Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run your own business? Well, senior Luke Ramsey created his own company detailing cars for a living and calls it Ramsey’s Auto Detailing Company.

Ramsey started the company on June 1, 2014. 

“I started this because my grandpa owns his own business in the auto industry and he got cancer a few years ago so that inspired me to do a new business and help out his existing business,” he said.

He said he really enjoys running his own company. 

“I enjoy it, for me it’s fun because I get to clean a lot of cars and the best part about is when they come back and the customer says OMG it’s brand new. Our team knows what there doing. For a little bit, it got boring but since our companies growing I’ve been having a lot of fun with everything because I have a lot more to do,” he said.

Even though he says he enjoys having his business, his days are filled with long hard hours, having Spark!, dealing with school, then doing to work.

“I get up in the morning. I’m in the Spark! program and it gives me a lot more time to get some stuff done. I go home after school and if I don’t have homework, I will go straight to work until 8 depending on what’s happening. It’s a lot of long hours,” he said.

Marketing his business may be the hardest part because of how small they are. 

“I do a lot of marketing, I email people, post things, bring cars to shows to grow my company and so much more to grow our team’s company. I go to startup events to meet new people that are really nice and trying to make a name for themselves,” he said.

Although he has so much on his plate, his company is still able to give back to the community. 

“We do a lot of donations and charity. I’m on the board for Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce and they give us a lot of opportunities to donate to programs such as easter seals and the Asthma Foundation,” he said. 

Although work can be long and tough on him, he says his co-workers can make things fun and he enjoys being around them, and when we asked him what are some of his best memories with his co-workers

“Every day is hilarious because my coworkers are really funny and they make it a lot of fun,” Ramsey said.

Senior Aidan Pollard, one of Ramsey’s employees, said his job does get hard. 

“There was this time where we had to take care of three cars in a couple of hours between two people. It was almost impossible. We had to delay the time of pick-up, but we were able to get their cars back to them on the same day,” he said.

Another hard task was, “I had was when this car was really messy because it had so much junk in it. I bunch of movie boxes, a mini-fridge, a bunch of clothes, just clutter everywhere, but when we were done the car looked so good,” Pollard said.

His friends are also extremely supportive. Senior Piper Cunningham is one of those friends. When asked how he felt about Ramsey having his own business, he replied, “All for it he acts way older than he is, and he’s very smart and straight with his customers.”

We also asked senior, Muhab Hasan how he feels about Ramsey, and his business and he said, “Luke knows what he’s doing and knows about more than you’d think, he tries his best to protect, secure, and satisfy the customer and car, he’s respectable, responsible, and mature, I  support him and his business.”

Ramsey wanted some advice for future business leaders.

“Honestly, my advice would be to stay persistent and motivated and do something you’re passionate about. Don’t give up. The first few years are a struggle because you make almost no money, but just keep going. Eventually you’ll make a name for yourself,” he said.