John D'Eri opened Rising Tide Car Wash in 2013, convinced that a business whose primary mission of employing adults with autism would be a financial success. Three years later, Rising Tide continues in Parkland, and now it's expanding to a second location.

The owners of Auto Spa Speedy Wash, which has 15 locations across St. Charles, Jefferson and St. Francois counties, think their new kid-friendly concept is out of this world. This summer, they plan to expand their Martian Car Wash brand, which features a colored light show with a space theme.

Mobile app-driven new businesses are budding in the automotive after sales and service market, drawing the attention of investors focusing on start-ups, and the car wash business is no exception. The car wash sector in Korea, which is crowded with small players, has recently seen a resurgence as an online-to-offline business.

In Madrid, architect Lina Toro has transformed an existing car wash named ‘burbucar’ into a theatrical experience that makes its cleaning processes visible to customers. The established business is entirely enclosed within a 70 meter-long and 12 meter-wide tube that occupies the ground floor of a seven-story building. The company commissioned Toro and her team to renew its image in order to convey a sense of transparency and environmental concern. 

Hiring a summer intern is like painting a room. The hardest part is the prep work. In painting, if all the "prep work" – the cleaning, sanding, spackling and priming – is done well, the actual painting is easy. In the business world, if all the intern prep work – aka, planning – is done well, the actual intern experience should be successful. For both the organization and the intern.

Having cofounded Bullhorn in 1999, I still struggle to embrace the idea of "imperfection." As a founder, you’re an expert in your business, and you’ve already created something of value. That initial validation, alongside the need to be "hands-on" in order to be successful, can very often cloud your judgment and make you believe that you have no flaws. 

Let’s be real. Marketing can get expensive. With such a strong emphasis on digital marketing, it can seem like the only way to be successful is through buying ads or paying for SEO. While both of those are very popular and useful ways to market a business, there are also many marketing strategies that come at a low cost, if not for free. 

If you’re a small business owner looking to build a company that transcends generations, then you must respect the importance and power of branding. Your business is more than a business. It’s a brand. It’s an organization. It’s a living, breathing community. Whenever possible, you must inject a bit of personality into your marketing materials, and keep the customer’s needs at the absolute forefront of all decision making.