Quitting your full time job to detail?

[Nick Chapman]

I'm in a situation guys, and need some advice

As some of you know, I own a detailing business. It is a good business, and the money is good. But I also have a full time job on top of this business. I've been dealing with both for a while now, and it's been manageable. But now things are getting complicated.

My full time job, I work in the Dispatch office for Southwest Airlines. I make decent money, but the real kicker is the benefits. Not only medical, dental and vision. But I also get free flight benefits, 401K, profit sharing, etc... It's a really good gig, and I do not want to give it up. I go into Southwest at 6am, and get off at 2pm. I'm able to detail cars from about 2:30 until about 9ish in the evening. I work 6 days on and 3 days off. So I handle my detailing on my days off also.

It's getting to the point where I can't get my detailing caught up. I'm over a month behind with buffing jobs, and people are getting frustrated with me(rightfully so). I can not trust anyone to buff a car for me, so outsourcing or hiring someone else is out of the question. I have a full time guy to handle all of the details, car cleanings, wash/waxes and helping me when I'm buffing a car. But we can not keep up.

If I quit my full time job, I lose a lot! The security of a solid financial retirement would be a huge loss to me. Plus losing the flight benefits would be a solid kick in the gut also. How can I make these two careers work together better? Should I just start turning jobs down? Raise my prices to weed out some? Deal with it? Work more? Bite the bullet and hire someone to buff cars? Or take a drastic step and quit my full time job? <-----this one scares the heck out of me

I need some advice


Nick

[EAT HEMI]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

If you have a friend in the business, you may want to pass off some of you clients to him until you can right the ship.

[hacker-pschorr]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Raise your prices until you have just enough business that you can handle.

[yalerd]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Nick you should take a paper out and hit the numbers.

Something that you should ask yourself is,
What kind of job (detailing) you are doing? are you focusing on productivity or a perfect finish? if both what do you do more? maybe you could separate your type of jobs, the days you have off you could be doing high quality jobs and the other day when you work at Southwest you do fast and easy jobs, regular jobs

If you quite your job, at Southwest Airlines, how many jobs of detailing you have to do to keep up with your income? will your income be higher? lower? the same? are you going to stretch your working hours to make up the money to live as you are right now?

How is the shop?

You should study the situation with patience, don't hesitate yourself. If I were you I would stay with your current job and would be rejecting some detailing jobs, see how is goes, if you see that you ALWAYS have detailing jobs and the numbers "theoretically"
will be higher income compared to just working at Southwest or Southwest with detailing on the side then you could eventually focus 100% on detailing.

If you want to keep up with your detailing jobs and Southwest you should optimize your time and work, this is very effective, think how you can cut time BUT keeping the same service and quality, it could be done but you have to think well. Even things that you might think it's not significant but when you add them up you'll save in the end (I just say this because I'm finishing my Industrial Engineer degree and this is some things that you learn, it's one of the main "subjects")

Good luck with your decision and no matter what it is, we'll support you and help you in the way we can

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Nick you should take a paper out and hit the numbers.

Something that you should ask yourself is,
What kind of job (detailing) you are doing? are you focusing on productivity or a perfect finish? if both what do you do more? maybe you could separate your type of jobs, the days you have off you could be doing high quality jobs and the other day when you work at Southwest you do fast and easy jobs, regular jobs

If you quite your job, at Southwest Airlines, how many jobs of detailing you have to do to keep up with your income? will your income be higher? lower? the same? are you going to stretch your working hours to make up the money to live as you are right now?

How is the shop?

You should study the situation with patience, don't hesitate yourself. If I were you I would stay with your current job and would be rejecting some detailing jobs, see how is goes, if you see that you ALWAYS have detailing jobs and the numbers "theoretically"
will be higher income compared to just working at Southwest or Southwest with detailing on the side then you could eventually focus 100% on detailing.

