Micro-Loan Mobile Car Wash and Detailing Carts for a Global Franchise System
The other day, I talked with a gentleman asking about small auto detailing and car washing carts.
These could be pushed around by hand just like ice cream carts or other street vendor type businesses - in any country, perhaps they might also be funded through micro-loans.
The individual asking about all this wondered if we had ever gone into production with them, we hadn't actually, as we only made a few prototypes back in 1995-1997.
Why didn't we launch full-scale production for such an obvious business model? Well, I live in the US and at the time we were growing very fast, and business was so good, with our regular units we never went into production, however a copy company did make auto detailing carts back then - several other companies after that, one in Brazil, and several others.
They've done okay, as I've heard.
Then in Singapore and Hong Kong other manufactures has produced "full steam units" and had an importer in Long Beach CA.
The other carts I've seen have used dry-wash concepts, kerosene mixed with polymer solvent solutions and wax.
The costs of our units made in the US were $800 for the prototypes, I felt as if at the time I could get the target price down to $485.
00 but now with cheaper components, mostly Chinese generators and pressure washers, I believe $210.
I've always believed that this concept lends itself to a viable "micro-loan" program - don't you think? Consider if you will a business like this in Middle East? People still need to have their cars cleaned, and water is at a premium.
A small cart with just a small water tank might do the trick, and the operator could rent the cart for the day from an entrepreneur, or get a micro loan and buy one for himself to run his own small business.
It would also work well in Africa, and Asian markets, even in India.
Think of all the street vendors, and the folks who use rickshaws to transport people around as a business.
What a wonderful strategy and idea to create another simple industry that puts people to work, and helps them participate in free markets while developing the local economy.
It makes sense.
Perhaps that's why I had conceived the concept back in the 1980s, but unfortunately never did anything with it until the mid-1990s when I built those prototypes.
Nevertheless, although it probably wouldn't work too well in the United States except for only a few markets, it would certainly work in all the other countries in the world.
Please consider all this and think on it.
These could be pushed around by hand just like ice cream carts or other street vendor type businesses - in any country, perhaps they might also be funded through micro-loans.
The individual asking about all this wondered if we had ever gone into production with them, we hadn't actually, as we only made a few prototypes back in 1995-1997.
Why didn't we launch full-scale production for such an obvious business model? Well, I live in the US and at the time we were growing very fast, and business was so good, with our regular units we never went into production, however a copy company did make auto detailing carts back then - several other companies after that, one in Brazil, and several others.
They've done okay, as I've heard.
Then in Singapore and Hong Kong other manufactures has produced "full steam units" and had an importer in Long Beach CA.
The other carts I've seen have used dry-wash concepts, kerosene mixed with polymer solvent solutions and wax.
The costs of our units made in the US were $800 for the prototypes, I felt as if at the time I could get the target price down to $485.
00 but now with cheaper components, mostly Chinese generators and pressure washers, I believe $210.
I've always believed that this concept lends itself to a viable "micro-loan" program - don't you think? Consider if you will a business like this in Middle East? People still need to have their cars cleaned, and water is at a premium.
A small cart with just a small water tank might do the trick, and the operator could rent the cart for the day from an entrepreneur, or get a micro loan and buy one for himself to run his own small business.
It would also work well in Africa, and Asian markets, even in India.
Think of all the street vendors, and the folks who use rickshaws to transport people around as a business.
What a wonderful strategy and idea to create another simple industry that puts people to work, and helps them participate in free markets while developing the local economy.
It makes sense.
Perhaps that's why I had conceived the concept back in the 1980s, but unfortunately never did anything with it until the mid-1990s when I built those prototypes.
Nevertheless, although it probably wouldn't work too well in the United States except for only a few markets, it would certainly work in all the other countries in the world.
Please consider all this and think on it.