Owning A High-End Detailing Business Part 3: Leadership, Mentorship, And Asking The Right (Intelligent) Questions

“The questions you ask, tell me tell whoever more about you than anything else you do.  In particular it tells me about your preparation.  If you ask me questions about just basic things that you should have known and you should have down to a science that’s going to disqualify you almost more than anything.” – Mark Cuban

When you ask a question with one sentence (sometimes two) that is worded like the following:

• Hey guys should I or should I not..
• What should I..
• What is the best..
• What is the cheapest..

There is nothing wrong with asking questions or seeking out the assistance from others.  But the kind of question leads me to suspect you may not be willing to do the work, to grow your unique business.  It is not only the inherent lack of thought that concerns me with one or two sentence questions.  If you read between the lines, the person is asking us (strangers on the internet) for permission on how to run his or her business and also often allowing customers to dictate what services he or she provides (whether the detailer is capable or not).  You are the boss.

When you are thinking as an employee at a lower level and even in some cases as a manager, I think of it as being good at checkers.  A business owner is playing chess.  There are going to be a series of decisions you make which you may not reap the benefits from for several months.  I have run advertisements with the intentions of engagement (create some rapport) over sales.  I may run an advertisement with the intention of converting a prospective with another advertisement 2 months later.

I do not want you to make this investment in your life without an understanding of your need to elevate your detailing skillset and MORE IMPORTANTLY your business acumen.  If you have delusions of grandeur, I want to you to know what you are getting into.  You are not going to figure it all out on a Facebook forum with random strangers.  I am being straight to the point so that you may not end up like the majority of people who realize they wasted their time.

I graduated from a very challenging university with respect to the curriculum and graduating class.  That same mind and work ethic contributed to my upward trajectory as a business owner.  I believe I put even more work into running a business than I put into earning a degree.  Dealing with the ebbs and flows daily operations is taxing as an owner of a niche business.

Knowing some of the key people involved in many of these programs, I can say they all offer something different and a unique value proposition to each individual.  Everything taught you may not necessarily agree with or even align with my business vision.  But this goes backing to knowing oneself and taking the positive from successful people and taking advantage of mentorship opportunities.

• (IDA) International Detailing Association
• Rupes Training Academy
• The Organization Of Certified Professional Detailers
• Renny Doyle Detailing Success

Even if you legitimately do not have the funds to invest in most of these opportunities, there are extremely inexpensive and free resources out there.  Buy a stand for a car panel or hood.  Go to an auto body shop for a panel and practice polishing.  There are so many great resources out there for those that want to represent themselves and consequentially the industry well.  I am not saying you should involve yourself in any of these programs. None of this may be for you.  But are you really trying to better yourself?  There are books for $20 that provide value.  There are YouTube videos, not product comparison type, that offer different perspectives.

I have probably traveled more than I ever have recently talking to successful people in various industries that have some commonality with what I am trying to accomplish.  It has often been said we are the 5 people we spend the most time with.  I hope this gives you something to think about, especially if you are not where you want to be in your life.  I mentioned a renaissance not a certainty of success.  I have no guarantees of growing, reaching my ultimate goals, not taking a step back all the way to failure.  I do not want to deceive you into a narrative of the Cinderella story without unknown adversity even when you are doing the right things.  That is why surrounding yourself with and being mentored by successful people is so important.