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#3. Auto Service Notification: Are your brakes ok? Is your alternator
going to give out in bumper to bumper traffic? At 11:00 at night? In a bad
neighborhood? Better to be safe than sorry. Your car is overdue for a
service. Call now to schedule an appointment and get 10% off any work
performed. Wouldn’t a post card like that get you to call your dealer to
schedule an appointment? Maybe, maybe not. But a good percentage of people
need to be reminded when their car is due for service. You could offer such
a service by contacting auto dealers and offer to take over this tedious
work. One man, John Wolf of Oklahoma City, started this business with just
$500.00 and 1 dealer. Today he mails reminders for 1500 dealerships.

#4. Polish Up For Profits: “I have a 31-step process. I shampoo
seats, do the dashboard with Q-tips, clean the trunk, dress the engine, etc.
It takes 3 hours for what I do, and I charge $120.” This would be a typical
response of someone who does Auto Detailing when asked what they can do for
your car and how much they would charge you for it. The age of the upscale
carwash is here. As we keep our cars longer (average length is 7.5 years) we
take better care of them. This is why the carwash business is booming with
$8 billion in revenue, and so is auto detailing.

#5. Executive Parking: Many auto detail services nest their business
in executive parking lots. They get a permit from the city and from the
business whose lot they use. This is convenient for employees who otherwise
may not have time to bring their cars to a shop that would take 3 hours to
get detailing done. In a mobile operation such as this, you will need a van
or pickup truck and access to running water and preferably AC power. In some
cities, there are companies that convert and customize pickup trucks into
mobile detail shops with its own reservoir and portable power generator. 140
Million Cars Although many auto detailers will swear that a bulk of their
business comes from car dealers, in reality the car dealer market is small
and extremely competitive. Most car dealers need cars detailed before a used
car is offered in an auction or is displayed in the lot. However, the
biggest market of all is still on the road, individual car owners,
representing all of 140 million passenger cars plus another 30 million
pickup trucks on the road. This market, with an average age of 7.5 years, is
ripe for a detail job at least twice a year.

#6. Budget Detail: The best way to build up a base in this business
is to introduce a mid-priced service that offers extras that carwashes do
not offer. Detail jobs in the range of $30 to $49 will open up a new market
that can provide a stream of customers. You can provide a written list of
what you do and how you build up your rates from the basic price of $30 to
the premium rate $49. With 5 customers a day, at 1 hour each, you can
average $200 a day.

#7. Mobile Headlight Installation: There is never enough time in the
day. Something always goes wrong at the most inopportune time, especially
when it comes to cars. And that something that goes wrong doesn’t always
have to be anything major—it can be as simple as an overdue oil change or a
burned out headlight. It becomes major when there is work to go to, kids to
pick up, a house to clean and dinner to make. Not everyone has time and not
everyone is adept at changing headlights or taillights. That’s where a
mobile headlight installation business comes into play. You can offer to
purchase the required headlight, or taillight, for customers, and install
them at the customer’s home or place of work. Why should people pay you to
install their headlights or taillights instead of doing it themselves? Make
a list of the benefits to the customer, which will help you in the marketing
process. First, really focus on the time issue. People are busy, and it
really is a hassle to take time out of a busy day to go to the local auto
part store to pick up the proper lights. Inevitably, mistakes happen which
mean a repeat visit to the store, costing even more valuable time. This is
something customers won’t have to worry about when they use your service.
Obviously, you go to the customer. They can simply pick up the phone, call
you and tell you what type of headlight, or taillight as the case may be,
their car uses. You would then purchase the headlight and go to the
customer, whether they are at work, at home or even at a neighbor’s home.
You offer them personalized convenience for a reasonable fee. Having a
headlight, or taillight, that works properly is not only safer but it’s
required by law that your headlights and taillights work. In most states, a
person can get a ticket if they have a burned out light. Marketing your
service is relatively simple because it’s a service everyone needs at one
time or another. You can print fliers, detailing the benefits of your
service in a quick yet effective manner, then hang them in grocery stores,
auto supply shops, anywhere and everywhere you can think of. Make sure your
phone number is displayed prominently, and you might also want to put tear
strips at the bottom of each flyer with the phone number and your business
name. This way, people can tear your number off and put it in their pockets.
You might also place classified ads in your local Penny Saver or newspaper.

