By Maiya Tomlin
Walking into our newspaper period last week, I saw Mr. Newman holding up his phone to the class; it was a photo of someone washing a car. Naturally, everyone asked, “Who is that?” and we all wondered why Mr. Newman had a picture of this mystery car washer on his phone.
“Byrne Eastland,” Mr. Newman informed us. He said he saw Byrne whilst walking through his neighborhood. Byrne told Mr. Newman that he was doing work for his business. They exchanged a goodbye, and Mr. Newman kept walking.
“When I circled back, look what I saw,” Mr. Newman pulled up another photo on his phone. The photo was of a flyer that reads “I just had my ride shined! Get yours done too!” and “Byrne’s Hand Car Wash,” written underneath.
This professional flyer made Mr. Newman realize there is a secret entrepreneur among us roaming the Lovett halls, so he asked one of us to dig deeper and talk to Byrne.
I jumped at the idea, partly out of curiosity, and partly because, with the state of my car, I figured I might just earn myself a discounted wash. (Plus, Mr. Newman already scored a photo, which is one of the most easily forgotten and mildly awkward tasks of our reporting duties here at the OnLion.)
I found Byrne after school, and he recalled the birth of his business. “I started in August 2021, I think. Yeah,” he told me. “I just wanted some money, and I was looking for creative ways to make it.”
He originally cleaned cars in his neighborhood, but once he got his license, he could expand to other parts of Atlanta. h Before he could drive, he’d use a bike and a bike cart.
He told me that he has a few packages for his business; a standard interior and exterior wash runs a customer around $65. He does come to you, of course.
The fact that he cleans interiors made me wonder if he’s had any frightening experiences, or finds.. “Oh yeah, all the time,” he told me. “I mean, how do people drive in their cars? It gets so nasty.”
The nastiest thing he’s found was gummies, and they were stuck to the carpet. “Oh, or the old chicken nugget.” To which I replied, “What?” I tried to sound shocked, knowing full well I had a half-eaten Dunkin’ donut from this morning sitting in my front seat.
I mentioned the flyer, then asked him if he had any other forms of marketing. “Oh, I have a website, it’s not very good though,” he told me. (I ended up searching it up, and it’s quite the impressive website, where you can book appointments and everything. https://byrnescarwash.square.site/)
Even though it’s pretty much a part-time job plus even more work, he enjoys it. “It’s kind of satisfying to see [cars] go from super dirty to clean.” I compared it to those satisfying pressure-washing Instagram reels, and Byrne said, “Yeah, like that.”
Finally, I asked him if he plans to keep up with his business after high school, to which he replied, “I would probably stop after high school, but it made good for a college essay.”
The two big takeaways from this interview? First, you can start your own business at just 11 years old. And second, if you spot Mr. Newman on the street, maybe dodge him… unless you’re ready to become front-page material of the OnLion.
