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Meet Rudy and Daniela Vierra of SteaMyCar in West Houston

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Rudy and Daniela Vierra.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We’ve been happily married for about 4 and a half years now. We met in October 2014 and five months to the day after we met, we tied the knot. She is absolutely the best thing to ever happen to me and she is my inspiration to do and want more out of life. 

He is the love of my life, supports me in anything I want to do and pushes me to be more ambitious.

We have two dogs, Jupiter, a rescue that we’ve had for about four and a half years, since he was about 1, and Athena, a brand new puppy from a family friend.

We have goals as a couple and as individuals, but all our plans are in line with what we both want out of our lives together.

Because we want to do what we can to make our world a better place and at the same time enjoy our lives, we were thinking of what we can offer that would be different.

It all started with an idea of how to provide a better mobile car wash. We had gotten our car washed not too long before that by a mobile car detailer and we weren’t very impressed, plus there seemed to be a lot of water waste. I was walking our dog, Jupiter, in November 2017 and the idea came to me. I came home and told my wife “I had an idea for a business. What do you think about a steam-based car wash?” She thought it was a good idea and we brainstormed over the next few days. We both thought it would be a good ‘someday’ business to start. I bounced the idea off some close friends and my brother, they all gave good feedback and thought it was a “cool” idea, but it never got further than that. About a month went by and my brother came back to me and said “I’ve been thinking about your idea and I think you should do it.” I let him know that would have to wait until we got the money together, my wife and I were still thinking “someday”. He said that if I was serious about it, he would bankroll me. I got goosebumps and didn’t know what to say. After the initial shock and a few moments, I thanked him and told him I would start doing some research to get started.

At this time, I was still working my full-time restaurant management job. Any time I wasn’t at the restaurant I was devoting to looking for the equipment needed, materials, tools, products, market research, videos, procedures, anything and everything I could think of would be beneficial. One thing that was very important to us was being eco-friendly. This there would be no compromise on! We wanted to focus on using steam to minimize water waste and water consumption, as well as using products that had no harsh chemicals. So we started looking for the steam machine and car detailing products that were eco-conscious and biodegradable. This puts us at about February 2018. We decided on the name SteaMyCar because we wanted it to be clear what we were about. Over the next few months, we would buy the van, the steam machine and the other items needed to get started. We washed our own cars first to get a feel for the equipment, products and the overall procedure. The first car wash we charged for was on June 21st, 2018. It was a neighbor’s and it took us four hours to wash his minivan! It was in pretty bad shape, but to be honest, we were very slow at the beginning. It was brutal!

Since then we’ve improved our time considerably, our average time now is less than 1 hour per car, and hit our stride. Up until late November 2018, we were washing cars on one of my days off from my restaurant gig. We were getting calls and requests for services but couldn’t do them because of my job. My wife and I agreed that we couldn’t keep not taking care of potential clients we decided I would leave the restaurant to focus on SteaMyCar.

We are happy to say that our schedule is usually pretty full and about 70% of our sales in 2019 have been from repeat clients. It is with absolute delight and excitement that we are getting ready to close out a good first year and look forward to how we can grow our brand and business.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Easy? No, but it hasn’t been extremely difficult either. One of the things we have struggled with is managing our time spent washing vehicles. While we want every car to be perfect, if a client is only willing to pay for a basic service, then we do our best but are very careful to explain that certain things will not be addressed unless they are willing to pay for additional services/cleaning. We have to make a judgment call that will benefit both parties. There are some things we do free of charge that other detailers don’t do, but we can’t give our hard work away.

Another thing that has presented a challenge is educating people about using steam to wash cars. Because it is very new in Houston, and Texas for that matter, the majority haven’t heard about it. Once we explain how it works and the benefits most people try it, and of those that do, more than 2/3’s come back.

We have also struggled a little with steam washing cars in some locations. Because the traditional way wastes so much water and there is considerable water runoff, most buildings or parking garages don’t allow mobile detailing. It is only once we explain and/or show them that doesn’t happen with our system that they let us set up at their location. In fact, most of the commercial accounts we have established have been specifically because we don’t have that water waste of water runoff.
With that said, we never thought we’d be doing this for a living, it was an idea that came together and we truly enjoy seeing the cars transform when we take care of them. I can tell you some horror stories about some of the cars we’ve done, but we’ll leave that for another time.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the SteaMyCar story. Tell us more about the business.
I will start with what we are most proud of. In doing all the research in the benefits of using steam, primarily cutting back on water consumption, we wanted to have a way to make an impact, to give back. We found TheWaterProject.org and read about what they do. If you don’t know, please check them out and donate if you can. They provide access to clean water to people in Africa that don’t have it. They build rainwater collection tanks, potable water lines and other ways of bringing clean water to remote villages, schools and communities. We proudly support them and donate a portion of our proceeds from every carwash to this The Water Project.

What we do? In the simplest form, we are a mobile car wash service. We come to your work or home and detail your car while you take care of business or simply relax. However, there are many things that set us apart from other mobile detailers.

What we believe sets us apart is the fact that we truly care about our environment. When we say we are eco-friendly, it’s not just a tag line, we truly mean it and practice it every day. Apart from using all biodegradable products, minimizing water consumption, and using a smaller vehicle and equipment that minimized our carbon footprint, we recycle the trash from our all the cars we take care of. We collect the trash, separate it and take to a local recycling center.

Another differentiating aspect is that you can book us online at your convenience. Simply go to our website, select your service, choose the date and time, and enter your basic info. It’s really that simple. You can also pay online or with us directly once your service is complete.

The biggest thing we are known for us that we use steam to wash and clean your vehicle. The steam is used on everything, exterior, interior and even the engine. We use the steam to remove stains, deodorize, disinfect and sanitize your vehicle.

We also pride ourselves in being friendly, knowing our clients on a first name basis, and truly caring about them, not just washing their cars. We know about our clients Dr’s appointment, plans for the weekend, travel plans and other aspects of their lives. It brings us great satisfaction to have all types of conversations with our clientele.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Well, we’ve definitely have had more good luck than bad, but I don’t think it’s been a deciding factor. I mean, sure we’ve been lucky that some of our commercial clients have found us rather than the other way around, but it’s the quality of our service, our work ethic and interactions with them that has closed those deals and keeps our clients coming back to us. I truly believe that when you wake up every morning wanting to do what you do, are good at it, you follow through, are committed and simply work hard then the ‘good luck’ comes as a result of what you put in. The bad luck has come more in the form of bad weather, rainy days put a pause on our services and any day not washing cars is a day with no revenue. We also consider ourselves very fortunate that our clients think so highly about us that they recommend us to their family, friends and coworkers.

Pricing:

  • Our basic service starts at $45 for small cars and compact crossovers, $55 for midsize trucks and SUV’s, $65 for full size and anything bigger is charged on a case by case basis.
  • Our ‘The Works’ packages start at $120 for small cars and compact crossovers, $140 for midsize trucks and SUV’s, $160 for full size and anything bigger is charged on a case by case basis.

Contact Info:

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