Today we’d like to introduce you to Zack Bell.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My passion for detailing started from my love of all things with wheels as a kid. During high school and college I started investing a lot of time and energy into my passion for cars and my need for them to always be looking their best. Before I knew it, many friends and family members started asking me to get their vehicles detailed. For the first 8 years of my working career, I worked in the education field as a 3rd grade teacher. During my summers off I was always detailing, polishing, applying ceramic coatings, from sun up to sun down. Before I knew it my summers were completely booked up and during the school year I was working evenings and weekends. To be honest, I was busier than I wanted to be. Having to turn away many people that I still haven’t heard back from to this day was tough. I needed to make a decision as my young family was growing and me constantly being busy was a burden on them. My wife always backed me 100% and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.
In 2021, the decision was made to turn this passion into my career and leave the education field and its many benefits behind. For many years this was done out of my 2 car attached garage and at clients homes/businesses. In 2023, we purchased a property that includes our current home and my current detailing shop. I am now accredited to install ceramic coatings by one of the biggest manufacturers in the world. Over the past couple years, paint protection film(PPF) has become much more popular. In the interest of always wanting to provide the best for my clients, I attended training in Chicago in 2023 and also an advanced class in 2025.
I am excited for what the future holds for my business, the detailing industry, my family, and the connections I will get to make!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The decision to quit teaching and move to being self employed was a difficult one. Losing benefits, such as health insurance, was a big hurdle. Realizing that I was in charge of converting my passion into income to support my family resulted in many sleepless nights, prayers, and tough conversations. And to top it off, I knew and still know that I am not salesman of the year! When the decision was made to go full time with detailing I had a few great clients that provided me monthly and sometimes weekly work. Along the way, I picked up more repeat clients that continue to stick with me to this day.
In NE Ohio, winter weather is a battle. Many people don’t think about detailing services with the constant wet and snowy weather. The first few winters were rough financially. I questioned my decision many times. However, through my constant doubts I had a feeling of peace regarding what I was doing. Putting faith in God is extremely important for my family and I believed this feeling of peace in times of doubt were coming from him! So I kept my head down and did everything I knew to do to keep the work coming in. And I haven’t looked back! The newest struggle is trying to decide how to deal with the overload of work, work/life balance, and deciding on whether or not a full time employee is needed. I am extremely thankful for each and every client that supported me over the years and continues to do so. I’ve heard many horror stories from other service based businesses, but I’ve truly been blessed with amazing clients!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Scrubbing interiors and hand washing cars was how it all started. While that still keeps me busy, my focus has shifted more into restoring cars to as close to brand new as budget and skill allow. Long term protection for newer vehicles in the form of ceramic coatings and paint protection film is where I would like to focus my time in the future. I’m always on the pursuit for how I can provide as much value as possible for my clients. Coatings and paint protection film(PPF) seem to be the destination for that at the moment. In many industries, ridiculous product claims are rampant and the detailing industry is one of the worst offenders! Crazy durability and unrealistic expectations are everywhere. Being upfront, truthful, and dispelling some of these claims has and will set me apart. Ceramic coatings and PPF are extremely expensive and they are NOT for everyone. I try my best to interview and educate each client before one of these services is booked. I’ve even talked people out of these higher cost services in favor of cheaper options. I believe my clients need to know exactly what they are paying for without any added sunshine. At the end of the day, I believe in serving people, building relationships, and providing value in the most honest way possible.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Many of my clients come from old fashioned word of mouth. I really dislike using social media and to be honest the return on time spent for me barely seems worth it. Also, the thought of my mug out there for all to see still makes me cringe. BUT… I feel it is impossible to thrive without them nowadays. Facebook and instagram are what I use primarily to showcase what I do, inform my client base, and to reach new people. But heavy marketing and ad targeting are not something I have had to do on these platforms. Facebook has also been a great learning tool as well. I am part of many detailing related groups on facebook. It is always great to connect with other detailers to learn from one another and bounce ideas around. The detailing community is pretty quick to help one another, even people who may be in competition with each other. PPF has been one of the most challenging things I have tried to learn in my life! YouTube has been a great help in continuing to learn new things and to stay sharp. Many people share installs on specific vehicles and tips for the trickier parts of installing PPF. But nothing has been more valuable than connecting with people who are more experienced than myself!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://belldetails.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bell__details/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belldetails
