Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Rose.
Hi Lindsay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2020, like a lot of people, our life changed almost overnight.
My partner and I were both working in the medical field, we had a five-year-old at home, and COVID completely changed what “normal” looked like for our family. My partner was working in our local hospital right in the middle of it, and I was trying to figure out how to keep contributing financially while also being more available at home when our family needed it.
At the time, detailing was really just something I loved. Cars had always been a huge part of my life, and I had been cleaning, polishing, and obsessing over them long before I ever thought of calling it a business. But during COVID, I started looking at that hobby differently. I thought, “Maybe this is something I can actually build.”
I took a $600 stimulus check and used it to start Electric Rose.
My first “shop” was a tiny outdoor building behind the gym I went to. The gym owner owned the building and gave me an opportunity to use the space. It wasn’t glamorous. I didn’t have a big budget, a polished business plan, or some huge investment behind me. I had a few hundred dollars, a skill I believed in, and a family I was determined to make it work for.
Within three months, I had already outgrown that building.
That was probably the first moment I realized this might actually become something.
From there, every step was earned. I moved into bigger spaces, bought better equipment when I could afford it, invested heavily in education, traveled for training, and eventually had opportunities to detail at high-end automotive auctions around the country. I became obsessed not just with making cars clean, but with understanding paint, correction, coatings, preservation, and the craft behind doing the job correctly.
There were definitely easier careers I could have chosen. Building a business from scratch means you wear every hat, make plenty of mistakes, and learn some lessons the expensive way. But it also gave me something I didn’t expect when I started: ownership over my time, my future, and the kind of life I wanted to create for my family.
What began as a way to survive a really uncertain chapter of our lives became Electric Rose Auto Salon.
Today, I get to work around cars every day, serve the community I was raised in, and build something my family can be proud of. When I look at where the business is now, I still think about that little building behind the gym and that $600 check.
I didn’t start with much. I just started
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, but interestingly, getting work was never really the problem. I’ve been incredibly fortunate that the work has always come.
The bigger challenge was learning to trust my own gut.
For some reason, when you start a business, everyone suddenly has an opinion about what you should be doing, what you shouldn’t be doing, how fast you should grow, what you should charge, where you should be, and what risks you should or shouldn’t take. Early on, I let some of that noise get louder than my own instincts.
I’ve always been the kind of person who, once I see a problem, I switch gears. I don’t usually believe in riding something out just because it’s comfortable or because other people think I should. I like being ten steps ahead, and I’ve had to learn that sometimes making a fast decision that feels risky is actually what protects you in the long run.
One of the hardest parts of this journey has been how many times I’ve had to move the business. I’ve changed locations far more than I ever wanted to, and usually not because the business wasn’t working.
One building was being torn down. At another location, the city didn’t approve of my wash-bay setup. At another, I found myself in a space the landlord legally shouldn’t have been renting because fire-marshal requirements weren’t being met. Every one of those situations meant another unexpected move, another round of expenses, and another level of financial strain and pressure that really had nothing to do with whether I was doing my job well.
But looking back, every move forced me to get smarter.
I learned to ask better questions, read the fine print, understand what my business actually needs from a building, advocate for myself, and stop being afraid to make a change when something doesn’t feel right.
And strangely enough, every time I had to rebuild, I came back stronger and busier.
That has probably been the biggest lesson for me. The struggles didn’t teach me how to avoid risk — they taught me that I can handle it. I’m much less afraid of taking chances now because I know that even when something doesn’t go according to plan, I can pivot, rebuild, and usually come out better on the other side.
At this point, I trust myself a lot more than I used to.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is really centered around paint correction, ceramic coatings, high-level detailing, and vehicle preservation, but I think what I’m best known for is being extremely particular and not being afraid of difficult jobs.
I like the vehicles that need problem-solving. The ones with neglected paint, strange defects, years of buildup, or an owner who has been told something “can’t be fixed.” There is honestly nothing better to me than solving a problem a customer thought they were just going to have to live with.
That is probably one of my favorite parts of what I do — the customers. I genuinely love the people I get to work with. I love hearing the story behind their vehicle, figuring out what matters most to them, and then watching their reaction when they see the finished result. Sometimes I think people assume detailing is just about making something shiny, but for me it is much more personal than that.
I also really value being available to my community. I was born and raised here, so being able to build a business that people locally know they can call when they have a problem, a question, or a vehicle they really care about means a lot to me.
Something else that is really important to me is supporting other detailers. Over the last five years, I’ve had a few people work for me who I knew ultimately wanted to go out on their own and become business owners themselves, and I’ve always respected that. I don’t really believe in looking at other detailers as competition. To me, we’re a group of people doing something we love, and there is room for all of us to be good at it.
I don’t gatekeep information. If I learn something that can help another detailer, I’ll share it. I have detailers who call me for advice, and there have been plenty of times I’ve gone over to someone else’s shop to help troubleshoot a problem or work through something they were stuck on.
Has that always worked out in my favor? No. But I still believe it is the right way to operate. I can control how I treat people, what I share, and whether I show up with good intentions. What someone chooses to do with that kindness afterward is on them.
Over the years I’ve invested heavily in education and hands-on training, and I’ve traveled around the country working at high-end automotive auctions. That experience exposed me to a huge variety of vehicles and taught me quickly that no two cars, paints, or owners are exactly the same.
What I’m most proud of is the trust I’ve built — not just with customers, but within the industry and my community. People hand me vehicles that are expensive, rare, sentimental, or sometimes completely irreplaceable, and other detailers trust me enough to ask for help when they need it. I never take either of those things lightly.
What sets me apart is that I’ve never really been interested in blending in. I don’t want my work, my shop, or my brand to feel like a copy of someone else’s. I’ve built it around my own standards, personality, and style, and I think people can feel that authenticity.
At the end of the day, I’m still genuinely excited about cars, but I think I’m just as excited about helping people. Whether that means solving a problem for a customer, helping another detailer work through an issue, or simply being someone my community knows they can call, that part of this career means a lot to me.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Honestly, my biggest resource has been relationships.
Over the years I’ve built some incredible relationships with detailers from all over the country, and a lot of those professional connections have turned into real friendships. Some of these people have been detailing longer than I’ve been alive, so I’d be crazy not to listen when they’re willing to share what they know.
I have very little ego when it comes to learning. I’m a sponge. If someone knows something I don’t, I want to hear it. I’ll ask questions, watch how they work, listen to how they think through a problem, and take whatever I can from that experience.
That has probably helped me more than any single book, podcast, or app ever could. The detailing industry is full of people with completely different backgrounds, techniques, and specialties, and I think one of the smartest things you can do is stay teachable.
I also think those relationships have made the industry feel much bigger than just my own shop. I have people I can call when I’m stuck, people who call me when they need another opinion, and friendships that go far beyond detailing at this point.
For me, doing my best in work and in life really comes down to staying curious, staying humble, and surrounding myself with people I can learn from.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.electricroseautosalon.com
- Instagram: @electricroseautosalon
- Facebook: @electricroseautosalon
