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Welcome back to Niche Riches, your weekly dose of real businesses and side hustles that put extra money in your pocket.

This week, we’re talking about one that’s shiny, satisfying, and surprisingly profitable: Mobile Car Detailing.

You know that new car smell and feel. Getting a fresh detail is as close as you can get to driving off the lot for the first time. Clean paint, spotless glass, and tires dressed just right. It is one of those instant transformations that people love to pay for.

This side hustle hits the sweet spot between skill and service. You are not just washing cars, you are restoring pride and preserving value. When people see what you can do, they start handing over keys and cash faster than you expect.

With the right setup, some elbow grease, and a little marketing, this one can grow from a weekend hustle to a six-figure local business.

Let’s run some quick numbers to set expectations

Goal: $2,500 per month
Do fifteen full details at $170 each. That is less than four jobs per week.

Goal: $5,000 per month
That is thirty full details a month, one per day on average. Easily doable once referrals start rolling in.

Goal: $8,000 or more per month
Add one part-time helper and double your output. With upsells like paint correction or monthly maintenance plans, you can hit $100,000 a year once you get the ball rolling.

If you’re ready to get to scrubbing, here’s how you can start:

Honestly, this is almost always going to be the first step for any business, but for good reason. Check what other mobile detailers are charging in your area. Search “mobile car detailing” on Google Maps and Facebook. Look at their before-and-after photos, pricing tiers, and service descriptions. Pay attention to who targets higher-end customers versus quick washes.

If everyone looks identical, that is your chance to stand out with better branding, a premium package, or faster response time.

You can go all in from the jump, or dip your toes in first.

Option 1: The Starter Setup
If you’re on a tight budget, start simple. A bucket, microfiber towels, vacuum, spray bottles, and a pressure washer will handle your first few jobs. You can pull up to a client’s house, use their water and power if needed, and still deliver great results. Focus on learning your process and building repeat customers before adding more gear.

Option 2: The Mobile Pro
Once you’ve got a few jobs under your belt, step it up. Outfit a van or trailer with your own water tank, generator, pressure washer, and power inverter so you can work anywhere. Add a canopy or pop-up tent for shade, organized shelves for your chemicals, and a branded wrap so you look the part.

Going mobile the right way makes you look professional, saves setup time, and lets you handle more jobs per day. You’ll stand out immediately from the “guy with a bucket” crowd.

Make it simple and visual.

Customers love clear options. Avoid confusing lists and focus on value and results.

Start small and local. The goal right now is to get hands-on, build proof, and create momentum.

Begin with friends, family, or neighbors and treat those early jobs like paid practice. Take great before-and-after photos, clean every inch like it is going on display, and ask each customer for a short testimonial. Those photos and reviews will become your future marketing.

Post your work in local Facebook groups, neighborhood forums, and community pages with captions like “Local mobile detailer taking new clients”. I have seen this work firsthand in my own community.

Once you have a few solid results, print a small batch of flyers or business cards and drop them off at gyms, barbershops, apartment complexes, and real estate offices. People who care about appearances often make the best clients.

If you really want to build fast, offer a “new customer special” for your first ten clients or a “refer a friend” deal that gives both people a discount. The combination of clean visuals and social proof will fill your schedule faster than you think.

Detailing isn’t one-and-done. Offer maintenance plans or membership pricing. For example: one mini-detail every month for $75. Clients love not having to think about it, and you get recurring revenue.

Stay in touch via text or email reminders. The pros who follow up are the ones who build a loyal base.

This step separates hobby detailers from real businesses. Anyone can wash a car, but few make the experience feel worth every dollar.

Show up on time and communicate clearly. Text your client when you’re on the way and again when you’re wrapping up. That simple professionalism goes further than you think.

Keep your workspace clean and organized, even if you’re working out of a driveway. Lay out your tools neatly, wear clean clothes or a branded shirt, and protect the client’s property with mats or towels. People notice when you treat their car like your own.

Focus on the details that customers remember. Clean the cupholders, wipe the door jambs, polish the windows until they sparkle. Add a small finishing touch like a hanging air freshener or a thank-you card.

Before you leave, show the customer the results in person. Walk them around the vehicle, point out the restored shine, and remind them that you offer maintenance plans to keep it looking this way.

That combination of communication, care, and presentation is what turns a one-time job into a long-term client.

Follow up with customers a few weeks later, ask if they need another pickup or know someone who does. Small touches like texting before you arrive or sending a photo after completion make you look legit and professional.

Happy clients will hand your number out for you. This can be a relational business and not just a transactional one.

Keep a simple notebook or spreadsheet with every job. Track how long each one takes, what you charged, and what products you used. You will start to notice which services make the most profit and which clients waste your time.

Once your schedule stays full, hire a helper and double your daily output. Add a second van or trailer when it makes sense. Eventually, you can move into higher-ticket work like paint correction, ceramic coating, or fleet accounts.

There is something deeply satisfying about turning something worn and neglected into something people cannot stop staring at. That is what caught my attention with mobile car detailing. It is not just soap and polish. It is transformation work.

I spent a day with a detailer once, and I remember how the car looked when we started. Dust in the vents, sand in the carpets, faded paint that had lost its shine. By the time he finished, the thing looked showroom ready. He did not rush. Every wipe, every polish pass, was intentional. He was committed to his craft and it showed in his work.

That is what makes this business different. It is not about quick money or flipping volume. It is about taking something ordinary and bringing it back to life. People feel that when they get in their car afterward. It changes how they see it, and how they see you. Each and every customer that day was so pleased with the work on their cars, it was rewarding.

If I were to start one myself, I would go all in on the quality first. I would learn the process, master the small details, and build a name on consistency. You can always add more trucks later, but your reputation is what fuels the growth.

Mobile detailing is honest work. It is physical, it is precise, and it is one of those rare hustles where effort and outcome are perfectly aligned. The harder you work, the shinier the result, and that never goes out of style.

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What side hustle should I try or research next? Let me know.