shop owners only!!!

S

sacdetailing

New member
If your targeting high end cars then you have to be located in the high end area?



would it worth it? i know i know, the cost of shop is higher. but if you would open in really rich neighborhood, am sure its a big advantage
 
yes and no . . . . . i would say it all depends on your setup. if you are that good i believe that people will make a commute to receive quality work. So you don't have to be located in the richest part of town to receive high end clients.
 
Market research is the bread and butter of business.



Have you seen the statistics for your area? It can help you target an exact spot.



What I am about to say is extremely controversial. I understand this, so please dont bite my head off guys. But, my experience with people whom are well off has proven to be quite fruitless. I have noticed certain people whom are well off have enough to pay for an autopian finish, but will haggle you to death. Middle and upper-middle classes are my most prominent clientele, and understand the plights of a 'blue collar' working professional. When I hit up areas like Bel Air (For Example) and other super high end neighborhoods, I usually feel like I'm treated as a pawn and have dealt with quite a lot of haggling and it kills the experience for me.



Long story short; a rich area might provide you with good business depending on your practices (Not everything is cut and dry like polishing). But I much prefer working with the upper middle class who live in cul-de-sac type neighborhoods.



So choosing a location in a 'happening' part of town might help you out, but the lease per square foot might be out of this world and your clients might not provide you with the perceived rich income.



For anyone whos had a different experience than me, please chime in. Maybe I'm just jaded.
 
If you are targeting individuals in the upper income brackets, you will want an attractive shop in a nice area. Perception is everything, and so is convenience. People do not want to go out of their way to buy a service such as detailing. An unattractive shop in a bad neighborhood, will not attract higher end clientele. Note: In my experience, some wealthier people can be a bit cheap, however, the people with higher incomes are the ones who purchase services such as auto detailing.
 
brwill2005 said:
If you are targeting individuals in the upper income brackets, you will want an attractive shop in a nice area. Perception is everything, and so is convenience. People do not want to go out of their way to buy a service such as detailing. An unattractive shop in a bad neighborhood, will not attract higher end clientele. Note: In my experience, some wealthier people can be a bit cheap, however, the people with higher incomes are the ones who purchase services such as auto detailing.
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Absofreakinglutely on the attractiveness of your shop. It needs to look superb with a upper-end office/waiting room.
 
wicho661 said:
Absofreakinglutely on the attractiveness of your shop. It needs to look superb with a upper-end office/waiting room.
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yeah that is not a problem, am just doing my business homework for my business.
 
wicho661 said:
Market research is the bread and butter of business.



Have you seen the statistics for your area? It can help you target an exact spot.



What I am about to say is extremely controversial. I understand this, so please dont bite my head off guys. But, my experience with people whom are well off has proven to be quite fruitless. I have noticed certain people whom are well off have enough to pay for an autopian finish, but will haggle you to death. Middle and upper-middle classes are my most prominent clientele, and understand the plights of a 'blue collar' working professional. When I hit up areas like Bel Air (For Example) and other super high end neighborhoods, I usually feel like I'm treated as a pawn and have dealt with quite a lot of haggling and it kills the experience for me.



Long story short; a rich area might provide you with good business depending on your practices (Not everything is cut and dry like polishing). But I much prefer working with the upper middle class who live in cul-de-sac type neighborhoods.



So choosing a location in a 'happening' part of town might help you out, but the lease per square foot might be out of this world and your clients might not provide you with the perceived rich income.



