Senior Nick Cecala and junior Zach Greenquist started their Plasti-dip business, DippingATX, just over a month ago and are already getting calls from people all over the community.

“I started this with my own truck, it was just something I wanted to do to add a little bit of flare to it and so I got what I needed and just decided to try it. People saw it and were like ‘hey, come do mine for me’ so I ended up having people come to my house and I’d take care of them,” Cecala said.

Cecala and Greenquist are loving being able to manage and handle their own business and are diving head first into learning all of the techniques necessary to run a company.

“I want to go into business in the future so having this chance to learn the skills, learn money management and learn how to manage an inventory has been really beneficial for me especially and for my future,” Cecala said.

As far as the steps involved in “dipping” a car or part of a car, Cecala and Greenquist have it down to a science. Washing, prepping and actually dipping the cars takes them about seven hours a week and Cecala and Greenquist take on the project by themselves, dividing the work evenly between each other.

“My partner, Nick, handles more of the money and I do lots of the prep work for painting and a lot of the post work after it’s sprayed and then we handle most of the general stuff like pricing together on a 50-50 basis. It’s pretty much even,” Greenquist said.

Cecala and Greenquist are very passionate about the idea of free expression and personalization and have been able to attract clients with the same values.

“You end up with a large group of people who just like that little bit of customization, you’ve got people who are into their vehicles and they want to express themselves. I’ve got a couple of clients who I never knew before and now I see them all the time, we’ve started to talk and become good friends,” Cecala said.

Customer service is also something Cecala and Greenquist take very seriously. They not only wash and dip the cars but offer a delivery service back to the car owner’s house. It only makes sense that their level of customer service has lead to new friendships with local customers.

“If they don’t want to sit around and wait they can drop it off with us and we take care of everything, we clean the car and then we’ll go through the process and if they need us to we’ll deliver it for them right back to their house,” Cecala said.

DippingATX is has provided Cecala and Greenquist with a unique outlet that not many other high school students experience. As adamant car-lovers, the partners are really enjoying having a business of their own that is so attuned to their personalities.

“We really like cars and it’s a fun way to work on them together. We get to see lots of cool cars, like we worked on a Camaro from this school and that was fun. It’s really fun to work with your best friend,” Greenquist said.

For Cecala, DippingATX is the first step into the business world, a world that is very central to him and his family.

“I think it’s the real world experience that is really going to matter in life that’ll really give you the advantage or give you a leg up. I have always wanted to own a business. My dad’s been an inspiration, he didn’t go to college, instead he started his own business and he’s owned several over the years and I’ve wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Cecala said.

As far as the future of DippingATX goes, the partners are enjoying the work for now and  leaving the rest to fate.

“We haven’t really thought that far ahead we’re just doing it for now, seeing how it goes, hoping that it keeps working the way it’s working and trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Greenquist said.