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  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2003
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    north shore, Long Island
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    what do i need to build a detail shop?

    Hey i run my little Detailing buisness out of my garage and now i am stoping the full time and switiching to weekends only. I must have detailed more then a 100 cars including a F50 for the ferrari fund raiser in my area. I am 18 and have made 25k in 3 months....that is amazing for somone my age. Now that i have some time to relax i want to build a shop so what am i going to need? Money is not a object but i dont not want anything usless just because i have hte money to spend.
    -Danny

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Cookeville, TN
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    37
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    HOLY CRAP!! Mad props to you on your 25g`s, especially in 3 months at 18. Im happy when I hit $200/week.

  3. #3
    Boss_429
    Guest
    Wow............... you must be very fast, very good, very expensive............. and very tired!

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2003
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    Lightbulb

    Congrats on the business success...but how did you pull 25K in 3 months?

    What type of marketing campaign did you use to build your customers? What products and services do you offer?

    Just curious because I just started a few weeks ago. I have a few customers now, but still marketing and building a customer base. I`m only doing detailing on the weekends, but my Web site is recieving more and more hits daily and my popularity is growing. I think I might have to go full time soon. But I may hold off till next summer.

  5. #5
    I'm just a man.
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Madison, Wi
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    I`m 20 own 4 cars and have far more than that invested but whatever Money is ALWAYS an issue! If it weren`t you wouldn`t be opening a detail shop. You`d be going on a cruise with supermodel. Your going to still need a loan to pay for the building alone. Now to answer your question:

    1. A building. The biggest investment and one of the hardest choices. Keep in mind this is a buisness that requires people to come to you! So there are four major rules. LOCATION LOCATION price and LOCATION! If i didn`t emphasize location enough i`m sorry. As i`m sure you konw the people with money are usualy very lazy. This means they don`t want to drive very far to get there serivce done for them. So being located in a upscale neiborhood or in a comercial park where a lot of execs and ceo`s work is a must. The area also has to be zoned for your buisness. It also can`t be too near a competitor unless you plan on doing a hostile run over with your prices and services. It can`t be too near a building that makes a mess either. If you pull a car outside and it gets covered in soot or something thereabouts in five min you might as well just give up then. Next comes price. This is even more dificult to "deal" with than the location. It has to be cheap enough where you are makeing money every month. If your payments are so high that on a slow month your losing money you just won`t last long. Keeping in mind the building has to look very respectable and clean and be in a good area this is very difficult to come by. Property in a nice comerce park can coast 3-4 times what a very nice house coasts. And that`s w/o a building on it yet!

    2. Now you`ve go your building and your land. Your in a great neighborhood and have a fresh coat of pain on your lovely sign outside by the street. You need a bay or bays inside that building that can suit your needs. Is all your going to be doing is washing? Will you ever off more survices like oil changes or painting or etc.... Room for expansion into other areas can be a great source of adition income. For now we will stick to detailing only though. I`ll lay out what one bay should have IMO and then you can just add more of them. The bay should have 3 walls or a wall and two curtains. A very slightly sloped floor that will drain water properly as well as a drain. Pleanty of shelving and cabnirty as well as a sink. Plumbing for a hose would be a must as well. Next comes lighthing. A huge! issue for a detailor. I would recomend getting florecent tubular lighting with color corrected bulbs that are used in paint spray booths that come close to matching outdoor light. Cram as many of these on the cealling AND walls as you can. Then comes paint. If you ask me there is one and only one option. White! It simply reflects light far better than any other color. This will aid in you being able to see everthing better. And an added bonus is that when it`s clean it looks really clean. Wich is always a pluss if someone want to see your work enviroment.

    3. A suplier.
    This is an often forgot about step. Finding someone who can suply you with everything you need for a good price and in a timely fasion is an incredible asset. Someone local is always a bonus as they will lots of times stock everything you need and you can then just give them a call and they`ll bring it out to you. I`ve gotten to know my local finshmaster rep very well A mail order would not be a bad way to go either. Heck i bet dwayne could do a great job with this. There are drawbacks though. The biggest being time. Everything takes at least a couple days to get to you. You also then CAN`T run out of anything. You need to have a good inventory done all the time because if you run out of something in the middle of a car you can`t just tell a costomer come back in two days because i`m out of a product i need. You could very easily have a back up suplier that`s local but might not have all your products or as good prices as your mail order for this problem though.

    4. Tools. You will NEED
    a rotory
    a hose
    a vacume
    a blower
    Tools you will want very badly
    a pc
    a hose nozel
    an extractor
    a pressure washer
    Tools that would be nice to have
    A standard mechanics tool set with box. (this comes in handy for removing seats and trim peices and what not that can get in the way. Make sure it has all your torx drivers as well as metric and fractional sockets and ratchets. If you plan on aiming headlights for costomers you will need some inverse torx bits for some newer cars.)
    An air compressor with a blowgun and various air tools
    A jack and jack stands. (these would be used for removing wheels for better cleaning of the wheel wells and wheels themselves.)

