Little business my friend and I started...

[S15_Silvia]

Hey all. Now that the summer is coming to an end, I just wanted to share with everyone here the story of the business my friend and I started back in the end of May. We ended up chatting at like 2am about starting an auto detailing business. He had been doing that the summer before, and wanted to know if I was interested in helping out this year. Long story short, we made a Facebook page, distributed hundreds of flyers, and spent maybe 2.5 hours in Wal Mart deciding what products to start out with. We thought it would be nice if we grossed $1000 between us over the course of the summer. You know, two kids looking to make a few dollars between years at college. We had of course had many job applications turned down- no one around here is hiring kids who go to school out of state.

We ended up grossing just under $2500. There were sometimes more customers than we had time for- not only that, but we detailed stuff ranging from Jaguar XKRs to Audi A8 Ls to Dodge Vipers. Really crazy cars sometimes.

Just thought I'd share- lol college entrepreneurs are still out there.

If you wanna check out some of our work- search 'Clean Cars of Amherst' on Facebook.

[vettedude102]

that's pretty cool. did you get to drive the viper?

[S15_Silvia]

No, the owner of that car was a bit nuts. Tried to argue down the price...it was obnoxious really. We did get to pick up a 350Z convertible at a customer's business and detail it off site though- that was a cool car.

EDIT: Same deal with a 2011 Audi A4 with the 'titanium sport package,' a Mercedes E350, and an Acura TL...probably forgetting some of the ones we drove good distances.

Edited August 18, 2011 by S15_Silvia

[tonedeaf]

What was your charges for it? I use to professionally detail cars and there arent any good ones around here. But to me a full detail takes 3-5 hours. Sometimes longer depending what gets done and how dirty it is. (those who have never detailed, you wouldn't believe how nasty some people keep their cars)

As for supplies if you plan on continuing doing this, talk to the local dealerships about who they get their supplies from. You can normally get them from the truck that supplies all the local dealers get their shit at cost and have much better quality supplies that make your job a ton easier and saves you money from buying the cheap nasty shot at walmart.

[S15_Silvia]

(those who have never detailed, you wouldn't believe how nasty some people keep their cars)

THIS. We had a Saturn coupe with 1/4" thick of dried lipstick in the cupholders, RAW shrimp under the passenger seat...woman was a mess.

About the product- we definitely made do with some basic wash, NICE wax, leather/vinyl cleaner, Tuff Stuff for the nasty shit...etc. If we do this again next summer and work off our existing loyal customers, we'll definitely get bulk/higher-end product. We also averaged 2-2.5 hours a car. I wouldn't call it a FULL showroom detail, but for $55 (or $60 for SUVs) we did all right.