That sounds very ambitious for a single person, with a very labour intensive job. What's the going rate for a standard detail these days? £1k for a 3 day detail?
In what way ambitious?
The going rate is irrelevant, really - the services can vary massively in quality and price.
Top end market rates are:
From £1000 for a single stage polish and ceramic + VAT
From £1500 for a two stage polish and ceramic + VAT
These exclude interior.
The "from" prices are for the smallest cars. It would take me roughly 3 days to do a 3 series for a 2 stage cut and finish with a ceramic coat. Longer with interior.
It also gets overly complex where people list different upgrades for ceramic coatings with longer life spans etc.
My belief is it needs to be simple and clear.
-> Maintenance
-> Decon
-> Light swirl correct + ceramic
-> Deep scratch correct + ceramic
-> Sanding + deep scratch correct + ceramic
No mucking about with "2 year ceramic as standard - upgrade for XXX". Top tier as standard.
Things to consider
Relevant insurances will be big and needs dealt with asap. Damage to someone's pride and joy could end up costing thousands to sort out
Vat registered?
Accountants fees/costs?
Maintain books if your not using accountant ?
Self employed? Sole Trader? Ltd ?
Property/Rental unit? - Electric costs etc
Travel costs to and from jobs
All good points and already planned for.
Sole trader, not VAT registered yet (as below limit), use accounting software and do it myself, additional fixed costs have been estimated based on conversations with existing detailing businesses & research. No travel cost really as unit is round the corner from me.
£300 a day is a very tough ask as your starting costs.... So if you earn £400 a day.... That's a very basic £100 a day "profit" - That' around £25k a year before any other costs....
Making £400 a day seems a very very big ask... How many jobs is that in a single day?
You need to find something unique to tap into - I know one person locally who had a passion for same sort of thing - Within 12 months he hated it and wished he's never started.
It's extremely manual labour, his back and arms were killing him after a busy few months.
He said - Detailing is easy. Running a business is hard. Running a business successfully is VERY hard.
I don't think I worded it very well but £300 a day is not to cover my costs, it's to:
- Cover costs (fixed and otherwise)
- £500 a month pension
- £2k a month income roughly
The manual labour is one of the things which is most exciting to me. I can't be sat at a desk for my entire life, it's horrific.
I have got my "Why" though - the detailing is a vessel for my longer term goal & vision. Something I can be good enough at to make money from, to build the longer term strategy.
Unless you're fully booked with a backlog of customers already queuing up to take up all your time with detailing work, then it's probably worth spending a bit of spare time to get social media all set up while you have the time slots available to do it. I'm sure the videos/editing process, or even just Instagram posts, etc., will get easier/quicker once you've done a few of them. could even just be shorts/TikTok style things lasting a minute or something - new detailing tip, etc.
I have had a think about this, and will probably speak to my sister to see if she's interested in helping out, but I don't think that the client base I'm targeting will really be using Insta etc, though I will investigate it. I don't have any social media so it would be entirely new to me.
You don't need to directly engage with plebs in the commnets and if they're commenting, they're driving engagement... in fact, that gives you more material for follow-up videos "some commentors said X on the last videe, this is why that's wrong..." and of course more engagement from that too.
It's a good point but to be completely blunt, I have 0 desire to do it. I don't care about trying to educate the masses, and I'd rather spend the energy elsewhere.
'd be very careful with jumping right into having big overheads like that, as @booyaka has pointed out. You mention doing it already as a "hobby" but how easily can that translate into rapidly having sufficient customers to occupy each working day?
I have two friends who set up businesses that eventually involved renting industrial units - one of them sold up the business and now has a very good tech career, the other is still going and owns his own premises now. Neither of them started off by renting a unit; both started off working from home, then renting cheap/small premises.
The friend with his own large unit and multiple staff (now) relied initally a lot on Facebook marketing and picked a simple business name that he's managed to get high into google search rankings for his industry (I guess your industry might be a bit different re: branding as you may need to tilt it towards having a premium feel etc..) - but he is constatnly marketing and spending on ads too - the days of very easy views/engagement on facebook are now over - I understand TikTok is useful for free promotions though.
Have a think about the "hobby" bit - how much work is it actually generating now? My friend started off by reducing hours/working part-time at his existing employer and grew from there, the transition to full time self emplyment was his business being succesful enought that he found he had too much work to fit into those few days off so he'd need to quit his job in order to handle all the work his business had generated, then soon after employ his first staff member too etc.. Now he has a bunch of staff with managers/team leaders below him.
If instead you're doing it rather casually and aren't facing the situation where you've got loads of bookings then jumping right into getting a premises seems like a risk that could kill the whole business quite early on. Do you absolutely need a unit right away, or could you build up a customer base from visiting customers and working from their driveways? Building up a social media profile, referrals from customers, car meets etc.
Jumping right in and renting a unit might work but if it's not initially necessary, or you don't initially have the orders to justify it then it seems like it would be eating into a lot of your savings/runway for trying to get this venture started.
I've had mixed discussions with various people, including a career coach, about turning a hobby into my work.
Ultimately, my view is to do something you love. That's different from it being a hobby.
My love is not detailing - it's the hobby. As I mentioned, it's the vessel to build the longer term vision I have, which is:
- Work independently
- Build a "school of business" for younger people to learn essential skills, knowledge and experience
- To prove that doing things properly, and not for marketing/politics/profit, is still intrinsically important to myself and others.
I'm not driven by money for this, I'm driven by the service I know I can provide people that others can't.
I'm not sure its sustainable.
I used to use a chap to wash our cars. He used to charge £30 per car. Inside and out.
or £199 for a full detail on the drive.
However, his prices are now £50 for a standard wash and £399 for a detail on the drive.
This stopped us all using him. It just wasn't sustainable.
I've no idea if he is still going.
A different market really. It's like clothing - just because something costs more, it doesn't mean people won't buy it, it just means different people will buy it (if the brand is right).
You can't charge £50 for Primark - you need a different brand.
You can't charge £50k for a SEAT - you call it a Cupra, once you've established the premium brand and have good recognition.
Yes, you don't want to be renting a unit to begin with. You don't need one, you can just provide a mobile service.
You also don't need a website, a Ltd company, or branded workwear. These are just unnecessary costs to begin with, you just need a flyer with a mobile number, to get proof of principle that your business will actually work. Only start spending money when you have proven you can make money. The unit upfront is a big no no.
This will sound arrogant and condescending, but I don't mean it to be - this gives me more fuel to start it.
The misconception that you can provide the same service, or even any type of service worth paying for, mobile is common.
You wouldn't let a guy turn up in a van to paint your car properly with spray cans, and the same is true for proper paint correction.
You can't sand, polish and ceramic coat a car in conditions/environment you have no control over. It's why I've only done it for friends and family for 6 years - I could NEVER charge someone to do the work mobile knowing how terrible of a job I'm doing, which is of course not good for making money
I will happily charge big money for doing it a unit though, because I know the level of finish I can achieve.
I know the business can work - I know there are people who will pay for it. I've just got to build that customer base which will be the most challenging bit. It definitely exists though as I've spent the last year networking with people who do (pay for that level of service).
I’ve got many plans for that including whiteboards galore and terrible drawings.
