Anyone Run Their Own Business?

N

Nova2k7

Senior member
 Halifax - West Yorkshire
silly question really but looking for some advice, i currently own and run my own detailing company and im looking to move things forward with it! currently i can only really work at weekends as i work full time! the detailing really is my passion! currently having a website done by an awesome chap from the forum! ill be collecting Hoodies and T-Shirts tomorrow.

I'm desperately trying to use social media to work in my favour but often page likes and retweets do not = new clients. i know advertising is going to be my best bet, but understandably this venture does not currently provide me a substantial income and advertising is something that might have to wait? anyway have any advise for how to get started in what is a very specialist area?

i find myself visiting clients for quotes, providing them an extremely cheap quote compared to competitors and still find that people are put off by the price.

i had someone ask my to do a complete paint correction on a Bentley the other day for £50! i knew the car would look good in my portfolio but i simply could spend 6+ hours plus materials for £50.
 
I had a business up to a couple of years ago.

Trouble with giving cheap quotes is people are worried they'll get a cheap job. There's a difference with being competitive and being, or seem to be being, cheap.
Stupid, I know but that's how people think.

People are worried to let someone loose on their p&j so you are going to have to build a word of mouth reputation I should think.

Advertising. Well, where would your potential clients be? Garages I should think is a good starter. Go round and ask can you leave some leaflets and offer them something in return or said leaflets may possibly go straight in the bin.
Maybe a commission for every confirmed referral?

Facebook's best way to get yourself spread around is to offer a free something or other if they like & share your page.

It takes time to build a good reputation and when you're offering a service rather than goods, a good reputation is very important.

Good luck, it'll come together :thumbsup:
 
I use to own a pub, but it became too much trying to manage it and work full time so I ended up selling it 2 years ago.

Do you have a Facebook page for the business? I know running a pub and running a detail business are two totally different animals but I found Facebook to be the best / cheapest advertising you use.

Personally I would set my prices to make at least 15% profit on a job, then run an occasional special advertised on the page.
 
Completely understand what you’re saying! I quoted £450 to complete a full paint correction on a Range Rover sport this week. By the end of the quotation session I had quoted him a reasonable £200 for a full day’s work. I turned up in the Z and provided a fully custom quotation in writing. I’ve still yet to hear from him!

A the end of last year I was offering a free detail for people who would like and share the Facebook page and this was very successful however I can’t really afford to be giving out free work all the time as at the moment I need to resupply my gear and with some things costing upwards of £100 for full polish and pad sets I need to start getting some paid work in. I do however like your idea of a referral commission and I think this is something we need to look at!
 
I do. Its the hardest thing I've ever done and after 5 years its going somewhere. I've gleefully watched many competitors go bust, so I must be doing something right. My advice would be this...

People who can afford to spend £500 a day having their car titivated generally won't be tweeting or facebooking they'll be enjoying real life with other intelligent humans. You'll be wasting your time, you'll be inundated with bell ends wanting work for nothing.

>> i find myself visiting clients for quotes, providing them an extremely cheap quote compared to competitors and still find that people are put off by the price.

Are you coming across as professional? Badged jacket with the company name on, printed materials showing previous work etc?

I'd imagine your best bet would be to get a stand at a car show and show people what you can do, get booked in for trade fairs etc. Talk to other detailers (not on the phone). Turn up explain what you're trying to do and see if they think it has legs, if they are struggling now is probably not the best time to start up. See if you could act as an overflow if they get too busy, say you'll work at a discounted rate to your usual...

I'd be prepared to do quite a bit of free work (only on high end motors) to build up a body of work and then charge like a wounded bull. If you're worth the money and you're good you'll get the money if not then you'll sink to obscurity.

Good luck :thumbsup:
 
Oh god no, don't do a free detail for every like & share!
Say you will pick someone at random from all who have liked & shared.

Get a picture/advertisement done and get them to like & share that. Then pick one winner on a certain date.
 
Also, leaflet drop at golf clubs, gyms etc.
Local businesses - offer 'special rates' for detailing company cars etc.

Merrsh is spot on about the proper presentation. Turning up in your zed may look nice but the bloke who did mine had a van with graphics, uniform etc. professionalism is key.
 
car forums could be a great place to start.

