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What I'd Do Differently If I Had to Start Detailing Over Today
What I'd Do Differently If I Had to Start Detailing Over Today
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About this episode
Navigating the detailing industry can be overwhelming, especially with the abundance of information available today. Reflecting on his journey since starting Jimbo's Auto Detailing in 2008, the host shares key insights on simplifying product choices and the importance of building relationships with suppliers. He emphasizes the value of engaging with brands and refining techniques, particularly discouraging the common practice of pre-rinsing vehicles. The episode also critiques the low-margin nature of fleet work, advocating for a focus on retail detailing to foster better client relationships and improve overall quality.
If I had to start detailing from scratch today, I'd do somethings differently. In this video, I break down what actually matters when starting a car detailing business or learning detailing the right way. From simplifying products and using pre-soak instead of pre-rinse, to choosing retail clients over fleet work, getting into a shop, avoiding YouTube trends, and stopping the chase for perfection—this is real-world detailing advice based on experience, not hype. Whether you're a beginner or trying to grow a detailing business, this will save you time, money, and frustration.
PRODUCTS TALKED ABOUT:
Tough As Shell Ceramic Spray: https://jimbosdetailing.com/TAS or on Amazon https://amzn.to/4r5UxYr
The Super Soaper: https://jimbosdetailing.com/TSS or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/49KEM2d
Picture Perfect Polish: https://jimbosdetailing.com/PPP or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sQWpWu
Microfiber towels: https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/orange-wash-microfiber or https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/everyday-microfiber
Cut & Finish Pad: https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/cut-finish-pad or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LsxJ69
Finishing Pad: https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/black-finishing-pad or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJNDCPTG
SHOP ALL JIMBO'S DETAILING ON AMAZON: https://amzn.to/3LX3mVE
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/user/jbalaam?sub_confirmation=1
car detailing,auto detailing,detailing business,how to start detailing,car detailing tips,detailing mistakes,detailing advice,professional detailing,detailer tips,detailing for beginners,car detailing business tips,how to grow a detailing business,mobile detailing vs shop,detailing products,pre soak car wash,car wash process,detailer mindset,detailing workflow,auto detailing industry,detailing myths
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Concept
trailer queen
"...this is a show car, you know, trailer queen, museum level quality. Okay, that's a different conversation, right?"
A 'trailer queen' is a car that is too nice to drive on the road. Instead, it's taken to shows on a trailer to keep it in perfect condition.
A 'trailer queen' is a term used to describe a car that is so pristine and valuable that it is only transported on a trailer to car shows or events, rather than being driven. These cars are often meticulously maintained and restored to a high standard.
Concept
museum level quality
"...trailer queen, museum level quality. Okay, that's a different conversation, right?"
'Museum level quality' means the car looks so good that it could be shown in a museum. It's usually very well restored and maintained.
'Museum level quality' refers to a car that is in such exceptional condition that it could be displayed in a museum. This typically means the car is restored to a like-new state, often with original parts and finishes.
Term
detailing
"...when I first started my detailing business, I would definitely stop chasing perfection. I just would, I just would."
Detailing is when you clean and make a car look really nice, almost like new. It involves a lot of work to make sure every part of the car is clean and shiny.
Detailing is the process of thoroughly cleaning, restoring, and finishing a vehicle to produce a show-quality level of detail. This can include washing, waxing, polishing, and cleaning the interior.
Select text to request an explanation
I've seen the detailing industry
from just about every single angle possible.
And I can't help but think sometimes
of how I would do things differently
if I was kind of starting over again
or how I would kind of navigate the industry
if I was entering it for the first time
or trying to figure out what products to use
or what techniques are correct.
And kind of in this age of information overload,
it's incredibly difficult to figure out
not what the information is,
but what is the accurate information.
And I think that is a unique thing that we have going on
for us nowadays that I didn't have
when I started back in 2008,
had a lot more limited information
and it really was like pulling teeth,
especially for like where to get good products
because it was either like you go down
to the local auto parts store
or you knew someone who knew someone who knew someone
who knew a distributor, right?
