Charlotte Observer Logo

He's cleaning up after taking a big chance | Charlotte Observer

×
  • E-edition
  • Customer Service
  • Advertise
  • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Election
    • Politics
    • Nation/World
    • Special Reports
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Corrections
    • Columnists
    • Retro Charlotte
    • Your Schools
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Charlotte Hornets
    • That's Racin'
    • High Schools
    • College Sports
    • Charlotte Knights/MLB
    • Other Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Inside the Panthers
    • Inside the NBA
    • Prep Insiders
    • Scott Fowler
    • Tom Sorensen
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • RNC 2020
    • Business
    • Banking
    • Stocks Center
    • Top Workplaces
    • National Business
    • What's in Store
    • Development
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Living
    • Religion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Family
    • Home & Garden
    • CLT Style
    • Travel
    • Living Here Guide
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • I'll Bite
    • Kathleen Purvis
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Arts/Culture
    • Events
    • Movie News & Reviews
    • Restaurants
    • Music/Nightlife
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Rewards
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Kevin Siers
    • Letters
    • Submit an Op-ed
    • Submit a Letter
    • Viewpoint
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • O-Pinion
    • You Write The Caption
    • Taylor Batten
    • Peter St. Onge
  • Celebrations
  • Obituaries
  • TV Listings

  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Virtual Career Fair
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Place an ad
  • Mobile & Apps

  • MomsCharlotte
  • Carolina Bride Magazine
  • South Park Magazine

Business

He's cleaning up after taking a big chance

By Christina Rexrode - crexrode@charlotteobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Justin Reeder didn't have much when he came to town three years ago, but he did have a plan.

Reeder had just turned 20 and was a freshly minted college dropout, 700 miles from home and in a city where he didn't know a soul. Eager to get into the real world, he had moved to Charlotte from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to open an N.C. franchise of a business called Superior Wash.

The company washes commercial vehicles on site, deploying trucks laden with cleaning equipment to the businesses whose vehicles need a good scrubbing.

Reeder started the business with one truck and his older brother Joshua, working 100 hours some weeks – most of them with a pressure washer in hand. He poured his savings into startup costs and got the rest in a loan from his dad, a church music minister. He put his paycheck back into the company for at least a year.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Now, Reeder has more of an office job at Superior Wash. He's grown the company to five trucks, 16 employees and three offices (Charlotte, Hickory and High Point), washing 2,500 trucks a week for the likes of FedEx, Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

“We're definitely in it for the long haul,” said Reeder, now 23.

He talked with the Observer last week about lessons he's learned, no textbooks required. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Q. What did your friends say when you decided to leave school?

My friends were all saying, “What the heck are you doing? Why are you going to leave the best years of your life?”

It's hard when you're out working long, hard hours and you get phone calls from your buddies about how they're having a good time back at school. But at the same time, I was so focused, because I knew what I wanted to do.

Now, most of my friends have graduated, and they're looking for jobs while I've already got a three-year jump on them.

Q. What's it like going into business with your sibling?

It teaches you a lot of patience. It's a lot of giving in to each other and being aware of what your position is, so you're taking care of your business and you're not up in his. And always remembering that he's your brother first and your business partner as well, but not letting the business take over.

Q. You're younger than most of the guys who work for you. What's that like?

Honestly, it's been great working with these guys, and with the respect that we have for one another, the age thing doesn't even come into play. I worked on the truck with a lot of those guys, out sweating for long hours with them.

They know what it took for me to get where I am, they know that I didn't just walk in and have it given to me.

Q. What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs?

It's not for everybody. The first thing I would say is be willing to be flexible.

I have an operations manager who is unbelievable and takes a lot of the stress off me, but in the beginning, you get phone calls at 4 or 5 in the morning. Or you might think you're going to go out and have dinner and your plans quickly change because a phone call comes up, and you've got to be willing to do that.

You've got to learn how to handle pressure. You're going to have accounts that might not be happy with you, so are you going to shy away from that or go deal with the problem head on?

And if an employee doesn't show up, are you going to strap the boots on and go to work? I had to do that many, many times, and I'd be in my sales outfit: slacks and a dress shirt.

Finally, you have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in your business and give it 100 percent. If you don't, you're just kidding yourself. You're not going to put in the hard work and your business isn't going to be successful.

  Comments  

Videos

Owners HQ shoe showcasing event at Mint wows fans

Potential Carolina Panthers training location

View More Video

Trending Stories

The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was looking weak. Then some strong basketball saved it.

February 16, 2019 02:26 AM

A 6th grader asked a billionaire for tickets to the All-Star Game. His school got 30.

February 17, 2019 01:44 PM

The NFL reaches a settlement with Colin Kaepernick. And EVERYONE is talking about it

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

Driver fatally shoots stranger who jumped on car hood, broke window in Charlotte

February 16, 2019 07:00 PM

Hornets rookie Miles Bridges’ Larry Johnson tribute not enough in slam-dunk contest

February 16, 2019 11:06 PM

things to do

Read Next

Hundreds stranded as British airline Flybmi collapses

National Business

Hundreds stranded as British airline Flybmi collapses

By GREGORY KATZ Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 07:28 AM

Hundreds of passengers have been stranded by the abrupt collapse of the British regional airline Flybmi.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE BUSINESS

China’s leaders want more babies, but local officials resist

News

China’s leaders want more babies, but local officials resist

February 17, 2019 09:05 PM
Warren highlights her work on economic crisis in Vegas stop

National Business

Warren highlights her work on economic crisis in Vegas stop

February 17, 2019 09:24 PM
The Latest: Warren describes squeeze facing working families

National Business

The Latest: Warren describes squeeze facing working families

February 17, 2019 08:53 PM
Unicorns are real: Tech baffles Indonesian candidate

National Business

Unicorns are real: Tech baffles Indonesian candidate

February 17, 2019 09:17 PM

National Business

UK lawmakers recommend stiffer social media regulation

February 17, 2019 09:23 PM
AP source: Moustakas, Brewers nearing deal for $10M

National Business

AP source: Moustakas, Brewers nearing deal for $10M

February 17, 2019 08:47 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Charlotte Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story