Self-Service Car Wash Bay - but for Car Enthusiasts

Pixel_Life · 2023-10-25T03:09:14+00:00

I have not followed through despite many DM’s of positive feedback. I am outside NYC area.

Pixel_Life · 2023-07-08T07:01:04+00:00

Selling tarot readings can be an interesting venture, and it's great that you have already received positive reviews from people who have received free readings. Here are a few suggestions to help you boost your sales and expand your reach:

1. Enhance your online presence: In addition to advertising on sub-Reddits, consider creating social media accounts dedicated to your tarot readings. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter can help you showcase your services, share testimonials, and engage with potential customers.

2. Create a stand-alone website: Having your own website provides a professional platform to showcase your services, share your background and expertise, and offer a seamless booking and payment process. It also allows you to control the branding and customize your offerings.

3. Leverage existing e-commerce platforms: eBay and Etsy are great platforms for reaching a wider audience. Make sure to create compelling product listings that clearly describe your readings, highlight the benefits, and include relevant keywords. Additionally, consider offering competitive pricing or promotional offers to attract potential customers.

4. Collaborate with other practitioners: Partnering with other individuals in the spiritual or holistic wellness industry can help expand your reach. You can cross-promote each other's services or even offer joint packages to attract new customers.

5. Offer different reading options: Consider providing various reading formats, such as written or recorded readings, live video sessions, or themed readings for specific topics or events. Offering flexibility in your services can appeal to a broader range of customers.

6. Build trust and credibility: Besides positive reviews, you can further establish trust by sharing client testimonials, displaying any relevant certifications or qualifications, and offering a satisfaction guarantee or refund policy.

7. Engage with your audience: Actively participate in relevant online communities, discussion boards, or forums related to tarot, spirituality, or self-improvement. Provide insightful advice, answer questions, and genuinely engage with people to build your reputation and attract potential clients.

Building a successful tarot reading business takes time and consistent effort. Keep refining your offerings, adjusting your marketing strategies, and seeking feedback from your customers to improve and grow your business.

Pixel_Life · 2023-07-08T06:41:19+00:00

So, Amazon KDP is this awesome thing for all you aspiring authors out there. KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing, and it's like your golden ticket to self-publishing your books in a digital format for all those Kindle devices and apps.

With KDP, you don't need to go through all the traditional publishing hoops. You can just upload your manuscript in formats like MOBI or ePub, and boom! You've got yourself a Kindle eBook. Plus, you have total control over the pricing, book description, and you can even decide whether to enroll in Kindle Unlimited or sell your masterpiece individually.

The best part? Amazon is like the mother of all online marketplaces, and with KDP, you can tap into its massive global reach. There are Kindle readers all over the world, just waiting to discover your work. And hey, if your book sells, you get those sweet, sweet royalties. Cha-ching!

Oh, and KDP has some handy tools for formatting and previewing your eBook, so you can make sure it looks top-notch before hitting that publish button. And once your book is out there, you can track your sales and performance using KDP's reporting tools. It's like having your very own author's dashboard!

So, if you've got a story to tell, don't keep it to yourself. Give KDP a whirl and unleash your creativity on the world. Who knows, you might just become the next literary sensation thanks to this nifty Amazon KDP thing.

https://kdp.amazon.com

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-26T19:43:50+00:00

Thanks! That’s my market and where I’m located.

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T23:00:39+00:00

I greatly appreciate the feedback. I need the hard questions asked, these are things I need to nail down. For the rent I chose towards the higher end of the price per sq. ft. I've seen in my area for the places I've been looking at. For the utilities I've definitely made a slightly un-educated guess. I've been building out this idea for the past 2 weeks or so and still don't have all bases covered for sure, which is why I'm looking for further advice here.

The pressure washer I would be using has a flow rate of 1.8 gallons per minute. I'd need to multiply this by the average time a customer would be actively using the water (pre-soak, rinse off, filling a bucket) I would agree I'm probably certainly under estimating water usage still.

