You own your business, which means experiencing all consequences of your choices.

You only want to do paint correction.  You only want to perform ceramic coating services.  You want to stick with basic detailing services.  You want to do just car washes.  You want to eliminate interior detailing.  You just want to clean interiors.  Shall I continue?   You wish you could charge more.  There is a reason why I do not use the word JOB to describe what I do.  Unless a W2 with someone else’s business name appears during tax time, I am certain that I am self-employed.

I see a plethora of social media stories earmarking successes, that is outlining services and clients that business owners work with.  It is often a price mentioned for services provided or clients who are easy to work with.  But there are also content creators mentioning the opposite.  But the former mentioning that they charge a premium providing specified services to a happy client.  This often elicits a similar response by at least one business owner.  They will often say, “I wish I could (but my excuse).”  Statements like ‘I wish I could charge this much’ or ‘find those clients’ are common.

You know you are your own boss.  You have to accept consequences, just like you are dealing with struggling to survive with significantly cheaper prices than what I charge even several years prior.  Yes, there is a market and other variables.  But the market excuse commonly levied, is taken to the extreme.  I often cite people in their area often charging twice as much, occasionally more for advertised services.  Often, they find the lowest of low to compare their business.  In finding the opposite success stories, I noticed professional effort.  That means a website, a real logo, nice attire, and other indicators of a luxury operation.

But maybe that is the proverbial elephant in the room.  Maybe they don’t want to invest in better clothing than a old yellow stained white tank top.  Maybe they cannot be bothered with talking on camera or cleaning their shop regularly.  Maybe they like catering to people who do not appreciate them or vehicle incredibly uncomfortable around people with disposable income.

I will often check out their social media profiles to find a commonality.  On some level their actions attract cheap people with unrealistic expectations who also treat them like low wage employees who should be grateful for a job, versus business owners.  Do you carry yourself like a homeless person pushing a shopping cart trying to find a job/gig for some money outside of a McDonald’s.  What kind of customers are you going to (or not going to) attract?!

Leadership and Mindset

“Hey, we are hiring this detailer to do what we want, and this is the wage you are going to get.  If you don’t like it or don’t want to work, well find another detailer who wants a job, that will do as instructed and work hard for me!  Don’t try to scam me out of more money either!”  Offensive?  These are similar phrases taken from job applications.  I imagine there are people who would make good employees, that read this and decide this is not the employer for them.

You say you hate interiors!  Why are you doing something you so passionately hate.  Some say they don’t do it.  Although that is my point, I ask why would you be so proud to not do it!  On this surface, I may start to appear hypocritical.  But let’s dig a little deeper.

I am not saying you should or should not, as long you embrace the positive and negative consequences of either decision.  But similar to justifying cheap pricing, I do not think that is often the real issue.  I believe many detailers turn issues with services they do not like into a self-fulfilling prophecy.  They do not treat it like their other detailing services.  Not marketed as glamorously or even as professionally, not sold as a detailing service, and most importantly not priced in a way that commands respect.  Think about it, if I did a two-stage correction and difficult coating for $600, AND OF COURSE ATTRACTING THAT KIND OF UNAPPRECIATIVE CROWD, I would hate correction and coatings too!