How can I get my foot in the door to become a pro Detailer

I

Ivan Gordiyenko

New member
My passion for automotive detailing is growing and the art of bringing out the shine cars should always have. i would like to learn from the pros on how to do it right and someday be a pro myself. Are there any internships available in the US. Mid Atlantic preferably. Anyone willing to teach at no cost. I can be of complimentary help



thank you :)
 
Ivan, I'm going to try to say this as kindly as possible. Judging by two other recent threads of yours:



http://www.autopia.org/forum/detail...-analysis-required-mobile-auto-detailing.html



http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/141812-advice-polishing-car-please-helpi.html#post1507722



I would say you are nowhere near a point that you could consider operating your own business or charge money for detailing and/or paint correction. You don't appear to have much technical experience, or enough of a business background to successfully manage an operation yourself at this point.



Your best bet would honestly be to seek a job at a reputable local detail shop, have them train you and give you exposure to what it's like doing this all day every day. It will either reinforce your passion, or break you of your rose-colored glasses very quickly. From there, take some business classes at the local community college to get more familiar with how a business works, and THEN perhaps you can make the jump to working for yourself.
 
I think practicing yourself and experimenting, and also doing a lot of reading and researching, goes a LONG way to becoming what you consider a pro. I don't necessarily think you need to go to school to learn business practices, but it doesn't hurt either. If you have the passion for it, you'll be good at it naturally.
 
My best advice is read, read, read leach up as much information as you can from the site, when I thought of the idea of becoming a mobile detailer I stumbled upon this website and probably spent 2 - 4 hours a day for 2 weeks at least, take notes on technique, business and products recommended, I probably have 5-6 Typed pages of notes and im still adding and learning. Once you think you have enough knowledge you can try to apply your knowledge on your friends and family cars and eventually customer cars once you feel confident. If you have questions along the way feel free to ask people here and they will have the answer.
 
As a secondment to the great advise already stated:-



If you get started with the proper training and education your chances of success are greatly increased. There is a lot more to getting started in the auto detailing business then knowing how to use the equipment, using chemicals and getting a car detailed. Just like any business there are financial considerations, books to keep, contacts to be generated, Insurances and permits along with sales and marketing concepts to be put into place in order to grow your new business venture.



Many people seem to think that being a professional detailer must be the coolest job ever, and in some ways it is. Working on both everyday driver vehicles and amazing exotic cars day in day out and doing something you love to do for a living is pretty awesome, but there is also a harsh reality to being a detailer that you should be clear about from the very beginning.



A large % of the people attempting to open a detailing business fail; as too many focus solely on the technical side of the business but never learn how to run a business properly.



Education is the most important component of the success of any business. The skills required to run a business consists of; Technical (to do the actual work) Marketing (to get the work and keep it coming in) Financial (maintain company books, paying suppliers, ensure vendors are paid on time, maintain the companies credit rating, paying company taxes) Administration (maintain adequate chemical supplies, maintain a working relationship with the company Accountant, ensure bills are current (telephone, electricity, rates, water and etc) ensure client bills are received and resolve any conflicts should they arise



Business & Marketing



1. http://www.autopia.org/forum/detailing-business-management-marketing/136437-business-marketing.html



2. http://www.autopia.org/forum/detail...ng/136474-marketing-internet.html#post1447579



3. http://www.autopia.org/forum/detail.../136439-essentials-starting-new-business.html



4. http://www.autopia.org/forum/detail...ng/136438-becoming-professional-detailer.html
 
Find a good shop, tell them why you think they are good and why you'd like to help out there. If you play your cards right, you'll learn a ton of stuff.
 
Dan said:
Find a good shop, tell them why you think they are good and why you'd like to help out there. If you play your cards right, you'll learn a ton of stuff.
Click to expand...



Adding to Dan's post. Don't assume the good shops are only the big shops. There are some big shops that do great work, there are some that do quick in and out 99.99 jobs that I can't believe people would go back to. As a novice, determining which are good shops versus hack shops can be difficult but GENERALLY (huge qulifier here) people who own nicer cars are pickier and are willing to pay for quality work. So saying that, if you see two shops, one has trashed soccer mom minivans as its customer base and a difference one has Vette's, BMW's, Lexus's, etc. as its customer base, the odds are in your favor the second one would be a better shop and you would learn better detailing skills from it. This is only advice to use as a guide, it is not absolute.
 
Dan said:
Find a good shop, tell them why you think they are good and why you'd like to help out there. If you play your cards right, you'll learn a ton of stuff.
Click to expand...



Only thing with this is, finding a good shop that actually knows what they're doing is really hard to do. For a beginner, I think reading up is more valuable because a specific shop may do things their own way, use specific products, etc. But, if you happen to get lucky and find one that's "Autopia" quality, I'd say get in there.
 
RZJZA80 said:
I think reading up is more valuable because a specific shop may do things their own way, use specific products, etc.
Click to expand...



Both have its merits, but nothing like real world experience. A fact of life is, people don't care about perfectly polished paint, they want clean cars. For the majority that means clean interiors. I guess there are two paths on the detailing circuit, everyday car volume and elite detailers. I don't see too many people getting rich off elite level detailing.
 
RZJZA80 said:
Only thing with this is, finding a good shop that actually knows what they're doing is really hard to do. For a beginner, I think reading up is more valuable because a specific shop may do things their own way, use specific products, etc. But, if you happen to get lucky and find one that's "Autopia" quality, I'd say get in there.
Click to expand...



I can both agree and disagree with this point. In the long run, it's never really a good idea to base your entire skill-set and knowledge on the practices of one person or one shop. That's what makes Autopia great -- there are a lot of us here who produce quality work, and we all do things just a bit different than one another (more than one way to skin a cat, even though the result is always Garfield Soup).



HOWEVER, there is also nothing that can replace hands-on training and actual experience, even if the methods you're taught aren't necessarily the best/most efficient/etc. No matter what, you're still gaining a first-hand understanding of the fundamentals which will leave you in a better position to interpret and put into practice what you read here or elsewhere. Once you have seen and experienced what a compound or polish is supposed to do, you can objectively evaluate different products and start to see why one is different from another, while also forming preferences and carving out your own "style."
 
The only thing I can add if you find somewhere is listen and observe. If an owner of the shop takes the time to overview the process and expectations listen. Take notes, memorize, however you remember things. I am always going to lay things out for a prospect but I am going to observe more. This is a time and attention critical profession.



I'm not mean person but I can usually tell before the wheels and wheelwells are done. It's the first thing I let people start with.



Getting a vehicle clean is paramount before learning polishing and reconditioning.
 
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