How to Start a Car Detailing Business (and Make $29K/Month) Pt. 2

If you haven't seen Part 1, watch it here ►
• How to Start a Car Det...
How much can you make with a car detailing business? Attention 2 Detail earns an average revenue of $350K/year, and today we’re talking to the owner to find out how to build a 6-figure mobile detailing business.
When he started Attention 2 Detail in 1993, Notto Jensen chose a mobile business model as a cost-saving alternative to a brick-and-mortar location. This turned out to be exactly what busy customers needed, and filling a need for mobile car detailing services helped him build a company with potential for long-term growth and success.
Car detailing is an excellent business venture for aspiring entrepreneurs because it doesn’t require any specialized training and is a service with consistently high demand.
Today, we’ll outline the steps for how to start a car detailing business from home, including writing a carwash business plan, sourcing and buying equipment, and what expenses you should plan for when opening and running mobile car wash businesses.
One thing successful auto detailing businesses share is high customer satisfaction. In this interview, we take a first-hand look at Attention 2 Detail’s work process and how they consistently meet or exceed customer expectations.
Of course, before you can provide good customer service you need to bring in customers. We’ll find out which advertising strategies have been successful for Notto and how those have shifted since he first started the business.
Anyone considering an auto detailing business will definitely want to watch this two-part interview. If you want to find out more about Attention 2 Detail you can check out their website, attention2detail.biz.
Resources:
www.upflip.com/academy - Launch and scale your business with our expert-led Academy
www.upflip.com/equipment-list... Premier Equipment List
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:41 What separates you from the competition?
1:40 Profit Growth
2:50 Repeat Car Detailing Customers
3:43 Blitz Questions
5:32 Equipment Overview and Costs
7:27 Car Detailing Industry Secrets, Hacks, Tips and Tricks
8:43 Transportation Costs
9:21 Car Detailing Discount and Company Information
9:58 Parting Words of Wisdom and Advice
10:29 Outro

[@UpFlip]

Check out UpFlip programs taught by world-class entrepreneurs: www.upflip.com/academy

[@AustinMathias]

Is the website link correct?

[@UpFlip]

@@AustinMathias Yes.

[@cryptocurrenc3331]

Do you need insurance?

[@AustinMathias]

@@cryptocurrenc3331 Yes

[@xaby996]

This guy is doing it right. Not jaded at all. Totally enjoying the service business. I see some home cleaners totally jaded and depressed. Love the positivity!

[@UpFlip]

Yes!

[@AustinMathias]

He's awesome. And great interviewer as well!

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for sharing Austin!

[@projectreels4638]

Loved the addition of the random questions honestly

[@scr3wblu313]

They been that for a min

[@mr.h.8363]

Part 2 didn't disappoint! EXCELLENT!

[@nottojensen1246]

One of my favorite parts..... 8:14 when the pressure washer heads off-screen on its own LOL

[@shane2742]

I was just coming to leave this comment lol

[@nottojensen1246]

@@shane2742 It kind of freaked me out:)

[@UpFlip]

That was good.

[@kirollosedward1951]

How did you advertise your business

[@Thisisdavidsmind]

Nothing gets past us

[@dbott8578]

What a great story! Congratulations on your business and your clients are lucky to have you!

[@UpFlip]

We agree!

[@lanespeck5473]

i really like that he can answer the questions quick and easy!

[@UpFlip]

Very smart and knowledgeable business owner.

[@gregyates7383]

My son is considering starting this type of business. Thanks for sharing.

[@matthewblunderbuss4545]

I love cars and I’m a custodian for my main job. Might start doing family members cars to build a skill base and try this out for a side business.

[@UpFlip]

Go for it! We have a great blogs on how to start a detailing business as well. Keep us posted on how it goes. Family and friends is great place to start testing out a business idea.

[@areasonablethought610]

I'm here to tell you that it's a great business. My love for cars is what motivates me more than the money.

[@ezclean7022]

HEYY DID YOU DO IT?

[@businesspage7329]

Great video and what a good dude. I might start my own car detailing business.

[@Leostunzz]

My new favorite KZbin channel

[@UpFlip]

Thank you for the support Leo! Make sure to subscribe for more great content coming soon!

[@Leostunzz]

@@UpFlip subscribed and turned post notifications on 🔊

[@alozano793]

Like like like x1000. Thank you for the valuable input.

[@taylorthompson3966]

He said MJ, that’s supreme confidence right there !!!! 😳

[@naomiscollectionofvideos4231]

I love this idea!!

[@UpFlip]

We do too!

