Within this session, Dan Ekenberg, the founder of Mobileworks along with Bud Abraham, Founder and President of Detail Plus Auto Care Appearance Systems and yours truly (Renny Doyle) will address many of the issues important in the early stages of your auto detailing business start-up.

Well before you decide on a mobile or fixed operation, several important steps should be taken. Below you will find helpful information provided from three individuals with over 75 years of detail business experience collectively.

Over the past twenty-five years I have evaluated well over three hundred business start-ups, both as a professional with Oldcastle Company where I was Director of Business Development and within my own business ventures. My wife and I are active not only in the detail industry but have business ventures within a number of industries and recently closed the successful sale of one of our business. No matter how basic or complex one of our businesses may be, we are both firm believers in mentors. I utilize mentors within every aspect of our businesses and my personal life. This is important, run what you know thus far about the detailing industry by this person or persons and ask for their involvement. For me I had several past business partners and customers that had the type of success that I was looking to achieve. I have about four mentors and have found that receiving mixtures of input usually assist me at arriving at the best conclusion.

When starting a new business, the primary concern for me is profit. Will that business thrive within the desired market? Bud Abraham adds, �What you have to first do is consider who your market is. Will it be dealers, fleets or the general public?�

When we evaluate a new market we are very concerned with disposable cash, which in most cases will be directly related to income. Detailing is a luxury service, not a necessity. People must have their vehicle�s oil changed, tires replaced, windshields replaced but they do not view detailing as a must�in most cases! Why do I say most cases�in our locations we educate our customers to the importance of detailing and have systems in place to remind clients it�s time to detail again�our clients began to hate their vehicles to be dirty. Over the course of 2-3 years we can change customers habits with proper actions but nevertheless, detailing remains to be an option�not a necessity and it�s your job to locate those within your market that will be trained to keep their vehicles clean.

Are all markets created equal? That is a very easy answer�no! In some of the markets we are in, our margins (profits) are 25% greater than others. This is due to a number of reasons, acceptable levels we can charge for our services and cost of labor. What will your market bare?

Knowing what is expected in the early stages is a must. Look to federal, state, county and city authorities for input. Once again Bud Abraham shares with us the environmental issues as he sees them and with nearly forty years within the industry, he is a man in the know. � Detailers traditionally do not want to know these regulations because the cost to adhere to the laws of the land are too expensive for most undercapitalized detail operations. The laws do not vary; the clean water act is the same for all states and municipalities. The unfortunate thing is that local governments are not consistent in their enforcement and it gives FALSE signals to the detailers that that it is OK to violate the law. It is not and when you get caught, it is like getting caught with your pants down.�

While many concentrate on sales within the business, most business people look at the bottom dollar. If your sales support the business early on but not you�re personal needs, maybe staying within your current career for a period may be a viable option. I see so many young entrepreneurs desiring to go full time into their venture yet they have no conception of what sales and profit volumes will be needed to sustain both the business and their person financial needs. I like to work reverse mathematics. I take the needs of the company, the needs for my personal finances and add these totals together. If you�re realistic that number will illustrate what your monthly total volume will need to be.

Let�s assume you are opening a fixed location and you have the needed capital to lease, tool and outfit your business but you need to know what kind of sales volume you are going to need, here is how I figure that total. Please note this is simply a sample and does not constitute any real world financial situations.

• My personal monthly financial need - $5,000.00
• Building Lease - $1,000.00
• Utilities - $150.00
• Common area charges for the building - $100.00
• Insurance (Building & Liability) - $200.00
• Estimated Product Cost $400.00
• Equipment upkeep - $100.00
• Basic monthly expenditures = $6,950.00

Let�s assume your average invoice charge is $150.00. $6,950.00 divided by $150.00 equals a minimum of 47 details a month or over eleven details a week to simply meet the minimal needs of your business and yourself. In addition you will have taxes, pay roll charges, workers comp, marketing expenses, phone charges and unforeseen expenses to add to those needs and the above list is simply a sampling of cost. You can see how quickly your hard earned money can be eaten up and why looking at realistic numbers is so very important.

