ZMD Zs Mobile Detail | CEO + Founder | Provo | 20
At 17 years old, Isabelle Kaul’s car was severely vandalized, and on top of that she was dealing with deep depression. Out of the blue one day, her uncle called her and asked if she could clean his dump truck. Not thinking much of it, she said yes. With no prior detailing experience, she spent $10 on soap and scrub brushes at the Dollar Tree and got cleaning. Surprisingly, she got lost in the work and found that she enjoyed the process. Her uncle then planted the entrepreneurial seed: “Why don’t you start your own thing?” That was 2021, and this summer she will move her company into its first brick-and-mortar shop in Provo. Isabelle has unrelenting grit and grind to building the business of her dreams, and being the highest quality car detailer in the Valley. Isabelle shines — and so do the cars she works on.
MAIN MOTIVATION In the darkest time of my life, I wrote three things on my heart: Never allow people to mistreat you, money will never be an issue, and chase passions. I carry that everywhere. PERSONAL GROWTH I know more about myself, I’m truly confident, more sympathetic and more disciplined. On the physical side: I have redesigned our van setup to serve efficiency, have smoother customer interactions within our CRM, etc. SHARPER SKILLS A skill I’ve gained is holding boundaries in the workplace. Being an entrepreneur, you aren’t given hours to arrive/leave work, what to pay yourself, or when to shut off your brain. These are all things you have to create. Not only do you have to lead employees, but you have to abide by these rules yourself to set an example. COMBATING DOUBT Not too long ago, doubt was really getting to me — everything people had to say, the fear of owning a business. I had to remind myself of why I’m doing all of this and why I love it. I can’t be successful and operate from a place of fear — it has to be excitement, ambition and confidence. CAUTIONARY TALES Some business advice I’ve received that was not helpful was about networking. It’s important, but hype events aren’t the way to go. The best connections are made by doing business with other people. LIVING LEGACY I want people to know who I am, what I went through before owning a business, during ownership, and what I made of myself. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows and it never has been. I worked hard for where I’m at today.