[@brianramirez3000]

Amazing vid bro God Bless

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for watching!

[@staycompassionate3811]

Such a Great host!

[@UpFlip]

Yes!

[@frostshepherd6303]

Your next episode should be on a tire shop

[@danieli708]

I did some renovation work for a small one bay shop WITHOUT a lift, owned by a 23yrs old. Just used car jacks, like in Nascar. All he did was swap tires from summer/winter, patch tire that is punctured and install/remove tire from rim. Business was for 2yrs and BOOMING, very happy returning clients. The owner (23yrs old), told me he learned ALL from youtube and bought used, but good equipment from larger tire shoops. He never worked in a tire shop. Got a great 3yr rental agreement on the shop

[@hassanalinoo]

@@danieli708 Wow what a fantastic idea. Something I should definitely consider doing.

[@UpFlip]

We will add this to the content development list!

[@mastervsolo2373]

In the city where people don't have their own driveway and park on the main road not in front of their house you will definitely need a tank

[@UpFlip]

Very good point MasterV.

[@alfredomendoza6246]

I'm about to start up. I was thinking the same thing. Thankfully my van will have a spotless water system and some! Thanks for the content.

[@LukasNachtigall]

Nice videos about detailing! I’m curious, how do they handle people’s complaints about the damage, that was done by the detailing worker? For instance, in this video, the guy when he’s vacuuming the trunk, pulls the hose back and forth, so there must be some damage to the edge. How do you handle that? Insurance? Damage to the Bentley or Rolls must be expensive. And what if some leather cleaner goes wrong and will damage seats? Thanks!

[@UpFlip]

Most every complaint can be handled by the detailer by just taking extra time and care to fix whatever the car detailing customer worry is.

[@nottojensen1246]

There was no damage at all. In 29 years we’ve had 5 damage complaints. The hose plastic is softer than the plastic molding. These vehicles are daily drivers - as are 99% of the vehicles we detail. There is visible wear and tear and aging on these vehicles and our clients are extremely happy at the improvement our processes produce. Read our Google reviews and you’ll see:)

[@dossegundos7145]

Yup, and those cars are not going to be in museums, they are daily drivers. It takes Metal to do noticeable damage.

[@Joestacemazjojo]

Just some of the specific cleaners of tools used was a great value he gave that I haven’t seen in many other similar videos. So thanks for that. I rent a great property with a lot of space and a large garage so I thought this might be a good side hustle for me. Then I thought about the gravel driveway I have and that kinda deterred me from this. Any thoughts or ideas there? I know some people would prefer you to come to their house to do the job? My other question would be insurance, ruining someone’s vehicle somehow or even their property if that’s where you work?

[@UpFlip]

Thank for watching Joe. You still have the option to start a detailing business if this is of interest to you. Would you consider a mobile detailing business, renting a space for the business? Insurance is definitely required to protect from mishaps. Have you checked out the mobile detailing business video on the channel?

[@scr3wblu313]

Awesome videos

[@UpFlip]

Glad you like them!

[@DrunkenRhinoceros]

$29,000 a month is roughly $1000 a day. How many cars a day get detailed and what does he charge customers vs paying employees?

[@UpFlip]

We will try to gather this information in an upcoming mobile car detailing shoot Justin!

[@94bkf]

He said 4-5 cars a day is good, so I am guessing their average job is in the $250-400 range

[@stojo33]

He said he has multiple vans.

[@beast11135]

I was thinking of starting a mobile detailing business In Phoenix. And was deciding between having my own water at least but I think I'm going the route where I plug In to the clients power and water. I'm trying out new products this summer on my own brand new car to make sure I get It right for customers. I want to leave my future customers 100% satisfied. I'm more and more excited after watching more and more videos about detailing.

[@jinjoz42]

I'd check out Detail Geek and Apex Auto Detailing, they have some really great videos. Also using the clients water and power is a great route as long as you mention it to them when you make the appointment. We have done it from the beginning and I've run into only 1 person who had a problem with it, and in the end they still had use detail their car

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for watching. There is some great info in the comments and we have lots of info on our blogs as well!

[@CarlosGuzman-es2ut]

Same thought right here live in Phoenix trying to make some extra cash but damn it's so hot here and the water is so hard that it's very unencouraging to even start up.

[@pauljamieson803]

Is the $$ he states he makes in Gross or Net figures? If Gross, what would be his Net monthly income (approx)? What does he do in the wintertime? does he have a garage to clean the cars in? You see a lot of questionable businesses on youtube stating higher than normal income #s as marketing gimmicks. I am hoping that this channel does not inflate numbers just for more clicks?! I do love what you guys are doing, as it gives watchers ideas for businesses... pls keep up the good work!

