Landon Howard, junior at Oglethorpe County High School, has been running a car detailing business since 2023
Landon Howard
When he’s not serving as an FFA officer, attending club meetings or maintaining his 4.0 GPA, Landon Howard can be found cleaning and detailing cars for Oglethorpe County residents and beyond.
“I’m active in just about every single club at the school, and I’m an FFA officer, so I’ve also learned how to schedule and how to work time and all that,” Howard said.
Howard, a junior at Oglethorpe County High School, said he founded Howard’s Detailing in 2023.
His full exterior service, often using Meguiar’s Direct products, includes deep cleaning of the wheels and tires, mildew removal, bug removal and window polishing, if needed. The interior wash includes floor match restorations, stain removals, carpet cleaning, deep cleaning of the car and steaming of leather seats.
His customers rave about the results.
“My truck has over 200,000 miles on it, and I never thought it would look brand new again,” said Andy Paul, Howard’s youth pastor at Salem Baptist Church.
Howard said he expects to provide waxing and coating services soon.
His journey as an entrepreneur started at age 10, when he helped his dad, who is a mechanic, wash his car for extra money. Howard said he gained a new appreciation for detailing when he bought his own truck at age 14, which he cleaned and transformed into better condition.
“I’ve been washing cars for a very long time,” Howard said. “I was washing my aunt’s car one day, and she was telling me all about the different chemicals and the different ways to do it — and she offered to invest in me to get my products, to start up my business.”
In exchange for the investment, Howard provided his aunt with car washes until he met the investment total.
“He’s a young man that’s very goal-driven and business-minded, and so it’s been really cool to see this change from just an idea, just something that he’s actively pursuing and finding new clientele, not just in our county, but in surrounding counties, too,” Paul said. “Everything that he makes from this business is reinvested into the business, because he just wants to help folks out, and he found something he’s really good at.”
The business is growing its customer base through Facebook. He’s also spreading the word in other ways, especially since earning his driver’s license a few months ago.
“I’ve been getting some other people that see my business cards that I have all around Wilkes County and Oglethorpe County, along with I’ve had some that have texted me as we’re going down the road that have seen my sticker on the back of my truck and gave me a phone call that are interested in getting their vehicle detailed,” Howard said.
Outside of family support, the county has played a large factor in building his customer network.
“I think one thing that I love the most about Oglethorpe County is we’re not the richest county in the world, but I think we have the best people in the world, and when it comes to our students, there is never any holding back when it comes to supporting our kids in this county,” Paul said.
Howard said he hopes to continue Howard’s Detailing throughout and beyond college.
“So much of our life is spent in a vehicle, traveling to work, traveling around and the confidence that somebody has when they drive in a clean vehicle is hard to match, and so it’s cool to see Landon give confidence back to common people,” Paul said.
Details on Detailing: Visit Howard’s Detailing on Facebook or contact Landon Howard at 706-990-7786. Howard’s Detailing typically costs $90-$150, depending on the car’s condition. Howard travels to customers, and services usually take between 90 minutes to four hours.