Building a Sustainable Detailing Business

How sustainable is your business?

Here at UK Detailing Academy, our whole raison d’etre (that’s French for “reason to be”, not a breakfast pastry) is to help our students to build sustainable businesses from the start.  That isn’t just from an ecological, regulatory, or economical point of view as some might assume, but rather a completely holistic foundation that can then be broadened as experience and business grows.

We haven’t sufficient space here to look deeply into each facet, so let’s go for an overview of some distinct points:

Pricing

Referring back to a previous blog, any sustainable business needs to make sure that it is charging enough. We have lost count of the number of times we’ve been asked “How much should I be charging” and the answer is always “as much as you need to”!

Your first task when setting, or revising, your pricing structure must be to calculate your own costs – both fixed and variable – add in a percentage for profit margin to give you a figure that can then be divided down into a weekly/ daily/ hourly rate. Then, and only then, should you turn your eyes outwards and make any adjustments to take into account local market research.

The other thing to keep in mind is also the subject of the recent blog about working for free.  If you want your business to succeed, you need to ensure that you are working to your client’s requirements, not to fulfil your own vanity – after all, time is money! so you either need to tailor your service to what your client wants or is prepared to pay for, or only take on clients who share your passion – which is a bit market limiting…

Marketing

Are you exposing yourself (not that way…) to the right people?

One simple exercise that we ask all Level 1 Students to do is to identify their ideal customer.  Of course, it is different for everybody and the key is to find that theoretical person that you would like to carry out your services for, and then try to build up a picture of them and what their interests might be.  Think about the area they live in because that will help you to pinpoint the demographic geography of your marketing.

Finding the peripheral interests of your potential clientele is key. To pick key hobbies such as “Detailing” or “Car Care Products” will most often end up with you showing off to other Detailers rather than targeting customers, and as much as a bit of verification from other professionals is great, it is not generally possible to pay your mortgage with “likes” and ❤️’s.

Health & Safety

Yes, yes. I know… But it would be remiss not to include it in an article about sustainability – you yourself need to be sustained. We have certain legal obligations as business owners, but to summarise the Health & Safety at Work (etc) Act, we all have a Duty of Care to ensure the Health, Safety and Welfare of our clients, workmates, employees, sub-contractors, members of the public AND OURSELVES!

This topic, in particular, could warrant a post all of its own – and maybe it will at some point – but for now ensuring awareness of your chemicals, methods, tasks and processes and how they can affect you are of utmost importance. Perhaps taking a bit of time to put together a Method Statement and set of Risk Assessments for a typical workflow will help you to organise your thoughts and ensure that you control any particular hazards sufficiently. Take a look at www.hse.gov.uk for some free examples.

Physical Health

Detailing, Valeting, Car Washing, Specialist Vehicle Decontamination and Perfecting – call it what you will, it is a physical activity. But what are you doing to manage your own body? Keeping up some activity outside of work is absolutely paramount for managing existing issues and helping with the prevention of new ones.

For example, there is a theme of back issues throughout our industry due to the bending and stretching involved.  A lot of lower back problems stem from what is referred to as your “posterior chain”. This is all of the musculature that runs from your heels to the back of your head and helps you to stand up straight. Maintaining strength and flexibility in these areas will help you perform your work more comfortably and it will also feel less tiring.

Without turning this into a fitness post, take a look at flexibility or posture work online. One thing that really helped me is regular stretching of my hamstrings and glutes because tightness in these muscles led to a build up of tension in my lower back. As someone of semi-average height, I find myself having to over-reach on a regular basis, particularly on larger vehicles, so sourcing a variety of steps and hop-up platforms also helps me to manage this.

Getting to the point where you need to take tablets just to be able to do your job is no fun, trust me!

Mental Health

We think it’s fantastic how the reduced stigma attached to mental health is breaking down previously stoic barriers. Speaking personally, as someone who had a real struggle with stress and anxiety for a number of years back in the early 2000s, I’d say this is one of the most dangerous aspects of our trade, and mental health problems are, sadly, quite common in our industry.

Recognising the signs is one thing, but putting prevention measures in place is better. Working with other people and bouncing ideas off each other is one of the best things I can recommend – but not everyone is in a position to do so, locked away on their own in their little dark caves, where the echoes can become deafening.

We’ve since covered this in much more depth – see our guide to managing your mental health as a detailer, which also signposts Ben, the automotive industry’s own free and confidential mental health charity.

Hopefully, you can see that there is much more to a detailing business than just washing cars, and if your interested in the practical side of how to start a detailing business, we’ve an article on that too. As a dedicated training organisation, we have a wide range of experience that comes together to provide you with the best methods to build and grow your own sustainable business.

Take a look at our courses to see how we can help you thrive. Once you’re ready, get in touch.