If you are looking to start a car wash business in Kenya, we prepared this guide just for you.
Here you will find all the information you need to succeed.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of car washes in Kenya today and the
industry is constantly growing every year, so it’s a great business idea if you
are looking to start something new.
You can start a car wash with very little investment so it
can work out even if you are looking to start a business on a shoestring.
Also, if you are looking for other businesses you can start
with little capital, don’t hesitate to check out this amazing guide;
Anyway…
The first thing you need to consider when starting a car
wash business in Kenya is whether this business is right for you and your personality.
Do you have what it takes? Are there any other businesses
that would be better suited to your personality or skills?
Car washes require people with good customer service skills,
so if you think of yourself as more of an introvert than an extrovert, this
business might not be right for you.
If you are already in Kenya and thinking about starting a
car wash, there is no reason to delay your plan – get started today!
Now, we will be revealing the exact steps you need to take
when starting a car wash business.
But before that, let’s briefly answer one question that is
probably throwing you into a dilemma right now;
Is A Car Wash Business in Kenya Really Profitable?
Yes, a car wash business can be profitable.
But it depends on whether you follow the right strategy or
not…
The first thing you need to consider when starting any
business is your profit margins. After all, if it’s unprofitable there’s no
sense to start anything at all – you just lose money.
There are three main factors that determine the
profitability of any business:
- Your
Product/Service
- Your
Overheads
- Your
prices
Now let’s take a look at these factors ones by one, in more
detail:
Your product or service
in this case, the service is washing cars so basically when
you are starting out it’ll be just you washing cars. You can grow your business
by hiring more employees and purchase equipment to help you expand your service
as a car wash.
At the end of this guide, we will reveal some tips you can
use to make your service more attractive to customers.
Overheads
As soon as your financial resources are limited starting
out, it’s important not to spend too much of those on setting up the business.
In this case, overheads refer to all the expenses that are
essential for your business to operate but aren’t directly related to providing
the service.
Here is a list of overheads you might incur when starting a
car wash business in Kenya;
- Lease
or rent – if you have chosen a location for your car wash
business, remember not to overspend on renting it as this will eat up all
your profits.
- Equipment
– the equipment is what will help you offer your service but for
now it’s best to choose something affordable and grow later on when you
have more capital to invest in the business. And of course, don’t
forget to include this expense into your costs as soon as possible or else
it’ll eat up your profits.
- Insurance
– this is something you will need to consider as soon as you buy
equipment and hire employees. This will help your business avoid any
unnecessary costs should anything happen to it or your employees and
decrease your financial risks even more than they already are.
- Salary/wages –
obviously, the larger your team gets the larger your salary will be so
it’s best not to spend too much on wages upfront – you can start on your
own or with just one employee.
Pricing
This refers to how much money you are going to charge from
your clients for washing their vehicles. This is a very important factor
that will determine whether or not you will be able to make any money.
That’s why you must set your prices carefully and target the
right customers.
But assuming that the people who are interested in getting
their vehicles washed up are mostly working-class, low-income earners then it’s
best to keep your prices affordable for everyone.
This way you’ll target all the customers that are interested
in washing their cars, including those who can’t afford to pay more for this
service.
You can decide how much you should charge for different
vehicles after doing market research and knowing how your competitors price
their services.
Offering several different types of services will also help
increase your profits as you’ll be able to charge more for certain things like
waxing or underbody cleaning.
Having said that, let’s quickly jump into the eight steps
you need to take in order to start a car wash business:
Steps to Starting a Car Wash Business in Kenya
Step 1: Research the Market
The first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with
the local auto care market.
To do that you can go and visit the nearest car wash
businesses, speak to their owners or managers and ask about their prices.
You will also learn a lot this way about:
- What
type of equipment do they use
- How
they operate
- What
their most popular services are and the average price for each of them
- Whether
there’s anything they’re doing wrong that you can improve on
- The
most popular car brands in your location and what type of detailing
packages will appeal to owners of these cars
Step 2: Find a Good Location for Your Car Wash Business
Choosing the right location for your car wash business is
crucial because it will affect your profits and how much money you’ll need to
invest in this business.
