How I started a Service-Based Business

(in 5 easy steps)

Author

Daniel Baarns
February 11, 2024

How I started a service-based business in 5 easy steps (while in college).

I knocked on my 17th door. A young man named Mike in his 20's opened, and I stood there nervously.

I told him, "I'm a mobile detailer and I live in the neighborhood. I'm scheduling for next Saturday. Do you have a vehicle you need cleaned?"

He said he did.

I told him the price.

I was shocked at what happened next.

The problem with waiting till you’re ready.

“Nearly every breakthrough in my career has come from deciding not to allow my lack of experience to keep me from creating.” -Erwin Raphael McManus

You're in college because that's what you're supposed to do and it gives you a backup.

You want to start a business but are afraid to choose the wrong one.

  • You learn, but don't apply what you're learning.

  • You're bored and not challenged.

  • You're afraid to start something and fail.

You hate the idea of working for someone else.

  1. You hate the idea of not having control over your time and having a cap on your income.

  2. Others see your potential, but you haven't turned it into reality.

  3. You struggle to focus on one thing. (even at your job and in school)

  4. This. Sucks. (And you find ways to distract yourself.)

You doubt your own abilities:

  • You don't know what you are good at yet.

  • You doubt yourself and your abilities and so you never start: 20 years later you look back with regret asking yourself, "What if I simply started?"

  • If you wait for the perfect time to start, you never will.

  • You may graduate, get a job and never have the chance to see what you could have done. By starting now you give yourself a chance.

You're not ready to start a business.

You feel like you don't have what you need… (and the truth is, you don't)

When you start, you will find the resources to overcome the challenges that you'll face.

When you start a business, you will start to feel a sense of control in your life. It will be scary.

There is a challenge and reward when you stretch a bit beyond your capacity. (It's how you enter flow.)

Inventory your current skill set:

  • What are you already good at?

  • What is the next skill you can stack?

Don't have any skills yet? (At the end of this newsletter I have 2 steps you can take today to start building the MOST valuable skill set)

Think 10 years before acquiring mastery. (Yet the first 20 hours are where the majority of the skill is developed. So start small, but START.)

Start a service-based business.

People are already paying others to clean their cars, pools, homes, and cut their grass. (Why not you?) At the end I'll link a framework to get you started.

If you offer a service for free to begin with, people will give you a chance and be more forgiving if you aren't good yet. "Outwork your self doubt" -Alex Hermozi

“But I don't know anyone!”

“Everyone has a list.” -Alex Hermozi

You can start with very little start up costs and learn real skills that will transfer to other areas of your life. You can use the framework from Alex Hermozi's 100M Leads to find your first 5 customers (linked at the end).

The process of building something while you're in school is exhilarating. One of my professors said, "It's easier to start your first business while you're in college. People want to support you, and there is less pressure."

He was right.

Learning in college without immediate application of that knowledge is often forgotten. Everything I've learned and applied right away I remember easier. (It worked with learning Spanish and with the business classes I was taking.)

I made more money, and had a better experience by having a business while in college. (Win-Win.)

“Knowledge is not power, Applied knowledge is power” - Limitless by Jim Kwik

If you have a business it makes learning more rewarding. You learn, and make money from applying the knowledge.

What you want is freedom.

Freedom to invest time and money into:

  • your interests

  • skills

  • people you love

  • experiences.

You want this business so that you can grow (in a different way than working a 9-5).

So where will you start? The key is to look at what people are already buying rather than a brand new thing no one has ever heard of.

Starting a service-based business is a great way to start, because you can start for free. (Alex Hermozi has a great YouTube short linked below) then start to charge as your client base grows and your skill set is improving.

This is a game of skill acquisition.

In college you learn and receive grades.

In business you learn and make money. (one is way more fun)

Every Idea is a bad idea until it's been tested in the marketplace. -Mark Randall (Those words changed my life.)