    5. Suplies
    TOWELS!!!! oh boy towles. Towels for every ocasion mf`s, terry you need it all.
    Pads. You have a pc and rotory right? You need pads for em you konw. Cutting, polishing and finnish.
    Aplicators. There are paces you can`t get to with a machine. Hand aplicators are often much easier to use than ripping the pad of your tool. Foam, mf, terry, and others are all nice to have on hand.
    Compounds
    Polishes
    Glazes
    Sealents
    Waxes
    QDs
    Dressings
    APCs
    Paint cleaners
    Carpet and apolstry cleaners
    lots of other misc cleaners and auto suplies. When you first start you`ll be asking your suplier for something new your missing every day if not every 5 min.

    I`m sure i`m forgetting lots of stuff so i hope other will chime in. I`m no expert either I`ll admit but i have done my research and a lot of dreaming. Good luck with the buizz.
    The Koop Is BIZZZAAAK

  6. #6
    Car Detailing Whore
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Moore, OK
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    1,319
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    Koop if I ever get around to opening a shop, I am flying you out here to organize it.
    http://tassadar.ezekial.net

  7. #7

    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    north shore, Long Island
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    I charge up to 300 a detail depending on if they want me to do the undercarage and want it done over night. I only have 15 steady customers that got 3 details and a wash every week. I dont need people to do one time things im looking for a steady customer so at the end of the detail i give the person a questionare to find out what type of people im reaching and what they thought of my service........also what i can improve on. I tryed putting flyers on cars and for every 80 flyers i got 2 people so i ditched that idea. My great idea was to go to my local train station and ask the owner of the local coffee shops and deli`s if i can leave a stack of flyers near the newspaper stand. I used a pic of my customers red f50 as the eye catcher and listed my starting prices.
    Im buying a 99 viper and GNC typhoon to carry my detail supplys and a daily driver. I plan to finace these cars to get some credit to my name so later on i can apply for a loan at a bank to start a shop. For any confusion i have caused I RUN IT OUT OF MY GARAGE. I have all the tools and what not im just curious to the various paints and lighting i might need. I have thought of getting a big drain at the end of my garage to collect water. If any of you guys have any advise on paint and lighting just to build the actual garage for detailing let me know.
    I am involved in alot of the richer guys street racing scene so I get a good amount of customers from my dads friends. I also entered my fathers black f355 in a concour event with a stand of my flyers near it. Another good idea guys is to put ur companys name on a window sticker with ur # if u have a car that attracts alot of attention.
    -Danny
    PS: Thank all of you for helping me get started i now am the richest self made kid in my town. This is a great buisness to get into and puts out a great amount of cash and introduces u to alot of wealthy people that can help you out later in life since you have gained there trust. Most of my customers have become good friend and we go out to Highway race early on sunday`s.

  8. #8
    I'm just a man.
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    Feb 2003
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    Madison, Wi
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    I knew you had all your tools already. I was just answering your question. Pluss When future people ask this question and search they may want to know the added info. Feel free to ask more specific questions as it`s hard to know just what your looking for.
    The Koop Is BIZZZAAAK

  9. #9
    I'm just a man.
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    Feb 2003
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    Madison, Wi
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    LOL i work in a shop in wisconsin myslef. Heat is a must no doubt. We use an oil burner and a LARGE natural gass furnace to keep the entire shop warm. The shop is still cold from 7-8:30 in the morn. Kinda sucks but it`s nice and toasty all day long after that. You`re contractor should be able to help you out deciding what size heater you need for the size of your shop. These can be pretty expensive.
    The Koop Is BIZZZAAAK

  10. #10
    Shine? That's not a shine Cujo31's Avatar
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    Nov 2002
    Location
    Corona, California
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    144
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    Wow Koop .. wanna visit Cali for a while? LOL

    Im printing that one out
    John ( aka Cujo31 )
    Custom Car Care LLC

  11. #11
    Car Detailing Whore
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    Apr 2003
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    Moore, OK
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    Yeah I saved that thing. I plan some day to atleast have an AWESOME detailing bay at my house. Except it will have a 30 foot ceiling and hydraulic lift so I can do undercarriage work.
    http://tassadar.ezekial.net

  12. #12
    edschwab1's Avatar
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    Dec 2002
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    Rochester, NY
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    Great post Koop.

    Eric
    Have you AIO`d today?
    Done, or Done right? You decide.
    Score early, Score often.
    You can not win from the penalty box.
    You can not score from the penalty box.

  13. #13
    Just One More Coat Beemerboy's Avatar
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    25K in 3 months if you do the math seems a little high to me but not impossible. At 300 bucks a pop you would have to do a car every day excpet the weekends. If these are steady customers I would have to guess that repeat jobs where not 300 every time.
    So the number of cars would have to be greater to make that kind of cash. I charge new customers any where from 150 to 200 depending on the condidtion of the car. To make your stated 25K that would be 167 cars in 3 months "break out the advil"

    I wish you luck in your detail biz sounds like you don`t need much help.
    Old Enough To Know Better, Too Stupid To Care....

    Dave`s Detailing
    Sonoma County, CA

  14. #14
    Car Detailing Whore
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    Apr 2003
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    Moore, OK
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    Yeesh, im lucky if I do 1 (ONE, UNO) car a month. I dont advertise beyond word of mouth though, possibly my problem.
    http://tassadar.ezekial.net

  15. #15
    Agent Phonar's Avatar
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    PA
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    Hopefully the IRS doesnt find out!!!!!!!!
    They will want their cut.

 

 
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