Today we’d like to introduce you to Chaz and Dee Sampson.
Hi Chaz and Dee, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I started detailing on the weekends back in the summer of 2018. It was something I loved doing for my own vehicles as far as keeping them washed and cleaned since I could remember. Often times I would pray through my day for an idea or something that I could do for me, that could change my situation. One day while heading to a client’s home for my full-time job, it came to me to try washing and detailing cars. I called my wife immediately and she loved the idea.
I knew nothing about the business, as far as tools and products to use, but I had a good friend that had been doing it for years. He gave me insight on some things I could use to get it started and I went from there.
I went strong for about 3 months and had little to no success, so I stopped detailing. I felt like I was putting in way too much work for no gain. My basic price was $35 and I would spend hours and hours cleaning a vehicle. My wife and I started marketing with our personal vehicles to all of my friends from social media to create some clientele. It came slowly but not nearly as much to try to pursue a future with. I continued working my full-time job, at the time, at Uvalle Law firm to support my family. After about a year, my wife and I wanted to try it again but with a different approach. With her being a stay-at-home mom, it allowed her to support and assist me with any job I had and also to get footage to market our business.
In August of 2019, we gathered a strategy of what type of business we wanted to build and created a plan. Life was fair for us, and I made enough money to provide for my family’s needs, but I never had the freedom to be as present as I would’ve wanted. I missed a lot of my son’s programs, donuts for dad, and other essentials things that a first-time dad would love to be a part of, because of the demand from my job.
I decided to take out a $1400 payday loan which purchased my pressure washer, vacuum, towels brushes, products, and detailing gear. I didn’t have a van to get the water tank and other necessities so I detailed out of my 2018 Chrysler 300. Some jobs I couldn’t take because I didn’t have my own water supply but I did what I could with what I had. Instead of the same marketing tactics, we started to change our target audience. After weeks of no bookings, my wife and I felt as if we wasted money and a loan.
I’ve always trusted God in this process because he kept putting it in my mind to do it, whenever I prayed for guidance. We finally got a response from an old training football coach of mine, NFL training instructor, Coach DRob with Always Open. He reach out to us after I informed him about our company and allowed me to come out to service his Mercedes Benz on Aug 17 2019.
With his social media influence, he reposted our work on his page, which buzzed a lot of people to reach out to us for services as well. He’s a big name in the NFL world so I gained the opportunity to earn business from a few NFL clients as well.
With the new re-launch of our new business starting off so well, I was starting to get some hope in potentially detailing full time.
All was going great; my wife and I were pregnant and excited about expecting our second born and our new business was starting to progress. September 3rd of 2019, I received a call from my manager for a random meeting. By this time, work was slow, and I was able to put more work into my own business while working from home. In my meeting, I was fired from the law firm after 3 years, with my wife being 6months pregnant and our business barely surfacing off of the ground.
At this point, I was lost, terrified to fail my family, but also a little relieved at the same time. My faith was strong so I never felt as if we were going to go without, but it put more pressure on me as a man to still provide for my growing family.
I had a scheduled detail the exact same day I got fired and my pregnant wife and I completed that job, not knowing what was next for us.
We kept marketing and kept advertising daily. We went to the local Kroger and surrounding businesses to put our business cards on cars every day until we got calls. We talked to random people and did anything possible to get business flowing.
In January 2020, I met a man in the parking lot of Fitness Connection in Arlington by the name of Mr. Craig. I approached Mr. Craig with my business card just as I did any other day and explained our services. He was impressed and eagered to give our business a shot. We scheduled his appointment and after I got him taken care of, he was a little concerned. I was outside detailing his Toyota truck in 40-degree weather out of the trunk of my car. He came out and asked me questions about our business and future plans that we had in mind. He then asked me about a van and after explaining my current situation, I informed him that a van was in our future plans whenever our finances allowed us to invest in one. Right then, Mr. Craig let me know how God had put it on his heart to purchase my wife and I a van for our company.
