Some residents of Ocho Rios are not taking their cars to the car wash. This is because the car wash is coming to them. They owe the good fortune of this convenience to 29-year-old Donnavan-Lloyd Johnson, who started Bubbles and Shine Mobile Detailing, the town’s first mobile car wash, in May 2018.

“A lot of clients love the flexibility of it and the fact that they can just pick up the phone and we will come to them wherever they are,” Johnson explained. “Homes, offices, and anywhere you are, basically.”

When a client calls Bubbles and Shine, a Hiace bus loaded with a 250-gallon water tank, commercial pressure washer, wet/dry vacuum and an inverter which is used to run the pump, rolls up at the appointed time.

The company offers services to car owners which include interior cleaning, roof cleaning, engine wash, steam cleaning, and standard washes.

“Basically, you are not missing out on anything you would get at a regular car wash,” Johnson said. “So once you call us you still get a squeaky clean car when it is finished.”

Behind every good business idea is a story, and Johnson’s story started while he was in high school.

“From I was younger I used to have the passion of washing cars,” his tale began. “I liked to see cars clean and all. I had this friend who ran taxis and every evening I used to go by after school and wash his cars for him because he had two of them.

“So every night I would be there just washing his cars and I would collect a little ‘smalls’,” the entrepreneur revealed. “And from there I realised I had an interest in opening a car wash when I was older, but I wanted it to be unique.”

So Johnson started doing research on car washing and came across a mobile car wash in the United States, which peaked his interest. He continued researching to learn what he would need to build one himself. It took him about a month to fully equip the bus, building it himself using the best equipment he could find at the lowest cost.

And what did his friends think of his entrepreneurial project?

“To be honest with you, I kind of got a negative feedback from most of my friends because they were like how would it work and all of that,” he confessed. “But when you are passion-driven to do something, once you have faith, you do your research — and nothing beats a trial but a failure.”

Johnson’s faith has been swiftly rewarded in his first year of operation. His staff of two, which includes the bus driver who also washes, is kept busy every day of the week. The service’s client satisfaction has created a significant number of regular customers.

“We have customers that we have on a set schedule now,” Johnson disclosed. “For example, we have clients every Sunday at 8:00 am, every Sunday at 8am, so we have a set schedule with persons that we go to on specific days. Everytime I am planning the daily schedule, I have to factor them in.

“My main clients are private citizens in residential areas,” he added. “Some residents have three, four cars and the service is ideal from them.”

Success brings more challenges and Johnson says he now needs more buses to satisfy demand.

“I am actually working on getting another bus and I want a set location,” he said. “I am just trying to capture a different side of the market when it comes to opening the location, because sometimes people will call us and we’re booked out and maybe they have the time to go out and sit down until their car is washed. The mobile service will continue because it is in demand.”

Currently, Bubbles and Shine travels as far as Tower Isle, St Mary, to the east of Ocho Rios, and Richmond in Priory to the west to wash cars. Those are the physical boundaries of the operation but there are no limits to Johnson’s plans.

“I want to have a fleet of buses,” he declared. “I want to be one of the biggest car wash companies in Jamaica. I want to be the only car wash company that can be found in different parishes.”

His ambition has been undaunted by the challenges of the past year and the learning curve he has endured. One of these challenges was learning during the course of operations that an inverter was more efficient than an inverter generator in operating the pump. This was critical because Bubbles and Shine pumps water from a river into the tank on the bus, and a pump requires a reliable power source. Johnson explained that using river water instead of chlorinated water gives the cars a better sheen.

The enterprising young man actually works a regular job while running his company, and this is another challenge. During his spare time on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays he will often assist his two staff members with the washing of cars.

But the success he has enjoyed since last year and the continuing passion for what he is doing transcends all the challenges — and Johnson is ready to pursue his plans for expansion.

And what do his friends think of Bubbles and Shine, now?

“They love it now,” he laughed, adding that “sometimes when we pull up to a house you see people driving by, and they are amazed at how the bus is set up with all the equipment and the big tank inside.”