Mobile Car Valet New Zealand Limited, 216C Te Awa Avenue, Napier (2026)

31/08/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #10

HE CAME TO SELL ME INSURANCE...

It was around April/May 2013 when there was a knock on our front door.
Standing there was an insurance salesman.
He'd come to sell me insurance.
He left wanting to buy a car-valet franchise. 😂
Here's how it happened.
I listened to his sales spiel and then asked him:
“How many times a day do you get crushed by people who just hate insurance salesmen?”
His answer?
Many times. In fact, most of the people he approached didn't want to know him.
I looked at him and said:
“With the great personality you've got, you'd be better off selling car valeting!”
Then I explained why.
People actually wanted what we did.
They rang us.
They were happy to pay us.
They loved seeing the result.
And, even better, some of them would ring us again later and ask us to come back and do it all over again!
Then came the clincher.
We had work pouring in and needed someone to help share the load.

And it just so happened...
we had an opportunity available for a new Mobile Car Valet franchisee in Napier.
I could virtually see his eyes light up.
Imagine going from knocking on doors trying to convince people to buy something they didn't particularly want.....to having your own phone ring with customers who actually wanted what you were selling.

Within a remarkably short time, the answer came:
“I'm in. Where do I sign?”
He invested $30,000 in the Napier franchise.

We bought another van, I signwrote it to match the first one and — boom — Mobile Car Valet had doubled in size.
Two operators. Two vans. Two cities.

And as the photos show, we weren't standing around admiring our flash-looking vans either. We were out there working — including learning the skills of cutting and polishing vehicles and producing results we were pretty damn proud of.
We'd gone from cleaning vehicles at home and wondering whether this little idea might work.....to having so much work coming in that we needed somebody else to help us handle it.
All because an insurance salesman knocked on the wrong door. 😂

LESSON LEARNED
Sometimes an opportunity doesn't arrive looking like an opportunity.

Sometimes...
it knocks on your front door trying to sell you insurance.

Your business journey starts here.

mobilecarvalet.nz

24/08/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #9 — ZERO TO HERO

We'd decided to go mobile.

Now we needed to make sure people actually knew we existed!
Timing helped us enormously. We managed to get an advert into the local Yellow Pages just days before the cutoff.
Remember the Yellow Pages? 😂
Most adverts back then were black and white because colour wasn't cheap. We went the other way and paid for colour.
My previous life as a signwriter came in handy. We kept the advert simple — who we were, what we did and how to contact us. No screeds of unnecessary information.

Then we tried another relatively new marketing idea — GrabOne.
The idea wasn't simply to make money from the GrabOne deal. We wanted to get ourselves out there, working on vehicles where other people could see us doing it.
It worked!
We sold around 50 valets through GrabOne and suddenly our van was appearing in driveways, workplaces and car parks around Hawke's Bay.
People would walk past, see what we were doing and ask questions.

Then the phone started ringing - and ringing.
Business went through the roof — helped considerably by the fact that, at the time, we basically had no competition doing what we were doing.

These two photos capture that exact period.
In fact, we'd moved so quickly that we hadn't even finished changing the signage on the van from Waterless Car Valet to Mobile Car Valet when these first mobile jobs came in!
The new signage followed very shortly afterwards.

We'd gone from cleaning vehicles at home, wondering whether this little idea might work...to being out there mobile with the phone ringing and work coming in.

Zero to hero happened surprisingly quickly.
And looking back, there was another lesson in all this:

Sometimes you don't need complicated marketing. You need to get yourself noticed, make it easy for people to understand what you do — and then do a bloody good job when they give you the chance.

Thinking about starting your own business journey?

Your business journey starts here.

mobilecarvalet.nz

18/08/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #8

Bu**er Me… The Name Was Available!

We’d bought the Waterless Car Valet system, rebranded the business, and thought we’d nailed our point of difference.

Cleaning cars without water!

We thought it was pretty flash.

There was just one small problem.

Customers didn’t seem nearly as excited about our clever new technology as we were. 😄

Instead, we kept getting asked:

“Are you mobile?”

My initial reaction was pretty much…

Bu**er that! They can bring their vehicle to us!

We were still operating from home, and that suited me just fine.

Around the same time, another bloke had been offering a mobile car cleaning service around town. Then he disappeared. People said his phone was disconnected and no one could track him down.

That’s when the lightbulb went on.