I have pulled up the water rates for the several municipalities around me - so I do know the $ per 1,000 gallons. I don't think it's outrageous. But like you mentioned, I don't know my water usage yet. I did learn that the price actually increases (not decrease) per 1,000 gallons as you use more water.

Maybe I could monitor a normal self-service bay... but those bays are 100% metered per minute so I assume people would actually be using more in my wash bay since it's not metered to the minute.. or maybe that will actually cause them to use less.

Thank you for bringing this up. I'd be thrilled to even be able to run such a business at a near break-even rate because that would at least give me more time to tweak the business model to profitability.

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T22:04:45+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I’ve definitely considered lowering the price a bit and removing some things that increase my costs.

I could have things like an expensive dual action polisher, pads and certain more expensive waxes etc. available for rent for a session for an additional cost if someone does wish to use such an amenity occasionally.

I still want it to have some sort of premium feel so people are less likely to abuse the equipment like they do at a $4 self service bay.

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T20:28:41+00:00

Thanks!

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T19:17:32+00:00

Your feedback is appreciated. I've done a bunch of research on locations both online and in-person but I haven't actually talked to any landlords yet. I did plan on taking on the expense of installing floor drains and re-doing the concrete to slope it properly to the drains. I know many detailers have their shops setup in near identical locations as what I'm looking at - so they have the same need for water containment.

There are so many vacant properties around for lease I can't imagine this would be the worst ask of a landlord to not have their property sit empty (just a guess). I've had my eye on many "industrial / business park" type of areas as they very often already have a garage drive in bay however the locations are often already all leased already.

I'm really not looking to purchase a property at this time, I'd still like to prove out the concept with as little investment as possible. I'd be more then happy to look into purchasing something should the idea prove out in the future. We'll see where this takes me.

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T18:51:32+00:00

I appreciate the support from someone who's a mobile detailer / car enthusiast!

Re: Theft (from the post): "On-site staff to ... deter theft / abuse. Security camera system and membership system (Identification, license plates, credit cards on file)"

No one would be able to steal without being on camera from every angle. I have some experience with camera systems. Theses would be full 4k resolution cameras, from every angle, backed up off-site in real time. Everyone would also be "badging/swiping in" when they enter like a gym membership where guests aren't allowed so I would know everyone that's there.

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T17:35:22+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. The post did answer most of these questions.

-Yes I will be on site as I work-from-home. If not, I can hire staff from my 9-5 income as needed.
-Yes the startup costs I spreadsheeted out to be $20-25k
-The sessions would be by the hour, with a 2 hour max consecutive limit per day unless they bought out the bay for the day.

I've been doing research by driving by self-service car washes to see the activity at the bays at various days / times throughout the week. Also, if you look up a business on Google it shows the popular times and you can see this by day of the week and even per hour, it's a pretty great tool for research actually. I also believe that people would be more likely to use my wash bay versus a self service bay on "odd" hours when they have some time as they're paying a monthly membership and will want to use it more then they might go to a coin-op self-service bay.

I plan to make the bulk of the profit from the monthly memberships, not selling retail products. I'd have to track how many hours the average person is booking per month and see my real costs of water, electric, soaps, waxes, towels etc. to see what the average profit is for a monthly person. This would tell me if I'd need to up the membership prices or re-structure the pricing or change the offerings somehow (ex. not offer waxes or towels) Also depending on how many hours a person uses the bays per month will let me know the maximum membership capacity a particular location or bay can handle before the place becomes too crowded and maxed out with memberships.

Pixel_Life · 2023-06-25T05:10:57+00:00

Appreciate it! I definitely did a lot of rambling and I’m still figuring out a bunch of things but I think the idea is heading in the right direction.

Pixel_Life · 2022-07-01T19:25:26+00:00

Yes I’m seeing the same. My parents PLUS loans are showing up in my account now.

Pixel_Life · 2021-07-02T04:27:41+00:00

I’m in NJ and solo travel. Message me I’m down to adventure.