[@jinjoz42]

In terms of Gross and Net I'm not 100 percent sure so I'll ask and get back to you. In terms of Winter time we have a couple options. First, we mainly focus on interiors on the winter as those still need to be done. Second, we do carry canopies as some people still want to get their cars treated throughout the winter. As long as it's not raining to hard we can pull it off. Third, we luckily live and work in higher income areas so most of our customers have larger and empty garages that we can work out of. It does slow down in the winter, some winters are a little harder than others, but we make it through

[@pauljamieson803]

@@jinjoz42 - Ok thx

[@UpFlip]

We always say the numbers we are given by the owners, if they inflate them, we have no way of verifying the numbers.

[@pauljamieson803]

@@UpFlip fair enough! In the future it would be cool if you could state if the numbers were Gross or Net cost/income .. thx

[@dezcanso1540]

@@jinjoz42 how much do the employees get paid oer car/hour?

[@hassanalinoo]

How do they market themselves and brand themselves.

[@UpFlip]

Local advertising, social media, word of mouth, cold outreach etc.

[@barrycook8116]

Don’t use the absorber. At least up grade your polishers to a Rupes or something. Porter cable is good but takes alot longer to get the job done.

[@UpFlip]

We appreciate that Barry! 😀How long have you been in the industry?

[@andyg5348]

Do you use your own water or does the costumer let you use their own water line ?

[@UpFlip]

They use the customers water source Andy.

[@tristanlanier5641]

I hope they nicknamed that pressure watcher "Mike Wazowski" lol

[@Reddylion]

Interesting

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for the support and watching!

[@ezclean7022]

do you tell them on the phone hey we dont bring our own water or power???? is that ok

[@kirollosedward1951]

How does he advertise it?

[@UpFlip]

Mostly word of mouth. They have been in business a very long time.

[@vivdoolan6846]

Hes missing a trick, he should put those customers on a subscription !!

[@AdrianAlexander93]

Right

[@UpFlip]

True.

[@Becauseimme]

Big Luther!

[@worldwideearn]

Love your show,but why areyou featuring only that kind of ventures? You just started publishing cleaning or cooking...there's so much more different businesses out there

[@UpFlip]

We will be offering a wide variety of business videos and release new ones every week Milan. Have you seen any of the new Shark Tank business videos yet?

[@chadlerch73]

Right...

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for watching Chad!

[@sikos_2301]

Is this business nature friendly/ecological since you use a lot of chemicals? In a lot of EU countries washing cars on a street is not allowed. Chemicals and contaminated water needs to be separated from drain system.

[@atrejo389]

Nope. In the USA you can use any chemicals

[@jinjoz42]

There are some states where you do need to reclaim your water. Basically you have to wash the car on top of a tarp with the edges all folded up and than suck up the water. We luckily don't love in a state where that is required. We also use a very eco friendly car soap as that is really the only 'dirty' water that will go on the drain

[@UpFlip]

There are plenty of eco-friendly products in the car detailing and washing industry making it easy to run a "green" environment friendly focused business.

[@christopherjaimes8743]

Old school detailing

[@UpFlip]

True.

[@jeffdorris5321]

Hit the like 👍

[@UpFlip]

Yes!

[@jjvs9]

Right ?

[@streetrunner8273]

Where is he getting his water and electricity from?

[@tonychavez7398]

Probably the clients house. That's how I first started detailing.

[@jinjoz42]

We do use the clients water and electricity. We establish that when the appointment is made and we've been doing that since the beginning. In all those years I only had one client make a comment about it

[@VurdaiCleaningServices]

@@jinjoz42 horrible ive had many clients ask me if i carry spotless water cause they dont want hard water spots thats bad Paint damage knowledgeable clients know What's best for there vehicles not having spotless water is unprofessional in this buissness

[@jinjoz42]

@@VurdaiCleaningServices if your using well water or live in an area with heavy water than yes, it is best to provide your own water and filter it. Luckily where we are located we don't have that problem. For almost 30 years we have been using the customers water and Power and in that time I've had 1 client complain about it. 90 percent of my clients pull out there hose and give me an extension cord set out before I even get there. If using their water is 'unprofessional' than I guess the thousands and thousands of clients I personally have taken care of are all secretly hiding their anger about it. We also dry the car the immediately after washing and if it's hot day, we throw up a canopy and get it in the shade to prevent it from drying to quickly. All in all, we're seeing success with our methods and I have happy clients. I can go home happy.

