A brief history of my detailing experience: I've been detailing for a few years now. It started off with me only doing my own car when I got my wrx. Just wanted to make it look good. That's all. One day on nasioc (hate the website, but it's a gold mine for info) I read a write up of a member (literally just realized it was Dave_zok) and asked why he liked Adams products.... I bought some... And my collection has been growing ever since. I started detailing other peoples cars every now and then for some spare cash. Pretty much, my customer base was friends of the family or the parents of my friends, but that was about it. I've just been doing it out of my garage... Well, not necessarily... My neighbors moved out of their house over 4 years ago and have a nice car port that I park/detail in with an electricity outlet that still works... Works for me. Then I posted a few ads on CL (with extremely poor results, mostly spam or people asking to cut them deals like groupon...) so I stopped doing that. I became a vendor on a couple local car forums with really good results. I made a website, cards, FB page, twitter, etc. I got a partnership with a local detailing company that sells their own (although rebranded) products as well as offer mobile and commercial detailing services. Nothing special, but I get to try out products for free and write a couple reviews for my website. For next year, we started talking about them paying for my vendor fees to write reviews and such. I still work at another job during the week so I pretty much detail on weekends for some spare cash. A new opportunity: A few buddies of mine recently opened a mechanic shop 5 minutes from my house about 8 months ago. They have given me a few cars to do a quick detail on (wash, spray wax, vacuum) for some customers for some extra cash. I left business cards and a portfolio book with info and pictures on detailing) so people can read it while waiting. I started talking about how business is probably going to start slowing down because winter is coming and I dont have a closed garage to work in. I told them I had a proposition for them. They are closed on the weekends and have an extra bay with no lifts or anything in it. They used it to store my friends rally car for a few months until it was finished. Now, it's pretty much unused. I told them that if they let me use the bay to detail in on the weekends, I would give them 10% of what I make per car to cover rent/water/electricity. I said that it wouldn't be a whole lot of money. I typically make about $100-200 per car (not a whole lot of paint corrections. Just in and out jobs with occasional 1-step polishing) so, they may get $10-20 a weekend. In addition to a small amount of extra money, it will bring both of us more business, people who want their car worked on may want it cleaned, people who want their car cleaned, may need some work done... WIN:WIN. Being the friendly generous people they are, they agreed! So, now I can detail indoors even at night (I'm a night owl) with better lighting, my own little cozy space, free from the elements for pretty cheap! I wont be in their way, and they wint be in mine since they are closed. They said I can hang a banner (2x8') in the window and I can make an ad for them on my website. Just wanted to share about a new opportunity in my life and my small detailing business taking a small step in a new direction. I'll make sure to take a few pics of the new setup! Thanks for reading!
Thanks! I'm eager to try out a new work setting. I might have to add a slight up charge to help out covering the cost of using a shop. But at least it can add a bit of a professional look and confidence to customers when they see their car will be safe inside a building rather than my neighbors car port.
Congrats ... I hope it works well for you. Just a word of advice. I knew an Autopian detailer that used to live in MI that had a similar agreement with a garage shop. The garage shop appearance was terrible, but his detailing booth was extremely nice and organized. I bet my old detailer could have gotten more work if the garage shop looked better. Keep in mind that the garage shop overall appearance will affect your business.
Thanks for advice. They just opened up the shop 8 months ago. It's 3 friends specializing in foreign cars. I've been trying to get a job there to work the front desk (answering calls, ordering parts, etc.) it's a pay cut from my job in the auto center at SAMs club, but after working outside for 4 years, I'm willing to take a decent pay cut. They haven't really had the time to fix up the shop a whole lot, but they have talked about throwing some cash my way to repaint the walls, lifts and floors and a few other odds and ends.
You are heading in the precise direction I went years ago - affiliate your business with a top-shelf Independent Repair Shop, do some work for them, say on their "shop vehicle", perhaps a few employees personal vehicles, and the rest will be history. I am so blessed to find a great BMW shop like this, and have had an un ending line of Bimmers to Detail for years. After the 1st year, I started getting a lot of the vehicles back for their "yearly detail". so as you start and build on your Client base, it will eventually self perpetuate. Right now, I am about 10 Details behind just to get caught up. Although I dont get to work there, because they are way, way, busy and dont have room, they keep an immaculate shop inside and out, and that alone speaks volumes to Clients. Perhaps someday I might get to open up a stall there too, but right now, I cant be too sad about going to work just a few steps away to my garage instead of driving for 15 minutes. It is great that you can work inside, because once your work catches on, you will be busy all year long as I have been. The only way I can stop it is if I do not schedule anymore work, and tell my waiting list, that I am going on vacation, etc.. Great work ! We are so proud of you !! DanF
Thanks! I told them one great benefit of setting up a detailing booth there would be to increase business for both of us. My most common clients are car forum members such as stlsubaru. Well, there's not a whole lot of Subaru shops in stl, but this place specializes in Subaru, Volvo, Saab, mini, BMW, Nissan, etc... So, if I detail there, people can see they work on subaru's and vice versa.
