I am trying to start a valeting business.. any tips going forward..??

[pistol pete]

I am trying to start a valeting business.. please read / please help..

 

I was going to go into selling cars but that was just a massive can of worms..

Well you all know i have a passion for cars. I have spent the last year perfecting my valeting skills, and after a lot of people have been very happy with my work i want to start doing this properly of a weekend for people.

 

I only ever use meguiar's products for the best finishes, from just a wash and wax to a full inside out full valet and paint renovating/machine polishing

 

company name not fully confirmed yet, but the car will be "cleaned with a passion"

Please see pictures for example of what i can achieve, a none swirl finish with depth and colour on a normal family car that started faded and lifeless..

and yeah i will be doing all nooks a cranies and door shuts

 

within the next week expect to have fully liability insurance sorted as well as traders insurance

 

please no mocking as this is serious and something i have wanted to do for a long time

 

Any this is not advertising hence why i not put down contact details or where i am . more of any help from people of how i can get this off the ground.. at the moment i am working off of word of mouth. hope this does not infringe on any club rules..

 

Already got a friend of a friend of a friend's evo 10 booked.. (he has been using the god awful £5 washers where they use cheap nasty products. but he has seen some of my work and booked it in straight away..

 

i will want to become a authorized trader on this site as it takes off.

 

But if any one car give some tips on going forward with the business (yep ill be getting an accountant) and also i know its only pictures if you would think the finish is acceptable

 

Many thanks

 

(yes this is very similar to my facebook status)

 

any pics of my work from today on a simple family car

 

before.

 

half bonnet partially completed

 

finished article

 

and i have done interior and engine bay but no pics at the mo..

[cje001]

Good on you, own business in something you really enjoy! Brill.

 

Get a client base, local adverts, mainly going to be word of mouth.

 

Maybe focus on high end cars in local area?

 

Only pitfall i can think of is when you get too busy to do them all yourself (and that`ll be good) - you will have to employ someone... if they arent good or mess something up, that could cause issues.

 

'Polished with Pride'.........

 

[leet45single]

my 2 pence worth of advise is to have a look and the detailing world forum as theres good info on there for what you are about to do if you do a little search. even if its just to keep on top of the lastest product that peolpe rave about as you may what to try something different when one of your megs products runs out.

[scotty71]

This is something I want to get into and will look to start next year. The things I would be looking at (touching on the above also)

 

1. Do you have an indoor premises where to detail your customers cars (if not forget it)

2. Do you have the necessary insurance (liabilty and car)

3. Do you have the skills and product knowledge (megiaurs would be classed as run of the mill) to achieve the results

4. Would you be mobile, have a van or work out the back of a car (which IMO gives a poor impression)

5. Would you be comfortable machine polishing a 100k Ferrari to remove swirls (bit different to a Focus)

6. Would you be offering card payments or would it be a cash only payment method

7. Website/Design - this would be of upmost importance to me to "get your business out there" plus word of mouth.

8. How much money have I got to put into a business - short term pain long term gain

 

There are many many more factors than just the above

 

There is lots to think about. I guess Christian (stokin) has got it spot on. His results are out of this world. I think it depends if you are going down the part time route or thinking it will be the main bread winner.

 

Hope it works out for you - and for myself if I decide to go for it

 

Scotty

[peter richards]

good luck, in my 7th year now and doing ok , the first few years are going to be tough , winters are a total pita , and follow them with bad summers means its hard to make a living , the £5 foreign car washes that are in every garage kind of screwed up the valeting side of my business but id moved on from that anyway , otherwise it might of been harder at the start .

dont jump in on high end stuff or you will shoot yourself in the foot , its a learning curve big time , walk before you run , that way youll build up experience .

i know some will say "oh its just cleaning a car ffs "but when someones paying you theyre hard earned it can become serious, and they will expect miracles , you will need to be able to asses a car pretty quick , and honesty is the best policy , or otherwise the customer will expect a new car back , when really the job was damage limitation , if you see where im coming from .

the one main tip i can give you is check out what the local competition is like if its saturated i wouldnt waste your time and money as its expensive to set up properly.

have a look on detailing world , good source of info , but read through the BS as there is lots of it there .

and also this time of the year youll see every tom dick and harry starting up valeting / detailing businesses as they think its easy money , which i may add it isnt . you will see peeps spend a silly amount of money then come october its all up for sale at a huge loss .

just be aware of whats in front of you .

