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Hundreds of Albertans have already yanked their investment dollars from underperforming markets and jumped at a sparkling opportunity: they're going for gold at the carwash.

Think about it. A thriving retail carwash combines the appeal of immediate cash flow with the prospect of long-term growth in real estate equity.

Terry and Nancy Schmautz and the team at TD Industries have many ways to help you establish the business.

Lawyers and realtors, truckers and tellers, clerks and cowboys across Western Canada have already made the connection. They're watching their property increase in value while their self-serve, touchless or conveyor-tunnel carwash generates revenue from $4,000 to $40,000 a month, per bay.

But wait, you protest. I don't know a buffer from a protective solution. Why should I put my money into a business I know nothing about?

You'd be surprised how easily that problem can be solved. You're about to be introduced to a team that can help you make it happen.

Meet Nancy and Terry Schmautz and their colleagues at Calgary's TD Industries.

This company of multi-taskers sprouted in Okotoks 21 years ago and has since expanded into British Columbia and as far east as Thunder Bay.

TD Industries is the largest industrial distributor for Turtle Wax in the country. But it's much more. The company also supplies service, parts and repairs for large and small car washes across the west.

But the folks at TD Industries are particularly excited about the company’s third core function: helping new investors tap into the lucrative carwash business.

"We partner with entrepreneurs and help them to fill in certain gaps in their knowledge of the business," Nancy explained.

It's while providing this exhaustive, full-spectrum service that the TD Industries team really shines.

Nancy, Terry and staff join forces to put their sizable pool of experience, talent, knowledge and resources at the customer's disposal.

Or maybe that's a poor choice of words. When you form a relationship with TD Industries, you're not a customer. You're a partner.

"We help with site selection. We look at traffic counts," Nancy said.

But that's just for openers.

Nancy also coaches new operators while they draw up their business plans. She'll prepare crucial expense/revenue projections while counselling partners through the financing and planning stages.

Meanwhile, Terry, a gifted machinist with a background in engineering and design, lends his specialized expertise to the nuts-and-bolts issues of construction and set-up.

TD Industries can't single- handedly plan, design, finance and build your wash, then hand you the custodial keys in time for the grand opening.

However, they do pledge to help you avoid the typical perils that can lie in wait for the novice operator. The TD Industries people promise to coach, assist and advise you along every step of this exciting investment adventure.

They did just that for one B.C. entrepreneur who couldn't understand why his banker hadn't been sympathetic to his pitch for financing.

So he brought his business plan to Nancy for a look. She quickly ascertained that the partner's problem could be easily resolved.

"I knew he had the skills and that he had planned his project carefully," she explained. "But he hadn't expressed himself well on paper."

By clarifying and articulating her partner's goals and strategic approach, Nancy was able to improve the plan dramatically. Within a month, his banker was onside.

At first blush, the thought of dipping a toe into unfamiliar waters may be a little daunting. Yet this business makes so much common sense.

A well-designed, mechanically sound, well-maintained carwash is a low-maintenance investment. The owner-operator need only be on-site for a few hours a day.

"You can have another job, or take care of your other interests on the side. And it's an easy-to-learn, steady-income cash business. People are always going to be washing their cars," Nancy pointed out.

That goes double in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary, where muddy cars, SUVs and trucks are part of the usual landscape.

In Western Canada, a self-serve carwash generates revenue in the range of $3,000 to $5,000 monthly, per bay. Revenue from touchless washes exceeds four times those amounts.

But here's the clincher. When you enter a partnership with TD Industries, you're teaming up with the best. They build and service carwashes run by the biggest retailers in the West.

For more info, call TD Industries at 403.720.5533 or visit the company website: www.tdindusties.net

Then come on in. The water's fine.