# Sportscar Protection Announce Franchise Opportunities



## Sportscar Protection (Feb 17, 2006)

Sportscar Protection are proud to announce an opportunity to be a part of the UK's first national detailing franchise .
Dave Bowerman is one of the countries longest serving and highly respected professional detailers, A true pioneer for detailing here in the UK, his reputation for quality work and attention to detail have enabled him to build up an impressive client base all around the world.
As a Sportscar Protection franchise, Dave will be working along side you with a 3 year business plan, first of all to teach you the art of detailing and then to help you to develop your own successful client base, you will also be able to take advantage of our unrivalled buying power, insuring you get the products needed to operate your business at a vastly discounted price, keeping your running costs low and maximising your profits
To aid in the growth of your business, Dave has negotiated a sustained 3 year advertising programme with some of the UK's leading motoring magazines, forums and owners clubs, tied to that a presence at some the UK's most prestigious motor shows and events, this represents a fantastic opportunity to become part of an exclusive team of detailing professionals.
The opportunity is available to both enthusiast detailers looking for a new career within our industry and established detailers looking to take advantage of the sustained advertising programme and discounted products.
No one will be pre judged on experience, we will be looking to unearth a few detailing gems that just haven't had the opportunity to shine yet as well working with seasoned established pro's who may want to keep their own identity and just build their client bases. 
To maintain the high standard of the Sportscar Protection brand, this opportunity isn't available to "anyone who has the money", that would just water down the integrity of what Dave wants to achieve, franchises will be awarded to those who Dave feels have the most potential to grow , those who share the same vision , ideas and passion for detailing and perfection.
Interviews for prospective franchisees will be held in October. I'm sure you can understand that this is as much information as we can give across a public forum, so any questions will be answered in person at the interview stage. 
To register your interest and receive an application form, please send your name address and a brief description of your detailing experience by email to Dave at [email protected] or PM Sportscar Protection direct from here 
Thanks for looking
Sportscar Protection:thumb:


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Good luck with it but franchise??


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Wish you the very best of luck Dave and I'll be keeping a close eye on how it goes - I'm one of those people who are in the sceptical group when it comes to franchising a detailing business so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Good luck but cant see it working to be honest IMO.

Robbie


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## Eddy (Apr 13, 2008)

If we have no detailing experience at all can we apply? I look after my family's cars but thats about it, I could never claim to be anywhere near the level of a pro, very willing to learn though.

Eddy


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## David (Apr 6, 2006)

good luck, i hope its not like most other franchises though that seem like "i could do all of that but save myself 70% of the cost"


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## Sportscar Protection (Feb 17, 2006)

Clark @ PB said:


> Wish you the very best of luck Dave and I'll be keeping a close eye on how it goes - I'm one of those people who are in the sceptical group when it comes to franchising a detailing business so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out


Thank you Clark ,
I can understand the initial scepticism though, especially considering nothing like this has ever been done before , but scepticism is something I've been faced with all through my detailing career . When I originally started out in 98 i was helped to set up by the PYBT , they gave me a grant and loan to purchase equipment etc , they were very sceptical and had always refused valeting business before , but they must have seen something in me that changed their opinions and backed me up. 18 months later i was working with Aston Martin covering their UK events and shows.
I remember the same when i decided to purchase the worlds most expensive car wax , i was the first to do that in the UK , everyone thought i was mad to lay out five and half grand on a tub of wax but when i bought my Ferrari 12 months later , it sort of changed people minds a little

Believe me I'm under no illusion of the task ahead , to be successful as a detailer , you know as well as I that it takes sheer hard work, unrivaled to anything i think anyone has ever experienced before and if anyone reading this thinks its going to be a get rich quick scheme i'd say think again and choose another career option . And saying that I'm not arrogant enough to think that i can do this alone but if i surround myself with people who are willing to put the effort in and have the genuine ability to detail at the highest level ,whether they be experienced pro's or someone who needs developing, then i think we can create something special .

We are putting in place everything possible to help the franchisees grow their businesses both with marketing and support , in total around £100k has been put aside to do this , so if you compare the costs to just start up on your own against how much we'll be charging for a franchise , then look at the levels of investment going in and the support thats going to be available , i think it represents a fantastic opportunity to build a succesful career in the detailing industry.



