DOWAGIAC — Walking out of Dowagiac Union High School Monday afternoon, seniors Colin Rafferty and Gavin Luthringer, wearing matching zip-up jackets with the words CGI Detailing embroidered on the back, walk over to a tan-colored truck, intending to spend their lunch break cleaning the vehicle top to bottom.

However, the vehicle belongs to neither Luthringer nor Rafferty. Instead, the teens are cleaning the car for hire, through their business CGI Detailing.

The pair started their business last May, which offers both interior and exterior auto cleaning and detailing. Though Rafferty and Luthringer are still in high school, they said their business is growing fast — with nearly 30 new clients in the last month — and that they are living their dreams as business owners.

“We started right around the time we started driving,” Luthringer said. “We were going to the car wash every week, cleaning our cars really good and getting them looking really nice. … We realized we wanted to do this ourselves as a business.”

The business started small, with the teens detailing relatives’ cars with a handheld vacuum. It wasn’t until after the business had a few clients under its belt that Rafferty and Luthringer began purchasing equipment out of their own pockets to perform better, more efficient details.

“We started researching more and more, and we decided that if we kept doing this, we could make a business out of this,” Rafferty said. “That’s when we decided to establish CGI detailing.”

“We’ve built ourselves up. At first, we didn’t make any [profit],” Luthringer added. “We want to keep buying the things we need and adding equipment, so we can provide a better service.”

Though they are young, both Rafferty and Luthringer said they up to the challenge of running a business, as it has been a lifelong dream for the both of them, adding that they aren’t planning on letting anything — certainly not their age — stop them from achieving their dreams.

“A lot of people say, ‘oh, you’re 17, you’re too young to run a business’ or ‘you’re’ not mature enough,’” Rafferty said. “But it is my dream to own my own business. It’s [Luthringer’s] dream as well. This all came from wanting to be our own bosses and not work for someone else. … When you are in control of your work, you are more dedicated to it and to customer service. I’ve found that if you have that mentality, people who say you are too young to start a business change when you actually own a business.”

One challenge that their age has brought them is that Luthringer and Rafferty have to balance their work with CGI Detailing with their school work and other part-time jobs. Though it has been a challenge for the pair, neither said they would change anything nor regret adding CGI Detailing to their already busy schedules. Instead, they said that working so much has taught them valuable skills, such as time management.

“This has definitely been a learning experience. You have to dedicate a lot of time to each thing that you do,” Rafferty said.

“It’s taught me to be really dedicated to something,” Luthringer chimed in. “[It’s taught me] that if you are dedicated to something and stick with it, you can be successful.”

Soon, the Rafferty and Luthringer will be moving south to attend Middle Tennessee State University to study business. However, that will not mean the end of CGI Detailing, as they pair hopes to establish their business in Tennessee and have it grow and continue even after they graduate from college.

“We are hoping to make a living off of this,” Rafferty said. “We want to continue doing this, because we really believe in it.”

For more information about CGI Detailing and its services, visit CGI Detailing on Facebook at facebook.com/cgidetailing.