Good vs slow months

[Tim01]

I always wondered what are the good and slow months of other regions in the
US. In Colorado, the best months are DEC - MAR. Only 4 months to make
our $$. Those four months generate 48% of the entire year's revenue for
me. I have a 5-1 wash.

How are other regions/states like?

 

[Bubbles Galore]

In MI, my best times are late February to late May. That is where we make it or break it. (BTW...I'm an 8 bay self serve)

 

[Washmechanic]

In our area the same as yours, Dec. through March. About the same percentages. We have two locations, 4and 1's

 

[Waxman]

Carwashes in Northeast, in my limited experience , 'jam' jan 15-mar. 15.

pollen season is okay, as is may fly season.

This cycle mirrors detailing, so that's why I'm glad I do both in earnest!

Before I had my carwash I really scraped by in the Winter w/just detailing.

FWIW, I constantly wash my black Civic and the past few weeks it gets dirty, dusty and buggy every single day! I like that alot.

 

[bigleo48]

Same as Waxman. High xmas -> Mid-March, Good summer months and slow Oct->xmas.

I've come to enjoy seeing how easy my vehicles get dirty. I have also now learned to enjoy late March, Early April snow storms ($$$).

BigLeo

 

[Red Baron]

I like the good months better than the slow months.

I may have misunderstood the question tho...

 

[ted mcmeekin]

First quarter,second quarter,fourth quarter, and third quarter in that order.

Has not varied (best to worst quarter) in over 7 years.

Ted

 

[Tim01]

It seems like most areas are the same. Right now I'm contemplating to do another business (don't know what that is yet) that is not so weather driven to compensate the slow-down in the summer months or to do a major change to my car wash. The change is almost like putting all the eggs in one basket. If we get another bad weather year it'll be very tough.

Tim

 

[Bubbles Galore]

^I can identify with that. Another winter like the last two would really hurt my personal finances.

 

[washnvac]

East Coast (Delaware)- Jan-March busiest. June-August slowest. 4 locations-- 24 s/s bays, 7 ibas, 34 vacs

 

[Keith Baker]

I see simalar trends around Omaha with Dec to March being about 39% of annual sales.
I enjoy taking in the big deposits during that time, but I also enjoy turning the floor heat and weep system off when spring comes. Someday, I'm going to figure out how much profit difference there is between the busy and expensive months and the slower and inexpensive months.

 

[Tim01]

I always knew the DEC-MAR was better, but I finally did the comparison last week and was shock that it's almost 50% for those 4 months.

Surprisingly the last two Junes have been very good compared to other months from APR - NOV b/c it was consisently sunny and not too hot over here. That makes me wonder if CA washes do well.

 

[Axxlrod]

Here in CA, our busy season is exactly the opposite of what has been posted here.

We don't have the snow and salt to drive business in the winter. It just rains once in a while Nov - March. So these are the slower months. Feb is always the worst.

People out here wash their cars for vanity's sake. So they aren't very willing to spend $ to wash their car until there isn't anymore rain in the forecast to mess it up.

Our busy months start in May and end in Nov.

 

[Micah Savell]

I did not break it down by month but rather by quarter. Of course some months are much better than other but overall I was surprised how it worked out on a quarterly basis. The figures below represent average percentages over a three (3) year period. By the way I'm in the Sunshine State of Florida.

Jan-Mar 26.30%
Apr-Jun 29.3%
July-Sept 19.23%
Oct-Dec 25.16%

When it is good, IT'S GOOD, when it bad, It's still good!

 

[wardaddy]

We do not have good months anymore in Nashville. the weather has been horrible for the better part of two years. Three times normal cloud cover. No snow to speak of. Rain rain and more rain.

Revenues have collapsed basically and only the strong are surviving. Forget gas prices or Obama, problem here is the damned weather.

Our best month last year was a very hot but dry August.....unheard of.

