They call it the American dream...ownership of a business but in reality...the American dream of becoming an entrepreneur is a worldwide dream and while the word entrepreneur may be said differently within different parts of the globe, the language of business start-ups and business ownership is pretty closely related no matter what country you reside within.
Most people that desire to start a business do so thinking that they will be leaving the career that they reside within and go full time into the business they are planning, building and starting.
For others, the reality of being a self reliant entrepreneur means starting thier new venture part time. I work with several people each year that fit this bill and ironically the success rate of these professionals is very, very high.
I would like to introduce you to two such entrepreneur's within this article. Both of these professionals started thier path to owning and maintaining thier own time...running thier own business and being thier own boss. Both Bill and Kenny did not just run out and start a business...they took thier time, built up equity and payrolled thier business efforts all while staying within thier full time careers.
Starting Part Time Versus Full Time - Bill Vrobel of Focus On Detail
I currently work as a Senior Systems Analyst for a major health insurance corporation in Florida. I have over twenty years with the organization
In my five-year retirement plan, one of my goals was to start and build my own business. I selected car detailing because of my passion for all types of vehicles and the involvement with people that owned nice cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats.
Personally I have been detailing for over 20 years as a hobby, mostly involved with show cars and car clubs. I owned a show car that won over 100 awards and was featured in major magazines.
Why did you choose to start detailing professionally part time?
The main reason was to have monetary income from my main profession to support the part time business without taking out financial loans. The benefits from part-time were; I could built the business at my own pace, determine the required training, licenses, insurance and establish the administrative criteria. Part Time gave me the opportunity to collect information on marketing, investigate the competition in my area, building a client base, test out my detailing skills and monitor the length of time to do different vehicles.
2. What was some of the best steps you took within your new part time business?
The most important steps are:
- Sit down and talk over the amount of time and effort it will take to start and maintain a business with your family. Discuss the impacts to your personal life.
- Create a good business plan and review it with somebody that owns a business.
- Determine licenses and insurance criteria
- Determine how to market your business ( flyers, web-site, business cards ,etc.)
- List the clients that you want in your network (market to everyone).
- Do not over schedule yourself, and provide a quality product (take the time to do it right)
- Continue your education on new products, techniques and monitor the time it takes to do the work
- Remember to listen to what your clients want, explain the process and follow-up with your clients after the job is complete. These are the keys to success.
3. How hard was it to succeed and really make money?
I have been part time for 18 months and still am working full time.
The first nine months in my case was the hardest, getting time off from work to establish the business setup, licenses, training, products and marketing criteria. I found when scheduling the work, only do one vehicle per day until you establish re-occurring clients. I have only really started making money (paying myself) the last six months. The balance of the money being made is the cost of products, marketing, administrative functions and training. Make sure you keep your overhead low and monitor your costs.
4. How long did it take or when do you plan on going full time and why? Tells us where you are within your plan and was it harder or easier to achieve your goals then you originally planned on.
I will be retiring in mid- November to go full time to maximize my retirement benefits (pension and paid health care). It was harder to achieve my goals due to the availability of time to devote to the business. However the experience and knowledge that was gained running the business part time will help me to be more efficient full-time.
I will be working 3-4 days a week at a permanent location and possibly two days mobile. I am currently on track with my plan and expect to have roughly 50 to 60 re-occurring clients within the time frame.
5. Any advise you care to share with career professionals that are looking at starting a part time detailing business while still maintaining their full time career?
I would advise anyone going part time to be very organized, plan every detail in your business plan, prioritize your tasks and give yourself at least 4 – 6 months to get established. Re-evaluate
your tasks every time you do a vehicle and note how to improve efficiencies. Monitor your costs on a weekly basis. Give the customer a detailed list of work and always follow-up with questions on how you can do better. Continue your education, by reading, training and seminars. Always be patient, listen and be open-minded on ways to improve your business. Treat people with kindness and respect.
Starting Part Time Versus Full Time - Kenny Hinds of Reflections Mobile Detailing, LLC
Why did you choose to start detailing professionally part time?
