Need some advice guys!

I take pride in detailing my own ride.

thanks for the advice guys, and geoff your that 1/10 that does i think im going to go for it, im waiting to hear back from a real estate agent about a shop for lease pretty close to home (20 minute walk or so) alot of this stuff has been thought over about staying clean and letting them know other stuff is offered, maybe not even by word of mouth but by posters or something with the same idea. the only problem i have now is finding the supplies and then calling up my buddy and getting him to print me some professional fliers is nothing from there.

Thanks guys, ill keep you updated as things progress

Hope you the best of luck bro!Like everyone else said word of mouth is the best advertisement you can ask for and also,it's FREE!!!!!!!

yea, well my buddies dad that gave me the advice has told everyone at work and they are just waiting for the open sign

but thanks for the wishes of luck

anyone know where the best place to buy materials is?

What type materials? Can you get a business license and order all the stuff online?

hope it works out i had my own moble detailing biz for a few years its hard work man....i made better money washing fleet vehicles ...cable,,, telephone,,, newspaper,,, and log trucks

yea, i have my business licence and picked up some material the other day like leather cleaner, interior wipes, tire foam, window foam and all sorts of stuff i pretty much just need a pressure washer and a shop now.


And todd, i too did some detailing thats why i kinda liked the idea, its hard work but pays for itself. i used to do it at the car lot at the end of my street a couple months backs, about 60 cars 3 hours (just the exterior) 3 times a week (monday, wedsday, friday) and it was a commission type deal where i got paid $60 everytime, well that only works out to $1 a car but if you think about time it works out to $20 an hour so i dident mind it took about 3 minutes a car soo get 20 cars in an hour and yea it works out to $20 an hour so it wasent to bad. anyway im going to be getting a nice pressure washer soon and then find a place and get into business. i have a cell phone i can use for it and everything its really just the pressure washer and the place i need to worry about now not to mention clientel but i should be ok with that.


whats everyone think so far?

Hey man I would say go for it. Make sure your own ride is always clean though. Even if it is a ford tempo. Make that biotch shine. Shows your work off. Also I noted that you are in Canada...where it gets snowy and they have to treat the roads. Hit up the bigger business or factories with office facilities. The higher ups are always looking to keep there rides clean of the road grime. I know at our small office the owner, his wife, kids, and a few other employees all have the same mobile company clean and detail thier cars. I think they charge like $35 or so a car. Good luck and I hope it starts off as you wish.

One thing I think that might be worth noting. I'm not sure what it's like in other provinces/states etc. I know that if you have a shop (ie: building), you have to have it insured. That will be for content insurance. Fire, theft and the like, NOT liability.
That being said, someone mentioned about doing rims and such.... stay away from that for the time being until you are established and are making a decent living at the detailing. why you ask?
Liability. If that customer you just did something as simple as change his winter rims and tires over to summers drives down the road and an axle snaps or wheel has an issue. YOU will be liable. You will at that point turn to your liabilty insurance to 'protect' you. Liability insurance is expensive to carry unlike content insurance.

I know at my shop (a parts store) I can't even install a set of nerf bars I sell on a 4x4 for a customer. 'If' they step on them and a bolt breaks they come crashing down and shatter their kneecap and are out of work for 6mths... I can be held liable. Same deal with a wheel.

Stick to the detailing to start with. You don't even need a pressure washer. I'd start with a one bay shop and a hose. More important than the pressure washer would be a steam carpet cleaner. You can get a used one pretty cheap if you check the buy & sells and such. Make sure it's a commercial and not a household bissel.. LOL
Use a decent product (cleaners, soaps and wash mitts or whatever you prefer & good chamois)

As for product and suppliers.. I'd take the time to make a trip to another town around your area and hit up some of the independent shops (not franchise shops) and see what they use and where they get it. You'll go broke if you have to buy all your supplies at Canadian Tire every week.. LOL

I dunno.. there's way more.. that's where my first coffee of the morning got me to so far.. .. my