#8. Mobile Oil Change: Let’s face it. Getting to the garage or local
auto servicing company to get the car’s oil changed every 3,000 miles or
three months is just a big hassle, especially for people who work strict
nine-to-five jobs. No matter what time you choose to go, you inevitably run
into long lines, losing hours you could have used to do other things. One
enterprising company in Baltimore, Lube-on-the-Move, became a hit with local
office employees by offering to change their cars’ oil, in the office
parking lot, during the workday. An oil change cost only $19.95, the same
price most other companies charge, and customers are being saved the hassle
and wasted time of long lines. If the popularity of Lube-on-the-Move is any
indication, starting such a business will likely prove to be a great
success. If you’re good with cars, and know how to change the oil, then this
is a business you might want to consider. All you need is solid knowledge
about cars, oil, enthusiasm and you’re ready to go. You need to decide how
you will offer your service. Will you have a number customers can call to
schedule an appointment? If so, estimate how long each oil change will take,
allowing for anything unexpected like a traffic jam. That way, you’ll know
how many oil changes you can schedule in a day. Decide what area you will
cover. Will you work alone, with partners or hire independent contractors in
order to take in more business? Marketing your mobile oil change business
should be a cinch. Good news spreads quickly in the office environment, and
you’re likely to get a lot of interest from people who are too busy to worry
about their cars. Put fliers under the windshields of cars in office
complexes, and approach the Human Resource Departments of different
companies. Explain to the Human Resources Manager that you are offering a
valuable service that will save employees work time. Many businesses have
company newsletters; ask that a blurb about your service be added to the
next instalment. You can also place classified ads in local publications,
and place flyers on bulletin boards in prominent locations. Almost everyone
in America has a car, so your market is everywhere around you; take
advantage of it.

#9. Repair Shop Referrals: The car always seems to break down or
start sputtering at the most inconvenient time—like when you’ve just moved
into a new neighborhood and have no idea where you can find a reputable
repair shop. Ask any car owner, and they’re likely to tell you they’ve dealt
with a shady repair shop at least once in their lives. Finding a good auto
repair shop, one you can rely on to perform an excellent job and for an
affordable price, is like hitting pay dirt. It’s priceless. Do you know a
repair shop that you tell all of your friends about? Or is there a repair
shop you’ve heard nothing but good things about? Find one then strike up a
partnership to help bring them new business. Go to the repair shop of your
choice, and make them an offer: you’ll bring in new business, and for every
customer you refer, you’ll earn commission. Since businesses are always
looking for new customers, you’ll likely have an easy time finding a repair
shop with whom to partner. When you decide on the amount of commission
you’ll receive for each referral, make sure you have a document written that
states the specifics. Once you have a contract in place, then you’ll want to
start marketing the repair shop. To do this, you’ll create fliers. Highlight
the high quality work and affordable prices on the flier. After you’ve
designed and printed the flyer, create a card with your name on it, and
state “For a special discount, present this card to the shop manager.”
Staple a card to each flier. Then, go to the mall or anywhere you’ll find a
lot of cars. Place a flier on the windshield of all of the cars that need
bodywork.

#10. Car Buyer: Many people who want to buy a new car have no idea
where to begin in order to get the best deal. That is were Al Jacobs comes
in. He finds cars for busy executives, single women and handicapped people
with special needs. Jacobs starts by interviewing his client to determine
the particular need. He then looks in his database of over 400 different
models and narrows the clients options down to just a few that match their
needs. Depending on the dealer, he either delivers each car to the client
for a test drive or takes the client to the dealership. The real value for
the client is that Jacobs handles all the negotiations with the dealership
thus saving the client hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Jacobs handles
40 deals a month at a fee of $200.00 each.