So I want to advertise my business, but the thing is I can only do it for the summer, since I go away for college in the winter. What methods have been most effective for you guys? Flyers? Craigslist? Business Cards? As far as my pricing, I'm probably going with: Wash,Vac, Wax - 75$ + 30 if they want the engine done. 1 Step- $200 3 Step- $300 Sound good? Let me know about advertising and prices guys. Thanks!
im in the same boat as you. i do flyers but word of mouth and referrals are the best way. do friends and friends of friends for a discount and most likely they will talk i have found a bunch of local forums. normally they arent as big as others and dont require to pay to advertise. this also helps you find car shows. i normally set up a tent and have a 10x3 banner that i hang up at shows next to my M3. good luck man
word of mouth is big. if youre a car guy, use the local sections of forums relative to your interest in cars. i get a decent amount of business from the audi/vw forums i frequent. business cards are good too and can be relatively inexpensive. im lucky to live in an area where there are a lot of wealthy people that drive nice cars, so if i spot a nice car in a parking lot somewhere, i'll stick a business card under their wiper blade or in their drivers window trim or something. hey, it cant hurt! your prices look pretty good too. i have prices on packages that i offer, and my prices tend to be a little lower than others who work at the same standards/abilities that i do, but i figure it helps to get me more business. i tend to charge hourly for dedicated correction work though. reason being all cars are different and have different levels of damage and imperfections. you never know for sure how long a correction job will take you, so charging hourly acts a little protection for you if you end up going over on the hours you planned on working on the car.
Yea I'm definitely finding out that word of mouth is pretty big. But since I spend so much money, my Dad wants me to aggressively advertise and start pulling in some business, and my friends don't want to pay much, we're all paying for college. I wish I had a car to go to car shows with. The reason I got into the business is so I could afford a car.
