ADN SPRING 2022 WEB
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
DETAIL<br />
DOCTOR<br />
The Ultimate Quiz.<br />
Can you pass the test?<br />
While you think you have a passion for owning and operating a business,<br />
do you have the necessary technical and business knowledge?<br />
By Bud Abraham<br />
buda@detailplus.com<br />
There are many detail business owners<br />
who have a real passion for the industry,<br />
which is wonderful. But that passion<br />
cannot be enough if there is an absence<br />
of knowledge.<br />
Consider gardening, for example.<br />
Prior to planting each type of plant, you<br />
read the guidelines to make sure you are<br />
not planting the bulbs too deep. You<br />
determine the correct type of fertilizer,<br />
how much water and light the plant<br />
needs, and whether the plant will resist<br />
frost. Put simply, it is great to have a passion<br />
for gardening, but it’s the time the<br />
gardener invests in building knowledge<br />
that will make the plant grow.<br />
How you operate your detail business<br />
is no different, and passion and knowledge<br />
must be combined in order for<br />
you to succeed and grow. That passion<br />
should also be put into obtaining knowledge,<br />
skills and experience. Too many<br />
detailers put up a great front, but don’t<br />
understand even the most basic things<br />
about the processes they should perform<br />
with consistently high quality.<br />
For example, try quizzing yourself<br />
with the following questions to see if you<br />
really have what it takes.<br />
BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE QUIZ<br />
Even if you have all the technical knowledge,<br />
do you have the knowledge that it<br />
takes to set up and operate a successful detail<br />
business?<br />
Review these questions and honestly<br />
answer if you can say yes to all of them,<br />
some of them or few of them. Your business<br />
knowledge is critical if you are to succeed<br />
for the long term in the business of detailing.<br />
• Do you know how to negotiate a<br />
lease for a fixed location?<br />
• Do you know the various business<br />
structures you can use to set up your<br />
company? Do you know the difference<br />
between a sole proprietorship,<br />
partnership, corporation, either a C or S,<br />
LLC? Do you know the advantages and<br />
disadvantages of each?<br />
• Do you know how to do a trademark<br />
or service mark search to determine<br />
if someone else is using the name<br />
you have chosen? Why is the search<br />
important to do?<br />
• Do you know the difference between<br />
filing an assumed business name and a<br />
corporate registration?<br />
• Do you know what type of insurance<br />
to get and what coverages?<br />
• Do you know that you must have<br />
Workers Compensation Insurance if you<br />
have employees? And, do you know<br />
how to purchase it at the best rates?<br />
• Do you know why the IRS and<br />
Departments of Labor do not recognize<br />
detail employees as contract laborers?<br />
• Do you know how to determine your prices?<br />
• Do you know how to calculate an hourly<br />
service rate for your detail services?<br />
• Do you know how to read a Profit and<br />
Loss Statement? Why is that important?<br />
• Do you know how to read a Balance<br />
Sheet and why that is important?<br />
• Do you know how to selectively<br />
search, interview, train and motivate<br />
and monitor employees?<br />
• How to cover yourself if an<br />
employee(s) quit on you?<br />
• Do you have a Business Plan? Do you<br />
know how to develop one and use it?<br />
• Do you understand Marketing and<br />
why it is important for your business?<br />
• Do you know the difference between<br />
marketing and advertising?<br />
• Do you know how to use Public<br />
Relations to promote your business?<br />
26 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 7, NO. 5 • <strong>SPRING</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
Change language