[@UpFlip]

Client sourced with approval.

[@tonygonzalez305]

Was he serious when he said they don't break for lunch? Doesn't companies have to allow lunch breaks

[@CapitalWorksPro]

Depends on the state and how long the shift is, but he can choose not to personally take a lunch break. The U.S. has really crappy labor laws compared to the rest of the world.

[@tonygonzalez305]

@@CapitalWorksPro I'm in California and you gotta take lunch before the 5th hour

[@CapitalWorksPro]

@@tonygonzalez305 in Minnesota, you only get a lunch if you work 8 hours, and any lunch break over 20 minutes can be unpaid, but 20 or under must be paid.

[@UpFlip]

When running a business always remember to learn about and follow the labor laws in your jurisdiction which will vary widely as noted below.

[@VurdaiCleaningServices]

Only 1 horrible mistake i see is why use hard water instead of having your own tank with Spotless water using tap water damages the vehicles Paint causes Hard Water Spots witch becomes clearly visible on Paint witch then requires the customer more money inorder pay a Detailer to remove them , you said in your buissness perspective you found having your own Spotless Water was unecesary that so wrong in many ways as a " DETAILER" You know this yet still conduct your buissness this way and obviously the customers who hire you have no knowledge in this area so its a deep taking advantage type of wrong doing thing you have going on here but hey watever floats your boat

[@vrdubb0221]

I get what your saying and that would make total sense if he was doing just a wash but if your are polishing or waxing after the wash it won’t matter. Ppl aren’t gonna call this dude for just a wash. At least that’s how I look at it.

[@jinjoz42]

If your using well water or live in an area with hard water than yes that is a concern and having a filter on your water is needed. We fortunately don't have to deal with that as much where we are at. On hotter days we also have canopies that we will put up to keep the cars cool on the shade and make it safe to wash. Typically we also don't go to people's homes just to wash cars, it's not really worth the trip unless were making less than 200 dollars a car. But since the business has begun we have been using customers water and power and I nthe 13 years I've been doing it I have only rand into 1 customer who had a problem with it. This means we haven't seen the need to purchase a water tank or use loud generators. It's worked very well for us

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for bringing this up as it made for a great discussion in the comments with lots of great answers.

[@dezcanso1540]

Hard water doesn't matter as long as you don't let it sit in the sun and evaporate... lmao rookie

[@frederickricardo4560]

My portfolio of a million dollars was achieved by a wonderful broker I met in a conference in Berlin, since I met her I have had no need to worry about my stock investment , her commissions are also good , its good you find a broker who will manage your asset while you focus on other things in your life

[@jefferyfernando8759]

that is so true, please can you recommend a reputable broker I can work with?

[@frederickricardo4560]

@@jefferyfernando8759 yes but however i can leave contact detail openly , search on web using her name " Grace Emberlyn Santulli " thank you

[@katherinenorman8944]

@@frederickricardo4560 I heard of this calm woman in a conference in Australia , right now she is handling stock investment of 150k for my boss.. Great!

[@karengeorge7875]

She revived Oreck Corporation in 2018, she is smart , I love to work with her

[@jefferyfernando8759]

@@karengeorge7875 Thank you , Just checked her credentials , she is qualified

[@sarjitpatel551]

If you mack a video hotel biunesss..... Please mack this

[@UpFlip]

Okay.

[@CarlosPerez-qo7ne]

super content! any paid training available from attention2detail for those whod like to start a mobile car detailing sevice??😃

[@UpFlip]

What type of information are you looking for to start in particular Carlos. Have you started a business plan?

[@CarlosPerez-qo7ne]

@@UpFlip Hey Team! looking for mobile car wash training from the Attention2Detail company showcased in the video?? THANKS

[@davidrobinson8875]

@@UpFlip can you help with a business plan that can be used for a business loan and or licensing/ LLC?

[@4.5_shammer]

Man doesn’t feed his guys smh

[@UpFlip]

What do you mean? 🤔

[@4.5_shammer]

@@UpFlip did you watch the video and see what he said ?! Clearly didn’t

[@ryanchapman7845]

Very arrogant to say that a customer can't tell the difference between a 6 and 10 level detail.. so what your saying is your charging premium rates... and delivering 60% quality and just hoping that most customers wont notice the difference. That's very scammy.

[@UpFlip]

Hopefully the whole story shows that Notto is truly dedicated to providing a high quality service to his clients.

[@askuad]

Right

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for watching ASKUAD. Did you enjoy the video?