technically yes, but a real pro is not just a pro. you have to be a specialist.

 

Welp, I made it a month, but Saturday is my last day. The place was too much of a hack job for me to continue there. I'll still be doing my own thing on the side, but Mon-Fri 8:00-4:30 I will be at Johns Hopkins Credit Union. Sitting on my bum, in an air-conditioned room. Wahooo!

 

jeremy- imho, it's too early to quit especially since you are not going into
another full time detailing job. a job (a specialist) is not something you
just do and quit whenever you feel like it. there's something in every
job that you can learn from whether it be a hack job or not. Unless it is
an illegal operation, you should try to do your best for minimum of one year
unless you can find a new job in the same field with better benefits.

There will always be hard times and easy times in any job. you have
to fight through it for yourself. it is not about just the pay, it is about
exerising your determination, your decipline, and ultimately your own
mental growth. You live with your parents... you still have that luxury
of not having to have to make your rent or mortgage, etc. that we adults
have to pay as default. You should at least do detailing on your own,
full time.

There are too many quitters that keep changing jobs these days and
can't land a real job. I am dissappointed in your decision. it is much
too early to quit.

 

Sorry it didnt work out

 

chows- with all the crap you gave him when he started, that's the
only thing you're going to say?

 

I think the speech is unnecessary. Sometimes you get a job that's not what you signed on for. When that happens, I don't think there's anything wrong with leaving it. From what Jeremy has told me, it wasn't a good fit for him. There are so many jobs out there (as evidenced by how quickly he got one), there's no sense in staying somewhere that's not what you expected, is not a good fit, and doesn't make you happy.

 

ML- you're entitled to your opinion and i respect that. but my comment
is not a SPEECH! it is a courtesy advise.

if he's moving onto another detailing job that has better benefits,
there is no need for the comments I made. determination and decipline are
the default elements one must have inorder to succeed in business,
especially if one made the commitment to be a detailing specialist.

leaving the industry just because one tried it for a month and didn't
find it fun is just a sign of weakness. doing it part-time... anybody can
do detailing part time. you're not a specialist, just a hobbiest.

strong words? Not really, cause the real world in business is much tougher
than wat Im saying. I know cause do business for a living...

I am just a nice guy giving some of my advise from the real world.
what his last post tells me, perhaps he's not ready for the real world
and should go to college. (ok, that last part was none of my business. )

 

And I get your point...but I just think there's no sense in being miserable full-time. That doesn't do anyone any good - the employee or who he works for.

 

Ken, I'm trying to be respectful of Jeremy. His life, his decision, he does what he wants.

I have found out that giving advice to the very young ... well I didnt take it well when I was his age either. In fact,

when I was 18, I knew EVERYTHING
when I was 25, I knew just about everything
by 30, I know most things
by 40, I knew very little

now, I don't know nothing.

You have a lot of valid points. I say let it go as a lesson learned

 

yah, i suppose... i know my wife would probably agree with you being
soft and gentle, warm and fuzzy..well, not physically fuzzy. lol


oh well, let's hear what jeremy has to say.

 

Perhaps I can relate here...


Before I started my detailing business, I worked for a mobile detailing guy here for....2 days. After the second day, I quit, and started my business.

The guy was such a hackjob, burning through the paint with rubbing compound, and wiping off wax with PAPER TOWELS and dirty rags. I seriously could not stand it anymore.


So, perhaps if your sitation was similar, it probably was a good decision for you to move on and focus on your detailing business, part time, or full time. And, it sounds like you found a decent job to give you a decent income while working on building your clientele for your detailing business.

 

yep, and i will.

 

Finally ! Agreed.

And to Yoda & Obi-Wan (or whoever the 2 Jedi were that had the disagreement, never liked the prequels)... Jeremy is not Anakin and based on his approach he is not running any risk to be drawn to the dark side
So lets put down the light sabers, raise the PCs and toast with Hydro.
Cheers

 

It actually took me 3 years before deciding to go pro for me. I spent a year teaching others how to detail their MINIs using only the PC. In those 3 years, I spent 2 years mastering the PC and product systems, and another year mastering the rotary before going Pro. What I found when I turned Pro was that customers were fairly educated and started asking me all kinds of questions. Does that product have silicones in it? What makes that polish work so well? What's the difference between it and a rubbing compound? How long should I wait to wax my car if it just got painted. Etc, etc, etc.

