@Gary Coates I use jobber and honestly it was a game-changing software. https://share.getjobber.com/mzJ6Eh1 If you use code CLAIREMAHER you should get a 30-day free trial. To does billing, scheduling, reports, employee time tracking, asks for reviews. Honestly I really enjoy it.

I pay $5000/yr and I carry: - $1,000,000 each occurence - $50,000 damage to rented premesis - $5,000 medical expenses - $1,000,000 personal and ADV injury - $2,000,000 General Aggregate - $2,000,000 Products COMP/OP AGG It really depends on the airports you're dealing with. A large international airport might require you to have hangars keeper which shoots it up to about $30,000 year. I work in mid-size airports and this is their exact requirements. Yes, all FBOs and airports I've worked require this coverage. The big one is the $1,000,000 per occurrence. It is VERY HARD to get a liability insurance coverage for a mobile aircraft detailer. Easier if you have your own hangar, but I like to be mobile. I called over 30 people looking for someone to cover me. In the end it was actually a local broker that gave me coverage. I would start there. Yes go over with the broker EVERYTHING THAT IS COVERED AND NOT COVERED. A lot of detailers offer window restorations but my broker told me that it WOULD NOT be covered so it's not something I even offer, although I know how to do it. Go line by line through your services and make sure you are good. Also, reach out and have each airport you operate at named as an additionally insured. It will keep you covered and set you apart from the other detailers that don't know what they're doing.

For pricing it depends on the service. I'll upload an example of some of my recent jobs so you can see. Get familiar with the planes and then your quoting gets much better. Chat GPT can tell you exactly how much more surface area there is plane to plane.

Great Questions Gary! I apologize for the delay, it's been a crazy week. 1. The best way to break into a new market where there are already established competitors is to go for the unexpected partnerships. The best way is to partner with established maintenance shops with a referral program that benefits them. Everyone goes after the charter and jet companies, very hard to break into when you're new. Build a reputation and then the jobs keep coming. I would do the first 10 planes for free or at cost to learn what you're doing. If you do a good job you will get recommendations, you have to prove you have the quality first, then nobody cares about the price. 2. The first thing I would have you focus on is not detailing techniques at all but familiarize yourself with the anatomy on an airplane. Know what each individual part is called, know the common places you can go wrong, and know how to communicate with the pilots. Nobody will trust you with their aircraft if they think you don't understand them. 3. The thing I wish I knew before getting big partners is that it's a lot less about the work you do, it's almost all about who you are. Don't get me wrong, the work has to be good. More than the work, the decision makers have to WANT to be around you. When you partner with an FBO bring donuts for the line guys, make friends with the CSR's, make them want to give you more work because they LIKE YOU. This was something I wished I learned earlier. 4. When I first started I would dry wash the whole plane, then come through and polish the whole plane, and then I would have to wipe off the polish and wax the whole plane. Even a small plane has a TON of surface area. Then I found KOENIG polish which is a polish and a wax. Now I only have to go around the plane twice rather than three times. CRAZY game changer. I'll link it here. https://koenigpolish.com/shop-all-products/?ref=flygirl 5. Pricing is pretty tricky because it can really vary on the service. This is where data is really important. What I did in the beginning is set an hourly rate (I started at $100/hr). If I thought it was going to take me 7 hours I would charge $700. The best way is to set a base price for whatever is a standard aircraft you know the size of easily. If it's a CESSNA 172 then I would charge $775 for a full detail. Then if someone wants to come in with a citation I would calculate how much more surface area it is and multiply the price. I also add some padding for the more complicated planes.