Car detailing and becoming business owners

Wait, cars need to be kept clean regularly? Why is this important?

The extend of my knowledge of cars, before meeting my husband, was that if my car got me where I needed to be, I was solid. Over the years and through my husband, I have a new found appreciation for cars and keeping them in the best shape and as clean as possible.

Being a young married couple, you learn a ton about each other's hobbies and interests. My now husband has always had a passion for cars. For perspective, I used to be careless and not keep my car clean. We met during a time when I started to want to take care of my car more as I started seeing the poor car all scratched up and dirty all the time. It was basically my second room with wheels and food stains everywhere.

Flash forward to 2023, my husband and I started a mobile car detailing business. He has taught me about the importance of keeping cars clean and how this ultimately helps them last longer. Think of it similar to taking care of your body, if you take care of your body, you can help it function better.

So what are the benefits of keeping a clean car? Also, why and how did we start our own business out of detailing cars?

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Benefits of keeping a clean car

Most people do not consider how long they actually spend in their cars. Especially since most companies are now returning to the office. If we think about how long we sit in traffic, the hours add up significantly!

There are so many benefits to keeping a clean car, but I will keep it short!

• Interior cleaning: Keeping in mind the amount of time we spend in our cars, having dust, pet hair, lingering smells in your car will inevitably mean we are breathing that all in. A regular, deep vacuum/ extraction will help keep your lungs from inhaling all of that in. Plus, will keep it smelling like new!

• Exterior cleaning: Paint on your car also scratches and regular hand wash, polishing, ceramic coating will protect it from further damage. Yes, those scratches and swirl marks can be removed (assuming the scratches are not too deep). Also, the sun can damage your car and ceramic coating works wonders for keeping the paint protected. Think of similar to SPF for your car. This is especially important for us here in Arizona.

Swirl marks in car from owner using drive through car washes. By the way, drive through car washes are not good for your paint!

Swirl marks are gone here after buffing them out

Why and how did we start a detailing business

As I had mentioned, my husband has always had a passion for detailing cars. In 2020, we established the business (with my husband's previous professional detailing experience). All we needed to start the business was to establish/ register our LLC.

At the time, during the pandemic, we were not financially stable. We were detailing cars from our home and the demand for mobile was starting to increase, we could not keep up.

In 2023, along with job changes, my husband and I decided it was time to take the leap. We have the knowledge and motivation, the next step was buying equipment, which is not cheap, might I add. For perspective, we have invested about $7,000 in our equipment (not including maintenance items such as detailing spray, polishes, brushes, etc.)

Part of our mobile detailing set up while at a job

Despite the cost, we both truly believe in our long-term goals. Once we purchased the expensive equipment and were able to be mobile, business has started increasing steadily.

The plan is to keep our regular 9-5 jobs while detailing on the side. Since we are still starting off, we want to make sure we are financially stable enough to figure out how we want to continue to grow our business.

There are challenges in choosing partners to own a business with. Being a husband and wife while starting a car detailing business has lead to arguing over who took whose brush or using the wrong spray (and some crazy sunburns) but it is incredibly fun and so satisfying to see the finished product. Also, seeing our customer's faces when they come out to see their freshly detailed car is priceless!

Check out our Instagram and Facebook for our work!

Instagram (@Flores.Auto.Detailing55): https://www.instagram.com/flores.auto.detailing55/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Facebook (Flores Auto Detailing): https://www.facebook.com/flores.auto.detailing55?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Closing Thoughts

Remember when you first bought your car? How clean it was? How good it smelled? How shiny the pain was? The goal of detailing is to keep it looking that way.

If you have a passion, knowledge, skill-set, whatever it may be, you can monetize that. It is challenging and will require commitment, sweat, tears, positivity. But having the courage to start a project, invest in yourself or starting a business will never not be satisfying. Follow our journey, my blog will also be used for updates on how business is going. I will also be sharing tips for owning a business as a married couple and how not to want to fight them everyday. Having a strong support system (family/friends) that encourages you to keep pushing forward is also hugely beneficial.

Leave a comment below! Are you looking to start a business? What challenges did you face when starting your business?