Like many in this profession, I had a love for cars, anything with wheels. My wife and I had discussed starting our own business, and one day having control of not only our income, but our lives. After lengthy discussions, and weighing out our options, we choose to start a mobile auto detailing business. Due to already having experience, we thought it would be an easier transition verses having to start fresh with something we had no prior experience with.
At the time, I had a really good paying full time job, and carried the medical insurance for myself, my wife, and our two children. Although I had a good job, I was tired of punching a clock. I was already at the top of the pay scale, and I did not feel comfortable having someone else determine my fate, and yearly salary.
Starting our business part time was the only option for us. My wife has a successful career as a Dental Ceramist, but her job did not offer medical benefits. We knew that with two small children we could not go without medical insurance. We felt that with hard work and determination, we would eventually get to the point were we could go full time, and actually enjoy what we would then call “work.”
What was some of the best steps you took within your new part time business?
The most important step I took when starting my part time business was making sure my wife was supportive. Starting up a business takes time and money, and for those of you who are married, you must have your spouses support. The long hours, and stress can make it difficult on a marriage. Without the support of your spouse, your chances of success are greatly affected.
Also, spend the money on quality equipment and training, and look, dress, and act like a professional.
How hard was it to succeed and really make money?
I personally do not think succeeding in the detailing industry is all that difficult. As long as you are honest, provide the highest quality of work possible, and have a great sense of professionalism about you, you will be rewarded with a strong base of repeat and referral business. With that, comes the money.
What is hard is making sure that what you are doing to succeed is being done right. In the beginning, I stumbled along the way, and made some mistakes, but you must realize those mistakes and learn from them. When I talk about mistakes, I mean not spending money wisely, bad marketing techniques, not hiring efficient employees, etc.
You have to know who your target market is, and how to gain the trust and business from that market. I am fortunate that I live in a very upscale suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. It took me a little while to find the right marketing strategy to gain these customers, but once I did, the success followed.
How long did it take or when do you plan on going full time and why? Tell us where you are within your plan and was it harder or easier to achieve you goals then you originally planned on.
I went full time with the business after 2 years and 2 months. Actually, our plan was to work the business part time for at least 3 years before deciding to go full time. We did not want to make any premature moves, and end up struggling as a result. Our business had grown to a point where I could not keep up with my full time job, along with trying to run a successful business. At that point we sat down and ran the numbers and decided as a family what would be the best option for us. Not only for us financially, but emotionally and mentally.
My wife and I are very goal oriented individuals, once we put all of our savings and hard work into this business; we were determined to make it a success. It took a lot of long hours and dedication, but the end result has been very rewarding.
Any advise you care to share with career professionals that are looking at starting a part time detailing business while still maintaining their full time career?
The best advice I could give anyone wanting to start a part time detailing business is to get professional training. No matter how good you, your family, and friends think you are, you will be amazed at just how much more you will learn by attending a professional training course. You will not only learn the technical side of the detailing world, but also how to run a successful business.
Along with the proper training, finding a mentor is also very important. It is great to have someone to bounce ideas off of, whether it is someone who is already in the detailing industry or someone in a completely different industry. Having the proper guidance is very important. I have several mentors, one being Renny Doyle, who is probably the most respected individual in the detailing industry. Along with Renny I have mentors who are successful in other industries as well: Landscaping, Real Estate, Dental, etc. You will find that while each industry is different, you can learn a lot from talking to and sharing ideas from other successful professionals.
Contact Info:
Bill Vrobel, Owner
Focus On Detail
www.focusondetail.com
focus.on.detail@hotmail.com
Kenny Hinds, Owner
Reflections Mobile Detailing, LLC
www.cincinnatidetailing.com
service@cincinnatidetailing.com
Special thanks to both Bill and Kenny for taking the time to provide this information and thank YOU for taking the time to read this article and I hope it has helped your business efforts. Visit our website: www.detailingsuccess.com
If you have an interesting story on your business or know someone who deserves some press, contact me at renny@detailingsuccess.com
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 12:53PM 
