An inspiring Cumbrian teen has shared her story of creating a successful valeting business from scratch.
Lucy-Rose, 17, of Longtown, first set up LRose Valeting when she was just 16 years old while studying a business course at Carlisle College.
Starting out with just one cleaning cloth and a bottle of household disinfectant – Lucy posted the results of her first car online, which caused her services to explode in demand.
Now a year on from when she first launched, Lucy-Rose is providing her valeting and detailing services to all kinds of vehicles from trucks to new Bentleys.
While Lucy-Rose said she had always wanted her own business – she first became inspired to set up LRose Valeting while learning about enterprises in college.
She said: “I went home after college and set up a Facebook account for LRose Valeting and because I’d found a bit of a gap in the market with it being based in Longtown, I just started getting fleets of messages after I cleaned one car and posted it online.
“I’ve always been different from people my age and wanted more and my own business and my dad’s side of the family have always been interested in keeping good care of their cars, so I had a little bit of experience to begin with.
“But I’ve done everything on my own, I work on my own, I do my Facebook on my own and I’ve done my own logos and branding, I don’t rely on anyone.
“The funny thing about it is the first car I did I went around with one cloth and a bottle of household disinfectant and I actually used the customer’s own vacuum cleaner. But after I posted it, it just took off like a bullet from a gun.
“I take any vehicle in any condition whether it’s from 2004 and covered in mould or it’s a new Bentley wanting a full detail, I never turn a car down.”
After her initial success, Lucy used her earnings to buy more equipment and pushed her services through social media and word of mouth.
She added: “I started off just doing interiors but now I’ve got this shed full of equipment and I do everything to do with valeting and detailing.
“I used to get in touch with big companies and haulage companies and I advertised and offered deals on Facebook. When I did a good job for those people I started to get repeat customers and started getting phone calls off big wagon companies.
“I also started getting people with Porsches and Bentleys calling and of course they speak to people with similar cars and it progressed from there. I know hundreds of people now and have a lot of great contacts because of it.
“When I was studying business and computing it gave me confidence with learning book keeping and prices. But being confident, polite and having good manners has also taken me really far.”
But Lucy-Rose said that she hadn’t always been confident and had to learn to push past anxiety.
She added: “I was really nervous and anxious to start with, but I did it anyway. I think it’s all about taking your nerves and turning them into a power you can use.
“I think there’s hundreds of people out there my age who think they can’t do things like this, but they can, the first step is always the biggest and the hardest.
“I see challenges and setbacks as a test that ask me do I want this as much as I think I want it and I always breeze past it and make things work.
“If something bad is happening, I choose to see the light in the situation. If I get rained off cleaning cars, I spend the day on my laptop or working on car care products that I’m developing.
“I live by the saying winners don’t quit and quitters don’t win.”
Lucy-Rose said that she’d faced some challenges being a teenage business owner – but that she hasn’t let it put her off.
She said: “Being a teenager and a young girl working on wagon yards and such, you do get spoken down to and disrespected, but I think it’s just about putting your foot down where its needed.
“Some men think you don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s funny because you end up telling them things they didn’t know about their own car.
“I think it’s about keeping going and being respectful and making a good name for yourself, as well as being persistent and not giving up when things get tough.
“I love when people come to me not in the best of moods and they go away smiling and laughing, I love to see that.
“I’ve also been invited to conferences to speak in front of loads of businessmen which is scary, but it’s amazing really.”
Having come from humble beginnings, Lucy-Rose said she also looks to give back to customers where possible.
She added: “On a Wednesday I actually do five free car washes for people who would like it done but can’t afford it. I like to make sure everyone who comes into contact with me has a good experience and I like to earn people’s respect and I want to do bigger random acts of kindness as my business grows too.
“It’s all been crazy and I look at the root of it all and it’s me, it’s satisfying and rewarding and hard work, but it’s really worth it.”
Lucy-Rose has big plans for the future and is aiming to turn LRose Valeting into a wider umbrella company.
She is also aiming to branch out into offering her own range of car care products and is hoping to eventually employ other people.