[pistol pete]

good luck, in my 7th year now and doing ok .

 

thought i would shorten the quote..

 

first off many thanks for the info/help..

i am gonna be startin very slow and only really starting with friends and family and friends of friends to start with to get a good base and walk before i can run..

 

i have done a few cars where the owners have been very fussy and they have been happy.. always have to be honest.. its like the focus above as soon as i looked you could tell the rear quarter had been resprayed.. and as typical red not prefect match.. and there is no way you can detailed it to match.. but pleased with the finished articale as it has got me some work from a local small trader that i bought the car form.

 

I want to avoid the people that enjoy the £5 car washes... as i feel they don't even like cars its just a quick buck..

to be fair i have a full time (shift work) job that pays my bills etc

this is just something on the side not really to make money its just something i have a passion for and want to see where it can take me

 

been searching around on sites and forums.. as well as meguiar's forum.. all been a great help

[pistol pete]

This is something I want to get into and will look to start next year. The things I would be looking at (touching on the above also)

 

1. Do you have an indoor premises where to detail your customers cars (if not forget it)

2. Do you have the necessary insurance (liabilty and car)

3. Do you have the skills and product knowledge (megiaurs would be classed as run of the mill) to achieve the results

4. Would you be mobile, have a van or work out the back of a car (which IMO gives a poor impression)

5. Would you be comfortable machine polishing a 100k Ferrari to remove swirls (bit different to a Focus)

6. Would you be offering card payments or would it be a cash only payment method

7. Website/Design - this would be of upmost importance to me to "get your business out there" plus word of mouth.

8. How much money have I got to put into a business - short term pain long term gain

 

thank mate as you say i hope it works out for you..

at the mo i still am an electrical engineer working shift work.. but i do plenty of overtime which i do not really enjoy and would rather do this to replace that..

as for the above comments..

 

1).. i did have.. but currently looking at getting another and then installing several flood lights to so my work

2) insurances being sorted this week.. is it only traders and liability i need?

3) I have tried many different products.. meg's works well for me and they do a detailer range not normally available in the shops so looking into getting that.

4) I want to start working from home as i want it to be personized and i can give a better finish in my own premises.. but if required i will look into getting a van.. not out of a car

5) ferrari.. hmm not yet.. but working my way to it.. do not wanna run before walking.. but happy doing like said evo 10 etc..

6) cash to start with but will be lookign into it

7) my wife works at a company that does web design so it will be being looked at

8) like said starting very small as making it bigger.. not gonna make a huge company straight away as its not my bread winner.. wanna get some cover sorted before winter though..

 

thanks again..

[TubbyTwo]

Megs Detailer range is good but dont limit yourself just to one make. There such a huge range of products out there you really would be missing out. I still use a few bits from their range but there is far better out there. Due to the strict manufacturing rules opposed on the american market, some of their products are just naff. (bug and tar remover spings to mind).

 

Im currently loving stuff from Wolfs chemicals, Valet Pro, Autosmart, Chemguys, Bilt Hamber and DoDo to name a few.

 

Gtechniq are also currently developing some amazing products that have raised the bar.

 

Word of mouth is a great tool, I only really do it as a part time hobby, but get all my business through word of mouth. Im always prepared to just that bit extra and it makes all the difference.

 

Be realistic with time scales and prices as well, I made a note of how long it takes me to comfortably do each stage i.e prewash, foam, 2bm wash, pat dry, wheels, arches, de tar, clay etc etc. I have never had a problem with people being told It will take 1 full day for example and for £170 (e.g) you get this: ( then show them a list of each stage and the time involved)

 

Biggest lesson i have learned is never be tempted to sort anything your not asked, it just leads to hassle and your then expected to fix the problem.

 

Hardest part is getting people to understand the difference between valeting and detailing and why its worth the extra money. Valeting is just cleaning a car to a certain standard, detailing is taking things a whole lot further.

 

Speak to companies about maintaning they fleets of company cars etc and also apprach car dealerships, they will use you once to see how you perform. Both of those could be a steady income then you can look into pushing the detailing side as well.

 

look into some training as well, seen far to many people start up who offer full corrections and wet sanding with little experience. On a customer car its a death sentence.

 

Most of all good luck!

 

I would love to do the same however with a house that needs modernising and saving for a wedding at the moment its a no go.