Love cars? Want to work with them every day for a living? There are a host of ways you can indulge your passion for motoring, and still run a business and here’s one idea: mobile car detailing. So what attributes and skills do you require to invest in the Nanotek business?

Franchisor Jim Cornish tells Franchising, “The biggest skill is probably customer service, having good basic people skills. We don’t have a single franchisee who had detailing experience. We teach it all, but customer skills, being a likeable person, is a good start. In our sales training we spend a lot of time on that. It’s the difference between a great franchisee and one who is just ok.

“Our best franchisee has just 250 clients on his books but they get their cars washed every month – it’s his people skills.

“Secondly we look for entrepreneurial spirit, but combined with team spirit. Franchisees who are too entrepreneurial sometimes have to be pulled back from trying something because we’ve done it and know it doesn’t work, and at the other end of the scale is the franchisee who wants everything done for them.

“We need a proactive, team oriented person.”

Training and support

Two weeks induction includes one week in the classroom learning the ropes of the business, from business management to understanding the territories to sales skills and product knowledge.

In the second week Adam Stone, the business development manager, will go out in the field with the new franchisee and work alongside them, giving support in generating work, building the database, working on the cars.

Then franchisees get regular business support follow ups. “We’d be out with them one or two days a week, until they tell us to go away,” says Cornish.

Nanotek’s HQ team above

“We’re available 24/7 plus there’s an online forum, and our Nanotek Support Program of modules. We run six a year, because we know that when you’re in intensive training your mind is in a million places at once, it’s not focused.”

The six modules are follow-up workshops that pick up from themes in the initial week’s training program. “It gives us a solid foundation for the franchisee’s business, where they need to focus,” he says.

Even with franchisees established for six or seven years, a field manager will spend time with them every couple of months.

“In a mobile service business it’s harder to provide support, there’s no concrete site. Franchisees need lots of initiative to generate work.”

Nanotek has stepped back from the heavy support package it provided when it started out, as a few franchisees took the business back-up too much for granted, and now provides a more manageable support system. “Now they appreciate what you do,” he says.

But before franchisees even get to sign up to a franchise, before they even sight a disclosure document, Nanotek hands them a questionnaire that sifts out some of those unlikely to make a success of the business. Potential franchisees are questioned on their goals, and actions they might take once in business. “It can set off a lot of warning bells,” Cornish says.

“The hard thing has been visibility of information. We’ve just introduced Point of Sale so we can see the turnover. We can spot potential problems. With that information we can pick up if franchisees need help with new business or upselling, for instance.”

Growing the brand

Three years ago Cornish set a target of 2012 to complete the rebranding of Ecowash Mobile to Nanotek.

“It’s a sign we’re serious. Ecowash was a happy brand, but Nanotek shows we are taking the business to another level. We’ve increased our operations too, and gone from one corporate car on the road to six. This sets a benchmark fro franchisees and we’ve learned a lot.

“Australia is the big focus for us. We’ve got a good recruitment strategy and we’re looking to increase our presence in all the metro areas.”

But the market isn’t just about Australia. As the business announces further overseas expansion, this time into the neighbouring countries of Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Russian market has grown to include three master franchisees.

Nanotek is now operating under its new banner, or  as the original Ecowash Mobile, in Belgium, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US

Image above: Nanotek launched in Russia in 2011