Eddy said:


> If we have no detailing experience at all can we apply? I look after my family's cars but thats about it, I could never claim to be anywhere near the level of a pro, very willing to learn though.
> 
> Eddy


Hi Eddy , 
anyone can apply for a franchise , you won't be pre judged on experience as was stated in the original post . Having no experience sometimes works better for you as we don't have to hammer out any bad habits .
i'm not going to give out franchises to anyone who can turn up with the money , i'll be selecting people who i think have the potential to go on and be awesome detailers , something i think is more attitude based than skill , skills can be taught in my opinion .
if i can relate back to my detailer academy , i had a guy come in on a course earlier this year who had never picked up a machine polisher in his life , he turned out to be the most natural gifted detailer i've ever come across and since he left the course and went on his way , i don't think he's detailed anything less exotic than a Porsche , and thats what i'll be looking for in business partners , the people with the potential to learn and the attitude that they want do well for themselves.

Thanks
Dave:thumb:


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Clark @ PB said:


> Wish you the very best of luck Dave and I'll be keeping a close eye on how it goes - I'm one of those people who are in the sceptical group when it comes to franchising a detailing business so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out





*MAGIC* said:


> Good luck but cant see it working to be honest IMO.
> 
> Robbie


+1

Good luck though


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

As above.... Good luck :thumb:

IMO, "detailing" is mainly a "one man army" (with the exception of a few - and even they employe very few staff), and it's that persons reputation at steak


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## Spuj (Apr 19, 2010)

-Mat- said:


> As above.... Good luck :thumb:
> 
> IMO, "detailing" is mainly a "one man army" (with the exception of a few - and even they employe very few staff), and it's that persons reputation at steak


mmmmmm Steak :thumb:

On a serious note, good luck and all the best. Will be interesting to see how this goes and works in the world of detailing.


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## Razzzle (Jul 3, 2010)

Good luck with the venture SCP hope all works out well for yourself and your franchisees.

Daz.


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## glyn waxmaster (Dec 20, 2006)

Good luck with it all Dave.


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## 1Valet PRO (Nov 2, 2005)

In my opinion this is what the detailing market needs. This is no easy task which is why its not been done before.  I have been told may times my grand ideas won't work and they have. ValetPRo has taken 6year to get where we are today and i trully believe we will be as big as Auto glym and merguire some day.

Back onto the detailing franchise. this market needs a company to have a reach across the UK so potensail customer know what to expect.

We are still in a market where customers think valeting is valeting and that they can get the same service for £60 as a service for £250. Customers are still buying paint sealants from car dealers one paint sealant company i know sell 6000 to 9000 kits a month. My question is why are the proffesional Valeter not getting this market. When dealers charge anything between £200 to £500 for a paint sealant service. valeter can do the job to a better standard and charge less.

The potensail of this franschise is to be able to tackle this market while introducing car care plans. The Beuty is that with a good franschise brand marketed well with good surpport for the franschisee tecknical and work. it will be a great success. The more franschise you have flying the flag doing high quality work offiring good customer service will drive more work through the franchise. Spliing over the success and demanding more franschisee.

The only car valeting franschises currently running only offer a basic Valeting service which gives little edge to there business. These franchise do not have a name that will drive high quality work to their franschise. If you can use your brand to drive business develope services that will drive business then your on a winner.

Dave good Luck your do well.


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

I see that you edited the post - was that to insert all the typos ?

Seriously, I agree with you and wish Dave all the best. Its all about building up trust and maintaining consistent standards.


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## 1Valet PRO (Nov 2, 2005)

spolling noot won ov mi beast attubrutes


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## d.g (Jul 13, 2010)

1Valet PRO said:


> We are still in a market where customers think valeting is valeting and that they can get the same service for £60 as a service for £250. Customers are still buying paint sealants from car dealers one paint sealant company i know sell 6000 to 9000 kits a month. My question is why are the proffesional Valeter not getting this market. When dealers charge anything between £200 to £500 for a paint sealant service. valeter can do the job to a better standard and charge less.


I agree, the market place though is split into people who do not understand/don't research/don't care and those that do. The 6000-9000 kits a month go to the former and the rest of the people seek out a better service from the professionals I guess.


