Starting a Profitable Car Wash Business in Nigeria
By Arrow Mug
Car wash service business
Car wash business is a profitable venture on many levels.
Whether you have enough money to start a mega car wash or you just want to
start a small business and put some money in your pocket, the car wash business
never disappoints. In this post, my goal is to show you how to start your own
car wash business whether as a full-time business or a side hustle.
Of all the many service oriented businesses you can think
of, car wash business is one of the best if you are up to it.
There are people who spend time to save money, and there are
people who spend money to save time. When you start a car wash business, you
basically target people who need to spend money to save time, and there are
lots of them these days.
As life becomes busier and our societies faster, not
everyone has the luxury of time to wake up early in the morning and wash their
car before embarking on the daily tasks. Even if they do, it’s a lot of work
cleaning the interior and washing the tires clean, isn’t it?
You are probably reading this post because you are already
convinced that a car wash business is right for you. Instead of telling you how
this business is lucrative – trust me, it is – let’s just dive right into the
heart of the matter; this is how to start your own car wash business on any
level.
Learn professional car washing
This is actually the part where people start to fail. To
understand what I’m about to say, enter any street and ask people there to
recommend a car wash for your car. That is when you will understand that not
every cash wash is worth their penny. See, if it’s just to pour water on a car
and wash it with soap, everybody would make money washing cars, won’t they?
Start by learning from professionals. Visit any professional
car wash service you know and learn whatever you can from them. You can offer
to work for free while they show you the ropes.
Be professional. Attend to customers with every courtesy,
pay attention to details while washing the car
Find a good location
Location is very important for a car wash business. What is
a good site?
For a start, your site should be a busy area with enough
income earners who can afford to pay for your service. Remember when I said you
target people who spend money to save time?
You may find ample cheap space in a rural setting with
little traffic but you may not get enough business to keep yourself afloat. It
might be OK to get a location a bit removed from the busy town and hope that
your good works will draw much of the traffic your way. That could work, but
the closer you are to where the action is, the better your business will be.
You want to pay close attention to the location of your
business. People who visit an auto (mechanic) shop usually want to wash
dirt/grime off their car before they continue on their business. Therefore, if
you find some space close to an auto shop, you could be in business. The same
goes for very dusty, dirty areas.
Make sure there is enough water
A car wash needs water, lots of water. You will need a
steady source of water, so factor that into your consideration for a location.
I have seen people who open a car wash business near a stream. Others buy a big
water storage tank and contract tankers to fill the tanks daily.
If your location has a water borehole close by, that
definitely works too. How you get water is up to you. One thing I can tell you
is you cannot afford to turn customers away because ‘water no dey!’ (…there is
no water)
Buy equipment and materials.
One thing I love about the car wash business is you can
start it on any scale. You can invest huge amounts of money, if you can afford
it, to start a state-of-the-art car wash. You can also get two buckets, one
piece of cloth and some detergents and wash people’s cars in the morning before
they move out for their daily business. Whichever way you go, you will make
money if you render good service.
That said, the more tools you can afford, the better your
business will be for it. As much as possible, get every equipment you can
afford for your business. They will make life easier for you, and they will
show your customers you really know what you are doing. You will also be able
to charge a decent fee for your work.
Some of these equipment are:
- Pressure car washer
- Towels
- Brushes
- Chemicals
- Wax
- Compressors
- Conveyor,
- Mobile wash systems, etc
If you can buy these equipment from the moment you start,
fine. But if you are starting small, I suggest you invest the money you make
into getting better equipment for your car wash business.
You can add services to your car wash business to maximize
revenue. You could add a mini bar so people could get some refreshment while
they wait for their car. You could also add a sports viewing center, betting
shop, etc.
There are items people usually buy for their car. Items like
car air fresheners, floor mats, brushes, hydraulic, etc. You can stock and sell
these items so you make extra money for no extra work.
Well, this depends on you. If you don’t have any job or
business at the moment, you can start a car wash business full-time. Don’t worry,
if you do a good job, it will definitely put serious money in your pockets.
If you go full-time, you can afford to run your business the
way it suits you, you can start with little or no capital as I have already
said, and you can work alone or directly supervise your workers depending on
the scale of the business.
If you start the business as a side hustle, you will be
adding a major stream of passive income to your income portfolio. However, you
will rely on other people to run the business, therefore you need to design a
system/process that makes it difficult for them to cheat you. Cheating is very
easy when you are not directly supervising your workers.
If you are starting car wash business as a side hustle, I
would assume you already have an income source and you have saved up enough
money to start the business in a not-so-small way. When you start big, you can
design checks and systems that prevent your workers to cheat you. If not, you
would just be opening a big business for your workers while you get nothing.
People will need a way to know you offer car wash business.
If you have a good location, advertisement could be as simple as having the
first few sets of cars come in and washing them. Once people see these cars,
they automatically know there is a car wash there.
You can also put up a sign/billboard that says you wash
cars. Word of mouth works wonders too. The rest would be up to how professional
you are in your service delivery. If you are the best car wash in the
neighborhood, just relax and count your money because people will always
recommend you to their friends. At least, I know every car wash I have visited
was always recommended to me by someone else.
Don’t spend your money on unnecessary advertising unless you
have stiff competition. If you do a good job, people will find you.
Finally
Do a good job. Take extra care to protect people cars and
what they contain. One theft, scandal or misconduct and your customers will run
away.
− Business Plan −
Give your chances of success in this business a massive
boost when you get this solid, professionally prepared business plan.
Click Here to Learn
More
If you can think of other tips to run a profitable car wash
business, send them in your comments and I will include them in the article.
I’ve got many other profitable business ideas for you on this page.
Good luck, and share this post with your friends on social
media.
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