New business

Hey guys, I am new to the website and have already found a ton of great information and am excited to learn more and share my knowlede. I am a twenty year old college student who just started a mobile detailing business with my roommate, our website is [www.pristinemobiledetailing.com] I have like a million questions to ask but will try not to repeat recently asked questions. We just got into the business with a lot of the equipment we used for our personal use and from a boat detailing business we had from before. We purchased a hot-water extractor at $700, which was by far our largest expense so far. Just getting started do you think its imperative I make my vehicle into a company vehicle and get a generator and a tank? Is it unprofessional to use the customer's water and electricity? Remember I am a college student and money is scarce. What do you all do for marketing? I figure this is mainly a word of mouth business and a good reputation will bring more customers. We have tried putting flyers in mailboxes, posting on craigslist, and making road signs because these are the cheapest forms of advertisement. How can I really get my business started without spending thousands on advertising? I appreciate your responses, let me know what you think of our website.

Jason
PristineDetail@aol.com
[www.pristinemobiledetailing.com]

Jason-
Welcome aboard ! Use the control center feature of the forum to compress the thread list so you can scroll down to the recent one entitled " Marketing ". You'll find a compilation I did of everyone else's advice along with a delightful flame war between Bud and me. Read that thread and you'll understand my reluctance to repeat what it says here.
If you read the archives and highlight/save the meat of the threads, you'll find this to be the best source of solid info for detailers on the Web. Let us know what you think of the " Marketing " thread.
Doug
P.S. Also, you can try the search feature for other topics.

Jason-
You say you've put flyers in mail boxes. It is illegal to do that. The Postal Service can take action against you including charging you for the postage. You can check with the local Post Office.
Since you are in College, why not try to get a press-release story into your college newspaper? It couldn't hurt because it is free.
Doug

Most mailboxes around here have slots for flyers that we put them in or we nestled them in the flags. I tried the school newspaper and got a run-around from them. We are thinking of trying the press release deal. At first we thought that maybe offering our services to editors and just having them do a write up on the quality of our work, but my writing friend quickly informed me that bribery is a commandment that most writers will never succumb to, even though I didn't really consider it bribery. I suppose we could just try sending them a write-up of our business and why they should write a story on us and see if that works. I appreciate all your inputs.

Good to hear you did the mailbox flyers legally ! Here's an idea based on Gary Kouba's methods :
You can ask about teaching an adult education seminar on detailing for do-it-yourselfers. Once people see what is involved, they may call you instead of tackling the job.
Doug

Jason-
A guy on another forum said he puts signs up in the front yards of his customers ( with their permission ). That's one more idea to consider.
Doug

I have been "playing" with the idea of starting a Auto Detailing business, but I am concerned about liability. What if some customer "claims" you scratched or damaged his car....and you didn't.
What kind of experiences have you had and what suggestions do you have?

Always,Always,Always go over the vehicle with a new customer before you touch it and bring any blemishes to there attention. And if youre really worried about it get them to sign off on it. You can even get the little forms with car diagram on them. No better advertising than word of mouth.

Philip
Manager of detail Depmnt, Hadwin White Buick, GMC
Myrtle Beach, SC
E-mail: philipwsuggs@hotmail.com

Ask your insurer how to properly process damage claims.

Print up a form for employees to fill out and turn in every time they damage a car. That way, the fact that nobody submitted a form is evidence that no damage was done by your employees.

Doug