There are several things to consider when searching for a
good location:
- How
many people live and work in the area – obviously, if few people
live and work in the area then there will be fewer people visiting your
car wash, which would decrease the number of potential customers you’ll
have.
- How
many other businesses are located in this area – if there aren’t
too many other businesses around it might mean fewer people come to the
area so it’s best to look for a location that’s close to a high-density
area.
- The
average income level of people living in this area – obviously,
if most residents live in poverty then they’re less likely to visit your
business because they simply can’t afford it and will have to look for
other ways to get their cars washed up.
- How
easy is it to access the location of your business – of course,
no one’s going to drive long distances just to get their cars washed up so
you need a location that’s easily accessible for customers.
- How
busy the area is during peak hours – this refers to how many
people visit your car wash during its opening hours so it’s best if you
pick a location that will be crowded during peak hours.
- How
much the rent is – the car wash business requires a lot of
equipment and machinery and needs to generate enough income to pay for it
all, which means you need an accessible location that’s not too far away
from people while still being easily accessible and having lots of
potential customers who can pay for your services.
It’s also best not to pick a location that’s too busy with
limited space because even though you’ll get lots of customers it will be hard
for them to find parking or simply turn into your car wash since there are
other cars blocking the way so choose an area where people can drive around
easily.
You should also try to avoid locations that are too isolated
or in places where it’s hard to get customers because you’ll have to invest a
lot of money into marketing your business, which can be risky since if you don’t
get enough customers it’ll be tough for you to pay back the loan.
Step 3: Look for Car Wash Equipment
The next thing you should do is look for the right equipment
you’ll need to start a car wash business in Kenya. You can start with the
main ones like a vacuum cleaner since this will be used on vehicles that have
been through the automated car wash system and your employees can use it to
remove excess water from inside of vehicles.
After that, purchase a pressure washer to remove any excess
dirt from the exterior of vehicles and a brush washer that can be attached to a
pressure washer because this will allow you to clean the tires, windows and
other hard-to-reach areas.
You’ll also need a few different types of brushes for
various parts of vehicles as well as plastic spatulas, soft sponges and
squeegees.
There are various products that will turn your pressure
washer into a powerful tool for cleaning vehicles but you’ll need to study the
market in order to buy these since they’re not necessary for all businesses.
So, in a nutshell, here is everything you’ll need:
- Vacuum
cleaner
- Pressure
washer
- Brush
washer
- Water
tank
- Plastic
spatulas, soft sponges and squeegees
Of course, you don’t have to buy all of this equipment at
once or in bulk and you can start by purchasing just a few items and then add
more equipment over time.
You should also decide how much employees will be paid (if
you will have any) before ordering equipment because that will affect your
overall budget.
Step 4: Find a Catchy Name for Your Business
Now you need to think of a catchy name for your car wash
business. And, once you’ve picked a name, make sure that it’s short and
easy to remember because customers are more likely to ask for help if they
can’t remember the name of your business.
The name should also include words that describe the
services offered by your business or that are related to cars since people will
see your name on various advertisements, social media posts and on the gates of
your car wash.
You can also use words like “valet”, “detailing” or
“express” if you’re offering quick car washes for busy customers who only have
a few minutes to spare.
Step 5: Market Your Car Wash Business
One of the most important steps of starting any business is
to get the word out there that it exists, so you should try to get your name on
as many online directories and review websites as possible.
You can also advertise using social media posts, billboards
or flyers posted around your neighbourhood. However, make sure that you’re not
just promoting your car wash business but also sharing useful information about
taking care of cars, how to maintain their exterior and interior, etc.
You also have to be well-prepared to answer questions about
your car wash business because you never know when a customer will want to
learn more about the services offered or why they should trust you over other
businesses in your area.