And so by getting that information was incredibly hard.
So what I wanna talk about today
is kind of what I would do differently
or how I would do things differently
if I was starting over today
or just entering the detailing space.
Now, this episode will have a little bit of a business slant
because when I started detailing it was very quickly
into the hobby that I decided to start my own business.
So May of 2008 is actually
when I started Jimbo's auto detailing
which was my mobile auto detailing business.
I've always been kind of entrepreneurially inclined.
Not sure if that's even a word either,
but I've been inclined to business and stuff like that.
And so at 19 when I had this idea of kind of this hobby
that I was already enjoying,
I thought, man, maybe this could be a business.
And I had zero experience in not only detailing
but also business.
I didn't know anyone.
I didn't know anyone in the industry.
I didn't know anything about anything really.
I just enjoyed washing my own car.
And I thought, wouldn't this be cool
if I could be paid to actually wash other people's car?
This is already something I enjoy doing.
And since then, even though I've tried to get out
of the industry multiple times,
I've actually only been sucked in deeper and deeper
to where we are today with having my own product line
and all that stuff.
So again, just an example of getting sucked in deeper.
But these are just a few things
that I would do differently.
This is not a complete list.
This is not everything that I would do differently.
These are just kind of the top of mind things
that as I kind of reflected on things
that I would do differently,
these were some of the things that came to mind first.
And again, this is not an extensive list.
This is not everything I would do differently.
I'm sure I'm gonna unfortunately read your guys' comments
and be like, that was a great idea.
That was a great idea.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So if you do have those kind of insights and inputs,
please put them down in the comments below.
Love to engage and dialogue in there.
So the very first thing I would do
is I would keep my products and really have a focus
on keeping my products as simple as possible.
And then not only that,
but I would wanna work with a brand
that I can kind of engage with.
So fortunately for me, when I first started,
I bought a trailer and it was just littered
with products, which seemed like a good selling point.
And that's how it was actually sold to me
is look at all these products that you have.
And fortunately, as I started to go through those products,
I realized that just a lot of them weren't even good, right?
And so, or I didn't use often like a leather conditioner.
I mean, yeah, I would use that often,
but the leather conditioner I had, it just wasn't good.
It didn't smell good.
I hate that fake leather smell
that a lot of leather conditioners have.
And so on and on and on a spray wax
that was just weird, like never understand a spray wax
that actually clouds up
and then you have to re-wipe it again.
That's weird.
And so there was a whole host of these products.
And so, fortunately for me,
what I did was I randomly found this guy who was local.
I was actually through my dad who knew of this guy
who was just getting out of the detailing business.
And I asked him, hey, like, where are you getting products?
Cause right now I'm going down to Pep Boys and AutoZone
and I'm like burning through these 60-ounce bottles
that are kind of expensive.
Like, where are you going to buy stuff in bulk?
Because this was early internet.
This stuff was not readily available.
Information like this was not available.
And what I ended up finding was a local distributor to me,
actually ended up only being about 30 minutes away,
local distributor that supplied car washes
and specifically car washes at dealerships
or detail centers at dealerships.
So they were used to selling in bulk.
And what was awesome about it is I could go there
and I could talk to them and I could pick their brain.
And they had this vast knowledge of detailers
and products that worked on everything from used cars
to new cars and tunnel washes and everything in between.
And I was able to go there and not only pick up products,
but I was able to pick their brain.
And so I was able to, from there,
to kind of refine down what products I actually needed.
That was my first experience with hydrofluoric acid
or wheel acid or wire wheel cleaner.
And so being able to talk with the owner
and talk with what he was hearing from his guys
that were running the trucks and new products
that they were getting and kind of formulating
and working on and working through,
being able to kind of engage in that
was so valuable to me and so important.
And it's why I'm so crazy about,
when I talked about in a previous episode
like that customer service that I aim to offer,
because I know how valuable that is
to be able to get solid answers
that actually deliver results.
