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THE BUSINESS OF DETAILING Staying Strong and Being Prepared ... during this difficult time 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. These past few months have really hit every detailing company hard. There is a level of uncertainty around right now that I have never felt in the detailing community. It’s a tough time to navigate the forced mandatory closures of detailing businesses, and the ones that could stay open are faced with dwindling levels of potential customers. There is no doubt that some detailing companies will not recover and will be unable to open back up once the restrictions are lifted. If you are not or do not want to fall into that category there are some things you can be doing now to prepare yourself for the eventual reopening. It is vital that you be ready. WEATHERING THE STORM Economic downturns have occurred in the past, and will continue to occur in the future. How you weather the storm and come out the other side will be the difference on success or failure. One of my executive managers calls our recovery, “Plan Jenny”, as in Forrest Gump’s shrimping boat that he and Lieutenant Dan rode to ride out the storm. After the storm wiped out all of the other boats, they were able to find great success. You need to think of this like that. If you can make it to the other side, there will be an increase in market share and enormous growth for those that were ready for it. The key here is being ready for it. If you hit the starting line running, no one will ever catch up. HIT THE GROUND READY TO RUN Here are a few things you can do to be ready for re-launching your business: Prepare your staff: Now is a fantastic opportunity to start bringing back staff a little bit early and brush them up on training and services. If you were fortunate to get PPP money from the government, it needs to be spent on payroll anyways, so why not use some of it to prepare the employees who might be a little rusty after a few months off. This is also the time to make any policy updates or changes that you have been meaning to do. As everyone comes back, you introduce them to these updates and start implementation. It is difficult to make major changes on the fly, but this presents the perfect opportunity to make updates and implement them while not much else is going on. Seize the opportunity: If you are lucky enough to see the other side of this, you will be in a great position to expand your business. There are customers that are up for grabs if you go out there and find them. Any customers who had been going to now closed detailing businesses will be looking for new providers. This applies to single retail customers all the way up to large dealership chains. As they reopen they will be scrambling to replace any detailer who is not returning. You can also find some quality detailers that have been laid off. There are tens of millions of people out there without work. I can guarantee that you can find quality detailers that will blow you away, if you just look. Also do not be afraid to hire someone without detailing experience and train them to do the job. People will be hungry for work. Plan for the future: There is no reason to assume that you will not see growth once your business restarts. Make a plan on where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, etc. This will give you the path to follow as real success starts to come your way. If you know where you are going and have your goals in place coming out of this, then head straight for it, NO ONE will be able to keep up . There is absolutely no reason that you should not have a positive outlook on your businesses surviving this. I am even predicting a boom in the detailing industry due to fewer detailers and competition, and a renewed interest in ensuring that vehicles are clean and germ free. This pandemic has created an awareness for cleanliness and sanitization, and detailers can provide that service. Make sure you are marketing this in all of your advertising and social media platforms. Most importantly, do not hesitate or be slow off the starting line. Be the Jenny boat of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and claim your place among the successful industry leaders. 8 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 5, NO. 2 • SUMMER 2020
All SPI products are made in the USA and ship with 100% fill rates! We are looking for Jobbers in select markets for protected territories. 2K Primers | Epoxy Primers Clearcoats | Urethane Reducers 706-781-2220 | southernpolyurethanes.com SPI Patriotic Ad April 8.5x10.25_04072020 Final.indd 1 4/7/20 1:50 PM
Page 1 and 2: VOL. 5, NO. 2 SUMMER 2020 MOTORCYCL
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS The Importance of Efficien
Page 5 and 6: THE NEW HIGH-PERFORMANCE STANDARD,
Page 10: BUSINESS CENTS Help is Out There He
Page 13 and 14: communications, if feasible. • Pr
Page 15 and 16: YOUR RELIABLE SUPPLIER FOR THE DETA
Page 17 and 18: 1. ALKALINE SPOTTING: Caused by alk
Page 19 and 20: INDUSTRY NEWS Detailer expands loca
Page 21 and 22: Since 197777 Lake Country Manufactu
Page 23 and 24: THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND EC
Page 25 and 26: NEW! CERAMIC COATING PRO ADAMANTINE
Page 27 and 28: ANNEMARIE NORMAN, a motorcycle deta
Page 29 and 30: Michael Antenucci of Auto Wash & Su
Page 31 and 32: IDA NEWS The IDA is here to help We

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