Holy Cross student operating auto detailing business to pay tuition

Photo | Courtesy of Nick's On-Site Detailing Nicholas Lazzaro, owner of Nick's On-Site Detailing

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By Sharon Boateng

Nicholas Lazzaro, a student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, founded his own automobile service business, Nick's On-Site Detailing, in order to put himself through college.

As a young child, Lazzaro was always around cars. His grandfather owned a bodyshop, and this enabled him to learn about car detailing in his early years of age. So in 2019, when Nick came face to face with the nightmare of every college student -- tuition -- he had to figure out a way to see himself through college. His love and passion entangled with his business idea, and not before long he started detailing his family and friends' cars.

“The way my business was founded is, I remembered having my family's car detailed, and we could not use it for two days because it was at the shop; and it was a huge inconvenience for us. So I said, how about blocking off twp hours from a person's day, and they know that's their detailing hours. I go to their house, do my job and leave. I started detailing for some of my family close friends, and then I had to set up for a business, which was challenging but that was how it all started,” Lazzaro said.

Running a business, having academic goals, and having a life in college can be a tough task; and in Nick’s case, it was no different. However, he acknowledged the important part was knowing his limit.

“There have always been times where I pushed myself too far. I think one of the most important things that I learned and I’m still learning is where you draw the line for your personal and professional life,” Lazzaro said.

He said the reason he was doing this business was because of his academics and not the other way around, so it was crucial to him that he did well in school.

In learning to have a balance, the big question was if he was willing to sacrifice his mental health and normal college life for financial gains. Lazzaro realized after a couple of days of detailing and studying he may need some time off. He understood the only way that could work was to have a proper schedule to guide him through. Having a schedule and a routine to your work might be fulfilling and even motivating at times but what happens when a pandemic strikes and the world is on lockdown.

For Lazzaro, he worried the pandemic would make his detailing business difficult to accomplish. However, with the world concerned about the coronavirus, everyone wanted to have a clean space. And this was a win for Nick’s On-Site Detailing.

“I was able to push through. Families would book online, and I would go detail their cars. After, send them a picture of the car and an electronic payment will be made. I was able to operate my business during the height and spite of the pandemic because I was able to adapt my models to make sure my customers were safe, and I was safe; and this is something I took very seriously.” Lazzaro said.

Lazzaro emphasized on being respectful to customers and making it a priority that everyone feels heard and taken seriously. When asked what advice he would give to young upcoming business owners, he said:

“Being creative, learning the ability to adapt to tough situations and also coming up with something unique. It’s okay to fail sometimes but also be resilient and dream big because you never know," he said.