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

All the best with it. I can see how the umbrella of a reputable company would help so keep up the good work, there is a limited time for a company to do it and I can easily see how it could work.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Good luck with the new venture Dave.:thumb:


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## Sportscar Protection (Feb 17, 2006)

Thanks for the positive and constructive comments guys :thumb:



-Mat- said:


> As above.... Good luck :thumb:
> 
> IMO, "detailing" is mainly a "one man army" (with the exception of a few - and even they employe very few staff), and it's that persons reputation at steak


I couldn't agree more Mat , in the sense that customers are very loyal to their detailers , this is one of the main areas of the 3 year business plan that we'll be concentrating on with the detailers.
The initial application/details are obviously the most profitable part of a detailing business , but i firmly believe that its the long term maintenance contracts that make your detailing business a success.
Look at it this way , if you just rely on the new jobs coming in , you'll go through the whole year thinking , where do i get my next job from or wondering when it's going to come in , whereas if you if build up a good long term relationship with your customers , imagine how nice it is to be sat there over your christmas break knowing that you've got £ 10 -20 -30 40 -50k's worth of business coming in next year .

I bet if you got a collective of all the established detailers customers on here, they'd all argue to they were blue in the face as to why they think their detailer is the best and why they use them and thats what we will instill into the guys who come on board, its all about providing a quality service and building up a relationship with your customers , we will train them to detail at the very highest level and help them manage, maintain and build their respective client bases over the long term .

Over the last 10 years most of my good customers have become good mates, i go out for a beer with them, go on track days etc , so yes there is some truth to the one man army theory and if you look at that , how many customers can one man look after on a monthly basis , i think 30 to 40 would be a good estimate ,so with the right training marketing and support if we can help you get 30 to 40 customers all using your services on a monthly to quarterly basis, you could have one hell of a successful detailing business .

Again I agree that i'm putting my own reputation at stake here , as an organisation we're only going to be as good as our worst detailer , which as was said in my previous post is why we're not just letting anyone in who has the money, i'll be looking both to develop those with potential and combine that a with mix of experience . if i can achieve that then we'll be a success .


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

good luck dave mate , mat is there chips with the steak ?


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## centenary (Sep 5, 2010)

I dont want to **** on anyone's chips but having bought and lost a lot of money on a franchise, I'd advise everyone *never* to buy a franchise.


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## David (Apr 6, 2006)

centenary said:


> I dont want to **** on anyone's chips but having bought and lost a lot of money on a franchise, I'd advise everyone *never* to buy a franchise.


i'd advise people to never listen to this guy

what about BK/McDonalds/Autosmart/Autoglym/Subway for example


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## justina3 (Jan 11, 2008)

David said:


> i'd advise people to never listen to this guy
> 
> what about BK/McDonalds/Autosmart/Autoglym/Subway for example


totally agree I run a car audio franchise for 20 years and done very well out of it, mate of mine runs a snap on franchise and also does very well.

as in life there are people who make it and people who dont cant blame the franchise module for all that fail.


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Its a terrific idea, albeit staking your reputation. I think as long as the franchisee is well vetted and you offer training then it will be a resounding success.

I think the main reason this hasn't been done before is due to the seriously low barriers to entry within the detailing market. I hope you turn this around and it becomes successful. If I had the money and the ability I would take you up on it as I think there is a serious gap in the market within the enchacment area of my work which could be exploited.


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## truss (May 4, 2009)

where are you based?


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## Apex (Aug 29, 2009)

David said:


> i'd advise people to never listen to this guy
> 
> what about BK/McDonalds/Autosmart/Autoglym/Subway for example


Do a quick search for a company called Smart ABC, this company is about 2 years old and is a smart repair franchise along the line's of ChipsAway. Over 70% of it's franchisee's have ceased trading due to a unworkable franchise model. The company is about to go into liquidation and many of the franchisee's are now bankrupt losing their home's and left with large debts. So while there are many successful franchise's there are also one's that have caused much heartache for many innocent victims.