�When we were looking at the financial side of the business, we know what level we would need to perform within short term, mid-term and long term time periods� adds Andy Milligan. �We did not base our price on our competitors prices, we had our own financial requirements for our proposed business�obviously we entered the business and we did so with our own pricing requirements that allowed us to cover expenses while making a profit� said Milligan.

Worry about you�not your competition. Within the local markets we serve, the best thing that can happen is our competition changing their prices�if they lower their price, our team is viewed as a better detailer�if they raise their prices�well it allows me to increase my price which in turn provides for higher profits and higher wages for our staff.

The founder of Mobileworks, Dan Ekenberg has some solid input when it comes to comp shopping. �Part of any business marketing plan should include Comp. Shops (Competitive Shopping).
I first learned the benefits of Comp Shops when I was a manager with a major retailer. As a manager I was required to do Comp. While the specific objective of the shop would vary from week to week the goal was the same, to study the competition and to learn from them�.

• How did they advertise?
• How did they present their products?
• What were their prices?
• How was their service?

I compiled the information for each of the competitors and evaluated how my company may be able to implement ideas or modify the way we were operating to maximize efficiency and profits.

I carried this practice with me to my detailing business as well. While it may not be as easy to �visit� every competitor I can still make phone calls. How do they answer the phone? Are they professional? Are they able to answer my questions? Did they ask for the sale? Did they return phone calls? Some may find it uncomfortable making these calls but you need to know what your competitors are doing. Don�t make the mistake of only looking for what they are doing wrong but what are they doing right! If you visit their shop, is it clean? Are they prompt in greeting you? How are they dressed? Are their prices posted? Are they busy?
Today you can research many competitors via the internet. Having said that, be sure your site is professional, informative and easy to navigate. Remember when you answer your phone it may very well be a competitor!!�

Dan�s points are critical in my opinion and something we continually do throughout the year within our locations. We have a list we have developed with the key points we look at within our competition.

1. How are they operating�mobile�fixed or both?
2. Pricing structure?
3. Environmental compliant?
4. How long in business?
5. How busy are they?
6. Market share within your market place?
7. What is your overall perception of that business?
8. What marketing efforts are they utilizing?
9. How effective is their sales effort?
10. Did they attempt to close the sale?
11. Try and locate some of their customers or better yet�become one of their customers. Many times when we enter a new market, we have several vehicles detailed to get a better understanding of whom we are dealing with competition wise. This allows us to see first hand the level of quality and customer service.
12. We then tally how many detailers are within the market, how many vehicles are licensed and what type of vehicles and the habits of consumers within the market. If you see many dirty cars running around town, that does not always mean opportunity, it may be a simple fact of that market and your efforts may not bare fruit.

Bud Abraham offers another viewpoint when it comes to your competitive shopping. �Personally I do not worry about the competition unless they are really good. In my opinion very few detail shops are worth worrying about if I know I am the best and offer the best service, that is all I would be concerned about, Abraham offers. �Certainly you might want to know about how many detail business there are in your area and what kind of service they provide. This only to support your confidence in what you are doing�, Bud explains.

When I was young, I always dreamed of becoming a Sheriff�s Deputy in the mountain communities near where I grew up in Southern California. In 1990, I joined the San Bernardino County Sheriff�s Department and was accepted within the Mountain Rescue Team. While I had used a map and compass during my flight lessons as a teen�using a map and compass within rough terrain or at night was a whole new story. I quickly realized if I was going to keep myself safe and not lost when trying to locate the lost�I had better master the use of a compass and map. A business plan to a business is much the same that a map and compass is to a Search & Rescue Team Member or a pilot; a plan is the eyes and ears of a business and a must! As a business plan is the eyes and ears, the marketing of your business will be the lungs of your business and without lungs we cannot breath life into our business. Add in your sales efforts which I categorize as the heart of your business�remove the heart and your entire system or business in this case will fail�you need all of these items wrapped up into your business plan.