For anyone whos had a different experience than me, please chime in. Maybe I'm just jaded.
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I agree. The people who can afford the top notch work . . . . the real rich or upper upper class type people will haggle you on your price. How do you think they manage to stay rich?



brwill2005 said:
If you are targeting individuals in the upper income brackets, you will want an attractive shop in a nice area. Perception is everything, and so is convenience. People do not want to go out of their way to buy a service such as detailing. An unattractive shop in a bad neighborhood, will not attract higher end clientele. Note: In my experience, some wealthier people can be a bit cheap, however, the people with higher incomes are the ones who purchase services such as auto detailing.
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I beg the differ and will have to partially disagree. My friend has a shop, not the best most upper class shop, has graffiti on his wall with his business name on it, has a graffiti shop in his detail bay and 95% of the time all that is in his work bay are:



porsche's

bmw's

mercedes

vipers and so on. It just goes to show you that you don't "HAVE" to be in the best part of town. Once people get to know you and your work the fact that you might not have a brand new building to work from will not matter.
 
vtec92civic said:
I agree. The people who can afford the top notch work . . . . the real rich or upper upper class type people will haggle you on your price. How do you think they manage to stay rich?







I beg the differ and will have to partially disagree. My friend has a shop, not the best most upper class shop, has graffiti on his wall with his business name on it, has a graffiti shop in his detail bay and 95% of the time all that is in his work bay are:



porsche's

bmw's

mercedes

vipers and so on. It just goes to show you that you don't "HAVE" to be in the best part of town. Once people get to know you and your work the fact that you might not have a brand new building to work from will not matter.
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What do you mean by he has a graffiti shop in his bay? There are exceptions. Honestly, here in Northern Virginia that type of image would not fly to well with my target market. I am sure the attitude in Hawaii is a bit different. People here like to see professionalism from the moment they drive into the parking lot. They would rather give their business to the establishment that has the nicest building and employees with nice uniforms. It is all about perceived quality and value. In general, if you are trying to sell a high end service such as detailing to people with high incomes, it is best to make your image as professional as possible.
 
If the well off view you as a car washer then yes you will get haggled, but if they view you as an expert and best in your field at what you do and YOU can actually teach THEM something they didn't know as well as perceived value added to there vehicle then they will pay the price.



If you make a good enough reputation for yourself they will come.:xyxthumbs



Josh
 
this is the way i see it.......CATER TO THE CLASSES AND EAT WITH THE MASSES.....CATER TO THE MASSES AND EAT WITH THE CLASSES.........
 
some good info here. Don't get me wrong my buddy runs a professional business that is 110% legit. He has won numerous awards as best of the best detailer etc . . . . i'm just saying some people think that image is everything and though it is important it doesn't mean you have to have a huge facility and the best everything on the market.



Uniforms are definitely a good thing and so is a nice clean area. Rich people can be a little hard to please sometimes and just make note that you will never be able to please every single person.
 
vtec92civic said:
some good info here. Don't get me wrong my buddy runs a professional business that is 110% legit. He has won numerous awards as best of the best detailer etc . . . . i'm just saying some people think that image is everything and though it is important it doesn't mean you have to have a huge facility and the best everything on the market.



Uniforms are definitely a good thing and so is a nice clean area. Rich people can be a little hard to please sometimes and just make note that you will never be able to please every single person.
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thanks, and thanks to all of you for a great support.
 
My shop is on a major road, and we do get some drive by walk in traffic, but mostly pretty normal cars. The people who do their research to find a good detail shop come to us by referral. If your business is already established, then you won't need a flashy location. I would rather have a really nice and clean warehouse space off the beaten path than a centrally located shop, as almost all of my work comes by referrals. I have even had several customers come all the way from Canada for us to work on their car. Certainly not because they drove by.





John
 
I live in a small town, My shop is out of my house. Its not the nicest nor is it catered to anyone but me. Its set up for function not looks. While I would love to have the Ulitmate Shop. Trust me, people will come to you no matter where you are if you provide an honest great service. I have had clients drive to my house from New york City 5 hours, Baltimore 2.5 hours, I have one from D.C 3 hours, I have a client in Jersey 2 hours. If someone seriously wants your service they will come. Most people in this business think that you have to have all the nice things in a shop. They think you need the pretty floor, and stainless steel tool boxes, and shelves. This is not true. Most pro's I know who work on really nice stuff, work out of there home garages. Recently I had a client provide me with a hotel room for the night, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner to go to them. Its all about the service you provide is what will get you the work! I also was ask to fly to ohio this evening to work on a collection of 9 cars. The client offered to fly both myself and jon out for the week with a hotel room provided. Just my .02 cents. Provide a quality no bullshiit service and it will come.
 
