Detailing as a Career?

I'd like to add a few things if you don't mind. MRPOLISHEDANDWAXED makes a good point about the number of details you can do in a day. SCOTTSMOBILE was right about what is possible in a day, but you have to keep in mind that we only have enough sunlight a few months of the year to be able to do two a day. Both very good points. When the sun is out, you'd better be working. Repeat business is the key. When you detail someones car, you know how long the LSP is going to last that you applied. Say you used Colli 476 and you know that it will last four months under normal conditions, make a note in your calendar four months from now, noting the clients name, phone number, type of vehicle(in case they have more than one), the LSP that was applied and the date it was applied. Four months from now you open your calendar and voila! instant business. I get more kudos from clients for reminding them that its time for them to give me more money than for anything else. Its like when the dentist calls. You never say no. By doing this you greatly reduce the number of clients you need to fill your calendar and the clients vehicles stay cleaner. Some clients will say yes to every 4 months, some way want every six and some once a year. Just write in in your calendar so you dont forget. I havent been able to give out business cards for a few years now because the number of repeat clients I have is greater than the time I have available on my calendar. Just a note. I live in a town with 60,000 people and an average income of $66,000.
My advice to anyone just getting started is to pick a few simple packages and stick to them. DO NOT try to be everything to everyone. If you look at Miracle Detail, Polished Bliss etc, they have two packages. Package A and Package A with cut polishing. I would suggest a wash and vacuum package- (they aren't the most profitable but will fill your calendar on slow days. I used to drive by my clients and call them from their parking lot if their car was dirty) a wash and vac with wax(very profitable- waxing a car only adds an hour to your time but typically will more than double the price of the package) and a package that also includes an engine shampoo, clay and LSP. I can hear you guys wondering about interior shampooing. I avoid it like the plague. I have found through experience that the chances of actually making money on an interior shampoo (unless your clients agrees to a by the hour set up) are slim. You can also add paintwork correction LATER when you become proficient on friends cars-thats what friends are for! To show you how simple your business could be, if you did 4 wash and vacs a day at $50 each and did each client every week, you would only need 20 clients to fill your schedule Mon to Fri and you would gross $4300 a month. I'm guessing thats more than you make now. Even when you factor in expenses, you are still farther ahead. As you start doing more detailing packages, you can add staff or turn away some of the carwash business. Its dinner time...I'll be back.

 

bump

would like to see some others chime in, even though it may not be their primary source of income

 

While I love detailing. Its not something I would want to do as my only source of income. I do it only really to buy me more and different products and for some extra cash on the side.

 

What do part-time detailers roughly make a year?

 

One thing I would highly advise against is detailing for a dealership if you're planning on making it a career... you won't ever have the time to do a proper job and the pay is pretty much the same as McDonalds.

 

+1 I have heard lots of people doing it like a mobile business..saving them overheads and they love it. No headaches right.

 

Another "weekend warrior" that is now a full time detailer. I have done detailing on the side for 17+ years and because of word of mouth, it became too big to just do it as a side job. I decided to go full time this spring and as others have said, it is tougher to do it full time than most people think. I am a very fit person, but I was SORE after doing it full time for the first two weeks. I am now used to doing it, but still suffer from aches and pains. It is nothing that a good Scotch or two can't fix though!

When working full time vs as a hobby, you quickly discover that most peoples cars are not a easy to clean as your own! Many are a lot of work to get up to most of our standards, so one of the keys is being efficient and knowing how long the average detail takes and pricing yourself accordingly. I am rarely far off how long I think a detail will take now but most new detailers are basing detail times on their own vehicles which are in much better shape than your average cars.

As 911 was getting at with his posts, keep it simple for customers. I only do complete interior/exterior jobs that are 7 hours+ and only do one per day. I sometimes do just interior or exterior jobs, but they are the same steps I would be taking on my complete jobs. This way my billable hours are high each day as I am not taking time running around to another customer. If the customer wants just a wash, I will do it on a slow day or on a day where I have a part If you did a max of two jobs per day at 4 hours+ on each, that would be okay as well! I will probably have a fixed location over the winter and will be doing more "mini details" and washes, but I won't be running around, they will be coming to me.

Most customers are willing to pay for things if they perceive it as a good value. There are places in my city that will buff for under $100, but they are not claying, multi-stage polishing etc. As long as you explain to customers All the steps you do, they will think $250+ for a job is a deal! Tell them about q-tips in the vents, what clay bars do, how you will remove scratches, not just cover them up with a "hand wax" etc and they forget all about that $100 guy!

I used to sell high end audio/video for a living before at a non-commission place with a great staff, but always enjoyed detailing more. Even though it is much more demanding, I love detailing for a living. I just need a more steady workload as there are some slower weeks, but my reputation is growing and I am sure to be very busy my second year. There are not many jobs where the customer is SO thrilled with the results that they give me hugs, cry(car for father that just passed away), tips or spend 10 mins just walk around the car shouting "holy sh.." you are THE MAN!

 

thought about side business but not as career. like doing it for friends and stuff, maybe, we will see

 

I would not detail as my full-time job. If you have a weaker (read: affluent) territory, it might be tough to get work at the prices you want to charge. And what is your competition up to? Do a little competitive research before you get started.

Personally, I enjoy doing a car every now and then. Make some easy cash, get to play a bit, and best of all, you get to be picky about what you do. I turn down more than half of everyone who approaches me for a detail.

 

Hehe, P1et does it exactly how I do it except that his name's been out there in his market longer than mine!

