What was your dream growing up?
I always dreamed of becoming a business owner. Two years ago I announced to my whole family—my parents and two siblings—that I was determined to earn more money than anyone in the family.
Why did you do that?
I don’t like the feeling of wanting something badly but not being able to have it. My parents aren’t poor as my father is a policeman while my mom is a teacher. I want to buy a house and car without loans. I want to have a better life. I don’t want to feel down whenever I see a Ferrari—why shouldn’t I try to have my own? I stuck two pieces of paper to my mirror to remind me of that; the first says, “If my life is to change, I must make it happen,” while another one says “What’s the point of being rich if you don’t make anyone’s’ life better?”
How did you start to realize your dream?
I tried to rebuild my parents’ failing business, which was selling tropical fish. I started selling fish at Chatujak Weekend Market and exporting to some countries, but it wasn’t enough. I later realized that I was often too lazy to drive my car to the car care center and wait for an hour to get it washed. I was sure that tons of people felt the same. So I started my car wash business in April last year, even though my family objected. They said to me, “Stop being insane!” I hired three workers, but they all left within the first month. After five months, I’d only had 10 customers and I was doing it all alone.
What kept you going?
I’m pretty good at encouraging myself. This one day I washed three cars in three different districts so far away from each other. I was so tired riding my delivery motorcycle that I questioned why I was doing it. I turned up the volume on my phone to listen to Bodyslam’s “Sang Sud Tai” and screamed out loud in the darkness of the road tunnel at Dindaeng, “Fuck you! I will be a success!” I was crying when I reached the other side of the tunnel. I later met some friends who helped me with marketing and I’ve been able to reach more customers. My first customers mostly had have supercars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis or superbikes like Ducatis.
How do you provide your service?
Customers can call us on 087-099-9442 or 090-006-9088, then we ask their car type and arrange an appointment. We charge B150 for motorcycles, B229 for superbikes, B239 for sedans, B249 for pick-up trucks and B259 for SUVs. I also charge travel expenses of B40 to B100 depending on the distance. A wash takes about 40 minutes.
What’s next?
I’m now expanding my franchise all over the country, at B400,000 a franchise fee. I also plan to take it abroad in 2014.
