Two students, Connor Merkle and Colton Spavento, launched their own business, C&M Elite Mobile Detailing, this past summer.

Merkle and Spavento operate a mobile car detailing business, traveling to clients to provide interior and exterior detailing services.

In just the months since their start, the two owners have found that both providing people with a service and engaging with their love of cars has made the experience rewarding. 

“When people come out, and they come out with a smile on their face, and they’re excited to see their car, it makes it all worth it,”  Connor Merkle said. 

“[We were inspired by] our love of cars and working on our own cars, even while we were just getting into it,” Merkle said. “We started at the end of the summer, hoping to help people out, and then it turned into something big.”

With no prior experience, Merkle and Spavento researched and practiced extensively to prepare themselves for the challenges of running a business. 

 “It took a lot of practice,” Colton Spavento said. “We did our own cars ten or twenty times.”

“We researched the materials that we needed, experimented on our own cars, and tested different products, seeing what works best,” Merkle said. 

Starting a business from scratch at a young age has come with no shortage of obstacles to overcome.

“Competing with bigger businesses is definitely hard since they already have an established client base,” Spavento said.

Additionally, building a business while balancing other commitments can be challenging. 

“We’re both on the hockey team at the high school, and we both play club hockey. We also both work outside of our business,” Merkle said. “There’s definitely a lot of time and energy that goes into it, but we love doing it, and we love helping people out, so it’s worth it.” 

As they continue to expand, they’ve built a clientele of satisfied customers who appreciate the quality of their work and professionalism.

“It was a great service. I couldn’t see a speck of dust or dirt on [the car]. It was absolutely amazing. They were super professional and not what you’d expect from a couple of high school kids,” customer Meryl Schwartz said.

“For such a young business, they did a great job for a reasonable price,” junior classmate and customer Theo Muzzy said.

Additionally, the owners acknowledged that it’s important for them to build a diverse clientele.

“We’ve already had a good variety of clients from all over the area,” Merkle said.

With their success early on, Merkle and Spavento plan to take several steps to take their business to the next level. They hope to expand by hiring employees, investing in more materials, devoting more time, and eventually running their business through a website. 

“I think we’re kind of making our way up there. We’re getting our name out there and trying our best to really expand into something bigger,” Merkle said.