Because so often you are just being pushed out
on a customer service rep
or you send an email into a brand
and you never hear back from them
or it's days and weeks before you hear back from them
and you're like, hey, I'm already passed that.
I already solved that problem, right?
And so I remember for me how important that was.
And so I guess that's not something
that I would do differently,
but it's something that I would make sure
was kind of at the forefront of like,
maybe, and again, that's why I kind of like,
I know YouTubers and influencers,
if you wanna use that when they create their own brand,
they get a lot of flak for it,
but maybe it's an unpopular opinion,
but I think it's actually the best thing for consumers
is because they have everything to lose.
They have built, for me, I'll just speak for myself,
I've built this following over the past 14 years.
It's like, you really think I'm gonna put out junk product?
Like that'd be insane.
That'd be like social suicide for me.
Everything I've built and everything I've worked towards,
like I'm really gonna like rip everyone off now,
but with like a crappy product line.
No, it's a culmination of all my years of experience.
And for me, I feel very fortunate
because not only was I a mobile detailer,
but I worked for a blender that made Chemical Guys products,
saw all that, I private label on the side,
and I have my own chemist.
Like I've seen every facet,
and I worked with big global brands.
Like I have seen this industry from every side possible.
That's why I call stuff out when I see it
because I'm like, hey, I've seen that before.
Like that doesn't end well, right?
And so again, I think refining products,
whittling it down to as few amount of products as possible,
but also having access to the people behind that brand
was super, super valuable for me.
And just helped me so much,
not only to discover new products,
but how people were using those products,
asking, hey, I'm getting like this result with this,
but are you, and that's what I try to offer
to people that reach out to me too.
Like people reach out to me all the time with products,
with issues from other product brands,
and I help them solve their problem.
Why?
Because they have a problem that they're trying to solve.
Of course I wanna sell my own products.
Of course I think they're the best.
Like that comes, that's a given, right?
But beyond that, I wanna be a resource
because I've seen so much now,
and I have so much experience
that I'd rather just help you solve your problem.
And if you come back and buy my products,
that's a journey on top and a bonus, right?
But, because I know the value of that, so yeah.
Number two, 100% because I came from mobile fleet washing,
doing 10 to 15 cars a day was kind of my wheelhouse.
I would not suggest doing that,
and I'll get to that later.
But because that is kind of where I started,
because I was talking to the supplier
and the distributor who was saying,
hey, fleet washing is where it's at.
Try to get these corporate accounts.
I was kind of trying to get that reoccurring money.
So I ended up in this kind of fleet operation,
which again, I'll talk about next.
But when I did that,
I would always pre-rinse the cars with water.
And so definitely something I would start right away,
whether you're a DIYer doing your own cars,
or you're doing fleet washes, stop pre-rinseing the car.
I've talked about this a million times,
stop pre-rinseing the car.
Why?
It literally does nothing.
It literally, unless you have caked up mud,
or even then, if you do,
you should still be pre-soaking the car.
So in fact, I'm gonna even stop saying that.
If you have caked up mud, why are you pre-rinseing?
To get it off, if you pre-soak it,
it's still gonna loosen it up and be better.
So pre-soak either way, you're gonna save water,
which I know some people don't care about,
but you're gonna save water.
And more importantly, you're gonna get a better result.
So, and if you're using deionized water,
you're gonna be able to use a lot less deionized water,
because if you're using the Super Soaker,
and you're pre-soaking,
you don't have to worry about water spots
as long as the soap is on the car.
So the pre-rinse is just an extra step, extra time,
and it's actually less effective, okay?
The pre-soak breaks down all the dirt and grime
before you do the contact wash.
So you're gonna get better results with little or effort,
less effort, and faster, faster workflow.
When I was doing 10 to 15 cars a day,
I could do about, I think it was three cars every 90 minutes.
I think that was what my flow was,
three to four every 90 minutes,
but I was pre-rinseing every car.
So imagine if I didn't do that,
I would probably cut about another 25% off that time.
