Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_05.09.08 - Index

MAY 9, 2008 BUSINESS THEPRESS.NET | 5A
At Your Door Car Wash a family affair
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
Jermain Garcia will be the fi rst to
admit he might never get rich working
at the car wash. But at the tender age of
22, Garcia isn’t just an employee washing
cars for a living – he owns the company.
“I remember trying to fi gure out a
good business to have, one where there
would be little or no competition,” said
Garcia. “And I somehow thought of a
car wash, and how there is always a line
when you go to the car wash, and how
they never do as a good a job as you
would do yourself. It just seemed like a
good idea.”
A few months later, At Your Door
Car Wash, a residential and commercial
mobile car washing and detail service,
was launched. Serving over 100 clients
throughout East County, Garcia and
his brother Armando, brother-in-law
Gary Alsobrook and cousin Jason Cardona
have created a successful familyrun
business, and the young relatives
concede they’re more than a little surprised.
“It’s really taken off like wildfi re,”
said Armando, 25. “We knew that people
always like to have clean cars, but
I don’t think we realized how popular
the mobile side of the business would
LIMITED TIME ONLY!
JCPenney® Optical
Buy ne
Get ne
FREE!
or 40% off a single pair
of eyeglasses!
includes:
■ Any frame
be. It’s been a lot of fun.”
At Your Door Car Wash uses only
the highest-quality products and offers
full-service on-site detailing on all vehicles,
including motorcycles, boats and
trucks – size is no object.
“We had a funny experience a while
ago with a truck we were going to detail,”
said Armando. “Jermain told me it was a
diesel truck, so I was thinking a regularsize
truck that takes diesel. But when we
got there, it was a huge semi truck. That
job took us a long time to fi nish.”
The Garcia brothers started their
business with little more than a bucket of
rags and some soap, relying primarily on
their clients for hoses and water access.
But they soon discovered the advantages
of being self contained, and quickly invested
in a 100-gallon water tank and an
assortment of hoses and vacuums.
“We got wise pretty quickly and realized
we would be faster and could go
to a lot more places with our own stuff,”
said Jermain. “We’ve learned a lot.”
And one of the most important
business lessons they’ve learned so far is
the value of family.
“Working with family is really
great,” said Jermain. “You know that
that person cares about the business as
much as you do, and you always have
someone watching your back. You can
give them the keys to the truck and tell
■ Scratch-resistant lenses
■ Your choice single vision, lined bifocals or
No-Line Bifocals!
We Accept Most Vision Care Plans.
Call today for your eye exam or bring in your Rx.
Antioch: The Orchard at Slatten Ranch (925) 779-1844
Buy one pair of prescription eyeglasses at the regular price and get one pair of equal or lesser value for free, or receive 40% off a single pair of prescription eyeglasses.
Offer includes single vision, ST28 lined bifocals or standard AO Pro no-line bifocals with scratch-resistant lenses excluding Rayban Collection. Complete pair purchase
required. Frame selection varies by location. Some special orders excluded. Additional charge may be applied for strong Rx. Other progressives, specialty lenses and
lens options are additional. Contact lenses not available in AR. See optician for details. Cannot be combined with another offer, vision care plan, package pricing or prior
orders. Eye exams arranged or we can fill your doctor's prescription. Participating stores only. Void where prohibited by law. Eye exams performed by independent state
licensed Doctors of Optometry. Offer ends May 31, 2008.
MKT CODE: ROP
BIGGEST CONTACT LENS SALE
OF THE YEAR!
All Major Brands on Sale!
May 1st-31st!
CALL 1-877-JCPEYES SHOP JCPEYES.com
them to go take care of something and
you don’t have to worry or wonder if
they’ll come back.”
Alsobrook, 35, works full-time with
his brothers-in-law, while cousin Cardona,
a senior at Liberty High School,
keeps his schedule to weekday afternoons
and weekends. But with the business
continuing to grow, they’ll soon be
looking for additional help.
CHANGING LIVES ONE BIKE AT A TIME
FULL SERVICE BIKE STORE
$ 50
Savings
FIT & TUNE UP
reg.
$150
NOW
$ 100
Must mention this ad. Exp 5/30/08
Reading • Math • Writing
Want next school year to be better??
Enroll NOW for our Summer Camp Courses
Don’t let your child lose ground
this Summer!
1135 2nd Ave., Ste. C, Brentwood
240-8734
www.TutoringClub.com
With a New Bike!
Tues-Fri 10am -7pm
Sat/Sun 10am-6pm CLOSED Monday
Bikes for everyone!
Children, Family,
Competitive
Photo by Ruth Roberts
At Your Door Car Wash is a locally-based mobile car detailing service and a
family-run operation. From left are Jason Cardona, Armando and Jermain
Garcia and Gary Alsobrook.
Will they need to hire outside the
family to fi ll a position? “Oh no,” laughed
Jermain. “We have plenty more relatives;
that’s not a problem. We’re not going to
run out anytime soon.”
For more information on At Your
Door Car Wash, call 925-783-4958 or
visit www.aydautowash.com.
To comment on this story, visit www.
thepress.net.
634-5000
7750 Brentwood Blvd.
In Sunset Plaza
www.brentwoodbikeco.com
Across from
Liberty H.S in the Safeway
Shopping Center