Lets face it we're all enthusiasts who love our cars. Offer your services on different boards, with promotional offers etc, and see what kind of response you get. There's a reason companies like Chris Knott hang out here.
 
FWIW, one criticism I would have, is why are you charging more for a sports car detail than you are say a Passat?

In terms of your time, a Z4 for example (take the coupé to avoid the soft top roof issues), isn't as large as a Passat / Insignia etc....so why charge more?

I'd expect to pay the same as a medium car for the Z. i.e. golf / focus / Astra.
 
Carol M said:
Oh god no, don't do a free detail for every like & share!
Say you will pick someone at random from all who have liked & shared.

Get a picture/advertisement done and get them to like & share that. Then pick one winner on a certain date.
Click to expand...

Apologies! i dont give free details for every like and share, i would pick a name from the list of people who shared or liked!
 
Carol M said:
Also, leaflet drop at golf clubs, gyms etc.
Local businesses - offer 'special rates' for detailing company cars etc.

Merrsh is spot on about the proper presentation. Turning up in your zed may look nice but the bloke who did mine had a van with graphics, uniform etc. professionalism is key.
Click to expand...

i have my own hoodies and tshirt printed plus my own printed paperwork.!
 
StevenH72 said:
car forums could be a great place to start.

Lets face it we're all enthusiasts who love our cars. Offer your services on different boards, with promotional offers etc, and see what kind of response you get. There's a reason companies like Chris Knott hang out here.
Click to expand...

completely agree. i'm on multiple forums already but a lot of them don't like advertising! although i do showcase all my work on them
 
StevenH72 said:
FWIW, one criticism I would have, is why are you charging more for a sports car detail than you are say a Passat?

In terms of your time, a Z4 for example (take the coupé to avoid the soft top roof issues), isn't as large as a Passat / Insignia etc....so why charge more?

I'd expect to pay the same as a medium car for the Z. i.e. golf / focus / Astra.
Click to expand...

you're completely right about this and this is something that is being looked into! currently i don't charge full list price for my of my work and the full list price would be along the line of a 3 stage polishing correction plus multiple extras.
 
Nova2k7 said:
Carol M said:
Also, leaflet drop at golf clubs, gyms etc.
Local businesses - offer 'special rates' for detailing company cars etc.

Merrsh is spot on about the proper presentation. Turning up in your zed may look nice but the bloke who did mine had a van with graphics, uniform etc. professionalism is key.
Click to expand...

i have my own hoodies and tshirt printed plus my own printed paperwork.!
Click to expand...

In your line of work, first impressions will be very important, as well as your work history. I wouldn't let you lose say on a F12 if you had only worked on a fiesta say!

Also personally, I would ditch the hoodies for client meets (initial meets and quotation exercises) and get yourself a nice windbreaker type jacket, and nice embroided shirt and turn up looking smart and professional.

I would also have something like a laptop or IPad to show pictures, maybe specifications of equipment or products you will be using.

Have you also looked at getting any deals going with local car sales garages to see if you can do pre sale valets etc or maybe offer a good price as part of the garages sale if customers would be interested etc. Maybe not main dealers, but specialists or general car sales places.
 
From a purely digital marketing perspective, you're best ally with the snowballing effect companies get from social advertising is through customer referrals, offer an incentive or a FREE clay/wax bar for everytime someone submits a review of your work to the numerous trade and services websites. Not only will this increase your web SEO due to additional backlinks but it will enable your company/brand name to become more common on the web and thus help in general awareness.

One of the best offline advertising methods for detailing companies in general is to target high footfall areas where cars are parked for long periods of time where 'sample details' can be done:

Shopping centre's, fitness clubs, recreational public parks, etc. Simply set up a Gazebo with the land owners permission and offer your services there and then on a sunny day like an ice cream van!

To target your higher income clients who might pay for extended detailing... visit industrial estates where executive cars are parked up during work hours. Ive seen so many detailers rake it in during the 9-5 because not only do the big wigs like the dick measuring appeal of having you detail their car WHILST they are all SELL SELL SELL during the day, but they will come down to 'check up on you' and it gives them the chance to brag about their motor to you and some high earning professionals would pay just for the privilege to have a clean car and the opportunity to brag about it.

