Thinking about starting part-time. Wait till Spring?

D

DefBringer

New member
I love cleaning & detailing cars and frequently find myself with lots of spare time on weekends I use to clean/detail my family's cars (about 4-5 of them).



I'm thinking about branching out and doing it on Sat/Sundays and charging.



My question to you guys: I live in Kansas City where we get lots of cold, wet weather. Should I wait to start out in March when things start to warm up around here? I am assuming there is much more of a demand for detailing in the warmer weather months?



Thanks for any advice!
 
I'm kinda doing it on the side right now too, and I'm benefiting from the fact that people are aware they need protection for the upcoming winter. I'm marketing my services around that, and am really surprised at how many people are calling me (all word of mouth, friends of family etc.)

And those same ppl will be calling me in the spring to make their cars look like I did before the winter too. :up
 
By the time I'm done researching and testing products it will probably be March anyway. :D



Thanks for the advice guys...
 
Where in Kansas City are you? Right now I am pretty busy because all of the procrastinators want to get a coat of sealant on their car before it starts to snow. Its not that bad if you have a garage to work in, but the cold can be kind of unbearable. Are you going to set up a business or just do it on the side?
 
Greg said:
Where in Kansas City are you? Right now I am pretty busy because all of the procrastinators want to get a coat of sealant on their car before it starts to snow. Its not that bad if you have a garage to work in, but the cold can be kind of unbearable. Are you going to set up a business or just do it on the side?
Click to expand...



Actually I'm in Overland Park as well.



I might eventually set up a business (by the way, is it already saturated here with detail businesses?) but for right now, it will be just a little thing on the side. If I could get one car a week ($80-$100), that'd be cool with me.



I do not have a garage (other than my personal one, of course), so I need to become proficient with QEW quickly.
 
There are a lot of people doing it out there. Some hacks, some good guys. The guy who used to detail for Autosport Gallery is really well known, forgot his name though. QEW certainly helps, but if I have the opportunity not to use it, I like to do traditional washes. I hate getting all of my WW's dirty. Are you going to be using machine or by hand? Make sure you stock up on lots of clay because a lot of business comes from professionals who work downtown where there is a lot of industrial fallout. The rich neighborhoods are really hard to crack and there really isn't much opportunity in those areas unfornuately. You would think that with all of the money, but the big $ are impossible to advertise to unless you go with direct mail, which doesn't yield that good of a return. Good luck though! Post some pics of that EVO.
 
Greg, thank you for the advice. I'm kind of surprised the "rich neighborhoods" are that hard to crack.



I'm just shooting for 1 car a week. I was hoping it wouldn't be too hard to find that amount of work but maybe I was wrong!



I'll get pics of the Evo up soon...:D Waiting for my AIO/SG to arrive and replace my Zaino.
 
Greg-rich neighborhoods are tough to crack? Maybe initially, but all it takes is one customer and then all their neighbors want someone coming out to their house too. I saturated the high end areas with flyers when I was first starting out. Every day that it either rained or I had no appointments, I was putting out flyers.



Another way to get into those neighborhoods is to go to the local schools and offer a detail (or wash/wax package) as a door prize for school functions. It gets you some exposure and they see you as someone interested in helping the children (the current PC trend, I guess).
 
Well the one in particular has very tough advertising policy, can't actually get into the neighborhood and they all have security systems monitoring the neighborhood and the neighborhood security will be all over you within a few minutes- so no flyers. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of opportunity in surrounding areas, but there is just this one neighboorhood I've tried unsucessfully to crack. I've had a client there and just got nowhere. Oh well, I'm plenty busy with school and detailing.



Scott- I really like the wash/wax fundraiser idea. It's maybe worth a shot this spring.
 
Hey greg, im in O.P. area also. I go to KU, over the summer i've got a detailing "business" usually do 5-6 cars a week, other than parents and buddies of mine. That neighborhood that your talking about, is it Hallbrook. Fortunately I work at the Country Club, and i've got some great connections there. Anyways, good luck with your work.
 
i always think it is great when people give others encouragement of starting a new business. Some out there, say yeah it is hard to do, and it cant happen or have negative thoughts. Dont even doubt youself if you have the knowledge. The knowledge is power my friend into doing what you want, how you want to do it and when you want to do it. if your serious about doing any detailing, and dont mind working hard, if your just starting out or have been in the business, anything can happen if you want it to. (damn that is a run on if i have ever seen one LOL).



But anyways im in yours shoes. i have a passion for detailing and love clean cars, from the moms mini van to the bmw sport coupe. if you want it bad enough, go out and get it. That is realistic! Just make sure you set yourself out there and offer something the other are not, and draw some nice attention to your business.



i believe advertising and word of mouth are the most powerful things. Remeber when something new comes out, and you wonder how good it is, but dont actually want to try it? Why? cause your happy with what your using already and dont see a need for a switch. So that is like the people geting their car detailed. they dont know about your business and do not want to chage, cause they have no clue how good your are.



It is hard to get word of mouth, if your not doing any cars? I suggest making flyers and investing more money in advertising then most. Most detailers i see put out a flyer with like a fancy slogan, and prices. Hmm!! How do i chose? By price i guess, they both have a fancy slogan.



Now picutre you. A price sheet, a serparte sheet explaning detailing with persuation passages, and then maybe a magentic cards with ur your business cards attached to them, Yes you spent a little more money. But who would you choose? Of coarse the one with the flyers, the card etc. It looks more proffesional and organized. You explained your services and gave the customer knowledge at the same time. If you want to do it, go and do it. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. As long as you have the equipement and knowledge of how to produce great results, yourll have more business then you can handle.



PEace

Rich
 
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