How to start a mobile auto detailing business

Starting a mobile car wash business requires a relatively lower startup investment compared to an on-site car wash business, obviously because we can eliminate the cost to purchase or rent a physical location.

While we’ve discussed that starting a mobile car wash business can be a lucrative business idea, it’s also a relatively competitive field. In 2021, there are more than 54,00 car wash businesses in the U.S. (both mobile and on-site), and the industry is still growing with around a 3% annual growth rate.

So, if you want to start a successful mobile car wash business, it’s important to really understand the basics of car washing (and to some extent, car detailing), as well as the management side of things.

Your Unique Value Proposition

Every successful business has one thing in common: competitive advantage. Some businesses might sell better products/services than their competitors, some might be able to offer lower prices.

Nevertheless, you have to think about your unique value proposition (UVP) as a business: what can you offer that your competitors can’t?

You can try something experimental and out of the box. For example, you can try to be the only mobile car wash business that exclusively uses environmentally-friendly methods and supplies. Your objective is to find a unique target audience that you can attract as soon as possible with your UVP.

Also, the mobile car wash business is, in its essence, a service business, and one of the biggest competitive edge you can create is to provide the best possible service.

Time is of the essence for a mobile car wash business where you are the one approaching your client, and not the other way around. Thus, even by only always showing up on time and finishing your job during the promised time frame, you are already better than most of your competitors. This is where you can leverage technology to ensure customer service excellence and an advanced mobile car wash software by fieldd can provide the following benefits for you:

Comprehensive field service management tools to ensure your staff arrive on time, every time
User-friendly customer app to give your customers an excellent user experience
Optimize travel times with an intuitive navigation feature
Online bookings, online quotes, and online invoices for better user experience and enhanced brand image
Manage your bookkeeping easily
Real-time reporting for better decision-making in the future
Documenting your work to minimize risks during damages with photos