Maybe people were trying to tell me something.

So I jumped online to see if a certain domain name was available.

I typed in:

mobilecarvalet.co.nz

And bu**er me…

IT WAS AVAILABLE!

Boom.

I hit the register button straight away.

What a coup. What a Bobby Dazzler.

I’d somehow landed a name that would become our website, trading name, and ultimately our company name — Mobile Car Valet (NZ) Limited.

Best of all, it said exactly what we did.

Sometimes I don’t realise just how good I am.

This time I reckon I was better than double good! 😂

But there was a serious lesson in all of this.

We thought customers would be excited about how we cleaned their vehicles.

They were telling us something else entirely:

Convenience.

They wanted us to come to them.

That didn’t mean abandoning the waterless system — far from it.

Our owner-operators still specialise in waterless vehicle cleaning today and use the technology for most of the valets they carry out.

What changed was how we positioned the business.

Eventually, I stopped telling the market what I thought it wanted… and started listening to what it was actually asking for.

And that changed everything.

Lesson Learned:

Sometimes your customers will tell you exactly where your business needs to go. You just have to listen.

Your Business Journey Starts Here

mobilecarvalet.nz

10/08/2026

Five years ago, Mitch wasn't entirely sure we were legitimate. 😂

These photos popped up in our Facebook memories over the weekend.
They were taken five years ago, just after Mitch had completed his Mobile Car Valet training with us in Napier and was preparing to head home to Tauranga in his newly sign-written van and start his own business.

We sent Mitch a message congratulating him on reaching five years.

His reply was too good not to share:
“Wow… it’s honestly crazy to think that 5 years has already gone by. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.
I’m still absolutely loving every moment of it. ❤️
I can remember back to the very beginning when I was so sceptical, thinking, ‘Surely this has got to be some sort of scam!’ 😂
Fast forward 5 years, and I couldn’t be more grateful that I took that leap.
Pete and Kay, thank you both so much. Truly, I wouldn’t be where I am today without your system, your guidance, and everything you’ve taught me about getting off the runway and taking flight.
Now we’re flying… and the sky isn’t even the limit! 🚀✈️
Here’s to 5 years — and many more to come!”

We couldn't have written a better five-year update ourselves.

Starting your own business takes a leap of faith. We can provide the system, equipment, training and ongoing support — but ultimately it's the person behind the business who has to make it happen.

Mitch did exactly that.
Five years later, he's still out there doing it — and more importantly, still loving it.
Congratulations mate. Kay and I are pretty proud of what you've achieved. 👍

mobilecarvalet.nz
Your Business Journey Starts Here.

03/08/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #7

Cleaning Cars Without Water? Yeah Right!

By this stage our little car cleaning adventure had taken another big step.

We’d bought our first proper white van, and it was time to make it look the part.

Fortunately, I’d been a signwriter in a previous life, so I was able to do most of the van signage myself. I bought in the green leaf graphics and coloured circles, cut all the black lettering myself and applied the whole lot to the van.

Looking at it now, I reckon it came up pretty well! 😄

And there, proudly displayed on the side, was our new business name:

Waterless Car Valet.

Why Waterless?

Because we’d discovered what, at the time, seemed like our new secret weapon — a system that allowed us to clean vehicles with normal town, city and highway grime without using water.

No hose. No bucket. No pressure washer.

And yes — it really worked!

Heavily soiled vehicles were simply cleaned using a different method.

Back then, the whole idea of cleaning a car without water was certainly something different, and it gave people a reason to ask:

“How on earth can you clean a car without water?”

That question alone became a great conversation starter for our new business.

At this stage we were still mainly working from our home base. The move to becoming a truly mobile operation was still to come.

But the pieces were falling into place.

We had a name.

We had a van.

We had a system that made us different.

And we were beginning to work out where this little adventure might take us.

Lesson Learned:

Being different can be a very good thing — especially when what you’re doing actually works.

Your Business Journey Starts Here

mobilecarvalet.nz

28/07/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #6

Now It Started To Feel Real!

Looking back at these photos reminds me of a really exciting time.
We'd taken another big step.

We'd retired our original vehicle and replaced it with our very first white van.

We finally had uniforms.

Business cards.

The van was signwritten.

For the first time...

It actually started to feel like a real business.

Of course, looking like a business and having customers are two very different things.

Then, almost at the perfect time, two marketing opportunities landed in our lap.

