Success Story: Pennsylvania

• Penn State SBDC
• SBDC Counselor: Linda C. Feltman
• Client: Simple Car Wash – SBDC client since 2014

Impact of working with the Penn State SBDC: In March of 2014, Taylor Mitcham reached out to the Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) by stopping in at their on-campus walk-in office to discuss her business idea for a waterless car wash.

The SBDC helped Taylor navigate the maze of legal and tax issues that she would need to address. She formed a Limited Liability Company and obtained an Employer Identification Number and a Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax License.

Taylor officially launched Simple Car Wash in July, 2014, offering her services to other Penn State students and residents in the State College area. Since there is no brick-and mortar storefront, she needed to be creative in ways to market her business.

The SBDC helped her organize a grand opening ribbon cutting event that was held outside the SBDC offices. At the ribbon cutting, Taylor and a few of her wash engineers cleaned an SBDC staff vehicle from front to back to demonstrate the results.

When the local press asked her how safe the product was, Taylor demonstrated her confidence in her product by drinking some of the solution on camera. The polymers in the formula lift the dirt from the surface of the car which wipes to a clean and shiny finish with no scratches. It then protects a car’s exterior from building up dirt and gathering dust faster than traditional methods.

Taylor is currently negotiating $100,000 in contracts with local car dealerships, to keep their cars attractive to potential buyers.

Read the whole story, and learn more about the Penn State SBDC, the Pennsylvania SBDC and Simple Car Wash.