So, generally, here are some tips that will help your market
your car wash business in Kenya;
- Advertise
on online directories, review websites and social media
- Post
flyers around your neighbourhood
- Use
word of mouth
- Politely
ask your customers to refer other people if they like your services
- Prepare
answers to common questions about your car wash business
Step 6: Decide on a Pricing Strategy
After you’ve completed the previous steps, it’s time to
decide on a pricing strategy for your car wash business.
First of all, you should offer special deals and discounts
that will be available only for a limited amount of time because this will help
motivate customers to pay your services a visit during specific periods.
In addition to that, you should always offer packages that
include more services than just car washes because these are likely to cost
more and therefore bring in bigger profits. This might include tire
changing, body painting, graffiti, pressure pump and puncture repair.
On the other hand, you should also focus on the quality of
your car wash instead of how many services you offer and make sure that
customers know exactly what they’re paying for before saying yes.
Therefore, here is a quick overview of possible pricing
strategies:
- You
can decide on your prices depending on the type of the vehicle, that is,
in terms of body size. For instance, lorries and trucks should cost more
than personal cars.
- Special
deals and discounts available only for a limited amount of time
- Packages
that include more services than just car washes
- Focus
on quality instead of quantity
Also, don’t forget to factor in your employees’ salary when
determining the price of each car wash because this will affect your overall
profit margin. For example, if one car wash costs KES 500 and you pay
your employee KES 200 per car, then it makes sense
Step 7: Acquire a Car Wash Business License
In order to start up your business, you need to acquire a
license from the relevant authority.
As for finding out whether or not you need a license, the
rules vary depending on your county so it’s best to check with your local
government.
The cost of the license might also vary depending on where
you will be operating. For instance, you might pay more in Nairobi than in, say
Kitale or some rural area.
Step 8: Decide Whether You Would Like to Work Alone or
Hire Employees
This is a very important decision since it can have a
significant impact on how much work you have to do and how much money your business
makes.
For example, if you want to work alone then you’ll have to
invest some extra time into taking care of the exterior of vehicles by yourself
which will also reduce the time that can be spent on other tasks associated
with running a car wash business.
However, another option is hiring employees so that they can
work on washing the vehicles while you focus more of your time on other tasks.
A good choice might be to hire university or college
students who will need money for school supplies or activities like music
lessons and this will allow them to earn some extra cash while giving you more
time to focus on other aspects associated with running your business.
However, if you decide to work alone, don’t forget that
you’ll have to clean every vehicle yourself which will reduce the time
available for other tasks like managing accounts or marketing the business.
Step 9: Start Washing!
Now that you’ve got all the necessary paperwork, licenses
and equipment, it’s time to start washing vehicles! Make sure that
you’re equipped with everything that will be needed for this job such as
cleaning tools and soap.
Also, make sure to inform customers about any special offers
available so they’ll come back once these discounts expire.
Here are some tips to keep in mind while running your car
wash business:
- Always
offer quality services no matter how busy you get
- Make
sure to advertise your business by handing out flyers and contacting local
businesses
- Keep
your prices reasonable so that more customers come back for additional
services every week
- Be
cordial with your customers and treat them as you would like to be
treated
All in all, running a car wash business is not an easy task
and it takes time and effort before you see some noticeable results.
However, if you follow these steps and keep your focus on
the important aspects of running your business, then there will be nothing
stopping you from success!
Conclusion: What You Should Do Now
The most important thing you can do now is to take action.
Don’t put this amazing guide on the back burner and forget
about it. Act now, while your motivation is high, by taking these simple
steps:
- Make a
specific plan for today with well-defined tasks that will bring you closer
to your goal of starting your own car wash business.
- Spend
some time doing research to understand how you can make your services
better and beat the competition.
- Find
one local resource/contact that can help you get started such as someone
who is selling necessary equipment.
By taking action now, you’ll begin creating new habits for
success and before long you will see the first results of your new car wash
business.