So again, I know the pre-rinse is kind of industry standard,
but this goes into my whole ethos
of kind of budding up against the industry norms,
and just testing it and fact-checking it.
And what I found was the pre-rinse doesn't do anything.
Don't pre-rinse.
So number three on the list is I would not do fleet work.
I would, well, I would do fleet work.
I would not chase fleet work.
I would focus on building a good, solid retail business.
Fleet work is extremely low margin.
It's really grueling,
and I think it totally leads to burnout.
And I know it did for me very quickly.
Doing 10 to 15 cars a day by myself
is like the fastest, quickest way to burnout possible.
I think versus a retail client,
you know, someone that you're doing it in their driveway,
you're doing more of a proper detail.
The client sees the value in it.
You can build real relationships.
Fleet work, they just need the desk knocked off the car.
So it actually kind of makes you a worse detailer
because you're paid not a lot.
You know, say you're doing like police cars, right?
And you're not paid a lot.
No one's really double-checking your work.
They really just need the dirt knocked off,
and they wanna pay you as little amount of money
as possible to do that,
because they don't really see the value in it.
You know, the long-term value of like,
oh, we're maintaining the finish on these police cars,
or, you know, if you have a clean police cruiser,
the perception to the community
is that you guys are more professional.
Like, it's just too much of a stretch to get there.
And so it actually, I think, makes you a worse detailer.
And so I think, and one thing I'm kind of focusing on
with my product brand as well,
taking the learnings that I learned from that,
is like, I am becoming okay with the idea
that like my product brand is not for everyone, right?
It is for a niche person, right?
Or a person that is actually looking for less products
and they get a great result, right?
And so that is hard.
I realize to wrap your mind around
and it's hard to do that.
And I'm, like I said,
I'm becoming more comfortable with that idea.
But I'm really, with my product brand,
taking the learnings that I've learned
from my detailing business,
like I'm okay with not being for everyone.
Because when you are for everyone,
you're actually for no one,
because you don't know who to market to, right?
And so I think fleet work is kind of that way of like,
there's plenty of fleet work.
I know there's outliers of people
that have successful businesses with fleet work.
I totally understand that.
But for me, it was like the quickest way to burn out.
And kind of in that same vein,
one thing that I would do
that I know there's a ton of speculation on
and I'm sorry if you're a DIYer,
is to skew a little bit more towards the business side
of things, but I would 100% unequivocally
get into some sort of warehouse shop fixed location
out of being mobile, like as quickly as possible.
And I know there's a lot of debate back and forth
and overhead and this and that,
but for no other reason, for no other reason,
and there's so many reasons, bathroom,
for no other reason.
You look, at least in my area in Southern California,
way more professional, way more established
when you have a location
that people can bring their cars to.
You get a completely different customer.
They don't negotiate on price.
They're willing to drop off their car for a long time.
You could do better services,
incorporate different services, window tent, PPF.
You could expand your service base way better, way easier.
You can become an anchor in the community
and you just seem way more legit.
I was so surprised when I got my first shop
how customers stopped negotiating the price.
They stopped worrying about the price.
It was crazy to me.
It was like all this took was to have a shop.
Not to mention I have,
it could bring my own lunch and warm it up.
I can drop work at the end of the day
and leave everything out.
I don't have to constantly clean up and tear down,
clean up and tear down, set up and tear down,
I guess it'd be, right?
It is so much better to have a controlled working environment
when you're doing something like detailing,
especially when you talk about ceramic coatings
and stuff like that.
I've done dozens and dozens and dozens
in other people's garages, other people's houses outside.
I've done it.
Nothing compares to having your own work environment.
Nothing compares to it.
And not only that, but you could also control
if you wanna grow with employees.
It's much easier to control in the environment
that you can control.
You can have different marketing leaflets
and literature in your shop that you just can't do mobile.
It just feels more professional.
You build trust faster
and really you attract higher end clients.
Just plain and simple.
And that's exactly what I'm trying to do
and I'm doing with my product business
is I am attracting higher value clients.