We secured an advertisement in the Yellow Pages.

(For those under 40... you'll probably need to Google what that was! 😄)

At around the same time, GrabOne was taking off, so we launched our business with a GrabOne promotion.

Both worked far better than we'd hoped.

They gave us the springboard we were looking for and introduced Waterless Car Valet to a whole new group of customers.

Looking back now, I realise we were fortunate.

But we were also ready.

Sometimes opportunities appear when you least expect them.

The trick is recognising them... and having the courage to say "Yes!"

Lesson Learned:

Opportunity doesn't always knock twice. Be ready when it does.

Your Business Journey Starts Here

🌐 mobilecarvalet.nz

21/07/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #5

Blue Overalls – No Clue!

Looking back at this photo always makes me smile.

At the time it was taken, Mobile Car Valet didn’t even exist…

…because we hadn’t even thought of a business name yet.

In fact, the idea of becoming a mobile business hadn’t even crossed my mind.

Back then, customers brought their vehicles to our home base, where I worked hard to make every vehicle look its best before handing back the keys.

Looking at the photo now, another thing jumps out at me.

No gloves.

No safety glasses.

No protective gear.

Apparently I thought a big smile was all the protection I needed! 😄

If WorkSafe had seen this photo, they might have had a quiet word with me!

Thankfully, we’ve learned a lot since those early days.

Not just about health and safety, but about building a business, looking after customers and creating systems that others can follow.

Looking back, I don’t see someone who had it all worked out.

I see someone who simply enjoyed the work, treated customers well and kept learning every day.

Everything else grew from there.

Lesson Learned:

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. Just begin.

Your Business Journey Starts Here

🌐 mobilecarvalet.nz

15/07/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #4

**“It’ll Be Fine…” She Said.

This photo takes me back to a South Island holiday in 2006.

We came to a road that I really didn’t want to drive.

Julie (my second wife) said “We’ll be fine”.

Well… let’s just say she was a little more optimistic than I was! 😄

Not long afterwards, our Commodore looked like this.

I remember standing there thinking,

“Crikey! How on earth am I going to get this mess cleaned up?”

Looking back now, it’s quite funny.

At the time, I had no idea that just a few years later I’d be starting a vehicle grooming business.

Funny how life works.

Sometimes the things that seem like a problem today end up becoming part of the story you tell years later.

Lesson Learned:

Sometimes the road you least wanted to take gives you the best story to tell.

Your Business Journey Starts Here

🌐 mobilecarvalet.nz

06/07/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #3

The Snot Box!
You Can't Miss a Bright Green Van...
Back in 2011, this was our entire marketing department.
One bright green van.
One footpath sign.

And a determination to make this new business work.

Back then we were called Affordable Car Groomers.
The personalised number plate already read A4DBLE, so the name seemed to fit perfectly.
Looking back now, I reckon the van probably did half the advertising for us.
You couldn't miss it!
(Some friends and family named this van "The Snot Box" I just couldn't figure that one out....)

The sign proudly read: Vehicle Grooming – From $45
Every customer mattered.
Every phone call was exciting.
Every booking gave me confidence that maybe this crazy idea just might work.

Today, things have changed.
The business has evolved.
The name has changed.
The systems have improved.

But one thing hasn't changed.....
The excitement of helping people build something of their own.
Every successful business has a first chapter.

This was ours.

Your Business Journey Starts Here
🌐 mobilecarvalet.nz

30/06/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES #2

Sometimes You’ve Just Got To Work With What You’ve Got

This photo was taken in 2011.

There I was, buffing a Ford Falcon XR6 while wearing Holden overalls.

For those who grew up in New Zealand and Australia, you’ll understand the problem immediately. 😄

Back then the Holden vs Ford rivalry was alive and well.

Looking at the photo now, I can only imagine what the Ford fans were thinking.

But when you’re building a business, you quickly learn something important.

The customer doesn’t care what logo is on your overalls.

They care about the result.

In those early days, I wasn’t worried about having the perfect equipment, the perfect vehicle or the perfect setup.

I was focused on doing a great job and looking after the customer.

That’s still good advice for anyone thinking about starting a business today.

You don’t need everything to be perfect before you begin.

You just need to begin.

Your Business Journey Starts Here

🌐 mobilecarvalet.nz

Mobile Car Valet New Zealand Limited

31/08/2026

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