How to Get Into the Car Wash Business

There are millions of cars and trucks on the road and they all need to be washed periodically. Most people don't like to wash their vehicles themselves and will pay anywhere from five to fifteen dollars for a car wash. Running your own car wash business could be very lucrative.

Things You'll Need

• A location
• A structure
• Equipment
• Supplies
• Possibly employees depending on the type of car wash you decide to open.

Instructions

Planning and Starting Up Your Car Wash Business

1. Research car washes and decide on the type of car wash you want to open.
   • Self-serve car wash, the most common and least expensive to operate.
   • Touchless automatic car wash, often incorporated into the self-serve car wash to pull in more traffic to the business, also popular with gas stations and convenience stores.
   • Tunnel system car wash, provides the most thorough range of service, most expensive to operate and most expensive for drivers but highest quality service.

2. Decide between a franchise and an independent business.
   • With a franchise you're not in business alone, you have help from the larger corporation.
   • Being independent gives you more freedom to run the business your way and you also don't pay a franchise fee (no corporate support however).

3. Draw up your business plan.
   • No matter what business you are in a business plan is absolutely essential. This is the first thing banks and suppliers will want to see. It is a road map as to how your business will be run and how it will succeed.

4. Find a location for your car wash.
   • Finding the right location is one of the keys to success in the car wash business. You will need a location that generates lots of traffic for your car wash.

5. Apply for a business license.
   • Every community has a business license requirement. All you need to do is contact your local government and fill out an application. If there are other requirements such as safety inspections or fire inspections, or additional required permits, your local government will provide that information.

6. Find out any other requirements for opening a business at the location you have determined.
   • Check with federal and state government agencies for any requirements they might have.

7. Line up financing for the new business.
   • Unless you are wealthy, chances are you will need financing for your business. Apply for financing with local banks. They generally are willing to support businesses in the community as long as they have a viable business plan.

8. Advertise your business, use creative marketing, for example, coupon books and frequent washer discounts.
   • Marketing is another key to success and there are numerous inexpensive ways to market this type of business. You can use everything from flyers and posters to coupons and frequent washer discounts, print ads, and TV and radio ads. After a while you will build up a regular clientele.

Tips & Warnings

• The car wash business is not going away any time soon. In fact people are keeping their cars longer and caring for them better; this is creating more demand for car wash services.