Franchise Help Interviews the First Ever Eco-Friendly Car Wash Franchise
FranchiseHelp speaks with Angela Williams, founder of DetailXPerts, the first eco-friendly steam cleaning car wash franchises in the world. In addition to its guarantee towards eco-friendly resources, the DetailXPerts franchise is known to specialize in professionaldetailing and quality services.In this one-on-one interview, Williams reveals to readers how her innovative automotive franchises are racing on the track towards success.
How do you see franchise opportunities as an advantage when compared to starting a business from scratch?
80% of business owners fail because they don’t have the skill set, education, orexperience to run a successful business. DetailXPerts provides franchisees with thetraining, support, and marketing that they need to start and run a successful business. As the first franchise to implement this type of car wash concept, we’ve spent a greatdeal of money and time developing this system and are confident that our efforts will lead to further growth in our franchise.
How much overhead and capital is needed to start a mobile detailing service with the technology that you have?
The net worth requirement for starting a mobile detailing service is $60,000 for a single unit and $150,000 for multi-unit. The liquid capital requirement is $20,000 for a single unit and $100,000 for multi-unit.A prospective franchisee should either have approximately six months worth of expenses saved up or a second income to pay for these expenses while business is ramping up.
How does someone with no prior experience become educated enough to run this business? Are they at higher risk than someone who has worked in this business for a long time?
Our robust training program is designed to help new entrepreneurs succeed. We provide them with training sales and marketing as well as business management. In addition, contrary to popular belief, people with no prior experience are often a better match for our franchisesystem because they are generally more teachable and open to new ideas.
Car washes are often cash businesses. As a franchisee, how do you protect yourself from tax implications that might occur if franchisees do not report all of their earnings?
Each franchisee is responsible for their own taxes. Franchisees are recommended to consult with a CPA (Certified public accountant) before entering the DetailXPerts franchise. Right now, we are also looking to implement additional management tools to help franchisees maintain better financial control.
DetailXPerts is a very innovative car wash. Is it more expensive to operate and setup than a normal car wash franchise?
Operating a DetailXPerts franchise actually less expensive than operating a typical car wash franchise. Most car wash franchises cost $250,000 to$1,000,000 (including stationary structure).
How do you educate the consumer about your commitment to the environment?
We educate consumers about our environmental commitment each time we perform detailing services. Seminars, Webinars, emails and publications are also offered for employees and community organizations.
Are any of your competitors worried about the "triple bottom line", people, planet and profit?
Yes, our competitors are constantly looking for ways to compete with our business.
Care to share a success story from an owner of one of your franchises?
Alicia Trotter is a 20 year old woman that was awarded a DetailXPert franchise 12 months ago. Both her father and mother had been recently laid off. But with the help of our franchise, she was able to open up her own eco-friendly auto detail shop. Now, she has her own business, and her parents are financially stable.
Searching for the Best Franchises for Minorities
Many franchises incentivize minorities to join their systems. As president of the World Franchising Network Rob Bond puts it, these franchises "grease the skids" on behalf of minority candidates because they see value in promoting diversity among their franchisees. On account of a still-languid economy, however, many franchisors' approach has changed significantly in recent years. As Bond explains, “African Americans and Hispanics were being aggressively recruited five years ago to fill vacancies.” But today most franchisors are more concerned with trying to grease the skids for foreign investors with significant piles of investment capital.
How Franchisees Can Grow Their Sales
However, once the ribbons come down and time passes, franchisees begin to recognize the challenge ahead and that, in many ways, they're on their own: regardless of the amount of support their franchisor provides, the franchisee is ultimately responsible for generating sales for his or her new business.
Can an Adult Franchise be Tasteful?
The brand of adult shop that the newlywed couple launched after returning from a year-long tour of duty in Iraq was inspired by what made them uncomfortable about other adult shops.
