Carlton High School student takes business over education

“I sort of came up with it ’cause I was like, interested in business and my sister and her boyfriend were like also interested in doing business as well,” Caiden said.

One day, all three of them were walking at Little Red Park when his sister suggested he start a car detailing business.

“She knew I like cars, and I’m kind of organized and I like cleaning,” he explained.

They came up with the name Kaizen Car Detailing, made a logo and started taking some bookings.

One of the things he is learning is marketing his business. (submitted/Caiden Benson)

“Kaizen, which just means the continuously improved and get better, and then along with my logo which is like a Japanese car and then like the Japanese sunset in the back and Tizen is a Japanese word,” he said.

The business has been operating for a little over a year – he was 16 when he started – and he found his first customers in his family and friends and then he “started getting traction”.

“I keep pretty busy now. In the winter it’s a bit slower, but in the summer, I go to Waskesiu and I have a mobile truck and I go to people’s houses and clean their cars,” Caiden said.

As a teen that must go to school whether it’s his preferred way to spend his time or not, Caiden said he also has other things he does in his spare time but between the three, his schedule can get pretty full.

Kaizen Car Detailing is a first step into the business world and how long this is what he wants to do remains up in the air.

“Right now, I really like doing car detailing and if my mind changes, eventually I might switch up into another business,” he said.

In the more immediate future, he’s looking for a permanent location as he does a lot out of his dad’s shop and he wants to scale up as much as possible and make it a full-time job.

When the next business model pops up, Caiden will be ready with some of the skills he’s learned already, such as marketing, customer service and optimizing his online presence so he ranks higher in search engines.

He is learning about the tax implications of running a business after he turns 18 but sees that as an opportunity as well. He has a business number and is registered but has to be an adult to get a business bank account and point of sale software and a debit machine.

Caiden is pretty confident in his decision to buck the trend towards always chasing a higher educations as the means to a higher paycheck, especially when he looks at his peers and the push for them to pursue a profession.

“They get pressured from like their parents and all their friends and lots of other people, actually you should just do kind of what you want to do. Like, I felt that pressure but I think you’ll be happier doing what you want to do instead of spending a bunch of money and going to school and then ending up not liking the thing you spent so much time on and money on,” he said.

“Yeah, I just think people should do more of what they want and less of what people expect them to do.”

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social

by Susan McNeil

Carlton High School student takes business over education

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