Finishing Line

A poet once wrote: No one knows what happens to you when you die, and that is a fact of life. Similarly, one of my college professors opined: All small businesses do not succeed and the ones that do don’t last forever. »

Calculation of value is the process of determining business value, ownership interest, or value of intangibles whereas an appraisal is the process of developing an opinion of value. »

Car wash operators that follow best practices and provide adequate management and staff to ensure an efficient and customer-centric operation are usually rewarded with superior financial performance. Whereas those that do not... »

Some years ago, I received a call from an investor who was building an exterior express car wash in the Rocky Mountain region. His question was simple: Do these things ever fail? »

One challenge facing car wash operators going forward is thought to be the increasing difficulty in finding additional revenue opportunities. The principal reason for this is the highly competitive car wash markets. »

When I started a business in the early 1970s there was no world wide web to find out what the biggest problems were facing small business owners. Like many mom and pop ventures, I did little due diligence.  »

A car wash network of 500 or more units does not exist in the United States. Closest is Mister Car Wash which has 160 car washes and 33 lube centers in 18 states.  »

Over the last six or seven years, more and more of my business contacts have been related to buying or selling a car wash or curing a sick business rather than building a new wash.  »

Propensity is an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way. For example, propensity to buy would be to say that most men living in Florida prefer to buy Ford trucks as opposed to GMC, Chevy, Dodge, or Toyota. »

In 2006, car wash investment planning guides described the business as a sure bet.  »

Consolidation is a tool to achieve and sustain power in the marketplace and is encouraged by changes in the external environment. »

When stock market prices collapsed in 2008, the bear market wiped out half of the savings of many ordinary working people who dabbled in the market to augment their wages. »

Nissan’s self-cleaning Leaf vehicle is on the streets. The exterior of the 2015 Leaf boasts the Japanese automaker’s proprietary Ultra-Ever Dry paint treatment which Nissan says repels every type of liquid from rain to eggs. »

About 10 years ago, mobile car washer, futurist, and now think-tank blogger Lance Winslow predicted the car wash industry would converge on two types of operations:  »

Historically, car washing has been a cash business and run mostly by mom and pops owning one or two locations — self-serve, full-serve, or exterior-only. »