And if that's you, I really appreciate you being here.
So, number five, I would really stop chasing trends
and new products or pro only gear
and latest and greatest and what's the new release?
Let me try it because new doesn't mean better
and I've seen this unfortunately so many times.
New just means a new label and a new bottle
and a new name, but not a new formula.
I've seen it more times than I can count.
It was part of my journey where I felt incredibly burnout,
not only on detailing, but on the industry in general,
especially the backend of things.
When you see a product that is not new
from a liquid standpoint,
being repackaged and sold as new,
it is, for me, it was very defeating, right?
It was very, you knew that you were kind of deceiving people
and I didn't like that.
So, new doesn't always mean better.
Professional only is always just marketing.
It's always just BS.
And so, again, this kind of goes back to my first thing
of like, hey, focus on like a core set of products
that you really like and that really delivered the result
that you're after.
And hopefully the brand behind those products
are accessible, right?
Because some of these bigger brands
or I get it as brands get bigger or these global brands,
like there's no one to talk to.
Like the customer support people don't know
what's going on if they even respond.
They're hired customer support help.
They're not detailers.
They can't really help troubleshoot you, right?
And so, again, I just wouldn't chase the latest and greatest.
What I suggest people do is they're like a professional
or even not, even if you're a DIYer.
You have kind of your core products that you know,
you like, you trust, you know what you're gonna get.
And then because detailing is often so much of a hobby,
we do kind of dabble on the side, right?
Of like, I'm thinking of like an iron remover
when it first came out.
I could see like, it could be trendy,
it could be the new thing, like it was super expensive
when it came out, like mm-mm-mm.
That was something that kind of like dabbled on the side.
That was like my hobby side of the industry, right?
Of like something that I just kind of messed with
and played with, but it wasn't allowed
into my inner circle of products yet, right?
And so, again, I kind of watch trends from afar,
Borofin, Triphine, Graphin, Jimmofin, right?
Watch it from afar, maybe dabble, play with it,
which is exactly what I did.
Asked Walter to, hey, can you put Graphin into Tuffa Shell?
Messed with it, does it do anything?
Eh, doesn't do anything, that trends out.
I'm sticking with Tuffa Shell how it is, right?
And so, that's what I do, and I think that's what I would do.
I would be a little bit more aggressive with that
if I was starting over again.
So, number six for me is a big one.
I honestly, I struggle with it even now.
I really try my absolute hardest
to not watch any other detailing brand or people.
I observe from afar, I'm a headline reader,
I keep my finger to the pulse
with what the industry is talking about,
what the industry is doing.
But as far as copying or looking at the local mobile
detailer, the influencer-led brand online,
I really try to keep my distance
because it's so easy to copy them.
And I think that's what we see in the detailing space,
whether it's a logo design,
whether it's a product brand or a product offering,
and it looks so identical to another product offering,
and we've just seen that over and over and over and over.
I mean, how many times has the words hybrid
been used in the detailing space, like a zillion times, right?
And so, everyone just copying everyone
is how we've gotten to this place of total confusion
and look alike and everything looking the same,
and everyone having four different polishes
and four different compounds,
and hybrid this and graphing that and ceramic this.
Everyone's just watching everyone,
but no one actually knows if it's working.
And that's the big problem,
whether you're copying the local mobile detailer,
whether you're copying the product brand,
you don't necessarily know if that's working
because you don't know what's going on behind the scenes.
That's what I try to tell my wife sometimes
when we talk about this comparison thing
that is so easy to get wrapped up in,
is like, hey, you don't know what,
maybe they need a business that loses money.
Maybe they have a backer, a money guy
that's behind the scenes that needs a loss.
And so, they're not even making money,
they're trying to actively lose money, right?
And so, you have no idea what's going on behind the scenes.
So, copying each other, copying people,
copying the local detailer is probably
the worst thing you could do, right?
What I'm trying to focus on doing
is listening to my customers, right?
Because your customers will always tell you
what's going on faster than you copying someone else
or whatever the latest trend is.
