiting for your services, and people avoiding your place.
First, you need to decide if you are going to do your marketing just online, or if you want to use fliers, radio commercials, and TV ads. Know that online is usually free or extremely inexpensive, whereas the other things may cost you a few hundred dollars.
If you decide to go with online marketing, you need a good website and at least one great page on some of the social media networks. You can do this on your own, or you can hire a person who will get these things done. Depending on your budget, you can start slowly, just with a Facebook page, and work your way up from that.
Car detailing is a profitable business, and experts suggest that soon, other types of car washes will lose most of their companies because of the mobile ones. So, it is better to start now and become a pioneer in the industry, than to wait for everyone else to make their money, and deal with a lot of competitors later. Treat this as any other business, know your strengths, and for everything else, hire people who will help you become the best of the best.