Customers want to know that they are hiring someone that knows what he's doing. Although it's easy to learn a tool and do decent work with it, you have to be able to convince the customers that your are a master at what you do, so you have to learn more about chemicals. When they ask you to compare Prima to Adams to Meguiar's, you need to be able to answer it in some fashion--even if it's a "I don't know but I'll find out" type of answer.

Working at a production shop for a month was valuable experience of how not to be, however there are economical reasons for being the way they are.

The majority of detailers are production detailers because it doesn't require a lot of skill (mastery), and it all comes down to money and that means working on as many cars as you can get your hands on.

I would highly suggest getting some more schooling, and study some marketing and basic business stuff. You really won't ever know what you are interested in or able to do, until you actually commit yourself to doing it!

 

no no, you're too late in the game.

go back to cleaning out your garage so you can post new picts.

 

Unfortunately I am not moving on to another detailing company. I will just continue to do my own stuff on the side. If by some chance I do get enough clients to make that full time, I will, but I can't hope that it comes that way without looking for a better source of income. I am moving to a bank teller position, just about as far from detailing as possible, but it comes with MANY advantages, benefits (I will be off my parents insurance in 1 month yesterday) so that is huge for me. Guaranteed paycheck, in the month that I was with 'The Detail Man' I will have made just over $700 before taxes, there have been many days (4 straight at one point) where I would sit around the shop for 2 hours waiting for a car to come, until the owner stopped caring and decided to call it a day. On those days, I walked out of there without making a dime.

Me too, I really had my hopes up.

Thanks Melissa.

Unfortunately, hack job barely defines this place. On more then one occasion the owner didn't feel like washing a car, so he took his rotary out, put on a cutting pad, and waxed right over the dirt. They power wash the interiors of cars, and then hope that they air dry before "it starts to smell musty" (moldy.) I realize that I don't have rent/a mortgage, but I am 18, with a sports hatch (as State Farm declares it) with a less then stellar driving record. My insurance is through the roof ($400/mo, you probably pay that for 6 months on one of your cars.) And the MINI payment is just over $300, so thats $700/mo + gas, just to drive. I couldn't afford to stay there, and who knows how their business drops off once winter rolls around. Economically, I couldn't stay in that field.

 

+1 with OG and chows (for once ) i have to agree with.

full time student + detailing part time is a great idea (skiitelluride style )

full time bs work making little cash + detailing parttime is imho
just waste of time.

Get out there like you're a true detailer full time and commit to what you
said you would do. you still got a home to crawl back to even if you
totally screw up! why waste this opportunity??!!

oh wait, WTF im back making advises again chows!

as you said, he needs to learn for himself.

 

FWIW, there are hundreds if not thousands of detailing enthusiasts who wish they could leave their stable fulltime jobs and detail full time, but it's just not economically viable for most.

Even for myself, I might charge a lot per car, but I don't work on a car every day--and wouldn't dream of it---otherwise I'd be broken in a month and never detail again. I just spent 14 hours on a CR/Blk MCS over 2 days. It's fun work, but at my 50% rate it's not much money at all--I'd go broke if I only did MINI's.

I pay my assistant hourly regardless of whether there is a car to work on or not. I couldn't do this if my sole income was in the cars that come in. That's why the sales I do from the products in my store--whether it's Prima, Black Wow, or anything else is crucial to my existence.

When I'm at MITM, my shop will be closed for a week and a half. Just like all aspects of my business, if I'm not there, or not available, then I lose $$.

The point of all this rambling is that I believe if you want to be able to enjoy life, not be slaving away daily behind a buffer, and suffering an aching back or bad kness in your later years, you need to diversify. You need more than 1 stream of income especially one that fluctuates based on the season and you need to control your costs. Master that, and you'll be on your way to making a living!

 

Oh damn it, kenchan found my kryptonite

 

And already there is another opportunity... get to the drive thru teller asap, compliment your customers on their car and mention how much nicer it will look with a good (and affordable) detail job... and btw. here is my card ... ta-daaaa...

 

How about your BW and future products for backbone steady income
and your detailing as seasonal?


hahaha! remember, we're DETAILERS (and wannabies) here. we
have good eyes.

 

splendid idea!

 

Hah, that's exactly my business plan.

Now a funny thing has happened. Now that I'm going to be gone for the next week and a half, I'm suddenly getting inundated with calls to work on peoples cars! I should take off more often!

I got an NSX to do tomorrow, and a 1963 XK Jaguar Roadster and an older M6 (unknown year) to do the second and third day following my return!

 

timing is everything.

 

Hey Jeremy,
how is it going with your new job ?
If you need a change of scenery you might wanna take a look here...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=110727