How to Open an Auto Beauty Shop
Preparations before opening
A. Market Positioning.
Why is market positioning placed as the top priority? The most important task before opening a store should be market research, investigating the daily operations of other competitors in the area, their business class, customer flow, and operating projects. Only after fully understanding the situation of your competitors can you better formulate your own business strategy by learning from their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses. Whether to operate as a large-scale shop or a specialized one is crucial for future sustainable development and the expansion of new businesses.
B. Operating Projects.
An auto beauty shop should naturally focus on car washing and beautification services. But what exactly are the beautification projects? Here are some examples (Note: This only refers to the beautification part): New car wax removal, hand waxing, machine waxing, interior cleaning, interior disinfection, engine compartment cleaning, glazing, coating, leather maintenance, etc. How to carry out these projects will be detailed later in the text.
C. Store Preparation.
The key lies in finding a storefront with enough indoor space (preferably over 200 square meters; less than 200 square meters may not be conducive to future development), because indoor car washing will be the future trend of the beauty industry, and outdoor car washing will eventually be phased out. In addition to sufficient size, several points need attention: the rent should be reasonable, too expensive is not worthwhile. There must be enough parking spaces in front of the store, otherwise there will be nowhere to park the washed cars. It's preferable if the store is close to the roadside, without traffic lights nearby, and no green isolation belt in the middle of the road to allow cars to turn around easily.
D. Equipment Purchase.
I will list the equipment that needs to be purchased: how to open an auto beauty shop, investment in starting an auto beauty shop.
E. Store Renovation.
When decorating the beauty workshop, convenience for future use should be prioritized, and various situations should be considered as much as possible. Water storage arrangements should be well-planned, and electrical outlets should consider moisture-proofing and short-circuit prevention issues.
F. Employee Recruitment.
It’s best to hire experienced workers during recruitment. Besides enabling the store to quickly get on track, they can also train other new employees.
In recent years, the auto beauty industry has developed rapidly. Due to its high profit margin, services such as car washing, waxing, film application, and interior decoration have become the "preferred choice" for entrepreneurs. However, due to fierce market competition and lack of brand effect, very few newly emerged auto beauty shops can firmly establish themselves in the market. The most important task before opening a store should be market research, investigating the daily operations of other competitors in the area, their business class, customer flow, and operating projects. Only after fully understanding the situation of your competitors can you better formulate your own business strategy by learning from their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses. How many technical backbone personnel do you have? What is the location of the shop like? What are the target customer groups and potential customer groups within the business district? How large is the store's operating area and how should it be divided? How many parking spaces are there outside the store? Which categories of projects are planned to be operated? How is the store decorated? What are the surrounding competitors like? What are their advantages and disadvantages? How big is the operation range of the largest operators in the city? How does the city manage this project? What are your management philosophy and strategies? How to promote these management philosophies and strategies? How to build a stable, united, upward team? And how to conduct publicity and promotion? These are all questions that a store owner needs to consider.
How to choose an effective operating address before opening a store? Here are five principles you should carefully analyze when choosing the location for an auto beauty shop: 1. Traffic volume: Traffic volume affects "profitability". For an auto beauty shop, the traffic volume on the roads around the shop is an important indicator. The commercial atmosphere and demographic level around the shop determine the number of sedans within the coverage area and the consumption level.
The above two points are the necessary prerequisites for selecting a location for an auto beauty shop. The operating projects include: New car wax removal, car glazing beauty, paint surface waxing, paint surface polishing, chassis armor, car interior sauna, car paint surface scratch repair, care of leather products inside the car, photocatalytic interior sterilization and disinfection, tire renewal, body color stickers, car internal decoration, car sunshade film, installation of reverse radar, central door lock, anti-theft device, global satellite positioning system (GPS), car soundproofing, leather seats.
If you're preparing to open a store, it's essential to establish a correct concept: Car washing is very important. Car washing is not only a way to distinguish the class of a store but also a means of profit. Depending on the scale of different stores, the price standard for car washing may vary, but remember that car washing is a service. The price depends on the quality of your service. High-quality service justifies higher prices, while poor service will result in lower prices. Given the current labor costs and consumption levels in China, it is recommended to set the minimum car washing price at 15 yuan, generally ranging from 20 to 30 yuan is more appropriate. This way, you can make money (only by making money can you ensure service quality) and be accepted by customers. After all, car washing is a regular daily protection. Ensuring cleanliness and efficiency is enough. Therefore, to open a successful store, you must first pay attention to car washing and must receive the most professional car washing training. Professional car washing training includes store design, technical construction points, car washing card management, car washing pricing, etc.
Many stores think about doing car beauty services. Indeed, car beauty is a low-investment, high-profit project. But many people either simply regard beauty as waxing, glazing, and coating; or they consider car beauty as a luxury consumption costing thousands of yuan. Actually, beauty projects are very important. Just like women need daily makeup and dressing, the core of car beauty is to turn simplicity into complexity. What does this mean? Since it's beauty, after beautifying, some places may look good, but others may be affected instead. This means that beauty must first focus on protection, i.e., professionalism.
In addition, beauty can be divided into daily beauty, including interior cleaning and maintenance, paint surface beauty and maintenance, engine fuel route cleaning and maintenance, etc. High-end car beauty adds special features on the basis of daily maintenance, which means adding selling points to earn more profits. Secondly, construction should highlight your specialty through attention to details, making it easier for car owners to accept your beauty prices.
Currently, car film application is the core project supporting the profit of car beauty shops. Shop owners should choose films whose colors can last for 2-3 years. Films priced below 500 yuan, even 2-3 hundred yuan films claiming to last 3, 5, or even 10 years, I responsibly tell you from the standpoint of professional film application, that is impossible.
Many people believe that opening a store relies on car accessory sales to achieve goals. In fact, the profit margin of accessories is constantly decreasing for two reasons: one is increased competition, and accessories don't offer much variety—seat cushions are seat cushions, divided into high, medium, and low grades, each store sells similar ones. If you sell them at a higher price, car owners may not buy from you.
Another reason is the ongoing social transformation where online shopping becomes popular, and more people choose to buy car accessories online. Ultimately, the profit source for car beauty shops still comes from services rather than goods sales.
Electronics have long-standing market demand, and people have a desire for high-end modifications. But for many customers, the car's configuration is getting higher and higher, basic functions already meet needs, while electronics are relatively expensive and require higher technical expertise. So, we suggest customers pay attention to this aspect, and those planning to open a store don't need to focus on this category.
If you plan to make a small investment, you can choose two directions: one is to run a convenience store centered on car beauty. Your profit direction is in beauty, and of course, car washing should also be profitable. You must ensure your car washing price and profit by providing high-quality car washing services.
Another direction is to open a specialized film application store in cities above the county level. The store engages in basic beauty projects (car washing can be non-public), mainly realizing profits through car films, residential films, and building films. The advantage is that the store location is easier to find, the rent is cheaper, the product investment is not high, and most importantly, 2-3 staff members are sufficient. (Requires larger investment)
Another point is to determine your investment environment. You need to investigate local competitors or peers, then find differences based on specific regional conditions to position yourself, which makes success easier.
Believe in yourself, this is a very popular industry. As long as you put your heart into it, you will succeed. Online and offline support is needed.
For more knowledge on investing in and starting an auto beauty shop, visit the China Auto Beauty Talent Network at www.qcmrrc.com