 

I started mobile detailing 3 months ago and before that, I got absolutely no experience in detailing. It was a gamble as I am a poor chap who just release from my country conscript army. One day I saw my friend doing detailing so I just thought to myself why not i just start my own detailing business. In order to fork out some money to buy some essential tools and products, I sold off my drumset and guitars and bought some pails, sponges, mf cloths, a bottle of AG shampoo, AG Fast glass, AG Instant tyre, AG SRP and EGP. I started reading about detailing everyday and practise on my friends car whenever i could.

Knowing that my workmanship aint sharpen, I only offer services that i could handle and doing more for a under paid job. After a job, I will explained to them what i have done and when is it good for a next appointment, E.g polishing every 6 months, waxing every 2 months. I got 5 details in the 1st month, 15 details in the 2nd month and 22 in the third month and all my income goes to purchasing new products, rotary and generator. Although business is picking up, I am not earning alot due to undercharging and I am not confident yet to increase the charges.

Most of the customer just don't realised how much more you do for them, and customers who usually return are those that i put in effort to explain more.

Will this be my career? Seriously i don't know, but i just love the feeling of satisfaction i get after detailing a car.

 

Here's how I think of it.

Detailing is a hobby to me, and I enjoy doing it a lot. I would like the extra money on the side, but for the most part, it's for myself. Myself, friends and family around me get the benefits of me being a detailer. I enjoy it so much that i don't really care about the money. Sure, I'm a college kid who is poor, but this is my hobby.

However, this is the same reason I don't want to get into cars in general as a career. I don't want to make my hobby my job. I want to enjoy my hobbies. Yes, I could practice detailing and other car related things, and make a living off that. It just might suck the joy out of it. And to me, that is a crime i cannot commit.

I'm on my way to medical school because medicine fascinates me.

 

That was very well put. I feel the same way. It's a shame that this isn't McDonalds or I could have it my way...:shrug:

 

This thread really helped clear up some questions I've had. I'm currently in the process of buying my supplies to start up a mobile detailing business, and I've wondered where this could go. I'm liking what I just found out :gidiup: I'm currently in college for networking, and I was told I could make about $100k as a network exec. Sounds like I could make just as much doing this!

 

we are in the same boat! im a freshman in college and iv'e been detailing for 2 years now. i started wit ha simple $100 wash and zaino package. where i would just simply wash the car and apply zaino z2 and z5. then i moved up to clay. then i moved up to a PC. then i moved up to a rotary. now i'm detailing much more high-end cars than i previously was, and although my prices have gone up, i feel like i am still undercharging.

i typically charge $25-30 per hour, and for some of the products i use, and results i deliver i feel i am undercharging people. for instance i just did a '93 vette which had some serious acid rain etching (posting pictures up tomorrow or thursday) and i had to wetsand the whole top of the car and do a 3-step correction. and topping that with dodo supernatural. also did the interior. i ended up charging the guy $500. i feel that someone else would have charged upwards of $800 for that detail...

when i began detailing two years ago, it was just a hobby, now i do 1-2 cars a week (i'm a full time college student), and it has to pay for everything of mine since parents don't like paying for me anymore... including gas, food, etc... it's not my only source of income ( i'm also manager of one of my dad's restaurants) but i like detailign a lot more than working at the restaurant!

im not looking to detail as a career, just a side buisness. like specC said, i'm also on the pre-med track and i hope to one day be some type of surgeon.

i just love making cars look new again!

dom

 

You may want to shoot me guys, but im bumping this old thread. I think a lot of questions that are asked by people on here frequently can be found in these 4 pages. If your on this site and think this is something you would like:

This is a must read!

 

honestly i would say get carreer that makes tons of money and has good benefits (health, 401k, some other options too). and do this as weekend job. i tried to do it as carrer and it didnt work well. if you start doing it everyday it becomes a job and not as hobby that you enjoy doing. think about that one


oh this is old thread. but anyway.



before somebody tires to do it. think how much you will have to charge to make it good income sourse

 

Yeah sorry about tripping you up...i just figured someone who does not come here often would find this thread on the front page rather than make a thread asking identical questions.

 

I've enjoyed reading this thread. I currently operate a mobile business part-time. My business partner and I both work at a big company, so we don't NEED the extra money right now. We have been fortunate enough to put everything back in to the business since we started back in 2009. This has allowed us to buy any product that we need, get insurance, website, LLC and other things associated with operating a business. We are coming to a point where we might be able to start paying ourselves, possibly at the end of this year!

I have become addicted to detailing though, I research product/techniques night and day to try and become the best detailer that I can. Right now I am more concerned with putting out the best work that we possibly can than paying myself. However, not everyone can have that luxury, I'm just getting by on bills, so when we do pay ourselves it will feel pretty darn good.

Starting this business part-time, and mobile, was probably the best way to go about doing it, for us. The stress to make money to pay personal bills (as well as operating costs) can sometimes be a burden to detailers and force them to do work that they might not be proud of. Since we don't have that stress, we can work harder on perfecting our technique, building a customer base and having a strong foundation laid for a successful business. If we get to the point where we can't justify coming to our regular jobs, then we'll have to cross that road. For now, I look forward to making a little money on the side (eventually) and hopefully continue to build capital in case we do decide to make further investments in the company.

With that said, every situation warrants an outcome. Whether that outcome entails minimal risk or maximum risk, that's the choice we have to make. If someone is just getting started in the detailing world, I would recommend something part-time until you get a feel for whether or not this industry is for you. Just don't rush in to anything, I have a hard time doing so, but I'm glad I've been patient for the last 2 years.

Don't let people shoot down your dreams, if you want something go get it!

-Kody-

 

I'm throwing this in so they can go hand-in-hand:

"Contrary to popular belief, the good things in life don't come to those who wait, they come to those who act."