Making money without a job is back and we are covering a car related topic. Making money by offering detailing services can be a big profit business with very little overhead. Most car enthusiast do this on their time off for them and their friends anyways, so why not start offering it as a full service that is discounted compared to the big shops that offer the same service. How do you get started?
Well practice makes perfect, and car detailing is no different. There are many different steps to detailing a car and some are easier than others. We recommend focusing on the easier and more basic steps as you are going to aim your services to the average car owners at first. Going after the exotics and high end luxury vehicles will be a bad idea as you will be limited in customers but also will deal with savvier customers that may already have expert companies that detail their cars on call.
Buying your products: Products and your comfort level with products is the most important aspect of the detailing world. Being comfortable applying a product and realizing its effects can help you decided what is right for the job. Buying over the counter products would simply make you a handyman and not help you establish yourself as someone providing detailing services. We recommend buying your products from companies like www.detailedimage.com or other online provider of professional detailing supplies to the mass public. If you are serious and can afford to, simply buy in bulk and save some money on the long run, especially on products that you know you will use like soaps and basic spray detailers.
Start Practicing: Simply start doing a lot of cars and understand the types and colors of cars you are comfortable detailing. Start with light color cars and practice hard before taking on black and dark gray cars which are much harder to get done. Start by detailing your friends cars for free and then move on to some neighbors cars that you can detail for free. Make sure to create a small waiver and have them sign it in exchange for the free work, so that you don’t end up in legal trouble if the person doesn’t like the job or blames the blemish that was already there on you.
Start Working: Once you are ready to start making money, simply create a flyer, business name and cards and get to work. Start by hitting all your local neighborhood so you save money and travel time. Start with an introductory price to gain a customer base and attract people that have never had their cars detailed. As you get work, ask folks to give you testimonials or if they are in agreement to be used as reference. this will help increase word of mouth advertising and will help you get those on the fence to actually give you a try.
Make it Official: Now that you have picked up a bit of work, simply ask yourself why you didn’t think of this earlier and make it official, create an LLC and start a real business, keeping it separate from your day to day life. You might even want to go as far as hiring a high school student or cheap laborer to help you do the basic wash and dry portion of the jobs, so you can get to more cars faster.
Advertise Online: There’s no doubt that most car enthusiasts actively participate on their corresponding car forum. Most car forums have regional sections. Take advantage of that and post samples of your work to get possible clients. Some times you may need to pay an advertising cost. It’ll usually run around $1000-$1500 every six months. You will make your money back within five detail jobs at the max. Most professional detailers charge at least $400 for a premium detail. Once you are a respected member of that forum, always take before, during, and after pics of cars you detail and post those on the forum to secure your spot as an expert in your field. Also check out www.autopia.org, which is the worlds largest car detailer forum. You can get tips, share photos, and much more.
So there you have it, now you know how to make money without a job in October and as the winter approaches more people seek help washing their cars, so make sure to offer a basic wash and care option for cheap.
