Starting a Successful Car Wash: 10 Tips
If you’re about to open your own car wash business, there are a few things you need to know: how to start your business, how to establish it in the community, and how to expand your customer base. Here are 10 tips to help you get through those milestones.
- Establish your name and business structure
To become an official business, you need to choose an official name and establish your business structure. Your structure will partly determine the permits and licenses you must acquire and the taxes you must pay.
Many car washes adopt an LLC structure to protect their personal assets and enhance their credibility. Since car washes handle other people’s vehicles, limited liability makes the most sense.
- Determine your business plan
As with any startup, you must determine your business plan upstream. What product or service are you going to sell? How are you going to deliver it? Your plan should also include the following:
- Your place(s) of business
- Sales and Marketing Strategies
- Executive and company summaries
- Financial plan
- Risk assessment
A comprehensive plan will guide your business in its early stages and give you clear direction. It also helps you appear more legitimate, which will allow you to obtain sufficient funding to launch your business.
- Register your business
Next, you must register your business with your Department of Labor and acquire an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Your state also has a specific set of documents you must file. This initial registration prepares the ground for all future financial transactions, including taxes.
- File your taxes
Using your EID number, contact your local treasury department and determine the state and federal taxes your business must pay. LLCs also have to pay a different set of taxes than other businesses to get more benefits. Your state may also have unique sales and franchise taxes. Check your state’s department of revenue website for more information.
- Get the right permits
The most important license your car wash needs is the Certificate of Occupancy (CO), which gives you permission to do business in the location of your choice. You should also research local zoning laws and building codes. These details will make some of your design decisions easier.
- Secured financing
Once your taxes and permits are in place, you can go to your bank and apply for a loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Showing skill in the previous steps will tell your bank that you take this business seriously and will use the money wisely.
- Design a website
Once you have secured the necessary funding to launch your business, you need to increase your brand awareness. The fastest way to raise awareness is to establish your online presence with a website.
Your website should be the single source for all your business information. Be sure to include products/services offered, FAQs, an “About Us” page, and other standard website features. For car washes in particular, car photo galleries and testimonials from satisfied customers are especially helpful.
- Market your brand
Your website is also an essential part of marketing your brand. You need to create a blog or other content hub that gives your target audience useful information without explicitly making a sales pitch. Any type of content that informs the reader and generates a call to action is marketing.
Social media is the best tool to accomplish both of these tasks. It allows you to directly engage with your market, gain subscribers, and drive more traffic to your website and location.
- Study the market
Social media also gives you accurate insight into your competitors’ strategies. Observe how they interact with customers and see if you can spot any trendy tactics. Which platforms and types of content are the most successful? Your market is constantly changing and you need to find ways to adapt.
- Create a clientele
New businesses cannot rely on random customers to make a steady profit. They have to work hard to identify a target audience and build a loyal following from that audience. Car washes tend to find a unique target audience based on their services.
For example, if you offer touch-free washes that kids seem to love, you can take a more family-friendly approach. The demographic you focus on will influence many aspects of your business:
- The design details of your car wash (signs, color schemes, decorations, uniforms, etc.)
- The tone and topic of your online content
- Your interactions with customers on social networks
- Loyalty and rewards programs
Car washes are also unique because they often have enough space to host community events. Fundraisers, barbecues and other fun activities will increase your brand awareness and endear you to the community.
Make your car wash plans a reality
Business owners need to build their brands from the ground up, starting with a thorough plan and ending with a loyal customer base. All actions in between will require a lot of hard work and dedication. But if you steadily increase your brand awareness and adapt to meet the demands of your market, you can make your car wash plans a reality.
