When making a car wash investment, many people focus on the cost, not on the value that each aspect of their new business can bring. Is focusing on the cost to start a car wash alone a good move or not? Will this benefit you, the new car wash owner? Read on and find out.
Car Wash Investment: Why You Should Focus on Value, Not Cost
Investing in Quality Equipment
Quality car wash equipment are not cheap. They come with hefty price tags. But here’s the thing – not cutting on equipment cost is actually a good car wash investment. It’s because quality equipment are more efficient and durable, allowing you to use them longer, with little maintenance. And if they will need maintenance, you can use the warranty for free parts and services (as long as they are covered by the warranty).
Investing in Premium Materials
Here’s the best value in investing in premium materials – they can decrease your labor and operating costs. Ordinary auto detailing supplies may be cheaper, but most of the time, you’ll have to use more product and require more elbow grease from your workers. Not to mention that cheaper products typically contain hazardous chemicals that can damage vehicle paint and the environment.
Premium materials, especially the organic ones, go through a rigorous screening process, first by the manufacturer, then by government environmental organizations. To eliminate the chances of being banned by the authorities, manufacturers of premium auto detailing materials ensure they only use quality ingredients that are classified safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or similar organizations.
Marketing Investment
What’s so important about marketing that you need to include it in your car wash investment plan? You get to reach, attract, and engage with your target audience faster and more effectively. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction and ultimately, more profits for you.
Let’s say you have a new service. Because you are so confident of the results it can provide, you naturally want more customers to try it. But how will customers know about it if you don’t market it? Having flyers and other promotional materials printed and distributed or putting up accounts in various social media platforms might cost some money, but they can definitely get your name out there. So, make sure you include a separate budget for marketing when you plan your start up costs.
Recruitment Investment
What’s the value in this? Attracting, hiring, and retaining the right people can be quite challenging in the car wash industry. According to carwash.com, this is because the image of the industry has traditionally never been very high.
Having a good recruitment process in place can ensure you attract, hire, and retain the right people for the job. These are the car wash employees who are trainable, help you achieve your business goals, mission and vision, will not allow themselves to be pirated by your competitors, and value the relationship you have built over time.
A good recruitment process might require additional investment, but with the advantages it offers, that cost becomes irrelevant.
Investing in the Right Car Wash Manager
Some car wash startups try to run the business themselves. Here’s the reason why: since they believe that a car wash is just a low investment business anyway, why spend extra for a manager? All they have to do is wash cars, so what’s the big deal?
This line of thinking has led many car wash startups to close shop after a couple of years. Why? It’s because a car wash is just like any other business. It needs to be managed effectively for it to thrive and profit.
When you hire a good car wash manager, you can be sure your business will run smoothly. Systems will be created, processes will be refined, employees will have someone to hear them out and guide them properly, customers will have a knowledgeable person listen and resolve their complaints, making them happy and satisfied enough to spread the good word about your car wash.
Should you scrimp on hiring an effective manager who can provide you with a smooth-running business that will rake in more profits later on? It’s a car wash investment you should definitely consider.
In Conclusion
As you can see, focusing on the value of a good car wash investment can provide you with multiple benefits. It can ensure efficiency of your equipment, help you reach more of your target audience, retain the right employees, satisfy customers, and ultimately increase your car wash bottom line.
So when you start creating your car wash business plan, take the above-mentioned investments into consideration. Allot a specific budget for them when you compute the cost to build a car wash.
Now, if you’re not to keen on starting your own car wash business from scratch, why not check out the DetailXPerts car wash franchise opportunity? We offer information on the initial franchise cost and help with securing financing.
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