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## Sportscar Protection (Feb 17, 2006)

Apex said:


> Do a quick search for a company called Smart ABC, this company is about 2 years old and is a smart repair franchise along the line's of ChipsAway. Over 70% of it's franchisee's have ceased trading due to a unworkable franchise model. The company is about to go into liquidation and many of the franchisee's are now bankrupt losing their home's and left with large debts. So while there are many successful franchise's there are also one's that have caused much heartache for many innocent victims.


I agree there's good and bad in every industry , franchising's no exception .
this is why we are implementing a 3 year business plan with the guys we select for the opportunity , we know from the marketing we're doing that the brand is going to be promoted in all the right places and the focus from a support point of view is helping them to build and maintain their own personal client bases, if the business model isn't right then any business will fail , but a person getting involved in any kind of business venture also has to accept some sort of responsibility in making it a success ,as i've said in my previous posts, if you think it's just a case of signing up and waiting for the phone to ring , then you're making a mistake , you'll still have to get off your **** and make it happen:thumb:


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## BlackCat (May 2, 2008)

http://www.startups.co.uk/6678842911006613710/tips-on-running-a-successful-franchise.html

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/chan...48361/how-to-buy-a-profitable-franchise.thtml

Not that I am biased because my mum wrote these articles :lol:
But hey, it's what she does for a living (semi retired now) and there isn't much she doesn't know about franchises, hence numerous magazine articles and even writing a franchise agreement that is the defacto standard for franchise agreements now.

She contracts herself out now advising on both franchises and franchisees (sp?)
http://www.simonhulme.co.uk/franchising.php

OK, blatant plug over...back to lurking in the shadows... :wave:


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

As some on here know, I am also the Advertising Manager for the Ferrari Owners Club. 

Dave got in touch with me 2-3 weeks ago to enquire about promotional opportunities with the Club, how to ensure his franchisees can work with our Members to gain repeatable work etc. I can tell you Dave is very committed in terms of cash and totally serious about doing this properly, not making a fast buck.

So, if you think you can cut the mustard, get in touch with him, if not, leave others to make up their minds when in possession of the facts - we're all grown ups on here.


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## Dasco777 (Sep 16, 2009)

Why would I go to a detailing franchise company and pay more to offset the fees that he pays to the franchiser? Just a question!
Nevertheless good luck with your venture.


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

Sorry, the question doesn't make sense...but I think the answer is, the credibility, training, products and marketing resources of being part of a respected network will help all bring in more and better paying clients and make your life easier as a detailer.


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## Anatonic (Mar 8, 2010)

Dasco777 said:


> Why would I go to a detailing franchise company and pay more to offset the fees that he pays to the franchiser? Just a question!
> Nevertheless good luck with your venture.


Not quite sure why you think a franchisee would charge you more - I've never seen that with franchises in other areas or indeed with my own business in plastics - and in fact most charge the same as any independent business in my experience and give you the same standard too (or else they wouldn't be staying in or getting repeat business!).

I'd be hoping that by being franchised, I would have a better standard of training, resources and one would hope build a bigger client base quicker to earn more business to cover my expense of being franchised anyway.

Admittedly if I was my own business, and had the same amount of clients and costs, then I'd be taking more money home and wouldn't have to pay to be franchised. I personally feel it's 6 of one and half-dozen of the other - both (on face value) have pro's and cons. Being independent, you may not have the clout or access to marketing and advertising that you may get through a franchise, so it's going to take a little while for your business to really take off if you're doing this from scratch. When you sit down and talk to people, I think you'll establish the skills and clients quickly through a franchise if you get off your backside and do it, but I don't think you're at any more of an advantage (or disadvantage) to those running their own independent business.


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## A17 (Oct 4, 2010)

I lost £50,000 in an etyres franchise. I think with franchises if you get a franchise with an established name your ok. (ag, subway mcdonalds) 
People need to educated in what detailing is, i hate it when people compare it to a normal valet or think the local car wash can do the same job.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2010)

A17 said:


> I lost £50,000 in an etyres franchise. I think with franchises if you get a franchise with an established name your ok. (ag, subway mcdonalds)
> People need to educated in what detailing is, i hate it when people compare it to a normal valet or think the local car wash can do the same job.


I thought etyres were quite an established brand. What went wrong?

Couldn't agree more on the general ignorance towards detailing.


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