There is currently a national based car meet called Cars & Coffee. Very large gatherings, early on Sunday mornings, where people stand in parking lots and drink coffee.

You can only clean through two forms of action, mechanical and chemical. Mechanical being touching car washes. Chemical being touch-less. The only way to clean stuff chemically is to use harsher, more acidic, chemicals. Touch-less car washes are what lead to paints drying out and cracking with time. This is why your largest clientele will be people who dont really care for the condition of their vehicle, meaning they are just going through out of convenience. They will not be nice car owners from any car community. People who are into show cars/highline cars will either do it themselves or have a detailer they use. Not to say very nice cars dont go through tunnels, but in all my years(16) of experience, those are generally very cheap owners who dont actually keep great condition of their vehicles.

Also my reference to Sky Car Wash that use to be next to Ferrari of Atlanta is to show you even a high end tunnel system couldnt make it sitting on Hwy 9 in Alpharetta next to a Ferrari dealership. I know a second company came in after Sky and didnt last but a few months. Automated car washes/tunnel systems are extremely hit and miss.

Since youre from Georgia, look up Sky Car Wash that use to be next to Ferrari of Atlanta. Also, touchless car washes are worse for your car that touching car washes, which are also bad. Your car enthusiast community will not be your clientele.

Last venture was an influencer marketplace. Like an amazon to book influencers for your brand.

Im sorry that your family is humiliating you, but based on this being your failed “entrepreneur” experience, I tend to think your family isnt actually humiliating you. Its likely they are telling you to get a real job because influencer isnt a real job and a marketplace for that is beyond one of the funniest business model idea ive seen in awhile. You are just feeling humiliated because they were right.

Im curious how you were only clearing 4% profit on 500k in sales in your beginning? Your margins for the industry you are in are astronomically low and depending on what style of automotive parts you were selling, you were selling for well under MAP pricing. You should have been clearing minimum 10-15% in profit margins for parts, more pending what sector of automotive parts.

Hate to hear about your struggles now, but honestly, it doesnt sound like you have truly ever been profitable and simply sustaining the business on new debt.