In my mind, it was hard to believe a complete stranger wanted to basically give me thousands of dollars on us for nothing in return, but that only gave me Confirmation that God was with us. I called my wife, in tears, with the great news and hope for our future as entrepreneurs.
We immediately started searching for our van. When we found the van, we made arrangements to look at it and purchase it as soon as we could.
On January 24th, 2020, I woke up in a frantic out of the blue at 5 am. The loud noises of a tow truck, right outside of our window, woke us up. When I looked out of the window, it was my Chrysler 300 being repossessed along with all of our new equipment and tools that we had just bought.
Honestly, that morning I cried in my wife’s arms, feeling overwhelmed, tired, defeated, and just all around, lost! At this point, I was all out of ideas and mentally exhausted from trying to stay afloat with little to no income for all of those months.
She comforted me of course, but I still had to find a way to get our things back because this was our only source of income at the time.
The previous owner from the van responded later that morning and gave us the ok to pick up the van that day. We used my wife’s car to pick up the equipment that morning from the tow company, after being told that it would be at least 2 weeks before we could get our belongings back. They explained to us that there was a long line of people ahead of us waiting to get their belongings from their repossessed car as well. Luckily, we were favored and they allowed us to skip line after I explained our situation.
After getting our things, we traveled with Mr. Craig, a complete stranger, 1 1/2 hours to pick up our van! Mr. Craig paid cash for the van and we were back in business.
3 days later my wife gave birth to our second son and the entire time she was in the hospital, I was making calls, store runs, in and out of the hospital, trying to get everything we needed for the van, to get back up and running. We had family in town to care for my wife and newborn, so I mainly focused on getting our business together.
One month later, Covid-19 was introduced. The world began to shut down, and the pandemic began. While many businesses closed down, our business took off like a rocket. We offered contact-less services and payment options and flowed through the entire time.
With-in the first 15 months we built a six-figure earning business by washing cars. We chose to reinvest a profit that we made to build our business faster. Although the business was not yet very profitable, we were already making more money than I made from my corporate job, and allowed me to provide a more comfortable life for my family…
We worked day in and day out throughout the entire pandemic, all the way up until July of 2021, and finally purchased our warehouse in Grand Prairie. As our business constantly grow, we continuously try to find ways to create opportunities for others and give back to our community to show our appreciation.
Come over to visit us at 3015 Eagle Drive suite 400 Grand Prairie, TX 75052
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This journey has not been easy by far! Having to adjust your mind to think as an entrepreneur is challenging alone, especially if you’ve never been a boss. We’ve loss money, made bad business decisions, hired employees without the necessary precautions in place, but it all turned out to be learning lessons.
We had to lay the foundation and set the standard of what we wanted Sampson Strong Detailing to stand for. These which included a lot of nights ending at 11 pm and having to drive from Frisco to Mansfield, and having to be back at my first appointment at 8 am. Or having to detail in uncomfortable weather situations, alone if my wife wasn’t able to work. We had to make the best of our situation, to put ourselves in the best position for success in the future.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sampson Strong Detailing, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We’re a luxury mobile detailing company that services the entire DFW area. We specialize in luxury vehicle detailing, ceramic coatings, paint corrections, and overall car care. We also service boats and motorcycles as well.
What sets us apart from other companies is that we strive to create a family-related experience for each of our clients. Establishing a relationship with our clients is way more important than just collecting a dollar from them. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service as well as high-quality services.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Getting the MVP trophy for my little league football team! Growing up football was big for me and achieving that accomplishment made me feel like I could do anything if I put my mind to it.
Pricing:
- We offer a VIP membership plan that comes out to you twice per month for only $119.99
- We offer an in-shop membership that allow our members to come to our shop twice per month for only $99.99
- We offer more services and packages in more detail listed on our website.
Contact Info:
- Email: Sampsonstrongdetailing@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.sampsonstrongdetailing.com/
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/sampsonstrong_detailing
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/sampsonstrongdetailing
- Twitter: www.Twitter.com/sampsonstrong_detailing
- Youtube: www.YouTube.com/SampsonStrongDetailing
Image Credits
Dee Sampson
