Start Up Of The Month - Auto Detailing

This is a business that anyone can get into for almost no money, and has terrific margins. The big challenge is doing the detail work well enough for customers not to complain, and finding someone to do it (if you won’t do it yourself).

All the equipment you need can be bought at AutoZone or another parts store for about $200. This is a business where it is all basically labor – and some degree of knowledge as to how to do it. But most of it is just horse sense. Be sure not to use chemicals that would damage the interior surfaces – you can’t afford that kind of litigation.

Is there demand? It looks like it. I myself have my cars detailed about every 6 months. And I’ve got three cars – so that’s 6 sales per year from me alone! Since it is all labor, you could always undercut everybody else’s price to get your foot in the door. Advertising could be direct mail, or a small listing in the yellow pages that goes to your cell phone.

If you can get it right, this is a business that you can easily expand (and contract) to meet the demand – you could theoretically even expand it into other cities. The downside, is the even if it doesn't work or you dislike the business, at least you have the stuff need to detail your own car – so you make up the entire investment in the first job for yourself.