Plus the classic Business card stamps marketing works well. print out a business card with all your branding etc and stamp it everytime they have a detail and for their 3rd detail they get something small thrown in... on their 6th detail they get something better thrown in and on their 10th? it's FREE?

just my thoughts.
 
Im in the same boat atm I work full time but run a wedding business on the side but I work in advertising so I advertise in the local newspaper. With that and word of mouth my business has effectively doubled to the point where I'm having to turn away business. I try to do as much FB and twittering as pos which seems to help. I live in quite a close nit community and I'm in business with my dad who owns a clothing shop and he deals with wedding hire and the company has been established since 1742 so I suppose Im building and piggy backing on an already well know local brand.

Best advice is push your work in every direction you can. Leaflets/flyers to local places of interest and post on as many forums as you can about your services. Go to some shows etc
 
I would have thought that the first thing you would need to do is make a decision on which part of the market you want to target .... different market segments really will require different marketing ......

are you going high end, low end .... or mid market ....... ?
are you going mobile or do you want customers to come to you .....?

For example, high end ........
If you want to bring customers to you, premises will need to be secure, presentable ..... has to look the part, if its mobile then you will need a professional looking kitted out van .....
Social media will be a waste of time ...... you need to look at proper advertising , local radio I hear is pretty good. Upside is you will attract customers who have money to spend.

Mid market ......
unless you are prepared to invest in yourself, ie upmarket premises or mobile equipment, then you are not going to attract well heeled customers, so your marketing can reflect this ...... look at enthusiast clubs, forums etc .... where people will pay, but its painful for them so they have to believe in you before they commit.

low end .....
low end is not bad ..... many really successful businesses cater to low end ...... its all about low cost and hi volume ...... Social media is a great place to start ..... its free and you get to a lot if people ....

Couple of points ..... you are not selling a product, its a service which requires a degree of skill ...... giving it away for free is bad ....... and achieves nothing.


Just had my Zed detailed ....... these are the things that made me go ahead with the deal.

1). premises were clean, secure, and looked the part
2). the bloke spent time inspecting the car, telling me exactly what it needed and what he could do
3). he quoted a price that in my mind equated to 50 quid an hour plus products. sounded like a fair price.
4). in the first 2 mins he won my confidence .....

advertising didn't bring my business to him ..... I wanted the service, I spent some time on Google .... his
well put together website was the start .....

:D

basically you need to think out a roadmap or plan, ...... once done, the plan will tell you which direction to take
 
teamemmenracing was it not word of mouth with Carols car being detailed? Or did you get another company to do it?
 
Until this year, I was paying for a 2 day paint correction, interior/exterior/engine detail which cost £500.

This sounds a lot, but it saves me taking the time to do a much worse job where I'm responsible for any damage, and I can use that time to do some freelance work which covers the cost.

I'd not want a mobile service as I would always be worried about the weather affecting the work or the detailer not turning up and me wasting a day off. Without premises you'd also have to factor these 'losses' into you calculations as some people may be able/willing to rearrange, and others won't (especially if they're doing it as a gift or for a special event). One done on the drive at the detailer's home, doesn't instil any confidence in my either.

The 2 or 3 places I use are either working from industrial units or on secure sites where they also do exotic car storage. The problem with the latter is the location, as it's about 30 miles from the nearest 'proper' train station, and so I have to hire a car for a couple of days, which adds to the total cost. However, I do this as I trust the guys doing it, and initial contact was through friends and club members.

Have you also got/thought about insurance for any damage you cause, or for theft while the car is in your care? As a customer, I would not want the business to turn around and tell me to claim off my own insurance.
 
tomscott said:
teamemmenracing was it not word of mouth with Carols car being detailed? Or did you get another company to do it?
Click to expand...


After I finished wiping up the drool I figured it was too far to drive down Carol's way from Edinburg for that, so I started Googling till I found a place closer by .....,
Like I said .... I had already decided on the work ..... it was their website that got me moving. :thumbsup:
 
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