HOW TO START A DETAILING BUSINESS?

Auto detailing is snowballing all over the world. Very few people today have time to take care of their car themselves, yet everybody wants their ride to be shiny.

The willingness is there, but we all lack time. We’re sure you know what we mean.

Secondly, with new cars costing what they do, people are more eager to look after the car they already own than to replace it.

These two reasons mean that the demand for detailing services is constantly growing. And, as a result, many people are willing to start their own auto detailing businesses.

As Ultracoat, we worked with many studios. We helped set up a few of them, so today we will advise you on how to start your own detailing business.

Firstly…

Get and validate your detailing skills.

Even if you are a self-taught detailer and have a natural talent for car care, it’s good for your knowledge to be up-to-date, structured, and, above all, documented.

On the market, you will find many courses and guides, from basics on external or internal detailing to specialised courses focusing on a small part of the detailer’s work, e.g., polishing.

You need to remember that expensive cars will come to your unit, and the owners care for them as if they were their own children.

Even if a course doesn’t teach you anything new, taking it will allow you to show your clients that you are fully qualified to take care of their beloved car. You will be able to point to certificates confirming that you have the appropriate skills and can be trusted.

It will be easier to run a detailing business if you give your customers this certainty.

Acquire basic marketing knowledge

Besides technical skills, it’s good for you to know marketing basics.

Setting up an auto detailing studio will require you to stand out on the market and consciously build the image of the studio. You have tons of marketing tools for that, both online and offline.

Complete your knowledge about the basics of websites, search engine optimisation (SEO), or paid ads on Facebook and Google. Learn how to photograph a car so that your photos alone will bring you customers. Find out what word-of-mouth marketing is.

Keep an eye on your competitors and learn good advertising practices from them, both online and offline. Fortunately, auto detailing has already become so established that some advertising practices can simply be adapted well.

Do the necessary maths

As a beginner detailer, you need to do business maths. Plan your expenses as early as possible and estimate your revenues.

What do we mean by that?

Answer the following questions: what is your planned income, planned employment? First, count the costs of running a unit, including running a business in general. Then, estimate your spending schedule (we recommend a simple spreadsheet).

Plan a price list relevant for your clients and place it appropriately on the local detailing market.

Adapt your unit to auto detailing

Opening an auto detailing studio requires a space adapted to professional car care.

Primarily:

• The division into a dry zone for polishing, car wrapping, coating application, and a wet zone for washing. The division into both zones must be clear to maintain control over moisture,
• Drainage of water with an oil interceptor and good ventilation in the wet zone,
• A decent waiting area. You don’t want your customers to freeze, get wet, or huddle in a cramped space on an uncomfortable chair. Car detailing is a premium service, and such conditions are expected by your customers,
• Excellent lighting that will allow you to work on the cars and marketing materials effectively,
• A comfortable, safe, hard-surfaced entrance and – if possible – parking spaces in front of the unit,
• Heating and air conditioning. Temperature control is crucial, especially when it comes to ceramic coatings, which will (likely) be your key service,
• A separate staff and office area.

In our experience, it’s tough to find a place that meets all these requirements. For example, there is often no proper drainage; units lack additional water drainage and the interceptor.

Additionally, as mentioned above, auto detailing is a premium service, so apart from purely technical aspects, the interior should be neat.

Given all the above aspects, the question arises, how much does it cost to fit out a unit for auto detailing services? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer here. The cost of the fit-out can run from a few thousand to several tens of thousands.

We know studios that started in their own garage with a modest budget and slowly built the business up to fund a bigger space. On the other hand, we know units that started big with a substantial investment from day one.

It all depends on where, how big and how well adapted the space you find is.

And of course, on how much money you have.

Studio equipment

A detailing studio can’t do without the right tools and cleaning chemicals. These are:

• Professional car cosmetics (shampoos, ceramic coatings, waxes, chemicals for glass and wheels, polishing compounds)
• Cleaning equipment (pressure washer, wet and dry vacuum cleaner, upholstery cleaning gun, foam lance)
• Additional lighting (halogen lamps, head torches, inspection lamps)
• Polishing accessories (polishing machines with a various scope of work)
• Other accessories (paint thickness gauge, ozone generator, buckets, cloths, pads, brushes, masks)

What exactly you need will depend on the scope of services in your studio. Once again, we refer to the article about the prices, in which we discuss this topic in more detail.

Take care of formal requirements

The number of formal requirements strictly depends on the country you’re operating in. In most countries, whether the law is easy for detailers or not, meeting formal requirements is a one-time effort. Once you do it right, you’re done forever.

Breaking the administrative barrier will also distinguish you from garage amateurs and position your studio two levels higher at the start in customers’ eyes.

To be sure what formal actions you have to take, you need to check with your local authority. Typically this covers registering the business, trade effluent consent for discharging wash water to the sewer, and waste handling arrangements. An oil interceptor is usually required for washing vehicles on site.

And finally…

Car detailing is a direction we have taken ourselves and loved forever. Working with cars is a job full of joy and satisfaction, also financially.

If you have any questions regarding the studio’s opening, feel free to write or call us.

We are happy to help you start your own business and take the first steps in the industry. Especially when it comes to professional care cosmetics and/or advice on them.