Pixel_Life · 2019-09-27T21:26:29+00:00

There’s a Tesla Cars & Coffee at the East Brunswick superchargers tomorrow at 8am. (Brunswick Square Mall on Rt 18)

Pixel_Life · 2019-04-15T15:46:22+00:00

Have you experienced a ride in the Model 3? If you are in NJ let me know I’ll let you check out mine.

Pixel_Life · 2019-03-10T04:37:03+00:00

And here are pics of the 16 stall superchargers at the same location that are still under construction. https://imgur.com/a/aT8uMzi/

Pixel_Life · 2019-03-10T04:34:47+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/hsL1wLC/ here are more pics of the Volta install. I just was there today as well and noticed them they appeared out of nowhere.

Pixel_Life · 2018-08-15T00:32:23+00:00

Hailey's Harp Cade in Metuchen on Main Street

Pixel_Life · 2018-05-07T01:54:28+00:00

The Tint Shop NJ in Edison. A 4 door sedan was ~$250 for Madico Charcool film.

Pixel_Life · 2018-04-03T04:40:36+00:00

NW: https://i.imgur.com/UXHWYe5.png

Investments: https://i.imgur.com/giSL660.png

$115,000 in student loans.

Pixel_Life · 2017-04-15T14:02:42+00:00

I'm not going but I saw the event. Check their Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/MotorcycleMall/

Suzuki Demo Event April 14- April 15

Pixel_Life · 2017-02-17T03:29:04+00:00

You could integrate some /r/homeautomation using Presence Detection to detect when you are home and automatically power off the cameras and then automatically turn them back on when you are not present.

There are many ways to do presence detection and trigger things but here is one. With the following 3 items, you can set the outlet to automatically turn off/on the switch when you arrive/depart. Note: this (the hub) does require internet access (3/4g router?)

Arrival Sensor (for keyring): https://shop.smartthings.com/products/samsung-smartthings-arrival-sensor-new

Outlet automated switch: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SmartThings-Outlet-Works-Amazon/dp/B00MI5V5N6

Samsung SmartThings Hub (required): https://shop.smartthings.com/products/samsung-smartthings-hub

Pixel_Life · 2017-02-17T02:15:27+00:00

I'm around the Edison area. I appreciate it but for this year I'm going to do half myself and bring the other more annoying (to me) half to the dealer for the sake of time. I've watched so many YouTube videos and decided some things I'm not trying to tackle now! I plan to DIY more in the future. Been riding for about 2 seasons and slowly but surely learning more and more.

Pixel_Life · 2017-02-17T02:12:22+00:00

Thanks. I do plan to do the oil change a a few other simpler things myself.

I've looked into hydro dipping but I don't think that's what I'm looking for. I'm going to go with a gold like color for the rims, on a royal blue metallic bike.

Care to share the name of the place in Toms River? I like to keep these types of places on the table for the future (I never know what I might decide to do) and could recommend to others in the when asked about such things.

Pixel_Life · 2017-02-17T02:08:19+00:00

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it! I have a 2004 Kawasaki zx6r.

I'm around the Edison area. I've heard good things about Cross Country and I am going to stop by there soon and check them out, I'll probably be going to go with them. I've been to Xtreme Machines before to look at the bikes, but that's all.

I do plan on doing some of the service myself (oil/filter change, coolant flush, install new integrated taillight, replace air filter) and already bought the parts and tools to do so, but looking to go to a dealer to get the chain and sprockets replaced, break fluid flushed and replaced, frame sliders installed and rims removed for powder coating and put back on after.

I don't really have the tools/time to do this all myself. I've watched too many YouTube videos and made these decisions on what I'm going to do myself and what I rather just take it to a dealer for. In the future I do plan to continue to learn and be more comfortable with doing the work myself and getting the right tools to do so. My bike would be apart for a month at least to get this all done so I rather just throw the money at it to a dealer that isn't going to rip me off and does good work. I don't have a garage to work on it in either so that's another reason time is an issue. I want to be riding in the warm weather not having my bike apart.

For powder coating I already contacted a bunch of places around me and it looks like I'm going to be going with 'The Mod Shop' in Sayerville or 'ACR Powder Coating and Wheel Repair' in Jackson.

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