If you want to keep up with your detailing jobs and Southwest you should optimize your time and work, this is very effective, think how you can cut time BUT keeping the same service and quality, it could be done but you have to think well. Even things that you might think it's not significant but when you add them up you'll save in the end (I just say this because I'm finishing my Industrial Engineer degree and this is some things that you learn, it's one of the main "subjects")

Good luck with your decision and no matter what it is, we'll support you and help you in the way we can

Good info!

As far as money goes, I could live without the Southwest paycheck. Detailing is very good, and the money is more than enough to support myself, and my meet my finacial needs. The kicker is the benefits. I just can't see myself without them. I'm getting older now, 37 this year. And while that doesn't seem old to some of you, it is for me, and I am getting close to my target retirement age. I want to be sure that myself and my family are able to live comfortably when that day comes.
Freeing up time to do more cars would ultimately give me quite a bit more money. And I guess that is what I need to put on paper and figure out.

[bluey]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Raise your prices until you have just enough business that you can handle.

This sounds about right to me

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Hey Nick,

Well, it looks like you're in a 'good' predicament. That is, you've got a successful detailing business and a stable job.

If it were me, I would continue your job at Southwest and detail on the side. In doing so, you will save up some money that can be invested in mutual funds, stock, etc. That way, you can expand your detailing business in the future. Plus, it will give you some financial stability if one career goes downhill.

Best of luck!

[southpactire]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

This is a huge decision to make based on the cost of healthcare alone.

While the flight benefits are a great perk, when you're working the kind of hours you're working, I am guessing you don't take advantage of them as often as you would like to. You could calculate how many times a year you have actually used the flight benefit and how much that would cost in ticket prices to determine the financial impact of losing that benefit.

As a self employed person you can set up your own 401k or Simple IRA plan to cover the retirement plan. However when you leave corporate america you walk away from any employer matching contribution and stock options.

Perhaps the best of both worlds would be to scale back your hours at Southwest to the minimum that will afford a full benefit package and pick up the detailing business to a level that you're comfortable with the quality you can provide. I worked with a lot of "part timers" both in the travel and retail industries that worked for the perks. The only issue I had while working at Nordstrom was that a large part of my paycheck stayed at the store due to the employee discount!

[Mort Corey]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Another thought, if the economy continues to tank, your decision may be made for you. Having a car detailed is not a necessity...it's more of a luxury. Your clients might decide to drop (or use less frequently) your service and assure that there's food on the table. Keep your day job. Agree with raising prices to weed out your present oversupply of clients. There will always be people with money to spend and those folks will have no problem paying a higher cost.......just my two cents.

Mort

[Andy M.]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Hey Nick,

This is a tough one. One other thing you have to look at that I don't think was mentioned is how long have you been at Southwest. Are you vested in your 401K and your profit sharing? Can you take whatever you have already saved for your retirement and reinvest it into your own retirement plan elsewhere? Benefits are a really big deal these days. Most employers are not paying the whole contribution these days and the costs keep rising. Be sure to factor in the economy and rising fuel prices. Some people would rather have a full tank of gas than a clean car. IMHO...Keep your job at Southwest. You are working about 6.5 hours detailing on the days you are at Southwest. Keep those days open for what some would call "production" detailing. In other words, get them in and out.
Save 2 of your days for detailing for the client that wants that "show car shine." Take your other day for yourself and your family. It will keep you sane and one cannot work all the time, you need to take some time for yourself also. I would also suggest hiring someone that you can trust to help you. I am sure there are probably some enthusiasts on here who live in your area and would love to help out, even if only part time. Heck if I was down there I would love to help out in a shop. Make the interview of this person like an audition. Let this person help you detail a car and watch what they are doing and pick their brain a little about their knowledge of detailing.

Best of luck with your decision,
Andy
101impala

[Heatgain]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

.......I'm getting older now, 37 this year. And while that doesn't seem old to some of you, it is for me, and I am getting close to my target retirement age. I want to be sure that myself and my family are able to live comfortably when that day comes.
Freeing up time to do more cars would ultimately give me quite a bit more money. And I guess that is what I need to put on paper and figure out.

