Greetings from the Hoosier state!

thompssc · Jul 27, 2011

Hi all!

I've been posting around but forgot to introduce myself! I'm studying Finance and Accounting (and maybe Economic Consulting 0_o) at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. I just finished my sophomore year in May. During the fall I play tenors on the IU Drumline (go Hoosiers!) in support of our pathetic football team. It gets me by until basketball season. Which is hardly any better. Anyways, I've been enjoying this hobby seriously for about three years now, although I haven't been able to shoot very much since coming to college. I enjoy shooting pretty much anything and everything.

Some other random facts: I'm a coffee fanatic, I love the LSU Tigers, I enjoy auto detailing, I'm a huge hockey fan (my Bluejackets will make the playoffs one day...), and am the oldest of 5 children.

I'm glad to have found this forum and can't wait to learn some new things!

Scott

johnh2005 · Jul 28, 2011

Welcome aboard!

thompssc said:
Some other random facts: ... I enjoy auto detailing,...

Scott

Seriously? You seriously enjoy auto detailing? pft... And here I was thinking I was the only nut job that actually enjoyed doing that kind of thing...

thompssc · Jul 28, 2011

johnh2005 said:
Welcome aboard!

thompssc said:

Some other random facts: ... I enjoy auto detailing,...

Scott

Click to expand...

Seriously? You seriously enjoy auto detailing? pft... And here I was thinking I was the only nut job that actually enjoyed doing that kind of thing...

Haha yep. That's why I put that in there, I knew there would be a few more around here! You post on any detailing forums? I know over on Autopia there are quite a few people who have gotten into both detailing and photography. Something about these two things seems strangely similar. Both are addicting for the same reason, I think, but I can't think of why it is.

But it's actually pretty awful. Both hobbies are crazy expensive on their own. Enjoying both of them= one perpetually broke college kid.

johnh2005 · Jul 28, 2011

Well, back when I ran my own (unlicensed) detailing business I made quite a bit of money. A lot more than I ever could with photography (because I SUCK at one and am FANTASTIC at the other...) I actually got into business quite on accident.

I was out doing a light detail on my girlfriend's Trooper at our apartment complex. This guy pulls up next to me in his BMW 535i, gets out and proceeds to abuse the crap out of his car. I almost started crying... He washed his wheels first, then the sides of his car then the top... It was black and you could tell he ran it through those awful automatic car washes with the swirly brushes... Anyway, I had enough. I looked at his wash bucket and his wash cloth and stopped him. His wash cloth was BROWN... I asked him about it and he said it used to be white... He had been using the same rag washing his car for two years and never washed or even rinsed the rag.

I took the time to hit his car with a bit of rubbing compound, a finisher, wax and sealant on a small area. Took some leather cleaner and conditioner to the side of his leather seats. Hit the c column window with some rain-X. Showed him how he had been abusing his car and what it COULD look like. After showing him this stuff for about ten minutes he asked what I would charge to restore his car. I told him, I really did not want to do it. He insisted. I told him flippantly $300 and it would take me at least ten hours. He said, "ok." We set up an appointment for the next morning at 7 a.m.

When he got his car back that night at 10 p.m. He handed me four $100 bills and was just WOWED. I did not know it but he was a stock broker and owned his own firm. About two days later he told me he had been taking some people out to lunch, clients and employees, and they were all impressed with the transformation of his car. He then started referring me to his employees and clients. I got to be sooooo busy that I had to hire someone to help me out. I never charged less than $200 for a car unless it was already very clean. I even got so busy at one point I had to raise my minimum price to $300. Then a bunch of crap started happening and I could not find a reliable worker and just called it quits.

It is really funny because these same people could go to any of the multitude of detailing places and gotten their cars detailed for less than $150 with no problems. Word of mouth and excellent service got me ahead of the game by leaps and bounds. I just wish I could have been able to open a legit shop and got a license and stuff. I wish I was half as good at photography as I am at Detailing.

I don't post on any detailing forums. Heck, I never even saw one. Though, with the internet I should have known there were some. I just wish I had the eye for photography that I do for detailing /sigh

thompssc · Jul 28, 2011

johnh2005 said:
Well, back when I ran my own (unlicensed) detailing business I made quite a bit of money. A lot more than I ever could with photography (because I SUCK at one and am FANTASTIC at the other...) I actually got into business quite on accident.

I was out doing a light detail on my girlfriend's Trooper at our apartment complex. This guy pulls up next to me in his BMW 535i, gets out and proceeds to abuse the crap out of his car. I almost started crying... He washed his wheels first, then the sides of his car then the top... It was black and you could tell he ran it through those awful automatic car washes with the swirly brushes... Anyway, I had enough. I looked at his wash bucket and his wash cloth and stopped him. His wash cloth was BROWN... I asked him about it and he said it used to be white... He had been using the same rag washing his car for two years and never washed or even rinsed the rag.

I took the time to hit his car with a bit of rubbing compound, a finisher, wax and sealant on a small area. Took some leather cleaner and conditioner to the side of his leather seats. Hit the c column window with some rain-X. Showed him how he had been abusing his car and what it COULD look like. After showing him this stuff for about ten minutes he asked what I would charge to restore his car. I told him, I really did not want to do it. He insisted. I told him flippantly $300 and it would take me at least ten hours. He said, "ok." We set up an appointment for the next morning at 7 a.m.

When he got his car back that night at 10 p.m. He handed me four $100 bills and was just WOWED. I did not know it but he was a stock broker and owned his own firm. About two days later he told me he had been taking some people out to lunch, clients and employees, and they were all impressed with the transformation of his car. He then started referring me to his employees and clients. I got to be sooooo busy that I had to hire someone to help me out. I never charged less than $200 for a car unless it was already very clean. I even got so busy at one point I had to raise my minimum price to $300. Then a bunch of crap started happening and I could not find a reliable worker and just called it quits.

It is really funny because these same people could go to any of the multitude of detailing places and gotten their cars detailed for less than $150 with no problems. Word of mouth and excellent service got me ahead of the game by leaps and bounds. I just wish I could have been able to open a legit shop and got a license and stuff. I wish I was half as good at photography as I am at Detailing.

I don't post on any detailing forums. Heck, I never even saw one. Though, with the internet I should have known there were some. I just wish I had the eye for photography that I do for detailing /sigh

That's awesome! I know what you mean though, it kills me to see people abusing their cars. My dad is one of them. To him, swirls and a perfect finish don't matter. He just wants the obvious dirt off his car. Watching him wash it drives me nuts. I also hate seeing nice cars in line at a car wash. Last summer I drove past a swirl-o-matic car wash and saw a Bentley in line. I couldn't believe myself.

But if you're interested in any detailing forums, autopia.org/forums is a good one, so is detailingbliss.com. I love both of them. Great resources to tap into. It would also be great to have your expertise on there to contribute to others.

johnh2005 · Jul 28, 2011

I am about to start a part time job, in addition to my full time 40+ hour job. When I get a chance I will swing by those and see what's up. You have the same user name there?

Oh, and on a photography related note, have you posted any photos yet?

thompssc · Jul 28, 2011

Actually my username over on Autopia (and all other forums really) is 'hockeyplaya13' lol. Came up with that in 8th grade and used it for everything. Just finally changed it here. But I've posted a few photos of my girlfriend and I. Here's the link: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/251716-my-girlfriend-i-c-c-welcome.html

I've got a whole bunch just sitting on my CF card that I'm dying to process, but I've been saving them to test out my new computer. The last part came in today, so I'll assemble it later tonight and will hopefully upload them by Sunday evening.