I asked Bud Abraham, what should a business plan include? �Nothing unique, just a good solid business plan that is specific enough to relate to the detail business and not be some cookie cutter plan off the internet or from a local book store. What is important for lenders and investors is revenue projections. The problem with most detailers is they think to small. You have to think big when you ask for money and you have to justify the request with excellent revenue projections. Banks and investors are interested in big loans and big returns. An investor is not investing in your detail business to help you, they want a 15%- 20% return on their investment�.

Within my business plan I include not only the design of the organization, but the operations of the business, the revenue projections, the marketing plan and the sales plan. I identify whom, where and how�who are the company�s desired customers? Where these prospects within the localized market and how will we gain their business? Will we best reach this level of customer with direct mail, cross marketing with other service providers, Newspaper ads or numerous other sources that are nearly endless. Research and describe which marketing media will reach these desired customers.

I asked Mr. Abraham his thoughts on the marketing and sales plans and he added these comments. �Detailers need to spend more time understanding what this means and how to develop a marketing plan than which wax or compound to use. The marketing plan is your road map to success. Without it you are a ship or boat without a rudder floating aimlessly on the sea of mediocrity and ultimate failure. You cannot have someone else do the marketing plan unless you are a part of it and understand what it means to you and your success in business. Which means you have to know how to use it. An extractor is no good to a detailer who does not know how to use it�so too a marketing plan.� I then asked Bud to share his line of thinking when it comes to a sales plan within a business plan. �That again is part of the business plan and relates to revenue projections. You need to know what it will cost you to run your business and just as important, where this money is going to come from. That is what your plan helps you to identify where the business comes from and how much�.

When I sit down to start a new Attention To Details location or a new business, I lay out the avenues I will use for marketing. I identify other marketing sources and every possible way we can share our services with potential customers that we call suspects. That can be anything from a yellow page ad to a flyer we leave at a body shop. We then have a sales system in place, when the calls come in we have a very direct way we discuss business with prospective customers. We have a series of questions that we ask and a close that has over a 90% capture rate which means that over 90% of the calls we get for detailing turn into an actual customer�a sales plan is very important!

One of the most difficult tasks within a start-up will be accurate projections. We use several sources but rely on years of operating businesses and recognizing resourceful markets simply by traits they hold in common with markets we already fully understand. We turn to real estate values, gross income per household and census data. First year projections are the most difficult, often evaluating our competition can assist us within our projections or looking at like markets that we have contacts within. The same tools are available to all, you simply need to find them!

I asked Bud to respond to the projection question�what and how do you do a projection. Bud provides us with a simple answer. �Projecting is the skill of knowing how much business you are going to get each month. Some months will be good, some bad and some mediocre. Therefore you need to prepare for the good months as well as the bad months. You need to have sufficient space and people to handle the potential or you revenue will suffer.�

As Bud mentioned earlier, detailer's in general dream small. I am at odds with many within the industry on this subject. Many feel that a small investment is all that is needed yet it�s those that are undercapitalized that have captured the largest failure rate. Your needed funding will depend on many aspects of your business; are you going mobile or fixed, are you using trailers or vans, will your site need much tenant improvement (TI) and what size operation are you starting. You need to take every possible expense into consideration; plumbers, electricians and signage can get very expensive and adding your insurance and first order of products to the mix, not to mention equipment�the cost can and will soar. Be realistic in your projections and if do not know the answer; seek guidance from someone in the know. While many visiting forums and offering assistance mean well, what do you know of their success? When taking advice make sure the source is deserving of providing you with guidance and successful within the area you seek advice.

Many times I see people �leaping� into a new location with very little pre-thought. Leasing a building can be a very serious action and is not a cheap venture. Some that I train desire location. While location is important it may not be a major concern and you could save money by not having a visible site. Those performing wholesale work should not be as concerned about location as long as you are near dealerships. If you intend to be a retail operation, the old saying location�location�location will many times apply�but not always. You need to apply math to the lease and make certain the expense will pencil out.

I am a firm believer in training in one form or another. You have two viable choices when it comes to training and a third that is simply small business suicide.

