2019_ADN_V4_No3-2

THE BUSINESS OF
DETAILING
Avoiding
the burn
How to keep from getting burned out due to
the physical and mental demands of detailing
By Rob Schruefer
rob@onspotdetailing.com
Rob Schruefer is the owner of On The
Spot Detailing out of Columbia, Maryland.
He proudly serves on the board of the
International Detailing Association and works
tirelessly to ensure that detailing business
owners receive business development
support to help them achieve their goals.
As a successful businessperson it can
be difficult to keep a work/life balance
in line. You are successful because you
can keep your head down, and work to
complete tasks or goals and keep your
business moving forward. But, just as
important as it is for your business to
progress, it is just as vital to make sure
your home and family life do not suffer
because of it. Working too hard and for
too many hours on end creates burn out,
and a home life ultimately pays the price.
Irreplaceable at work, and at home
I have struggled with finding a proper
work and life balance in the time I have
owned my own detailing business. When
I was in my 20s, it didn’t really matter as
much. I had no children, and as long as
I had a little time left for my social life, I
had no complaints. As I grew older, and
my life changed, it became clear that it
would be difficult to raise a family and put
in the number of hours I was working.
I had my first child, and started to cut
back by only working 6 days a week. I
would promise my wife that I would take
off at least Saturdays also, but something
always came up, and I felt as though I
HAD to be there to solve any problems
that arose. Then, our second child came
along, and I was still putting in 6 long
days of work each week. I wanted to be
at home, but I felt as though I NEEDED
to be at work. It would cause fights at
home, and a feeling of burn out at work.
A turning point
It was not until my oldest started to
play sports and all of his games were
scheduled on Saturday mornings that
I realized this was going to be a major
problem. My dad had always been at
all of my games and practices, and I
intended to do the same thing. Like
most things in life, that wass easier said
than done and I had a lot of questions,
“Who was going to do it if I was not
there?”, “What would happen if there
is a problem?” and, “Will this be to the
detriment to the success of my business?”
The work/life balanced had reached
a tipping point, and if I wanted my
business to truly be successful, I needed
to find a way for it to operate without me
being there constantly. I also knew if I
wanted to be happy, I needed to be there
for my family.
How I made positive changes
If you are also sitting on the cusp of
burn out or you are experiencing an outof-whack
work/life balance, here are a
few things that I implemented that have
worked for me.
1. Hiring quality management.
I discovered a while ago that a great detailer
does not always make for a great
manager. Proper management involves
a skillset that not many detailers have,
such as, communication, problem solving,
and customer service skills. I hired
managers from outside of the detailing
world, with real life management experience.
They were equipped and trained to
understand the management aspects of
the business, and were easily taught what
they needed to know about detailing. Being
able to delegate the work to someone
else freed up an enormous amount of
my time, and greatly lightened my load.
2. Creating procedures
and processes.
My company now as an order and chain
that problems and issues follow. Now, if
something escalates and it gets back to
me, it is a pretty serious situation. Lesser
things can be taken care of by the detailers
or the managers. By empowering
people to solve their own problems,
they not only took on the responsibility
of solving the problems themselves, but
it eventually got to a point that they felt
bad bringing me things they could not
take care of themselves.
3. Letting go of the reins.
This is always one of the most difficult
things for someone who is used to always
being in control. No one will ever
care about the business as much as you
do, but you can trust people to do their
jobs in the best interest of the company.
I found that once I started to back off,
things ran smoother without me sometimes.
I was no longer there as a fall back
or crutch for people to use, they were
forced to figure it out themselves. It did
not take long before my presence was not
necessary, and when I was there, I was
able to really get to work ON the business
and get things completed.
Remember, there is no perfect
formula to ensure that your business
will run smoothly without you, but there
is a 100 percent chance you will burn
yourself out if you work long days, and/
or 7 days a week, without a vacation.
8 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 4, NO. 3 • SUMMER 2019