If you’re thinking about starting a car detailing business, maybe you’ve heard that you should make a business plan. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into what a business plan is, why you should write one, and how you can make a business plan that’s actually useful for your detailing business.
What is a business plan?
A business plan is a written document where you outline the vision, details, and goals of your future business. Having a business plan helps you prepare for the future. You can take time to think about what you plan to do and how you’re going to do it. Being organized through a business plan will help you avoid problems down the road. A business plan normally incorporates objectives, goals, strategies, and finances as they relate to your business.
Why should you write a car detailing business plan?
You might be wondering why you need to write a business plan for your car detailing business. Here’s a good reason: statistically you’re 2.5x more likely to actually start your business after you write a business plan. A business plan helps you organize all of the ideas in your head and actually put them down on paper. Writing down your plans helps you see and maybe even catch some problems you might have down the road. Here are 3 reasons a business plan will help:
- You can determine the feasibility of your business idea.
Writing down all of the internal and external factors of starting and running your business will make you consider your opportunities and your risks in starting a business. Thinking about all opportunities and risks can help you make decisions about how you will operate your business. - You give yourself the best possible chance of success.
Writing a business plan will point your attention to things you might forget about, like operations, finances, legal obstacles, and/or promoting your services. There are a lot of moving parts when you start a business. It’s important you give yourself the best chance at starting a successful detailing business. - It can help you secure funding and/or loans if needed.
Starting a business takes an investment, and most new businesses need to secure funding or take out a loan to get started. If you are planning on taking out a loan from a bank, a good business plan will help your chances at securing the amount of money you need. Banks want to know that you are considering the risks of starting your new detailing business appropriately.
Types of Business Plans
There are two different types of business plans you can create for your own car detailing business idea: the traditional business plan (normally 10+ pages) and the one-page business plan. There are pros and cons to both types of business plans. With that said, the one-page business plan is probably sufficient for your new detailing business. Traditional business plans are usually used by businesses looking for investors who need a deeper level of detail about your future company.
What can your car detailing business plan include?
- Basic information including your registered name, address of any physical locations, other contact information, and names of key people involved in the business
- A mission statement to describe the main focus of your detailing business
- An objective statement that explains your company’s goals
- A business strategy that goes into detail of what your goals are and how you plan to achieve them
- Your business and management structure that outlines key employees, managers or other owners of the business (including the percent ownership and the extent of each owner’s involvement in the company)
- How you will package your detailing services and how you will set pricing
- Outline the potential customers you will target, their pain points, and how your business can help solve them
- Define your unique value and what differentiates you from your competitors
- Create a marketing and sales plan, including messaging on why your services are worth buying and what channels will you use to promote your business
- Financial plans including your revenue goals, start up investment required, and growth opportunities and plans
Sample One-Page Business Plan for Your Detailing Business
Download a PDF version of our detailing business plan template here.
Common business plan mistakes to avoid
- Making unrealistic assumptions
The challenge of business plans is that you do a lot of planning before doing, which means you run the risk of being unrealistic. It’s important to make sure that you are thinking about real customers, what they need, and what they will buy. Try speaking to potential customers to make sure your planning lines up with what’s realistic. - Setting vague goals
When you set vague goals, it’s difficult to know how to measure them and achieve them. We recommend setting specific goals so you can turn them into specific action plans. - One-size-fits-all planning
Every detailing business is unique, which means that one-size-fits-all planning just doesn’t make sense. Writing a business plan that is as specific as possible to you and your business will help much more than copying someone else’s. Take some time to really think about the details of your business and answer the questions in a way that makes your uniqueness clear.
Good luck writing your business plan for your detailing business! Your business plan should be a very helpful tool for you to start and grow your business. Once you create it for the first time, it’s easy to come back and review and improve it over time.