• On The Job Training � One sure way to gain knowledge, skills and confidence is to go to work for a quantified detail organization. Learn the needed skills while you earn and your chance of true success once you start your own business will greatly improve.
• Real World Professional Training � The reason I say �real world� is simply due to the fact that there are many training options available for those looking to gain knowledge but I personally feel few offer training that adequately prepares most for success within their start-ups. Pick your training carefully and make certain the training is simply not an infomercial for the organizations own private label products and equipment, remember the reason you are investing in training is for skills, the product side of the business is easy when you have the needed skills so base your training decisions on the skill level of the training. If you�re not spending 90% plus of your time actually doing the work I feel this is not training, it�s an introduction at best. You must ask yourself�do I desire to gain a limited introduction or do I desire to gain knowledge based skills? I am a detailer that has over 10,000 details under my belt ranging from everyday family vehicles to exotic yachts, aircraft and Air Force One�take it from me, take your skill based education serious because I watch more detail entrepreneurs fail simply due to lack of experience than any other reason and some of these so called schools are teaching to some extent but I am certain not many are teaching factual detailing skills that allow the average student to prosper. In my mind there are four true trainers�note I did not say schools I said TRAINERS! Choose your trainer carefully.
• I learn as I go � You think so�I can tell you this, it can be done but the failure rate is 99.99%. I simply do not understand why someone would desire to invest within a business, even if it�s a small investment and not know what he or she are doing? Again I have those that feel �I am to hard on poor souls that are simply trying to get ahead�. No I am being realistic and my projections are 100% on target�enter this industry knowing very little and your chances of failure are overwhelmingly towards failure. I have heard it all; the most common being that I have detailed my own cars and friends cars for years and everyone rants and raves on how good I am. Once you start charging professional rates watch how quickly you start hearing complaints. Again this is the avenue I call �small business suicide� or �ignorance on fire�. Many within the industry state they have invested very little yet have had success. To these individuals I would challenge their definition of success. I have currently have four shops I own and another three affiliate locations so I know a thing or two about launching a detail business and its much more involved than many tout.

This is a huge concern for me as I see so many desiring to be business owners with little experience. Lack of experience in itself is not bad, but lack experience to know when you need help is what sinks any desiring to become entrepreneurs. There are several sources for business training; your local Junior College can be a great course along with a host of books and public groups. Knowledge means greater chance of success.

I have critics of this next statement but I strongly feel that not everyone is cut out to be a detailer (at least a good detailer) and to the next level no everyone is meant to be a successful entrepreneur. This does not mean that these people will not succeed; you just need to be honest with yourself on where your weak points lie and take action on those issues. Being truthful to you and your abilities or lack of experience is a must for all of us that desire to be successful within our own businesses. Many times entrepreneurs sell themselves on just about anything they get excited about. Make certain you�re true to yourself and your true abilities or capabilities are understood from within.

I enter this topic line in protest. The products they will use consume so many new detailers. That is what pros like myself can teach you. If your going to a respected training provider, the correct product usage will be part of that training�as Bud indicated earlier�spend more time gaining skills and knowledge which will prove to be much more challenging than product usage.

Within this session we have introduced you to the basics. Starting a business is an in depth series of actions that takes courage, knowledge, skills and careful planning. Once again I thank Bud, Andy and Dan for their input.
The next session within this series will cover the positive facts of establishing a mobile detailing business. I am excited to bring this series to our industry and I do so with the full intentions of making a better industry for all of us�once again Happy Detailing and God Bless.

This series has been developed to induce advance thinking when it comes to the launching or the expansion of your auto detailing business. Attention To Details along with Mobileworks thanks you for visiting this session.

Future sessions on the topic of mobile vs. fixed location:

• Effective First Steps That True Business People Utilize
• Positive Facts About Mobile Auto Detailing Operations
• Positive Facts About Fixed Auto Detailing Locations
• Possible Drawbacks Within Mobile Auto Detailing Operations
• Possible Drawbacks Within Fixed Auto Detailing Locations
• A Final Conclusion and Overview of The Mobile Vs. Fixed detailing Operation Series

If you would like to express your input within future sessions on this topic, please share your input with me. While I can�t guarantee I will use your information, I would enjoy hearing your knowledge-based thoughts. Please email me at admin@detailingsuccess.com.
I would like to thank Andy, Bud, Jim and Matt for taking part within this session.