Car wash owners right and left are going broke or being propped up by the banks if they are big enough (owe enough)

I think this weather issue is basically like a mid south problem in a belt between Louisville and Huntsville...

it is like one big long nightmare with everybody's annual revenues off by 25-35% from years past and it just keeps on being crap weather.

right now it's been raining and cloudy for 5 days and looks to for another 8-9 days straight

you get a week or two of good weather and you feel shell shocked from all the turmoil and rush to wash....it's like Friday after Thanksgiving at Dillards

and then it starts raining again or grey Dublin-like mist

you guys out west are so lucky...

 

[cantbreak80]

Yeah, Tim…that’s about right. I’ve got records on this computer back to 2003… but I’m sure the previous 10 years wouldn’t change the month-to-month percentages, even though the revenues back then were higher.

My average Feb accounts for 12% of annual income. And the rest:
Jan 11.3%
Mar 10.3%
Dec 9.9%
Jun 8.3%
Jul 7.9%
Apr 7.5%
May 7.7%
Aug 6.5%
Nov 6.2%
Oct 6.1%
Sep 5.9%

Just look at it from the positive side…The difference from best to worst months is only 6.6%.

When I shared that bit of rookie analysis to an industry pioneer about 15 years ago and he gave me a look that made me wilt.

He thought about it for a minute and said, “Son, you’re thinking way too small…let’s say an average location does a quarter million a year. Six percent? For me…that would be like adding another average location.”

Ouch! After that, I never shared any more of my weak financial analysis with him.

 

[Tim01]

Wow WarDaddy! I can't believe what bad luck you guys are experiencing
and here in CO we are complaining about five straight weekends of
rain/clouds/snow. This weekend's forecast will make it six straight.

When I was a kid (back during the 80s) I remembered it had good snowfalls
during the winter. I did some yahooing/googling and it turns out my memory
wasn't bad. Besides it's kinda hard to forget the memory of walking to school
after a good snow and finding out that it is closed. I ran home w/ a big smile
on my face. From the early 80s to late 80s CO had approx 60" of snow
annually. Now once every 3 or 4 years we'd be lucky to get that amount.
The normal years now only get in the low 40" range. I can't imagine the
profits we'd be making if the weather is like during the 80s. Maybe almost like
$$ growing on trees.

 

[PEI]

I always wondered what are the good and slow months of other regions in the
US. In Colorado, the best months are DEC - MAR. Only 4 months to make
our $$. Those four months generate 48% of the entire year's revenue for
me. I have a 5-1 wash.

How are other regions/states like?

I have 6ss bays in NC and 18 IBA between NC and VA. The ss is slower in the winter and does better the warmer it gets. In NC the ibas do their best from jan-mar, then slow until spring pollen season, are weakest through the summer months until the fall pollen season around the end of sept, and finish ok for the remainder of the year. In SW VA the ibas are strongest from nov until the street sweepers get out in april or may and sweep up all the cynders that get used for snow, then it is steady but slows gradually through the end of aug, next it begins to ramp back up until the first snow (usually the last week of oct).

 

[bigleo48]

Wardaddy,

Louisville is right in the path between the Gulf and the Great Lakes. So storms and rain grow over the gulf (off the coast of Texas) and usually do a B-Line to the Great Lakes. Typically those storms will move south of the Great lakes, but in the winter of 2007/08 it stayed north and dumped snow shy of an all-time record!

That's been the pattern for the last few years and so I understand your frustrations (and mine up off the lakes). Not sure about you motorcity guys, but last year I heard it rained every single weekend last summer! It's been tough as every season (except spring lately) seem to be wetter and more humid.

BigLeo

 

[wardaddy]

just an update:


rain and /or predominate cloud cover 17 of past 18 days...we thought October of 2007 was the worst ever, then it was November of 2008 but now it's probably going to be this month, May of 2008.

I know of at least a half dozen washes...nice washes and a few dumpy ones in trouble or foreclosure pending in Nashville metro

The Express washes...a big gamble anyhow are living out of construction loans or growth....that will tumble soon enough

I've never seen anyhting like the past year and a half of wet weather