Want to start a car valeting business, unsure of how to do it.

paddyrg

I don't know if the OP is still about, but this does sound like an area where one could start with a hundred quid for a car vac and some sponges and build up. Actually allowing for insurances, maybe a few hundred, but I don't see why a door-knock campaign wouldn't work. Something like...

"Hello, I'm trying to get started in a valeting business and wondered if you would like your car done for £x which is already better than at <local valet place> as I want to build up? I worked at <wherever> for x years, so don't worry, I know exactly what I'm doing, and here's a copy of my insurance! And you only need to pay me if you're satisfied with the result, how fair is that?"

With an opener like that, it will be hard to turn down if the householder is the kind that pays for a valet, and when they are pleased with the job, ask if they would be so kind as to pass your cards onto local friends with a recommendation...

Then once you hit a critical mass of good recommendations, ask people if they can get you a call/meeting with the building services people at their work? Then you can get a van, build upto it.

s_b

Seeing as Andi W already knows the business hes proposing to start off on his own in, i think it fair to say he will have an idea what kind of business he might find and he will already know how much he needs to break even each week to keep the bailiffs at the door.
So whilst i agree in principle a business plan is a good idea, i remember when i first decided to go self employed and everyone was telling me i needed this that and the other and see a financial advisor or business link to help me start up and draw a business plan, i actually realised that by going out and getting work that if i had an excess of money in my pocket at the end of the week then i was successful.
Lets be honest he wants to be a valeter and no business plan in the world can do a projectory of how much he can take in the next fiscal year, as unless he can as someone rightly said door knock and get x amount of bookings, or get a lucrative contract at a local car dealership then a business plan that works out he will be a millionaire this time next year is just pie in the sky and trust me on this ive known many people over the years who have kidded themselves that they are indeed going to be rich beyond their greatest dreams soon only to come back to earth with a bump because they didnt even have the self motivation to go out and get the work.
So to sum up yes work out how much you need to survive, make a small profit and make it worthwhile but dont do a business plan to please people who aint gonna help you anyway.

So i say to AndiW again if you think you can make a go of it and can get the tools together go for it.

Savvy_Sue

s_b wrote: »

Seeing as Andi W already knows the business hes proposing to start off on his own in, i think it fair to say he will have an idea what kind of business he might find and he will already know how much he needs to break even each week to keep the bailiffs at the door.

True enough, but he also said (my emphasis):

AndiW wrote: »

I Want to write up a business plan but I don't know what expenses a small business has as I am completely new to the whole thing. I know that I don't have to be vat registered straight away but I want to fit that in, also don't know how tax works or any other expenses. Is there anywhere I can find this all out?

And I think the things he's missing are the kinds of things you'd 'fill in the blanks' on a template business plan.

And the very first thing he said was:

[QUOTE=AndiW;44326304I_have_experience_in_valeting_and_enjoyed_the_work_but_didn't receive much money for it as i was an employee, but I feel I could as a business owner.[/QUOTE]Now, it could be that his employer was a particularly hard-nosed businessman who was raking it in and living the high life while paying his staff minimum wage and avoiding as many responsibilities as possible. Equally, it could be that his employer was doing everything as efficiently as possible and barely making a profit while working a 240 hour week (I exaggerate, but you get the point.)

How does Andi work out which it would be for him? He either takes the 'suck it and see' approach recommended by s b, which could work, or he follows up on his enquiry here, reads the Businesslink site, and does a business plan ...

But given that you'd be a bit rash to embark on this without insurance in place, and given that you'll almost certainly have to pay for a year's worth up front, and given that you'll need at least a vacuum cleaner and a bucket and sponge, it seems to me that it would be worth working out how many cars you'd need to wash at various prices to a) cover all those costs and b) pay yourself a wage. Which looks a bit like a business plan to me ... perhaps not as comprehensive as you'd need to take to a bank, but nevertheless a business plan.

I am also pretty certain he would need licences for disposal of waste water, and possibly to pay commercial rates for the water he's taking out with him. Have a look at this thread.

Russe11

bengalknights wrote: »

Interesting id never thought car valeting would have more to it!

I think you have to have a license as a business to be getting rid of water in the surface water infrastucture.

Van(something well valeted and shiny, maybe sign written for advertising), compressor, jetwash, brushes, cloths, chemicals/products, buckets, insurance, vacum(wet/dry).

Whats your target commercial or private?

What are the competators or the eastern european gangs that seem to be taken over local garages and bits of waste land. Men jet washing and the women doing the polishing and hoovering. They seem to charge£6-40.

I know of one semi retired professional valeter round here, targets private high end customers with anything from classic cars to speed boats.

Other end is cleaning commercial vechicle like taxi's etc (cleaning sick out of apolstary etc)

Russe11

property.advert wrote: »

Forget VAT. Immediately your costs go up 20% and as most of your inputs will be labour, you have little inward VAT to offset against it. If you get near those levels, you will have to be more creative an by then you'll probably be employing people so you may think about the way you set up their contracts and whether they are employees or self employed quasi franchisees. That is for the future though.

But first, before anything, work out who are your target customers. No point trying to sell a £100 valet to scumbags on a council estate is there ?

Won't matter if working for commercial customers as they will be VAT registered also, but will be more paper work.

Depends where the council estate is, tend to get lots of cash rich households on some council estates, quite a few round here full of high end luxery cars. Very easy to canvass for work as plenty of doors close together. Never write off a area to promote to, from past experience I have the council estates very lucrative as you get lots of word of mouth business, when your doing the work more people can see what you doing also, where is you van parked etc, can make all the difference. Opposed to being stuck up some "posh detached" houses drive doing a one off job where the don't have any neighbours, no passive marketing, no word of mouth occuring because your client is spending 50% of their time abroad or at work in the city.

I'd say a council estate is the best place to start opposed to a new build estate with overleveraged homeowners that asr cash poor laden with debt, struggling to pay the car finance let alone have it valeted.