New business

[carnut00]

Ok needed some pointers to get me in the right direction here. Just lost my job which i wasnt to thrilled about anyways but now that I have some free time was thinking about trying the mobile detailing gig. Maybe some pointers to give me a start in the right direction. Any help would be appreciated thanks.

[joe.p]

I can't help with pointers, but i see your from Illinois as you know winter isn't far away so think this thru before you make any large investments as this will effect the amount of time you have left to actually detail outside.What ever you choose i wish you the best of luck and im sorry to hear about your job,you can always talk with Rod at the next springfield fair

[carnut00]

Yeah I was thinking about the upcoming weather situation. Which may put a hinder on the decision.

[derek37]

it's actually a perfect time. If you can find income until next spring, I'd use the time you have to study these forums as much as you can. I'm talking daily. Come spring you'll know what to use, how to use it and where to get it.
And that's just for starters. I'd think about a business plan, a marketing plan and how to sell YOURSELF as well as selling the SERVICE.

Educate yourself so you'll be able to educate your future clients. Lord knows, people need to be educated.

Oh and don't fall into the trap of charging too little for your SERVICE.
Educate the clients and show them the VALUE of your SEVICE.

'enuff for now.
Good Luck.

[joe.p]

Thats very good advice but hes unemployed at the moment and may need to generate an income way before spring.

[derek37]

oh yeah for sure but carnut00 might have a better chance of making money in a another area until spring. That's kinda what I meant. Try to get a job in a field that would benefit you when you start up in the spring. Somewhere where you could make some connections either to help you in your biz or somewhere that could possibly give you business in the spring.
I think if your serious, from now until then, everything you do or think (within reason) should be about how you're going to succeed.

Reading and searching here and elsewhere will help you tremendously.
Godd Luck.

[Maxima Lover]

Hey carnut. Making an honest living doing mobile detailing in the Midwest is not an easy gig. Have you looked at any of the numbers on how much money you'd expect to make. Glad to see you want to start a business though. It's great being you're own boss (most of the time).

The thing you'll want to remember when starting any service business is how you can run the show while having others doing the work. The quicker you can get the point, the happier you'll be and the more money you'll make. Service businesses are great though because they normally have a low start up cost (compared to other businesses).

Do you have any other business ideas?

[Dans Detailing]

I went from owning a large shop to goign strictly mobile and I am in Wisconsin.

I have foudn the mobile detailing is indeed harder to market for , but there IS a market for it, in fact I think there is a larger market for mobile detailing then owning a shop. I also have 12 years of experience behind my belt and alot of trial and error lessons learned.

Just make sure you think it through and relaize you must make a decent investment and be the best of the best or you will not survive out there!

[Jen@autogeek]

So sorry you lost your job. I hope that mobile detailing will work out for you. It can be successful but you have to really work at it and market yourself well. One mobile detailer I know targets real estate agents and bankers since in their professions image is very important. He has been very sucessful by requiring them to purchase a minimum of 2 washes with a full detail. He says that the money is in the repeat washes. Hope this helps.

[carnut00]

Im just not really sure if I have the money right now to get a client base going without going into a big hole( have a house payment car payment, etc.) May have to wait on the mobile detailing gig until I find a job to get my finances squared away.

[Brenton]

What's the market like? Is there room there for another detailer? How can you figure that out?

[kenseth17]

How about something like learning paintless dent removal, or a similar service. I believe a class in this wouldn't be too long and tool investment minimal. People will have accidents in winter time. Paint is very expensive (I know I am an auto body tech as my profession) so they may want to avoid repainting the more minor dents they get. It could also complement your detailing business if you go into that later. I do auto body on the side, besides doing it as a day job, and things are slow right now for me at home, fairly busy at work, but am hoping things pick up as winter rolls around people take their cars off the road for winter or have minor accidents they don't want to report to insurance (don't do insurance work at home). Another idea would be to see if you could get a job in an autobody shop. There is always one somewhere that will need someone to clean up cars after painting, pick up around the shop and empty garbage. It isn't great pay, but could get you some experience with using a buffer and wetsanding, fixing blemishes if you don't already. Just don't tell them you want to learn on their time then leave and start a mobile business.