Would you like start a car detailing company? I bet I know why; I bet you love cars and would like to work around them all the time. Be careful though because you can turn something you really enjoy into a job and then you will hate it.

There is a right way and a wrong way to start a car detailing company and the best way is to do excellent work and always ask for referrals. The wrong way to start a car detailing company is to put a huge ad in the Yellow Pages that could cost $500 per month. You see, sure you'll get lots so-called detail customer cars coming from the Yellow Pages but they won't necessarily be the cars that you really want to detail.

The super high-end clientele is not the kind of person who go through the Yellow Pages and call you up. The super high-end clientele is the kind of person who will ask their friends who detailed their car and if you were the one who is doing their friends cars then you will get the job you see, because they like working on referrals. Any car detailing company worth their salt knows that the best customers come for referrals.

How you get the best referrals? Simple after you're done with someone's car and they love the job ask them for referrals and if they offer hand them a small stack of business cards to give to their friends. This is far better way to get business than $500 per month Yellow Pages ad. I hope you will consider those in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Currently Lance is retired at age 40 and is running an Online Think Tank Forum while traveling North America. Perhaps considering something extremely challenging to do that will exercise his mind and utilize all his experiences, observations and skills. Any ideas?