This perspective gave me the freedom to try. (without attaching significant emotional energy to the outcome)

My first 3 months starting a service based business (full story to come)

I never intended to start a service based business.

It was summer of 2022. My dad and I washed my car, and for the first time in my life I clayed a car. (Kind of like using a mild sandpaper, which removes dirt you can feel but can’t see)

I had never seen or heard of this before. We used it on my brownish-golden 2003 Mazda Protege with a damaged front bumper.

I never expected what happened next.

It. changed. colors. (What?!)

It was actually silver. I'd never seen this color of my vehicle before. (And I LOVED it)

I didn't know that could happen and I wondered... If I could enjoy my car this much, would other people pay me to have a similar experience?

Every Idea is a bad idea until tested in the marketplace. -Mark Randall

The following weekend I knocked on 30 doors to see if anyone would pay me anything to clean their vehicles.

  • I invested 3 hours.

  • Knocked on 30 doors.

  • Talked to 18 people

  • Two people said yes and paid me for it.

Mike paid me $45 up front before I even walked away from the door (that wasn’t expected)

I'd validated the first theory. (people would pay me to detail their vehicle)

I bought supplies from an auto store and detailed the two vehicles the following weekend. Once I realized I liked this, I wanted to start letting other people know.

I made $103 in revenue that first weekend. And I was SO excited!

My goal was to be positive as soon as possible. (and I found the resources to do this AFTER starting)

  1. A YouTube video outlining what I needed to get to start for under $500.

  2. The equipment I needed on Facebook marketplace. (to keep costs as low as possible)

  3. The money I made that first month I reinvested into equipment. (a little over $1500)

Next: I needed to tell as many people as possible what I was doing.

I found a template I could text out to friends and family that I knew to let them know about my offer. (I was using a list, even though I didn't know it at the time) My goal was to text 5-10 every day and let them know what I was doing. (It wasn't 100 yet, but it was a start)

I messaged 5-10 people daily for 90 days. (Often I wouldn't hear back for 3 days- 3 weeks.)

I booked between 3-6 vehicles every Saturday for the entire summer.

I also started to work on Fridays. because I had too many vehicles that I needed to detail, so I took Fridays off of my full-time internship.

I made in a day what I made in a week from my internship.

I ended up making the most money in the month when I had the least availability. Over double what I did in my first month, with less than 3 weeks to detail.

I loved that I had a business again.

Conclusion:

If you hate the idea of working for someone else, if you hate not having the freedom to choose how you spend your time and money, now is the time to start a business.

Knowledge without application is useless. Here is what I would do if I were in your shoes:

How to start a service based business in 2024 (in 5 easy steps)

  1. Make a decision on which service-based business you'll start. (You don't have to do it forever)

  2. listen to 100M Offers and 100M Leads by Alex Hermozi. (free version of the audio book on his podcast, and video versions linked below)

  3. Make your first offer using the First-5 Framework in 100M leads.

  4. Business Basics:

    1. Form an LLC.

    2. Business checking and savings account.

    3. A way to collect payments.

    4. A way to contact people.

  5. Share your offer with between 10-100 people per day.

How to Improve your people skills: (3 things you can do today that cost no money)

  1. Show Genuine Interest

  2. Remember Their Name

  3. Smile

P.S. If you want 2 books that will teach these skills:

  1. Listen/read to How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie:

    • Part 2 is called: How to Make People Like You. Read each chapter and practice in your own life. (It will feel weird at first, that's normal, then it'll get easier)

  2. Listen/read Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.

    • Learn and apply Tactical Empathy. It will improve your relationships and help you be present with other people. When they feel heard all your conversations improve.

Need a vehicle detailed in the Sacramento area? Click here to follow my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baarnsdetailing/

Click here to reserve a time to have your vehicle detailed: https://calendly.com/danielbaarns/detail-appointment

Free Resources:

100M Offers Free Audio book: