Today, almost every Russian family has a car, or even two. In this regard, the demand for the services of firms involved in various types of auto service is quite high and only increases every year.
At the same time, car owners are very kind to their "iron pets", they cherish them, cherish them, spend a lot of time and money on them. You can earn on this "weakness" of motorists, and in the most cunning way. Both entrepreneurs and car owners will like it.
Surely you have noticed more than once that when giving their car for washing, the drivers zealously considered the result of the work done - whether the washing was done in a quality manner, if the car was damaged somewhere. In general, this process often brings a lot of excitement to both the client and the car wash employee. You can solve this problem by letting the owner do everything on their own. The advantages in this case are obvious:
- responsibility for quality rests entirely with the customer;
- the cost of the service is reduced;
- you get money for the driver washing his car himself.
Interesting, isn't it? This area is very attractive and can turn out to be a very profitable business, so we will talk more about how to draw up a self-service car wash business plan and what points you need to pay special attention to.
Contactless car wash: reasons for choosing
As mentioned above, the self-service car wash has many advantages. It will be even more attractive if you organize a contactless, rather than a manual wash. Firstly, the quality of work is being improved - car wash employees often “cheat”, and car owners are not satisfied with the result.
Secondly, the time for the washing process itself is reduced - from 30 to 15-20 minutes. Thirdly, the cost of car wash maintenance is reduced - no need to attract additional labor. And, as a result, the cost of washing the car is reduced.
However, in order for your service to be in demand, you need to consider a number of nuances. The first is the seasonality factor. It makes sense to work from April to September-October, since in winter the demand for this service drops sharply. For this period, you can switch to something else or take part of the seats. The second is the choice of car wash location. The flow of car owners who want to use your service largely depends on where it will be located. More on this later.
Choosing a place for washing
The first item to be included in the self-service car wash business plan is the area and territory on which it will be located. The most attractive in terms of a large flow of customers are the following places in the city:
- busy streets of the city (usually the center);
- parking lots of large shopping centers;
- at the entrance to the city;
- at the entrance to the sleeping area of the city.
In any of these places, a contactless self-service car wash can be organized and it will certainly be in demand. Moreover, the area occupied by the territory directly depends on the number of parking spaces. So, for the installation of a double-post washing, you will need about 200-250 square meters, for four posts, respectively, twice as much. In addition, care should be taken to ensure that there is enough space for cars waiting in line.
Land lease: nuances
Once you have found a suitable place, you need to contact the owner of this land to resolve the issue of rent. Before equipping a sink in a selected area, you need to make sure that it is suitable for use for your purposes. Ask the land owner for all the necessary documents - extract from the Unified State Register of Land, cadastral passport and certificate of ownership of the land. It is important to know the status of the land and the purpose for which it can be used. In our case, it should be an industrial building.
When concluding a lease, write down such important points as the inability to raise the cost unilaterally or indicate the maximum possible level, and also do not forget to indicate the purpose of the lease of the site. Pre-evaluate communications and power supply near the leased territory, so that there are no problems with their connection in the future.
Car wash equipment
The most important thing in this business is high-quality self-service car wash equipment. Best of all, if it is German - the ideal ratio of price and quality. How much does a self-service car wash equipped with two posts cost? If we talk about good foreign equipment, then you can purchase it for 2-3 million rubles. It is most advantageous to take a six-post washing, the price of which will average 5-5.5 million. In addition, you will need a vacuum cleaner to clean the cabin. At least double checkpoint. It will cost an average of 200-250 thousand rubles.
You can hire special contractors to install the equipment. Often, the providers themselves offer this service for an additional fee.
Additional equipment
How to equip a self-service car wash in addition to the main complex? If the owners will carry out the process manually, then other related tools / tools will be needed:
- Instructions for use - a detailed algorithm for working in capital letters (on each machine spot);
- set of detergents;
- a wardrobe in the form of rubber boots and raincoats (so that the driver does not get wet while washing his car).
With contactless service they will not be needed. You also need to consider in advance how customers will pay for the cost of a self-service car wash - either fixed or by time of use. In the latter case, you should set timers with a countdown inside each washing location. This will help car owners to navigate when they need to complete the "water treatment".
Turnkey car wash
Today quite ready-made solutions for this type of business are in great demand. There are reliable and reputable companies on the market offering turnkey self-service car washes. In this case, the need to independently select high-quality equipment and think through all the nuances of the organization of the sink disappears.
What are the advantages of a ready-made solution?
Such companies fully accompany a novice entrepreneur at all stages of the construction of a car wash:
- assist in the selection of land;
- assist in the development and coordination of project documentation;
- supply and assemble equipment;
- provide materials necessary for construction;
- carry out service.
Investments through the acquisition of a turnkey business solution are a good way to invest your money and at the same time quite profitable. In addition, in the case of support from a specialized company, the risks that may arise at the stages of construction and washing equipment, registration of permits, etc. are significantly reduced.
However, it should be understood that in this case the financial business plan of the self-service car wash can significantly change - the costs will increase, although time and effort will be saved. Here everything depends only on your financial capabilities and desire - to use the solutions of a third-party company or to do everything yourself.
Do you need staff?
Surely, beginning entrepreneurs, before opening a self-service car wash, think about personnel. After all, it cannot be that it functions completely independently; someone still has to follow the process. Indeed, employees are needed, but not in such quantities as during a normal wash.
The main frame in this particular service is the operator. It will be he who will sell tokens to customers, as well as answer questions and control the procedure for using the sink. You may also need an accountant, but you can assume his responsibilities (if you have the appropriate knowledge). These are the main employees who are vital for your washing, the rest - if you wish and with sufficient financial resources.
We make a car wash correctly
One of the most serious issues included in the self-service car wash business plan is obtaining permission to build it. Documenting this business is quite time-consuming and requires a thorough approach.
First of all, you need to get the "go-ahead" for the construction from the local administration. To do this, you should draw up an official letter of application, which will contain a request for the allotment of the site for your purposes - the placement of a car wash.
Next, you need to make a sketch of the project for future washing and obtain the appropriate permission, agreed by the following authorities:
- municipal architects;
- Sanitary and epidemiological station;
- fire inspection.
After that, a car wash plan is developed and approved, and, finally, an act on the ownership of the land plot (on a rental or property basis) is drawn up. Only after going through all these stages, you can get the coveted order to build your service. By the way, the treatment facilities that you will install must be certified.
Financial business plan for a car wash: investment and profit
Surely this question is one of the most interesting, but at the same time serious and key for a novice entrepreneur. What financial investments does a contactless self-service car wash require? Of course, this business is not cheap, mainly due to the acquisition of expensive equipment, construction work and the lease of a large area. Initial investments are quite large, but they are not designed for one year of work. The main expenses when organizing a washing from scratch will be:
- purchase of equipment (directly washing 4-6-point) - up to 5-6 million rubles;
- vacuum cleaner (double-post) - 200-250 thousand rubles;
- installation of equipment - an average of 200-300 thousand rubles;
- construction work on the site - about 3-4 million rubles;
- land lease (depending on the area) - up to 60 thousand rubles;
- registration of permits, preparation of a car wash project, registration of a company - in total about 400 thousand rubles;
- additional costs (banner, sign, metalwork, etc.) - approximately 1-1.5 million rubles.
The cost of this service starts on average from 300 rubles per half hour of use. Depending on the location and demand for the services of your car wash (customer flow), investments can pay off in a year or in 2-3 years. However, in any case, sooner or later, such a wash will allow you to reach fairly high rates of profit. A key role here is played by a well-designed self-service car wash business plan that takes into account all the needs of potential customers and the situation in this market in a particular region.
Conclusion
Thus, in this article we have made a brief overview of the main issues regarding the opening of our own car wash. This search and selection of land for construction, obtaining permits, considered what equipment is required for self-service washing, as well as the required staff.
In addition, we settled on the option of purchasing a turnkey car wash and calculated an approximate financial plan for the independent construction of this service. We hope that the information presented will be useful to you and will help in organizing such a difficult, but interesting and profitable business.