Speaking as a 57 year old, the health insurance and other benefits go up in value as you get older. You'll find yourself and your wife going to more and more doctors. How many cars will you be able to detail on your own when you're 40? 45? 50?
In my past business, as I got older, I hired others to do work I used to do myself. Quality suffered a bit, but that's the trade off when hiring others. But I was able to take on more jobs, ergo more money. After a while, it was nice to take on more jobs without dreading doing all that work myself.
Lots for you to weigh.

[rebelde33]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

This is a very rough decision to make. If you still want to work at Southwest and like the benefits but still want to detail, maybe you should consider working part-time for Southwest and still have the benefits and also catch up on your detailing business. Another thing you could do is hire 1 or 2 people and train them well to meet your expectations and that way you can still do both things.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Thanks for all of the advice guys!

I'm a little hesitant to hire someone to buff these cars. I have a specific level that I like to do things, and I don't think any paid employee will meet my needs. I could be wrong, but I haven't found that person yet. You can teach anyone how to do this job, but you can not teach them to care about what they do.

Andy, I have been with Southwest for a little over 10 years. I am fully vested, and can take every dime of my money with me.

I guess I'm a little paranoid about making money since I signed the lease on the new shop. Now that I HAVE to make $xxxx amount every month, I'm just a little nervous about meeting that requirement, so I want to take on all the jobs that I can. Maybe I'm just stressing for no reason.

[Heatgain]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Thanks for all of the advice guys!
I'm a little hesitant to hire someone to buff these cars. I have a specific level that I like to do things, and I don't think any paid employee will meet my needs. I could be wrong, but I haven't found that person yet. You can teach anyone how to do this job, but you can not teach them to care about what they do.
Andy, I have been with Southwest for a little over 10 years. I am fully vested, and can take every dime of my money with me.
I guess I'm a little paranoid about making money since I signed the lease on the new shop. Now that I HAVE to make $xxxx amount every month, I'm just a little nervous about meeting that requirement, so I want to take on all the jobs that I can. Maybe I'm just stressing for no reason.

Another thing to think about being a sole owner/worker.....suppose you hurt your back one day? Or get the flu? Or injure your hand? Or any of millions of scenarios?
You hurt = no work = no income
Being in business for yourself unfortunately involves more than doing something you love. Liability insurance, worker's comp, owner/renter insurance, loss of business insurance, fire/flood theft insurance, taxes, bookkeeping, accounting, break-even point, fixed expenses, variable expenses, licensing, wear and tear, an attorney, incorporate or sole proprietorship, the economy.....on and on, ad nauseum.
Think carefully and consult with knowledgeable people before you consider leaping into a full-time detailing business, especially with only you as the labor.
I'm not saying don't do it, but if you do, do it wisely and with eyes wide open.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Quitting your full time job to detail?

Another thing to think about being a sole owner/worker.....suppose you hurt your back one day? Or get the flu? Or injure your hand? Or any of millions of scenarios?
You hurt = no work = no income
Being in business for yourself unfortunately involves more than doing something you love. Liability insurance, worker's comp, owner/renter insurance, loss of business insurance, fire/flood theft insurance, taxes, bookkeeping, accounting, break-even point, fixed expenses, variable expenses, licensing, wear and tear, an attorney, incorporate or sole proprietorship, the economy.....on and on, ad nauseum.
Think carefully and consult with knowledgeable people before you consider leaping into a full-time detailing business, especially with only you as the labor.
I'm not saying don't do it, but if you do, do it wisely and with eyes wide open.

Understood. And I already have about 90% of the expenses you mentioned. My detailing business is already a fulltime opperation, and has been for a while now. I have 1 fulltime employee right now, and as I said before, he takes care of all of the cleaning, full details, interiors, waxing and stuff like that. The only thing I do anymore is buffing and polishing. I am able to handle the workload, but I am constantly getting behind. I let people know when they call, that it could be a month or more before I can start on their vehicle. So far, things are managable, but I can see it getting out of hand.