So, I always try to focus on my customers,
that's why even in this video I talk about all the time,
like, hey, reach out, I wanna hear from you,
I wanna engage, I'm here for customer service,
I'm here for customer support,
because that engagement, that interaction
is what I'm after so that I don't find myself
copying other people, right?
Number seven, and I'll kinda end with this one
because I think it's maybe the most controversial one,
maybe I'm out of line by saying it,
but I would definitely stop chasing perfection.
I know, stop chasing perfection
because what's perfect in our eyes
is different from perfect in someone else's eyes,
and this kinda goes into talking to your customer,
not worrying about absolute perfection.
Now, it seems kinda counter-intuitive,
and I guess it depends on if you're doing this
for a business or a hobby, right?
And then how far you wanna take that, either way, right?
So, but I've seen so many people literally lose their family,
lose their livelihood, lose that work-life balance
because they're chasing perfection
that no one even sees, no one even cares about,
and more importantly, no one pays for, right?
And before you know it, they're living at their shop,
they don't have anything, and it's like,
dude, no one even asked for that, like, come on, right?
And so, detailers lose a ton of money chasing perfection
that their customers never even see,
but again, start that dialogue with your customer, right?
Cause most customers can't see the same perfection
that we can, they're not willing to pay for it,
and honestly, they don't care, right?
Doesn't mean that you shouldn't chase perfection,
just don't chase perfection if that's not your niche, right?
If you're doing fleet work and you're chasing perfection
on a cop car that is gonna, you know,
they're gonna use on a high-speed chase
and crash tomorrow anyway, like, what are we doing?
Unless you're being paid for it, right?
Unless you're being paid for it.
So, I will say, you know, perfection's not the goal,
it's just kind of aligning with what you want,
what your expectations are,
or what your expectations for your clients are
and your customers are,
but this is something that gets brought up all the time
for customers that come in for a ceramic coating.
We talk about it, like, hey, how are you gonna maintain this?
What does your lifestyle look like?
Is this a soccer mom minivan
and your kids are in, you know, 15 club sports
and you're gonna spend all weekend at the baseball field
or the volleyball court or the basketball court or whatever?
Like, how are you gonna maintain this car?
Oh, I'm gonna drive it through the, you know,
$30 a month car wash on the corner.
Okay, well, that's a discussion we should have,
like, this is what's gonna happen, are you okay with that?
Right? Or, hey, no, this is a show car, you know,
trailer queen, museum level quality.
Okay, that's a different conversation, right?
So, but me personally for where I was
when I first started my detailing business,
I would definitely stop chasing perfection.
I just would, I just would.
I tried to do it myself, get a new car, I correct it,
I code it, I put a lot of time into it,
and then I just have it good enough.
And to a lot of people, it's perfect.
Tons of people get in my car,
oh my gosh, the car's clean, the car,
I can nitpick every little dirty thing in that car, right?
And sometimes I do, sometimes I chase perfection
with my own car and I let it ride and it's fun, right?
And sometimes I let myself do that,
but when I do let myself do that, I'm in full control
and I know that I'm doing that.
I don't let myself get out of control with the perfection,
which is where I think a lot of people go wrong, right?
So, with that, that's, I don't know,
what I get, seven things.
Someone will let me know, I think I did seven,
but maybe I did five.
I don't know, I did that in that previous video.
But those are the things that I would do differently
if I was starting detailing today,
or if I was starting my business today,
or just starting detailing as a hobby.
So, I hope you guys enjoyed that one.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Let's add to this, let's keep the conversation going,
and of course, if you wanna support this channel,
this podcast, my personal brand
that I'm pouring literally my heart and soul into,
you can check it out at jimboesdetailing.com,
or they're also up on, elder products are up on Amazon.
I'll link everything below.
And I appreciate the sport over there, means a ton.
It really is a culmination of my 18 years in this industry,
or yeah, 18 years this year,
which is slightly embarrassing to say.
So, with that, I'll catch you guys on the next one.
See ya.
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