I learned about Sylvester Chisom and Arthur Shivers from the Northwest County Journal. Friends since grade seven they came up with the idea for Showroom Shine Express Detailing while working together at a car wash company. “We noticed that people wanted more quality, more detail, more customer service.”

As with many young entrepreneurs, they started small and built their company slowly.  They first started out while in high school as a way to make extra money. “We washed our first car in the back of Sylvester’s mom’s salon. We took the car, washed it and vacuumed it.”

They slowly grew as word got around about their new service. “One day someone at the salon asked if we could come to their house and wash their car because they would not be coming to the salon. So we said, ‘Why not?’ That’s where the idea of a mobile car wash service came from.”

They continued washing cars as a part time job while they attended college. “In between going to school, we noticed every year that our clients were broken up about us going back to school.”

When they both graduated they looked at their options and decided to give the car washing business a try full time. “We were young. We had time. We knew if this didn’t work, we still had time to do something else. I originally wanted to work for the FBI, and Sylvester wanted to be a dentist. A lot of people didn’t see the vision. They questioned us and would ask when we were going to get ‘real’ jobs. They said we couldn’t wash cars forever.”

The company has since grown with the help of their mentors and loyal clients. They have two vans, a ten person staff and are looking at expansion opportunities. “We want Showroom Shine to become a household name. Maybe we can open a Showroom Shine self-service car wash. When people think of hamburgers, they think of McDonald’s. We want people to think of us when they think of car washes.”

It just goes to show you that when you start small, follow your passion, and listen to your customers, you can build a profitable company and have fun in the process.

Evan Carmichael