^ so barry when are you going to ohio? and don't forget extra camera cards and batteries! we gotta see this, always love your work.



on the other note, I too do detailing out of my garage/mobile. I have definitely thought of getting a shop (even searched with a real estate agent) but I figured I'd have more gross profit and less overhead than more of an overload. I live happily with how I'm doing it now and not stressing about my rent payment for the shop and all the other stuff that goes along with it
 
I don't work out of my home garage.

We have an established 3500 sf location, in a warehouse complex with no street exposure. But, we are very close to a major artery leading to "horse country", and the very upscale demographics. So, we are "easy to get to, but hard to find."



Today we did:



2005 Toyota Solara - Interior Only - OMG, it smelled like a Locker Room!

1962 Corvette -Exterior Only - Frame Off Restoration by others, just back from paint - wetsand and polish. (Still in the Shop -not a 1 day project...)

2007 GMC Envoy - Complete Detail

2008 Cadillac DTS Complete Detail



So, we have little time for photography (my hobby!) because we have to answer the phone, do accounts payable, do payroll, negotiate with the insurance companies, make bank deposits and keep the Shop clean and in order - and I try to limit myself to 70 hours per week as I get older. We've been doing this for 8 years now, and word of mouth is by far our best source of new clients, but we're proud to have clients that have stayed with us over the years.



We try to make the Shop appear bright and clean. All employees wear navy polos with our embroidered logo. We have a defined reception area, but yet wide open to the Shop - we want folks to see what we're doing!



I think your single biggest obstacle, and I'm trying to be sincere, is your age. I'm just not sure that the 50 year old Maserati owner wants to immediately assume you have the experience to 'manage' his luxury exotic. And, I don't have a suggestion as to how to overcome that hurdle.



Keep the the dream. Continue to learn and educate yourself.



Good Luck.
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
I don't work out of my home garage.

We have an established 3500 sf location, in a warehouse complex with no street exposure. But, we are very close to a major artery leading to "horse country", and the very upscale demographics. So, we are "easy to get to, but hard to find."



Today we did:



2005 Toyota Solara - Interior Only - OMG, it smelled like a Locker Room!

1962 Corvette -Exterior Only - Frame Off Restoration by others, just back from paint - wetsand and polish. (Still in the Shop -not a 1 day project...)

2007 GMC Envoy - Complete Detail

2008 Cadillac DTS Complete Detail



So, we have little time for photography (my hobby!) because we have to answer the phone, do accounts payable, do payroll, negotiate with the insurance companies, make bank deposits and keep the Shop clean and in order - and I try to limit myself to 70 hours per week as I get older. We've been doing this for 8 years now, and word of mouth is by far our best source of new clients, but we're proud to have clients that have stayed with us over the years.



We try to make the Shop appear bright and clean. All employees wear navy polos with our embroidered logo. We have a defined reception area, but yet wide open to the Shop - we want folks to see what we're doing!



I think your single biggest obstacle, and I'm trying to be sincere, is your age. I'm just not sure that the 50 year old Maserati owner wants to immediately assume you have the experience to 'manage' his luxury exotic. And, I don't have a suggestion as to how to overcome that hurdle.



Keep the the dream. Continue to learn and educate yourself.



Good Luck.
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heyyyyy! respect for you man, so tell me when you you were opening up there was a couple Maserati just waiting to "pop" that garage door on your first day of the shop!?.... if it was like that then you got respect from me.











i just don't understand how am i going to pop up from nowhere in some kind of neighborhood and would do some kind of exotic car right away? :think:



business grows slowly man but thanks for the response. :xyxthumbs
 
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